Solo 1 for next year poll

[Dave Barker]

I trust many of you will have read the rather long thread re Solo1 vs lapping days. Thought it would be good to have some input from everyone who MIGHT run solo 1 re the balance of lapping vs competition.

[ctenche]

How about adding another option that says "I run Solo 1 now and while I don't particularly care about extra lapping there are other things that need improving."

[Dave Barker]

Caius, I think a lot of those improvement that have been suggested could be instituted quite easily but the time spent lapping is really the main issue I wanted to address. If the people who run Solo 1 now like it as it is then I don't see why we would cut back on the competition aspect to try and accomodate the lapping crowd. OTOH lets see what the poll brings. Personally I would be interested in some of the responses of the Solo 2 crowd.

[rpr]

Well, I said my piece in the other thread. I am a Solo 2 guy who did his first Solo 1 weekend this year, and I plan on concentrating on Solo 1 next year. I knew about Solo 1 and everything, but didn't really think I had the car for it, but now I know different. Plus I didn't realize how much fun it was. Having said that, my vote is for more track time, either lapping or timed laps. My preference would be for more lapping, but that's only because I've never done it. Maybe if I was like some of you guys who have 100's of laps on all the different tracks I would feel differently. It seems that there are two schools of thought, attracting newbies, and keeping/getting current/prior competitors back, and it also seems that to accomplish those you need to go in different directions. New people want more lap time, established people want better/more competition. If you can hit the right balance, you might just please both sides.

As for advertising, does anyone mention the fact that Solo 1 exists and what it's about at the Solo 2 events? Perhaps a portable TV with some Solo 1 promo videos that could be shown throughout the day? Although Solo 2 may suffer if those people jump ship to Solo 1. I know personally next year for me is going to be 95% Solo 1 and 5% Solo 2, if that. It's a trade off I guess.

Hope that helps?

Tom

[ShaneG]

Tom,
Do you think you will be able to attend the min.# of events to get a full # of points?

I think I am about a year behind Tom in terms of competition, I want to do Solo 1 but the little competitor in me wants to at least have the min # of events scored. I hope to do 3 events next year (maintaining Rookie status for the following year :D )

but will likely concentrate on Solo2 for '04 ...too early to say for sure for '05.

I like what you have done last year in the car classification and advertising that, IMO will help.

Shane

[Dave]

I voted for the first option because I'd prefer more competition (timed) laps than open lapping, and I think the series is great the way it is (though I'd like to see of the suggested improvements from the other thread integrated where possible). For me, this is a championship competition series first and foremost.

[rpr]

Shane: Since I would probably only do 1 day of the two day weekends, I probably wouldn't get enough events if they stay with 7 of 12, unless I can convince my better half to let me do the occasional full weekend. I have no illusions that I would be competitive, but it sure is fun. I would drop for a set of new R's (first time ever!) for sure though. The only tires I have right now are pretty old and greasy.

[ice/solo racer]

I'm like rpr(the other Tom)in that I'm a solo2 guy that went to my first solo1 event this year and will make it my priority for next year.I want to do lapping days next year for the seat time/car sorting but need the competition portion to assess how I compare to others.
My biggest problem if is my corolla doesn't sell I'll have TWO damn fine solo1 cars!:D

[Dave Barker]

Only 25 votes on the poll so far . Need more . Cmon you Solo 2 drivers and lappers we need answers to the last 2 options. Also solo1 people , increased lapping or not??

[MastaDeeMon]

I, like rpr have concentrated on Solo2, but was considering the step up to Solo1 next year. Not sure if I will though, I was fortunate enough to benefit from AlB's. generosity by him letting me drive his TypeR for a solo weekend at Cayuga. I had a blast, but it was more the fun of getting back to the track, and driving a damn fine car. From a new competitor's standpoint, I don't know if I can justify running Solo1 based on $$'s to laps. Yes, it's much more laptime than Solo2, but I got totally screwed in lapping, I'd be out for a lap and get the checkered flag to come in, as a newbie I was pissed!!, I needed more time!. I wanted to ignore the flag, but I didn't want to piss anybody off. On Sat. we only got 3 timed sessions. Sunday was better, but it didn't leave me longing to run Solo1 again, it left me longing to drive a TypeR at a lapping day. I know there are all kinds of issues that the organizers deal with(especially at Cayuga), but man, if you guys want to attract more new people, then do so, but you'll have to work just as hard to keep them coming back. More timed lapping and more practice lapping, wishful thinking eh?

D.

[JAYh]

How about "I do not do Solo I right now but would if the cost came down 'coz I'm a broke student?"

I realise that's not too likely to happen (especially since most of the cost is in stuff like brake pads and tyres) but it's a big factor for me...

- J

[Rob McAuley]

More lapping would be nice, but there is only so much time in the day. Things would go smoother if we had point-by passing during the lapping sessions (ie - when not competing).

