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  #21  
Old 06-02-2009
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Matt Alcock Matt Alcock is offline
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There will be racing on this saturday at fasttracks racing club if your interested, buggies or touring cars.

hopefully gunna be a few jumps.

PM me if you want more details.

Website is currently under development, but the club chat forum section is up and runing if you want to sign up and ask any questions,

but PM me if you want address etc.!!!

cheers
matt
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  #22  
Old 06-02-2009
Rooney Rooney is offline
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Thanks for the info Matt. Is this the club that runs up at the collingwood centre? Raced there a number of times a few years back.

I thought the place was strictly TC's.

Now I've had so many responses I just don't know where try first! Marston tonight or Fastrax tomorrow (the wench doesn't issue more that one permission slip per weekend you see)

Might see you there tomorrow

Thanks

Matt
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  #23  
Old 07-02-2009
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Matt ... if you'd have posted this up a couple of days earlier I'd have come up to race!!
Anything to get some time on the RB5 at the moment.

A little more notice next time please mate.
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  #24  
Old 12-02-2009
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i'v replied to the other thread roger.
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  #25  
Old 16-02-2009
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It seems a huge waste to have great tracks sat around most of the time idle, waiting for a regional or national event.

What is the reason for not running weekly club racing for those venues that don't (particularly at Kiddy as that is on my doorstep). Is it just that there aren't enough people involved in the hobby in any one location?

This will be a big factor in whether I get back into the hobby and introduce my son and daughter to it as well. I'm not looking to drive all over the region/country to race and I don't want to compete at a serious level (at least not initially), I just want something fun to do with my kids at a level we might actually win.

It strikes me that by not having a club level to compete in, there is no easy way for beginners to get into it (or oldies like me to get back into it).
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  #26  
Old 16-02-2009
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I think that the truth of the matter is that the amount of work required to maintain a track, make sure there is somebody there to open / lock up and all the other administrative and organisational chores is huge compared to the number of people who would attend!

Most people who race are all over the region / country most weekends leaving few / no people to run the clubs.

I have been, until very recently, a member of the Kidderminster club myself and it is essentially the work of two guys, Tony and Paul who keep that place together. Both of them have been around racing for a long time but now neither they, or their boys, race. I think they do an amazing job and am greatful for there efforts in keeping one of the UKs best venues alive which is why I try to be at any meeting run at Kiddy!

Now you have to ask yourself would you go and open up the track, clean and maintain it every weekend when you knew that few people would be there and you / your family aren't even getting the fun of track time? I think the answer for most would be no.

You have to remember that people running clubs are usually racers themselves so with a larger meeting almost every weekend in the main season and every other at least over the winter when would they get time to spend with the family if they opened up a club each weekend? It's a hard balance to achieve.

I understand what your saying and your right. Most of the "clubs" run indoors now, mostly with snooring cars. Local to you is Dudley and Worcester.

Probably the most active "club" with an off-road track in the region is Coventry, they always seem to have the track open at the weekends .... at least it seems that way.

Your in almost the perfect location for racing 1/10th offroad in the west mids (maybe slightly nearer to Junction 3 of the M5 would be perfect). All the clubs that run bigger meetings are less than an hours drive for you, I have to do 45mins just to get to where you are then the rest of the journey!
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  #27  
Old 16-02-2009
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I think you hit the nail firmly on the head there.

Most clubs find it hard to encourage members to help in the organisational side of things. It's certainly happened to a few clubs in the Mid-West region over the past few years.

We had two good strong clubs in Telford, both providing club, regional and national race meetings. One of these has now all but closed and the other is running on a much smaller scale.

Not wanting to speak badly of anyone involved with Kidderminster, but they have exactly the same problem. Lack of helpers!!! Kiddy is run (in the main) by two people who given 100% for years with little to no reward/thanks. This obviously take is tole.

I have actually been thinking of making a suggestion to the Kiddy committe (of 2 ) I'll post more news if/when appropriate..
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  #28  
Old 16-02-2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VintageRacer View Post
It seems a huge waste to have great tracks sat around most of the time idle, waiting for a regional or national event.

What is the reason for not running weekly club racing for those venues that don't (particularly at Kiddy as that is on my doorstep). Is it just that there aren't enough people involved in the hobby in any one location?

This will be a big factor in whether I get back into the hobby and introduce my son and daughter to it as well. I'm not looking to drive all over the region/country to race and I don't want to compete at a serious level (at least not initially), I just want something fun to do with my kids at a level we might actually win.

It strikes me that by not having a club level to compete in, there is no easy way for beginners to get into it (or oldies like me to get back into it).
A few of us have recently purchased 2wd buggies and found it really good.

We race at a few local clubs, and this is club level racing, that as you say you and your kids will stand a chance of winning.

At both of our local club there is only a small number racing 2wd buggies at the moment, although more and more of us are buyin them and hope the numbers will grow.

Once there is the interest there has been something promised to run something slightly bigger. But at the moment we are just running small club level racing.

