Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am publishing this interim report to hopefully address the war of words that is rumbling on between some members of our series on Facebook.
I fortunately do not subscribe to this site and if the unpleasantness that seems to proliferate there is anything to go by I am glad I don’t use it.
Let me start off by saying that as a rule I try not to get involved in the running of other classes as it is probably none of my business and also I have enough trouble trying to understand, let alone influence my own class, although I would say right now that all of the class A guys I view as true sportsmen, a fact that will be evident in my race report when I get back to typing it.
I would also say that I look upon all of the Class C parties involved as friends and do not intend nor wish to take sides.
What does upset me is that this constant bickering could start to reflect badly on the series as a whole and that does affect me and the other drivers personally.
Whilst I understand we all want to win there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
I know that class A is sometimes looked upon by the fast guys as the poor relation in the series but I for one would prefer and intend to remain in that class for one very good reason. It self regulates and the drivers are all “club drivers”. They are very sporting and have not lost sight of the fact that we do this for fun and as a hobby, we are not F1 drivers and do not need to behave as if we are.
It is a shame that not all classes are able to self regulate but this being the case it must fall to the coordinator to take the lead in this matter, with the eligibility rep also.
The series is known as the friendly series but we leave ourselves open to problems when the running of it is so weak.
For the good of the series I implore Dave and Vic to arrange a meeting with all the interested parties to try and resolve this amicably.
If my late mother was still with us she would have told all of those concerned to stop acting like children, banged their heads together and got it sorted out that way.
This option is not open to us, so instead the co-ordinator must arrange a meeting which should be conducted in a civil manner to resolve this dispute.
To fail will no doubt result in the loss of some if not all of these drivers concerned, I do not want to see that happen.
I know there are strong personalities on both sides here, but it must be possible to resolve this like the gentlemen I believe deep down you all are.
I will leave this open for comments if you so wish for a short time (no offensive ones will be permitted).
I will then remove the option to comment and publish the race report which is something I would rather we remembered instead, as overall an excellent days racing was had by all.
Can I also remind you all that this race was held in the memory of a great driver, I am sure he would not like it to be remembered for the unpleasant comments that are currently being bandied about.
Please guys, let’s have a bit of give and take and let’s sort this out.
Jonesey







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20 visitors commented in " INTERIM COMMON SENSE REPORT!!! "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI’m assuming the issue has arisen from trying to equalise the performance of the ‘new’ cars with the more established MG racing models? One suggestion then (un-ashamedly plagiarised from other competitions) would be split each class up into pre and post 1982 for points. Not more classes I hear you cry……….. Feel free to add any more suggestions in the spirit of common sense (which I hope prevails for more than just an interim period)
Jonesey, as you know I am a massive fan of the series have really enjoy battling against class A cars, Class B cars and on the odd ocasion a class C cars. Thruxton was a great weekend and what a way to remember Roy McCarthy.
I agree with Jonesey 100%. It’s not about taking sides with anyone. The series has always been a friendly Championship, with some good banter. At the end of the day we are all out there to have good clean fun. The Championship has a good reputation for good close clean competive racing. Which we can all take some credit for.
Thruxton was a very enjoyable event which is the most important factor. After this comes in my opinion the possibility of picking up some silverware for the wife to complain “not more dust collecting plastic”, anyway…. There is a bit of discontent in the C class camp which to be fair, was expressed at the pre dinner dance meeting. I am not a politicain but believe the problem can be worked out but unfortunately it is taking far to long to resolve. I hear the ZR championship will need somewhere to race soon as they are being updated to a newer car! [grape vine fact?], PBIC is where they may be coming!, I think it is fairly clear the newish cars in our championship which includes non original engines belong in their own class, or the V8 class C cars be reassigned to B class, this action may cause a forray within Class B but it will leave Class C to likes of ZR’s and K series. Or we keep adding weight to level out the cars and take away slicks, to be fair the Neaves honered there agreement on this fact.
Like you said Jonesey, I needs addressing with expedience as I dont intend to say around if all I have is chasing for 4th, 5th or 6th place at best, after all we all like a chance.
Finishing on a positive note, there was some real quality racing by all competitors, my guests thoroughly enjoyed it together with the thrills and spills.
All the best and keep it up.
I’m just a fan of MG racing and attend as many race meetings as I can. On wandering round the different competitors areas I can’t help but overhear some of the comments - it’s just not sport!!!!!
Let common sense prevail and keep the dream alive with a bit of old fashioned sporting courtesy.
