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Post by Stubbo on Mar 8, 2015 17:24:29 GMT -5
I wanted to publically say a very big thank you to Stewart Harding for stepping in and taking over the reins of the VRAA. This years event has gone like clockwork and as I understand the cars are already on their way home.
So hats off Stewart, you did a great job and I hope that some of the competitors of previous years come back and join us again next year.
Congratulations also to Chris and Gene on the series results.
With any luck we might see Chris's winning car downunder for our Tasman Series.
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Post by David Mitcham on Mar 9, 2015 20:15:46 GMT -5
Hi Stewart
As a one proxy novice I'm not entirely sure I'm qualified to comment on your thoughtful post on the future of the VRAA - but I will anyway!!
First I wonder whether the number of F1 proxy series is sort of at saturation point - particularly as you say the number of people scratch building and wanting to race their cars is fairly small. For me I think the most proxies I could enter is two a year - partly because of family commitments and partly because I take a long time to build a car. Is there scope to combine a couple of series?
Second I don't think there is much wrong with the rules of the VRAA. The rules of all the proxy series are quite similar and really there is not much scope for them to be very different given the nature and the size of the cars. Ok the 3 litre cars are a little bigger than the halftonners and are slightly easier to build, offering a bit more scope on the motors/gears which could be used but basically the same skills are required.
Third I like your idea of maybe running two proxies concurrently for different eras of car. The 50's would be good to run in parallel with either 3 litre or 1.5 litre cars as they are not currently catered for and there are plenty of bodies available. Maybe for 50's cars (or any secondary concurrent series) a production chassis could be mandatory making the cars quicker and easier to build. In my case a GTM "kit" can be built in no more than a fortnight and there is plenty of scope for modification/different versions - maybe not true scratchbuilding but if it boosts entry numbers...........
Fourth, and notwithstanding the above, maybe as the VRAA has been running for quite a few years it is time for a change of era to stimulate fresh interest but perhaps it would be a good idea to consult with other series organisers to see if they have plans for change.
I hope the above helps and I haven't written out of turn - if I have put it down to the New Zealand sun!
Finally the VRAA entries and races for 2014-15 look splendid and if there is a shortfall in quantity then it is surely compensated for by the quality of the cars which did compete.
Best Regards
David
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Post by old23 on Mar 10, 2015 10:46:43 GMT -5
Thank you for your kind thoughts and suggestions. Open wheel F1 proxy series are few -- VRAA, Tasman, GPd, to my knowledge-- and I communicate often with the organizers of the other two (Stubbo and Mark) as well as participate in them. Similar "formulae" can sometimes have the effect of thinning the fields in each competition. But, they can also augment entries with a pool of adaptable cars available to re-purpose for another race. That certainly seems to have been the case between the VRAA and the Tasman Cup in past years, so I am hopeful for the future.
A second class in the VRAA is a likely change for next season, though which F1 era to add is still an open question. I do think that whatever era is chosen, the rules should be framed in such a way as to lower the barriers to entry and encourage some newcomers to the field. The devil, as they say, is in the details.
Stewart
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Post by David Lawson on Mar 10, 2015 14:16:58 GMT -5
I hate to disagree with David but I don't think proxy racing is at saturation point yet and as Stewart says the VRAA, Tasman and GPd happily co-exist as they appeal to slightly different interests in the 1960s single-seaters, and of course no one says we have to enter every series.
There are quite a few of our Australian and American cousins who enjoy proxy racing as they can't all have access to a slot car club and this is their only way of racing their scratchbuilds.
I'm not sure what Stewart means by "lowering the barriers" to entering but if he means making it easy to build a car then I think that the recently extended range of Penelope Pitlane single-seater chassis and the Beardog Chassis make it quite easy for people new to kitbashing/scratchbuilding to assemble a car.
David
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Post by Mark Huber on Mar 11, 2015 10:17:08 GMT -5
I hate to disagree with David but I don't think proxy racing is at saturation point yet and as Stewart says the VRAA, Tasman and GPd happily co-exist as they appeal to slightly different interests in the 1960s single-seaters, and of course no one says we have to enter every series.
There are quite a few of our Australian and American cousins who enjoy proxy racing as they can't all have access to a slot car club and this is their only way of racing their scratchbuilds.
David Stewart, I would echo the above: I believe that the three open wheel proxy series you noted not only appeal to slightly different interest in the 1960's prototypes, but each series has a slightly different emphasis. I am glad that we have a proxy series in the Southern Hemisphere, one in North America and one in the UK. And on another note, I am just 3 weeks from the end of my Sabbatical.
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Post by old23 on Mar 17, 2015 13:46:24 GMT -5
After considering the suggestions posted on this forum and on SCI, I have finalized the VRAA 2015 Rules and opened registration. Please see the VRAA 2015 thread in this section of the forum.
Old23
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