RACE FORMAT CHANGE POLL

[251am]

TC's haven't been dramatically popular.  It returned to CCS in 2001 and receeded to its present form.  It was actually a 200 mile race, but it's down to 200k now. 

  How is it that WERA flourishes while CCS continues to struggle? Isn't the majority of a WERA weekend based on endurance while it's minority of time is spent on sprints?


  I was shocked to see such small levels of participation at the ASRA TC event held @ BFR. Some other locals and I helped Rick and Kevin of FLC in being their pit crew guys. They practically had the track to themselves with something like 7 or 8 other participants. That was awesome!! Finding a balance between the current CCS Format while mixing in more of an endurance basis is my recommendation based on market observations and racer preferences. Track time increasing might lead to raised insurance levels? <That would be the biggest drawback I can think of to trying it. And, of course, if few people entered it...

  Could we put together a trial with a "TC regional" season at BFR for '07? 

[Bubba]

I wouldn't be so sure about that Bubba...

What everyone needs to consider is the WHOLE picture, and unfortunately we don't necessarily see the whole picture.

If you pull a strong class, can those riders go into another class and build it up?  Is there an incentive for riders to do it?  Will it cut costs?  Will it affect rules?

There are a million things to consider based on what any given objective is.

How about points? If you pull a heavyweight class it`s gonna hurt the 750`s and maybe 1000`s (depending on the class pulled) as far as overall points go.
No reason to buy anything but 600...right? Looking at overall points shows very few exceptions to that unless you want to race in the `alternative classes` !! 

[Super Dave]

  How is it that WERA flourishes while CCS continues to struggle? Isn't the majority of a WERA weekend based on endurance while it's minority of time is spent on sprints?   

There's more WERA endurance races than CCS has TC's, but it's still a minority of races that WERA has that have an endurace race.

All of Saturday is endurance for WERA.  Sunday, sprints.  WERA has long endurance races since the beginning of time, pretty much.  CCS had the Three Hour Challenge in the eighties, then rolled that into the AMA national program.  Eventually, that was rolled out, and it was picked up again in CCS in 2001.  Still, the format was originally three hours, and the new Team Challenge was 200 miles, or 2.75 hours.  Then the distance was reduced to 200k, about 160 miles.  Don't remember what the time limit it anymore.

[Super Dave]

How about points? If you pull a heavyweight class it`s gonna hurt the 750`s and maybe 1000`s (depending on the class pulled) as far as overall points go.
No reason to buy anything but 600...right? Looking at overall points shows very few exceptions to that unless you want to race in the `alternative classes` !! 

I think if you eliminated superbike, you'd have to add heavyweight Grand Prix.  The revenue would be needed.

600's?  Well, they have always been versitile.  Tom Girard and I won regional championships on 600's.  Honestly, we can go through a long list of riders that have done that.  Reduce the number of classes that count toward the championship, and it might even out.  Or make the number one plate holder the guy that wins Unlimited Grand Prix's championship.

[weggieman]

WERA has had a NATIONAL endurance series for ever. It has a history and a future. They run  National weekends that include endurance on Friday or Saturday and sprints on Sunday. As far as I know they don't combine regional and national weekends like CCS does ASRA/CCS.

CCS had an endurance series but it never took off like WERA's. If people want to go endurance racing they go WERA. It is a true endurance series of 4,6,8 and 24 hour events.

My little two cents says dump the overall regional championships and have class championships only. That way nobody buys a regional #1 plate. Run a national series like WERA does. An ASRA event with all the regular regional classes but the points for all classes go to a national championship not a regional series. Then you have the ROC as the final for the national championship series. All national weekends gridded by points. The ROC gridded by national points first then regional points behind them.

This way you have a national series for all classes not just four. people will travel to make the national series if it's put together right and travel for everyone is a consideration. Maybe on national in each region at the better tracks., RA, Barber, Heartland Park, VIR, etc.

it could be done with some planning over the next season. Overhaul the ASRA series into a national series for everyone not just four classes.

[Jason748]

Back to advertising, has anyone though about about using the radio?  It's cheap and gets the word out to a ton of local people,  just look around an office once how many people have a radio on?  Also Having a CCS "person" going around working with the local dealerships to build-up a working partnership with them, like to trade some advertising, they try to get their customers out to the races, in turn some banners from those dealerships turn up at the track in some "photogenic" corners.

While some say no one wants to come out for a "club" race to spectate, I call B.S.  Take a look at Saturday night short track stock car racing, your local short track is a form of "club" racing.  I know my local short track pulls upwards of 250 - 500 people on a average night and 500 - 1000 on "special event" type weekends.  I don't expect spectators in that kind of numbers, but if we could get 1/10th of that to start with, and they had a good time then told their friends & co-workers, you could possibly see a decent turn-out of spectators with-in a couple of years.  The down side is that the gate admission would have to drop slightly, at least for spectators, to be comparable with your average short-track type of event to something more in the range of $10 - $15 for adults, $8-$10 under 12 etc...

Granted some track just aren't spectator friendly, like Blackhawk, but there are some that are, MAM & RA come to mind in the midwest as places to start trying to build a spectator fan base.

Just my 2 cents.

[weggieman]

Local advertising would be up to the local race director. I used to do a lot of it back when I held the job.

I attended dealer open houses, motorsports shows, anywhere I could put in a plug for our regional series as well as the national stuff. Handed out a ton of season schedules and other info. Didn't do the big annual bike show in Chicago because of costs but made sure someone in there had plenty of schedules, etc.

It takes some VOLUNTEER time but it's not hard to do. A lot of people talk about CCS should do this or that but what about yourselves? You say you love this sport so much and want to see it grow but what do you do to help that? Take a little of your time to help. Copy some schedules and hand them out wherever there are groups of riders meeting, dealerships, etc. Be a promoter of your sport and see if it helps.

It not only promotes the sport but it's a damn good way to promote yourself. Offer a sponsor or local dealer to put your bike on display and offer to do a racing evening at their shop. of course since you are promoting CCS be sure to check with them first, maybe they'll offer to supply the schedules and so forth for you. Talk to Rick Breuer from Learning Curves, he would be happy to supply brochures from the school. You don't have to be the ultimate spokesperson but you can hand out info and tell people to make a call to whoever for more information.

Don't always depend on someone else to do all the work, get out a little bit yourself and help.

[Jason748]

I agree 100%,  In my area I try to get as many people as I can out to the track, and offer help to those who would like to start racing in any way I can.  I also work with my local Dealer / Sponsor getting guys off the street and on the track.  Your right is is very easy, and actually kinda fun.

I never thought about contacting LCR and getting some brochures, I'll have to do that next year.

[Jeff]

I always send out a "where I'm gonna be" email before the weekend and my race report afterwards to a few hundred people I work with and am associated with.  Over the years, this effort has taken me mere minutes and has gotten a handful of people to come out to the track.

It's really quite easy...  While the benefit to CCS wasn't great or even noticeable in the grand scheme of things, it took virtually no effort on my part and if EVERYONE did it, there might be a few more people coming out.

I would like to see a "fan appreciation day" or weekend where admission was really reduced or eliminated so we could try and pack the stands...