Well, first up, May I thank you James for your Most Gracious apology and reply.
In reference to Kim's last post, Hmm,.... Somehow I doubt I could Bring myself to 'Dirty the Retro Waters' per-se by building Anything for such a Great Class with ANY Plafit parts !!!,..
As for Revenge!!??,..well,..that Just isn't My style or general attitude in Life let alone slot car racing and to be Honest, I have No need to take revenge against Anyone, let alone James.
I thoroughly enjoy racing against racers of the Quality and attitude of James. Not Only is he a Damn Nice bloke generally, he IS, as has been noted by Noel, a Great Track owner.
He is a tough, Skilled driver and he and I have had Many a Close and enjoyable finish in Many fantastic races as can easily be ascertained by reading any of my race reports.
I guess that is partly why I had/have been so upset and dismayed by what has transpired, as I simply could Not understand why (as has become so patently obvious) Everyone Else seemed to Know about this Unique Exclusion apart from myself.
Referring to some of the points made in your reply James,..Yes, I do recall Our initial conversation, but also remember suggesting to you, that the SLPJ/SLP1, Had as far as the rules which were Already in place was and Should be Legal, pointing out that it was Once again, the SLP2 that was Not legal.
May I suggest it was NOT when the APC came along that this situation occurred, but well Prior to that time, in fact may I refer you to the
HORNSBY Slot Cars 2010 Group C rules, which are still available on the ASCRA web site,
See here;
http://ascra.com.au/pdf/Hornsby/2010_Group_C.pdf
From that document;
7. CHASSIS
7.1. Any PLAFIT 1700 series chassis may be used with the exception of the SLP?2.
7.2. The chassis must be assembled according to the manufacturers intended design using nuts and bolts.
7.3. Only parts manufactured by Plafit for the 1700 series chassis may be used except as may be specifically
allowed in this rule set. Parts unique to the SLP?2 chassis may not be used.
That Statement was the Basis of what I was trying to suggest to yourself and Wayne at the time of our initial conversation and IS in fact what I had/have been trying to suggest to Most people Including all the Local racers for some time now.
I would have to suggest that as you pointed out it has actually been quite some time that People South of the Qld' border had Brain Fades, or More correctly either the inability to read and interpret Clear and concise Rules written in English, although somehow, I doubt Many even bothered to actually Read the aforementioned rules.
As far as I am aware, Until Very recently (being the recent APC held at HSC), for Plafit racing at HSC, we had been running under the 2009 Qld' Plafit rules, (from which the above HSC 2010 rules set had been derived).
I believe the Confusion of these SLP style chassis may actually have come about from the aborted PEC and it's rule set, which DID exclude Both SLP1/J and SLP2 style chassis.
BUT as you have also pointed out the chassis was Legal at this Years APC and I must give Credo to Cameron for being Smart and Sharp enough to also realise what I had in reading the rules and realizing the SLPJ WAS quite Clearly Legal.
I must say though, that I Do take exception to the suggestion of a conversation that ended with as you put it a '
Dispensation' for me to race the car in Our local club championship.
I am Honestly completely Unaware of that word entering into ANY conversation I have had about these cars, with Anyone.
I think you may be referring to the conversation I had with Wayne, when I actually purchased the chassis and the other parts to build it and in that regard, I clearly remember asking once again whether the Lexan Group C rules Were in effect the same as the Hard Body rules and Once Again re-iterated the "Any 1700 based chassis" section of the existing rules.
It WAS Because of that statement in the rules that I went ahead and purchased the chassis as, as far as I could understand it was Completely Legal and therefore needed No Special Dispensation to be raced.
Honestly, I would NOT have or even been remotely interested in Racing under ANY formal or informal Dispensation!
Like I Keep saying, the Only Existing Group C rules had made it Patently clear that it could be used and as No Lexan Specific rules had been written or discussed then it should Not have even been an Issue.
May I say I am amazed and completely unaware of your Specific Protest of this chassis at the recent HSC APC,..but I guess it could be suggested a somewhat untenable situation since the Same rule was included in the Previous Years HSC Group C rule set.
I DO however take exception to your comment regarding NOT making myself more 'visible' at the APC!!
I spent Nearly ALL day at HSC until quite late on the Friday Official Testing Day and days Prior to that both Testing and Tuning My cars and working with Wayne, Troy, Cody and others in the pits,..Especially with regard to the 1/24th Classic and 1/32 Modern GT cars.
In fact it was due to this Testing and the Fact that My 917 Porsche was so fast, that prompted Wayne to 'Prepare' similar 917 bodies for both Cody and Troy.
We all worked for many hours trying different Ratios and in fact Troy and Cody both tried their cars with My 917 body mounted to Prove to themselves that their Own cars Were Quicker with that body fitted!
Believe me I was Particularly annoyed with Myself for Sleeping In on the first Race Day of the APC, apart from missing the races Myself, I had also agreed to pick up Wayne's daughter and bring her to the Track.
For that I Was Most apologetic, but it had been a Very hard Work week for Myself with Many 14 to 18 hour days at work, let alone late night Car prep for the APC,..I Was VERY Annoyed with Myself, as after testing, I really Was most definitely looking forward to it, as I believed I had a Real Shot at both 1/32 Division 2 and 1/24th CanAm/Classics.
