low grid numbers for small race series

[pikeyboy]

As you'll see from my profile I compete in the austin healey championship and we are suffering from lower grid numbers this season compared to last, are other small championships also suffering?

[cptsideways]

If its a less restricted series - ie lots of potential money pits, potential to bend the rules etc then yes.

The only series I know of that are expanding are one make, or series with very restricted regs allowing few mods. Which makes sense really as racing should be about drivers competing not budgets imho.

[trackcar]

The TVR Challenge went through a similar thing a couple of sesons ago, as few as 8 cars on the grid at Pembrey saw us lumped in with a welsh series with sierras and clios, was good fun though! The TVR series itself is enjoying something of a ressurgance though with grid numbers into the 20s now and the widest variety of TVRs racing

[pikeyboy]

no its pretty tightly controlled with different classes for road going, modified and fully modified big healeys and sprites. Plenty of opportunity to spend money though, like all motorsport. Just wodered if it was a sign of people reigning in the purse strings a little and how wide spead it was?

[andy97]

Too many championships/ series around anyway.

Nothing against your series but its about time a fair fewwere culled/ merged to give less races but bigger grids.

Have a look at the CSCC's "Swinging Sixties" series if you want to race in a full grid. The amount of entries (& reserves) they are getting at the moment they are looking to put on a second grid, I hear.

[nre]

Some of the higher profile series like those supporting the BTCC are suffering too, the carrera cup and Seat cupras have had very poor grids compared to previous years. Clios still manage to attract dozens though.

[stockhatcher]

the costs are going up, fuel in particular, i've had to bail out of a few events this year because of this.. and my race car get about 10-12 mpg, and my tow car will tow giving 37+ mpg, god knows how people with proper race cars, or trucks/motorhomes afford it..

[JP_Midget]

Our Midget championship seems to be ok, but it does feel like the numbers are very slightly down on last year. We're still managing grids of around 20-25+ so far, and have a few others coming to play later in the year.

What kind of numbers are you getting, and do your regulations allow for other spec'd cars to enter? We have removed the invitation for Healey spec cars to run in our championship as there hadn't been any for a while, and our numbers were good. I think IIRC, my car would have to run in the top Healey class, in which it wouldn't be competitive. Having said that, I don't have the time for more racing than one championship, and am rather glad I'll only be racing at one event a month for the rest of the season because of the cost now of getting to and from events!