It'll be interesting to watch another club try to make longer races profitable. WERA did it years ago and eventually dropped them. I wonder how much racers are willing to pay for races that are 3x as long. 2x? 3x?
I also like the fact that they're already finalizing their race schedule so we have plenty of time to plan for those race dates
Longer races might work for them.
Less classes right??
Back in my day the AFM races were 11 laps and there were way fewer classes from what I recall.
I see many folks complain about too many classes in the AFM.
How much time is lost when many classes grid up together and there are multiple waves for the same race? A couple of minutes extra per race?
Yes ,it would be cool to have 20 bikes per class but I don't think that is realistic of what folks have in their garages to bring to the races these days.
I picked my bike as a affordable bike to track before deciding to race.
No budget to buy and set up a different bike and I like the bike I have.
The new twins class in MotoAmerica has a great turn out, but those are not cheap bikes to be competitive.
The new Aprilia 660 looks sweet but one would be in around $14 K vs the $4 K I have in mine to be track worthy.
That, as I see it, is the problem. Getting Twenty similar bikes, set up to fit one class, is not going to be easy.
The closest thing in recent years are in the small displacement classes has been the 300 class, which then kind of morphed into the 400 class.
These are great classes but not everyone wants to race a 400.
And if you spent all your beans prepping a 300 when it was " the in class" , wouldn't you want a separate class to race in aside from the new 400's?
And so it goes...there are now many classes to fit what folks already have/can afford. Is that really such a bad thing for club racing?
DT
. The worst thing any club can do is be content, just think we should always be looking at ways to make things more competitive, bigger grids and the best racing we can.
Will it really bring more riders or just divide up current riders in a different manor?
There are already top tier classes that are very competitive, why not just race in one of those classes if that is ones goal?
I get that folks would like to see more riders out there and I support that, if it can be done in a realistic manor.
If we are just shuffling existing riders into fewer classes, then I am not sure .
DT
I hope CRA already has a chat started with the other clubs so they can avoid running on the same weekend.
It'll be interesting to watch another club try to make longer races profitable. WERA did it years ago and eventually dropped them. I wonder how much racers are willing to pay for races that are 3x as long. 2x? 3x?
but maybe some restructuring is needed.
They have. Dustin and I are great friends so we've talked about this for some time now. Trackdaz has always been a well ran organization and Dustin was previously involved with CVMA and their ascension to prominence. I have no doubt he can do the same again, if not better. Gigi and Dan are top shelf people too.
I have high hopes for CRA as a new race club in SoCal. Said as a racer and as the AFM President. We should meet up there and hit some laps Robert!
Solid point. A race event is monetized by $$/minute of rental time. Less down time = more income minutes. If bikes aren't going around the track, we're giving up income. Pretty simple formula, but not so simple without a crystal ball. turnout and races per rider are the two most important metrics. Selling a racer more races at the event is the way to make racing cheapest and keep the club solvent. More time on track for a class/ race = higher entry fee.
I really hope I get to turn laps next year. I've got things in the works. I'll hit u up when it finally works out.
AFM has continously for the last several years randomly given FP whatever laps Barb and the raise of hands wants. 12-16 depending on the whos who shows up at all tracks. Catering to FP. At the same time, because of "limiting time constraints at Sonoma" ("crashes"), taken away a lap to two from the rest of the club. More times than not the racing for the day is done well ahead of time of up to an hour.
Formula classes for each weight could have longer races +2 or more. It still hasnt been done and its been talked about for years. Its not the popular vote it seems. I believe it takes someone who wants to volunteer the time, wants to write out proposals, can make the meetings and also wants longer races. Seems like there is a large crowd that doesnt want anymore laps than 6. Example: Few years ago Berto asked for a raise of hands at Thunderhill to lower laps because it was hot out and people have a long drive home etc etc. There was quite a few in favor.
Same old song and dance. Im with the unpopular and want longer racing. Just for one race whether its 110 degrees out or 50 i know what i signed up for. Add more laps and ill show up to those events. Keep it the same and ill still show up, selectively.
They have. Dustin and I are great friends so we've talked about this for some time now. Trackdaz has always been a well ran organization and Dustin was previously involved with CVMA and their ascension to prominence. I have no doubt he can do the same again, if not better. Gigi and Dan are top shelf people too.
I have high hopes for CRA as a new race club in SoCal. Said as a racer and as the AFM President. We should meet up there and hit some laps Rober!
Solid point. A race event is monetized by $$/minute of rental time. Less down time = more income minutes. If bikes aren't going around the track, we're giving up income. Pretty simple formula, but not so simple without a crystal ball. turnout and races per rider are the two most important metrics. Selling a racer more races at the event is the way to make racing cheapest and keep the club solvent. More time on track for a class/ race = higher entry fee.
Be careful who you listen to and what their experience levels are for running club events Mike. The numbers have to work for the event to take place/ club to continue. It's the matrix of income intake VS class structure/ race day that has always seemed to be a challenge. You've got a direct link to any of us on the board you want to talk to, especially me. Don't hesitate to reach out if you want to know how the sauce is simmered!
So looking at their calendar, they're running config # 26 on one of the weekends. I just took a look at track map and that's running the drag strip in to Mazda turn. Never ran that config before. Anyone here done that? The straight looks longer then Thunderhill and carrying more speed into the straight from Riverside then you would from turn 15 onto front straight at Thill. :wow
Nope. Rough measurement shows THill straight is about 2200 feet vs. BW 3100 feet for that configuration.
I found a video of Chad Lewin on a lap in reverse configuration from that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVD1WOTSSy8
So looking at their calendar, they're running config # 26 on one of the weekends. I just took a look at track map and that's running the drag strip in to Mazda turn. Never ran that config before. Anyone here done that? The straight looks longer then Thunderhill and carrying more speed into the straight from Riverside then you would from turn 15 onto front straight at Thill. :wow