TJ

We have one more round to go and we have to start working on next years Challenge so I thought we should start this thread to talk about it. Club nomination forms will be out soon so any club that would like to host a round next year please fill one out and get it back to us asap.
Next year we will run 19t. The classes will be Mod, 19t, stock, 540 and mini.

Mad Mackem

iTrader: (12)

Are you planning to have four rounds again Trev?

dee_vee_eight

iTrader: (1)

Gee trev,


Getting in early.......

oldnwise

iTrader: (6)

TJ,
I'm sure there will be people soon that post ideas of controlled tyres, running the event over two days, handout motors in 540 and fastest lap qualifying. Lets knock these type of suggestions on the head now.

Challenge Cup has been the success story in RC racing in NSW over the last three years. When you are getting 100+ entries in both on-road and off-road you know this is an event the racers want. It does not need major changes for on-road as the current format is good and the classes cover most raced at club level.

There are two suggestions I would like to raise ...

1/ 10 drivers in each of the A finals. You can still have 8 in lower finals if needed. I know this year we raced at some smaller tracks but the quality of the fields should allow 10 in the A finals.

2/ Changing the club point score so it does not favour the larger clubs. Unless you can put 12 drivers in each round you basically have no chance of winning the club point score. This has been in favour of Castle Hill (who I race for) over the last couple of years. This year SMA have also managed to put in a full 12 in each event and are right up there in the point score. I think there needs to be some sort of handicapping for clubs that can not always fill 12 places in each round. There are probably lots of ways you can do the handicapping but one suggestion is to nominate up to 12 drivers and best 8 results for each round apply towards the club point score. This way if you can field at least 8 drivers in each round you still have a chance at being competitive in the point score. Anyone with other ideas on how to level the playing field a little so the smaller clubs can be competitive in the club point score.

Mad Mackem

iTrader: (12)

Lets not change anything except what you want to change Rob? You can't have it both ways.

Berkky

i want 540 handout. there are a few variations on the 540 motor. it defeats the purpose of 540 racing that they all dont race with the same type of 540 motor.

and yes it doesnt seem fair the clubs that can fill the most spots can get the most points.

robot

iTrader: (1)

add there times together and divide it by the numder of drivers from that club and get an average,SIMPLE

oldnwise

iTrader: (6)

Jeff, I didn't say no changes ... I said "no major changes". Changes like controlled tyres and hand out motors add to entry cost and the complexity for TJ, Linda and the host club organising the event. I think they would also lead to less people participating. Look what controlled tyres did to the NSW State Titles. Hardly anyone raced.

The Ideas Man

iTrader: (1)

Yes, we have been able to field a team of twelve for each round, our handicap is the level of drivers with little race experience. From memory, our highest place this year has been a few minor places in the A mains. This is only our second year in the Challenge Cup, the drivers attend because they have fun and gain experience each time they compete at each round. TJ, is this not the first year that a club is less than 90 points behind RC Core (That have won the last three series)?

One thing our club would like to see is a review of the point score. Each event we have had more than 12 drivers which have added to the entries. As a club, we were under the impression that the drivers not on the team took away points from other clubs if they had a good result. As this is not the case, this may discourage non team members from attending next year. We hope this won't happen as the challenge cup is a great introduction to new racers to larger competitions, and a chance to race against other drivers at different venues.

This year also gave our club a chance to show case nearly two years of work building up NSW's fastest growing club, we thank TJ and Linda for trusting our club to hosting a round of the challenge cup this year, SMA looks forward to the 2007 Challenge Cup and will take great joy in defending our title (luck going our way this year) in 07.

Cheers,

IDM

Publicity Officer

Berkky

yes it seems the selection of the team is limited to the "boys club" and if you are not in that boys club you don't get a gurnsey.

i say a way to remedy this is to maybe just take all team members positions into account then make an average of the positions.

NickM

iTrader: (11)

I agree with IDM on this one. I didn't realise until very recently that points were not allocated in the usual sense. This should be looked at prior to CC '07 starting.

I'd also like handout 540 motors. The class is ultra-competitive, and there are some fast versions that we don't seem to be able to procure...

Apart from that, it's all good! Bring on more of the same!!

My $0.02

Rody

Berkky, our team selection is not limited to the "boys club". Over the last few rounds, i've had to leave out people who are my closest friends. Your a Bogan, and your BS will not deter us from doing what we are doing

I agree with IDM on the points issue.

oldnwise

iTrader: (6)

There are only two 540 motors allowed for Challenge Cup ... the Tamiya J and the Johnson 683. Most people will use the Tamiya J as it is readily available. They may not all be the same and it is luck if you happen to procure one with more grunt than the average.

I think you'll find the same people who are fast today are still fast with hand out motors as they have mastered some of the secrets of 540 speed. Feral's 540 Nationals next month with a hand out motor will be a good test. I expect the Nationals A final will be made up of the best drivers and not the best motors.

Berkky

bogan haha. your up yourself buddy. you need a reality check. massivewanka

TJ

Some valid points; but in the case of pointscore yes it is one thing to ask questions but another to give options.
The points at the moment leave it up to the teams to work strategies and work as a team not as an individual. We have to come up with fairest option for all clubs including the small ones. The nitro challenge which starts this weekend says that minimum top five top drivers from each club which still leaves smaller clubs out. This year we have clubs that consist of 3-5 members attending.
But it is interesting that its not the small clubs that are complaining...

Give us valid options.