I am all for banter, but I think some of the Facebook comments (which I will not be repeating here) go beyond that. I agree with Rob, this needs to be sorted NOW rather than letting it continue to fester.
Dave…are you listening?
Jonesey you have made some very good points,we are not f1 drivers, we are club level drivers taking part in a championship for fun as a hobby. I don’t think we should lose sight of that.
As I’m sure most competitors are aware i built a new car for the 2011 season and i would like to emphasis it was built within the class c regs.
since the start of the season the car has been great however some fellow competitors are unhappy i am racing this car in the pbic.If anybody had any issues with me racing the zr they had the chance to speak out at the drivers meeting.I have been very open with everbody regarding the car however since the start of the season i have been accused of cheating,sandbagging,or if i win the car is simply to fast,i cant win!
Due to the discontentment after silverstone i agreed that i would ballast the car with 100kg.
as a keen competitor /engineer myself and Tony spent 2 weekends setting the car up for thruxton which is part of the fun of club racing for me, and it payed off with two wins.the 100kg didnt really make any differance because of the adjustments we made in the preperation.
The car’s power to weight ratio is now almost the same as a trophy 160 zr.
the point im making is are all the other cars in class c at the pinnicle of there performance,i dont think so!
I race at the weekends for pleasure as i stated above “its a hobby i do it for fun” not to get constant verbal regarding the zr, its now got to the point where its becoming more of a drag to turn up which is a real shame as i do have a high regard for the good clean racing in the championship.
People should just understand Dan Ludlow is a quick driver in a well prepared car who knows the circuits. In PBIC we should not over analyse each of the cars without looking over a long series of races and equal competitors. Remember it is difficult to draw good statistical decisions on so few cars per class with varying degrees of preparation. If you look at any one make series you will still see even the top ten cars covered by several seconds qualifying time so you can end up going around in techinical regulation circles depending on the car, driver & circuit.
Personally in class A I had my first true competitive fight so far this year where the Maestro was directly comparable to the MGBs at Thuruxton whereas at other circuits I was not so competitive. Looking at the mix of racing across the class fields I think the regulations can’t be too far off, the spectators told me they loved it!
Dan,
It’s nice you see you post something rather than everyone else in your “team” doing it on your behalf. I think some of your points are valid however I do refuse to accept that are cars are not as fast as they could be, I accept there are places I could have gone faster at thruxton but due to not having ever raced there before last weekend I think I did a pretty good job. If we take Silverstone as an example then I was the second fastest MGB over the entire weekend including the 350+BHP class C and D BCV8 cars on what is primarily a V8 track.
There are a few things that to me would indicate that your are not driving the car as fast as it can go. I must state I do think you are a good driver but feel you are constantly holding back not wanting to show us the true performance of the car.
I have recently realised that you have a pitboard telling you how many laps are left and your position? Everyone will know what position they are in in their class as you know who you are racing and if they are in front or behind, the rest of us manage OK without knowing how many laps are left as we are full chat all the time so it makes no difference. The fact is the only race that you have not won this year is the race at Oulton park that was shortened without prior notice…….
The car is clearly well built and I admire the work a setup that has taken place but I am always somewhat confused when a car 200kg’s heavier given the same run out of the corner and very similar gearing can overtake me in a straight line, that does not make sense to me.
And there are some things that I personaly don’t think you should have on the car, for example I struggle to see what part of the following regulation allows you to have an LSD
8.6.2 and 8.6.3
As far as I am aware you never consulted your class rep or the co-ordinator to ask for it to be allowed which begs the question, what else has been glossed over?
All we really want is some good fair racing with the chance of winning if we get it right, at the moment we all know who is going to win before we get to the track which is not right, we tried to get a gentlemens agreement going to not run slick tyres to even the gap to the V8 drivers to try and get them to stay in our championship rather than going elsewhere but as you refused to do this who knows what the future for class C holds.
I hope we can get everything sorted as it is a great championship with some great drivers, and I must say this is nothing personal at all and I think it’s fair to say that we all get on very well outside of club politics.w
Now, to lighten the mood a little I can present to you a video of race 2 of the PBIC at Thruxton bought to you in HD by Team Neaves Racing, you are all in it so enjoy…..
link…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnon_82LemY
Rob, what I cant understand is that your happy to be beaten by a class B car which is a country mile quicker than any other class B car but that does not bother you?
You are correct ZR’s are coming and under the MGCC rules all championships have some interchangability to allow club racers to race as numbers are down through out UK motorsport.
