Calling Club Members New and Old!

[Colin Williams]

Since I've been racing at KMCC (which is getting on a bit now), we've always had a pretty good showing on a Friday night, yes there have been "lulls" but these have only normally been for a few weeks in the summer.

However we now seem to be in a "slump" rather than a lull, which began after the Spring Championships, and really took hold in August and we don't seem to have shaken this off, with only 9 drivers on average racing at the moment.

I also notice that a few people who were racing earlier in the year have migrated to other Clubs and not come back and few people seem to have just dissapeared.

So, I'd be interested to know if anyone who races at the Club now, or has raced in the past has any insights that might help the Club to recover back to the sort of numbers we had in the past?

Certainly if things stay as they are, then something drastic will be needed as we are not currently covering the hall fees :(

Colin

[MikeS]

Colin, I am sorry to hear this, Chris can't be there as he is now away at Uni I'm afraid and I am not sure I am up to it myself anymore - driving that is!

[Charlie Ware]

Colin, I personally think that we need to make some more of those "flexiable corners", the solid ones could be the reason that others are not returning.
The solid corners cause alot of cars to break, and sometimes can be the end of a few people's night.

Also, if we're struggling to break even on a friday night, just up the price by £1, it's not much, but could help the club carry on going.


Many Thanks,
Charlie

[AdamBurgess]

It is a shame to see numbers so low and would definatly be good to hear from people that have 'left' to find out why they dont come anymore. I'm not so sure the corner markings are to blame that much, we could experiment with a few more 'flexi' corners but the breakages i've had recently have be due to running wide out of corners and hitting the tubing rather than hitting the wood markers. The problem is that we race in a fairly small area which makes the tracks tight and technical, but to me this is more of a challenge than a problem. Anyone can race round a large open track but it takes some skill to drive round our tracks at race speed and i think that is proven by the people that we have racing at the moment. I dont mean to disrespect any former racers but we seem to be left with just the top runners that dont make many mistakes and therefore dont crash very much, and we have the new members that are still learning so i think expect a few bumps and breakages. The midfield kind of drivers (of which i consider myself one of) seem to be the ones missing mostly and i have to wonder if this is because of the breakages. Im not sure how we are going to tempt people back if this is the case as the only way of having less broken parts is to improve as a driver and that takes time and practice, so perhaps some people have decided the easier option is to change where they race or just give up. This is just my way of looking at and i dont mean to offend anyone.

In the mean time i agree with charlie in that a temporary price increase may help ease the money issue, i dont think the regulars would mind an extra pound or so to make sure the club keeps running.

Just going back to breakages, im not sure how much it would cost but could we not try getting some of that foam pipe lagging stuff and taping it along some of the track tubing. These padded pieces could then be used for the outer track barrier at the end of the main straight and in other 'danger' areas, might save the odd 'C' hub or wishbone???

On a slightly different note, perhaps we could do with a couple more people being involved in the running of the club, new committee members maybe. Im sure most will agree that Colin does a great job at the moment keeping things running and obviously Rob too, but with Dave having some time away from racing we are possibly a bit short on people who can run the club. Even if just a couple of people were shown how to set up and run Race Control properly for example, it would take some of the pressure off of Colin and Rob. Any thoughts??? ....

Oh and one last bit then i'll shut up! We definatly need the fun nights like charlie suggested in the other thread, Maybe just once a month when we aren't running the championships. Might just help keep things fun and interesting and maybe attract new racers?

Christ, i haven't written this much since i left school! Essay over!

Adam

[Colin Williams]

Thanks for the thoughts so far.

Regarding running the Club - anyone who wants to help out with being a committee member please step forward, and I would really welcome anyone learning how to set-up race control and run a meeting, as I think I'm the only person who can at the moment!

I did wonder myself about breakages and whether this was a factor. I went to Milton Keynes a little while ago and they race in a similar sized space as us, but have a lot more flexible corners and I don't think there were many breakages - so anyone wanting to volunteer to create something would be great - the Club will cover any costs of materials.

I'm not so sure about the foam lagging, I worry that the car wheel will just "dig in" and could make things worse.

I'm fascinated by the attraction of Fun nights - not that I don't want fun, but driving my car with the handset upside down, or 2wd doesn't sound like fun to me at all! But, I'm happy to do want Club members want - after all without the current 9 or 10 people we wouldn't be a Club!

