All of these ideas that are supposedly designed to "make the racing closer" are simply a way of making the quick guys slower.
Unfortunately the best drivers will always win, I don't see the point in reversing the grid, ballasting up the pole man etc, just do your best in qualifying and race from where you end up, then see if you can beat the best driver. What's the point in TQing the meeting only to be put at the back of the grid and beaten by slower people taking you out?
The same goes for limiting the power, not using lipo's or brushless etc. As soon as you try to make a "stock" or governed class you will get people who are trying to get an edge .......... or cheat, if put bluntly.
In the case of the Tamiya Mini there's only so much you can do to the car in the way of performance before it becomes undriveable so why not let people put in whatever speedo, servo and cells they want but keep the crap motor that comes with the kit? If someone is running dogbones or UJ's I don't consider that as being unfair, it's just slightly easier to drive, the same goes for the ball diff ........... a novice with none of this fitted or all of this fitted is going to be at the same level regardless. The best driver on the night may probably have all the upgrades but it's not making him win, it's his driving that's doing that.
People soon get bored with "stock" classes and before long you will have a host of people who want to start a "pro" class. If this happens you'll have touring cars, micro's, Mardave's, Stock/Pro Mini's .......... good luck in fitting that all into a Friday evening Scott
Mardave's are the cheapest option but there's no reason why you shouldn't let people use lipos as they are no more expensive than NiMhs as you only need one pack and balance chargers cost less than £20 from Hong Kong. You can buy a charger, Lipo and the totally unnecessary lipo sack for less than £40 delivered to your door. NiMhs will cost around a fiver each (you'll need more than one) and they'll need to be discharged properly and stored if you are going to keep them for any period of time. Far more NiMhs have exploded over the years and have caused more injuries etc than Lipos ever will.
Club racing was transformed for the average racer with lipo's/brushless etc, why go backwards?