Teams are very much a double edged sword. On one hand it can promote the 'win at all costs' mentality, but it also lets drivers race who wouldn't otherwise be able to. Not everyone has the mechanical aptitude or time to learn the mechanical skills required. I enjoy learning the mechanics of karting and so love tinkering around - this is not to everyone's taste.
Having raced in cadets predominantly at Rissy last year, we had a great time and met loads of very helpful people (especially Chris !). We are the archetypal 'Dad (and mum)and lad' team with a trailer and tent, racing on a very tight budget, but we enjoy it and have no aspirations to compete in S1.
The 'teams' that were at Rissy on a regular basis were also generally very helpful to non team members when things went wrong. This promoted a great club atmosphere and we plan to race there again next year.
The only problem came during the 'Midlands Championships' when some of the bigger teams turned up. The atmosphere was somewhat different with more 'racing incidents' and accidents than usual and many of the regular attenders were somewhat hacked off with the attitude displayed by some of the 'visiting' teams and drivers. Rissy is running a round of S1 this year and it will be interesting to see if this changes the dynamic of the usual club atmosphere in any way.
Don't get me wrong, both myself and my lad enjoy watching/driving in close fought contests on the track - but not at the cost of safety or needless mechanical damage.
Perhaps clubs could look to running privateer championships within the usual grids to give the non-team drivers something to compete for among themselves (as happens in the LGM series) as they do with the novice drivers - ie 1/2/3 privateer trophies on the day.
I know it is only a plastic pot at the end of the day, but it means the world to 10 and 11yr old kids and encourages both them and their parents to stay involved in such a great sport.
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