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RE: Racing with EMRA in 2010
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posted by SBRacing
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Longer sprint races doesnt mean we have to give up enduros.
they are a different format and should stay that way. but a 25 or 30 lap race would be great.
If transponders are used for TT, then there wouldnt be a need to try and group cars together within a certain lap time. It would already be done.
For Example: If there are 2 morning sessions, lap times would have been compiled. then after lunch, tt'ers would have a meeting and given a run group. We have lots of lunch time meetings. Then they run with cars that hopefully wont slow them down for the last 2 sessions.
as far as two day events, instead of having the second day be practice, qualifying, race like the first day, why not have a morning warm up, and then 2 races. Maybe inverted grid from the previous days race. I know it takes man/woman power to set the grid(s) but might be a worthwhile thing to look into...
my 02 cents
regards
Cory
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RE: Racing with EMRA in 2010
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posted by Tom Masciopinto
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Some immediate answers:
If longer races are required to keep racers and attract new ones - consider it done.
An alternative is whether racers want two races in a day or one longer one. (we did two at pocono - one at lime rock)
question: if we have longer "sprint races" do we need enduros??
The key factor in answering the 2 day event request is whether open wheel cars are included. If they are not included in our schedule we can do 2 days of racing & time trialing. If we have an open wheel group we cannot make the schedule work.
As far as "rat traps", etc, I do not know where this comes from, especially with the excellent and thorough scrutineers that EMRA has had in the past & present. Obviously not a true rumor.
I agree with the fact that I also get my fastest times time trialing when someone is in front to chase or behind pushing me.
If someone is slowing me down in the corners I have pitted many times to get a break. Grouping cars by times would be a nightmare.
It is up to the driver to put himself in the correct group.
Keep up the suggestions, people - trust that we are listening.
Tom Masciopinto
Chairman
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RE: Racing with EMRA in 2010
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posted by FOG
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I’ve been racing and working with EMRA for 20 years. Over many of the last several seasons I have raced and worked with several other organizations and have a feel for what it would take to both keep me racing with EMRA and to bring others into the fold.
First the good – EMRA has a GREAT reputation as a “good” bunch of people to work with. Everywhere I’ve gone the reaction has been the same – we are a nice bunch of people who are very laid back and generally are very easy to deal with. The fact that we are small and that there isn’t endless bureaucracy and petty chiefs to deal with is appreciated. It’s a double edged sword however – more than once I’ve heard the refrain “I tried contacting EMRA to get a question answered and nobody ever got back me so I went elsewhere.” Personalized customer service is great, but it has to happen more often or we’ll continue to lose customers.
The flip side of that is that EMRA is also perceived as being very loose with the rules regarding car prep because we are so “informal.” More than once during my 15+ year tenure both in Tech and as Chief of Tech I heard that misperception from those who do not race with EMRA. I continually heard about how EMRA cars are generally rat traps and are unsafe. I spent a lot of time battling that – people are spending large amounts of time and fairly big bucks on their race cars and do not want to put them at risk unnecessarily. If we want to attract large fields we have to look like we are good idea.
Flagging – I hate to say it, but we have a long way to go in that area. There is a perception out there, somewhat true and somewhat untrue, that our flagging policies are not up to the standards of other large groups. We need a way to find, train, and retain flaggers with good skills.
Kevin has made large strides in this regard, but having been elsewhere it is nice to see large numbers of people on station at every corner when I’m on track. It’s also reassuring to hear the degree of professionalism and control exhibited by these same groups when we monitor their flagging nets. Trust me folks, a large number of teams carry scanners at races (we do) and listen to the worker net during their race. It reflects poorly on us to hear the level of confusion and discussion that goes on during an EMRA weekend. Our customers are listening to us.
Our strength is our small size and informality. People like that. It’s also our weakness. Racers like to know that we don’t hassle ‘em over the small stuff like paperwork, but give a damn about the big stuff like safety and on track conduct.
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RE: Racing with EMRA in 2010
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posted by Devil-X Guy
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I ditto Charlie with the longer sprint races. The 41-lap race at Lime Rock was a blast. It would be great if we could schedule longer races at all our tracks. 15 & 18 lap races are just too short. Also with the longer races the value for the dollar is much better than NASA and certainly SCCA where they rape you dollar-wise to participate (and have friends/family come watch).
Cary
#24 Truck
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RE: Racing with EMRA in 2010
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posted by gpeluso
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I livein Pittsburgh therefore I only ran 1 event with EMRA this year. I started my racing with EMRA and I will not forget it...it started with them at Beaverun and people gave me info how to start and I got to time trail my street car the and see racing too. I have spoken in the past about using the NASA model. I truly believe you build your own racers through time trials. I also believe time trailers can learn alot from racers. I loved Watkins and Beaverun on the schedule... The gocart Summit track early in the year does nothing for me..... I understand $$$ rental and ## matter.
Making me want to run with EMRA more next year.... when I go for a weekend I would like more time to either learn the track or get myself back in touch. I really did not like many SCCA races I did this year when there was only a qualifing season before the race. I think there are alot of nice people working hard in EMRA and I enjoyed seeing them at Summit.
Best of Luck
Greg
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Racing with EMRA in 2010
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posted by Entropy Racing
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as many know, EMRA's race fields (like so many other club's) are down over the past 2 years. what EMRA officials need to know is not why you are NOT racing with emra, but much more importantly WHAT WILL IT TAKE to get you racing with EMRA again.
Here is a short list of things my drivers have said that will bring them back and keep them coming.
1)Longer races: the LRP event was great. Easily worth $50 more if EMRA asked for it. same time for practice and qualifying, 40 minute sprint race. it gives a GREAT race if all goes well and if it goes in the dump due to incedents or delays there is still time for a race of some decent length, instead of a 3 lap dash for the tire wall.
2)2 day events: if we are going to schlep out to a track we would like to be able to run for 2 days. Day 2 doesn't have to be the same format but it would be nice to have 2 day events instead of singles. Do time Trial guys agree? if so, couldn't we combine both groups in a day and run at least a couple of 2 day events? scheduling could work.
3) better fields: not so important for us ESRS guys because we bring our own competition but others want someone in class to race with. Obviously EMRA needs more cars for better fields, but if we let EMRA know what other clubs are NOT giving us, maybe EMRA can give us a reason to show up and have BETTER events than other clubs.
EMRA is usually forced to make decisions in a vacuum and as a result, they are guessing what you want. Example is that Transponders in favor of 2+ hours of timed runs seems to be a popular decision but for YEARS officials believed that Timed Runs make emra more desirable.
a small # of people have to manage the club for all. complaining is one way to get nothing done and piss people off, while offering a positive reason why you would choose EMRA first and getting 10 friends to agree with you is a great way to rebuild EMRAs fields. once we get 5 SMs at every event, it is easy to get 10. with 1, it is nearly impossible to get 5 more without good reason. Lots of places to race an SM, why choose EMRA? Tell EMRA what it would take to get the interest up.
Just a few ideas to get the ball rolling
your turn
Charlie Greenhaus
Entropy Racing
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