SORC 2013 ideas

[Racing Snake]

If you have any constructive ideas for the 2013 season then please post them in this thread.

We can always improve things

[D20MCK]

More big air!

[Dave77]

A season that doesnt stop in the middle of summer.

Since the F2s and Regional F345 is based on "previous year grading" there is no need to have the season complete by 12th August.

[D20MCK]

That's a good point Dave, I've been really busy lately and have been unable to attend the last few round but that's it all over now and I have not attended enough rounds to count in the championship this year. Would be nice if we had more outdoor running next year (when I'm not working!!).

[Mr Eccleston]

Originally Posted by Dave77

A season that doesnt stop in the middle of summer.

Since the F2s and Regional F345 is based on "previous year grading" there is no need to have the season complete by 12th August.

Need clarification from John, but although it's last years grades that are used, I think it's this years results that determine the EOS competitors. I always remember having to have the regionals finished before the EOS entries have to be in.

[Mr Eccleston]

Ideas for 2013

More people to turn up at the AGM to develope the ideas and guidelines.

More heats, prefer if it's more racers taking part in the series, but if we need less cars running in a heat so be it. Need it to allow time to get cars ready. If anyone has another format that would work don't be shy, please share.

Referee on rostrum with drivers watching driving, controlling entry and exit to rostrum.

Final rostrum position decided by qualification.

Sand available at all rounds to deal with any lipo problems.

[Dave77]

Originally Posted by Mr Eccleston

Need clarification from John, but although it's last years grades that are used, I think it's this years results that determine the EOS competitors. I always remember having to have the regionals finished before the EOS entries have to be in.

Valid point, understood.

[V6Jim]

Well, the obvious thing is to boost the entries. In my day there was no separate 2WD & 4WD classes. However, I think the two classes are a good idea - effectively boosting the racing numbers.

Publicity is the thing. We (listen to me - I don't even have a car! Yet.) need to make people aware of the existence of this racing series. Facebook is good. Local papers can play their part, as can local TV stations. Hard work by a small core of enthusiasts can make a huge difference in small local groups. Model or toy shops can be a useful hub.

Hopefully, along with this, we can generate one or two more venues. The way things are now reminds me so much of the way things were when we started out in 1985. 20 -30 racers and 3 venues. We developed back then quite quickly into a massively successful series attracting 100+ drivers at most events.

It can be done.

I feel a project coming on...

Jimmy

[Racing Snake]

yes the current seasons positions are used to enter people into the EoS finals however that doesn't mean we couldn't have a winter series

[KennyClark]

Run 2wd & 4wd rounds separate.
2 classes in 1 day is a nightmare.
Plus it would give us more racing.

[Racing Snake]

I've voted Yes to running the classes on separate days as with how stressful it can be I think it's the way forward. The only draw back to this is that I'm not sure we have enough numbers to do this yet but there again it may get more people running both classes.

A lot of thought needs put into this

[Racing Snake]

I would like to see the host clubs put forward a team of maybe 3 or 4 people to help with the running of a race meeting. This would be to assist with race timing/refereeing/scrutineering etc.


In future hopefully with more & more people using the online booking in system that the heats could be generated prior to the event. This would allow for timed practice sessions which allows a fairer spread of practice between the drivers.


Also those that do book in online (hopefully everyone in the future) that then decide not to turn up to an event to give notification of their intent not to race. First it's good manors & second it saves any problems during booking in on the day.


I think the contribution to the SORC Kitty by the host clubs should be increased to £40-£50 per event (paid upfront on on the day of the event) as we always seem to have a good turn out (will only get better) & in some cases the host clubs can be taking in over £300. This would allow the SORC more flexibility & would also mean that the drivers would get a little more back for their dedication.


The SORC to be a personal transponder only championship with no handouts. Most drivers have Pt's these days & this also makes the host clubs life much easier. Also now that the rechargeable transponders are obsolete the SORC would inevitably have to go down this road.


In the instance of a 1 car final a meeting with the final of the drivers above ie B final drivers asking to allow the single driver in thus creating a 11 car final. They would all have to agree as the 11th driver obviously can have a huge effect on the outcome of the final, if even 1 should driver should disagree then it would remain as a single car final.
The single car final also poses the problem of having to find 9 volunteer marshalls which is not any easy task.

[jason-l]

Think I'll abstain on the split meeting proposal since I will probably be sticking with just 2WD next season, and I recognise how manic it is for guys in both classes. But I wonder if any buzz/atmosphere would be lost if the meetings were split? ...and could most of those running both classes commit to 14 Sundays? It would be a shame if it reduced the numbers at any meetings.

Originally Posted by Racing Snake

The single car final also poses the problem of having to find 9 volunteer marshalls which is not any easy task.

It must suck being in a one car final, but surely such a final doesn't strictly-speaking need more than one marshall does it, John? Or am I missing something?

