FEBRUARY ‘10
NEWSLETTER
There will be
some slight changes to the way we do things in 2010 which will apply to all
formulas in one way or another during 2010.
ALL FORMULAS :
In 2010 we will be introducing a new roof grade, this being “Superstar” grade,
this will be the British Champion and Points Champion (plus the European
Champion in Sprint Cars). They will be required to install two small (side
repeater size) amber flashing lights on their roof. This will be a separate
grade from the reds and will be required to leave a gap between the rear of the red grade.
All drivers must start their race in there correct grade and points order (all
grades), it is your responsibility to start behind or beside the person with
the next highest points not ours failure to do so and you will be removed from
the results.
It is our intention that by the end of 2010 all formulas will be running with
race receivers.
The first formula to run them will be the 2lt Hot Rods and Reliant Robins which
will take effect as from 10 April , radios can be purchased at the main gate for £85 they are
supplied with budget ear phones, the next will be Stock Rods which will take
effect as of 8 May, Superstox 12 June and Euro Rods10
July.
The above is a necessary move under our health and safety policy such moves ensure we have now three means of connecting with the driver
in the event of an incident.
Mini Sprints will have a new starting procedure for 2010, we ask parents to work
with us on this one to ensure its smooth running. All grids will be drawn from
the hat reversed for the second heat and a reverse points order for the final,
each car will be required to affix a Velcro strip to the wing so a flashing
light can be attached. the winners of each heat race will be required to attach
a flashing light to denote they are heat winners and will be required to start
to the rear of the grid, first winner inside, grids will line in a 2-1-2
formation that way ensuring each driver has a clear path in front, for the
final the number of laps will be increased by 2.
Sprint Cars will as of the first meeting (10 April) be required to present there
cars in the scrutineering bay with the hoods removed,
no car will be allowed to race until such inspections have taken place and the
car declared fit to race.
Superstox there will be no trip to Belgium this year as we
could not guarantee the numbers required by the promoter, we have replaced them
with Sprint Cars.
We are currently looking for drivers reps in the following formulas; Euro Rods,
Stock Rods, Superstox. Please get in touch if you
think you can.
The racing office is now closed until the 24 February but you can make contact
via email
dunton18751@aol.com during this time.
Look forward to seeing you all in March
Rule Changes for 2010
ALL FORMULAS :
In 2010 we will be introducing a new roof grade, this
being “Superstar” grade, this will be the British Champion and Points Champion
(plus the European Champion in Sprint Cars). They will be required to install
two small (side repeater size) amber flashing lights on their roof. This will
be a separate grade from the reds and will be required to leave a gap between
the rear of the red grade.
NATIONAL SUPERSTOX (formally RTS
formula 2):
We are changing the name of our “F2” specification
cars to “National Superstox”. The following rule
changes apply to the “national superstox”;
1)
Maximum inside weight of 53%, this will be checked on
a random basis. The car will be weighed without the driver, full of fuel and in
ready to race trim.
2)
Batteries and fuel tanks (except those fitted behind
the driver) to be fitted next to the chassis, there must be NO gaps between the
outside edge of the chassis rail and the inside edge of fuel tank. The outside
edge of fuel tank must be a MAXIMUM distance of 9” (225mm) from the chassis
rail. A MINIMUM distance of 10” (250mm) from outside edge of nerf rail to outside edge of fuel tank must be achieved.
3)
Steel fuel tanks only may be used, 2mm minimum
thickness.
4)
Cars must weigh a minimum of 640kg and a maximum of
700kg.
5)
All exhausts must terminate on the same side as the
engine exhaust ports and must not cross the center
line of the chassis.
6)
The outer edge of nerf rails
must be made of steel, which has a minimum thickness of 2.5mm and a minimum
size of 1” (25mm) OD or square section. Any struts or supports maybe of lighter
material. Nerf rails must be of symmetrical appearance on both sides of car
(when viewed from above).
7)
Steel valve spring caps to be permitted.
8)
2 litre pinto blocks maybe overbored
to 1.5mm or 60 thou.
9)
Roof wings must be mounted centrally on car, when
viewed from front or rear of car, no off-set wings allowed.
SUPERSTOX:
1)
Alloy wheels will NOT be permitted, steel wheels only
are permitted.
