Thoughts and comments on splitting Mardaves into 2 classes...

[bedsrcmcc]

Evening all,

I've been noticing over the past few weeks now that some Mardave drivers have been running cars, that if we were to stay strict to the letter of the rules have clearly not followed the club rules that we introduced.

Now I'm not going even suggest those drivers lose their points in the Championships as that would simply cause grief among members. However I think we should now discuss/consider introducing a new Class that takes the current rules to the next step for those who want to do so.

I think we have to think carefully about why the club introduced Mardave in the first place, in my view it was a way to introduce a very basic and cheap form of racing and it's succeeded I think above and beyond what we ever thought. A lot of the members who run Mardave's do so because it's FUN and I couldn't agree more - fun close racing is what it's all about for me too.

Now I'm not one to stop development and competition and there are I feel some members who quite rightly enjoy pushing the envelope in the setting up of their cars and that should be applauded and encourage, but not to the detriment of those who simply do it for fun. At the same time though, those who do it for fun should still be allowed to race on a fair and level playing field - these are the kind of members who come along, race the car pack it away at the end of the night and never touch it until the next week. There is nothing wrong in that, likewise there is nothing wrong with those who like to tinker. I would hope that any club can accommodate both style of members and that's why I think we need to have a discussion about allowing a 'Mod Mardave Class' to be introduce.

In terms of rules for that - I personally have no thoughts or input as I'm not interested in that level of tinkering with the Mardave, I just do it for fun. Touring Cars is where I like to tinker So I'm quite happy to leave it to you all to thrash out some rules - or you could simple say anything goes...

You can therefore discuss going LiPo and Brushless, ball races all round and diff - you name it you can do whatever you like. It's over to you guys to discuss...

I have also listened to those who say that buying certain upgrades can be more cost effective in the long run - and maybe it can, but for instance both Mardave cars that I and my son run are straight out of the box, I have rear ballraces (allowed in current rules) and we both run a much better servo saver that we all agreed is best as the kit one is crap Now we've been running these two cars now for 2 Championships and have not spent a penny on anything other than Luke got a bent king pin at the front. We have not spent an extra penny and we still have great fun racing the cars and they are both still competitive among our fellow members. So in my mind the argument that some of these upgrades save money in the long run don't add up for me. I don't know what others are doing to cause the standard kit items to be damaged so much that causes the need for an upgrade as these cars in my eyes are pretty bullet-proof - especially when you see how we throw them about.

The other concerns I have over allowing extra upgrades to creep into the current rules is twofold - firstly, once we introduce 1 thing, pressure will mount to add something else and where do we stop? Secondly, these extra items may only be a few pounds here and a few pounds there, but it all adds up in the end we can't ignore the current financial climate we are in. Those of us who are parents will understand I'm sure.

So to summarise...

I think we should stick to the current rules (happy to ban com drops if you want) to make it even more simple and then we should police these rules to ensure everyone is keeping to them.

Then for those who want to push the development and upgrade of the class to include LiPo/Brushless or whatever you want, feel free.

At the end of the day, I'm not wanting to stop anyone racing at all. Just simply making clear what the boundaries are so that when someone new to the hobby comes along they can clearly see what they do and don't have to do.

So it's over to you lot now to anyone who wants to suggest rules (if any) you want for a Mod class. I did overhear one member last week say they would join in with Mardave's if we went LiPo Brushless so I think it's worth considering guys...

PS. I fully understand that technology moves on and probably within the next couple of years cells will vanish and everything will be LiPo, but until that time arises we continue using cells in the stock class.