New National Format

[rich_cree]

What do people think about this idea for BRCA Nationals:

Run 2wd and 4wd simultaneously over the two days (Sat and Sun) so the format would be something like this >>>>>>>>>>

Sat:

2wd and 4wd practice (2 rounds of each) followed by 2 rounds of qualifying.

Sun:

2wd and 4wd three further rounds of qualifying followed by finals

.................................................. .............................................

Of course this is bad for people that only do one class but our nationals are way oversubscribed so I'm sure they would still get full entries.

The main benefit of this would be everyone has a better chance to get used to the track, removing some of the home track advantage plus each driver willl have had 4 practices before having to qualify (albeit 2 2wd and 2 4wd runs).

It also might create more of a big event feel as everything builds up to the end of sunday?

[telboy]

sounds good.
would it be too much for some people running two classes in one day though?

[ashleyb4]

Nice idea rish but what about peopel who dont have equipment for 4wd and 2wd i havent got a problem but there are some people who run the same equipment in 2wd and 4wd this will mean they are forever switchig there kit between cars. Also its not that easy to swtich between the two classes. So instead of only making one change you will now be making 3 changes between. Also people who only do one class will be waiting around for a long time. But also i do agree iwth the ide aof having it all finish on sunday i thinkthat would be nice. But personally i dont think it would work it would get confusing for everyone.

A

My few pence

[Col]

I can't see anybody with enough money to run around the county not having enough equipment to run both classes, but I could be wrong....

[ashleyb4]

There are some people i used to do it for a while before i saved for brushless.

[emzy]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I don't like the idea.

I agree with what Ashley says about people who don't have enough equipment to cover two cars. And also people who only do one class because they can't be away for full weekends as well as people who do one class by choice having to wait around. And as well, if a person breaks both their cars in the same round, even with the big gaps it'll be hectic, maybe TOO hectic.

I'm sure I could think of another few problems with it but I'm a bit tired...

Although I can also see the logic, I just don't like the idea of it or think it'd work. Sorry!

[losixxx]

nope, sorry i don't like it, it takes me long enough to get used to a track running one class let alone 2 in the same day. also what happens at a track like oswestry on grass, will you run the same track for both days? or change like now. if 2 days will the track hold up?
also rich would it be sat 2 rounds quali for each class and 3 rounds for each class sunday as if not you will end up doing less racing than a normal national weekend, either way the hours won't add up, you will either have less racing or have to run on sunday 6 rounds of quali and 2 lots of finals i can imagine finish

[telboy]

depending on entry numbers, would it actually be a shorter day?

[emzy]

At a normal National we have 80 races on a Saturday and 74 on a Sunday (I've included 4 qualifiers, finals plus 2 extra A legs and a practice round - I realise we have 2 but they don't usually last 5 minutes each).

With the suggested format it would mean 100 races on the Saturday (13 2wd heats, 12 4wd) and 125 on the Sunday.

... ouch!

(you can tell I'm bored / shattered when I start working things out...!)

[MarkWesterfield]

the tracks over here in the usa get pretty beat up by the time the mains are up after running 2wd, 4wd, and truck classes. You can see the lap times get slower each round because of track wear and tear. If you guys are enjoying your current format, I wouldn't suggest changing it. Your way seems like much less stress.

[trekkerkk]

sorry rich,
personally i dont like the idea,
ive tried doing 2 classes in a day and i struggle with changing driving styles,

trekkker

[Lee Martin]

yeh i agree....changing driver styles is hard work!!!

hence why i cant seem to do well at cactus...

messes u up!

[OldTimer]

Some people cannot make both saturday and a sunday currently at nationals, so this would rule them out completely :rolleyes:

[k£v!n]

Regarding driving style i have noticed that i am driving better with my b4 then before when i had 6 cars. I have seamed to foces more just on the one car!

[Chrislong]

I really don't like this idea.

As for disabling one car to run the other, Craig Collinson was sharing shock absorber parts between two cars at the last few meetings I have seen him at...

What if we have one of those weekends, nice and dry Saturday and p!$$!ng down on Sunday. As it stands I only have one car to clean, with this format I would have two cars to clean after Sunday and would be likely that id just pack up to be honest.

Also, I really like the current race format. Whats the issue with home track advantage anyway, this exists at all purpose built tracks and it works for us at some venues and against at others, then some people are naturally good on some track types... Surely this exists on all forms of motorsport?

[Bathy]

Sounds ACE, lets DO IT!

