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I had similar discussions when racing Mazdas. There were (and still are) 3 different Mk1 MX-5 race series. I'm going to call them Asda, Tesco and Morrisons to make it more relate-able. Asda was the first supermarket I started buying my racing from. They had their own brand range and a posh branded range. I was buying own brand stuff (racing Mk1s) because I couldn't afford to buy the posh stuff (race a Mk3). I spent a year buying my racing from Asda and enjoyed it, but thought that things could be improved. They asked for customer feedback, which I gave in detail with reasons, and was told they would look into it. Great - an enjoyable year shopping at Asda and they wanted to improve things too! However, nothing changed afterwards. This was a shame, but I wanted to remain loyal to them, so continued to shop there for another year. At the end of the second year they asked for feedback again, I gave it again, and again I was told they would look into it. Nothing changed, which was disappointing. It felt like that those who could afford the posh branded products were calling the shots, and they didn't consider that maybe the bulk of the sales were being made to those who weren't able to afford the top end stuff. So, then I started browsing Tesco and Morrisons, and realised I could buy my racing elsewhere. And I did. And 5 of my mates made the switch with me too, because they'd also had the same concerns which had been voiced but ignored. Afterwards, Asda realised that they should have been more receptive to feedback from the core of their business. They worked out that those at the top have to look after those at the base, otherwise the whole triangle of hierarchy becomes unstable. Bit of a yarn, but it's what happened. Asda ended up with tiny, uncompetitive grids and struggled for a few years to turn it round. My overall point is that anyone can buy their motorsport from various different 'shops'. Every customer is different and every shop is different, but they will buy from the one that gives them the best experience (hugely broad word there, encompassing a lot of different things) in return. If a shop has customers and wants to keep them, IMO they should very carefully consider feedback, because it's easier to maintain current customers than it is to find new ones. The job that the SSOT does is massively appreciated, and I feel like I'm just moaning now which is not cool, but my feedback has been genuine throughout. It's worth mentioning that I believe feedback is about making improvements from one person's viewpoint, and remembering that for them to have been involved in the first place means there are hundreds of other great things going on! For the record I did 6 Speed Series events this year, one trackday, and one day of instruction at the Blyton trackday, so a huge percentage of my motorsport outgoings were put into the SS.

I just dont get it It took me years of tweeking and improving my car ( I very much enjoyed doing this though) to make it competitive But now people seem to want and expect to win as soon as they start

I have refrained from posting on this thread, up to now, because I felt that as I had retired from sprinting 2 years ago, and won't be returning to competition driving in the future, it wasn't for me to comment. However the post by Adam this morning did ring a bell with me. I do feel that over the period since I started in the Speed Series, 9 years ago, the cost of running a competitive car in the championship for a full season (by which I mean 10 events or more) has increased quite dramatically. Note my reference to a "competitive" car. In my first full season I think it was, the winner of class F and the overall champion was Richard "Scottish Bloke" Kerr. The performance of the car he then drove was quick, but it wouldn't stand a chance in class F now, it would be completely out classed, I believe. In fact, it would need a very quick driver to make half decent scores in class D, I suspect. Now this doesn't matter to those who can do all the mechanical work on their car themselves, rather than paying someone else to do it, or they have a deep pocket, or better still both. However, It is a shame that there is no class for what most would consider as standard Westfields to be competitive in the Speed Series. I'm referring of course to cars like John Williams, Dave Richings and "Smokey Mow" and others like that. Of course they do compete from time to time, but not regularly, and who can blame them when you look at the potential performance of the cars which they have to compete against? I don't know what the solution is, as I must admit it would be hard to define a "standard" car in the kit car world. But if the committee could come up with a way of making work, then I think it would be worth a try. Maybe the answer would be to have a club scrutineer willing to attend the first few events of the season to inspect prospective cars and to quiz the owner drivers. The possible criteria have been mentioned already by others earlier in this thread. I very much doubt that it could be introduced for this coming season as there isn't time to draft and approve the paperwork, and encourage entrants in such a class, but maybe if feelers were put out for the next season in good time to take soundings and seek interest in advance, it might be a "runner"?

