I too am a Formula Blue driver (Blue Top!) and have been watching the toys flying from prams with interest for the last week or so. First of all here's something that no-one seems to have noticed, and that is that the NKRA 2012 dates have been released.
http://www.planetkarting.co.uk/display_page.asp?page_id=8
So, the O Plate is indeed at Dunkeswell (this is in accordance with the rotational system) and as a result of it being in the south then yes, both the North and Scottish Regions will have an event out of their region... just like the south and north regions had the year before (with over 50 entries in seniors for the O plate at Larkhall and a very good representation by the southerners I should add) and the south and Scottish regions had the year before that... why is this a problem only now?!
I think rotating the O plate between the regions is completely fair, likewise with the finals. Is there a better way of doing it?
Secondly, I have no idea whether or not the O Plate was ever promised to Wigan but if it was and no one in the club has heard anything about it since I think those aggrieved could have used their time much more productively by contacting Ron to ask why, rather than shouting about it on this fourm first. Maybe indeed it would have been nice if he had contacted you all first but as his daughter had a potentially life threatening bobsleigh accident a month ago and has been in hospital in Germany I'm sure you can understand how finalising the date of a kart meeting 5 months away might have slipped down his list of priorities, no?
I'm glad to say I have nothing to add on the Blue top vs Green top saga as I haven't noticed any consistent advantage in race results and haven't paid a great deal of attention to which engine the drivers I struggle to beat are using, as with any competitive class they vary from race to race! I do agree that restrictors aren't always the best way of ensuring equality for all weights as a restricted motor pulling less weight will not always perform identically to a more powerful one that's made to work a little harder, hence the slight variations between tracks. Having cracked many old style TKM chassis by carrying over 16kg of lead though, I understand the thinking behind adopting this way of working in what is supposed to be a less expensive class.
At the end of the day, at Larkhall usually 0.5s just about covers the entire grid with about a 10s spread among the competitive runners at the flag. This is on a parallel with any other class at each event and with random grids I feel that a lot of this is accounted for by different drivers skill levels (or lack of it) in the racecraft department.
Last but not least, I don't care whether I have to race NKF or NKRA for a competitive grid next year, but would like to know as soon as possible...
|
|