[millzy]

Dont like it sorry

keep it how it is or make 4wd on sat and 2wd on sun

[Southwell]

I recon 4wd sat 2wd sun.

[jimmy]

I like it rich, sounds more exciting

[woOdy]

Sorry if this has been said before but say like if you have only 1 speedo/electrics and you swap from 2wd to 4wd? this would be a problem.

[MarkWesterfield]

You guys should try to come to more races in the US and try it. Honestly, by the pics on Jimmy's site here, it looks like you guys are having more fun than us.

[rich_cree]

Blimey, that got more responses than I thought!

As for how long the days would be, maybe I was optimistic with an extra qualifying round, but if we still have four rounds of qualifying then theres no more races to be run over the weekend than there is currently so the days would be identical, if not possible a bit shorter due to there only being one stop needed after practise to reseed heats, instead of two stops.

As for what happens if you break both your cars, this would be exactly the same as if you broke your 2wd in rd 1 then did the same in round two. You would expect the same ammount of time between hitting the track (1.5 hrs or so).

Personally I find the different track layouts take longer to get used to than hopping from one car to another (might help you do better at the cactus too Lee? :) ).

I also think the track deteriorating over the course of a meeting is one of the best aspects of off road racing. I'd also say that most tracks (if they are going to cut up) tend to be pretty much blown out after a couple of rounds and changing the layout for 4wd generally just makes practise a bit of a waste of time. If it gets too bad you can still alter the track for day 2, just like they do when it rains.

I do see the problem with only having one set of electronics too, also folk who have to work on a saturday or sunday. Just wanted to gauge opinion, so far negative sums it up best!!!

[Jamie B4]

Rich,

Not too sure about your idea but I am in total agreement that something needs to be done to stop the locals having such an advantage, again you can almost predict who is going to be in the majority of the A finals and for the "nearly made it"'s its the same old story.

I bet that most of the A finalists have practiced on the track for about 3 months before

J

[Lee Martin]

i dont think our A finalists practised 3 months before...

some have yeh agreed...

but either me or daz had been to bury, even for a meeting....

i think the same goes for ellis....

[Chris Doughty]

last time I raced at Bury Metro was the national before this one, I got second in 4WD and 7th(I think) in 2WD...

[Reevsey]

As it seems the main issue with Rich's plan is people running the same electrics in both cars how would people feel about the following which i belive would take away home advantage to a certain extent and take away any need to visit a national track before a national.

4 2wd nationals (Best 3 to count) Sat practice Day Sunday race Day
4 4wd nationals (Best 3 to count) Sat practice Day Sunday race Day

Benefits that i can see

Potential for a day practice before race day
only one car to get ready for a weekend
no need to brave the friday night traffic on motor ways as you could travel up sat morning
Potential for people that stay in hotels to only have one night rather than 2 which may mean over the course of the season 8 nights v 12 nights if you always stay over on the friday night
Potential to use less tyres if you do not always run new in practice
more clubs could hold nationals
If you work Saturdays you could now compete at 2wd nationalsIssues i can see

2 more weekends in an already packed calander
Clubs would potential only get paid for a Sunday race meeting where as they currently get paid for a Sat & Sunday meetingWhat are peoples thoughts?

[_sleigh_]

Now that is not bad, not bad at all :)

[Kopite]

Not sure if i go for this local advantage stuff really. yeah, you'll get a few surprises in the A final at certain tracks during the year, but the overall positions in the championship will even itself out throughout the course of the season.

I do like the sound of this idea for the nationals myself , but to be fair to all competitors, i just can't see it happening. i know too many people who work saturdays for a start!! And yeah, imagine what a ballache swapping speedo's round throughout the day would be!! :o

[Northy]

Who really only has 1 speedo that they use in both cars?

Come on, hands up....... :o

G

[Reevsey]

Another benefit of running nationals to my sugggested format would be practice on the Sunday morning could be cut down there for giving us a chance to get away earlier so most people can be home at a decent time on a Sunday.....

Regarding Home advantage, i am afraid as the tracks that want to hold nationals are generally the purpose built tracks it is becoming more relevant to practice at these tracks to ensure you are good to go on the Day, It is why people such as Neil Crag, Tom Yardy & Phil Sleigh etc have made the effert to visit Stotfold already and yes there are guys such as Lee and Bloomers that don't practice at the tracks but can perform on the day. I do some of the kiddy winter series meetings as i feel the need to practice at these tracks to give myself the best opportunity but reality is some tracks are just to far for all of us to practice at.

