Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

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evannadeau
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by evannadeau »

Inter-Provincial Series?

Has there been in the past, or any appetite for the future to work with our neighbouring provinces to make a Western Canadian Championship?

When I raced motocross in BC, although not too much cross-province travel, I did get to see 3 different tracks on the island, and probably 5 - 8 different ones inland. And similar numbers in AB since moving here. Although there certainly isn't that many kart tracks/clubs in one province, we could definitely spice things up with an inter-provincial series.

I know there will probably be a much smaller number of people who will want to do that kind of travel but for those very interested in a racing career, this could be invaluable. Racing on different tracks, against other racers, not to mention having Western Canadian Champion on their race CV would be epic.

I'm not saying this would reduce the number of local races, but perhaps the clubs could work together on their schedules to have reduced overlap to allow for the series. What do you guys think?
VLR #42

evannadeau
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by evannadeau »

Downtown Calgary Street Race?

After scouring youtube for cool karting videos, I've come across many street races. Has this been done in the past to boost club interest? Maybe something worth looking into and discussing with the City for 2021? Could be fun for a single race, and get some more interest in the club.
VLR #42

pauldeadman
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by pauldeadman »

Hey Evan,

The western championship has been done many times, this week in Edmonton is actually the 3rd year in a row. Unfortunately it seems the travel and cost is the big hindrance along with certain peoples owns interests in running this kind of series. 2018 was a great event, we raced at CKRC, Martinsville SK and Chilliwack BC. It was a great experience until the results time. That’s another story though. 2019 didn’t gain much interest after the “fallout”of 18 and this year has been reduced to just one running in Edmonton. It’s a shame because there are a huge number of drivers across the 3 provinces plus some from Manitoba.

Street racing has been done before but I believe insurance costs are a big reason for not doing those now.

That’s my knowledge of it.
Paul

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Fred
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by Fred »

I started the Western Canadian Championships back in 07 or 08 with 3 other guys I think .. we used to race BC , Sask and AB .. it was very successful for many many years with around 100 - 120 drivers most rounds .. you won bragging rights to be the Western Canadian Champion and later the Rotax seats came into it. After the founding gang stepped back it took a bit of a dive and then was resurrected a few years ago by a private company with commercial considerations that changed the format and challenged the ability for club racers to compete... as Paul says it is still running but in a single race format this weekend in Edmonton .. you could still get an entry in.
Street racing although exciting (I used to do a lot) can be dangerous and the insurance liability is massive let alone even just fencing off the circuit to stop people walking on it .. extra race officials at least triple to a normal circuit , Police , ambulance costs permits etc etc it's never ending .... and with the demise of ASN (coincidentally because they are still being sued for a street race accident) it would be tough to put one on.
As for a bigger series at the club, I dont know what this would achieve except for raising costs, manpower requirements and a substantial financial commitment by the club .... for what end ?
If you were going to do it I would run a Briggs race only with major sponsors that will draw US drivers and prize funds in the 10K range.
We should be focusing the club on more affordable Karting to get more members into the club and allowing us to give more back to the members. Circuit improvements and facility improvements should come long before the effort of a big race in my opinion .. a Rental fleet is desperately needed to sustain the club financially in the future as I see grants and casinos disappearing in the future.
Anyway back to race formats for 2021 !

JakeThompson
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by JakeThompson »

I also like the mix of single races and double headers. In my perfect world we would start the year with single race events (3 singles from May to early June), then do 3 double headers through the summer with 3-4 weeks between races, and then 2 more singles to round out the the year in September. This allows for fewer commitments in the summer when people are looking to take vacation, but still keeps some single race events, which have their own benefits.

