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Now that we have all (?) completed the Motorsport UK Survey forms and
submitted them before the closing deadline of midnight last night, it's up to MS
UK to decipher and assess the responses.
It is to be hoped that our governing body will continue to communicate with members and licence holders with regard to the results. For instance it would be good to know just how many responses they received. Also, how many actual competition licence holders bothered to respond - usually they are more concerned with what's in the garage.
Hopefully we will also be told what the general consensus was, what were the topics of most concern, and what the action plan might be going forward.
As the people who fund the sport's governing body there is a need to keep them informed and continue to consult, especially before new ideas are implemented.
Unlike the previous regime at Colnbrook who acted more like a 'civil service' than a 'government', the sport needs leadership and imagination. It also needs 'doers' rather than just thinkers.
For instance, 30 years ago it was the Scottish Rally Championship that organised the first rally 'Clerks of the Course' Training Days. The idea was to try and standardise stage route signage as cars were getting faster and stage times quicker. Representatives from all the rounds of the series were invited to a forest stage in Perthshire where they discussed the best way forward.
This was a concern at the time because of the increased pace on events. Warning and direction arrows were either too close or too far from junctions, hazard warnings did not identify potential hazards correctly, while of course CofC's and stage setter-upperers often exercised their own opinions of what was or was not a hazard let alone the accurate measurement of distances between arrows.
Some officials adopted the idea of trailing a 50 yard length of rope behind the set-up vehicle to accurately gauge 50 yards, while others, stepped it out or guesstimated such distances. And of course there were those who relied on metric measurements to further confuse the issue!
A proper stage was set up and some quick drivers were on hand to check out what folks had done and take those who had never sat in a stage rally car for a birl! There followed further opinion on set-up and comment on what they wanted from on-stage information.
The result was a terrific, and often robust, exchange of views between competitors and officials. What a fine young bunch they were. A more worrying thought - some of them are still around today and still doing the same job!
Anyway a grand day out was had by all and we all went home full of ideas and better informed, and there wasn't an MSA official in sight.
It is to be hoped that our governing body will continue to communicate with members and licence holders with regard to the results. For instance it would be good to know just how many responses they received. Also, how many actual competition licence holders bothered to respond - usually they are more concerned with what's in the garage.
Hopefully we will also be told what the general consensus was, what were the topics of most concern, and what the action plan might be going forward.
As the people who fund the sport's governing body there is a need to keep them informed and continue to consult, especially before new ideas are implemented.
Unlike the previous regime at Colnbrook who acted more like a 'civil service' than a 'government', the sport needs leadership and imagination. It also needs 'doers' rather than just thinkers.
For instance, 30 years ago it was the Scottish Rally Championship that organised the first rally 'Clerks of the Course' Training Days. The idea was to try and standardise stage route signage as cars were getting faster and stage times quicker. Representatives from all the rounds of the series were invited to a forest stage in Perthshire where they discussed the best way forward.
This was a concern at the time because of the increased pace on events. Warning and direction arrows were either too close or too far from junctions, hazard warnings did not identify potential hazards correctly, while of course CofC's and stage setter-upperers often exercised their own opinions of what was or was not a hazard let alone the accurate measurement of distances between arrows.
Some officials adopted the idea of trailing a 50 yard length of rope behind the set-up vehicle to accurately gauge 50 yards, while others, stepped it out or guesstimated such distances. And of course there were those who relied on metric measurements to further confuse the issue!
A proper stage was set up and some quick drivers were on hand to check out what folks had done and take those who had never sat in a stage rally car for a birl! There followed further opinion on set-up and comment on what they wanted from on-stage information.
The result was a terrific, and often robust, exchange of views between competitors and officials. What a fine young bunch they were. A more worrying thought - some of them are still around today and still doing the same job!
Anyway a grand day out was had by all and we all went home full of ideas and better informed, and there wasn't an MSA official in sight.
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