> In looking at the e-mails that have come in and having been involved in many
> philisophical discussions within SOVREN re: grouping cars, I think there are
>at
> least four good reasons for not grouping cars by lap times:
1. Some cars achieve their lap times through rapid acceleration and top
speed while others do so by having superior handling, light weight and more
efficient brakes. Obviously putting Corvettes out there with Formula Fords is
frustrating for the drivers of both even though lap times may be equal.
2. Size differential--in the previous example, you have big differences in
size and weight while having similar lap times. This creates problems with the
drivers of the big cars seeing the smaller cars, and can also lead to inequities
should a collision occur i.e. if I was going to be hit by a corvette, I would
just as soon be in another Corvette or Mustang rather than my Formula Jr.
3. You might have a very large number of cars with very similar lap times
which would result in either too large a group, or a group sub-divided solely on
lap times when it might be more reasonable to divide these near equal lap time
cars on age, engine displacement, type of car, etc.
4. It looks stupid to have groups with such disparity: age of car, type of
car, engine displacement. As an example using lap times only, we could have a
1930's Alfa Grand Prix car racing a Ginetta G4, racing a Titan Mk 6 Formula
Ford,
racing a Mustang, racing an H mod, racing a Lotus 7, etc.
You may have fast cars driven by slow drivers and you may have slow cars driven
by fast drivers. Those of us that manage races are always trying to deal with
the "grouping" problem and usually there are some unhappy competitors. Having
raced with many different groups, I can tell you that there are many different
systems including what sometimes appears as "random selection." From the Race
Chairman's point of view, the less interpretation and "tweaking" that is
involved, the better. If your group has a policy or system for grouping cars
and
this is known to all, then there is little bitching. It is only when you have a
flexible policy or a policy that isn't clear cut, that you get grumbling and
requests (or demands) for movement from one group to another. This is a
nightmare for organizers.
Dick Buckingham, Jr.
Race Chairman - SOVREN
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