Paul, you wrote....
>Eligability over the years has been held to the stricter definition of
>vehicle such that, as I review a comprehensive list of current members'
>vehicles, the cutoff seems to be predominately 1930 with exception granted
>to T type MGs which were included many years ago as a sub register.
Is this not the reason that the HSRCA came into existence in the first =
place - because some people in the vintage movement steadfastly failed =
to acknowledge the existence of cars manufactured after some magic =
cut-off date?
>With time this has created quite a dilemma for the club which is now being
>seen as likely to threaten the very future survival of the club. For as the
>average age of current members advances and the cost of entry level
>vehicles increases it has being noted for some time that new members are
>just not joining the club.
Surely this is purely a reflection of the fact that most younger people =
(says he at almost 50 years of age) can not relate to the cars that =
exist in VSCCA - the cars are before their time, so they would probably =
prefer to spend money on cars that they remember from their youth (and =
probably could not afford at that time).
>Historic or Vintage Racing has virtually been relegated now to the Historic
>Sports and Racing Car Association of New South Wales (HSRCA) which is now
>racing vehicles up to the mid '70's. Regularity events are run for the
>older/slower/more valuable/historic vehicles which takes into account the
>age/condition/skill of driver and car such that neither are asked to
>compete beyond the limits at which they are comfortable.
I'm sure that you didn't intend to be disparaging about HSRCA - let us =
recognise that HSRCA has 650+ members and runs the largest race =
meetings in the Southern Hemisphere. When I was on the Committee and =
had responsibility within the Race Committee as well, we managed to =
achieve 420 competitors at our Eastern Creek all-Historic Race Meeting. =
HSRCA runs 3 all-Historic race meetings each year and entries are now =
in the region of 350 at Eastern Creek, 230 at Amaroo Park and 220 at =
Wakefield Park. Most categories are well-subscribed, with the =
exception being Groups J (pre'31) and K (1931-40): the J/K cars still =
exist, but most owners are not keen to race them (or even put them out =
in Regularity with a younger driver) - which is a great shame because =
those cars that do run are well worth watching.
I believe that one of the biggest problems with Historic Motorsport in =
Australia at present is that there are too many cliques. This appears =
to be particularly prevalent amongst the owners/drivers of older cars, =
who seem to regard later cars as not being "real racing cars". This =
attitudinal problem becomes even more apparent when you look at many =
views regarding Sports Cars from '65 onwards and, heaven forbid, any =
type of Saloon Car.
Thus, we have a bunch of self-appointed "upholders of the faith" who =
refuse to acknowledge that most people in Historics want to have =
fun/sport on the track and reasonable amount of social interaction. =
These purists are far more concerned about stopping cars from running, =
on such wonderful grounds as "the instrument face is not a period =
colour", rather than getting the cars restored and operational.
Some of this thinking even extends to safety related items - it took me =
a considerable amount of time to get the rules altered to allow Group =
Na (pre'58 Classic Saloons) cars to be fitted with full roll cages and =
drivers side intrusion bar, if desired by the driver, rather than the =
original manadatory half-cage. Similarly, it took a lot of work to =
reach the point where proper racing seats were permitted in place of =
"bodging" the inadequate original seat. My current campaign relates to =
the inadequacy of old steel wheels - they might have been better when =
brand-new, but who really wants to risk their life on 40-year old wheel =
centres that are probably highly crystalline.
So, says he climbing down from soapbox, how do we attract younger =
people into Historics and get older cars back out in competition again?
Suggestions:
=80 Why not encourage more older drivers to act as mentors to =
younger drivers and maybe let them drive the race car in the Regularity =
class. We have a number of fathers who let their sons (and =
occasionallly daughters) do just that - I have offered my car to my =
elder daughter's boyfriend (my daughter wasn't interested in driving) =
to drive in Regularity.
=80 Make new competitors welcome - we have a 17-year old who will =
be having his first race, in a Cooper S, at Wakefield Park in November =
- so us "old Fogies" in Group N Touring Cars will certainly be trying =
to make him welcome - I remember how helpful people were when I started =
in competition events back in the UK in the '60s. Also, if he enjoys =
the weekend and feels that he belongs, he may well encourage others of =
his age group to join us.
=80 Make new club members, and vistors, welcome - if the old =
clique stick together and ignore newcomers, you'll never attract/retain =
new members. Think this one is a statement in the bleeding obvious - =
next event, just observe how newcomers are ignored (which means that =
you, gentle reader, will have to take the initiative and introduce =
yourself to the newbie). In Appendix J Association of NSW (Classic =
Touring Cars) we make the Committee wear name/function tags at events, =
and, suggest that the Committee introduce themselves to vistors they =
don't recognise - also we have designated Liaison Officers for each of =
our three categories and they are responsible for looking after new =
members who are interested in that category.
=80 Apply eligibility rules with some discretion and common sense =
- if the car is a blatant cheater then turf it out immediately, if the =
car has a suspect performance enhancer then make it mandatory to get it =
fixed prior to being allowed to compete in the next event, but, if the =
owner has obviously tried hard meet the rules but has a couple of =
cosmetic faults, then let them run with the proviso that they rectify =
the problem by the end of the season (and maybe ask one of the older =
"experts" to act as a mentor in eliminating the problem item).
=80 Suggest to some of the pedants and purists (anal-retentives =
in John Hardy-speak) that their passion might be better directed away =
from stopping people running and instead use their extensive and =
detailed knowledge in assisting other owners to complete restorations =
and prepare race cars.
=80 Retain cut-off dates, but run them static by category. This =
can avoid the rolling cut-off date problems mentioned earlier on this =
thread. However, do review cut-off dates each year to see whether or =
not a particular later category has now reached a point where it can be =
classified in its own right and without disrupting the current =
categories - this may mean you introduce a new category every 5-10 =
years.
=80 Recognise that each category has merits in its own right and =
that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me a grid of '50s/'60s =
Saloon Cars is a terrific sight and takes me back to my younger days, =
as does a gaggle of Formula 5000s. Other people may not be so =
enthused, but instead may look at a grid of air-cooled and rear-engined =
open-wheelers and see beauty there. We need to recognise these =
differences and accept them as such - if we work together for Historic =
Motorsport all of the categories can co-exist and we can promote our =
sport in such a way that new enthusiasts will be willing to participate =
and will build or buy cars so that history continues.
As you will notice I have carefully avoided mentioning replicas - =
mainly because I didn't want the phone lines to go into meltdown mode.
Thank you for reading this far - I hope I didn't bore you or create too =
much apoplexy.
...regards....Andrew Pursey
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