Discuss the various formats for historic racing

[AMCO72]

Going on from there.......we seem to have been talking a lot about having FUN while competing on the track. I used to watch the BNT V8's a bit in the past and could never understand how those poor people at the back of the field, with 30 cars in front of them, could possibly be having fun. They were always in the same position at every meeting, so why didn't they just give up. Well they did eventually......must have been slow learners!!

It always amuses me that the comments on having FUN are from the people at the pointy end of the grid. I could suggest that they remove 4 spark-plug leads [the ones I specify] from their V8's then go out and race. They would soon be trailing around at the rear of the field wishing the bloody race would finish and definately not having FUN. Coming into the pits when everyone is giving them the 'poor sod' look, as though they had been driving Grandmas Ford Pop, while the rest of the competitors are sitting comfortably in their garages munching egg sandwiches and sipping cheeky cranberry juice! No one has ever asked me, if after coming in last, whether I was having fun. They would be liable to get an egg sandwich in their face.

Someone was talking about speed groups which I happen to think is a great way to go. The decade system used at the Bruce McLaren festival was hopeless, and I had a long discussion with Mike Sexton on that topic, but he said given the time frame it was the easiest way to do it. The public don't know whether a car is a 1965 or a 1975, and nor do they care. All they want to see is some racing among cars of similar performance. Not 40 cars going round in a procession, no matter how fast. High speed lappery, as Derek Bell of Le Mans fame put it.

Would like to hear others views on this fun thing. Frankly I dont enjoy thrashing a car to within an inch of it's life, that is why Oldfarts pre 60 saloons held such interest for me. Ok you say just get out, and leave the real racing to the real men. Well I might just do that. Licence time coming up in September......MEDICAL!!!!!!!! God I just squeezed through last year, with all sorts of tests on the border-line, and I'll bet all that Kentucky Fried Chicken [tm] has done my arteries no good at all in the last 12 months.

[Carlo]

The fun is being competetive against the benchmark you set for yourself.
As an example I have an Uncle who is in his late 80's and he still competes at the Masters Games in the 10k walk. Last time I went to watch him he was straight over to check the results just as soon as they were published. Naturally he cleaned up the 80+ class but what took my interest was that he was looking at the over 50's times until he explained that his benchmark was to finish under the time set by the 4th placed person in that class. As it was he would have finished 3rd in that class so he went home a very happy man

[Russ Cunningham]

Tend to agree with AMCO. A shame to see old cars turning up with twice the horsepower the had originally. Another display by people with money and limited ability
feeding their egos.