The actual race day schedule is nowhere near ready at this point, it is highly dependent on the new classes. We currently have no plans to reduce the number of laps in any race other than the discussion that is currently happening regarding Formula Ultra.
Andrew, I should have put this under new rules. I thought a draft schedule would be useful to see how the proposed rule changes affect the schedule. Is this something the rules committee should take into consideration regardless of whether new classes are scheduled or not?
Bottom line is that we will pretty always work with the operations team to ensure that classes with active participation have a place in the schedule. That said, here is an idea of what me might consider doing with the proposed lightweight classes for 2015: Code: 9:00am Practice group #1 9:15 Practice group #2 9:30 Practice group #3 9:45 Practice group #1 10:00 Practice group #2 10:15 Practice group #3 10:30 Break – Bike Pickup 10:45 Sportsman (F118) 10 laps 11:10 Open Supersport 10 laps 11:40 Middleweight Superbike 10 laps 12:00 Lunch/TOR/MiniGP TBD laps 1:00 Novice Open 7 laps 1:25 MWT/LW Supersport 10 laps 1:50 Superbike 1 12 laps 2:15 Formula Classic/Moto4 10 laps 2:30 Break – Bike Pickup 2:45 MotoTT 10 laps 3:10 Novice Open 7 laps 3:35 600 Supersport (HWT) 10 laps 4:00 250 production/MiniGP 10 laps 4:25 Formula Ultra 15 laps 4:50 Track Teardown 6:00 Race Track Closed I'm sure we can further improve the schedule to make the day better for the most people possible, but it will give you an idea where things fit together.
I really like how there's lots of small and big bike races with no back to backs giving everyone great value for their entry fees. It could be hard to improve on but will be interesting to see what others think.
Just curious why the novice group only gets 7 lap races. Not really motivating for new racers to sit and watch if their bikes are not eligible for other classes. I know the group gets 14 total but.....thanks
Simple reason is that novices tend to take longer to make a lap than an expert. I do hear this complaint a lot about the novice class, and I really do sympathize. But the fact is that the novice open class really does need to run separately and the current format is the compromise the club has arrived at over the years. For 2015 we have made some changes to the order of the schedule to keep downtime to a minimum for the novice open class. The reason that novices are allowed to enter other classes on smaller bikes is because we want to encourage anyone that is starting out in racing to start on one of those bikes. For those that want to start racing an open-class bike straight away, they need to demonstrate that they can race smoothly and safely in the novice class before moving on. We don't want to keep anyone in novice longer than necessary, but we do need to provide a separate and controlled environment for new riders on open bikes to get some actual race experience. In most organizations (mini road racing, go-karts, car racing), you straight up aren't allowed to race the faster vehicles as a novice without special dispensation.
IIRC, novice classes had the lowest per lap cost of any of the classes. Don't recall actual cost though.
