F345 nationals?
 

Has anything been said any further about this posibility next year?

Its all gone a bit quiet. And returning to 10th next year wondered if it had been considered further? as I loved doing the Nats but there looks less chance nowadays to get in if you're not an F2/F1.

I guess from a BRCA perspective, it would take someone to propose it to the AGM and see what happens.

That would be great!!! Kinda of a way to qualify for full fat nationals :D

I'm in the same position - When I started racing just over 10 years ago it was EASY to get into nationals. I was probably an F5 or F4 when I did my first national and in my first full season I finished around 75th or there abouts in 2WD. I got into the D final at the final round in 2003 I think.
I really don't have time to commit to regionals but I really would like to see the varied people that nationals and even Euros bring. Sadly without doing regionals I can't possibly do nationals - which means I can no longer do Euros either.

Thankfully - there may be an answer on the horizon!

I personally think regionals should be held the same weekend as nationals. That way you don't get f1-f2n or f2 drivers who are already doing the nationals anyway racing them and others have a chance to get a better grade

Then at the end if season the bottom 30 national drivers are relegated back to regionals the following season and have to requalify for the EOS finals where the top 30 being given a place in the following years nationals

At least then the eos finals will be a real target to go for with it being a one off meeting a driver having a good day could just make the nationals the following year

#+*%&£$ LOL. The current BRCA national and regional system is proven to be VERY successful, if it 'aint broke don't fix it.

Maybe something like the old 'Radio Race Car' series is needed, not clashing with any nationals or regionals (in the area the events are held). You guys that can't get into the nationals because you don't have F-grades could do this series (to get your 'big-event-fix') while doing your regionals to get an F-grade to enter the proper nationals the following year?

Anyone?

What a good idea Stu :)

Hmmm, I think I can see where this is heading...........:lol:

LOL oOple series here we come :)

Hmmm.......

I wonder??????:drool:

Great.....that means no more national reporting unless the proposed series would miss National weekends? Sorry if I haven't read the posts correctly!:blush:

For the ace idea that an oople series is it wouldn't be for just F345's to enter so we would still be in the same boat would we not. F345 nationals and the top 10 go to the F1 and 2 nationals and the bottom 10 f1 and 2 come down to F345 something to aim for like the premiership and championship.

Surely arnt regionals just the same as a F345 national series. You try to do well in them to get your F2 and then you can do nationals? If you cant get an F2 at regional then theres really no point wasting your money on a national as your just going to do shit anyway!

Love the idea of a new radio race car series though. With a purely 1st come 1st serve basis so there is a mix of ability. :thumbsup:

I don't think anything much can or Indeed should be done to the regional & national system in place currently.
Regionals are just that, regional. That means I don't get to race with my mates from tup norf or dawn sarf very much these days which I miss.

I think there 1/10th is big enough again to support a RRCi type series but it would need to be totally separate from licence grading IMHO

Single day though please - a series of 2-dayers is too difficult for me to attend :cry:

I would like to see a F3,4,5 type series !
I think it has to be held on the same weekend as the Nationals for two reasons !!

1. so the F1,2's have their meeting and the F3,4,5's have their meeting and there is a defined break in ability.
in the regional type series a F1,2 can enter a regional series, but a F3,4,5 can't enter a National due to his/her grade

2. if the meetings are held on the same weekend this doesn't clog the calender and still allows club series to run !

A stand alone series that allows all grade will not benefit the lower grades, clubs and series need drivers like Lee Martin & Darren Bloomfield as they bring prestige the promoters !

The norm for any stand alone series is 20-30 spaces are allocated to team/F1 drivers before the event is even advertised, a first come first served biases is a myth

If an oOple series is held the same weekend as the National's then what will happen to Jimmy's awesome national reports?

But then as you say the calander for the this year has been pretty full, then if you take into account the bad weather, and the unwritten rule about running a meeting on a regional day it's not left many other weekends free to race.

I for one would welcome another series not just as a racer but as someone who runs/organises meetings.

As we all know venues have to apply to run regionals, and Nationals, and if another big series would help some of those tracks that are currently not selected for national get themselves up on the ladder then that would be awesome. We for one would put ourselves into the hat for selection.

So then, anybody up for trying to organise something?

If we put heads together now it might well be possible for 2013, last time this was discussed it was too close to the start of the season to make it a reality, at the moment it could be possible.

I personally think we should try and hold one event at a large non-RC event to help raise the profile of the sport with potentially interested people. Anybody got any thought on this?

Some things that would need considering (along with my thoughts in brackets), pleased to hear everybody's thoghts too, but please keep it constructive!

1) 1 or 2 days (personally I think most people would find 1 day easier and it would help keep the numbers high in the first season or two whilst it built in popularity)

2) Control tires like nationals / regionals? (again I'm all for this, know what you need for any venue before you get there and saves buying and carrying 20 diferent types of tire "just in case" which means more space in cars for lift sharing .. with the cost of fuel these days that is / will become increasingly important. Could have 2 or 3 options per venue, not all venues have to agree but my guess is they probably all would anyway!)

3) Number of events per series (I think you need at least 3 from 5 to count and 4 from 6 is better but more than 6 events would probably thin out the entry to individual events).

