just a though on oversized grids

[marcus]

having read the main story in auto action this week I got to thinking about what can actually be done to save drivers from packing up and going home early , simply the answer is nothing ?????

but after a bit something came to me and im not quite sure how it would work but it sounded interesting at the time.

ok so we have 32 spots for cars on the grid and say 45 show up for the weekend , that means 13 cars will have to go home without even getting to race, thats a shame for the drivers, sponsors and spectators alike, so why not have a repocharge race on saturday after qualifying to give the guys a chance of getting in the show ?

ok I hear you say , but they had their chance in qualifying and were to slow , fair enough i agree only the fastest should be in the main races but how about this for something a little different.

run qualifying and the fastest 28 auotmatically qualify for the main races , this leaves 4 remaining spots on the grid, if 45 cars showed up that would leave 15 cars to battle it out for the last 4 places on the grid.

have a race for these guys after qualifying ( not sure on how the grid should go , maybe qualifying order would be best but possibly a card draw would be a bit of fun for the spectators at least) im also not sure on what distance it should be , but it would need to be a reasonably long race to give the guys towards the back a chance to get up the front if they are good enough, the top 4 finishers of this race then qualify for the main races on sunday , the rest having proven sadly that they are not quick enough in qualifying and in race trim then have to pack up and go home , not ideal for them but at least they got to have one race.
get channel 10 to televise the race as well giving the sponsors of these cars some air time and at least pleasing them a little bit and they would be extra happy if their car finished in the top 4 because that would give them more time on TV on sunday.

the whole situation is not ideal I know , but i certainly dont like the idea of pre qualifying and I dont like the idea of it only being 32 cars allowed and the rest can go play in the Konica series , i believe everyone deserves and equal shot at getting into the races and if they fail then they have a chance in the repocharge.

sounds good to me and its only a quick thing ive thought of without alot of thought , but maybe thats one possibility.


anyone else have any ideas on how this problem (which really is a good one to have isnt it?) can be dealt with ?

[PEPSI]

Marcus - I can only speak for myself but your idea certainly has merit if they resort back to pre-qualifying.

I will still make it hard to sell to sponsors as there will be no way of giving them firm details about which races a lower team will be in on a Sunday (if any) for them to organise corporate visits, hospitality etc. Also, for a team to invest in a franchise to do the main series, the guarantee of racing is the only way a franchise has any value (see F1, CART etc.)

It does however go a long way to ensure that if a top team suffers a rare gremlin in pre-qualifying, they have the opportunity to re-enter through the repocharge.

It is a nice problem to have (oversubscribed grids) but not an easy one to solve. AVESCO are looking into running the Konica series along side the main game to provide a repocharge opportunity but the Konica teams cannot afford to do all of the rounds to make it viable, nor do teams from the main series have any interest in running in a feeder category as they have built their sponsorship base on something greater.

Heres a drink on me for a good idea.

[Diabando]

you get a beer from me on this one too!

Great theory Marcus, but why do I have the feeling that by the time the white collar paper shufflers finish with the 'organisation', it will be deemed "unworkable".

[marcus]

thanks for the drink

and yes its a wierd situation to be in and I dont know how it could be fixed, and another factor i didnt take into account is the extra cost of running a repocharge race, OK surely it wont be thousands and thousands of dollars but it would add another running cost onto teams budgets and if you are that far down the grid then your budget obviously isnt the best anyway and of course there is the added problem of repocharge carnage , to many guys getting a bit anxoius to get into the main show and punting and pushing and stuff and we know that will happen and you can destroy a $300,000 dollar car just as easilly in that race as any other and then also it adds another element of protests and penalties and stuff as well , but I guess if they ran it on saturday then they have overnight to asses video and eye witness accounts and try and deal with any problems.

[racer69]

I like the basis of your idea marcus.

I would like to see, if for instance 45 cars show up, first of all the maximum number of cars the circuit can take being used, if for instance the track density was 38, 38 cars could start, not just 32.

Also, no prequalifying, on the friday, there are two practice sessions, of which say the top 22 in these sessions go into the top 50% qualifying, the other 23 go into the bottom 50% of qualifying. Then when qualifying came, whoever the top 38 or whatever would get in, based on the two sessions. No one automatically gets in, you have to do it on speed alone. And qualifying would have to be a half hour minimum for each group.

The guys that miss out get a race of their own on sunday, infront of the race day crowd, with TV. If during the main races some drivers retire and can't compete in the next races, the guys who missed out are called upon to racein the next race, based on qualifying.

[The Tool Man]

Marcus

Well done mate, the first thing youve got to do is phone AVESCO and tell Cochrane (Mr Garrison from South Park) to and then take his job and the Australian V8 Supercars will be headed in the write direction

[275 GTB-4]

Is it the track density or the crowded grid that is perceived to be the problem?

If it is the track density then Marcus's ideas may be the only way to go. However, if it is overcrowded grids then is having say two groups grided up followed by a staggered start worked out on the lap times of the slower group(I know what a pain that could be logistically, two lots of those crazy people who actually run at an advancing V8 like some sort of Matador! It could also be chaotic if you get the inevitable jump starters from the second group etc)

But could it work and would it give the faster cars a cleaner start and time to get into a rythym before having to tackle slower cars??

[Flaggie]

Mate, it's not track density at places like PI where track density for Supercars/V8's is 40. Same with Sandown.

[Onlooker]

It is the lack of garage area and pit bays for the stops that is the point.
Imagine parking 45 teams worth of transporters at Winton,Adelaide,QLD,Symonds Plains or Indy what a mess.

[Crash Test]

Ah, but the thing is these days that there are 2 cars to every pit boom. At QR, you have 50 spaces for pit booms, therefore, if you could fit them on a track, you could have 100 starters. Sure, you mightn't be able to fit everyone in the paddock directly behind the pits at Adelaide, but you should be able to make it happen. If you really want to race, I don't think you'd go home without racing simply because you have a hike to the garages...