intercontinental drive exchange scheme !

[carsten.meurer]

for some time i have a pretty strange idea on my mind...

i would love to do some racing on far away tracks ( maybe bathurst, laguna seca, wherever ), and surely won't ship my racecar there for obvious reasons !
hiring a car from a professional team is also out of question, as i cannot afford theire rates !

now i thgought maybe others feel the same way, and someone who is fed up
racing his local bathurst track, would kill to do spa or the ring if only he could afford it !

now if people like this could get together somewhere on the web and try and find a match for what they want to do !
basically on - you race mine, i race yours - sheme !
this way you only have the expense of a race at your local track, for a far away race mixed in with a holiday !

of course there will be problems to overcome, like the level of preparation,
cost per race mile, entry fee or race lenght !
but me for sure would be willing to accept a compromise to race at those tracks.
its a matter of trusting someone who you do not know aswell, and giving your racecar to someone else is never nice, surely not if you do not know his racing background or driving style !

what are your thoughts about this ?

it just came to my mind again thinking about my options for this years phoenix park race ! take my car, find one locally... you got the idea !

[Fiorentina 1]

This a great idea! Maybe, do something where you can share your car with the driver at a VLN event at the Nurburgring in exchange for a Grand-Am cup event at Laguna Seca or Mid Ohio.
I tried to organize something like that with a driver/team owner in FIA GT who wanted to race at Daytona 24 last year. But the driver/ team owner I was working for was not interested in doing an exchange. Even though this year he did....

[StephenRae]

I would love to race at Laguna Seca, Road America, Willow Springs etc in exchange for the FF Festival or whatever in the UK. This type of exchange would be easier with say a Formulae Ford as the cars are a known quantity. I would guess an international license would be required although I did race in America a long time ago with an IMSA licence obtained locally.

[zefarelly]

I've been thinking something along these lines, I know a racer in Aus . . . Spa for Bathurst swap is my thinking !

[carsten.meurer]

glad to see i am not all on my own with this idea !

maybe with transport cost going thru the roof, even a deal of in return
drives at tracks like oulton and spa or the ring makes sense !

and surely there will always be problems weighing up different sorts of
cars and preparation with each other !
but on most interesting tracks the number of events and eligible vehicles
will make it hard to find even a chance to race with what you got at hand !

so if you let me race your FF at bathurst, i need to sit you in a touring car at the ring, simply as no single seaters are allowed !

ALSO I WOULD LOVE TO LEARN ABOUT SOME OF THE CLUB TRACKS THAT AUSSI AND US RACERS GO TO !
for example virginia raceway is seldom mentioned anywhere, but seems a hell of a track !

[midgetman]

Carsten, has your father still got his Sprite? Could save me trailering to the Ring then you can drive mine here..............

Max

[carsten.meurer]

never had a sprite max !

he's got a spitfire, but only road going ( if going at all.. stationary for a decade ! ).
his friends have either build theires back to road spec, sold it, or the one
i raced is no longer complying with appK, as the roll over bar is too small,
and the owner did not want to scar the car with a big hoop !

all i might have access to is a mgA !
need to see if it fits the race you need to start in !

[MGDavid]

Like the idea, carsten. I walked Laguna Seca a few years ago and put it on my 'to do' list. Having done the 'ring with FISC, it's now at the top of the list... just maybe it could happen.

[midgetman]

Sorry Carsten, could have sworn he had a Sprite. Age catching up on me I suppose - still it was you described as a "Veteran" FF1600 competitor in Autosport a couple of years ago so I must really be the young one.

Do you know anything about the Historic (?) meeting at the Ring on 28/29 July that FISC has been invited to. Seems an ideal chance to put your plan into action, an A seems a good idea. More room than a Midget.

[JohnD]

Carsten
What a great idea. Sad to say, I fear it will be smothered by beurocracy, in the UK at least.

Last year, an e-friend of mine in the USA who races the same margue and type of car in the SCCA series, was due to come on holiday to the UK. He asked if he could have a race with us. One of our marque traders had built a race hire-car, and the club was all for it, but let's just check with the MSA about his licence.

Wish we hadn't asked, though I suppose the CoC would have found us out. Certainly he can race, said the MSA. Which ARDS course will he be going on? Beg your pardon? Oh, he'll have to take a UK ARDS test, ooh and surrender his US licence. Sorry, this is a short holiday visit, one, maybe two races in this country, can we talk to the Secretary to the Race Committee? I AM the Secretary!

Turns out that the MSA is being leant on by the FIA, partly because the MSA has been lax in enforcing updated safety measures - built in fire extinguishers, FIA homologated harness etc. etc. This includes not allowing 'foreign' drivers, unless the race series specificly allows them and the race is entered on a special list of races that are eligable for foreign entries. Oh ,and they must have an International licence. See Part V of the Blue Book.
Our series officials had never heard of all this.
My friend didn't get his race.

Sad, isn't it? Just when we are beginning to become part of our Continent, "the mainland is cut off from Europe".

Best wishes for your exchange scheme!

John

[carsten.meurer]

yes, you are surely right john !

it needs to be a international event ! a full int event, as a int event reserved to nacional licens wouldn't do !
even in a full int event, he needs to have his licens, and a declaration from his asn that he is entitelt to race with you, as long as his asn is not european and following the fia !

stupid world !

makes me cry out loud again : send all the asn's home that make the sport expensive with no benefit !
leave them with pro racing, and bring the fun back into club level !

[JohnD]

carsten,
That's just what I said to the MSA. Why do they not encourage club racing, nationally and internationally? Where do they think the future comes from, if not the grass roots?

I should say that we also have had an invitation from our German colleagues to a NurburgRing race this year. Very kind and we are most grateful! It was very close to the Classic Le Mans weekend and there was a lot of interest, but the date has changed so that the added cost of two ferry trips is a deterrance.

It's a mad world, my masters!

John

[ss_collins]

I sort of already happens in Vee, I nearly went to South Africa last year to do one of thier race on the condition that I lent mine to the owner to do a german race.