Superseries - sucess or failure ?

[golfvanman]

whats peoples oppinions upon the superseries now after croft ?

did they deliver what they promised ?

ive been a firm beliver of giving somebody a fighting chance before you start to criticise but have came away a from croft feeling a little robbed .

what happened to £150 entry fee's
what happened to contracted european drivers
what happened to massive TV and media coverage

not wanting to seem to critical it was a well run event on the day with some very close and exciting racing but is that due to the drivers or organisers ?

didn't notice anything different to any other meeting ive raced at croft and we were promised a new era in rallycross

Would love to see happen in rallycross what they promised (bigger than touring cars) but after croft ................................ dont know, please prove me wrong !!!!!!!!!!!!

[sihorton]

Overall I have 2 views of the day.

Firstly, I think the day ran smoothly as a rallycross event with not too much waiting in between races and there seemed to be quite a good spectator turn out, with lots of people milling up and down the pitlane and generally seeming to enjoy themselves. This is certainly a credit to the RSS and DDMC personel that organised the event. The track was also in good condition and the racing / driving standards where high (except for the mini's that keep falling off at the first corner, but i also did later in the day so i'll shut up now )

Secondly you need to ask was it any different to any other rallycross event..
Well the answer is a bit of yes and no.
There wasn't the big super car turnout that was originally menitioned by the RSS and not a single competitor from mainland europe was at the day. The rest of the fields (except div1a) where fairly much exactly what you would find at most other rallycross dates, with the exception of stock hatch which had a smaller field than normal with some noticable names missing.

Also as golfman has already said, there also wasn't the TV coverage that was promised and the entry fees where higher than originally stated.

So to sum it up, yes it was a good days racing with some broken promises, but i wouldn't class it as been a superior class of event to the BRDA.
If I ask myself "would I race in the series again" the answer would probubly still be yes.

Si

[oaf]

It was a great day & it can only get better as the series gose on.

[206180]

A round trip of 600 miles to see a clubmans Rallycross with a handful of supercars !
Div1a 4 cars 3 not eligible under euro rules !
Act big think big !
But remember from small acorns to large oaks so lets see how it goes.

[M.Lowe]

As a spectator it was one of the best Rallycross meetings I've been to in a long time.

Even without the Europeans it was still a dam good event and hopefully they will come for the 2nd round

The best of luck with the series I say as its onto a winner and some of you may of heard Adrian Horsley when interviewed by Arthur Debenham when he said that he felt that the MSA series wasnt been run for the right reasons ie for the love of the sport as his views where that they where in it for the income whereas the RSS where in it for the sport, ok the entries may of been higher like Si Horton says but hopefully somebody from the RSS will come on here or give their reasons on the site or newsletter

[Steve Gibson]

Thanks all for what seems to be a vote of confidence in the RSS although the Europeans were there the event was well recieved and for those who thought from the begining that the promotors made up the entry from Jokinen all I can say is I have the original entry form signed by him and MSA regulations state that a driver is breaking the rules by entering more than one event and not turning up we will follow up why he entered Croft and the ERC round in France.

[206180]

Originally Posted by Steve Gibson

we will follow up why he entered Croft and the ERC round in France.

But the French ERC is next weekend !!!
Well done on a well run event.

[PhilChicken]

"But remember from small acorns to large oaks so lets see how it goes."

In some ways it did feel a bit like the old BTRDA clubmans rounds but, with super cars.

The RSS will move the sport forward given a chance, some of the ideas they have will need to be refined but its all part of the learning curve.

A proper water bowser for the next event? Or will that guarantee rain?

[Cryos]

RSS: Sucsess

I would like to just say to the organisers of the event that they have been very quick to get information out to websites about the event, secondly unlike some reports that we recieved in the past from the current championship this report has an overall indepth outlook to the day.

Secondly, any event that can attract the numbers it has and makes the drivers go away feeling that they have had a good day is a sucsess in my mind. In my mind it has not seperated the british rallycross community, i think it has brought the new life that was needed for so long, the likes of darren gass and other top quality drivers and their cars have committed to the championship.

I can only begin to imagine what new life will be sprung into action from the very positive comments about the first event, dispite all the mockary and bad moughting of the RSS just after its conception and before croft the RSS has in my mind made those people eat their own words. I look forward to competing in the RSS at the end of this year and next year! (can also finally meet some of the infamous drivers from around here ).

Good show Rallycross Promoters Ltd! You deserve yourselfs a big pat on the back!!!

[Stevie A]

RSS Success or Failure? It’s too early to say but if Croft is anything to go by I’d have to say failure.

First of all I enjoyed the days racing and it was very well organised with some good racing, but I still can’t help but feel disappointed.

The success of a business (which the RSS is) should be measured against its objectives and the RSS (on the Croft event anyway) simply doesn’t measure up. “Quality not quantity”, “Excellent TV coverage”, “Gateway to Europe”, “Contracted European drivers”. These were what the RSS was going to provide.

