Heaps of really positive comments here and some of which I will probably repeat in this rant but they are deserving of it.
The good stuff
- Wayne & Mark along with Tiny and all the helpers including the various clubs - I cant believe how good a job you did setting up the tracks. I hadnt been out there for 6 weeks or so and the difference was simply amazing in that small amount of time
- The Pitt area was a great idea
- Pitt scrutineering was a good idea
- John from Jmac is a smart selection as scrutineer. I know he freely gives of his own time and although tough, he is consistent
- Removeable bunting poles made course exits a breeze
- Team Suzuki - I cant believe you guys are asking for the results. We all know you won. Awesome driving and smart team work gives us all something to strive for
- As with most 4by events the relaxed atmosphere and comaraderie was most enjoyable
- Bikes were a smart inovation to cover the gaps
- Ricks commentary as always was first class and cleary passionate as a guy that enjoys the sport
- Marshalling in our events was consistent and first class especially considering these guys were all volunteers and many had to pay for the privelege to marshall by joining the CCDA
- the good ol Aussie sense of humor. Where else in the world would you find a guy 1?? plus kg called "Tiny"
- my team mate John John. DX mentioned the old faces in the sport - well they dont come much more experienced than John and although he is a shite teacher
, I have still learnt a huge amount from him over the last few years
- our navis who ran their asses off all day in that heat. Just being navi for one event was enough for me
- Our navis, Steve and Adam, who both drove course 3 fautlessly and were only 2 of 6 people all day that managed to do this.
- the TLCC marshalls - Richard who gave up the chance to drive to ensure we had sufficient marshals, and Andrew for maintaing the entry at the Western end as far away from the action as you could get.
Suggestions
The following are not criticisms but suggestions as we would all love to see Mark and Wayne be successful with this event and make some money back for their investment
- The success will depend on how well you market this event so utilise the network you have. get the OL members involved with distribution of flyers in their respective work places. Follow the lead of the Monster trucks with vehicles on display at key local areas e.g Arndell Park shops, Pitt stop, Shell servo etc. Use or make travel ramps to show off the vehicles. Shopping centre displays with videos running. Offer an incentive to competitors to promote the event using their vehicle e.g for ?? amount of tickets they sell at a promo they get free competitor entry
- Spectator viewing is critical - Put a grassed mound top and bottom of the tracks
- You have to get the spectators closer to the action. You only have to watch how everyone at Toperi followed each vehicle along the course to understand how imortant it is for spectators to get as close as possible. You could look at reducing the number of tracks and having a walkway in-between every event with safety rails for roll overs
- Avoid courses that cross the access road at the bottom as this caused time delays getting vehicles onto the tracks
- Put the travel ramp in the spectator area for additional spectator entertainment
- Allow the comp vehicles to queue in "races" down the bottom near event 6 instead of waiting in the pitts. As long as one team member stays with the vehicle then the other can still watch the track they are lining up for.
- Put a toilet near this area at bottom of event 6 for competitors and marshals
- Rope off a area alonside the pits for tow vehicles so that competitors can easily access things like tools for
basic repairs, fridge for drinks etc
- keep the website up to date with team entries etc. There were no team updates in the couple of weeks before the event. You guys were busy I know but this is important for future events
- educate JPM on most likely locations for the spectacular photos and ensure they get a good spread of photos for every vehicle. Didnt happen this time.
All up it was an unbelievable effort first up and Mark and Wayne deserve all the accolades they get. Especially when you consider they didnt have the advantage of being able to use natural terrain as all other comps do and had to build the whole thing from scratch.
On behalf of TLCC team members congrats and thanks. Looking forward to the next round.
Wayne
