When is a Touring Car not a Touring Car?

[bedsrcmcc]

Just wanted to gauge club members views on the issue of the body shells that we run at the club. As a new club we have tried to be accomdating where ever possible to encourage as many to come along and race.

However, the clase of racing we run indoors is 1:10 scale electric Touring Cars and I was just wondering if we need to enforce that Touring Car body shells must be used?

I appreciate that some members run body shells that technically are not Touring Cars, what do you all think...?

[lucas-b4-b44]

If we have rules on ride height, wheel type, insert, tyre, motor, weight, then it follows that cars should be BRCA compliant, see page 27 paragraph 6 on TC class.... section on bodyshells

[bedsrcmcc]

Originally Posted by lucas-b4-b44

If we have rules on ride height, wheel type, insert, tyre, motor, weight, then it follows that cars should be BRCA compliant, see page 27 paragraph 6 on TC class.... section on bodyshells

I fully agree Lucas about the rules. As the club was starting out we didn't want too much in terms of rules so that we could attract as many racers as possible.

However with the club having grown so quickly and with the potential in 2010 of having at least another 5 or 6 drivers joining, we now need to consider whether we adopt the full BRCA rules list or not. I think this is something we need to discuss as a club and I want to organise a AGM meeting before the year's out for this very reason.

This will also be an opportunity to apoint a number of committee members to help out with the club's running. There's lots to do but I think it is all very important for the long term growth and success of the club.

It's that fine line between rules just for the sake of rules, or rules that help the club grow and allow members to enjoy what they do...

I had thought of maybe entertaining the idea in 2010 of welcoming along other clubs for inter-club events - as many other clubs follow BRCA rules we would have to consider this too when deciding what route to take.

[Darren Boyle]

Guys, if I may, I have read many of your threads regards your club with interest and no-one at all can knock your enthusiasm amongst you.

If you want an "outsider" opinion, I would suggest just let things roll along without the need for sticking to "rules" so abundantly, especially at club level. The aim of any club, especially a new one like yours is to encourage racers, of all abilities and at all levels. I have read about your "RTR motor rules" and indeed the "body" rules on this thread. Yes the BRCA have rules for top level racing for consistency and equality at the highest level of our racing. Now if the likes of Chris Grainger for example was to arrive at a national with a "GT" body on his touring car - shaped like a door wedge, and all other competitors were still running more "box like" touring cars, he would have a definate advantage in the form of aerodynamics and ultimately would lead to him being quicker, so at that level a "rule" is required to ensure all "touring cars" do in fact resemble a "touring car". However, in my opinion at club level and indeed on much smaller indoor curcuits with a lower level of driver, that advantage is almost non-existant and indeed if a young lad was to come along with somthing like a Tamiya TT01 basic kit adourned with a "GT" sports car body he is not going to be any quicker than if his car was equipped with a shoe box on top, but would you really want to stop that new lad from racing because his new "GT" does not fit the rules, I guess not.......

Similiar in many ways with motors, if that same "lad" with his new RTR has a slightly quicker motor than the rules allow, owing to the fact that he is new and that his car is an "RTR" (up against far more expensive and professional equipment) even with the "quicker" motor it is not going to be as fast. We all know that a "competition spec" 13.5 or 27 turn motor will be far quicker than anything that is supplied in an "RTR" kit. Once more, try not to discourage them, let them run and if and when they go to upgrade just make them aware that you expect them to buy a motor that fits the requirements at that point, but try not to "make" them buy new stuff straight away when their current stuff is still brand new.

You mention other clubs sticking to the BRCAules, I think you will find that at "midweek" type club level racing and the rules are very relaxed in most cases.

Just my two pence worth after running one of the countries bigger indoor clubs for around 17 years now, hope it may be of some help to you and sorry if you feel it is nothing to do with me......

[ashleyb4]

I did read the motor thread last night and i was going to say something similar to darren with encouraging younger drivers. At oz we have 3 rules your not alloud to go down the straight backwards during or after the race, your not alloud to crash into people delibratly and your not alloud to to do donuts on the grass (big cars).