With the exception of DC, there were no “top level” Division 1 cars and none of the promised European drivers, hence a stroll in the park for Dermot. There wasn’t a single Division 2 car present and of the Division 1A cars I would doubt the legality of two of them for the European Championship. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but when the Division 1A regulationss were devised a few years ago now, I read that they were structured purposely to render cars built to Super 1600 rally regulationss ineligible to keep costs down. Factory S1600 machines are £60,000 + and Gass’/Pritchard’s cars are ex-works S1600 machines…….now how is that providing a series that allows competitors to compete in Europe? (Unless the cars have been modified to meet European Division 1A regulationss but with the fact that Gass’ time in the final would have put him 3rd in the Division 1 final and 3rd in the Supernational final I very much doubt it.)

The supernationals provided great entertainment all day and it was great to see cars like Mike’s Audi / Binks’ Mini really on form. Not sure about Bellerby’s 206 though, absolutely no low down power….needed to rev it to the heavens to get out of the tight bends and in all honesty got whipped by a lot less exotic machinery. Kev Proctor will take some beating for the rest of the year.

As for the other classes, there was some great racing and entertainment there but they still make up the bulk of the entry and this goes totally against the “quality not quantity” ethos when the RSS was first conceived. It’s just like the BRDA events of the last couple of years………..and I think we all know the opinions of the Rallycross Promoters Ltd personnel on those events! Is this really going to be a new era in rallycross?

From a spectators perspective, it seemed no different to an MSA event except without most of the top Supercar drivers, a few top Supermodified drivers and a Superfinal. Which begs the old question once again, why don’t the RSS and MSA/BRDA work together because going on the Croft event the RSS actually offers less, not more than the MSA Championship.

I’ll still support the RSS and attend the events (along with the MSA) and I really hope that it can deliver some of its promises. It needs time to develop and it’s hard to say whether it will succeed in delivering but I certainly wouldn’t put my mortgage on it. I'd like to be proved wrong!!!

[Cryos]

Originally Posted by Stevie A

RSS Success or Failure? It’s too early to say but if Croft is anything to go by I’d have to say failure.

First of all I enjoyed the days racing and it was very well organised with some good racing, but I still can’t help but feel disappointed.

The success of a business (which the RSS is) should be measured against its objectives and the RSS (on the Croft event anyway) simply doesn’t measure up. “Quality not quantity”, “Excellent TV coverage”, “Gateway to Europe”, “Contracted European drivers”. These were what the RSS was going to provide.

With the exception of DC, there were no “top level” Division 1 cars and none of the promised European drivers, hence a stroll in the park for Dermot. There wasn’t a single Division 2 car present and of the Division 1A cars I would doubt the legality of two of them for the European Championship. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but when the Division 1A regulationss were devised a few years ago now, I read that they were structured purposely to render cars built to Super 1600 rally regulationss ineligible to keep costs down. Factory S1600 machines are £60,000 + and Gass’/Pritchard’s cars are ex-works S1600 machines…….now how is that providing a series that allows competitors to compete in Europe? (Unless the cars have been modified to meet European Division 1A regulationss but with the fact that Gass’ time in the final would have put him 3rd in the Division 1 final and 3rd in the Supernational final I very much doubt it.)

The supernationals provided great entertainment all day and it was great to see cars like Mike’s Audi / Binks’ Mini really on form. Not sure about Bellerby’s 206 though, absolutely no low down power….needed to rev it to the heavens to get out of the tight bends and in all honesty got whipped by a lot less exotic machinery. Kev Proctor will take some beating for the rest of the year.

As for the other classes, there was some great racing and entertainment there but they still make up the bulk of the entry and this goes totally against the “quality not quantity” ethos when the RSS was first conceived. It’s just like the BRDA events of the last couple of years………..and I think we all know the opinions of the Rallycross Promoters Ltd personnel on those events! Is this really going to be a new era in rallycross?

From a spectators perspective, it seemed no different to an MSA event except without most of the top Supercar drivers, a few top Supermodified drivers and a Superfinal. Which begs the old question once again, why don’t the RSS and MSA/BRDA work together because going on the Croft event the RSS actually offers less, not more than the MSA Championship.

I’ll still support the RSS and attend the events (along with the MSA) and I really hope that it can deliver some of its promises. It needs time to develop and it’s hard to say whether it will succeed in delivering but I certainly wouldn’t put my mortgage on it. I'd like to be proved wrong!!!

Ill stop you there Justin Dales S1600 106 was for sale for £20,000 plus spares, gass's saxo would of been slightly more expensive.

[Stevie A]

I took my info from a number of articles i've read regarding the spiralling costs of the JWRC......ie brand new bang upto date factory machine.

[chris cake]

The RSS Croft event ran ,as some people said it would not happen so it must of been a sucess !
Ok there was no tv and the entry was from the uk and ireland . The tv will come as said before and once the word gets around drivers who don't race in this country will try there luck,so lets give them time . There were a lot of drivers looking on and i got the idea that they will enter a RSS event soon.