I mean, the driver is not racing anybody, so a minimum one marshall is enough? But I acknowledge that slow marshalling would further reduce their already reduced enjoyment at the end of their day.

[Mr Eccleston]

I have voted no to separate days, we shouldn't be reducing the club meetings, if we don't have healthy clubs we don't have an sorc series.

Regarding 1 car finals, again sorry no. It's not up to the drivers on the day but all drivers as it effects series results, not just meeting results. We need to stick to the rules for consistency as per the brca .

Regarding extra money for extra flexibility, again no. Give it to the clubs reinvest in the meetings that way we all benefit, what does the sorc need money for. I don't have a problem if a club decides to donate money to the sorc .

That's my opinion.

[traffman]

I voted yes to seperate days for both classes.
Personally i don't race both , but watching poor Ian flying around trying to sort his 2wd then 4wd was obviously stressfull for the likes of him.

It's allways a great turn out for the SORC series which is encouraging.

Regards , paul.

[Racing Snake]

See this is all good as we're getting feedback from the important people the people who race.

I like your point about the money Derek but after having the engraving done by the cheapest quote in Falkirk I think we may be struggling with the trophies at the end of this year. That is my reasoning behind my point.



Could a format for a SORC event be:

Qualifying:

2WD RD1
2WD RD2
4WD RD1
4WD RD2

2WD RD3
2WD RD4
4WD RD3
4WD RD4

(the classes could also be alternated at every round of the championship with 2WD 1st at round 1 then 4WD 1st at round 2 etc etc)

Finals (as is):

2WD Leg1
4WD Leg1

2WD Leg2
4WD Leg2

2WD Leg3
4WD Leg3

(Final class orientation would match that of qualifying)

This way during qualifying at a SORC event it allows drivers to concentrate on 1 car for 2 rounds of qualifying at a time. The downside to this being that if you are only running 1 class you will have a long break at certain times during the day.

Any thoughts

[jason-l]

Originally Posted by Racing Snake

Qualifying:

2WD RD1
2WD RD2
4WD RD1
4WD RD2

2WD RD3
2WD RD4
4WD RD3
4WD RD4

(the classes could also be alternated at every round of the championship with 2WD 1st at round 1 then 4WD 1st at round 2 etc etc)

The only possible issue I see with that is if a driver damages his car in RDs 1 or 3 it is potentially a greater penalty than if it were in RDs 2 or 4, ie. there's a much shorter time period to repair for the next round.

[V6Jim]

Surely dividing your already low(ish) entries effectively in half is a bad idea. I realize that some of those racing two classes are going to have some hectic moments, but that has got to be a small price to pay for a busier meeting. You still only have 40 - 50 drivers to cope with, so 4 rounds of heats and finals should be a fairly leisurely affair anyway...

Until such time as you are faced with 50-70 entries for each class separate meetings should be avoided. In fact, in a way, a bigger entry might make it easier for the drivers in two classes, allowing an organizer to split the drivers with both types into more separated heats.

If it is decided to split the classes into separate days then it might be an idea to have Saturday 2WD then Sunday 4WD. Or vice versa.

This, of course, is coming from somebody who hasn't been to a meeting for 20 years!

Jimmy

[Mr Eccleston]

John

I'm happy we're all thinking about different format ideas, but can't see how yours would work any better than current if we still run the meetings the same way i.e. quickly.

Great we can concentrate on 1 car for two rounds, but if you break it when does it get fixed if you are back out racing and marshalling the second car.

What we need in my opinion is more racers, agreed easier said than done, but if we could get to 8 heats (doesn't really matter the 2wd/4wd mix) it would give time. Let say we have 4 heats of both. Race then marshall, then you have 2 heats plus the gap in between heats to repair or change the car.

If we can reduce the time between heats from the 4m + just now to 2.5min's, then we could also have a 10 minute break end of round, more time to fix the cars. This obviously relies on getting started on time which in turn puts pressure on the track builders to be finished.

Other idea is possibly to drop a final round or two, but potentially add another round of qual.

Another idea could be try a couple of meetings with just 2wd and 4wd seperate, see how many drivers turn up. We could run both classes on the day so those that don't have both a 2wd and 4wd could still run.

It would also be interesting to hear what the drivers thought about the meetings this year, they obviously ran a little longer than previous, finishing typically at 6pm, but everyone had more racing, 4 heats and 3 finals. Was the longer day with more racing preferred to less racing and a shorter day.

Derek

[discothesnake]

TBH i cant really see how we can improve things until we have more racers. Two separate classes is never gonna work as you will never encourage people to buy another car. It's just too expensive. Motors, lipos, tyres, radio gear etc.

I know we have spoken about different ways to run the meetings but until more racers turn up i think the current format is the only way to go.

Saying that, i think we could cut out a round of qualifying to make for more time. Either that or make it one final for all. After all, thats all you get at National level is it not? (excluding A final of course)

Dave