On 12/27/00 at 09:33 PM, Benjamin D Thatcher <bthatch@juno.com> wrote:
> We visit the dreaded thread about Pro-Solo once again. The big
question
> being is it a viable medium for TV exposure?
>
> Yeah, it's exciting to watch IF you are in the know about traditional
> autocrossing. However IMHO it will never make it to TV. Why?
>
> 1. It's too difficult to tell who wins. Remember the courses AREN'T
> identical. They are mirror image and ever so different from each
> other. Therefore, it is traditional autocross run on two different
> courses that just happen to be run in close proximity to each other,
> period. The appearance of head to head competition is an illusion.
> They still have to add the times for each course together to determine
> a winner.
>
General question refuting this: Ever watched skiing?? Hell they have to
add the times of the two different runs from morning and afternoon.
About the only guess you get is the little clock down at the bottom
which gives you the current leaders time and the current skiiers time so
far.
For Pro Skiing which was two "identical" courses run the red course/run
the blue course - fastest total time wins. Sound familiar?? To my eyes,
IMHO, etc, etc, this was more exciting that "normal" ski racing.
> 2. Too many classes. This is a necessary function in the current
> format because we have to have them to draw the entries from the
> current amateur pool of drivers. It's a Catch 22 because you can't
> develop several dynamite classes without serious money on the table
> and without the serious money you can't have the limited number of
> classes. Also, the viewing public will never be thrilled watching
> completely stock cars racing each other IMHO. Yet, the stock classes
> are where the current action in Pro Solo lives.
>
For a true Pro series, with TV etc, I'd feel that there should be a
couple of classes (say Touring and GT? or maybe as many as Motorola Cup
has [5 or 6?]) which would be policed like those WC or Moto Cup with
appropriate win penalities, restrictor plates, etc to keep cars equal.
This is NOT stock class and at this point it is NOT grassroots but the
next step up just like WC is the next step up from club racing.
> Now, what to do? In my opinion, run head to head on the same course
> like we did at NOPI Nationals in 1999. This format runs cars directly
> against each other on the exact same course. Whoever crosses the
> finish line first wins. Refine it with timing and a handicapping tree
> and you'd have a TV winner. However, then we have to find a bigtime
> sponsor to lay out the bucks to put together a half hour TV format
> that really jazzes the concept. Matt Murray knows how to do this.
>
I haven't see it but if you've done it successfully then I'd say it
would work too.
I'd love to see Pro Solo on TV, but I agree with a lot of you that the
current format won't cut it. It's still too inclusive and gives
everybody their own sandbox in a lot of ways which makes it distracting
for the everyman to watch.
Mike
Mike Shields
Webmaster Utah Region SCCA
<http://www.team.net/urscca/>
'99 Arrest-Me-Red Miata Sport Pkg
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