I Did eventually turn up on the Saturday as you are well aware.
I watched the Group C races and in Fact stayed at the track until Very late in the evening, due to a Most Gracious offer of a car to race by Jimmy Patterson in the following days JGT class.
In fact I stayed at the Track to Make the Necessary changes and 'Prep' of the JGT cars and in fact helped a few Other fit the Hand-out motors.
I did also turn up on the Sunday to race, but you are aware I believe of what occurred that day and needs no further re-iteration.
I WAS at the time slightly annoyed and so after a short period I took my leave and returned home, as by that stage, I was to be honest,..Over it.
So may I say,..I think for the Most part I Was 'Fairly Visible' and during that time, was Not aware of ANY of the Converstaions/protests to which you refer.
To be honest James, after the Many conversations we have All had at various times at HSC, that I am somewhat taken aback by the suggestion that We/HSC try to follow the APC rules for Plafit racing. As Until recently, I was under the belief that we were following the 2009 Qld' championship Plafit rules, but it matters Not.
As far as Rules go, I guess as can be gleaned from this particular 'Mess' they DO need to be Written/Made available and be as clear as possible to hopefully Avoid this type of situation.
Being as busy as you are running arguably one of the Best Slot racing centres in the country I can completely understand that you may very well have a long list of unfinished 'To Do' items, but like with the recent MCN, I am more than happy to Help out in formulating and getting the relevant rules and subsequent questions by the racers 'sorted', as I just want the Great racing we are fortunate to experience at HSC to continue and to Grow for the benefit of ALL racers.
Which brings us back to Our Local Races and the Subsequent 'Complaints' regarding the 'Legality' of My Group C car.
May I say I am personally Very Sorry to have placed you in such a Difficult Position (with regard to the Suggested Special Dispensation applied to myself and My car).
Had I been even Vaguely aware of the fact that there Were Any complaints or as mentioned, aware that I was 'Apparently' racing my car under some form of Special arrangement I would have been More than happy to have atleast had some discussion regarding the matter at worst.
May I officially apologize to you once again for placing you in a difficult position over this matter and may I also thank you for your Most Kind Offer of a Refund or Exchange.
I am at the moment unsure as to what I intend to do, as I am unfortunately in a rather bad situation financially, making it rather difficult to know whether I can really even afford to do much if Any further racing, in ANY class this year. Covering the Entry Fees and petrol required to attend will be difficult, let alone the purchase of any required Spares etc to continue to compete.
Once again I thank you and apologize for the inadvertent difficulties and confusion that these damned Plafit cars have once again caused.
In that regard and Specifically regarding Our Local Club Championship and all the Annoyed local racers, may I say I Have and Do Not Ever want to Race under Any Special Personal Dispensations or conditions.
I want to race Under the Rules as applied, I do Not want to Race or Win what would be or is in effect a Hollow Championship or Victory, I Could suggest that perhaps like Cameron and myself, you Should have read the Rules.
I believe I Do Prepare and race my cars Completely Legally.
The concept or suggestion of Cheating or Rule bending is to be honest a complete Anaethema to me and I believe in that regard I HAVE tried to Follow, Race and compete in the True 'Spirit of the rules, which is why I have tried to make my cars appear appropriate, by making My Own Decals for my cars so that they DO In effect truly Reflect the cars that actually Did race in real life as suggested by the various Rules.
So in closing and hopefully to represent My true attitude towards both yourself, the centre and my fellow racers, although it erks me to do so, (as Until recently as stated I believed I was doing Nothing inconsistent within the framework of the rules as I understood them),
Officially request that ALL my Points/Wins in our Local Club Group C Championship be Removed.
I will also Not compete in this class in the Final round of the championship, allowing those who have been affected/offended in this matter to compete and finalise the championship in the manner that they obviously wish it to be conducted.
As much as I am personally annoyed and somewhat offended myself over this matter, I believe it is the Only thing I can do to End the apparent Whingeing and obvious Distress this has appeared to have caused my fellow racers.
May I also suggest to those Same Fellow racers, that discussion and discourse Face to Face in a non confrontational manner is what Can and Will sort these problems out and IS in fact what I have often suggested this Forum IS about.
The discussion and dissemination of Ideas and suggestions etc to the benefit of all.
Considering how long this has obviously been 'festering', perhaps a discussion Should have been entered into concerning the matter at one of the Race meetings to have cleared the matter up Well before this time.
Personally and for those unsure you can check with either Wayne or James, I have NEVER complained about ANY one that I Race with, their cars or Their attitude, either On or Off track and considering how open and free I am with technical and driving help to my fellow racers, often offering my Spare cars to those without to join us in the Fun, I say to you Now,..Watch Out !!!
No More Mr Nice guy.
In the classes where My Cars or myself Can NOT be called or placed under suspicion, I will be Racing As Hard if Not even harder than I normally do.
Sorry to have Annoyed you all,..but this situation Has really Annoyed me and gone a Long way to Now making me feel Quite uncomfortable about both my racing and appearance at HSC generally and kind of put a Sad damper on my own personal Fun and enjoyment of this simple Hobby/Sport.
I am as I said unsure whether I will attempt to race in the Group C class at the State Titles as I will have little time or money to allow myself to prepare and tune a car suitably to compete as effectively as I usually and would like to for an event of that nature,..I guess, time will tell.
