|
Big grids with good racing is good. Big grids with poor racing can also be good.
What's unacceptable, to me, is endurance series with really fancy cars where they don't even have enough to half fill the grid. I marshalled at Donington at the weekend for a BARC meeting where Britcar had their Endurance Championship (2hr race) and Trophy (2x 50 minute races), and a collection of Classic Touring Car Racing Club races. All of these had big grids - between 25 and 36 cars - with really good, enjoyable racing and some cracking showboating on a wet track.
They also had the Praga Cup. They do a 50 minute race on each day. They could be really interesting... but NINE entrants? For 50 minutes? And they didn't all finish - 1 retirement in R1, 2 in R2. I know these folks pay a hefty entry fee, and the cars are pretty impressive looking & fancy and reasonably quick, but the enormous spread of ability between the Pro & Am drivers means they get so spread out it's like watching a test session.
I know it's always been this way - hell, Britcar were almost in single figures at one point - but it drives people away, and it's not like there are three or four competing ShinyCar championships vying for the same people.
Rant over. Tip your waitress etc etc
|