SORC Please Consider "Parity"

[Fast Jack]

share equipment ???

There is no better value. More heats or more races or both.... with the same equipment. Multiple races allows families to share the same equipment if they choose. Fewer motors, fewer restrictors, fewer set up changes, fewer props, less testing.....

A shorter program would allow more face time with your family on a racing weekend. Maybe I would go to that air museum in Dayton or that one in Milleville.

How can you Not want to see the Merc competative in A?? This allows Mom ,Dad and Sis to run J , AX, and A with 1 boat ,I Merc (stock ) motor ,and 2 props ?? This was the origional plan when the Merc was intoduced . Add another type of hull and the whole family races 12 races in a week end-- great for the club, the family and the sport.

[propnuts]

Amen to value

Don,
While I typically don't agree with what you say, I agree with this point! I believe Paul Pittman also touched on this when he commented on the value of being able to buy a Merc J, then run it in AX.
Mike

I have been trying to talk the Racing Outboard guys into figuring out how to restrict their A motor for a while now. I have 4 years till my grandson can race J, I am hoping it will be with a restricted Sidewinder.

[reed28n]

Original Plan

How can you Not want to see the Merc competative in A?? This allows Mom ,Dad and Sis to run J , AX, and A with 1 boat ,I Merc (stock ) motor ,and 2 props ?? This was the origional plan when the Merc was intoduced . Add another type of hull and the whole family races 12 races in a week end-- great for the club, the family and the sport.

That was not the original plan. The original plan was a new A motor there was no AXS class. When parity was discuused then OMC drivers were anxious and the Merc did not compete, so they created a new class for the motor. (but we have replayed that a million times on this site)

Keeping that motor for J and AXS allows turn over of equipment as drivers move up, which helps to sustain our sport. New drivers come into J and AX and have new motor options or used motor options.

I believe the Merc should not be in the A class at all. Strike parity with two motors. (OMC and SW which I think is close)

Allow step ups for AXS rigs into A class at local races for seat time and points.

The only reason I think the Merc gets support in the A class is that it does not threaten the top tier of OMCs

[Tomtall]

This is great

Keep it coming guys. National meeting just around the corner!

[Dr. Thunder]

20H (unconverted) vs. Champion Hot Rod

How was parity achieved when the "new" Hot Rod started beating the 20H?
How was parity achieved when the "new" OMC A was introduced?

[pav225]

Merc in A

I believe the Merc should not be in the A class at all. Strike parity with two motors. (OMC and SW which I think is close)

Allow step ups for AXS rigs into A class at local races for seat time...

I do like the idea of allowing the Merc in the A class, either as a legal motor or a step up. It gives people the opportunity to run more classes with the same rig, and have potentially make for fuller fields of racing.

Mike

[pav225]

I agree

. We need to be adding 20-30 racers a year.

I am not saying the A Sidewinder does not need to be tweaked, but I am saying you are looking at it from the wrong viewpoint.

Dean,
I couldn't agree more. We need to add 20-30 racers per year. I think the great job that MHRA is doing with Driving Schools is the best way to make this happen! Keep up the great work!!!

I also agree with the "tweaking". I'm not suggesting a major overhaul...just some fine tuning.

As far as me being concerned about protecting the current drivers....It's simply "Marketing 101". Even when pursuing a growth strategy, it's important to maintain your current customer base while supporting growth. In all seriousness (and not being a smart a**) if you have time this off-season, check out some marketing books by Kotler. Extremely well respected in the Marketing field and fairly entertaining reading.

Enjoy!
Mike

[Fast Jack]

The Merc is an A class engine.

Hi Mike . The Merc is legal in the A classes . It cannot compete at the A weight, If the Merc is allowed to run at the AX weight it is competative , I have time sheets that show the AX Merc runs at competative times . Lowering the weight would allow for larger A classes ( at least in Region 1 ) . Let the clubs grow , The Extra entries would be a benift to the bottom line. Bring back the old Rivalry between brands !!

[csh2z]

Rivalry between brands is bull****. We are micro-managing ourselves into oblivion. We put so much time and effort into parity issues, there is no time left to work on the important stuff.

[pav225]

Hi Mike . The Merc is legal in the A classes . It cannot compete at the A weight, If the Merc is allowed to run at the AX weight it is competative , I have time sheets that show the AX Merc runs at competative times . Lowering the weight would allow for larger A classes ( at least in Region 1 ) . Let the clubs grow , The Extra entries would be a benift to the bottom line. Bring back the old Rivalry between brands !!

Thanks Jack,L
I couldn't remember if it was currently in or out A. Thanks for clarifying!

Since it is currently in the class, I'm not sure why we would consider removing it...

Mike

[Dave M]

Disagree

Rivalry between brands is bull****. We are micro-managing ourselves into oblivion. We put so much time and effort into parity issues, there is no time left to work on the important stuff.

John,

Respectivley I disagree. The rivalry between brands builds support from everyone EXCEPT the motor manufactures. I think we can agree to leave them out of the equation moving forward. You create something like a rivalry for the fans, not the racers or the engine people. Create excitment, build your brand. Race for sponsors, and fans, not boat racers. This might be a hard concept to accept, but if you want to build members, you HAVE to have something to sell that is exciting to all. This rivalry is a step towards creating that excitement.

Just something to consider I guess. I am not even a stock member, yet I still care about it, as it is boat racing. I am thinking the current stock outboard contingent within APBA and I will never see eye to eye. Have fun and hopefully there is enough boats left at the end of this season to even have a category.

[jswain3]

Let's not talk #'s Dave...

I believe there are still a lot more racing members in stock outboard than in the entire NBRA...
We will survive.

Jordy.

[raceright]

Let's not talk #'s Dave...

I believe there are still a lot more racing members in stock outboard than in the entire NBRA...
We will survive.

Jordy.

Hard with APBA's overhead

[14-H]

***We are quick to villainize the new motor. But we are willing to dismiss. *** Ed Hearn's Hot Rod, ***.

Scott: Please review the video of the BSR finals for this year. Richard, D Gallagher, Peter Lauer, Dana Holt and Jesse Swain were all faster than me (those were the guys with the good starts). Darren took Richard into the Grass Lake weeds and that is how I passed them and Jesse is running the wrong boat. He needs a Racecraft. I could not catch Peter Lauer or Dana Holt; they both beat me. Recall that Dana lost to me on time. Further, I have raced and won with 3 different engines in the last 5 years in BSR and BSH; there is one common denominator for those engings, they are all maintained by Tom Moulder. Joe Pater has multiple engines, including a 302, which can win the nationals. I have won 25SSR with 3 different Joey Z engines- those engines, of course, are maintained by Joey. I cannot speak to Scott Clark.

Your "super engine" theory isn't valid. Mike Pavlick's theory is.

But I do agree with you that new equipment is a must... so long as that new equipment doesn't have to be immediately torn down because it will not run right.

[Dave M]

Maybe

Let's not talk #'s Dave...

I believe there are still a lot more racing members in stock outboard than in the entire NBRA...
We will survive.

Jordy.

Jordy,

Not sure if that is true, but it might very well be, I honestly don't know.

But one thing is for sure, our membership growth plan has NOTHING to do with current APBA members, nothing. In fact, we don't measure our Richard's ever. We just make it work with what is there I guess. Not a new concept at all.

And if you took my post as a Richard Measuring post, I retract it. It was not meant to come across that way.

Oh, and yes, we will survive as well, no doubt about it. I have no doubts in my mind that APBA will survive as well.