Task Force to Examine Amateur Road Racing

[johnb]

Over the past two years, I have been approached by many road racing participants expressing a desire to improve regional road racing events. I have been told ways to “boost our profile”, “grow participation”, “enhance the experience” and “generate additional revenue”. There are many great ideas and I would like to provide an opportunity to review those ideas and possibly act on the ones that would have the greatest positive impact on amateur road racing in Ontario.

I am please to announce the formation of a Task Force to examine the current state of health of amateur road racing in Ontario and to provide some solid recommendations on ways to improve it. The Task Force consists of active participants from our community and persons that have a business interest in our sport. All members are passionate about motorsports.

The Task Force will begin their work in August and report back to the membership at the Annual General Meeting in November. The members of the Task Force will be;

Robb Smith
Cindy Armstrong
David Clubine
Ian Madden
Al Balinsky
Steven Scala
Duane Ho

You may find the members at most road racing events and I encourage all participants to share their ideas with them.

Your comments are always welcome.

[Jon Hirst]

I think that is a great idea and you have involved the right people.

I hope it generates some good ideas and fosters improvements for the Region.

I will forward some thoughts to some people on the team to take forward as suggestions.

Jon

[rmicroys]

Good work John.

I hope they come up with some concrete actions to help regroup and consolidate amateur club racing in Ontario.

[BucketBoy]

Hey I just wanted to say that at the volunteer's dinner/meeting area at the Toronto Indy, I picked up a copy of 'On The Grid Magazine', and was pleasantly surprised to see such an excellent publication DEDICATED to CASC's Ontario Regional & Solo racing.

With good articles, photography, insight, and reviews of the races so far - it was exactly what CASC needs to get into the hands of Ontario's racing enthusiast. Not only is it a great publication for those involved in racing themselves (CASC Members), but especially to the general motorsports-magazine reader in exposing & explaining what it is that CASC does & what goes on within the club (ex: Ice Racing 101 article by Ross Bond, Take It To the Track Solo1/2 Overview).

Question: does 'On the Grid' come out every month as a supplement to Inside Track Magazine, or was this a one-off or 'seasonal' publication?

To be honest, I'm not interested in paying $36~/year for their magazine (nothing personal!), but would really enjoy receiving the CASC Magazine a couple of times a year, or being available at CASC event registration for Members at no charge/low charge (I would pay $3-4/issue).

John, tell them to keep up the good work!

[ITMN]

The "On the Grid" issue is a one off per year issue, but hopefully we will be doing another in the fall. I am sorry to hear that you will not subscribe to our magazine, but we do have regional coverage in every issue.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to entice you to subscribe.

Thanks

[slucas]

Can you fatten this announcement up a bit John? What is it you're looking for and how will it be used? Who are the people on the "task force" and what is there affiliation with CASC-OR?

[Trackside]

Ummm Scott shouldn't you read the whole thread before you ask questions

Robb Smith
Cindy Armstrong
David Clubine
Ian Madden
Al Balinsky
Steven Scala
Duane Ho

And as I understand it they are looking for ideas, so that would mean that it is up to us to get the ideas and give them to the people involved.

Yeesh you old drivers are all alike aren't you. Take the blinders off and look at the rest of the world LOL

Nice to know that we have an Assistant Clerk that pays attention hehehehe

[slucas]

I guess I was looking for an introduction to these folks, not everyone may be familiar with them.

I'm for anything that opens up communication but was wondering what the organizing clubs input is in this task force.

Come to think of it , isn't this exactly what the clubs are for?

[Trackside]

Originally posted by slucas
Come to think of it , isn't this exactly what the clubs are for?

Actually Scott you may have hit at least one of the nails on the head. It seems that there is a constant level of complaint from the competitors about the events and their costs of running and other things like the number of events and the scheduling of them.

If the organizing clubs think there is nothing wrong maybe they are talking to the wrong people. I am not picking on any club or group in particular, but when there has been discussion about these sorts of thing we don't seem to get a balanced response from the various interest groups. (except for you and Doug who seem to stir the pot) :p

I think what the region is looking for is input as to what the competitors (customers) want from the organizing clubs (supplier). I commend John for getting this together and putting a short mandate on the results. Having a presentation at the AGM should allow for implementation into next years schedule if there are some changes that are deemed to be needed.

