Fighting for our heritage
As things age, they often become less reliable and harder to use. Generally they also look less attractive than when you first remember them. This rings true for black and white TV, La Gloria stereograms and, not least, historic cars.
Recently, it seems as though those of us who have love and passion for our motorsport history and heritage are taking a bit of a pounding. With the advent of unleaded fuel in motorsport and continuing sagas regarding roll protection, bladder tanks in single-seaters and the unpalatable suggestion that grid numbers may be cut at NZ circuits, it felt like we were taking just one too many punches below the belt.
As a Commission, we must look after our motorsport heritage and ensure it still gets an airing outside of museums as often as possible. We do not consider them as museum pieces but as valuable additions to the race format on weekend TV. Indeed, historic cars have soul and a proven longevity.
We had to look as these unfair punches to the nether regions, size up the brute assailing us with these rampant regulations and get him back on the ropes. What I have found is quite different to what many of our members have communicated to me via many, many phonecalls and emails. But I have also found that we have to some extent let down our members.
Rules and regulations
For instance, the reams of paperwork currently being insisted on for roll protection in single seaters is not new, nor is the required compliance regarding bladder fuel tanks. These regulations have been in our manual for more than ten years but have never been insisted on at events. Therefore officials and competitors gradually forgot about them.
Recent developments have seen MSNZ required to enforce rules that are already in the book. It seems as though the goodwill of officials not insisting on certain regulations for competitors is taken advantage of by one or two competitors, which down the line has financial and sporting ramifications.
Much as I dislike it, competitors now view motorsport in the same vein as the business world – we are rapidly becoming a litigation-based society.
If we have a rule in the book, we must ensure we follow that. If we don’t like it or it sounds weird (stereograms), or it’s out of date (B&W TV), we should change or delete it. Let’s leave fuel bladders and roll protection there for the moment.
Numbers game
Another bain of motorsport is the urban myth, which are nearly always negative. A chance to verbalise disagreement with a taxation body is always too good to pass up, isn’t it? So when reports of new grid numbers at circuits show starter numbers will be cut – especially in the single seater 2000cc and over class – instantly those parties affected are up in arms, whereas those unaffected really don’t care and wonder what the fuss is about.
What needs to be stated here is that the numbers quoted are for FIA events and have been formulated by a “magic formula” structured by an FIA expert. I’m not going to argue with that as the FIA is an august body, albeit permeated with far too many foreigners. It no doubt spent a lot of time and money developing a two-dimensional representation to try to prevent a real three-dimensional problem.
So, the new grid numbers are for international FIA events only. The numbers remain unchanged from last year for all NZ-permitted events. Some have been in place since the original layer of tarmac got it’s first taste of rubber.
We have asked our Circuit Safety department to investigate this further but for now I think we can put this grievance to bed.
Taking the lead out of our pencils
Then there’s the big one, the whole leaded fuel debate. I could sit on my high horse and say that this has been signalled by the sport for the past five years, so why is everyone getting agitated? I won’t because that does nothing to ease concerns.
A remit was bought to conference to allow the continued use of leaded fuel and was lost. Those whom it doesn’t really affect probably forgot which way they voted within an hour, whereas those passionate about older racing cars are probably still fuming that unaffected clubs got the same voting power as our historic members. That, my friends, is democracy and it does indeed have many faults.
The one glimmer of light to us old crusties was that the sport’s governing body would look at exemptions for old cars that cannot be run on unleaded fuel. We’ve already seen some formal applications. These need to be factual and without emotion.
Keeping the past alive in the future
As a sport, we cannot disenfranchise our members; especially those who are part of the fabric of our history. We cannot afford to let our cars languish away in a dusty museum. These historic cars are works of art and must be seen in the best art gallieries possible throughout NZ; namely Teretonga, Levels, Ruapuna, Manfield, Taupo, Hampton Downs and Pukekohe. Otherwise we are not just cheating the public, but ourselves.
At the start, I mentioned that historic cars may look less attractive the older they get. By now you should understand that I was talking in terms of ease of use, as opposed to looks. Today I went to see my parents, who incidentally still listen to music played at 78rpm on a La Gloria and still have a working black and white TV. From the outside they don’t look as visually appealing as they once did but they are an intergral part of my history. Neither I or MSNZ would be here without our respective histories.
The H&C Commission is working frantically to advise the sport on how best to ensure your passion, your automotive artwork, your big kid’s toy is still able to be used and seen every weekend if you choose. In the very near future, more user-friendly regulations regarding bladder tanks and roll protection paperwork for single seaters will be released. I ask for some time to ensure we get this right not just for now, but for the future.
I know H&C competitors may have been feeling unwanted and taken for granted. I actually tend to agree in some small way. For that I apologise and will endeavour to ensure it never happens again.
For your part, all I ask is that you understand the rules have been there for a long time and there was no intention on the sport’s behalf to punch below the belt.
Raymond 'Crunch' Bennett