4) Limits to driver licences? (I say no, people like to be able to compare times to the Cragg / Martin / Yardy / Lee etc. of this world. I do however think that there should be a separate throphy / award to encourage the lower grade drivers in ... maybe most consistent so somebody with 4 x E7 results would beat somebody with 3 x A1 and an A2)

5) Impose limits on cells / motors etc. (I say keep it to the electric board lists personally, having scrutineered nationals I know how hard it can be to explain to somebody that their choice of equipment doesn't meet requirements, EB lists are rock solid and apply to almost everything)

6) Only 1 class per driver per event? (I say yes, leaves as many entries available for as many people as possible. If there were spaces within say 2 weeks of the event maybe drivers who had expressed an interest in running 2 or more classes could be offered a 'guest entry' in their chosen second class to fill those spaces but not for points. My thinking here is that it doesn't matter to the club if they get 120 drivers in one class or 60 each for 2wd & 4wd or indeed 60 drivers all doing both classes. Where it does matter is if we have 80 drivers, 60 of whom want to do 2 classes and 20 who want to do only one class who do we turn away? Not everybody runs both classes, in the Mid West region for example we get 20-30 more drivers at 2wd events than 4wd events)

7) All venues to be to national standard? (Again I say 'mostly yes', if your getting 120 drivers to a meeting they need somewhere to get something to eat / drink from and somewhere to use the loo. Would a large BBQ and a couple of porta-loos surfice? Probably. This means that any club up to running a regional would be able to 'step up' and run one of these events with minimal fuss, doesn't have to be one of the long standing / established clubs. I do however think the clubs chosen should have run a regional / large individual event so that it is proven they can run such a large meeting.)


I would need to discuss with Tony Meridith and the rest of the Kidderminster crew but I am fairly sure that Kidderminster would be putting themsleves forward for selection. I am fairly confident that Ledbury would be interested too.

Let the flames bit lit ... this sort of discussion is all good!!!

judging by the comment made at the end of Jimmy's first post and the next 2 posts I would say something is already in the pipeline (I obviously dont know this for a fact, just reading between the lines)

nationals are all about the competition and winning
what's needed is a series that's fun and less serious than nationals that's open to all and show cases the hobby as a whole.

an oople series held at different tracks around the country would be a great idea and would attract a wide and varied audience and give people that couldn't normally travel far a chance to have a good fun race meeting.

deffo reading the posts by jimmy and the rest of us oople crew there must be somthing in the pipe line :blush:

How about OOPLE INVERNATIONAL SERIES 2013?
6 round series, 2wd sat/4wd sun on a first come first serve basis.
No f1/F2 priority
Maybe 1 track per region ?

:thumbsup:

oOple Rejuvanational

Rejuvinating RC in your region

this sounds good

This sounds like a massive amount of work. Who is going to volunteer?

I am sure that there are plenty of people who would be up for helping. Spread the jobs out and it wouldn't be too much effort for any individual.

And yes, that is an offer to help!

Surely the club who is running the event has helpers. as it would be for any other event such as National/Regional.

I think it would be a good idea to go to some of the 'lesser known' clubs that are capable of running a decent size meeting. Get some publicity for other clubs. Other clubs that do regionals etc. that lots of people never actually get the chance to race at.

I think it needs to be done. It's not just the F grading thing. Lots go to (went to) the nationals for the atmosphere and a larger series would produce this and get people enjoying the weekend, making them want to come back.

If people dont want it to run on national weekends, instead of just letting anyone race why not have an invitation list which lets certain F1 racers compete? Or have 6 meetings and at each meeting have a different team bring there top driver to compete and help out the f345's?

Just been reading back through an early season report and it seems Jimmy was planting seeds way back when he was at the Stotfold National. Read the 'Jimmy's random thoughts' box near the top of the report... :)

I think a F3,4,5's narional series is a good idea but how would you qualify for the F1,2's

I think to do this properly you would have to scrap regionals or make the highest grade at regionals F3.

This way the only way to qualify for the premiership F1,2's is by finishing highly in the championship F3,4,5's series

If the idea is a national series, but a but laid back. Then grades don't matter!!

I see this dream as an addition to regional racing not a competitor.

Mike I think the idea is to have another series. Leave the nationals as they are, leave regionals as they are but add another "national" series running too ... a bit like RRCi did back in the day!

How would this solve the over subscription of the current national series ? It would not.

So is the idea "another national series for people who dont get in the REAL national series" ?

Id rather there be another BRCA series with a promotion / relegation type scenario with F1 and F2 in one and F3s F4s and F5s in the other.

Never gonna happen though.

Mike has hit the nail on the head just what I was thinking something to aim for. And it gives us lesser mortals a chance of glory and being called on to the rostrum before you final.

Thats what i said (but got shot down for it lol!)

Sorry but wasn't this started as an idea for a national series for F3,4,5's?

If you start another series on a first come first serve basis the same thing will happen yet again. Doesn't matter what you say the TOP drivers will be there and it will be a mirror series to the nationals. Two friends of mine have both booked for and paid in advance for the oople Invernational. They have been then turned down both years because they are not 'names' within the toy car world, even thought they are both YORCK members. The exact same will happen with this series. Im sorry but you might set out with good intentions but it will happen like it happens everywhere. Even if you manage a genuine first come first serve there will be people who miss out.

That's why it should be as first stated and how the thread was started a series for F3,4,5's as these days you cant do nationals if you aren't F1 or F2.

People keep saying everything is fine as it is but I think it is outdated. I think we could still have regional's and incorporate a F3,4,5 national series as a point scoring event as well.

I think that the way it is at the moment works as it makes us lower drivers race at the little clubs to keep them goin with regionals, and would it get 120 drivers to a f345 getting every time as at times nationals arnt always full. I'm a f3 and have got into nationals for the last 3 years, if they split the serise and have them on the same weekend would just add a silly amount of cost as I share my gazebo with my brother and like spending time with with all my friends that I've made over the years and even if I don't get out of the bottom final at times you keep trying to get out of it

People with a passion for having fun whilst racing I guess ?

Absolutely, John!
But so far there is Roger, and... that's it