I have always thought the heat thing was a bit of a joke. Usually if your car breaks down it's serious & can't be repaired anyway. I wonder how many people have actually used it & gained points in the second part of the race. To be given points towards the off road championship for only compleating one section of the race is again something I find a bit strange. You can DNF the event but still get points, as I have said before I am old, but I don't get it.
I know of a number of people who have used it to gain points.. and it has helped them to win their class championships.
An example of when it can be used to your advantage is if you break a driveshaft or CV while out on track, you can get the car back to the pits, change the parts and then start the next section to gain some all important points.
Not saying it is right or wrong, good or bad, but that is how it can be useful to some.
I can remember when at Kempsey you could have a distinct advantage by conserving fuel, and this allowed, with the design of the track, for all classes to be competing for the outright.
I love the enduro format, however this was successful when there where 100 plus competitors. Economic times have changed the structure to allow competitors the ability to keep competing and therefore strengthen the event.
I would like to see a mix of events for the AORC, including point to point, heats and enduro. This then would ensure the National Champion was the master of all formats.
Perhaps one of the reasons we don't have 100 plus fields any more is that we are using the heat format. Heat races favor big dollar competitors, if you have the time to change things like engines & gearboxes, then it's smart to have them with you. Enduro racing requires a more conservitave driving style which is more common amongst budget competitors.
how about a bit of both in the championship? I agree the heat format encourages sprint racing which has gone a bit away from what our sport is about. Is it right that a competitor that dnf`s one heat can actually still score more points than a competitor who completes all sections? I dont think so.... just my opinion though.
I hope the the flag to flag event in Griffith get the greean light from AORCOM.... We need a true enduro style event like we used to have at Kempsey. And we also need a national in NSW!!
-- Edited by kuster on Saturday 4th of July 2009 02:40:35 PM
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