I've seen posts for years about us having "too many classes" in Solo II.
Why are people concerned? I dunno, maybe their own pet class is suffering
from a mass exodus to another class or something. I know when we started
the OSP class here in Atlanta that the EM guys were ticked because they
didn't have any trophy fodder, anymore. And frankly, now EM is just about
dead here, while OSP is drawing 7-10 drivers per event.
I certainly hope that the number of Trophies Denver has to buy or the
fact the awards banquets go so long aren't the reasons some of you oppose
the number of classes we have. I'm sure the entry fees from 15+ entries
in each class should be able to fund the trophies/jackets.
How do you think Nationals drew almost 1100 drivers this year? Do you
honestly think that if we reduced the numbers of classes that we could
STILL draw that many drivers? I doubt it. Of course, there is always an
element, in our club, who would like to keep our sport small like it used
to be "in the good old days."
SCCA has two challenges in the development of the Solo II program:
1. Keep current Solo II competitors happy with the classes structured for
their current cars.
2. Attract new drivers to the sport.
Class proliferation is a natural development IF we want to attract new
people. There are simply new and different types of cars that enthusiasts
are embracing, so classes developed to meet those needs is natural.
This IS amateur motorsports. Holding fast to last year's classing
structure or regressing back to an earlier day will simply push many
enthusiasts out of our sport. Adding a couple classes each year and
perhaps deleting one will naturally follow the ebb and flow in vehicle
interest.
Endless dabates about Ladies classes is a waste of time. The Ladies
classes work, why fix something that works? Besides, we were able to get
3 drivers in our car at Topeka this year because of Ladies classes.
Typically, you can max out with 4 drivers (2 open 2 ladies) which makes
the whole Topeka experience much LESS expensive to the participants AND
helps more people to experience the highest level of our sport.
Ben Thatcher
Apex Benefit Services & Motorsports
Stockbridge, GA
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