Maybe you could run two club championships one with the more advanced drivers who could run to BRCA rules and one that doesnt run to BRCA rules.

A

[bodgit]

Keep it simple. That way everybody enjoys it.
I scrutineered the nationals at wrxm for 4-5 years and if you go with the brca rules then you start introducing costs some young drivers may not be able to afford. I,ve had to fail a car for not having the headlights painted, the rear wing being 1mm over the roof hight or the chord being just over 40mm.
The only rule you need if people are charging lipo,s make sure they do it in a bag. Enjoy racing whatever you bring within reason.

[bedsrcmcc]

Thank you for all your comments. Having raced for over 30 years now I've seen it all from no rules to following the rule book to the letter.

My OP was simply an opening gambet to get our club members to think about what we should or should not be permitting to run at the club. I'm all for keeping it simple and I think you'd have got that impression from my threads/comments or trawling through our clubs web site:

http://www.bedsrcmcc.co.uk

However, I'm still keen to have a 'degree' of control over proceedings to ensure there is an even level playing field for ALL.

Luckily for us, we have just come out of a 6 week championship and the rules are now a little more relaxed, but I think we need to have some degree of rules when we are in a championship - even if it is not every rule that the BRCA suggest. IE: I think having a touring car body shell with clear windows is a good rule for our club (bodyshells are cheap and readily available) however, to then say you must have wings this size or that size and cord length must be this and height must be that - that just becomes a nightmare to both police and scrutineer at club level.

It's a balancing act really and I just wanted to get club members talking and discussing these issues as we never really have time to chat about things in detail (well I don't as I run the club anyway) during a race meeting so this forum is a great opportunity to have these discussions.

With regards to LiPO, we simply make sure that members have the correct chargers - the bag really is an overkill. I've been running LiPo now for over 18 months and never had a problem. Treat them well and it's fine. Just be aware that the danger is there and be prepared to move bleeding fast if needed!!

Thanks again for all your comments, it's always good to know that fellow racers are taking an interest in what others are doing. I appreciate that many of you are off-roaders - so maybe once we have our track built next year you might want to come along to one of our meetings.

PS. We will have to enforce clear windows in bodyshells as the club will soon be running the I-Lap timing system which unlike the AMBrc one, is an optical sensor and needs to be able to see the transponder in the car. Far far cheaper than AMB and many clubs are now using it in the UK. It's also been used for full size Go-Karts so the system is well proven and can withstand what we'll throw at it.

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by bedsrcmcc

However, the clase of racing we run indoors is 1:10 scale electric Touring Cars and I was just wondering if we need to enforce that Touring Car body shells must be used?

Like DMS Racing I have also ran my club for 23 years now and can give you another outsiders opinion.

I run very open rules, and as long as there's a body on the car we don't mind what anyone uses. Strangely enough all the top drivers are using BRCA legal touring car bodies as those shells are designed for their aerodynamics rather than looks, I have played with various touring and GT shells over the years and always end up using bodies from the BRCA list. The lesser drivers generally use a mix of what comes with their first kit or what they like the looks of, none of them making any difference to their performance.

Don't even consider using the BRCA list, there are a lot more touring car bodies out there than the ones approved by the BRCA and insisting on sticking to the BRCA rules will quickly lose you new members as they won't be allowed to run their new Tamiya car.

If you insist on restricting everyone to touring car bodies, how do you explain to a new member that he can't run his Tamiya NSX without buying a new body for it? Of course if you then bend the rules so a new member can join you then have the problem of explaining to everyone else they aren't allowed to run one themselves.
As you have no championship running I would suggest allowing a free for all, then see how it develops. If some insist on running GT shells then run a separate GT championship for them when the time comes.

If you want restrict bodies to touring cars, and motors to 13.5 turns, then I would suggest running a separate novice class, so beginners can run whatever they have rather than what the club insists on.

[bedsrcmcc]

Thanks again for your comments. I had no intention going down the route of forcing a 'list' of shells. Once again, if you read my last post on this thread, I'm justing sounding out ideas for club members to discuss...