[fuzz86]

Normally qualifying is set up as a random Placement so first time Joe could end up being in the same heat as TQ Dave. In the softwear I run there is a option to rank skill level, A,B,C,D. I have never used it but like you said guy that dont want to be in the way set up in there own qualifiers ranking highest to lowest. The mains should sort them selves out to put you in the proper place.

I know no one likes to see all the fast guys qualify together and have those great smooth runs when they get to bounce around with hackem smackem wantabe`s. thats the reason for random qualies

Adding a "Rookie Class" should not take that much longer. 100 entries are still 100 entries. maybe at most one extra heat and main depending on how its divided. Rookie A main would not have to be nor should it be 30min.


This subject also plays a role in Trophies, no trophies, top 3 mains, if you give the rookie class something doesnt E-main in experianced class get something.

Afternoon shift SUCKS!!!!!

[imported_BBFBCAP]

Originally Posted by Trakker

I understand the concept behind expert and intermediate classes is to make new races not feel so intimidated. I am just confused on everything else since the qualifying rounds separate the racers into heats and racers of similar speed and skill level already. So perhaps all you really need is to choose expert and intermediate when you are qualifying so that you are qualifying with racers of similar skill.

If we are talking about having people home at a decent hour then add all these classes it's kind of like a dog chasing his tail.

Not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, BUT...I also thought about simply having 3-5 rounds of controlled practice Friday and making sure that there was at least one round of 5 minute practice heats on Saturday morning. Then, take everyone's fastest 2 consecutive laps during practice to seed the heats. It's like qualifying for qualifying.

I know IFMAR does it this way, and when I raced at CRCRC this past winter, they did it there as well. In fact, the heats were already posted, and I overheard a conversation between the race organizer, Billy Easton, Ryan Maifield and Brandon Rhode, talking about it, so they decided to do it. It's still random practice heats, but by the time the qualifying heats where up, it was slower guys in the first heats, and faster guys in the later heats. It DOES work well, and makes practice a whole lot more fun too. I practiced with Tebo, and it was cool.

If it's an administrative nightmare to do this, then foooorget it, but think about the upside! Guaranteed marshals after each round of practice, newer racers actually get to share the track with the faster guys, and with only two consecutive laps to do at ANY time during the last round of practice, everyone would be right where they belonged when it came time to set-up the heats.

Let's not forget that there's nothing wrong with, and nor is anyone complaining about, the current and simple, qualifying procedures. This is simply a matter of trying to attract new racers. I'm quite content the way it is, but wouldn't mind making slight changes to the qualifying structure IF it makes a difference. To be honest with you, I don't think new racers are going to line up to race because of anything we do like this, so it may not be worth the grief. You, you, or YOU, might know how to do this stuff on the computer, but could every track do it? Likely not, so that's a problem.

Joe, I think I recall a conversation last year, or the year before, about the exact thing you just mentioned. It wasn't warmly received. As good an idea as it may be, it became a question of who judges who, and so on. More administrative BS that nobody should have to deal with. In short, maybe we should just stick to the basics and think about other ways to attract them. Not ruling anything out, but just saying...it ain't broken, so why fix it?

Maybe we could offer a free chicken burger to first time racers. That might work??? HAHAHAHAAA...

[CRC Raceway]

Hi gang,

I would like to thank Kevin for stepping up to move the GLORCS series to the next level. Kevin is the perfect man for the job as he races at most of the events, he is well liked, very good at communicating with people and listening to their needs. I believe he can really make a difference.

In 2008, I attended my first GLORCS race at FTR. I was amazed how many racers attended the event. I enjoyed the series enough to attend 4 of the GLORCS races that year. All the events were well over 120 racers. I raced the series a number of times in 2009 and 2010 as well, each time driving 3 hours to attend. I could go 2-3 hours to the east and race with the Northeast racers in CT, PA and MA, however, I find the drive to the west to race in western NY and Canada to be a bit more relaxed and fun, but still highly competitive.