I was asked to be a part of the group, but due to other commitments I was unable to give this the time that was needed. If you need information about the individuals on the panel contact Steven at the office and I am sure he can fill you in or offer some contact info for you to introduce yourself.

I encourage everyone to participate in this process if you would like to see something changed. Change doesn't just happen it takes work.

[johnb]

Mr. Bucket:

It is a beauty. We are very proud of OTG. You probably have the '04 edition but it is the second time for the publication. Inside Track Magazine is our Media Partner and does an amazing job putting it together! I believe it will get even bigger and I can't want for the next edition.

[Crusher45]

Originally posted by Trackside
I think what the region is looking for is input as to what the competitors (customers) want from the organizing clubs (supplier).

Then my question is why is there no race organizer from an organizing club on this committee? You should have input from both sides.

Just my thought on this.

[rmicroys]

Originally posted by Crusher45
Then my question is why is there no race organizer from an organizing club on this committee? You should have input from both sides.

Just my thought on this.

I'm not quite sure why a race organizer is required to determine WHAT the product is? Currently race organizers simply produce the product. As a being involved in organizing races, it's not like the organizer defines what races takes place, what series exists, etc. You do raise a valid point because most racers don't know what it takes to put on and event - so it will give perspective. Cindy has been directly involved in running MCO races at Shannonville, and is well aware what the costs are - now, maybe an organizer from one of the Mosport clubs may be usefull...

I'm surprised this hasn't generated any discussion... are people scared to talk openly or something? oh well.

[John Powell]

I think that the lack of responses can be attributed to three facts:
1. Those of us who's cars are running are too busy with racing issues right now;
2. Those of us who's cars are, for various reasons, not yet running, are too busy trying to get them finished before the season is over; and,
3. Most racers, unlike those in other disciplines, have always been recitent to voice concerns unless there is an imminent crisis.
As many MCO members know, right now I fall under 2. above, otherwise I would not, again as most MCO members know, be shy in voicing my opinions. ;)

There are two items, though, which I would find useful when I do have time to respond, and those are:
- What are the Terms of Reference for this Task Force, and,
- What are the Lines of Enquiry which they intend to pursue?
These would give us an idea on the topic areas to discuss in our comments.

[rmicroys]

Acutally, I would suspect that most people just like to 'lurk' around in the background in these forums and generally don't type anything. Most guys probably just pick up the phone instead of all this typing crap.

[slucas]

All this typing crap may help the lurkers better understand how and why things are or aren't done. It should also help the clubs hear what their customers want. It is the clubs that make things happen and it's the club members that should drive what the clubs do. How many racers go to club meetings and make their desires known to the people that matter? Very few? Is this because the racers don't understand how racing in Ontario works? Probably.
The clubs and the racers are so busy doing what they do that maybe they haven't looked up enough to see where they want to go. The clubs should be having club meetings at the track on race weekends when most the pertainent people are there.
Discussions with all parties present to explain things , I think , is better than a "suggestion box" approach. However a suggestion box is much better than what we have had till now.

[Crusher45]

I would say that holding a club meeting at the track would be a wonderful thing except for two things. John's number 1 and number two. At the track you are too busy tweaking or too busy repairing. Also to hold such a thing, who's mind would be on the meeting and not on the next race? I always thought that seeing that limited competitors came to club meetings that all was well and there weren't any issues. No one has mentioned any issues to me or to our club so I still take it as everything is ok in the regional world.

My thoughts on this is not only how do we keep what we have but how do we expand. How do we attrack more new racers to our sport. We need to look at not only the decline but how do we increase the numbers. How do we get new blood into our sport. What may have worked in the past may no longer be viable today and this I think the committee should explore.

[rmicroys]

Originally posted by Crusher45 My thoughts on this is not only how do we keep what we have but how do we expand. How do we attrack more new racers to our sport. We need to look at not only the decline but how do we increase the numbers.