EURO RODS:
1)
Change to wheel sizes, only UPTO a 5½” wide may be
used.
JUNIOR HOT RODS:
1)
Change to wheel sizes, only UPTO a 5½” wide may be
used.
2)
If using the Vauxhall engine, you are allowed to use
the 1400cc valve springs.
3)
The use of an adaptor plate for the oil filter is
permitted on the Vauxhall engine.
2lt HOT RODS:
To follow soon.
STOCK RODS:
Awaiting changes by the ORC.
PICK-UPS:
As already
announced there will be NO changes to this formula for a minimum of 12 months.
ALL RULE CHANGES
COME INTO EFFECT
AS OF 20th MARCH
2010
Latest News – Oct ‘09
British Championship Meeting:
Having throughout the year been scoring points, you
will now be in groups of 4. Within that group you will draw your grid position
for the Final, ie; you may have finished 4th
in grpA but may pull pole.
At the meeting itself, the British Champ Finals are
the FIRST races of the meeting, when your formula is called, make your way to
the TOP PITS (for this race
only) and not as per normal, once there you will be sorted into your correct
grid order and sent down to pit lane. Please keep your correct position and do
not be late in getting to the top pits.
Once on the track, you will be lined up immediately, NO DRIVING ROUND and ROUND the
track. All the championship finals will start in the same way as your normal
finals, ie: Juniors, Sprint Cars = Rolling start, all
others will be clutch start.
At the finish the top 4 cars will proceed to the
centre green for the presentation of their trophies, these will then be handed
back to us, then the top 3 cars may at some point be re-scrutineered,
if everything is ok you may pick your trophies up after your formulas last race
of the evening. During the evening there will be random spot checks on cars by
either scrutineers and/or Board of Control members.
Time permitting you will get a further 2 heats, this
will depend on how well the championship finals go.
Euro Rods; If necessary it will only be the top 30 british champ point scoring cars that will be permitted to
race in the championship final.
Pick-Ups;
We have decided to postpone any changes to this
formula for 12 months, incl tyres and the new generation
cars. Provided the current support for the formula continues.
Presentation Evening;
This is being held on Sat 12th Dec in the
Raceway Tavern at Arena-Essex. A reminder that if you finish in the top 3 in
the Points Championship, this is the only way you will get your trophy, don’t
attend = no trophy. Each driver gets 2 free tickets (extras are available at £3
each but are very limited). Priority is given to trophy winning drivers.
Superstox;
It is our intention to hold a drivers meeting at the Raceway
Tavern at arena-Essex one evening in Nov, so that RTS can explain the future
intentions for the formula.
A date has been agreed with Warneton
in Belgium for what we are going to call the Europa
Cup. It is Sun 16th May ’10, with it is hoped with some practice on
the Sat afternoon. We have to take a minimum of 20 cars. We will supply you
with ferry prices, travel companies, hotel numbers, etc…. For those that want
to, it has been possible to camp at the track in the past.
Penalty Points;
A reminder to some drivers that are very close to the
10 point mark, once there you WILL miss the next meeting, no matter what that
meeting may be. And as is always the case the last black cross, that takes you
over the ban mark, is the one that every driver wants to argue about, it wont
change things so don’t even bother trying !!!!
Bans;
With the exception of the first 10 penalty point ban,
every ban we at the RTS issue is a ORC ban, this
includes PRI and Spedeworth, so just bear this in
mind.
VERY IMPORTANT
DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL WE
HAVE HAD TO CANCEL
THE MEETINGS ON 31st
OCTOBER AND 21st NOVEMBER. This has meant moving the BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS to
14th November. Please check amended fixtures on “Race Dates”
page. The RTS apologise for any inconviences this may
cause.
Unfortunately due to time restraints the
joint venture of RTS & PRI for ’09 Festival of Speed will not happen. The
Sat 27th will be as per original fixture list.
Latest News
EURO RODS;
With immediate effect, when we have 30 cars or more at
the start of the meeting, we will be splitting the cars and having 2 heat ones
(in the normal race order), if after this we lose some cars and we drop below
the 30 figure, everyone will be out together for a normal heat 2, if we don’t
drop below 30 then heat 2 will be split also. The final will be ALL cars, no
matter how many we have. It is felt that this will help reduce some damage and
help all grades to score some points. Therefore ALL DRIVERS MUST ATTEND THE
DRIVERS BRIEFING, SO AS TO BE TOLD WHICH GROUP YOU ARE IN. ANY DRIVER NOT
ATTENDING WILL NOT RACE ANY SPLIT HEATS.