A few months ago I noticed on the internet boards that there was a big trend to “poo poo” the GLORCS series. I really wanted to jump in and say how lucky you guys really are to have such a great series; a lot of racers, a good group of tracks and some great drivers. It was disappointing to see all the negative talk. That kind of negative attitude has a way of infecting everyone and it isn’t long before people are saying bad things about a series just because it is the “in” thing to do. Great to see Kevin jump in and steer this ship in the right direction.

I agree with the talk here that GLORCS may need a class or a place where the new racer may join to get his feet wet. It is amazing how many possible racers will stay on the sideline in fear of “looking” like a novice. I don’t quite understand it, but it is a common problem that hurts entries on the club and big race level.

A series like GLORCS needs to take special care of the average racer. Make sure these guys are satisfied; they are the backbone of the hobby. The hotdog fast guys are easier to please and will show up and race under most any condition. Take care of the new racers and keep the everyday guys happy, then the series will grow.

I am hoping that Kevin’s “hands on” approach to managing GLORCS will help the series build back after a couple seasons of declining entries. Let’s all band together to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. At the club level, support your track and if your track has a store, try to send some business their way in an effort to keep that track open. Also, help your fellow racer with his car setup, pitting for him/her or even a driving tip or 2. A happy club racer will more likely attend a larger event like GLORCS. Also, a driver that is getting better and better each week is more likely to stay in the hobby. Try to convince your club racers at home into attending a bigger series race like GLORCS. If we work together, we can increase the number of racers at these events and in the end, make the hobby more enjoyable.

CRC Raceway is honored to be a GLORCS race host in 2011, we will do our best to put on a fun and enjoyable event for all.

Frank Calandra

[Dave Henry]

Here here

[JordanAK]

Well said Frank ! We Canadians are looking forward to making the trip to your track next year and very glad that You and your team of racers have done your best to suppport our race scene ! Thank You !

Making this series attractive to club racers and new racers is important and one thing that will need to be addressed is cost, one of my teammates suggested $40 & $30 for the 2nd class.
Also Kevin, Once things are ready to roll, how about a "flyer" or small poster that could be printed out and circulated/displayed in as many Hobby Shops as possible ? I know when im in a shop so many new rcer`s have no idea "racing" even happens within driving distance to them.

At this point, it looks like the Glorcs name should be kept intact for 2011 and beyond ?

[imported_BBFBCAP]

Thanks Frank. I look forward to getting the GLORCS series down there to race at CRC. Hopefully, once the flyers are done that Jordan suggested doing, I will send you one to post in your store. That will help drum up more interest from your local guys.

Jordan, aaaaabsoluuutely! In fact, I have an idea that I wanted to share. Let me know what you think...

Immediately after the conclusion of every season, a 'GLORCS series flyer design contest' is started to design the following years poster. Everyone would upload their design to this site, and they could then be voted on by the rest of the sites visitors, in a restricted poll.

It's obviously just for fun, but would certainly be something to look forward too. Does this sound like fun to you, or something that might work??? If not, I still LOVE the flyer idea, and will definitely get one made every year. Even if I have to do it myself. It wouldn't be pretty, but I'd do it!

Entry fees - To be honest, I haven't gotten that far yet. Once I get to review it, I will be sure to post what the following seasons fees will be, with an explanation as to how their justified. That news will likely be released at the same time as the schedule, so soon. I will say in advance that there was a tonne of work that went into, AND reasons why the fees where set to where they are, and those reasons are still very real. I'll share those reasons in more detail when the time comes, because I TRULY BELIEVE IT'S EVERYONE'S RIGHT TO KNOW WHERE THEIR MONEY'S GOING. This topic will be discussed more later.

