Now that we have all had the news that we dreaded most, no more CAMS Superkart National Championships, its time to start thinking about what can we do going forward.
I will start it off by suggesting that in our currently depressed position this is not altogether a bad thing. We need to build up our numbers again, and to do it away from the spotlight and pressure of having to look good at high profile events takes the load off.
One part of that is to consolidate the classes so that in time we can offer bigger numbers in each class. We need to have classes that can be supported , but being interesting to competitors as well as being able to be supplied and to have the availability of equipment. I don't want to start a war, but the 125 open GB class is going to struggle to find supplies of engines as there is no more 125 GP 2 stroke engines being produced. And those that were made were not really production line engines but specials made for racing and parts will dry up, or become infinitely more costly, sooner rather than later. So how about phasing out the open 125 GB's and moving solely to the 125 Stock Honda class altogether ?? One change may be that the Stock Honda's might move to open chassis supply, it will give a class for the current 125's to all move, and add a touch more interest to the Stock Hondas' if we are to accept the work of the NSW club where they say that wings etc have made the NGB Rotax class more interesting. So why not apply that to the Stock Honda's ??
The SKA and Shannons Nationals series has demonstrated that there has been no chance to offer anything similar under AASA. So do we look at trying to emulate what has been happening, or do we just work in the short term within the framework that state by state is going to best suit each of us ??
My suggestion is that we all run our local events the way we have been doing. Be that shared with other categories or getting our classes on other promotors event programs. A season consisting of 6, 7 or 8 race meetings is a good balance of having events to attract newcomers and not having so many that we burn ourselves out.
Then in each state we run a single "state" championship event each year. One race meeting will do it, there is then an event of a recognised elevated status so that the locals can get a title meeting on home soil, and each state club and state racing association gets to recognise a Superkart champion or champions. Each state can then have competitors come into their state for at least one chosen event each year to promote that one bigger event. If 10 drivers can go from SA to Vic once a year, and add 10 from NSW for the same meeting, then that state title event will be bigger than any other that the Vic club runs in the year. Likewise you can get 10 up and down each way to NSW and Qld once a year, with a handful travelling likewise to or from SA .
This is a start over situation from there being no national championship competition whatsoever. But if we continue to promote some interstate travel and try to keep it alive that way, then when numbers increase it will be a small step back up to holding a nationals of some sort somewhere. And nothing promotes the sport or competition within the sport more than having visitors at any event.
Comments