ERC Race Series - Euro Saloons & Sports

[Kiwiboss]

Fantastic feedback everyone, guess I’ve cause a bit of a ruckus, Crunch is rite i should have toned it down a bit before hitting the keyboard, sorry to all those offended!! First I need to apologise to the Festival directors as I’ve probably offended them the most but Tonys posting has shown their intent and direction. Although i have an opinion the out come of the festival will always be in the hands of the Festival directors and not by anyone else and they are the ones that see the commercial reality$.

I've only bought this up because i don't see this for the betterment of this fantastic historic event, but that’s my opinion and i respect others may not agree as shown(yes even you Gerald, LOL). Ray, i apologise if i've offended you as i don't mean to do so!! but i see ERC as a mish mash group were rules seem to be more guides lines than offering up historic values in the vehicles, if you can line all 100 plus cars up and walk down the line, rule book in hand, tech auditor beside you and every single car meets the rules i'll forever shut up and apologise even further, you see with ERC having its 30(there abouts)year history and 100 plus field and your immense organisational skills its easy to be critical about a new group only two and half years in and go har har, WERE ARE THE NUMBERS, numbers are never the excuse and are cheap and yes I know you show concern about commercial reality, but just letting EVERYONE IN is easy but thats just the friggen problem with “historic racing” in this country, we may only have had 10 HMC cars at the Festival but what we had(and others saw it too) was a 100 percent correct legal grid(to HMC/MSNZ T&C rules) we even turned one away because he hadn't down sized his wheels!! TUFF, hardly as he had 18 months to do so, i viewed him as not serious and taking the micky, add numbers, hell yeah thats the friggen easy bit!! as for HMC been a hot shot class yeah rite(F5000 maybe), and certainly not how i see it as we are no more important than any other historic group! hell i've even heard that we're a bunch of V8 boggens!! just some good old historic saloon racing with conforming cars will do thank you!!

Howard, you are a racer and still currently racing so you're paying the price and that means i value your comments, to me you are so correct and if the festival becomes a watered down ho hum affair like so many others in this country the effort to turn up will become less desirable, i for one really don't wanta see that happen and have thrown my support in behind the organisers!! and as mentioned you been a racer and currently racing which begs the question, HOW many have made comments on this posting that are actually currently racing and have done so this year? or even raced last year? or have ever raced? probably will never race? or a gunna race one day but don't wanta pay the price? you see there seems to be two sides of the fence here, those that watch and couldn't care less what's on the grid, under the bonnet, how legal the cars are but just wanta see some ACTION, and then there's the RACER, the guy actually DOING IT, the guy PAYING for it along with all the sacrifices that goes with it, HE’S the guy i respect and wanta look after so rules must apply to keep it all equal the best you can!! so 10 HMC cars all legal, all on 15" wheels just like the old days but one wants in on 16's!! not on my watch!! now bear in-mine this is just one example but i mean to carry on how we've started and if that means suffering in numbers initially until the group grows and getting lambasted for it so be it, if i get it wrong and all stay away i'll fold up shop and call it a day but while im still breathing and with petrol in my veins I will do everything in my power to make it work!

This years event was one of the best we had and the best racing for both groups, all the U3L historic saloon guys had a ball and enjoyed it immensely, that’s what they told me!! with the speed difference everyone got along and all received a trophy(for 2nd place) in keeping with the enthusiasm and sprit of what we are doing this for!! 2 weekends of hard racing and only ONE minor incident, too me that just doesn't get any better!! as for the Amco mini Ray! how will you deal with it when it smashes into 3 of your ERC cars and gets called "just a racing incident" my decision may not have been popular but our racing/incident ratio this year proved i was correct in the call made!! what call would YOU make? because I agree with you that driving standards and vehicle damage should not be tolerated, historic racing is NOT a racing series so no need for this!!

Last week i had the privileged to view the graph of a poll taken from this year’s Festival, now considering this year’s event was Ferrari and some voters may not even know what a historic muscle car or historic saloon car is? HMC and HSC polled extremely well and not far under F5000 and third overall when other groups barely registered, it was quite interesting but did show that the MAYBE the punters can tell the difference in the cars? how they present themselves? according to their historic values? as controlled by the regulations! hmmm. So along with our tech auditors and HMC management we will make sure HMC as a class sticks to this and stays that way, sure we’ll suffered in numbers but I see it as a short term PAIN for a long term GAIN, the standard must be set TODAY so in 10 years(when im 64) and hopefully still racing maybe just maybe we’ll have that 40 car grid just for you Gerald so you hang in there MATE, I’ll even come pick you up from the old folks home(LOL)!!

And finally Ray, I'd personally like too welcome your ERC group onboard for next years Festival, remember this not some ho hum event so please bend a little and look at the group marque as it’s a worthy cost allowing the Festival organisers to offer up a professional looking meeting they(we) so desire, hell for a small fee we all get to race at someone else multi-million dollar complex all with-in spitting distance of most of NZ’s population, THAT my friends just doesn’t get any better and I consider it affordable.

Dale M