Equally nowhere. April Fool, of course. :-)
--Pat K
Kevin Stevens wrote:
> For those of you not on the National list - looks like this will affect all
> regions equally...
>
> KeS
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-autox@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-autox@autox.team.net]On
> > Behalf Of rjohnson@friendlynet.com
> > Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 22:55
> > To: autox@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Major Announcement
> >
> >
> >
> > Time to unveil something that has been quietly in the works for 6+
> > months. Many of you know that I have been strongly opposed to the
> > ever-expanding number of classes in Solo II; and the "build it and they
> > will come" attitude often expressed when suggesting a new class/category
> > that is primarily designed to fufill the needs of the proposer, rather
> > than meeting the needs of the sport as a whole. We have seen efforts
> > directed to small pickup trucks, shifter carts, the various iterations
> > of 'Street' - and this is only the list of classes that have become
> > reality. Many more have been proposed.
> >
> > This current effort started years ago in a casual conversation with
> > Peter Raymond, and has really blossomed with the help of Byron Short and
> > Howard Duncan. And as Byron was the point guy for the shifter carts,
> > and Hoser Grant the SM evolution, I have become, by default, the lead in
> > this effort. And I need your help, in two ways. We need to form a
> > committee for rules, etc. and also find some regions that are willing to
> > test the concept at the local level.
> >
> > In short, we are about to address probably the largest segment of
> > un-enfranchised motorsports enthusiasts in the country: motorcycle
> > riders. Hundreds of thousands of hi-performance machines out there, and
> > unless they are willing to run motocross or the hi-dollar world of road
> > racing, they have NO place to play with their machines. We are about to
> > provide that place, in Solo II.
> >
> > Where we are so far: We have a commitment for a class in the Pro &
> > Tour events for 2001, and likely an exhibition class at the Solo II
> > Nationals that same year. This leaves us plenty of time to work the
> > rest of the issues.
> >
> > The AMA (American Motorcycle Association) is fully on board, and will
> > likely be of some help in rules development - both for next year's trial
> > class, and for the inevitable expansion of classes in this category
> > beyond 2001. The AMA is offering to it's existing and potential members
> > a reduced price, dual AMA/SCCA membership, as they see Solo II and the
> > affiliation with SCCA a way to retain and increase their membership.
> > Prior to contacting SCCA, they had considered developing an autocross
> > program on their own, but this partnership gives them access to an
> > established, on-going successful program. The benefit to SCCA and it's
> > regions is obvious: increased numbers at events, with only incremental
> > costs. These folks attending events will hardly require most of us to
> > expand paddock space, for example!
> >
> > For the future, AMA would like to tie into SCCA's Solo I and Club
> > Racing programs, especially at the Regional level. Many Regional races
> > are undersubscribed, and the addition of a class or two of motorcycles
> > would help absorb the large overhead of a Club Racing weekend, with no
> > reduction in track time for the existing classes. This will make entry
> > fees more affordable to our existing competitors.
> >
> > In some areas of the country, with smaller Solo II programs, I can
> > easily see rapid growth to the point where there would be more
> > motorcycles than cars. This makes sites more affordable, and more money
> > in the treasury from the big increase in entries.
> >
> > I will not claim that all of the issues have been addressed, as
> > necessary to meld the 2 wheel crowd seamlessly into the existing Solo II
> > mix. Much of the development and safety work done during the shifter
> > cart movement will serve us well, like abrasion suits for example.
> >
> > -This will certainly lead to incredible growth, as many have desired.
> >
> > -The numbers and demographics of this crowd are very appealing -
> > today's performance motorcycles aren't
> > cheap!
> > -We have a soft promise of major sponsorship from one of the biggest
> > manufacturers.
> > -There is the strong impression that the excitement of motorcycles is
> > just what is needed to finally bring a
> > significant TV presense to the sport.
> > -This provides a high performance, lower cost alternative to our
> > existing participants.
> > -It provides a place to play for those who have retired from
> > motocross, at a very early age.
> >
> > I am also convinced that there will be many nay-sayers out there, who
> > will make claims that motorcycles do not belong in Solo II, and that the
> > whole concept is a joke. Save your breath. As sure as it rains in
> > April, this will happen; and we won't be made fools of in the motorcycle
> > community as we were in the cart crowd.
> >
> > If you are interested in serving on the committee, to address
> > classing/prep/safety issues, or can convince your Region to serve as a
> > test-bed for the concept, please contact us at:
> >
> > www.lirpaloof.com/foops.html
> >
> > Roger (Ohio) Johnson
> >
> >
> >
> > to: int:autox@autox.team.net
> > cc: int:duncanscca@aol.com
> >
> >
|