Let's talk race formats
hi all - we all love racing -- but we all have opinions on how we can make it better. coming on the back side of some great events so far this indoor season-
all opinions are fair game- lets hear em-
how can we make this hobby better?? |
Where to begin .
Seeding seems to help clean up the equals thats good I like the heads up races but unfortunately not everyone respects others space and pace with the passing in the first 30sec of racing ,which sucks . I would think it would be pretty cool to see; 3min quals And triple mains @ std lengths Or just go qual points all the way . Both have its place . I've attempted to get our race director to do more heads up racing on club day just so we all know how to make the first corner (or lap even) ,clean... |
1. Shorter races Ex. 3 day race instead of 4!
2. Triple A - mains 3. Less classes 4. Limit entries somehow but stack available classes 5. Take the races out of ball rooms and put them in car shows. Target audience doesn't even know we exist because we are racing in hotels |
Originally Posted by Chris Adams
(Post 14751615)
1. Shorter races Ex. 3 day race instead of 4!
2. Triple A - mains 3. Less classes 4. Limit entries somehow but stack available classes 5. Take the races out of ball rooms and put them in car shows. Target audience doesn't even know we exist because we are racing in hotels 2. Again triple A-mains would be a chore on 3 day events but great for iic or birds. 3. Less classes ! TC Usvta Usgt Stock Mod 1/12 Spec (spec tires/17.5) Stock (open tire 13.5) Mod 4. Limited entries per class isn't a bad thing 5. Holding races at hotels are cheaper than civic center rentals I would imagine . But love I idea for sure ! Remember racing in parking lots in Memphis tons of intrest from people passing by . |
Qual points...for every race.
Handout motors for spec classes all classes 5 minute races (yes even 1/12th scale) |
I like it !
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Make Super Stock open ESC or not run it at all to encourage Mod entries. It's not a big enough jump in speed and power to make sense.
All touring cars run spec tires, this is a good thing. Stock 1/12 runs spec tires but we should try offering racers two choices of front tire, maybe even two choices of rear tire, think Magenta or something similar. Super Stock, (if it is run at all), and Mod are open tire. As much as i hate to say it, it is getting more and more reasonable to require stock to be handout motor. Mod is Mod, and is open motor and ESC. I know people are married to the full-length race as a "qualifier" but maybe we should try running a program in which fast single laps count and bad ones can get thrown out. Maybe average your fastest 50 individual laps over all qualifiers to be your score? Fastest 100 laps? |
Perhaps steal race formats from Track Cycling?
Devil take the hindmost, or Devil take the leader.. Both lead to interesting strategys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elimination_races Have a pace car, and then a final one or two lap sprint: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keirin Start cars on oppisite sides of the track, whomever catches who, wins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_pursuit |
I would be all for doing say, three 4 or 5 lap qualifying heats with only 2 cars on track, started IFMAR style with half a lap spacing. It would be somewhat similar to pre-2006 F1 qualifying. Best two heats times are summed. Then, run double or triple mains (8, 10, 12 minutes each?).
The USVTA Indoor Nats has used 1 minute qual heats to seed the actual qualifying heats for the VTA class. It is actually fairly exciting to watch and participate in, and would be more-so if it counted more. |
Stock and Mod TC. Stock and Mod 12th. And a filler class. USGT for TC and/or WGT or F1 for pan car. I like the idea of 3 day race instead of 4. Heads up racing would be cool. Reminds me of TCS racing.
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I dont think shortening the qualifying races are really the answer. With the cost of travel and entry fees do people really want less track time for there money ? Being a racer who primarily runs 1/12, i actually dont mind Arts suggestion on all races 5 minutes.
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Many people want to standardize classes or fewer classes but I don't see that as a realistic option. Each event needs to cater to the classes that will draw entries. 17.5 TC, USGT, and 17/5 1/12 were the largest classes at USIC last weekend. vta was down but 2 other classes - F1 and WGTR - had 30 and 40 entries respectively and are clearly on the rise. 13.5 TC had 1 heat and is maybe not long for the event (my guess only, I certainly don't speak for Sean and Ken). Mod TC was also up, and nice to see even if many of us in the class did more damage to our cars than our lap times.
At the end of the day, the event organizer has to go with what gets him entries. period. Without the added cars from F1, USGT & WGTR USIC would have been a significantly smaller event and they would not be able to have the larger track and nicer hotel. In general the more 'realistic' classes are gaining in popularity and are starting to overtake the traditional TC and 1/12 classes. Look at F1 in the last 2 years. For the actual racing
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I think finding a way to make an individual's day shorter/more compressed would be ideal. Kind of like snowbirds.. but to a greater degree. track is open, racing is happening, but you are either racing actively, or awaiting another race period to start.
Look at Eos. 2wd runs a bunch (ie multi qual rounds) and then 4wd takes over the program. If this was either laid out based upon generic chassis type (Tc vs pan) or motor class (stock vs mod) I think people would have bigger chunks of time to decide they can do something else, or maybe take a nap, so possibly they can then take advantage of further practice. |
Handout motor for stock classes. There are some very affordable options available. Having to do a complete motor tear down and then having to re-tech a motor for a timing change at the Indoor Champs seems like a time suck for racers and the people running the race. I don't dispute the reasoning behind the decision but a lot of time could have been saved by just going handout. Neither is a perfect solution.
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What happened to alternate formats such as Enduro events? I'd like to see some variety, rather than the same formula at different venues.
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