Minicross out of the British Rallycross Championship.

[Minicross424]

I got this from a very good source tonight.
The BRDA is to only run Minicross in the clubmans championship and not the British.
If this turns out to be true i have this to add:
BRDA rest in peace, you are droping a series that helped save you in the 1990's.
And just what do they have planed for the stock hatch?
All its going to take is some Supercars going missing, a drop in modified grids and they will be on there knees.
Its also rumored that the BRDA is looking for a manufacturer to allow the Juinor class to become a one make series.
The cars would have a price tag of approx £10,000.
If this is true what do you guys and girls think about it?

[silver bullet]

If this is true and the BRDA are dropping minicross from the British Championship it is madness. I know that there are some people that say the minis are boring but the vast majority love to watch the close racing. Also how can they do without the entry fees. I know that ultimately the BRDA want the British Championship to be for Supercars & Modified and the BTRDA for Stockhatch & Minicross but we are some years away from having enough cars to do this yet.
I dont see how they can have a one make series for the juniors other than using Minis because the MSA minimum ages are 16 for rallycross & 14 for Minicross.

[ebby]

Minicross has provided us with what I believe is some of the best racing in Rallycross over the years. The supercars and modified are quicker yes, but one of the best sights is watching the fleet of minis off the grid, hurtling into Chesson's at Lydden for the first time. The racing is ultra close and I can't believe they want to knock you guys out of the British Championship. Minicross is very, very British so I think it should stay where it belongs, providing a great spectacle and making spectators smile at every British Championship round!

[bucko]

I Tooo Hope It Stays I Started My Roots There With Many Others Out There , Are You Sure Your Facts Are Right Though , Have You Asked The Brda , I Would Be Shocked If It Does Go !!

[RoyG]

Plot = lost!!

[Carlos]

If this happens it will be a great loss to the drivers, spectators, club and sport. I cannot see the rational behind such a proposal.

[golfvanman]

think this is a suicide note from our new promoters !!

[Spectator]

Is there a proposed date for this for this?
As Silver Bullet said the ultimate goal of the BRDA is to run stockhatch and mini cross only in the BTRDA. Capt Kirk was on about this pre Christmas.
If you don't agree with it go to the AGM and voice your opinions or contact your reps.

Personally I would like to see all classes at all meetings and only consider splitting once there was an over subscription to events and drivers were being turned away.
Until then lets leave well alone and try to unite the drivers that we still have. There are enough problems keeping them without driving them away with talk of splitting championships.
How could the BRDA finance a split when they can barely cover the costs of a BRDA round at the moment. Entry fees = track hire unless a sponsor can be found.

[sihorton]

My question to the BRDA, is without minicross and without the "older" stockhatch cars that they seemed to be pushing away from the sport, how on earth are they hoping to fund the events??

I agree that spectators like to see fast supercars and modifieds, but they also like to see close racing that these 2 series bring to the sport. To get rid of these 2 series would be a big mistake for them.

I have to agree with roy on this one, i think they are losing the plot slightly here..

si

[leonidas]

Wow - really hope this isn't true. Why would BRDA officials try to do this? Are they trying to copy RSS by creating an 'elite' series?

If so it seems misguided. Its the minis and stock hatch that keep rallycross going financially. Or have they found a Russian billionaire?? Perhaps PSA are withdrawing from the WRC to compete in the BRDA series??? Then again, perhaps not...!

[Minicross424]

I shall be at the Autosport show tommrow and i fully intend to find out whats going on.
Any of you lot there tommrow?

[RoyG]

Just received this - pass it on to any Stock Hatch or Minicross drivers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

STOP PRESS

Following the decision of the BRDA to drop Minicross from the BRC Championship, the MDA will shortly be announcing an exciting opportunity for Minicross and Stockhatch competitors to take part in a new series of Clubmans Championships. We aim to offer

• 5/6 rounds of Clubman Rallycross (no need to register with BRDA)
• Allrounders Championship featuring Rallycross, Sprints,
Hillclimbs, Oval Challenge, Circuit Racing*
• Compete at Eurocircuit, Valkanswaard Holland
• Registration fee only £40.00
• Acclaimed end of Year Awards Evening
*Requires MSA Nat B Race Licence

The MDA are committed to providing value for money motorsport with the emphasis on fun.

Full 2005 calendar to be announced shortly

To get a membership application form or the latest information, e-mail mini_cross@hotmail.com

Keep up to date by logging on to www.mini-cross.co.uk/

--------------------------------------------------------

Could be fun - especially Valkanswaard!!

[Gnomex]

Well - looking on the positive side - it'll be good that we still get to see the Minis. I know there were positive reports from the Mini drivers who entered some SEMSEC race meetings last year, so to see them out in race meetings and sprints is going to be good.

[silver bullet]

This can't be good, first we had BRDA vs RSS now MDA. There are not enough competitors to go round, something has to give. Rallycross has to build on the progress made since the decline of the early 90's by pulling together not fragmenting. I will be at the Autosport Show tomorow and I will be asking the BRDA some questions.