I know there were mumblings of a name change to the series, that even I was involved in to some degree, but that's not going to happen any time soon, if ever. The GLORCS name has been around longer than any other 1/8 off-road series in Canada, and I think the integrity of that name needs to be protected and honed instead of being made to disappear. If we look at the big picture, the advantages of leaving the name the same, far out-way the disadvantages. So to answer your question Jordan, yes. The GLORCS name is very much in effect, and ready to grow grow grow!!!

[Gump]

Originally Posted by CRC Raceway

A series like GLORCS needs to take special care of the average racer. Make sure these guys are satisfied; they are the backbone of the hobby.

EXACTLY !

You nailed this right on the head and this is what was on our minds with some of the decisions that were made in the past. Things we tried like allowing three bumps instead of two (giving the lower classes an extra chance to race hard to bump up) and things like MANDATING more time for lower mains (used to be 10 - was mandated to MINIMUM 15) for more track time. I think it mostly went unnoticed and unappreciated. In fact we got a lot of grief for the three bumps idea.

One thing i came up with in the past was loudly rejected by the community and that was pre-sorted quals based on a combination of known ability and finishing positions from the last race and overall positions in the series .
It was conceived with the newer races in mind for the very purpose of giving them a less competitive and stressful environment to qualify and race in.
The thought was to randomize the a-b group, the c-d group and so-on down the line so that the exact same people weren't in the exact same qualifyers EVERY time out, while allowing at least similar skills within the qual. Unknowns would be dropped in to a totally random qual and would be sorted out based on their skill after the resort AND would be a 'known' by the next race.
Race directors/track owners hated the idea of the extra work (which could be mostly done before raceday based on pre-entry's and online results) and a lot of racers complained about the lack of randomization within the quals, actually claiming it would make the slow guys slower (somehow??) and the fast guys faster.
I truly think it is an idea that would work, though, and that would be attractive for lesser skilled racers to get them out and involved. So what if someone (somehow??) loses a few tenths here and there.

[Jeddddd]

First off ... great thread ... all positive ...

Originally Posted by CRC Raceway

A series like GLORCS needs to take special care of the average racer. Make sure these guys are satisfied; they are the backbone of the hobby.

Frank Calandra

With that said it doesnt have to be "all about them" but I could not agree more.

It is safe to say that Jimmy and I fall perfectly into this category (average racer). We don't race for trophies (but they are nice to get now and again), we dont race for glory or bragging rights, we race because our daily lives are stressful and it's a way to get out and have fun, get our kids into the hobby and spend some time with them and many good people in the hobby.

I can also say that I know exactly why we decided to "play in another playground". I will make a general statement that we found we werent really getting our "bang for our buck" in GLORCS as compared to other venues.

I agree with Kevin's post regarding the competitiveness of the series coming from the racers and the fact GLORCS can't tell people how to behave. However I think we can all agree that if the series is successful in recruiting more of the "average racer" that a shift in attitude IN GENERAL would be seen. Obviously you are still going to see the odd radio flying from the drivers stand LOL but I believe the general atmosphere would change.

I think the most important thing is that everyone is talking ... and positively ... and it's clear that GLORCS is listening ... it can only get better

Jeff

[imported_Jerome]

This is great news! I'm sure Kevin is best placed to develop the series !!

I would be back in 2011 for the entire season this time, it is better if there is a lot of races !!

We do not count the hours passed between Montreal and Ontario. lol

I can not wait to see you again !!

[S.Bortolotti]

Not to back-track but, the major issue with doing a 2-lap average in practice to sort the qualifying heats is that people crash, cut the track, etc. You would have to somehow insure that this doesn't happen and setting the minimum lap time isn't an effective solution either because people can still crash after cutting the track and appear to have a "normal" lap time.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about the sorting of the heats. People complain yes, but only when they get the short end of the stick and have a bad couple of runs. In onroad, a lot of big races sort the heats via the previous year's finishing order. So if you were in the A the previous year at that race, you will end up qualifying at this year's race with that same group. I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS FAIR, quite frankly I like random sorting the best, but if you want another idea, that is a possiblity.

Great to see so many ideas on the table and people getting involved!