Chris when you pick your cage off or I deliver it I can take the rollbar away and ship for you if it's of any help

With regard to the TTs As I understand it the A times are based on the C (real times) with about 2% added on . I feel that this is probably a bit harsh , The combination of no Dog box and 1B tyres should, IMHO , be worth a bit more , not much tho, perhaps 3% or 4% max

Have a great time tomorrow night guys. Spare me a thought as I boot it up the M40 to the Midlands. Merry Christmas to all and looking forward to plenty of Westy action in 2018.

I know! But that's not what some people think. Some want instant success without developing either their car or themselves and spending the time and by doing so want things made easier so they can get it

But please remember that we cater for all types and spec of WESTFIELDS with different tyres, engines, gearboxes,suspension mods etc as well as our invitation classes J1, J2 and J3

I think you're missunderstanding us Stu. I'm offering suggestions to help grow the number of entrants to the speed series by encouraging members of "standard" road cars to take part. Nobody expects to win but if the regulations of a particular championship are written in such a way that your "standard" car would be seriously uncompetitive against others in your class then you're going to look elsewhere for your racing fix. This is one of the reasons I left the speed series when I did and joined Borough 19 MC.

my religion does not allow me to drive the car to the track without trailer...

Just to pass some comments of mine for thoughts: I've been doing the speed series from when it started (I think). It was a long time ago now, 20+ years! When it started I recall 8 events counted towards the overall scores and there were 12 events in the calendar. This made it relatively cheap because there were fewer rounds to count and very competitive because everyone was there for the majority of the events. It seems now there are too many events in the calendar (35) and too many to score at (10). The fact there are too many events means you are unlikely to compete with your rivals so often. I accept motorsport is not cheap but reducing the number of events for everyone, not just novices, is one way to reduce costs and encourage more people to participate. Other championships where people are noticing there are a lot of Westfields in the event classes, appear to have fewer rounds. This might be something for the SSOT to look into. And another thing perhaps we should look at is going back to list 1A tyres. I still can't believe I drove my car all the way to the Isle of Man and back and got fastest time of the day on list 1As!!!! Who needs sticky tyres!!!

I'd thought the same might have worked in the past Adam, but I'm currently realising that all our personal circumstances are different and our road mileage can vary dramatically so it's difficult to put a figure on it. Typically I would drive 2-3000 miles a year in my Westfield but the last two years I've been so busy I've struggled to do 150miles a year in it. one suggestion I have offered to the SSOT in the past was additional "bonus points" awarded to owners that drive their car to the circuit rather than trailering them. I first saw it used at a club level circuit series (i foget which one now) for production cars which was aimed at beginners and had a strong emphasis on keeping the costs down for competitors. For those of us that are novices and tending to only attend events that were within a couple of hours drive of our homes, IMO a bonus points system would help those with "standard" road cars to score more closely at local events to those with "competion" road cars.

1000 mile round trip for me - Cumbria - Somerset - Grove lock - Cumbria. Hope it's going to be worth it!!!!

Are there any spaces left fore tomorrow nights Curry. I'll turn up any way, just in case. See you tomorrow. Peter

Yes I’ll pm you a download link

An idea I floated with others in the past was a minimum yearly mileage for 'roadgoing' classes, based upon MOT certificate. Appreciate this is difficult to police though, with change of dash / speedo possible, and open to fudging (rolling road for example). As you said Stephen, very hard to come up with a 'solution'...!

You can wear your old one with the holes as you have been doing Xmas for a lot of years!

I may swing by for a beer around 7 May have head enough by then as my work do starts at midday.......

Can I say I´m not slow either when I keep it in the black stuff? without sounding cocky??? Please... please... Yes, there was a class record from last year... but was mine. A f***ing amazing lap that I can say no-one will ever do with my car. I nearly got killed in church... BUt hey... lets drop it 2 seconds. I have to edit this. Record wasn´t mine... Adam went a tenth faster. So... maybe my lap wasn´t that amazing after all...

Ive seen worse Robin Hoods.