[johnkshirley]

To the North American Rally community:

Due to the unsatisfactory relationship between SCCA Management and the International Cherokee Trails Rally, the organizing committee has decided that Cherokee will unfortunately not be part of the SCCA ProRally National Championship for 2003.

The organizing committee would like to thank the SCCA Performance Rally Board and SCCA Board of Directors for their support, the time and effort of individual members and the constructive critcism provided.

The International Cherokee Trails Rally will be an FIA listed event held March 14-15, 2003. The event will have 197 stage miles over 2 days. The 2003 event will be part of the Championship of North American Rallies

Respectfully Yours
John K. Shirley

 

[RallyBrat]

WOW...Will it just be just a CNAR event or will it be a club event too?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[MDBodnar]

Two good events gone from the SCCA National Championship.

Rim: spectacular in every way

Cherokee: more potential for a truely international event than any other current US Pro Rally, despite its young age, and teething pains.


Hey, Pikes Peak is cool but one stage for $2000... not quite an even trade (not that many of us won't go participate, we are all silly enough to do so).

Rally NY: nothing against the event or organizers, but from experience I can tell you it is probaly not a good idea to move it to national status yet. (I wish them the best of luck at running a flawless event.)

So the 2003 calendar is getting mighty interesting.

Mike

 

[grinner323]

Isn't it three events gone? Did not Prescott leave ProRally?
So, it would be Prescott, Rim, and Cheerokee Trails.
Philip J. Boer
[email protected]

 

[Flores]

So, what exactly are the requirments to run in a CNAR event?

 

[Bill Barfoot]

The organizing team of the Prescott Forest Rally did decide over a month ago that that event would be a club event for the next few years, and re-evaluate the requirements (from both the event and the sanctioning body) for returning to the National calendar when/if we thought it was time. [end official speak]


I do not have the desire to return to the National calendar any time soon. I am going to go play with the clubbies and have a good time... If I wanted to be a politician, I would have been a Senator, not a ProRally organizer...

 

[gplsek]

John:

What car classes will you run. If you go by FIA rules you only have
a handfull FIA Grp N legal cars in the US.

-george

 

[Over Exposure Racing]

>John:
>
>What car classes will you run. If you go by FIA rules you
>only have
>a handfull FIA Grp N legal cars in the US.
>
>-george

A CNAR Open class would be great to have. I know that there probably would be difficulties with FIA but I sure think that with the direction that the upper level of rally is taking right now there would be a place for a true second series to take on SCCA Pro Rally. Think 9 events with at least 2 in Mexico, USA and Canada, international flavor, big competitors, some of the best events there are, could be cool!


Bradney A. Boli
Over Exposure Racing
Honda Accord #311

 

[jeff burmeister]

John;

Best of luck to you and the rest of the CNAR organizers. But with CT, Rim, and Laughlin all on board for 2003, should we assume that the Wild West event will go over after their 2002 date? Being the only SCCA ProRally Event left that is part of the current CNAR.

The cost of doing the entire SCCA National Championships is quickly coming down to a price tag that a lot of people will be able to afford. People should get ready to have maxed out Pro entries at every event. Much like the French or the British Championship, with only 5 or 6 events in them, they will be more easily reachable for everyones pocket books. But with the savings in event costs for the Works teams, could lead to more Car Development and Marketing funding.

So, I think this is a win win for everyone.

I just hope that Rally doesn't do an Open Wheel. Ending up with a CART / IRL thing....

 

[Matt]

Why do I hear Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" playing in the background every time I check this forum?

 

[johnkshirley]

I am sorry but Cherokee will only be an International event.
We are working on several new venues for clubrallies. Stay tuned.

John K. Shirley

 

[johnkshirley]

To run for points in the CNAR championship requires an FIA International license.

You must compete in one event in each country and one additional event in any on the three countries. This same rule will be in effect for the 2003 season. Please see the regulations at cnarrally.org

John K. Shirley
CNAR

 

[JohnLane]

John..........Could it be that we are starting to see a pattern in how organizers are feeling about dealing with the Dog and Pony show? Hmmmmmmmmmm.......... Regards, JohnLane.

 

[johnkshirley]

The CNAR Working Group will be asking the FIA some type of relief for regional homologation of many cars that are currently only homologated for their Europe and Japan sources of manufacture. We anticipate solving several of the current homogation problems for North America over the next few years.
As for entries at events, we anticipate having all the national classes avialable with some changes. Of course these classes will not be points paying to the championship.

John K. Shirley
CNAR

 

[johnkshirley]

Jeff,

To correct some of your inaccurate statements.
RIM has never expressed interest in being part of CNAR. I would expect RIMs plans to be just as Paula oulined her seperation letter.

To my knowledge John Forespring has never said anything about leaving the SCCA ProRally Championship. John has the most successful club program in the country and is strong supporter of both the ProRally Championship and CNAR. I just do not have the same influence with the BOD as John Forespring.

Jeff, you better watch out what you ask for! What you have is the loss of 35% of the automotive market with the loss of RIM and Cherokee. If you don't beleive that the manufacturs beleive that racing sells cars on Monday, then......

If my country was the size of Tenneessee and had 16 million people, I would only need 5-6 events to have an adequate championship! In US marketing terms it sounds like a divisional ClubRally series. The unfortunate part is that there is no winner to this. The Club, the manufactures, the main stream competitor and the organizers all loose. Get the picture?

CNAR is an International series. It is not a national championship. There in lies the difference.