Dave hits the issues well:


Experienced Solo folks want more timed laps
People with limited experience on the track want more lapping
A significant cost of the event is in tires and brakes (especially during lapping sessions)


The best compromise is to book the track for lapping on the Friday evenings prior to the event. HADA usually does this prior to the Shannonville events, and we ran for the entire day on the Friday before our very first Cayuga weekend a couple of years ago.

Is this something we should work into the budget, and make these optional practices part of the Solo weekend?

[DECH_92]

That’s what I want lapping on the Friday and timed events Sat, Sun
Dave, that’s why I am upset with OMSC for dropping its lapping days before events.
I have been on all the tracks and I still want the lapping experience before an event to get used to the track.
Imagine how a rookie that has not even been on the track feels about timed event without lapping.

[Dave Barker]

Originally posted by DECH_92
[B
Dave, that’s why I am upset with OMSC for dropping its lapping days before events.
[/B]

Greg , as I mentioned in the other thread, track days are becoming very difficult to come by as every Tom, Dick and Harry group is renting tracks like crazy for lapping only. We tried to get some more lapping days and were too late. Obviously our fault for not anticipating well enough. Also TMP can now only be rented for 4 days per week.

I sure hope this new track in Calabogie gets going soon to take some of the pressure off existing tracks. It is sort of out of the way i.e. about due north of SMP and unfortunately I do not have any details other than heresay but if even half of what I hear is true than it will ge great to have another track in Ontario even if it is a reasonable hike from the GTA. Closest hotels I would guess would be Renfrew. Any comments from MCO guys? Maybe if the new track proves to be Solo able MCO could organise an event there whenever the track gets ready.

[DECH_92]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dave Barker
[B]Greg , as I mentioned in the other thread, track days are becoming very difficult to come by as every Tom, Dick and Harry group is renting tracks like crazy for lapping only. We tried to get some more lapping days and were too late. Obviously our fault for not anticipating well enough. Also TMP can now only be rented for 4 days per week.

That’s exactly my point.
How could a long-standing club and other CASC affiliated clubs be so off guard.
Surely these clubs are into more then just Solo 1 for their members
I guess I just thought the clubs worked closer with the tracks and LOL They would be first up for available track dates.
Did OMSC not do at least 3 dates in previous years?
My mistake

I did go to the one early in the year at DDT by OMSC.

[Dobe TT]

From a newbie perspective, organizing needs a lot of improvement.
I went to 1 event each Solo1 & Solo2, the were held by two different clubs but waste of time was in Both. which did come from
track or course time. I personally think all track time should be timed, but only certain laps should be counted for points.
And probably most important we can not mix Fast & Slow Guys.
so maybe we need some kind of qualifying, or use previous sessions as one And who did not participate will have to qualify or start from back. registration should be faster too, most are repeated comers so introduce a bonus for a mail in or a extra fee for a track registration, excluding all first timers this way we will have either better $$$ or faster start & keep new ones from over paying.
This is just a suggestion.
now how I felt myself: it was very intimidating and if not for a help from a fellow racer I would probably never come back.
there mast be established routine how all new guys should get on a track, same way as all should do marshaling.
this is just a few things, there were allot more confusing things but in all it could not overweight the fun I had at the track.
Looking forward for next season, hopefully will have more track time and it will run allot smother.

PS. just want to say THANK YOU! very much To MALCOLM.

[Dave]

great point, Dobe TT. I think it would really help ease the intimidation factor for newcomers if we had some sort of mentoring program where we match novices up with veterans where they marshall together, the veteran can act as a sort of driving coach and general advice giver in terms of how the events of the day are run, introduce their newcomer to people so that he/she has other people to chat with, etc. We have plenty of friendly veterans who I'm sure would be happy to do this sort of thing if they thought there was a need for it. I think once you've been doing the series for a few years and you know everyone it's easy to forget how intimidating it really is to come out to your first Solo 1 event and compete against a bunch of strangers.

[BradM]

Actually Dave Calabogie is not out of the way at all if you live in Ottawa. :-) Things are progressing with the track and reports are that construction has started, but they don't have all their permits yet. Hopefully it will happen though, and seems to have quite a bit of support from local businesses, if not all of the residents.

As regards lapping or competition, everyone wants as much of both as possible. I would just point out that I could already do as many lapping events a week as I can afford, but Solo 1 is the only place that provides competition. I would be against anything that reduces the competition or number of timed laps in favour of lapping. Just my opinion.

[roooo]

Not that I've competed in any Solo 1 events yet but I might next year if I can afford it and this is what I would like to see:
- less open lapping
- morning warmup & last minute tweaking
- more timed laps
- not marshalling
- score at least 3 sets maybe 5 sets of 3 laps (1 warmup 1 hot and 1 cooldown)

It's been mentioned .. there are a lot of lapping days. Use those to get track time. Then use Solo 1 events to focus on the competitive aspect and putting together a perfect lap.

