Having gone to watch the Snetterton GT Trophy race just over a month ago, I left feeling that it once again highlighted the major problems with attending club car racing. With myriads of undefined series (and championships and races) taking place, it becomes very hard to understand what is actually happening. Reliant on the circuit commentary (which does an excellent job, although you’d be lucky to hear it most of the time) and a race program vaguely indicating who is what number, unless there’s a lot of action, it’s tricky to place the value of the event for the spectator.
It’s days like these when it becomes more clear why NASCAR is so prominent in America – lots of place changes and quite regular wrecks. Although that too is badgered by over-zealous yellow-flag periods (see also : Korean GP).
More problems come in simple logistics such as the weekend structure. With one solitary 15 minute race before the hour long lunch break, it seems unlikely that any traveling spectator would bother to come in time for the that particular.
The Formula Libre series was a mash-up of inappropriately paced cars which resulted in a procession – it may as well have been an open-pit test session. The Golf GTi series (which I partook in 3 years ago) has grown in strength and now attracts very good grids, however it too was fairly processional (as I discovered when I raced in it, the pace is usually down to the preparation of the car rather than the drivers merits).
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