2012 Santa Pod Main Event (1-4 June)
Discussion
Ok - not trying to seem like the lone moaning sportsman racer lol - but...
If the sportsman day weather is bad for the first half of the day, but the pro test still runs, and then the pro sessions overun heavily over the rest of the weekend and the sportsman classes get cut and we get sub 4 qualies then id be kinda gutted - as it does cost a lot to enter, get the car, crew etc to the track even for us sportsman racers and then not get to run. Dont get me wrong I understand that the pro's will always get put first as they are the big crowd draw - but i think that it would be unfair. If you do the math the sportsman racers do contribute at least half of the entry fee's paid to race at the event (even with the more expensive fee's in the pro car classes there are over 4 times the amount of sportman car entries (164) than pro car entries (38) - so I do think that its only fair we get a fair chance of getting the same number of qualies over the weekend as the pro's - especially as it takes much less time to run a sportsman session than a pro session. The friday I believe was added as a sportsman day based on the fact that a lot of sportsman racers were complaining that they got 1 run or less per day at the meeting prior to that, and so long as the sportsman racers still get put first on this day knowing that they will not be for the rest of the weekend then i think this is still fair. 1 day for the sportsman guys isnt much to ask given that the pro racers then get put first for 3. Dont get me wrong I have nothing against the pro test session - i see the benefits and overall think it will be a good move (if it means less 60 foot squirts over the rest of the weekend) - so long as the sportsman racers dont lose out from it.
If the sportsman day weather is bad for the first half of the day, but the pro test still runs, and then the pro sessions overun heavily over the rest of the weekend and the sportsman classes get cut and we get sub 4 qualies then id be kinda gutted - as it does cost a lot to enter, get the car, crew etc to the track even for us sportsman racers and then not get to run. Dont get me wrong I understand that the pro's will always get put first as they are the big crowd draw - but i think that it would be unfair. If you do the math the sportsman racers do contribute at least half of the entry fee's paid to race at the event (even with the more expensive fee's in the pro car classes there are over 4 times the amount of sportman car entries (164) than pro car entries (38) - so I do think that its only fair we get a fair chance of getting the same number of qualies over the weekend as the pro's - especially as it takes much less time to run a sportsman session than a pro session. The friday I believe was added as a sportsman day based on the fact that a lot of sportsman racers were complaining that they got 1 run or less per day at the meeting prior to that, and so long as the sportsman racers still get put first on this day knowing that they will not be for the rest of the weekend then i think this is still fair. 1 day for the sportsman guys isnt much to ask given that the pro racers then get put first for 3. Dont get me wrong I have nothing against the pro test session - i see the benefits and overall think it will be a good move (if it means less 60 foot squirts over the rest of the weekend) - so long as the sportsman racers dont lose out from it.
I recognise that Andy... Like I say its expected by myself and the rest of the sportsman guys to get bumped and moved about plenty over the weekend, and an the whole i try not to moan about it. However i think it would be unfair to expect sportsman racers to pay full whack and then sit around doing nothing all weekend while the pro racers race. If that were the case then maybe a number of sportsman racers would have to rethink if it were worth running at the event - the sportsman racing day at current means its still viable - and will continue to do so as long as we still get runs 2 runs in on the first day with the next 2 days bringing a pair of runs (one per day) and then into the eliminations on the last day. Otherwise is it really worth paying out around £400+ in entry and travel fee's? While Pro racers should certainly still get put first, i still think that the sportsman racers should still get a fair number of runs over the weekend - i mean if sportsman racer numbers suffered would pro racer numbers not suffer just a few years later? Im not saying that every sportsman racer can go pro, or that every sportsman racer wants to go pro - but im sure most pro racers didnt just jump straight into pro cars.
I can remember sportsman eliminations getting dropped in an attempt to get the pro classes finished, but I can't remember an event where sportsman racers have spent the weekend twiddling their thumbs. As someone said earlier, the norm is a heap of qualifying runs and more often than not finish eliminations, even if sometimes it's a bit late.
IMO the only real issue is that, bearing in mind the chance of sportsman racing not being able to finish, some people may decide to sit the event out and miss a champonship round. Tough call for many I suspect.
Maybe the solution is the sportsman classes do not have it as a champonship round and instead have a one-off everyone chuck £50 in the kitty winner takes all weekend.
IMO the only real issue is that, bearing in mind the chance of sportsman racing not being able to finish, some people may decide to sit the event out and miss a champonship round. Tough call for many I suspect.
Maybe the solution is the sportsman classes do not have it as a champonship round and instead have a one-off everyone chuck £50 in the kitty winner takes all weekend.
Like I say with the current sportsman day it isnt a problem - so long as the sportsman racers take priority on this day and is not taken over by the pro test - and if the sportsman running is heavily delayed by weather then maybe the pro test session should be shortened to allow the sportsman qualifying to be completed for this one day of the event, just like sporstman sessions may be dropped if the pro's have a slow session (due to oil downs, rain, accidents etc) over the rest of the weekend. Otherwise if it gets to a point where sportsman racers travel from all over (including europe) to make maybe 3 runs (one per day is sometimes all that happens at an FIA round on the none sportsman day) and then not make the cut for eliminations.