[rich_cree]

Si mate, cracking plan! That is really superb.

I'll sign up for that.

[trekkerkk]

thats a really good idea si,
deffinately gets my vote,

trekkker

[TRF_Tastic]

Maybe cut out all the practice on sunday and have extra heats???

I would defo be up for a spot of that!!

[Reevsey]

Yea i guess we could have booking in on the Sat afternoon and maybe finish the day with a controlled practice run to check xtals etc so we were good to go first thing Sunday morning which would mean we could get 140 people booked in??????? and still finish on time........;) (but could be a problem for people who decide not to turn up on the saturday. i think about 60% of tc national entries turn up on the Saturday with the rest just comming along on the Sunday though so may have to have a 2 min practice run Sunday morning)

Paul Worsley mave have a small heart attached with more drivers to manage though.........but it is an idea at this stage.

If more people think it is a good idea i will propose it at AGM time

[losixxx]

think the main problem would be the extra 2 weekend's, especially for the brca team, they already do 9 weekends per year with the nationals, end of season/indoors finals, plus for regions trying to fit in a full series with 2 less weekends to use. ive tried to get a 2 day regional in midwest for 2 years but keep getting told people have trouble getting more saturdays off!
imho it aint broke so don't try and fix it

[Chrislong]

I like Si's idea, that would rock.

Recently, I been thinking to myself how fast seasons come and go - i.e. right now we have had 3 rounds of the nationals and feels like we have hit the 50% marker early in the calender.... although things like the Worlds and Euros need to be avoided, but id like the summer season to be longer (and drier) than the winter indoor season..

Chris

[modelimages]

chris
see your point about not being broke but we are turning away people from nationals with 20+ reserves, we need to look at the format to see if we can get more heats.

my suggestion run it like the euro's first day practice and 2 rounds of qualifying, then second day 3 rounds and finals. yes it stops people who cannot attend saturday but there are 150 people who can and do.

there are advantages on running a single class weekend but of course you will need more of them.

[Southwell]

This would put me off some of the far away nationals, I would have to get more time off work and sacrifice more holidays to do them all.

[spenner]

Im with Si and John on this,
The idea of 4 and 4 is great, i would also prefer Sat: 2 Rounds of practice + 2 rounds of Quali then 2/3 rounds on sunday plus finals.
Numbers can increase allowing our nationals to be MASSIVE. Also keeps the carnival atmosphere.
I would say most people attend nationals for the social side as well as the racing ???

The friday's don't really bother me (personally) it's the travelling home from your Tiverton's, Bury's and Southport's on a sunday evening.

[Northy]

it's the travelling home from your Tiverton's, Bury's and Southport's on a sunday evening.

What do you think it's like for people traveling back from Tiverton when they have to travel south to get to the likes of Bury and Southport :mad: :mad:

G

[losixxx]

the other issue i can see when increasing the entry would be pitting, some of this years venues struggle to accomodate the current turnout let alone even more. plus i would say that the top % of drivers are already racing the series and because it is for the top drivers really why does it need to be extended, isnt that what the regional series is for.

with people maybe turning up sat am or pm, does everybody want saturday practice to be unmarshalled all day? i wouldnt

but my main gripe would as i said earlier be the extra 2 weekends!

[Lee]

Its a good idea if there is qualifying on a saturday afternoon and practice is controlled on a saturday morning.

The way it was in TC its open practice saturday and if you didnt get chance to practice on a saturday you might as well not bother turning up on the sunday to race.

At the end of the day you will still have the fast guys at the top and the slower ones below them. No matter what the format is.

[PaulRotheram]

i find it hard enough getting one car to perform per day, never mind two on the same.. it'd make things too busy id of thought. I like the relaxed atmosphere at nationals, and it gives me a chance to recover on the sunday after downing the drinks on saturday!

What would happen for heat seedings? people are in different heats 2wd/4wd currently due to different placings through the year. My 4wd performance has outshined my 2wd by miles, so i could well be racing close together between the two classes?

[Northy]

Who really only has 1 speedo that they use in both cars?

Come on, hands up....... :o

G

1 speedo, anyone, dust, anyone? :confused:

[PaulRotheram]

i used to.

[Northy]

i used to.

Gypsy! :D :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsies

[PaulRotheram]

not my fault i cant afford £260 for two escs! and i still cant!