[Chris91GT]

I placed my vote in option 2. I would like more lapping time SOMETIME during the weekend, whether it's in the morning, or a Friday day/evening lapping session.

Part of my reasoning is because during competition we have so little time to work on the cars that tweaking the setup is very difficult. We rarely have enough time to fill up on fuel while trying not to be late for marshalling that it's basically "run what ya brung" in terms of setup most days.

With that said, I would prefer a Friday evening session at EVERY event, thus eliminating the need for extra lapping during the actual events... because... I would love longer timed sessions as well. :) 3 laps is just enough to get the car warmed up and settled... and then it's checker time.

In lieu of lapping evenings on Friday night, I really think we should be considering hiring marshalls (we only need a handful, not 2-3 per station) for the events. This would give competitors back the time needed to successfully test and tune the setup between rounds. At the very least we should do a pilot event to see how much time we can save and gauge the reaction of the competitors.

Will the increased track time from paid marshalling draw sufficient new competitors to offset the costs of hiring these marshalls? I don't know. Perhaps someone can speak to these costs.

[Dave Barker]

Folks, there are 418 people registered to this board and over 120 people who have run Solo 1 this year and only 32 have voted on this poll. C'mon if you don't vote you can't complain about what happens. ( It is also a bit simpler than deciding between the up coming election between Tweedle Dee ,Tweedle Dum and Satan Incarnate)

Few other comments:

Paid Marshalls will increase the cost significantly and already we have a lot of people complaining Solo 1 is too expensive. Also what do you do for the Clerks, Timers, Grid Marshalls and Starters? Pay them too??

I, too, would like to run maybe at least 1 more lap per run but the problem becomes clerking. The difference in speed between the fastest and slowest driver in any group you put out on the track at any one time, will often allow the fastest to catch the slowest within the time for the warmup and 3 hot laps. Certainly with Victors ability to print time sheets on the fly we are able to grid drivers much more accurately this year but if we have to start throwing more yellow flags everything just screws up and takes longer.

What does work, and worked quite well this past wkend at Pro is that with 70 competitors and a different type of run order with 3 run groups, you end up marshalling 1/3 of the time and have lots of other time to make adjustments to the car, rest, bench race etc.. Also there is much less time wasted in Marshall changes because there are fewer of them . In other words if we consistantly have more than 50 competitors things actually work better, not worse. On Sunday we got through registering 22 walk'ins, more practice lapping than usual , 3 runs for 70 drivers and had a full hour of lapping time at the end of the day ( which I might add for all you people who want more lapping, was only somewhat well attended)

[glh]

this was my first year at solo 1 and had a great time and yes i'll be back i've learned a lot and was forced to push myself and my car to the limit i broke i rebuild and kept coming chased dave around all year do i want more lapping no the competition is why i keep coming out i will make my car more realiable that my mean moving up a class or 2 so i'll have to chase jeff and rob instead of dave
see ya later :;)

[Dave]

actually Steve, I'm planning to run in GT2 next year :) Bring that monster Omni of yours...BRING IT! Hehe...actually, I hope you get a SRT-4, those things have tons of potential and it would be very cool to see one running with us next year.

You coming to the banquet? Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Dave

[Dave Barker]

Only 8 people who do not run Solo 1 have voted as if they plan to come and "run with the big guys" depending on what happens for next year,( really Jeff Graves has lost a lot of wgt since last time I took him around Mosport so there is no need for more BIG GUY comments). Really ,you Solo 2 guys, it is not that intimidating and considering how many keen and happy novices we have this year, you might want to try it.

[roooo]

It's probably not the intimidation factor .. but it could be the price. And the fact that they may not know who they'll be fighting against in each class. (But that's probably posted in the results)

Personally, I think I need to hit some lapping days at the various tracks next year to learn the tracks and get a feeling for how my car works on them before even bothering to come out for Solo 1 competition. Maybe in 2005 ...

[ice/solo racer]

With our solo 2 roots Rooo we should be comfortable quickly on tracks that we haven't been on before!(I said comfortable,maybe not fast1)I only did the one solo1 this summer Rooo but the fact that I hadn't seen shannonville on about 10 years didn't matter-had a blast (when driving,not when standing in the rain for hours marshelling)you should come out next year anyway.I'm prepping my car for solo1 rules as those aren't going to change anytime soon and say the hell with solo2 rules for now(my car is in mod anyway!).

[CobraStang]

There were ten class wins by novices this year, and three of the top ten drivers overall were novices. I managed a class win, and I have never been on a track before this year!

So I say, don't be a girly-man! Swap those flabby weakling street tires for R-comp's!

I'll be back!

[philip_240sx]

Although I haven't actually participated in a SOLO1 event this year, I did attend a couple of them. I like the format. So long as things run smoothly and on time (always a challenge) it's a lot of fun. :)