Originally Posted by Mark Petch
Fall of your key-board's laughing, but I also agree with Martin, because after all the years trying to make a level playing field work, I am forced to conclude it won't work in this country for one reason, and one reason alone, and I am happy to share my opinion on this below.
The problem, as I see it, is not so much the lack of money in NZ, and our tiny population, but a lack of motivation by people with money but not quite the ability to foot it with the very best drivers that dominate any "level playing field" motor racing in NZ,including my own responsibility, Ssangyong Actyon Sport Racing.
Allow me to elaborate, I know for a fact that we, SRS, will lose at least 3 or more, of our very good ute competitors at the end of this season because they can't stand being beaten by someone in identical machinery. They will either drop out of motor racing for ever, or move on two a category were either money or engineering ability can make a difference, or so they hope.
My point being, that even in such a low cost category, competitors drift away if they can't see themselves getting at or near the sharp end.
Lets just say, as Martin Collins dared to suppose, that we allowed 2 and 4 door Touring cars within certain defined criteria, e.g.. maximum wheel sizes, minimum weight, minimum cockpit/glasshouse size, no ABS, and only normally aspirated engines etc, we might be very surprised what comes out of the 'woodwork', so to speak.
Why? because those people with money and some ability, fancy their chances a lot better if they could put in the engine and gearbox with the best power to weight performance etc, just as many do with their $300K plus Muscle Cars at this present moment.
Re-powering an ST or TLX car with pretty much whatever you want will appeal to a great deal of people, so buying a donor race ready ST or TLX car for not much more than a $100K, and re-powering it with any normally aspirated engine, that will/must run on 98 octane pump gas, will have very real appeal to a far greater competitor base than owning and running a tightly controlled ST car.
You only have to go back in time to see the appeal of the hugely diverse range of cars and engines that the NZ Saloon Car Championship had it in its hey-day before the MSNZ declared in 1983/84 that Group A would become the Premier Saloon/Touring Car Championship. When that all collapsed [because of the lack of competitors] Tranzam took off, but again collapsed in 2003 and suddenly MSNZ minimum decided it would be a good idea to take over Greg Lancaster's Transam Lights, which had by then morphed into NZV8's, as the way forward, the rest is history.
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