ALL FORMULAS;
Reminder to everyone, you must continue racing at race
speed after taking the chequered flag until the red flags are shown, any driver
not doing so will be removed from the result, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
!!!!
Another reminder that should you be
lucky enough to win any heat, you MUST start the rest of the meeting at the
rear of your grade, it is your responsibility to do so, we will not remind you,
if you fail to do so you will be removed from the result.
For those that are not aware, if you are the primary
cause of a race stoppage you will be removed from the result.
RACE RECEIVERS;
It became very apparent that some of you did not have
working race receivers at the last meeting, this is
very serious and causes the RTS major problems with Health & Safety. Should
you be found to either not have it with you or not working, you will be loaded
and possibly receive a ban also. Batteries will be available to buy from Pit
Office.
CAR PRESENTATION;
Some cars are in major need of repairing/tidying up.
We will be very strict on any car that is being presented at scrutineering in unsatisfactory condition, you all have 3
weeks to tidy your cars up, this doesn’t just mean throwing a bit of paint at
it, some panel beating or replacing panels is required, any untidy cars
appearing at the next meeting may not be permitted to race.
MINI-SPRINTS;
We have been asked by Arena-Essex to announce that
Mini-Sprints are NO longer permitted to practice on Saturdays. This does not
affect weekdays.
APRIL ‘09
We have had an excellent start to the season with good
car counts and above all driver own discipline is now starting to show.
Following on from the Board of Control meeting the
following was agreed:
·
Driver Stephen Norman be allowed to return to racing
as of the meeting 25 April on the following conditions, he place a cash good
behaviour bond of £250.00 in the RTS funds, should he or any of his helpers,
family or associates, cause or attempt to cause any infringement of the RTS
rules and regulations he forfeits the cash bond and be excluded from the RTS
for the foreseeable future.
·
Driver Richard Sharp no licence application will be
considered from this driver in 2009.
·
Driver Richard Norman will be allowed to race in the
2lt Hot Rods only, and only on a day licence basis for the remainder of 2009.
·
Scrutineering: ALL drivers must bring their OWN cars to scrutineering
and MUST bring their FIREPROOF OVERALLS and HELMETS with them, as you will not
be scrutineered without them.
·
Racing at Other Tracks: Unless events are authorised/organised by the RTS, no driver will be allowed
to represent his formula at another non ORC venue, including Swaffham, to do so you will be infringing the RTS/ORC rules
and as such, penalties/suspensions will be incurred. This will not prevent
drivers racing with other promotions within the ORC that race similar formulas
and as such you have freedom to race within the ORC as set out in your rule
book. Should you be approached to race in such unauthorised events then please
let the RTS know.
·
Mini Sprints: The scrutineers
have been requested to examine the cars to see if a standard height of the roll
cage can be set, as we are in the process of setting a national specification.
The use of the non cadet engines is to be examined and what penalties can be
applied when such infringements are discovered.
·
Superstox: The formula was
discussed at great length but will leave a member of the Board of Control
(Geoff Bridges) to discuss such matters directly with the drivers.
·
Euro Rods & Juniors: With immediate
effect the following two items must be adhered to:
a) Exhausts systems must be
standard as fitted by the manufacturer and to include at least ONE standard
silencer (No after-market exhaust
systems or silencers will be permitted).
b) No strut bracing is
permitted, no part of the roll-cage beyond the bulkhead (Any cars already
fitted with any form of bracing must remove/disconnect by removing a
sizeable section).
We will be carrying out random
checks on shock absorbers very soon and throughout the season, so YOU HAVE BEEN
WARNED !!!!
·
2lt Hot Rods: All British Championship qualifying
rounds will be run with a drawn grid system for the heats with points gained in
the heats determining the grid for the final. Full “RTS Points Championship”
points will still be awarded.
