is the performance index having the "desired" affect?

[MELK-MAN]

I think it was put in place to prevent an average rider from running lots of classes to win the overall championship. These days im hearing of and talking with riders who will SIT OUT a race for fear of wrecking an otherwise good performance index. If you regularly compete in say 4 classes, but on a given weekend you want to add a race for shits n' giggles.. you don't want to have an issue in that race, as that 5th class's PI will weigh equally with your other 4 classes PI. See how that creates LESS $ for CCS? And less "fun" for racers..
I also hear of/talk with (yes, personally talk with) riders skipping events because "I don't do well at that track, i don't want to ruin my PI".. How is that good for the sport or CCS? Racers should be racing. Part of a championship should be showing up! Having your bike finish the race, not just do well at your "favorite" tracks then sitting out events you dont do as well at, or not running a race you don't normally do to keep a good PI.

The guys/gals competing for the #1 plate are usually GOOD racers anyway, and are often competing in enough classes and winning or finishing up front in enough races mediocre riders won't have a chance. So.. Is the PI something that should be done away with? Middle weight classes are often VERY competitive. You could finish just a few seconds from the win, yet your 4th out of 5 riders.. and we LAPPED the 5th place rider, yet his PI for that race is very very similar to the 4th place rider for the event. In this scenario showing up and competing was almost a PENALTY, as finishing 4th out of 5 is what, a .200 PI?? Hmmm. Something to think about?

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

+1

Starting with the original discussions years ago concerning the addition of a P/I to the points system, I said that if CCS set it up as an average P/I it would backfire on 2 main levels:

(1) I originally said it would turn into a Middleweight championship due to the amount of classes those bikes can compete in competitively, all other class Racers (running only 1 bike) would be hard pressed to get into the Top 10 and barely be able to get into the Top 5 in the Overall Points Championship.

(2) I also said once people figured out that ANY bad result would drag down ALL their previously earned good results that Racers competing for points would get more selective on which and how many classes they ran.

The easy way around it is to simply apply the P/I to each individual race result to calculate the points earned during that individual race, then from there keep a normal running points total like it use to be. THIS WAY ALL YOUR PREVIOUSLY EARNED POINTS, ALL OTHER RESULTS DURING THAT EVENT, AND ALL FUTURE RESULTS DON'T GET PENALIZED FOR HAVING 1 BAD INDIVIDUAL RACE RESULT - THIS WOULD ENCOURAGE MORE RACERS TO RACE MORE CLASSES!

I personally don't understand why this wasn't changed after the very first season using the P/I? This would definitely be something for consideration during this years rule change suggestion period.

[JAB3]

I can see why the PI was implemented, but I think its time has passed.  With grid sizes being what they are, we should be encouraging people to come out, not giving them a reason to "skip this one"...

[MELK-MAN]

I would like to see something like only having a few classes count to the overall.. say the best 4 or 5 classes. Sure those competing in more classes than that would be able to drop the worst, but racers won't be skipping classes they normally don't run for fear of a bad PI dragging the others down.
THIS WAY would work even if the now defunkt PI is abolished. Only allow a certain number of classes to count to the overall, that way the remainder are for fun! You SHOULD be able to compete for individual class championships however..

[spyderchick]

Hey Greg,
                 Thoughtful stuff, for sure. I would suggest you outline your ideas in an email to Kevin Elliott, as I know he's looking for this kind of feedback toward the end of the season. They review the rules on a yearly basis, so now would be the perfect time to get the ball rolling.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Greg, not all classes count towards overall last I knew.Now if thats changed since I went into semi-retirement in 2004 I dunno.

[SoudersD]

7.2.3 Regional Overall Championships (Amateur and Expert Divisions) will be assigned in each series by overall points earned in all SuperSport, SuperBike, Grand Prix and GT classes, multiplied by the riders performance index and then divided by 1000. The rider with the highest adjusted point total will be declared the "Overall Regional Champion" in the Expert or Amateur category.

In other words, all CCS classes count towards a regional championship except:
- Thunderbike
- Ultralight Thunderbike
- Formula 40
- Lightweight Formula 40
- Supertwins
- Femmoto
- Rookies Cup

[MELK-MAN]

not all count toward overall, yes.. but I already knew that. The PI issue is affecting grid size for even single classes. Some riders won't attend an event at a track they don't think they will do well at for fear of lowering a good PI. Riders chasing overall #1 plates rarely run classes that don't count for overall points, when there are 14 or so races that DO count to the overall..

[steve p]

Mike, one of the many things I don't like about CCS.  PI sucks balls and is a joke.  Alexa, year after year after year people write to Kevin, post suggestions on line, etc. 90% falls on def ears.  It seems the answer is always to add a new class or combine something or or or or let SV's race ultra light.  What ever CCS feels will make more money.  Grids are down, people are down, hopping something turns around and people start coming back.