I also really like John K's idea of trying to host one marquee event each year which is unique to the CKRC. Fred brings up some valid concerns, so I want to clarify that I don't think it needs to have big prizes, or tickets to the worlds, or anything like that. Im thinking something that just has a bunch of fun twists on our regular format that we could market as the one "cant miss" race of the season. It would still be a club event, with the same class rules etc. These are just random ideas but it spells out my thought process:
"Rocky Mountain Shootout"
- 2 day race format
Saturday
- 3 Practice sessions each class, allows out of town-ers the chance to get up to speed without having to take friday off to practice
- Qualifying
- Top 3 qualifiers in each class go back out for a 1 lap pole shootout with a prize for the polesitter
- Organize a BBQ timed for the end of the day where we hand out the awards to the pole winners
Sunday
- 2 Heats, first heat based on qualifying, second heat invert the top 6 from qualifying. Average finishing position sets the grid for the final
- Finals (maybe run a few extra laps?)
Commission some cool trophy's that stay with the club on display somewhere at the track, but have the winners names from each year added with a plaque. Would create a bit of CKRC history

Anyway, the specifics aren't important, but hopefully it captures the spirit of trying to do something unique that gets people really excited to travel here for a race. In recent years the "big races" have been centered around things like world finals tickets. But honestly there are only a few people who actually have a decent shot at winning a world finals ticket, so I think we should put together a race format that makes someone who is going to finish 17th in Briggs Heavy still really want to come to our race because it sounds like a fun time. I think what makes the CKRC great is we are focused on being a great place for club racers, rather than trying to be anything bigger, so lets host the best "club" race of all time! Plus, in any given class we know that not everyone shows up to every race. But if at the start of the year we identify this race as the "big one" hopefully everyone clears there schedule and we can have huge entries even if that just means all of our own members turning up!

Nathan B
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by Nathan B »

I agree with Jake on the Single races to start the season, with a single double header June/July/Aug. Would free up more weekends for other stuff and make me more likely to race both events on the double header.


As for the one big event... I am in support of something like what Jake said. A really interesting format with the emphasis on fun. I have had a blast at some EDKRA events that went this way (Night Races, Tire swap challenges etc...) As it stands right now we already have some great ROK seats up for grabs so no need to try and turn this into another chance at a big race ticket.

I like Jake's format as well, except a full day of qually/practice sounds a little boring. I would change the Saturday to 3 practice sessions... best time over the three practice session are used to set an inverted grid for a 10 lap race.

Sunday the track direction flips. 1 practice session. 2 heats and a final. Limit one set of tires for the whole weekend for the top 3 finishers in Saturday race... rest of the racers have the option to throw on stickers for the sunday race.

jenpoirier
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by jenpoirier »

To weigh-in on some comments from above;
-racing every 2 weeks is perfect and starting earlier in the spring would be ideal.
-would enjoy starting the season with singles and then a mix with double headers(preferably on long weekends)
-would very much prefer the single races to be on Saturdays. Better turn-outs and love John‘s idea of the bbq after 😁

BradWalker72
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by BradWalker72 »

I’m planning to come out for any Saturday races but I won’t be able to race on Sundays. So I like the idea of some more races run on Saturdays 👍🏼

PaulS
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by PaulS »

For myself, all the comments have contributing aspects to continued success within the club and karting in Alberta.

Personally, I would like karting to be my main racing discipline, putting aside any motorcycling, auto-x or auto track day options.
it's truly the most fun I can have on-track and was dearly missed.

My points to add:
-Early spring start is great, as mentioned with single race weekends.
-Summer double headers are great if not coinciding with long weekends (family time / balance)
-TnT is more than ample as-is, and continued access gives an immense opportunity to tune and get physically ready for races.
-Club fees are extremely manageable compared to other racing disciplines, no change necessary :)

Looking forward to next season!

Sheriff525
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Last Name: Trim
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Re: Feed Back for Future 2021 Race Season

Post by Sheriff525 »

From our teams point of view we only ever race on Saturdays. We don't do the Sunday races, so that's eight entries potentially missed out on with Sunday races. Potentially more next year if our team continues to grow. Based on those numbers we account for almost 10 percent of the entries from our team alone (some weekends) . On behalf of our team we would appreciate more races being held on Saturdays.

Double headers don't effect us since we sit out Sundays but I see the appeal to free up weekends.

Championship points are based off of 9 races minimum. This year we made 6 races in total. I feel it would be more fun to have the opportunity to compete for a championship even if we don't ever win one. We won't ever be able to compete for a championships without more Saturday races (at least 9).

We are going to make a greater effort next year to line up some of EDKRAs Saturday races.
Lane Trim #93 - Briggs Masters
Team Trim Racing

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