John K. Shirley
CNAR

 

[RallyBrat]

Correction, it's http://www.cnarally.org/ Just 1 less r. Didn't want anyone to get confused

Thanks,
Alex

 

[GoetzingerMotorsports]

>As for entries at events, we anticipate having all the
>national classes avialable with some changes. Of course
>these classes will not be points paying to the championship.
>
>John K. Shirley
>CNAR

OK, I am representing the idiots on the board here and asking for, please, a simple English confirmation that you anticipate that us lowly Americans with our lowly, non-FIA cerified vehicles (ALL tongue in cheek) will hopefully be able to run the event, sans points? I know there are entry limit issues, etc. I just would like to know that not all hope is lost that my Blazer, or any other non-FIA homolgated vehicle, will be excluded. It would be a crying shame if not only CT is lost as an SCCA event of any kind, but that we wouldn't even be able to run an event in our own back yard.

I am not busting your chops John, nor am I asking you to promise us anything that you obviously cannot, just an assurance that the effort is being made to include the locals. :7

 

[MDBodnar]

Are less events what we want for the national championship?

I'd rather see more events, 12 sounds good, with 12 well sponsored cars at each one.

The number of events in the championship has increased because the series could accommodate them -- I liked that trend.

THE REALITY OF THE ISSUE:

Loosing events due to a poor understanding of what the organizers need to produce successful events is a direct reflection of the SCCA -- no matter who is calling the shots. Unfortunately, while I am not an SCCA historian, this seems to be the SCCA's repeated path: get a good thing going and then screw it up by not recognizing the next step to growth.

This whole scenerio is really very simple: the events need and want marketing and sponsorship support. Some of the events are very capable of searching out and retaining their own support. The SCCA in its wisdom has some how determined that the organizers do not have the right to do this because they do not "own" the marketing rights to their events.

If the SCCA would take its blind folds off they would see that they could support each one of the organizers -- each one of the events, and coordinate the efforts to go after additional marketing support on an event by event basis, adding value to the whole series.

This whole scenerio is absolutely ludicrous.

Why would it be bad to have the Budwiser Cherokee Trails ProRally?

How can this possible hurt the SCCA? Let think about it: ACME wants to sponsor an event, the event needs the dollars to be more professional, the sponsor, ACME, is willing to pay for TV rights and other event related naming rights. The SCCA would rather see its brand all alone on the event bill --- WHAT BRAND!? the SCCA is such an unknown Brand it has nearly zero equity outside of the club members.

Yet the SCCA in its wisdom won't tell the organizers how much TV commercials would cost, won't tell the organizers how much Sponsor mentions would cost. Won't help the organizers in serious efforts to bring the events up to the next level of professionalism -- which would directly impact the series as a whole and make (who?) the SCCA look good...

Do you really think Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Subaru would not want to share the cost of the TV shows with sub-sponsors -- they are already co-marketers, they understand the value of spliting the burden without diluting the message.

Has anyone at the SCCA ever looked at the structure of Racing: the successful series and teams usually have multiple sponsors. These sponsors are usually scaled in support and get "ad" space or mentions based on how big of a piece of the pie that they own.

The Idea is Simple
The Economics are Simple.
The Solution is Simple.

Someone please explain to me what I don't understand!

Mike

 

[Kartwheel]

>As for entries at events, we anticipate having all the
>national classes avialable with some changes. Of course
>these classes will not be points paying to the championship.
>
>John K. Shirley
>CNAR

OK, so if say a G5 local ClubRally guy wanted to run the '03 CT rally they could do so, but only non-points paying? I really couldnt care less who is putting the race on, or what points I get, but I'd love to run a 200 mi rally if nothing else for the seat time.

 

[GoetzingerMotorsports]

Sounds about right to me, but what do I know.

I DO know this. NASCAR, as much as some may hate it, is a cash COW. They whore (sorry) themselves out to anyone with the cash to pay. They have SO many "sub-sponsers" it is sick. Every other lap there is some "ACME Re-Cap" or the "Beta current standings" or the "Alpha in-car camara." Now, I know that we would have to have some company willing to sell that idea and get paid for it. Has it even been attempted? Since the SCCA wont let, assuming your info is accurate Mike, the local organisers get involved with the TV broadcasts that are already on, or sell some sponserships to an event and see the profit, how can it grow or improve for us? THIS is what the SCCA should be doing for the CLUB. ESPECIALLY if the above IS correct and SCCA corporate ties the organizers hands. If a prospective sponser wants to get involved, but must deal with a bunch of politics, or must become a "series" sponser when they may want to own an "event" instead, then we will get the reputation as being impossible to deal with. Pro or Club Rally doesn't have 1/1000th the fan appeal of NASCAR or NHRA. We need to be willing, at all levels of the club, to jump through rings of fire to accomidate a potential sponser...if we do want things to grow and become cheaper for the racers and organizers. As it stands now, our only strong market of popularity seems to be in the growing Import market. We should jump into that with both feet and embrace it. The import market is HUGE! These import enthusiasts have more money than God! They are the next big thing and they are here. There are many other markets that are driving hard to get a piece of that pie, Hollywood included. Even GM and Ford are trying to re-invent themselves to gain some of that market. It is the future and these people are incredibly loyal. they are the Ford-Chevy-Mopar of yesteryear. Heck, most of us RACE imports! Allot of us buy the same parts! They cover our events in their magazines. We need a piece of this folks, it could help improve, or save, our sport.

Sorry, in a ranting mood today is all :-(