RE: SCCA ClubRally issues
> Are there ClubRally results in SportsCar?
I'll wager that the results of every event for which results were submitted to the magazine have been published.
> Are the a sufficent number of ClubRally articles in SportsCar?
Arguably the biggest and best Sports Car Magazine coverage of a 2002 performance rally event (bar NONE) was in the May 2002 edition where five pages and a small cover picture were devoted to the 2002 Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. In case you missed that issue copies of "Resurrection in the Woods" may be viewed at
http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/100AW-02/100AW-02.html .
http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/100AW-02/SCMay02A_small.jpg http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/100AW-02/SCMay02B_small.jpg http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/100AW-02/SCMay02D_small.jpg http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/100AW-02/SCMay02E_small.jpg http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/100AW-02/SCMay02F_small.jpg
Given the fact that ProRally is gaining a wider audience thanks to media interest from outside the SCCA I'd say that Heine's article stands as a great example of returning something to the ClubRallyist for his efforts and given the reponse to that rally and article you can bet there will be a similar effort (at least) to cover the 2003 event.
> Does SCCA market ClubRally as they do ProRally?
Of course not! No one ever said they should and I'd rather they didn't. Krikey, the vocal minority is having a hissy-fit over ProRally and you're complaining because SCCA isn't treating ClubRally the same way?
> Why are most 2000 & 2001 ClubRally champions not listed in
>the appropriate sections of the 2002 rulebook?
Can't say for sure, but my guess is that there are priorities regarding the rule book of more importance than listing divisional champs. I think your idea deserves attention so I've submitted an agenda item for the next ClubRally Steward's conference call to see if we can't straighten that out.
> Who thinks they can represent sponsors fairly for the money
>they have invested in (donated to) our teams in a series
>with no promotion?
Anyone who has represented their ClubRally involvement to a sponsor as anything but a hobby is probably flirting with fraud. You want media impressions and exposure for your efforts then you should create them yourself or ante up to run the ProRally series and hope you are noticed there. Returns on investment supporting a ClubRally car are most likely to come from between-event activities of the car, not the competition it was built for.
> Why isn't safety a bigger issue? Newbies take a first time
>competitor seminar and go rally. No training material
>provided other than a short list of topics for the
>instructor to cover. And who qualifies the instructors? I've
>been to ClubvRallies that have started without a Safety
>officer designated period. Who is montitoring this? Are
>there ClubRally stewards do nothing but sign sanctions and
>present awards?
If you had any inkling how far safety issues have come since the early 70s you'd know that it is a never-ending process that continues to evolve. There was a day when a single hoop with a couple braces was good enough roll-over protection, when anyone with a checkbook and the ability to regurgitate their name, address & phone number onto a piece of paper was issued a PRO Rally license, when almost any helmet was accepted, when marshals, control workers & others were not required to be in direct radio contact, where any number of other dangerous situations were ignorantly allowed to continue until lessons were learned from our mistakes. When we were lucky we realized it was dangerous to rally with a sunroof open thanks to someone's close call rolling-over near a stump. When we weren't lucky we lost John Woolf and Grant Whittaker.
A piece at a time, a revelation at a time and a catastrophe at a time has allowed us to assemble a safer sport and there's no reason to think that practice will not continue.
> Why is there not a paid ClubRally only position at SCCA HQ?
Because there is no compelling evidence indicating that the volunteers watching over ClubRally are messing things up badly enough to justify creating a position for which there is no funding.
> Why are the majotity of rally clubmembers being forced out
>of ProRally to a series that is falling through the cracks?
A few minutes research on
www.rallyracingnews.com reveals that there were SIX stand-alone SCCA ClubRallys in 1997, EIGHT stand-alone SCCA ClubRallys in 1998, FIVE stand-alone SCCA ClubRallys in 1999, TEN stand-alone SCCA ClubRallys in 2000,
TWENTY-ONE stand-alone SCCA ClubRallys in 2001 and
TWENTY-TWO stand-alone SCCA ClubRallys in 2002. That must be a damned big crack ...
> Why would anyone want to run ClubRally?
So far as stand-alone ClubRally events are concerned:
- No 20-year rule
- No manufacturer teams
- No ID package requirements
- No TV cameras snooping around
- Closer to home than most ProRallys
- No car is too old to run in Production
- Better chance to score a top overall finish
- Fewer non-competition requirements of your time
- You get to race against people who want to be there
- Few if any internationally-ranked drivers to compete with
- More forgiving appearance requirements (more dents permitted)
- No seeding restrictions (except for those applauded events that are filling from seed 8 up)
- Fewer spectators to cause stage closures
- Lower entry fees
- Less pressure
- More fun
That enough?
Halley ...
http://www.realautosport.com
