Ben’s Car Blog

Just thinking about a few things:

• Tarmac rallying, as currently implemented in Australia is a Bad Thing.
• What makes a car a “classic”?
• What gives a car “character”?

Oh, yeah. The thesis is with my proofreader and my supervisors for final checking.

The Dutton Rallies are basically a series of motorkhanas (that’s autocross if you’re from the ‘States) at various locations around a capital city.

They’re not cheap with entry being $1975 for a single driver team or $2590 (that’s 1295 each) for a two-driver team though you do get a stack of goodies when you enter and a general feeling of swanning about with the upper-crust.

I reckon Fro and I could organise something similar but much more downmarket for about 20% of the entry fee. Hmm…

Photos from the recent, inagural, RX-8 Nationals are on-line and available for purchase.

I really like this one.

Fro offered his thoughts to my recent post on club level motorsport.

Fro said:

you won’t see Marcos Ambrose or Mark Skaife at a club motorkhana, or ads on tele telling people that this is the sport that they could get involved with.

True. And there’s part of the problem.

I wonder what the wowsers would say if they saw this on television during prime time:

Fro is right that CAMS have a focus on the “big end of town”. But why do they when (as Fro knows) most of the numbers come from the little guys? Is it too hard? Do they think it’s the role of the member clubs to promote motorsport to the entry level? Clubs have a busy enough time promoting events to their members, let alone seeking out new people who might be interested.

Staying with the cricket comparison, why isn’t there this sort of thing for motorsport? Junior Cricket.

Don’t even get me started on drag racing.

Just thinking out loud…

• Are the barriers to entry into motorsport too high?
• Is there enough information out there on how to get started?

Barriers to entry

To participate in a casual, club level motorkhana for the first time you need:

• Club membership (about $40);
• CAMS L2NS Licence ($46) or L2S ($85);
• Entry fee ($20-40)
• Enough organisation to arrive at the venue on time; and,
• To be prepared to be bad at it.

Then, assuming that you don’t like it, you’re out of pocket $126 to find out. Compare this with the cost, monetary and otherwise, of hooning about an industrial area.

Information for newbies

A quick google for “motorsport” on Australian website leads to: Calder Park, Wide World of Sports and Drive.com.au.

Google is obviously not the best test, but at least it’s indicitive. Google thinks that motorsport is about professional level competition.

I was watching TV the other day and an ad came on for club cricket. Why aren’t there ads for club motorsport on during the F1 and Bathurst?

Anyway, here’s CAMS Getting Started page. The calendar doesn’t list everything but it’s a start.

I must read the Grass Roots Motorsports website too much. I’m getting itchy to do or even organise an autocross.

The only real sticking point, in Canberra, would seem to be finding one of those really big carparks that they hold them in over in the ‘States.

Did I mention how big those car parks are?

There is a truly enormous lot of photos from the Fast Fours Jamboree in Queensland at HiOctane. Don’t look if you have work to do.

(HiOctane.com.au | Fast Fours Jamboree 2005)

Via PF comes these photos from the Gold Coast Indy launch in Brisbane yesterday.

(Kevs Photos :: Indy Launch in Brisbane CBD)

In 1966 Bob Holden raced a Mini at Bathurst and won. CarsGuide has the story of how he boosted the power in his assigned car and won the race.

(Driver lifts the veil on mighty Bathurst win)

Fullboost has photographic coverage of the Toyo Drift Nationals in Adelaide (free registration required).

( TOYO Drift Nationals Round 3)