I'd certainly like to hear from some of those who haven't been for a while, such as Simon and Paul Londors, Lee Henson, Andy O'Brien, Mark and Adam Wilkins and The "Guiver's" - is it because of something at the Club, or other reasons?

Some good news, heard from Dave today and he is planning a "big comeback" sometime soon anyway!!

Keep the comments coming, I'll try not to take them personally ;)

[Dave I]

Sorry I've been away for a while. Not sure if people know but I was made redundant in Feb and my new job is keeping me away from home quite a lot at the moment. So for me being away all week and not getting home till Friday afternoon, I've had to try and get a bit of home life into things as well.

However, I have missed racing. Even though as things are at the moment money is tight and although it appears people are getting away from me, I cannot justify spending on a new chassis. So I have decided to return and race where I fit in and enjoy not being at the 'sharp end' anymore.

We have a few things on in November but I will be there as and when I can, hopefully I can start to make it more over the next few months.

[fastfilli]

Just a observation do you think that only running 3 min qualifying heats may be why some people are moving to other clubs ?

For me the only thing that could be improved on is, veriation of tracks or more challanging tracks ! Tracks that I brake my car on or tracks that I am not very good at are areas for me to improve not avoid.

I also think that our track guttering is looking a bit battered now. Maybe triangle wood would be a better option to stop braking wishbones ? although then cars might then jump the track. What do other clubs use ? E.G carpet wars is there a BRCA standard ?

[AdamBurgess]

Rug Racers use the same guttering as we do, but have flexible corners. I think colin liked the look of the flexi corners on sunday so maybe we'll try a some of these. The main problem is the tight confines we race in, one small mistake and ur hitting the guttering but there isn't any way round that.

[DerbyDan]

Mmm, this is a tricky one? In my opinion the club set-up (track markers, Lap timing, carpet etc) Has never been better, & I should know, for a while I ran the club on my own back in the Burton Latimer days - then with Garry Starks when it moved all about between different venues.

Up until recently it was also a nice size - just enough racers to make it interesting with an even spread of drivers & abilities but not too many to make it overly busy & unfriendly. But it is just those half a dozen or so drivers that aren't turning up that are now making the difference:(

To be honest I think its almost purely down to the personal situations that various of our members have found themselves perhaps due in part to the current economic situation. I don't think (to my knowledge) anyone from Kettering has absconded to another club? Just off hand I can think of four regular drivers who simply cannot make Friday nights because of other commitments.

As for attracting new members or old members back, i'm not sure if having 'fun' nights is such a good idea? What would someone new to the sport think if they walked into our hall & we are all crashing our cars about trying to drive with our transmitters upside down or with our cars in 2wd?? Though I like the Retro shell idea - i'm currently spraying up my friend's Lotus Cortina shell which should look pretty cool:cool: Realism always captures the imagination of people who maybe interested in the hobby.

I don't even think that we have more breakages per-se on our track than on others that i've visited (Hinkley, MK etc) But some more of those 'sprung' corners & some new guttering perhaps would help (some of our current lengths of guttering do have cracks/loose-raised screws that can't help)

[Charlie Ware]

I don't even think that we have more breakages per-se on our track than on others that i've visited (Hinkley, MK etc) But some more of those 'sprung' corners & some new guttering perhaps would help (some of our current lengths of guttering do have cracks/loose-raised screws that can't help)

Hi,
It may be better to get an overall picture of the less consistent drivers, to see how many breakages they have in comparison to they have at Hinckley, I sold my T2 '009 to an inexperienced driver at Hinckley and despite him being fairly new to the sport, he didnt break a single thing all day.

I wouldn't say flexible corners would encourage people to come to kettering, but once there, the corners won't be the reason they leave.

Just my opinion.


Thanks,
Charlie

[gatesy]

Colin,

I've just dug all my old stuff out, and if I can throw something together, then I might come along and have a bash, although it won't be a for a few weeks, as the company I'm working for has gone into liquidation, so I've got no job and no money!

First question, tyres, Corally SSB?
Second question, 27t still?
Third question, How long are the heats/races, as I've only got 2 packs of 4200 cells.