Fast Tracks Racing Club - We try to run every other week if possible. At the moment the club is predominatley made up of touring car drivers. So jumps and off road feautres are built around the touring ccar track, i.e in chicanes etc. but theres at least a couple f off road features. The club is very relaxed and ideal for some fun racing. With a level of competition that is aimed to give maximum fun and not cost a fortune.

Marstons model car club - Marstons run every friday evening, again predominatley touring car but there is a heat of us that run buggies , at the moment it just a flat track but the future holds more possibilites if the numbers pick up. again this is fun racing.

PM me if you want more details on either club.

Heres a few links:
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19369
http://www.fasttracksracing.co.uk/FTRC/public/main.htm
http://www.marstonmcc.co.uk/

If you want any more details on fast tracks racing club PM me or sign up to the forum and ask your question there as the website is under construction.

There is racing at Fast Tracks Racing Club this saturday adn hopefully a good few of us racing. Please leave a message on here if your going to try and pop down or PM if you want booking in. There is some details on the link to other oople thread above.

Unsure of if there will be any of us with buggies this friday at Marstons, although the racing will be on so feel free to go and have a look at the track.

Hope to here off some of you soon.

Cheers,
Matt
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  #29  
Old 16-02-2009
stuartw stuartw is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerM View Post
I think that the truth of the matter is that the amount of work required to maintain a track, make sure there is somebody there to open / lock up and all the other administrative and organisational chores is huge compared to the number of people who would attend!

I have been, until very recently, a member of the Kidderminster club myself and it is essentially the work of two guys, Tony and Paul who keep that place together. Both of them have been around racing for a long time but now neither they, or their boys, race. I think they do an amazing job and am greatful for there efforts in keeping one of the UKs best venues alive which is why I try to be at any meeting run at Kiddy!

Now you have to ask yourself would you go and open up the track, clean and maintain it every weekend when you knew that few people would be there and you / your family aren't even getting the fun of track time? I think the answer for most would be no.
Exactly right, but it would be appreciated by Club Organisors, and by that I mean any club, if more people offered their assistance in setting up & packing away.

I assume therefore, that you can be called upon you at the meeting on Sunday and also for the Regionals and E.O.S. to help lug speakers and erect safety fencing etc.!!
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  #30  
Old 16-02-2009
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Matt Alcock Matt Alcock is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stuartw View Post
Exactly right, but it would be appreciated by Club Organisors, and by that I mean any club, if more people offered their assistance in setting up & packing away.

I assume therefore, that you can be called upon you at the meeting on Sunday and also for the Regionals and E.O.S. to help lug speakers and erect safety fencing etc.!!
we have the same trouble with people not all staying to help pack up, although some weeks we do and it makes it all so much easier and quicker.

Do you run a club stuart or live in the midlands?
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  #31  
Old 16-02-2009
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I can kind of see the problem. If most of the racers are off doing regionals, who is going to race at the club level. I guess you need to find someone to help run the club that has no interest in regional/national events which would be tricky

Maybe I'm being a bit nostalgic, but I remember all sorts of people coming along with Grass Hoppers, Hornets, etc. and even the occasional Lunch Box!! They were never going to beat the RC10's, CAT's, etc. but they competed at their own level and upgraded when they chose.

To get people to stay and help clear up we used to have to pay a "deposit" which we only got back if we stayed after the racing was finished and helped pack everything away.

I think this was only applied to the indoor racing as we had to clear the track from the hall, the outdoor track stayed put and we didn't have computers, audio systems, fencing, etc.

I can't remember the exact figures but for example, Club members paid £10 annually and £1 per race session be it an evening indoors or a Sunday outdoor. When indoor, you paid £2 but got £1 back if you helped pack up. Non members paid £2 all the time regardless.

Doesn't get around the fact that whoever it is will probably want to go to regional/national events now and then.
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  #32  
Old 16-02-2009
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as i've said we have 2 clubs we race at that have nothing at all to do with regionals or nations and are purely aimed at fun!!!!
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  #33  
Old 16-02-2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stuartw View Post
I assume therefore, that you can be called upon you at the meeting on Sunday and also for the Regionals and E.O.S. to help lug speakers and erect safety fencing etc.!!
LOL, Stuart you know at least as well as anybody that I can not be counted on to arive on time or even remember my own heat number most of the time!!!!!

That is why I can not be involved with a running a club these days, I'd hate to let people down which I am sure I'd do at some point. Main reason you don't see me more often through the winter is the issue of not having a minute to myself most weeks (literally not had chance to clean the RB5 since the last Kiddy meeting!). To my mind people like myself are best not getting involved in critical operations.

I did my bit when I had the time, setting up and running the Evesham club with Fran Cull / Nick Marson all those years ago and can tell anybody who thinks it's an easy thing to do that it most definately isn't!!!

All power and a big thank you to all who give their time up to make racing possible at local, regional and national level.
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