Nonsensical rules are discouraging competitors. Our local club ran a Standing 1/4 Mile Sprint last weekend. They take advantage of the MNZ rule that a person can do two events before having to join an affiliated Club to try and encourage people into the sport. A prospective new member turned up in a Fraser fitted with six point "Sabelt" seat belts which, unfortunately, were more than ten years old. He was not allowed to compete. Being an open car, this car spends a large percentage of its time in a darkened garage so its heavy duty material seat belts are not subjected to a lot of damaging sun's rays. Another competitor could enter the same event in a fifty year old car fitted with only lap and diagonal belts of far inferior material that had been subjected to the sun's rays every day for the last fifty years and that would be allowed to compete!
When the sport is administered by people who demonstrate such a total lack of common sense it is little wonder that it is in decline.