Sounds like some positive decisions are being made by Moto Arena
The whole emmergence of this venue has been curious....
For me Moto Arena need to do the following in order to encourage people to support them & actually race there...
- Set out a clear agenda of what classes they want to run & on what days/evenings, obviously some times will be set aside for corporate events, parties, arrive & drive etc (which will be required to get the necessary revenue for the up-keep of such a place)
- I think MA need to take the 'bull by the horns' & run the regular meetings themselves... involving already established clubs I think complicates things - with conflicts of interests & membership fee issues. Obviously for large BRCA sanctioned events, the BRCA's input would be required.
- Set-out a clear pricing schedule - the three different pricing plans advertised on the website I think have completely scared people off, especially as it is not clear what you would be getting for each plan. For me Moto Arena should be THE CLUB & there would be annual membership fee - this would give you discounted on-the-day race fees & the option of joining the BRCA, if you're not already a member - a system used by most clubs in the UK. Maybe as the Arena settles and starts to attract members who race regularly (possibly more than once a week) Then they can offer annual subscriptions that allows the driver to race at any meeting without any additional race fees/free practice during allocated times + other privileges. The cost of the 'Gold' plan would be comparable to Golf Club membership - or a season ticket for the Northampton Saints... which some racers might - 'might' be interested in if they raced there enough. Most of us racers however don't just race at one venue - so with other club fees - the 'Gold' plan is way out of most racer's pockets. There should also be an option for non-members to race with a one-off on the day fee without any other membership commitments.
- Get the advice from seasoned racers/BRCA organisers on each of the tracks & make the necessary alterations before running race meetings on them (sounds like this could happen for the possible off road meetings
) - I went to have a look myself a couple of weekends ago, for me the outdoor on road track looked nice but rather too narrow generally (though raceable) - the rostrum was stuck too far down one end (especially considering the tracks width) & needs centralising (maybe it need moving to the otherside along the straight if there is room?). The outdoor off road track was obviously designed by someone who's never raced off-road - the area allocated is too small really, but the space could be much better utilised by not having the banked track dividers - which leaves very little room for the cars in the 'gulley' an in some areas must make the cars difficult to see? The indoor on-road track is obviously the centrepiece for the Arena and has the potential to be great (I can't think of another indoor tarmac track in the UK?) But the track markers would be much better if they were shaped concrete like the outdoor track - though I understand improvements are being made to the current plastic markers with the introduction of flappy corners etc. Generally for all tracks, for really big meetings there seems to be a lack of pitting areas & the tracks seemed to have been designed without consideration for marshal points.... but all these critisms can be sorted out in due course i'm sure.
The On-road genre suits the Area's location by the full-size track but unfortunately its come at a time when on-road racing is experiencing a bit of a down turn - though the number of drivers that have pre-booked for Ardent's winter series show that its still very popular. I think making the indoor track into a temporary off road track is a good idea but it needs to be done right.... on that tarmac floor with the rigid plastic markers there could be alot of people going home with broken cars
Obviously in an ideal world there would be the room indoors for a full size permanent on-road tarmac track with a full size lime-clay dirt off road track alongside.... just like the Yatabe Arena in Japan - now that would be a popular venue in the UK!