Originally Posted by
Mark Stiles
It has nothing to do with being a 'surface snob'. As Rick has rightly said, the predominant surface of choice globally for 1/12 scale is carpet. If the event is on asphalt then people, especially Europeans, won't make the trip; fact.
From a personal perspective, why would I spend hundreds (probably thousands) of dollars to travel half way across the globe and race on a surface I have absolutely no experience of in that particular class? I could rock up, find I have the wrong tyres and then it becomes a wasted trip. If you were a professional mountain biker you wouldn't enter the Tour De France would you?
The last few times the 1/12 worlds have been on tarmac (Thailand 2008, Florida 2004) the entry has been pretty low.
On-Track '98 was where the ISTC exhibition 'World Cup' race was held. There was also 1/12 scale and pro10 held on the same track (different layouts) over a 2-week period. Spashett won all 3 classes and the event is still regarded by many as one of the best of all time. Ask Ernie Provetti what he thought of it.
99% of Australian racers have no experience on carpet. Would fewer of them consider travelling to the Worlds if it were on carpet? No, I don't think so.
Choosing the venue for a World Championship should be made on considerations of a sporting nature rather than popularity. Ideally we'd have a World Championship that featured all sorts of different tracks and surfaces every year to choose a World Champion, but the nature of the sport makes that unfeasible, so we should at least try and make sure that the WC venues vary so that on average the event represents the variety in the sport worldwide.
If Tennis had no grand slam but just a single World Championship would the tournament always have to be held on hard court? That's the equivalent of what you are saying.