I think it's all part of the same solution. If you make it attactive to the 'regulars' to start showing up again - then it becomes easier to get the new people to show up. If the costs to 'go for' the championship in the GT sprints is reduced, more people may attempt to make it to all the races.

I dunno about why you think we aren't getting new blood, but at the race schools in the spring there are a lot of novices wanting road racing licenses... maybe it's just too expensive for most people to put on a show for a 9-11 event season?

Heck, after the MCO race weekend we were third in points for GTC after only attending one weekend. What's with that? There are VERY limited fields in the tin-top sprints right now - which of course changes as the season goes past the half way point and returns back to Mosport.

Don't even get me started on the F4, F2000 and FV1600 field sizes. At least the events at which the FV1200 and F1600 series do attend, they do bring good numbers.

My suggestion? Regional club racing... 6 events. That's it - that's all - no picking and choosing - everybody attends every event - all classes at all events - and all for points. Alternate between SMP and Mosport each weekend, maybe throw in a race at Calabogie if they ever open their doors to regional racing. By having fewer events, people will see it easier to go for the title - reduced costs to run a full season - more people may stretch out the season and go to more events - thus fuller fields, thus more attractive to people, thus more people, thus BIGGER fields, and so on, and so on.

Then if we want, keep the TGT going to the Pro events if we can, as a region, afford it. With 40+ cars we do put on a good show.

With only 6 events, then I can even compete in FAQ, SCCA, or other events on the other off weekends - if I feel the need to fill in my season with extra events!

[slucas]

Let Darwin take care of the number of race dates. The clubs that do the best jobs should attract the most entries and the ones that don't, should go by the wayside. I agree with Rob, don't lump all the Shannonville races together , it makes it too easy to avoid them and we don't want to loose Shannonville as a venue.
As for meetings at the track, if you hold them and nobody comes then you can't say you didn't try.Have them as part of the Saturday night "bash", a banger a beer and a gabfest (white wine for those open wheel guys)

[Crusher45]

Well just as a side note for this Saturday after the bash we will be having a "Sit-in". No, not to protest but as opposed to a drive-in. Bring your own chair and beverage. We will be showing two films. The 1969 Le Mans and the 1972 Austrian GP.

See you all there.

Now about the meeting thing, if a driver cared enough would they not show up to their meetings if they were close enough? Most clubs do meet monthly in the area of which they we born. I don't think the drivers represent themselves at club meetings like they should. Now I need to know from drivers why they don't attend.

[slucas]

The "film night" is a great idea!

To the subject of drivers going to club meetings and discussing ideas, that was one of my earlier points. I don't think most drivers know how club racing works here. I think most of them believe it's run by the CASC and what it says is law and all they can do is complaine to each other about their plight. Is it a Canadian thing? Nobody ever voted for the bas****s that are now in office running the country.
Week night meetings arn't very conveniant for lots of guys, and some do have to come a long way to get to them.They're there at the track,keep it short if necessary,have an aggenda, have an open discussion after. If nobody shows interest then you ,the clubs ,must be doing it right.
Quite frankly , I don't see much wrong with the way things are done by the clubs. Maybe events are a little dry and need some fun injected into them (see film night) but they seem to be run very well and efficiently.
I'll bet the most mentioned complaint will be the cost of entry fees. I know the cost of events has been explained on this site before but how many guys actually read it? The clubs should do more to keep all parties aware of whats involved in putting on one of these shows.So I say bring the meeting to where racers are and leave it in their hands to put up or shut up.

P.S. I'm not talking about a club meeting as such, but a racing meeting for all involved parties , hosted by the organising club but all clubs, groups, factions,sects included

[Shaman]

I hope insurance is involved in this. I've taken my car off the road for the time being as a result of insurance policies.

[rmicroys]

Originally posted by Shaman
I hope insurance is involved in this. I've taken my car off the road for the time being as a result of insurance policies.
Unless you want to go regional road racing with your WS6... errr... this task force doesn't take on the insurnace companies. It's only to address the issues within Regional Road racing. Sorry to hear you still can't get your ride insured.

[Shaman]

Oh I can. Through Facility insurance, just like drunk drivers get.