Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Burr
The problem is places like Ardent and Moto arena have totally diferent goals to model car clubs, they are first and formost businesses and have to make money, the moment they stop making money they no longer exist.
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Ardent was the vision of one person who wanted to grow the sport and have somewhere to test and play and race fellow racers. It was then a group of enthusiasts and a local club that created it. 1 person paid for it (me). It was never intended to turn a profit as we all have day jobs (which is why we all have 'volunteer' on our polo shirts) and it probably never will turn a profit. It was done as a hobby not a money making machine.
I wish Moto Arena all the best but I'd wished they had done it on a bit more of a budget to ensure it's a sustainable business. I bet the custom built rostrum steps and track barriers cost more than it cost us to build the entire Ardent Raceway.
Yes we have 4 goats that wonder the car park and a cat that has set up home in the Raceway, not as professional as Moto Arena but that's what you get for your money and most of our racers can only just afford the petrol to get to Ardent let alone pay for expensive racing and the moans we get about charging 70p for a tea or coffee :-)
When we created Ardent we wanted to ensure that it was sustainable so we didn't destroy Derby Club, suck money out of the RC industry through sponsorships and then go tits up, and put other people of doing this type of venture. If you sit down and do the numbers they have to get hundreds through the door per week to keep the lights on. Unless they got the facility for free as part of a develop Silverstone venture?
Happy racing all, wherever you end up