[super__dan]

For many of the reasons above (I have more than 1 speedo) I would prefer to leave it as is, than the options propossed. My main reason though is the getting used to two different driving styles on the same day.

I really enjoy them as they are, no reason to risk changing for me!

[Lee]

Thanks G

I never realised:

Gypsy people (i.e. a nomadic people living mostly amongst non-nomadic people) or those who use the same speed controller in 2wd and 4wd on the same weekend.

From Northy`s link on wiki:D

[Chrislong]

plus i would say that the top % of drivers are already racing the series


Thats true, but I have noticed how much better the standard of driving is right accross the %age's. The gap from middle to top is far closer than I remember it, and a sneeze is the diffence between the B and the D final and its far harder to predict the top 10 at each event than say 2-3 years ago. Not sure how relevant what I said here is to to the topic.

[Chris Doughty]

I don't like Cree's idea (sorry mate) I don't know how the americans can adapt racing 2WD, 4WD and truck back to back, I would certainly not be able to.

I like Si's idea a lot, a whole day of practise thats OPTIONAL is great. maybe if it was praccy on a slightly different 'layout' that would give people the chance to dial in their car to the venue but not have super knowledge of the exact layout that would might not be fair on people that can only attend sunday.

I think having Si's idea but with counting rounds of qually on sat would not work so well and defeat the object of his idea, it means LESS time on the track before you need to put runs in that COUNT.

im not sure if its 'better' than the current format or not, but I like the idea.

coming back to bury metro, I did feel way more skillful racing in the later quallys and finals than earlier on in the day. it would have been nice to have started the day from round4

[MarkWesterfield]

Imagine how expensive it is to pay for 3 classes, have decent batteries for three classes, rebuild shocks for three classes, have multiple chargers, corner marshal for three classes, have transponders for three classes, tires for three classes, etc. After a weekend of running three classes on a sunday, your drained, your poor, and you feel like you just got done with work (to travel home to go to bed to wake up for actual work on monday). Being an American reading your forum and looking at the pictures on this website, it sounds and looks like you guys are having alot more fun than us over here in America.

[PaulRotheram]

Maybe cut out all the practice on sunday and have extra heats???

I would defo be up for a spot of that!!

just saw this.. what about the people who can only go on sundays, surely they'd be at a huge dissadvantage?

i like the idea though, as id be able to do it mi self.. but itd be abit unfair to turn up on a sunday and thrown straight in to qualifying whilst other people have had a days track time with their car on the track.

[Lee]

If you want off road to go like tourers then a free practice day will do it, as it is now people get 5 mins per class to get a rough setup and learn the track, its down to pure talent and small setup changes there on in, if there was a day to setup the cars then think of the extra expense, ie people will experiment with tyre compounds, inserts etc never mind all the suspension possibilities.
Right now tenth Off Road is by far the Best class by miles in my opinion, if we could get more people into the nationals that is the only way i think it could be improved.

[Reevsey]

Personally i can't see it going the same way as TC, we all run the same compound of tyre and in the main most inserts people run are very similar but you are correct in that the more time people have to test the more different combinations they will try but for me off road is more about getting around the track, something i find harder as i get older ;)

Couple of reasons i would like to see a change which might be food for though are as follows

If we had a practice day i would not need to visit as many national venus as possible before a national, this would save me money, time but most important off all it would see me racing more at my local club and helping grass roots racing as i would not need to be traveling the country over the winter
I am not convinced our current format helps get youngsters into the sport. If you were a parent and not into RC it is a big comitment to take your Son/Daughter away for a whole weekend returning them home late at night on a Sunday knackered for a week of school ahead of them
There are alot of us that are also getting older and still enjoying our Nationals but i certainly have alot more responsibilties out side of RC. Not having to get away on a friday afternoon to a national and getting home earlier on a Sunday so when i go into work at 7.30 am on a monday i am not completely knackered will see me racing at nationals longer as well as the first point above.I do think the current Format we have is great and i can understand why people would not what to change it, i just think we maybe able to make it slightly better, more accessable to all and maybe even put it into a better place to grow the future of Off road RC on all levels

thoughts?

[telboy]

1 speedo, anyone, dust, anyone? :confused:


That'll be me then.;)

Want me to read your palm?:D

[OldTimer]

Again people who can only make one day are screwed :(

[losixxx]

people who struggle to make the current 6 weekends are screwed!

[MattW]

Under Si's suggestion, if someone wants to turn up on a sunday and race - they can (I think!) It's just being suggested that Saturday could be an official practice day. He and I have spoken about the idea a few times in the past.