Also, I'm going to be putting a load of stuff on Ebay, so should anyone need a spare Associated RC18T Chassis (with bits missing), a Tamiya TB Evo 4, a 1/16th Nitro Buggy, or a petrol tank for a Honda GX160 Lawnmower engine, then let me know!

Cheers, Stu

[Rob Fitzgerald]

Adverts ONLY in the for sale section please :mad:

[estebandonde]

Rules, rules rules. perhaps thats why more people are using oople Rob, especially with your new price increase.


I know a fun night sounds like a good idea and I for sure would love it, i've loved all of the ones before and people get to know each other better which can only be a good thing.
Having said that me & Charlie went to Peterborough club last summer and they were running an oval track as part of a fun thing to try. Whilst it was different and fun for a minute or so we left early and have vowed never to return!!!!!------------Perhaps a fun night should only be done as close to xmas as poss so if newcomers do come it doesn't scare them off.

Steve

[AdamBurgess]

Slapped wrist lol.

Tyres is open as long as they are pre glued slicks, but it is prefered in general that people use the STCC tyre that the club sells at the special price. 27t is fine but most people are on brushless 13.5 now so a 27t may seem a little slow, shouldn't be a major problem tho. Race format is 2x3min heats and 2x5 finals. we're having extended time between races at the moment tho to give people plenty of time to charge batteries. hth

[AdamBurgess]

Fun nights dont have to mean that every has to take part tho, if say me, charlie. kris and a couple more fancy taking out the front belt and having a bash (literally) on a non-champs night then we could we not just run seperate heats. That way anyone that doesn't want to take part or newcomers can still race as normal and it would only be us idiots taking our car home in bits lol.

[Colin Williams]

Colin,

I've just dug all my old stuff out, and if I can throw something together, then I might come along and have a bash, although it won't be a for a few weeks, as the company I'm working for has gone into liquidation, so I've got no job and no money!

First question, tyres, Corally SSB?
Second question, 27t still?
Third question, How long are the heats/races, as I've only got 2 packs of 4200 cells.

Also, I'm going to be putting a load of stuff on Ebay, so should anyone need a spare Associated RC18T Chassis (with bits missing), a Tamiya TB Evo 4, a 1/16th Nitro Buggy, or a petrol tank for a Honda GX160 Lawnmower engine, then let me know!

Cheers, Stu

Hi Stu, sorry to hear about the job situation :(

Tyres - if you don't have any, then I've got a spare set of reasonably decent tyres you can have.
27T - will still be fast enough to compete geared right and given a skim.
Cells - so long as your 4200's are still in decent nick, then two packs should be fine as long as you put them on charge straight after the race - I used to run with just two packs for an evening. We run 3 min qualy and 5 min finals so your cells should last that no problem.

Colin

[gatesy]

I've still got 2 sets of the Corally tyres, but thanks for the offer Colin. I've also got about 4 sets of the Sorex 28R BTCC Tyres.

Aslong as I can skim the motor when I get there then I should be alright, found a new set of brushes when I was sorting the kit out.

Don't know how good the batteries are, as I can't find a Kettle Lead to put them on charge, but they should be good, I think I got them from Mike just before the last race I did.

[mike0001]

complete beginner here, name is mike,

so tell me what happens and when ?

i am a complete novice but interested

[Colin Williams]

complete beginner here, name is mike,

so tell me what happens and when ?

i am a complete novice but interested

Hi Mike, we race on a Friday night at the William Knibb Centre in Kettering - there is loads more info on our website:

http://www.ketteringmcc.co.uk/

so take a look at what's there and then feel free to come and ask any questions you have on this forum.

Regards,

Colin

[AdamBurgess]

Tonight from 7pm at the William knibb centre, get along and introduce urself and see what we do. There may be an chance to have a go aswell if the club car is ready to go. Theres info on www.ketteringmcc.co.uk aswell if you want to see the rules and exactly what we race. Always nice to see new faces on a Friday night!

[AdamBurgess]

Lol u beat me to it colin!

[Colin Williams]

There may be an chance to have a go aswell if the club car is ready to go.

Ah, the Club car is broken at the moment, and I haven't had time to fix it!

Colin

[mike0001]

got to work tonight, but will come along next week, never raced before, cars i have are bit of a handfull ( or might be a lack of talent on my behalf )

will have a look on your other site and check it out