[AndyMil]

[QUOTE=PhilChicken A proper water bowser for the next event? Or will that guarantee rain?[/QUOTE]

What! you mean 2 old IBCs is not good enough?.

Seriously though, Good racing and a decent variety of cars(apart from the pug club) made for a good day.

You really need to change that colour Phil, It makes you an easy target, we thought you were trying to make it into a single seater when you had both doors caved in!!

[Cryos]

Originally Posted by Stevie A

I took my info from a number of articles i've read regarding the spiralling costs of the JWRC......ie brand new bang upto date factory machine.

Quoting the Tagline from the sales article for evans's micra "£45,000 : half the price of some of the cars currently being built..."

60 Thousand pounds for a band spanking new S1600 is a bargan.

[silver bullet]

IMO the first round of the super series was a success, in that the meeting went ahead, it was well organised and I think most of the spectators and competitors went home happy.

On the other hand none of the original targets were reached, no europeans, no TV and it was far from a "quality not quantity" field with over half the entrys being in the clubman section.
This said the organisers have said its a three year plan, so if they keep putting on well organised, well supported meetings I'm sure the big names will come.

I did hear of one acrimonious situation involving the organisers which could do with sorting out, hopefully it soon will be.
Loosing Knockhill is also a big blow, what is the Blyton meeting on September the 18th going to be called

[Queen]

After seeking legal advice over this matter a letter of the legal kind is winging it's way to the appropiate people.I hope to resolve this matter amicably. If not see you at Anglesey.

[denver01]

gass's car was £28000 in motorsport news. Those two cars are old cars. they are not any were near the spec of proper S16 cars like the clios etc. i was at the race and gass's saxo has only had the seat removed from it and it is still a rally car. Interestingly it was 52 kG heavier than pritchards, so maybe he had a better driving style in the wet conditions of the final ? who knows. Jonathon Greer was not allowed to enter the meeting as his car has a sequential gearbox, i think this is stupid becausew the RSS were struggling for entries and in my opinion should have grabbed greers entry as he may have give Darren a better race than Jason..

[Simon Ross]

I have just been on the Super Series website and that event had had more or less double the number of entries in all classes than last weekends event at Knockhill so if that event was short on tntries then it surely makes the British Championship a big joke?

ps. The Stock Cars were gr8 at Knockhill - well reccomended. The F1 stock cars are next at Knockhill on 12th of June.

[M.Lowe]

The Super Series at Croft Simon had a dam good entry in the amount of cars they had racing on the day, ok there wasnt many Supercars but when for a first event they get that many cars racing I think it says that the British Championship needs to do something to get the good days of rallycross back

[HrRACING]

Originally Posted by Simon Ross

I have just been on the Super Series website and that event had had more or less double the number of entries in all classes than last weekends event at Knockhill so if that event was short on tntries then it surely makes the British Championship a big joke?

ps. The Stock Cars were gr8 at Knockhill - well reccomended. The F1 stock cars are next at Knockhill on 12th of June.

We have all already told you the entry for Knockhill was not up to normal British Championship rounds!

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by M.Lowe

The Super Series at Croft Simon had a dam good entry in the amount of cars they had racing on the day, ok there wasnt many Supercars but when for a first event they get that many cars racing I think it says that the British Championship needs to do something to get the good days of rallycross back

Don't forget that the Lydden round of the BRC was well supported and had a healthy supercar contingent (always room for more though ).

The other factor in the relative entries is the presence of the minicrossers - that's a fair chunk of entries that the BRC closed the door on and the RSS quite rightly snapped up. The 'clubman' element formed the greater part of the entry at the RSS meet but that's no bad thing.

(Something does need to be done though - are there enough rallycrossers out there to support the MSA, BTRDA and RSS run events? More co-operation required between all the different factions.)

[bigted]

I thought the RSS didnt want the clubman too start with

[silver bullet]

Neither RPL or the BRDA wanted the clubmen to begin with but they have both come to realise that they need the clubmen.
There are not enough competitors in the top divisions at the moment to run any meeting without having to resort to the lower fomulas to fill up the entrys.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by silver bullet

Neither RPL or the BRDA wanted the clubmen to begin with but they have both come to realise that they need the clubmen.
There are not enough competitors in the top divisions at the moment to run any meeting without having to resort to the lower fomulas to fill up the entrys.

Spot on. It was inevitable that the RSS and BRC would need support from the clubmen (especially once the BRC dropped minicross). Neither wanted them but they had to change that view just to survive.

In a similar way the RSS has adapted its rules (as you mentioned in another thread bigted) on a number of occasions to encourage more competitors. It's perfectly understandable - they would have been short on entries without adding stock hatch and minicross to the package. The other rule changes are probably just the organisers finding out what's working and what isn't - it is the first season after all.