Whilst I can see the rationale for a control tyre(s) proposal (this is from experience within 1/10th);
- Racers don't have to take dozens of different tyre types to each meeting.
- No ONE racer can pull out an elite tyre and kick everyone's arse.
- Cheaper - as less tyres types needed.
- Level playing field.
- The list goes on.....
On the other hand, for Micro racers some of these points don't really apply;
- Tyre wear isn't really an issue.
- Carrying multiple tyres to a meeting, when probably only 1 set of each is required, doesn't take up much room (there smaller for a start
)
As long as the tyre is commercially available (yes this is another can of worms, but common sense should apply) why not have allow a full choice of different tyres and yes some drivers might risks not having the perfect tyre. It's that a skill of the driver, having knowledge of their car and knowing the likely tyres that will/won't work on the track surface they're visiting. You'll always get some clever sod that buys a new tyre from abroad that's tenth's quicker than any other, but thats when the commercially available bit should come in. The wording for any rule on "commercially available" should left to the committee to draft and to them to enforce.
The other point i'd make and this can be seen all to often in 1/10th Nationals and some regionals, with our controlled tyre rule only allowing 2 different types (not compounds) we are now restricting ourselves from experiencing other manufacturer tyres that might come onto the market. We've seen this happen with tyres such as the GRP conespike and Ballistic Stud, both of which haven't really taken off. They both could well have benefits over and above our normal controlled tyres, but no serious National racer is going to dedicate his/her time to long term testing when it doesn't help come race day at a national. Perhaps this is simply the restriction of our section only allowing 2 types of tyre?? (that's something for a different section/thread)
I think the main point I'm trying to make is... Be careful in restricting the class(es) to much. The main pull for me to compete at Micro meetings again is the friendly, relax meetings and competitors. Too many restrictive rules could change the feel of your meetings, certainly there seems to be a underlying feeling heading that way at 1/10th Nationals.