Drivers have your say

[dtslot]

Hi all,,,,I must say,,,,that from comments so far,,,I would agree with Marks 100 % ,,,, also liking Brad's idea of hat draws for lane allocations,
Steve's thoughts of a possible 2 x series per year ,,1 x open and 1 x closed body can am plus F1'S .
Saturday night is retro night The cost is a problem for some , and the idea of scrapping all trophies would help keep the costs down a bit,,,,,,and as has already been said by many,,,,piss off the trophy shit and we might see the numbers stay up towards the end of the series.[and if any little kids turn up ,,they can have some of my dust collectors ]...and just have fun racing our toy cars .
I do hope that James is open to the thoughts of the collective,,,and we to the thoughts of each other
,,,and again ,,,it is Jame's track,,,,so it is his call as to what will or will not change,,,sure am glad he has kept the tracks running for so long..
looking forward to more thoughts,,,,,,,Darryl

[neiljb]

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would have another say.
I took Wayne's first post as an initiative to improve numbers.
I get the bottom line stays with James. However, if he is approached by some of his customers with the right attitude wanting to improve things, I am sure he will listen.
All the suggestions Wayne made like swapping back to all STR racing, adding a new class, raising fees etc, all end with a question mark, if applied to increasing numbers. Who knows what will happen?
I personally will continue racing Retro whatever is decided on this forum (and agreed to by James). All STR, Sunday $15 - I will race as often as I can. There is always something that gets in the way of attending race day. Make your decision - race or don't race. Just make an effort.
I think the time is here to take a wider at whats good for 'hobby" look at things.
The fact is numbers are declining and if we don't do something different the numbers will continue to diminish.
So change back to all STR. Some of the guys who dropped off might come back. Some of the guys who don't like the short short track might get over it. Wayne Webster is a good example with his 'million laps' on black project. I know that it used to give me nightmares and many a race campaign has been sunk after a bad run on black. So maybe I should take a leaf.
Change to Sunday. It is only one day a month. If numbers don't go up change back to Saturday night or change to another day. Just support the decision.
I am assuming if we go to Sundays that it would earlier rather than later. Again one day a month may not affect James. (up to him) Better still pay the $15 and make us more valuable as customers to James.
Perhaps the 'club racing' can move to Sunday and the 'Majors' stay on Saturday.
We should recognise success. James supplies trophy's for the "club championship' at his expense. If he chooses to reward the winners with trophies, we should be gracious enough to accept them. What you do with them afterwards is your business. I like Casey's idea of recycling them after removing the plaque. I might do the same - it would make Marion happy. If we don't get trophies will more people race?
Why not add another class. It is not compulsory to race. It might attract new racers! Who will build for the non builders? Builders who want to. It might be nice to have more racers than chassis.
Discussion on qualifying, semis, 3 min etc is a moot point. At the moment if we get a couple of volunteer marshals we are running mains only and often with vacant lanes. I would rather get to the point of having semi's before giving myself brain damage working out how to run them. I probably think it is up to James, under the 'he owns the joint rule'.
I won't make any further comment on the Enduros as the pain I endure from my crook knee outweighs the enjoyment I receive. So I am not planning on racing them unless my doctor comes up with some new drugs.
Oh well ……… another long Email from me. I hope everyone understands that this is coming from someone who looks forward to racing every week.
Neil

[ozproducts]

Alright guys now that everyone has had there say it’s now my turn.

SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!!!!!!

I’m going to keep this short and sweet

Big Track

I hate racing retro on this track I find it boring and not enjoyable at all I suggest can it all together or replace the hawk retro with a better faster motor...

HEAT TIMES

I am sick and tired of this 2 min heat bulls&$t we all work very hard on our cars and spend way too much money on them to just race 2 min I want 3...

NEW CLASS

I would like to see a new class added whether it be stock cars or something else to spice things up and add a new challenge.

BIG RACE FORMAT

We have to have semis and a main once again it comes back to we work too long and hard on our cars and we deserve to have this we all love the hobby and the competition so why not make it worthwhile...

ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP

I love the enduros it’s a testament to driver ability no matter who you are and I’m all for a championship...

SUNDAY RACING

I’ll race any day

BUILDING CARS FOR NEW CLASS

Im quite happy to build a few as I’m sure other drivers like dad mark Stoo would help out to build cars for the non builders

TROPHIES

Ive always believed in that racers need something to work towards whether it be a trophy, plaque, or track bucks I’ve always liked getting something as I’ve felt I’ve achieved something for my hard work but that’s just me.

All in all we do need changes as I feel it’s getting boring and we don’t have the numbers we used to no matter what happens I’m still going to come racing as much as I can

Cody Bramble

[SlotBaker]

Seeing as I needed a sit down for a rest, I thought I'd re-read this thread to see if my thoughts had changed, and the only thing that came to mind, is to suggest 'hand out' motors for enduro's and major events.

Also, seeing as James (or any SSME guys) have not chipped in, has any of this discussion been put to the respective managements?
Was there any feedback, either way, or are we maintaining the status quo?

[brady]

Hello All.Steve,I must admit that in this day and age of sealed motors I would go along with the hand out motor thing.But having experinced the handout motor thing with our Model Car Racing brothers I can tell you the cream will still rise to the top.But at least nobody can test a dozen different motors to find a really good one and our rules regarding axle bushings etc.puts everyone on an even keel with rolling resistance and all that stuff.There has been a lot of interest in the U.S. lately with hand out every thing races and set pinions etc.Its something I Would like to see a bit more of here.I am not a fan of sealed motors.I think our Cheetah 4 is about the fairest motor you will find.The others are so inconsistant they are not fair race motors,which is why some people buy a lot to find a good one.But in saying all this I know its not entirely motor that gives a good race car.I would like to give the handout thing a go, at least for a couple of races.Regards Brad.

[SlotBaker]

Brad, I agree, usually the 'best' racers usually prevail.
Those guys who do all the testing, adjusting, and re-testing seem to have all the luck, eh!!

I like the handout motor idea, and have participated in a few races where the motors were very even overall.
Some start off a bit slower than others, but those motors seem to be quicker at the end.

[stoo23]

Hey Brad & Steve,.. Definitely agree regarding the Cheetah 4 !! Most are pretty good and they seem to be very Even, performance wise,.. although One Can every now and then, get a really exceptional one !!,..

With the Extreme 'Variance' of Both the Hawk AND Retro Hawk motors, AND How Long they can take to 'Run-In' etc,.. am rather Unsure just How having 'Hand-Out' motors would Alleviate Any Performance Differences and provide Fair and Equal performance / Racing as such.

Would Still be as much a 'Lottery' as it is atm, as far as getting a Dud,.. or Extremely 'Ordinary' motor !!

Hand-Outs are a Good way of Denying ANY real form of Cheating and Pre=Preparation etc, but within the general Retro 'Ranks', I would Doubt and Sincerely Hope that there is NO One actually 'bothering' to cheat !!!

I Did like the 'Flexi' Enduro races we had some time ago at HSC and SSME, with both Hand-Out Parma motors and Parma Tyres !!
Certainly Made it Pretty dam Equal for everyone,.. at the 'Get-Go' as such and the racing was Very Good and a whole lot of fun

The Performance of Those motors, was VERY EVEN I thought and the tyres were Great and made for a Very Level 'Playing field' as such

Not sure How to resolve the Variance in GT-1 and Retro Hawk Modes ?? Let alone the Much 'Lighter' New GT-1 chassis etc