It isn't negativity.
One of the regular complaints about rulings coming down from the MSA is that they don't seem to have taken into account things that appear to have been obvious to people posting on forums.
For obvious reasons, there isn't a route for the MSA to identify all the avenues that they discussed in getting to their decisions so people assume the issues were either ignored or missed out altogether.
One might hope that by opening these issues for discussion people can see why certain decisions would be taken by those on the forum, and hence by those advising the MSA.
So yes, there are a number of issues that one would like to see clarified. There are obvious questions about the "Stewards decision is final" when applied to the widely recognised clubmans championships (NKRA, NKF etc); or will clubs putting on a National A meeting have to carry the extra cost of the National Court on their own?
There is equally a question about the operation of National B meetings, if a person who has lost his MSA licence (for repeated offences under the totting up rule, for example) could simply turn up and race as a Day Licence holder. OK the idea of a national B meeting seems to be that by limiting the clubs, one limits the drivers to those who are 'known' to the club or representatives of the invited clubs, therefore less rigorous rules can apply because all the drivers are recognised, but when an unknown rolls up and says they are 'unlicensed', what then?. Does this imply a greater or lesser attention to the strict rules?
Of course, one can see that the idea of a Day Licence only being able to race in the Libre Class partially addresses the issue, but one can already sense the pressure to allow people to race 'in the class' if they have kit that meets the specification rather than find space for new Libre classes or consign other classes to 'libre' status. (As someone else has pointed out, would you condemn X30 or Blue or TKM or Rotax to the inevitable "also ran" status on a national or club by club basis?)
We are all aware that the only way IKR can reduce the normal costs of racing is either by eliminating the capitation rates (about £10 per person) paid to the MSA or by reducing the tyre costs or by reducing the cost of running the circuit.
We are also aware that once IKR becomes 'serious' managing the cost of tyres is going to become much more difficult. As I pointed out in a different thread, if I seriously wanted to win at the Clay IKR, there are ways for me to get new tyres for each meeting scrubbed in just enough for it to be difficult for anyone to prove that they weren't legal. Yes, there are ways to prevent such cheating, but we immediately step into the area of 'extra regulations' which some people feel are so unnecessary and blame the MSA for getting wrong.
I am in favour of the direction indicated by the MSA, I think there are hurdles to be overcome but I think it is better that these issues are seen to have been discussed than a directive to be anonymously handed down.
|
|