Racing is a expensive hobby and not everybody can afford a classic, so a modern MG is a cost effective option. My cars a good example road engine 270 cams and I am now beating class C V8’s who have probually spent more on engines than my car cost to build. Alex also showed in his ZS how it can be done by beating me and a V8.
So are you going to ban the ZS next? (3 currently racing in PBIC and another being built for 2012) My car is the heaviest in the series at 1220 kilos with driver, so are you going to make me run heavier than the production road version as I beat a V8?
I did not see a extra 100 kilos in Ollies or Blaines car, So what have team Neaves honoured? Ollie again was within a second of Dan. Blaine drove through the pack from last to the front his best performance todate (maybe the sandbag tittle should be moved on)
Clearly the V8’s need to go faster or all of the VHPD cars need to be pegged back. But at present there is only one car that has done this.
I really enjoyed Thruxton and to be able to beat a V8 and chase another down which for me is a rare thing.
I am a massive MG fan and fan of the MGCC but petty squables about one car being a second quicker than others is spoiling the series. For those of you that have not raced with the sereis for long just look back Dan has raced at the front in his metro and that was never a issue but now its a ZR it is? Madness.
I understand Henry Kissinger has a slot in his diary and is prepared to mediate at very reasonable rates….
Ollie, all front wheel drive cars in C have a lsd, metro gti, MG Zr, Zs x 3.
So are you saying that Dan, Alan, Ewart, Ashley, + Kevin and Ian who were joining the series next season are wrong?
these are all in the production casing as supplied with the car.
To all readers of this blog, I apologise in advance if this is boring but it will be my very last word on the subject.
Ollie
In response to your comments directed to me.
I am simply abiding by the rules. I go out to qualify on pole and try to win every race in every championship I have ever raced in. As I have said before with the amount of prep and cost involved to get the car to a meeting I would be mad not to go as fast as I can. As you are aware there is a data logger fitted on the car, which would disprove your argument. I have always been totally open and honest in the racing scene and always will be.
I run my own very busy engineering business, and I have a wife and two children to look after before I can ever consider motor racing. Unfortunately I am not able to secure a broadband connection in my area, and generally I have no interest in getting involved in online squabbles – hence I make little comment but no one does anything on my behalf, I like to run my own life.
With respect to pit boards – this is part of basic racecraft.
I am sorry you can’t make sense of the fact that I am overtaking you in a car well over 200kg more than yours. I am not bringing into question your driving ability in any way but if you read ‘Drive to Win’ by Caroll Smith, may be you would understand more about what’s going on.
With reference to your ‘gentleman’s agreement’ which was never discussed with me, I did receive a text about this from yourself shortly before a race meeting saying “the group C lot have decided to run on road tyres, just checking that this is OK with you” so when did competitors start dictating the rules? I know from conversations we have had that you struggle to get slicks to work on your car; however you have been running them all year. This takes me back to my original point on my first post; Are all the other cars in class C at the pinnacle of their performance? I believe a properly set up MGB will be quicker on slicks.
I am quite happy to make my car available to the championship scrutineer if it stops all this suspicion over my car.
I find it hard to believe that according to you this is ‘nothing personal’. However your comments are sent directly to me which makes it personal.
That will be my last ever word on the subject. That’s another hour out of my working day. However, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the people support me.
Hmmm, perhaps I was a bit naive in the hope that we could all be nice to each other! (& thank you for all those who pointed this out to me)
I still believe that this IS a friendly series and we CAN all get along despite the inherent difficulties of trying to run a fully inclusive series.
I will leave this topic open for a couple of days in the hope that some good can come out of this,??? The eternal optimist.
Gentlemen,
A number of you have been availing yourselves of the opportunity provided by electronic means to express your opinions about the relative performance of various cars and classes in the championship.
Please confine yourselves to reasoned commentary, make your class representative aware of your concerns.
The technical officer and the class reps are monitoring the regulations and their effect on racing.
A far larger audience is watching the electronic exchanges.
I hope it will not be necessary say anything further.
David Brooke
Coordinator
Can i bring the mg land speed record holder car into pbic please or the le man car
I would like to make an official request…..
As I’m clearly driving to Class A speed (and less) these days, can I enter Class A next time? I promise to behave myself…….
You just can’t shake off the old bus driver habits can you? You see someone put their hand out and you stop to pick ‘em up.
OK folks, that’s probably enough on this one so I will close down the comments and publish a slightly less contentious race report….all I would say is can the driver’s reps and all parties involved in this make time to sit down and sort things out.
Thanks