mx5cartalk.com

The 2016 Championships have been run and won, with the completion of Rd7 at SMP South last weekend.

MX5 Club of NSW is the Champion club, with 3140 points, 125 points ahead of ARDC who finished second with 3,026 points. HSV/HDT finished 3rd on 1,752 points. It was a hard fought series, which either club could have won as the lead moved back and forth from round to round. This is our third Club Championship in a row, and the close tussle must make it one of the most satisfying!!

Club members took out four class wins - Scott in 2A, Luke in 2C, Ralph in 3B and Chris in 4B - congratulations and well done!! And even bigger congratulations to Luke, who not only won his class, but also took out the Type 2 victory as well - it takes more than a field of Porkers, HSVs and WRXs to stop Luke in his SE!!!

Our winning margin was not great, but it was enough. For that, ALL who contributed to our pointscore over the seven rounds can be satisfied that they played a real part in the Club's success. From the stayers who turned up for every round, to the players who may have only done one round, the class winners who starred, the also rans who kept them honest, everybody contributed. It would not have taken many no-shows over the course of the year for things to have turned out differently.

Over the year, 36 members (of 45 Club registrants) scored points for the Club, top scorer being Chris with 175 after winning 4B at all 7 rounds. At the other end of the scale, 7 members competed at only one round, but they scored a total of 133 points, more than our winning margin!

So now we take a break, before we start gearing up for the 2017 competition ...

... but before we get to 2017, we need to register for the series.

I am informed that emails will be dispatched next month by the Supersprints Administrator for 2017 registrations. I have not heard that there are going to be any changes to the registration procedures for next year, and if this is the case all registrants in 2016 will get an email inviting them to register for 2017. I think that 2015 registrants also get an invitation at this point, but hopefully someone can clarify that.

If you get an email, please note the deadline for 2017 registrations, the 2016 series (250 registrants) was fully subscribed in very little time.

Hopefully all who competed this year will want to line up again next year. And if you are one of those who registered, but didn't quite make it to the track, hopefully you can go one better in 2017!!

If you missed out on registration for 2016, make sure you are on the waiting list as this is the only way you will qualify for an invitation to register for 2017 if you were not registered this year (unless perhaps you were a 2015 registrant).

IMPORTANT UPDATE

The technical regulations have changed - there is a new class structure. People who competed in/are looking at Types 1 and 2 (production cars, road registered) are unaffected, but the rest of us are affected.

The details have been emailed to 2016 competitors, and will be available on the Club and supersprint websites.

Registrations have not yet opened, that will happen in November.

The cynic in me is thinking that the rule changes are aimed at badly hurting the MX5 Club's chances of a four-peat.

Not sure you guys will be seeing much of the Blue Rocket next year

zossy1 wrote:The cynic in me is thinking that the rule changes are aimed at badly hurting the MX5 Club's chances of a four-peat.

It would be easy to think that, but I don't believe that is so.

More information HERE if you weren't on the email list.

Only two clubs have done the hat-trick - NSWRRC and us. No Club has yet won four on the trot. We are positioned to do that, having just completed the hat-trick. To do it in the face of the changes to the classes, well let's just say it isn't going to be easy.

Against that, it was not easy winning this year - we had to fight ARDC all the way but thanks to the big effort put in by the Club's registrants, we did it.

The first step is to get members registered for the series. If you were not registered last year, you need to register your interest on the form to be found on the Supersprints website Registration of Interest.

Then, when you get your email from the Administrator, reply promptly with your $50 registration fee. If you are unsure of the class to pick, contact competition@mx5.com.au , David (see post above), or even me to get some guidance, preferably immediately. You do have the ability to change Type after you register, and it is really important not to delay, as the demand is so great that last year IIRC registrations were closed in a couple of weeks, even though the limit was lifted to 250.

Four-peat? Why not!

I will be sending my email list (last year's registrants) something shortly.

The upshot is that I (for one) am not writing us off for next year. But for us to pull that off will require a BIG effort, and the start of that is to get as many registered as we can, and after that to get as many cars on the track as often as we can. If you were registered this year, register for 2017. Last year we had several people compete only once - yet they scored more than our winning margin! If those people could do two events ... and those who did none last year could do one ... we are on our way!

For newcomers or those who may think this is a bit much for them, being a State Championship and all - don't be put off by that. It is run just like our Club track days, and if you have got a few of those under your belt (the more the merrier, but that doesn't mean years of track days) you are good to go. The cars are grouped into lap times, just like the Club's track days, so overtaking is minimised, and the biggest difference is the much wider range of cars in the paddock.

So if you are interested in this competition but have not competed in the series previously, register your interest HERE, or through the series website HERE.

If you would like more info, or to discuss classes etc, send me a PM. But register your interest first, time is running out. If you decide not to proceed, you have lost nothing.

WINNERS ARE GRINNERS

The CAMS NSW State Championship awards presentation was held on Saturday night, and a party consisting of Luke and Joe, David and Gaynor, Mike and Cobie and yrs trly and Angela fronted up to collect some silverware. Luke brought home the Type 2 award, and of course we, in the shape of the MX5 Club of NSW, received the Club Champions award.

David very generously asked me to say a few words on behalf of the Club, and after consulting the dictionary, I was primed .

After the usual vote of thanks to the Panel, the organising clubs and their officials and other volunteers, I concluded by commending the great spirit shown by the Club over the year, fighting back after ARDC took an early substantial lead, and then going into the last round with the championship on a knife edge, the great effort for the last round that saw us triumph.

I know that I have said it before, here and elsewhere, but I thought it was important to say it to that audience - it is great for the Type and Class winners to get shiny trophies and pats on the back, but club championships are won by EVERYONE who contributed, and everybody deserves a pat on the back for the 2016 campaign .

Regarding 2017, it appears the foreshadowed email has been delayed. Not sure when it is expected now.

greenMachine wrote: Regarding 2017, it appears the foreshadowed email has been delayed. Not sure when it is expected now.

The email is now expected this weekend.

If you haven't lodged your EoI (see above), do it now. Right now. Read the regs, know what class you want to nominate, so that when your email arrives you can respond quickly.

Just because you get an email, doesn't mean you have a place - you need to respond before the numbers reach the limit.

We need a good rollup in 2017, as some of our tactics of yesteryear are not going to work for us, at least as well as they did previously. Your participation is important to us being the first Club to win four Club Championships in a row.

The email came through this morning. I have registered at 8:30am and at 2:30pm I received an email from Bob confirming my spot in the championship.
I strongly suggest everyone to get in early!

My registration is in, for 6C.

Good advice Gus - don't delay, this is pretty much first in best dressed.

As a matter of interest, did anyone who was not a registrant/competitor in 2016 get an email? Anyone who lodged an expression of interest?

I was confirmed in yesterday for 2C.

I registered last night and got my acknowledgment this morning, No 84. That is 84 of 230, in less than 24 hours!

Don’t delay, register NOW. You can change your Type up to the first round, so if uncertain you are best to be in now, rather than delay while finalising where you want to be, and then miss out because the registrations have closed because there is no more available.

I hope to see you on the grid in 2017!

Class 7D for me, I think it's just my unholy creation and the V8 Radical's, so no troubles there.

Class 2A. #120, confirmed this morning.