Now, as many will know, i race touring car nationals. I have to admit i find the national format much "easier", for all of the reasons that Si has suggested. I don't need to try to negociate an early finish/day's holiday for every national. I don't have to have travelled to the track twice before the meeting to practice - as i can do that on a saturday.

For me it's a winner i have to say, i'd vote for it in a flash.

Have to say i'd be prepared to give Cree's idea a go as well as it happens - but would personally prefer to go with the Reeves suggestion.

[OldTimer]

But it gives the people who can make both days a big advantage, currently that is not the case. At tiverton this year people who only raced on the Sunday were given extra practise as the track was unchanged from Saturday to help reduce any advantage.

I am not against change at all but all the angles need to be covered / discussed.

My own thoughts are to leave it as it is but actual have more nationals say 8 but still only four to count and you can only enter 6 of the 8. This would let more people actual race, and more clubs to get nationals around the country.

[Chris Doughty]

But it gives the people who can make both days a big advantage, currently that is not the case. At tiverton this year people who only raced on the Sunday were given extra practise as the track was unchanged from Saturday to help reduce any advantage.

I am not against change at all but all the angles need to be covered / discussed.

My own thoughts are to leave it as it is but actual have more nationals say 8 but still only four to count and you can only enter 6 of the 8. This would let more people actual race, and more clubs to get nationals around the country.

your first comment, it does give the people that make the practise day an advantage, BUT in the current format, it ONLY gives the advantage to the locals that have been able to race on the track every week for 3 months prior to the event, I think it actually makes it fairer.

the last idea would not work, I can see people trying to find out which events Cragg is doing to make sure they book into the 2 events that Cragg is not able to do so they get a 'free ride'

[trekkerkk]

personally off everything discussed saturday practise and sunday racing,
is the best so far,
for me travelling up saturday morning then travelling back sunday afternoon/evening is far more enticing than the current format,
like si says,one night away for me is a big advantage,
it deffinately would help close the gaps on the locals also,

trekkker

[Lee]

Travelling seems to be a big issue and also the early dart factor on a friday afternoon, so how about a Northern National series and a Southern series and then a final weekend to decide who the national champion is which would be held on a track that has not been used for either of the two championships, This would allow 250 people to race on one weekend and guarantee the best drivers at the final weekend.

Just a thought?

[niggs98]

really like si's idea and think it would really work on a lot of levels like no home advantage with all day practise ( i know it would of helped me a lot last year with my first year into the national series). possibilties of running a round or 2 of qualifying on the saturday afternoon will allow more people to enter the national series meening smaller numbers on the reserve list and those returning to national racing after a long lay off wont struggle to get in just because they are an f5 even tho they may of been an f1 a few years before etc. also with 8 race dates it will allow the use of more tracks (again reducing anyones home advantage) meening the brca will be giving money to more tracks to be ploughed back into the sport and give the newbies/juniors etc a chance to see the likes of Cragg etc to watch there lines see how they drive find out setups and improve there own abilities and talk to them to gain more info which will help there enjoyment and improve driving standards across the board because of it, this intern could lead to advertising in local papers etc to gain more recognition for the sport and get more racers at club meetings (again helping the sport)

also with the posibilityof earlier finishes on a sunday it will help me especially when i still have over an hour to drive :o

[emzy]

I'm afraid I'm party pooping again - I don't like Si's idea either.

This is just me but I get 4 Saturdays off a year and already use the 4 plus a random sick / non-paid for the 5th or 6th and for any family holiday. Stick in an extra 2 weekends and I'm screwed,

Would it be 3 from 4 to count? Doesn't give much leeway for missing events. This year was the first year I've done Tiverton because its just way too far and I'm not sure if we'd go again. So if I needed to miss another National for exams or whatever, I'm screwed there too.

Yep, I know I'm just talking about me but well... I'm hungover so I'm being selfish.

I know I (and other Saturday workers) could miss the Saturday but really... what's the point of racing at all if everyone else has had a full day practicing?

[Chris Doughty]

I know I (and other Saturday workers) could miss the Saturday but really... what's the point of racing at all if everyone else has had a full day practicing?

what is the point of racing if people have had months of practise on the track because its their local track?

if I had to choose between racing against someone who lived at the track and someone who had 1 day of practise I know which one I would prefer

[emzy]

At the end of the day, someone who lives at the track will still have had months of practice.