·
Strobe Lights; To clear up any confussion, the strobe lights can/will be used for both a
yellow flag situation AND a red flag situation. Upon seeing the lights on, the
drivers immediate reaction MUST be to slow down. Then check to see what flags
the starter and marshals are waving. Any driver NOT SLOWING IMMEDIATELY that
the lights come on, will be loaded up for the evening, and if it is the
majority of cars in any race, that race will be declared null & void and
ALL cars will leave the track. We MUST get this system working correctly and
quickly, for the safety of the drivers and to avoid any unnecessary damage to
race cars, so please take note.
Nice to see plenty of Reliant Robins at our first
meeting and have to say produced plenty of fun racing.
As you may be aware we have withdrawn the National
Super Rod dates due to matters that are outside of the control of the RTS.
Feb 2009
Well, we certainly ended 2008 on a high and our aim is
to continue where we left off and make ’09 even better.
Should any driver feel he/she could contribute towards
helping at the RTS, by means of becoming a “Board of Control” member, and
making impartial decisions with respect to the RTS, please contact Kevin. Such requests will be considered at the next BOC when
it meets.
Whilst on the subject of the BOC, 3 drivers are
currently suspended pending their ’09 licence applications, these being Pick-Up
drivers Richard Sharp, Stephen Norman and 2lt Hot Rod driver Richard Norman. It
is hoped the next BOC meeting will take place early April.
Attention ALL Mini-Sprint, Pick-Ups, Juniors
and Sprint Car Drivers:
With immediate effect we will be using a new channel on the RaceReceivers. It will be channel no: 000 which has a
frequency of 454.000 This is the very first channel
that you come across when first turning on the unit, so no more having to find
the right one. We have recently brought a brand new radio solely for use with
this system. We will be, very shortly releasing a “script” of what
announcements and imformation that will be
broadcasted to you the drivers during a race and what your actions will need to
be upon hearing them.
Superstox drivers: When you first arrive with your car for scrutineering, you will be asked to declare as to which
specification your car complies to. The scrutineer
will then, having been satisfied that the car meets that specification, will
stamp and sign your book. Should your car not fully meet with your chosen
specification, then the scrutineer will advise you on
what needs to be done, depending on the severity of the non-compliance, you may
be permitted to race that night but for no points or trophies and off the back
of the grid, but it must be fully rectified before being allowed to race again,
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!
Minisprints: Roof Wings MUST be put back on ALL cars with
immediate affect. All those “dodgy” engines need to be disposed of, because we
now have our own engine, fully sealed and to the correct specification. Should
you be considered to be running too quick, you will be asked to swap your
engine for ours, and if the speed drops with ours in, then you will be deemed
to have an illegal engine and dealt with accordingly.
Pick-Ups: Mark Calder has
agreed to run the experimental “American Racer” tyres, whilst at the present
time we are not intending to change the tyre, it is important to have
alternatives in the event of any difficulties that may arise with the current
one. We would advise everybody, the “American Racer” tyre is an experimental
tyre, it could be better it could be worse, until tested we have no way of
knowing, so please let us fully test the tyre before voiceing
your opinions.
2lt Hot Rods: Again we do have a
tyre we will be testing during the season for the same reason as the Pick-Ups.
It has been suggested that we return to drawn grids for ’09, please let Kevin
know your feelings on this ASAP.
If any of you are not sure on the specifications on
your formula and need a set of rules then email Kevin. Should you still not be
100% sure then call Chief Scrutineer Alan Rouse on
07775 668211, better to get it right now than have tears later
You may or may not be aware we are working on a 2 day
event, 27-28 June, in conjunction with PRI, which is the Festival of Speed. It
is thought that in principal it would work like this, all PRI (with the
exception of any bangers) and all RTS formulas competing in 2 heats on Sat eve
and then on the Sun (with bangers), one further heat and the Grand Final, but
to qualify for the final you would have had to have raced on the Sat eve. We
will keep you informed.
By now most of you will be aware of the new strobe light safety system
that we have installed. So NO MORE EXCUSES, that I did not
see the lights. As soon as the lights come EVERY DRIVER MUST SLOW DOWN
IMMEDIATELY, any driver considered not to have done so will be Black Flagged.
The lights are installed for your safety, so please obey them
!!!!
The main office has changed its phone number, the new
one is: 01268 543735