Interesting responses.
Mr Lowe, bless you my son, I can't believe you think the hobby isn't too expensive ! how many sets of tyres would you need to buy to compete in say a series of regionals, or worse still a series of outdoor nationals ? Add in the actual cost of getting there and back too and it just gets crazy.
Imagine how much 'expendable' income the average family has these days for hobbies and such like, this really is a hobby for people that either still live at home, don't drink / smoke etc, or have a decent job / understanding wife or partner.
I wonder what percentage of drivers at a National are sponsored in some shape or form ? As this is a competitive hobby, the privateer driver will always want to do better, be quicker, not be overtaken down the straight etc, which inevitably leads to spending more hard earned. Maybe 'team drivers' should compete against 'team drivers' and the rest of us should compete against each other ? I for one would then make the significant effort (and stomach the expense) to travel to the Nationals, as i'd know i'd have a fighting chance of doing well. I'm not eluding myself, I know after god knows how many years that i'm not going to beat any of our decent drivers, the thing is, even if I was as good, i'd still loose out because my car would simply be slower, not fun !
If this is a hobby, then it would be nice for it to be treated as such, I just can't see people keeping up their attendance when a large percentage of the drivers run for one team or another, the privateer will eventually die out and only attend local / club events.
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