i was at the royal mail hotel at goondiwindi a couple of weeks ago and overheard a conversation that i thought was a good idea.
Finke to be run as a off road race only on the week prior or the week after the bikes, the infrastructure would already be there , the track would be marked, the town of Alice Springs would benefit from 2 weeks of increased population and spending.
Prologue and top 10 shoot out friday,
Saturday, start 7.00 am race to finke, have dedicated sevice time, then after last car gets to finke, race back.
Sunday, same as Saturday, this would give us a race of around 1000km.
this may even benefit the bike riders as none of them would have to miss out(170 bikes riders missed out this year because on numbers)
That sounds like a great idea for everybody except for the pit crew!!!
I think for any body who has crewed for the Finke would agree that would be an almost impossible task!!
But hey I'm always up for a challenge.
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GETTING OFFROAD RACING THE RECOGNITION IT DESERVES
No offence to the bikes but who needs them we should'nt Whats the problem ?
A lot of offroad races are run in the Alice area. I like the idea of a 1000k race but it would save a lot of money and logistics if we could race down to Finke have a service break then race back with maybe a local 4x4 club doing recovery. We would save a day and would still be a great event. I think were just a side show for the bikes anyway Because it was there race to start with.
This is an interesting one in my opinion - because with respect to the bikes (who needs them) My personal opinion is that Finke is a great breeding ground for interest in Offroad Racing.
Most of those young guys out there on bikes will soon realize that their bodies can only take so much of it - they either give up on the sport all together or make the move to Offroad Racing. A good portion of our AORC competitiors were bike riders at some point or another... These guys coming off bikes into cars keeps the sport fresh and the numbers growing - most car guys are around much longer than competitive moto guys where a Pro will only last 10 years (unless your name is Williscroft!)
Finke is a spectacular event for Cars & Bikes alike... I wouldn't mess too much with a winning combo - 10,000 spectators from all over the globe - they've gotta be doing something right!
It's definately my favourite event on the calander and I get pumped 11 months out to head back to Finke! It's a legendary race just as it is!
I think Simpson is correct in saying we are second to the bikes, but overall the event is so good as is, so maybe leave something not broken alone. ( might also be a reflection of how cams is not as successful as ma) Maybe if we really think we can make our cars last 1000km, then gascoyn or Griffith might fill the void?
-- Edited by jones off road on Wednesday 16th of November 2011 06:57:51 PM
with the atrition rate two trips to finke in two days wouldnt work. I also don't think two trips to finke one weekend and then bikes the next weekend takes into consideration load that it puts on the volunteers, not to mention the event management.
We may be second to the bikes but the cars balance the product that is finke. They enable the event to attract a broad base of sponsors and they most certainly would want the cars there to achieve that balance.
