Hats off to Mrs Flatchat. Mid week would be better, and reduce prices.
And as many have said, this is a social event as much as track time.
Having said that however, a key issue is the classification system. Looking at the Sprint results ...
Class 1 - 1:17 --> 1:22 - 3 entrants Street Class up to 5800cc
Class 2 - 1:09 --> 1:25 - 16 entrants Modified up to 5199cc
Class 3 - 1:09 --> 1:21 - 24 entrants Modified 5200cc to 6999cc
Class 4 - 1:10 --> 1:28 - 6 entrants Over 7000cc, or boosted
Class 6 - 1:08 --> 1:19 - 15 entrants Open.... (unregistered)
The range of times says it all. Engine capacity does not limit car capability. But nearly everyone gets pushed out of Class 1 into 2 or 3 via a minor mod ... eg. DadnDave, with a 289, is in Class 2 because of roller rockers. BJ_Snake moved to Class 2 courtesy of new tyres (admittedly dropping 4 secs off his time). I normally run in Class 1, and if I change tyres, how will I know whether it will be argued that they are not suitable for Class 1 (I would really like to run ET Street Radials - are these Class 1 or not
)?
It would be much better to classify cars according to their ability to achieve a particular time, or adopt a handicap system.
The things that chiefly affect times are: Power, grip (tyres type and profile), and weight.
So why not classify cars according to power, with handicaps applied dependent on tyres/wheels and weight.
Power could be tested using a portable dyno (and would add a dyno comp), which then allows a base classification.
Wakefield has scales in the scrutineering shed, providing determination of any weight handicap on the spot (could include driver weight as well
), and
tyre handicaps could be determined ahead of time. Yokohama 352 (15", 60 profile) would be a good base standard (current accepted Class 1 tyre).
If this were done correctly, it could allow everyone to compete against each other based on improvment to a time set for the car, rather than direct comparison.
And add regularity events for those that do not want to push their pride and joy too hard...