[Jens]

I was reading this thread...
http://www.specialstage.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=222&topic_id=37941

Unbelievable!

Too many rallies? Boo hoo... cry me a river. You guys are NUTS!

From '99-'04 SCCA rally was destroyed by greed, egos, lack of foresight, and too many other things to list here. The writing was on the wall starting in 1998.

Now you have NASA and Rally America putting on more and better rallies, but you guys moan because there are too many rallies, not enough entries, and you might not get on TV to wave at your mothers? Sheesh!

If I had the money I'd be building or buying a rally car right now rather than selling off the remainder of my rally stuff.

Whine and moan all you want about not being on TV, smaller entry lists, and having to pay for extra licenses, but don't try to tell me this is because rally unhealthy. Rally was very sick from '99 through '04, but most people were blinded by the larger entry fields. The current high cost of rally is due to '99-'04. Rally now might not be perfect, but it is a thousand percent better than it was!

Thank your lucky stars you can afford to rally. I wish I could go rallying (both NASA and R-A events).

Jens Larsen
Flying Kiwi Racing

 

[jandreini]

>I was reading this thread...
>http://www.specialstage.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=222&topic_id=37941
>
>Unbelievable!
>
>Too many rallies? Boo hoo... cry me a river. You guys are
>NUTS!
>

In the late 70s/early 80s, we had SCCA (14 rallies +/-), NARA (12), and a healthy CARS series. It was easy to run 20 events a year and never travel West of the Mississippi. And we did. We certainly didn't worry about whose name was at the top of the Route Book. Left Coasters had a similar number of events to pick from.

Those days are long gone, but the philosophy of running the maximum number of events one can afford is, for all but a very few teams, still the healthiest approach.

 

[Flyboy]

>If I had the money I'd be building or buying a rally car right
>now rather than selling off the remainder of my rally stuff.
>
>>Jens Larsen
>Flying Kiwi Racing
>

Did it ever occur to you that with proper promotion, a successful TV series, and a little work on your part you could maybe get somebody to give you the money build or buy a rally car?

Dennis Martin
[email protected]
920-432-4845

 

[starion887]

>I was reading this thread...
>http://www.specialstage.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=222&topic_id=37941
>
>Unbelievable!
>
>Too many rallies?

I can sure recall when there were no SE rallies and there recently were very few in the NE. There are more in each region now, and I can't imagine hobby ralliers being unhappy about this.

As for business oriented teams, I can see some issues with having 2 series', but as someone stated well in the other thread, you can sell around or minimize negatives in anything. Having more events brings to mind the thought of 'the potential of more exposure' to pitch to a customer (sponsor). If championships are key to sponsor success, then I would think having a choice of which of 2 to run for could easily be presented as an advantage (albeit a small one).

I feel very happy with the diversity of events and organizers and approaches we have now. The new US sanctioning bodies are each showing a lot of new thinking and new ideas. It is very refreshing to see rules changes coming as they are needed (to solve problems or pormote a better sport) rather than being subject to the year long rules cycle under SCCA, and being subject to the SCCA BoD apporval where only a few directors ever put much effort into understanding stage rallying.

My main concern has been expressed by others that this strains the organizing bodies and their volunteers. But as long as they are willing to do this, then let them go to it. It's clear that both R-A and NASA have very dedicated leaders with a much better than average feel for, and contact with, the sport and the competitors, with a better eye for outside promotion than with SCCA. CARS has managed to emerge as very well organized and does an excellent job of fostering and maintaining a structure that has done very well over a period of many years, and keeps a good balance in their series.

Regards,
Mark B.

 

[Jens]

>Did it ever occur to you that with proper promotion, a
>successful TV series, and a little work on your part you could
>maybe get somebody to give you the money build or buy a rally
>car?


Only the front runners get significant TV coverage(okay, maybe once in a great while someone else gets honorable mention). This pattern exists all the way from lawnmower racing to Formula 1.

I'll give you my address if you want to send me a check.

 

[starion887]

>>Did it ever occur to you that with proper promotion, a
>>successful TV series, and a little work on your part you
>could
>>maybe get somebody to give you the money build or buy a
>rally
>>car?
>
>
>Only the front runners get significant TV coverage(okay, maybe
>once in a great while someone else gets honorable mention).
>This pattern exists all the way from lawnmower racing to
>Formula 1.
>
Well yes and no. Any team that is serious, and does the other half of the promotion job by courting and promoting their team and their sponsor to the media, has some decent shot to get exposure. It happens in all the NASCAR televised events, as they do 'full field rundowns'. It won't be nearly as much as the leaders but it can be some. BUT, as I think many of those wanting better TV coverage know, you can't get any part of the pie if there is no pie to slice up! Thus their issues with the small pies that we currently have; I think some would prefer one larger pie.

But I feel it's important to point out that it is extremely rare that sponsorship comes with 'a little effort'. The vast majority of the time, any such 'sale' is a long and often expensive investment; only with a special relationship does one get a 'bluebird' that is of any significance.


>I'll give you my address if you want to send me a check.
>
I think what Jens is saying is that he is ready for someone to show him the trickle-down effect!

Regards to all,
Mark B.

 

[rightseat]

>
>
> Rally was
>very sick from '99 through '04, but most people were blinded
>by the larger entry fields. The current high cost of rally is
>due to '99-'04. Rally now might not be perfect, but it is a
>thousand percent better than it was!
>
>Thank your lucky stars you can afford to rally. I wish I
>could go rallying (both NASA and R-A events).
>
>Jens Larsen
>Flying Kiwi Racing
>

Jens, please explain your points above. I ran approx 25 SCCA/CARS/NASA events in the period you mention, and maybe need reminding and/or illumination of how blinded we wuz and for that matter, what we wuz blinded about.

I posted in that "unbelievable" thread, and made a point about having lots of licenses...the complaint is not so much due to cost of those cards -- miniscule compared to running a 2-car team in a couple of different series -- but due to duplication of effort, spreading out of impact/results, and especially how having 2 American series who in large part pretend that the others do not exist is not helpful to privateer teams trying to make the break into pro or at least semi-pro status. by that I mean attracting enough support to rally on other people's money maybe some small part of the time.

I (and no doubt lots of other blind rally people) thank you in advance.


Dave G
www.lastditchracing.net


BTW, I DO thank me lucky stars I can afford to rally. I'd just like to come up with a way I can continue to afford it. Does this make be blind?