If we lost these 2 events from the sportsman calender then that would mean only 3 events at pod and 2 at shakey.
If we lost these 2 events from the sportsman calender then that would mean only 3 events at pod and 2 at shakey.
if you get two qualifiers on the friday and then one per day after that that makes 4 qualifyers
which is the same as the pro classes get, Thats if we are lucky,
so concidering its an FIA /UEM event you realy dont do so badly... no one likes to get bumped, but the promoter has to keep the crowd happy,
and anyone who thinks otherwise is way out of touch, the paying public come first during this event...
I dont think for a second the pro test will be at the sportsmans expence
and frankly your writing long essays about nothing, the pro test period will just improve the racing surface for everyone,
remember the curtailed easter event robbed the racing surface of much needed slick tired cars to lay rubber and create a groove, the rwyb events do nothing for the track so the management have decieded to give some pro cars a chance to test free
and everyone wins, the cars get tested, the track gets rubber, the sportsmen get to run on that rubber for the next few days,
stop panicking, it will be fine..
as for only having 5 events if you lost the FIA events (which you wont)
we only get 5 events a year anyway we already lost 1 so we now have a 4 event year....see your not so hard done by after all
which is the same as the pro classes get, Thats if we are lucky,
so concidering its an FIA /UEM event you realy dont do so badly... no one likes to get bumped, but the promoter has to keep the crowd happy,
and anyone who thinks otherwise is way out of touch, the paying public come first during this event...
I dont think for a second the pro test will be at the sportsmans expence
and frankly your writing long essays about nothing, the pro test period will just improve the racing surface for everyone,
remember the curtailed easter event robbed the racing surface of much needed slick tired cars to lay rubber and create a groove, the rwyb events do nothing for the track so the management have decieded to give some pro cars a chance to test free
and everyone wins, the cars get tested, the track gets rubber, the sportsmen get to run on that rubber for the next few days,
stop panicking, it will be fine..
as for only having 5 events if you lost the FIA events (which you wont)
we only get 5 events a year anyway we already lost 1 so we now have a 4 event year....see your not so hard done by after all
Edited by Turbobird1 on Saturday 19th May 20:29
Every year sportsman racers complain about how they're treated at FIA events, yet that's always where the biggest fields are??
Having done the events in Super Gas, Super Comp and Super Pro ET, and then as part of a pro team and knowing the costs involved: the "we pay just as much" argument doesn't even come close. Entry fees are entry fees, but in terms of what the events cost and investment levels for running the pro cars and teams etc: if you take that on board then I doubt sportsman racers would begrudge playing second fiddle for two events a year.
I've been there at 7pm on a Sunday night before waiting in the fire up road for the first round of Super Gas, having not run the previous day at all, but at the time we knew what the deal was so just rolled with it.
Having done the events in Super Gas, Super Comp and Super Pro ET, and then as part of a pro team and knowing the costs involved: the "we pay just as much" argument doesn't even come close. Entry fees are entry fees, but in terms of what the events cost and investment levels for running the pro cars and teams etc: if you take that on board then I doubt sportsman racers would begrudge playing second fiddle for two events a year.
I've been there at 7pm on a Sunday night before waiting in the fire up road for the first round of Super Gas, having not run the previous day at all, but at the time we knew what the deal was so just rolled with it.
Burndown said:
I think the biggest challenge will be that the demand for pro testing will be far greater than the 2hrs that has been set aside, it will be a race up the pairing lanes too.
Not necessarily, we've been at Peak Performance and private test days where there have been a dozen or so teams present and not heard anything go down the track for an hour or more. Running the cars cost money regardless of what happens, and the risks of damage or increase in costs don't always outweigh the benefits of a test. Having said that, knowing Graham we'll be down there like a rat up a drain pipe if the track looks in decent shape 
Qualifying, ie Saturday, will be a good day, you will see almost all the 260 entered teams at least once (usually some teams are trying to fix last minute things) . Every class has at least 2 shots at the track, apart from fuel funny car with 1 pass judging by the running lists
http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_main_running12.php
http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_main_running12.php
Burndown said:
I don't believe that teams turn up to an event with a budget that can only satisfy a certain amount of passes. That would mean they would throw a race in eliminations if they came to the end of their quota of runs.
well they obviously have enough of a budget to get to the end..bearing in mind they are paid well for further rounds,as earlier said why do you think the pro test days are so poorly populated
in an ideal world we would all be flogging the cars all day long
for instance...how many pm teams appearing at the main event do you think have spare engines
i can look down that list and say maybe 2 or 4 at most, we dont this year, if i break a turbo or engine im done for the year like most other british guys so we will only do what we have to testing wise and most other teams are in the same position
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