[trekkerkk]

the big thing for myself is it takes me a while to learn a track,
i did the euros in france 2005 where the practice was extensive to say the least i managed to close the gap down to drivers that i normally wouldnt get anywere near,so having the saturday as practise i can see being a huge advantage for people like myself that take a while to get going,

trekkker

[Chris Doughty]

At the end of the day, someone who lives at the track will still have had months of practice.

I completely agree,

but giving everyone the opertunity to have a day praccy would level it out a bit.

the initial learning curve for a track is really steep, after your first few laps on the track you are taking seconds off your time each go...

once you have had 2 or 3 runs you are only shaving very little off your times each lap, maybe not even that, just getting more familar with 'racing' on the track.

the differance between a month of praccy and no praccy is quite a lot.
the differance between a month of praccy and a day praccy is far far less.

[PaulRotheram]

your forgetting a hugh impract a national has on clubs, southport has had loads of visitors this year, all wanting practise for the national, giving us more popularity which we need, and alot more income.. take that away and you'l not had many clubs left. I'm pretty sure other clubs have had more drivers visiting also.

current format is the bomb, dont change it.. it helps everyone. for the sake of a days racing, and the current format, i much prefer the later due to the impact it has on clubs all through the year, not just one weekend.

[Chrislong]

your forgetting a hugh impract a national has on clubs, southport has had loads of visitors this year, all wanting practise for the national, giving us more popularity which we need, and alot more income.. take that away and you'l not had many clubs left. I'm pretty sure other clubs have had more drivers visiting also.


Thats very true, I forgot about that. There is less loyalty to clubs nowadays, for example - Bury had many busy club meetings leading up to the national and now it has passed its back to small club meetings (the weather playing a part in that too) consisting of its hardy club members.... in the meantime, there a handful of us who'd usually be elsewhere (Bury/Batley) and are now going to Southport & boosting there heats.

[Reevsey]

I think this is a very good point, but i think the benefit from my idea is that you would not need to visit the venus so much before a national. This would ensure people spent more time at their local club supporting their grass roots racing encouraging racing to grow over the UK as a whole and not at key clubs because they have a national that year.

If you take Chris's point Bury metro will be suffering from a boom with loads of people wanting to use the facility but not many wanting to help with the club so they get some short term growth and funds but as soon as the national passes they are in their bust cycle where every one moves on and only the hard core local club memebers remain. This situation i can't see helping a club long term.

I personaly feel my idea has come from the amount of purpose built tracks that we now race on (not having a go at these tracks as they all have great facilities and in the last few years we have been lucky that they have asked to hold nationals) if i think back to Aylesbury/Worksop/Bury St Edmunds & Holbech etc there was more of a split between what i would classify a level playing feild track v a track you really need to practice on before a national.

I know not all are keen on some of the mentioned tracks but i think it does cut down the cost of racing over the course of a season

[neiloliver]

i WISH I could gain some form of advantage from Oswestry, but seeing that we never race on the field it makes no difference whatsoever! I think the current format is fine, it runs like clockwork and that has taken some years to perfect. I am not saying charge is not a good thing, but i dont really see what you gain? apart from more practise which is BORING. Chuck 'em down and get qualifying i say...

ps - prep for Oz is going very well :)

[andy05]

I think the current format is great

[MattW]

For me, the merits of this suggestion is the practice on tracks that because of geographical location, many of us do not get to race on from year to year.

Maybe if the venues were a little more spread then it would at least help?? Say no more than one venue per region??

[MarkWesterfield]

The individual clubs really need to work harder at getting more people intrested in the hobby and racing that live in the areas around that club. Your never going to win a battle over racers that travel, your best bet is to focus on getting more local racers.

Over here in America, 1/8 nitro off-road is popular right now, but the weekly club racing is poor. The racers are traveling from trophy race to trophy race and skipping the weekly club racing. So now all the hobby shops are trying to "one up" the other trophy races by the other tracks in order to win over the existing traveling racers. Every week a different track is throwing a trophy race right now, making each trophy race worth less. The track owners should have focused on getting new racers instead trying to keep racers that were not intrested in racing at the same track all the time.

As far as having an extra day of practice. The more dedicated and talented drivers will win every time, but keeping racing simple, affordable, and fun will bring in more racers. More people can do a 1 day race than a 2 day race, period. It takes less time, less comittment, and less money. Be very carefull when listening to the suggestions from the "racers", they will spoil themselves to extinction if you give in to everything they want.