home > news > editorial > 04 May 2004

Editorial section

04 May 2004
opinions expressed here are those of the web editor only!

Fast, Friendly and Fun Racing

This editorial's title comes from a piece of publicity material created in 2001, prior to the first SpokesFest race, by our Publicity Officer, Jeremy Featherstone; I make no apologies for stealing it. But why mention it now?

At SpokesFest that year, one of the fliers was handed to the Italian Karbyk Factory Team, who took it home with them and looked after it, before taking it to France when they visited in the summer of 2002. The French took care of the information for a further year, until a BPCC team raced at St. Etienne de Chigny in August 2003, when it was passed on again, to the local press. It was then used within an article about the presence of a British team in the French event.

A copy of this article, along with various other materials regarding the French championship and the first European Championship race has recently been sent to the Federation, and the quote has therefore completed a round trip involving three countries, several thousand miles and nearly three years.

Its return prompted me to consider whether the description still holds true for the BPCC. I certainly hoped so, because if it didn't, what would be the point in carrying on?

So, starting with the easiest first:

Fast:
Speeds have been increasing within every class in the last few years, as teams have developed their cars and done more physical training. By their very nature, race reports reflect this and thus almost always concentrate on the performance aspect of each race and the sport as a whole; however this can be a double-edged sword. Not every team has the resources to put in large amounts of development work and not every team is primarily concerned with how fast they go; some teams race purely for the enjoyment it gives, caring not whether they finish first or last. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, at all. So while the racing can be fast, it is not essential to be "fast" in order to race.

Fun:
I can't think of a single team who would race their cars if they didn't have fun whilst doing so. What would be the point? There's no prize money, no six-figure sponsorship deals, no courtesy Ferrari and certainly no hordes of screaming fans. The most you can hope for if you're glory-hunting is a write-up on this site and a relatively cheap trophy. If you stop racing, there's no danger of being sued for millions of pounds by your employer for failing to fulfill your contract. Therefore, one has to assume that everyone racing has fun doing so.

Which brings us to the third element: Friendly.

Is the BPCC still the home of friendly competition?

Well, I believe it is. Going on the experience of round one, at Thurmaston in April, I'm hard pressed to think of a single example of unfriendliness in the entire race. On a day when the heavens opened in the middle of several weeks of good weather, it would have been easy for a lot of people to get depressed by being cold and wet for six hours and taking it out on the other people around them.

However, I didn't see any examples of bad behaviour or bad language on the track or in the pits; in fact quite the reverse was true. Barlestone and 55th Doncaster were swapping facilities as some of the Barlestone team took shelter in the Doncaster trailer; Barlestone passed on the favour by offering advice and refuge to at least one solo racer who was in direct competition with their own Darren Carter. That's Darren Carter who, in need of a car two days before the race, had been given one thrown together at short notice from the Great Central spare parts bin. Further along the pit lane, Great Central's own pit was a hive of pre-race activity as several teams, amongst them two PC1 challengers, were given or lent nuts, bolts and tools to help them get their cars into the race. When BSE's car failed scrutineering, it was PTO who supplied the necessary materials to enable them to pass, even as they were getting ready for a long, tough race and it was BSE who, 18 months earlier, had pipped PTO to fourth in the championship in the final hour of the season. The list of examples goes on, both on that day and virtually every other race day for the last several years, but you get the picture.

Somehow, I can't see Michael Schumacher lending the Ferrari toolkit out to Frank Williams to help brother Ralf get higher on the grid and lap a bit faster.

Therefore, I firmly believe that at all levels, the BPCC remains the home of Fast, Friendly and Fun Racing.

Powered by Web Wiz Site News version 3.06
Copyright ©2001-2002 Web Wiz Guide

Need bike type stuff? Try our affiliates (What is this?):

- Site Terms and Conditions | Site sponsors | Contact us -

- Top of page -