What if every day was race day?

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Most racers know the thrill of entering the first round of eliminations, excitement tinged with nerves in most cases. But perhaps we should let racers do more, well, racing.

 

So here’s my idea.

Qualifying is fun but it certainly doesn’t have that added incentive of knowing that if you lose, you’re done for the day.

At a two or three day event, say a Rocket Allstars Racing Series event, why not incorporate racing into each day?

You could start with a single qualifying session to allow racers to get information to dial in, before launching straight into the first round.

By doing this maybe two or even three times over the weekend you could incorporate more rounds of racing into the championship. It would certainly give racers more bang for buck, there is nothing worse than towing across the country to go out in the first round, at least you could get a couple of shots at it.

Obviously there would be a scheduling impact that would need to be sorted, as well as issues like prizemoney and trophies.

Perhaps the winner for the event could be based on the best result over each of the races, for example a win and a semi final beats the other winner who may have gone out in a quarter final in the other race. If there are identical results then split based on the best package perhaps – or maybe even have a race-off at the end of the event.

Racers like to race, this way they could. I know there is probably more downsides to this than I have considered…but just thinking out loud here.

Another idea to give racers more racing would be for test and tunes to incorporate some ‘race practice’.

Basically each driver/rider puts the dial in on the side like they would in eliminations and the track enters each one as they come out.

This way DYO racers could not only test their vehicle, but also their own skills, getting used to handicap starts and top end tactics. This is a vital part of racing, but very difficult to get practice in, especially if you are a new racer getting bundled out in the first round each time.

Racers at some tracks would settle for more testing period, but maybe this can be something to aspire to.

Willowbank’s Super Sportsman event is taking on something similar by offering two events for one entry price. It’s an intriguing offering and hopefully it proves successful for the track.

The concept doesn’t have to be limited to sportsman racers either. Could our pros benefit from more racing? Sports such as V8 Supercars and World Series Sprintcars offer several races within the event.

Imagine if instead of just qualifying over the first few days, teams were given one practice session, and then it is into one-shot qualifying where every racer needs to make their run count. You wouldn’t see too many abandoned runs, that’s for sure. Perhaps the three round format could be used for eliminations to decide a 1, 2, 3 podium. And then it all happens again the next day.

Again scheduling may be an issue. V8 Supercars has an advantage in a way in that it has to give coverage to about 30 drivers. ANDRA Pro Series racing needs to cover anywhere up to 80 these days. But that’s probably an issue for another editorial.

Let me know what you think.

 

Luke Nieuwhof

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