johnfelstead

"SCOOBYNET ,it seems to me there are certain people on here that don't even own a subaru"

Welcome to 3 years ago! LOL

Since when has Scoobynet been Subaru only people, never! Check the Forums, its 80% non Subaru focused.

Lee

John, we were about to call a meeting with you, but then we saw the 10 of the best video and noticed a certain person killing a few cones....

Seriously, as per our phone chat..if you want to get more involved then speak to us.

MarkO

JohnF, strikes me that if you're not happy about the way the SIDC runs its trackdays, and you're bothered enough to get involved, then why not take over Mellow's (vacant) position?!?!

john b

EXACTLY MY POINT RENAME IT ANYTHINGNET

DavidLewis

The SIDC was exceptionally good at putting on good, value for money track days, far cheaper than the commercial boys.
With the likes of Chris (Mellow Yellow), JohnF and others on this board, I'm surprised there isn't a Scoobynet TrackDay Club organising events at prices somewhere inbetween the two.

johnfelstead

LOL

I would like to help sort this out, but i simply dont have the time to do a comittee type role. What is important is that a group of people sit down and discuss this properly, this is not something the SIDC comittee should attempt to do on their own because other parties are involved such as the MLR and whoever else you wish to team up with.

Now if you can organise a meeting of the people that really count and can be open enough to listen and make some sensible, workable guidlines then i will do my best to give some unbiased asistence based on reality, rather than perception.

You cant please 100% of the people 100% of the time, but you can do a damn site better job of it than is curently being done.

johnfelstead

Johnb, i will put that to Simon, NOT.

john b

hit the nail on the head mr felstead !! TIME is the SIDC's enemy it takes alot of time and effort to arrange a well run trackday (or any other event come to think of it)perhaps we should seek out a retired gent (or gentess) to be our trackday and events organiser

DavidLewis

How stupid is the idea to setup an independant non-profit making group/company with the sole responsibility to organise the trackdays events for SIDC, MLR and any other Car clubs that don't have the time to organise their own trackdays.

Jon1T

I have a scooby, I am a memeber of the SIDC. I also have a Pug 205 gti track car.

I don't want to take the scoob for the following reasons:

1/ Insurance
2/ Family car
3/ Cost of tyres/fuel
4/ Not going to enjoy it worrying about 1 - 3.

...I want to take the Pug which is fully track prepped, full roll cage, extinguisher etc - but am I not allowed?

Is thi not odd? Surely it's the driver as much as the car? Why can't you have 'slow' and 'fast' classes and let ppl choose which they go in?

dingy

David, i would Love to see Macca F1 on track, but the fact that some RS's are as fast on track might upset the driver....

I have been on track days with Lister storms, F355, F512, F360, Porker GT2's etc

SO what.....

I GET ON WITH IT......

Makes no odds if the RSOC organised it, as they people that run the National day event would love to see it, where as the SIDC want scoobs only.....I can say the RSOC doesn't mind what you use...

Craig Ran his scoob at the RSOC national day a couple of years back and upset loads of people.....ERM not being FUNNY but NO ****** COMPLAINED, cause the RS lot aint like the SIDC lot (management side), we are all into cars, I personally will never own a scoob as i have worked on them and know they aint worth the money.....so will never be a member (again) of the SIDC....

RichardPON

I think this is a fair point, and one that deserves to be addressed.

I'm an RSOC member and have been for three years, but use most of the BBs that are going. This is primarily for the reason that I wish to learn as much as possible about all manner of car related topics, and the RSbb is very limited in that respect.

I'm a relative trackday newbie, but have been bitten by the bug already. My Sapphire Cosworth is no rocket, but it's quite quick, and well maintained.... and very track prepared.

What got me interested in Subarus was a visit to Trax a few years back. The SIDC had a whole fenced off area to themselves, and even had a support vehicle in attendance...... and I was mighty impressed. I was a member of the RSOC at the time, and looking to start tracking a car, but there was no support from the club or otherwise.

The RSOC has itself limited to a number of track days. The biggest is obviously RSOC National Day, and it is a well organised event, split into sessions. It's worth noting that there were a few scoobs on track this year with us, as there have been for a few years, and nobody kicked up a fuss in the slightest. The other event is Combe, which is in conjunction with one of the Regional groups, and is well attended and well organised.

Apart from these two high profile events, I think it's fair to say, there isn't much of an RS track scene. It boils down to the regulars, i.e. Dingy, Mike Rainbird, the Reyland cars, Bruce Read etc who end up on the same trackdays organsied from outside sources. I believe Mike was attending a few of the trackdays with the SIDC a few years back, and was welcomed with open arms.

What it boils down to is that the RS club has no proper track organisation as such, and little or no interest in track action, since the club membership is comprised of younger people without the funds. What emerges is a small nucleus of hardcore track attendees, that are committed, have the money, and would probably love the opportunity to share track time with like minded individuals, regardless of car.

If the SIDC wishes to involve other marques, why not do it by invitation? I can give the name of ten or so RSOC members, myself included, who would love to be involved in any track day organised primarily by the Scooby lot. I think there is a respect for the amount of scooby owners who are/were serious about track days, since that element is seriously lacking in the RSOC.

Subaru trackdays used to really be looked upon as the pinnacle of club organised track time - surely that many people haven't moved to bigger and better cars that the track scene is dying?

Phil

from Dingy

fine

then stop trying to infuence club decisions

dingy

I was a member as i was selling Subaru PArts and was going to buy an 02 Car.

johnfelstead

John, time is not the enemy always (the main reason i dont want a commitee role is because i am a crap administrator, and i recognise that).