[RoyG]

Originally Posted by silver bullet

This can't be good, first we had BRDA vs RSS now MDA. There are not enough competitors to go round

If we could find a way to drag all the Stock Hatch & Minicross cars that have been laying idle for the last 2 or 3 years back to an affordable series there would be enough competitors for a very successful Clubmans' scene. Will this happen - who knows?...

[bucko]

one thing at least the costs are down , surely they could be a some brda rounds to prove they still exsist and not forgotten

[BertMk2]

It seems a very strange decision to boot Minicross out the championship, the minis may not be that fast but the racing is always close. I could understand maybe limiting numbers if the entries were huge but at the moment they aren't. Are the juniors still running with the BRC? If they are it makes the situation even more strange - race in juniors with the BRC, step up to minicross and you're out on your arse. Odd.

[leonidas]

My fear is that stock hatch/minicross is becoming the victim of BRDA v. RSS. competition. The BRDA promoters don't want the BRDA series be seen as a second class series and fear they'll lose MSA recognition. Hence they're dropping what are percieved to be 'lower' spec older cars.

It's completely insane and I cannot see how it can make financial sense. Minicross and stock hatch pay for the championship! Still hope this is just a 'silly season' story...

[sihorton]

Also without the BTRDA championship, it will be a lot more tricky for new rallycross drivers to gain there 6 rallycross signatures required for the A licence, which is required to race in the BRDA.

Without the backing of the stockhatch and minicross, surely the BRDA will run out of "new blood" coming up through the ranks to join the modifieds and supercars.

si

[BertMk2]

Is Minicross out of the BTRDA championship too? I thought it was just the BRC that it was no longer in? Or is this a case of the MDA saying "sod ya then"?

[leonidas]

I'm assuming the BTRDA are waiting to see what happens with the BRDA? That's why there is no championship calendar and no championship entrance fee indicated yet. If the BRDA push minicross out and discourage stock hatch I guess the BTRDA may be prepared to run more Nat B rounds to cater for the refugees?

The only good thing about this is that the BTRDA may gain. Maybe the BTRDA should market themselves as a 'production car championship', take out the modifieds and give more track time to the rest (running finals for all etc)? That might get some cars out of the garage...

That's assuming that drivers aren't so peeved by all this nonsense that they don't go rallying, circuit racing or take up knitting instead...!

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by leonidas

Maybe the BTRDA should market themselves as a 'production car championship', take out the modifieds and give more track time to the rest (running finals for all etc)?

Not so sure about that, I think they should keep it open to the modifieds - there were quite a few modified drivers that only took part in the BTRDA rounds and it's also allows drivers to test cars competitively outside of the MSA championship.

I'd guess that the BTRDA championship needs to keep the modifieds to make the events viable too unless the entries in stock hatch really pick up.

[Spectator]

My understanding of it all was that eventually the BTRDA would be for stockhatch and Minis and that the BRDA would be for modified upwards. I do not believe that there has ever been any intention to remove either from the BTRDA and that they would have their own championship there.
Whether this will go down well with the drivers of all the classes, and by the responses posted here it hasn't, but I hope that the respective organisations take heed of the drivers views.
One point that needs to be addressed is the lack of hard information coming from both the BRDA and BTRDA which allows for speculation, as illustrated on this thread.
All it would take is a statement from them indicating what their intentions are, which should clear up any misunderstandings that there might be, and leave the way clear for a constructive debate on the points in question.
It seems that the MDA is offering an alternative to those drivers that are getting fed up with all the upheaval and just want to know when and where they can race with as little hassel as possible. Can't blame them really!!!!

[DarrenG]

Unless you are constantly making the A finals their is little point competing in the BRDA anyway. Look at Brands Hatch for example, they only ran an A final so if you didn't make that you paid £200 for 9 laps.

Seems to me that the BRDA are forgetting that the people they are treating badly are the people who are enabling the top people to race. Without the entrance fee from the very people they are trying to get rid of there is no way they could afford to run an event.

We run in the modifieds series and will personally only be entering the BTRDA rounds this year. I am sure there must be other modifeds like us who don't have £50K to spend on a car who would like to feel they aren't just making up the numbers. there must be lots of minicross, Stock hatch and Modified cars out there that don't race anymore due to costs/being uncompetitive and the BTRDA will hopefully entice them back into racing.

Hopefully the BRDA will become so elitist that they can't actually afford to host an event and everyone who just enjoys racing will go over to the BTRDA.

[leonidas]

I think the great attraction of the existing arrangements is that after getting just half a dozen signatures you can compete in a cracking national championship running alongside the big boys, with at least the possibility of TV coverage, reports in Motoring News etc etc...

If you relegate everything below modified into a 'lower' championship, the whole category of stock hatch, minicross etc is devalued - unless it were to be relaunched as a national 'production car championship' in its own right, with proper marketing, media coverage etc...

But yes, it'd be good to hear some hard facts!