If you spend the time upfront to understand the issues and formulate a workable solution then time is not that much of a problem. The best organisations do their groundwork and then they more or less canter allong. The worst organisations are reactive and are always chasing their tail. The commitee as a whole is not that experienced of trackdays and i think if they are prepared to seek some experienced advice and incorporate the concerns and ambitions of other groups like the MLR and work with them, then we could end up with a solution that caters for the members of the SIDC and gives them what they want, which is fun, safe, non-intimidating trackdays. Lets not lose sight of the goals by being blinkered about this.

dingy

Phil, i aint trying to, just sitting here laughing at you lot trying to...FFS

Pish up in a Brewerly

DavidLewis

Just as much as I would love to own one
If thats the day where everyone was being held up by Racing Puma's, I was there too. Membership of the RSOC paid for purely for cheap track time on the full Silverstone circuit. O.K. that makes me a hypocrite, but it was unlikely that the RSOC National day was going to be overrun by other marques. If some people have their way, Scoobs would be in the minority at their own track days.

dingy

LOL with the cancellation of bedford, it would seem the scoobs couldn't fill a pub car park

CraigH

What happened when I posted about Bedford on RSOC?

So shut yer mouth

Josh L

John F,

If I were going on track, you'd be one of the first people I try to scrounge some instruction from.

IMHO I think it's a sad day that we don't seem to be paying enough attention to the experienced and enthusiastic trackday drivers like Mellow and John Felstead etc.

It's all about sorting out whether a majority want members to be Impreza owners or not. If not, we can't apply special rules for non-impreza owning members, and everything else will fall into place. It's equally simple if a majority feel Impreza owning is a prerequisite.

Consequently, there's very little worth discussing until that issue is decided.

Josh

DavidLewis

The social scene of the SIDC is quite strong so filling a pub car park is never a problem. Filling a pit lane might be another matter

johnfelstead

David, the reality is that there isnt enough Subaru's to fill a track day, there isnt enough to fill 50% of a trackday, so SIDC afiliated days will always have a large content of other marques.

That has been recognised by Pete Croney if you read his posts. The important thing now is to build on that recognition and work with other organisations to make this be a sucess for the club, rather than a burden that isnt worth the agravation or financial risks.

Chris King (Mellow) had some good ideas and hopefully those can still be incorporated. I think i have some too. All this takes is for people to sit down round a table and talk. I have already said i will contribute to this as best i can. I am sure chris would too if he felt he would be listened to. We all want the same thing, which is to have some fun in a safe environment. It doesnt matter if there is only 1 SIDC scoob if that is all that the membership at that particular time wanted to atend, that one member is having fun with the help of the club, thats the aim of the club after all.

john b

john ,fully understand where your coming from, thought we had it sussed with chris king on board , but alas he has descided that it's not for him. we as a club need somebody to come on board that has knowledge of the track day sceen then i think the issue of what car attends could be resolved. perhaps 4 track days a year 2 for impreza's only and 2 for mixed ? just a thought.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Richard's post is spot on. Surely there is enough dedicated trackday regulars spread throughout the previously mentioned clubs that can group together and form a cost effective trackday club. yes there are other clubs but not all are 'affordable'.

For example (just one suggestion, I'm sure there are better)

You become a member for a nominal fee, it covers admin, etc.
A calender is organised.
for a particular trackday, places are offered to members only for a certain period of time. If places are not filled by that time, then they are offered on an invitation basis, then open to all. If by a certain cut-off point not enough places are filled then the trackday cannot go ahead.
Format. open pit lane? Sessions? I suggest both. The first 2 hours of the day split into 6 20min sessions so novices, inters and advanced have 2 sessions each. Then the rest of the day becomes open pit lane.
Every club needs a turnover of members to survive, so newbies need to feel welcomed not daunted by the prospect of joining.

With the amount of influential people on here surely a club like this can be made to work, in terms of negotiating good deals WRT track hire and track insurance.

Justin

DavidLewis

John.
Although not a member any more, I'd never wish to see the SIDC crumble, since I enjoyed every moment of my membership. As posted before (and as you know), the SIDC was respected for the way that their trackdays were run. [flamesuit]I was not quite a trackday vet but found that the odd display of lack of etiquet (sp?) came from those more interested in proving their machine was faster than a scoob[/flamesuit]. Should the SIDC allow themselves to be overrun by such persons, any respect that has been built up wouls be lost in an instant.

Mellow Yellow !

iTrader: (1)

Go Johnny go

Excellent valid points from most replies so far

Dingy, we have a special catagory for your car over on the MLR....

It's called the $hitbox Challenge Cup ! I'm in it

Edited coz I carnt spell

[Edited by Mellow Yellow ! - 11/1/2002 3:13:52 PM]

[Edited by Mellow Yellow ! - 11/1/2002 3:14:50 PM]

john b

david this one is going to run for a while i think, the consensusis that we will let our members decide on what happens via a voting system . lets see what happens

banshi

Sorry John, a little objectivity is required.

Much as I would like to see trackdays continue your concept is not workable.

A club by definition should be comprised of people with similar interests and aspirations. If the majority do not wish to participate in trackdays then incurring £8k loss related to this type of event cannot be justified.

Jay's (Scoobynet based?)trackday club is surely the way forward. It overcomes arguments about marques/road rockets etc. Has an established client base & already has a wealth of expertise to draw upon.

DavidLewis

JB. I agree. I hope that the members will have more time and inclination to vote than they did to attend the AGM.

Phil

Banshi

Everybody keeps saying scoobynet could do it

I'm sure Simon and Shaun have plenty of time

There are plenty of generic track day companies that do this for a profit

Lets see what the membership want