You say Balance Of Performance
I keep seeing Buick Olds Pontiac
Photograph Courtesy Porsche
Balance of Performance is a harsh reality of today’s racing scene, whether you’re talking IMSA, NASCAR or even Formula 1. Its goal is simple: Level the playing field enough to keep one team from destroying the competition to the point where the rest of the field simply checks out and goes home.
But why can’t we go back to the wide-open days of yesteryear, whether that’s the original Cam-Am series, IMSA GTP or DTM?
The realities of BOP have been a hot topic on our forum lately and raise some questions–like how do you reward creativity while preventing the larger checkbook from always winning?
So here's a group project: Can we design a modern, wide-open race series? And to take this from idle chatter to something even remotely feasible, we'll need a business plan as well as a five-year plan. How would this wide-open series flourish and survive?
Discuss.
You say Balance Of Performance
I keep seeing Buick Olds Pontiac
One long time NASCAR fan's point of view:
Balance of Performance is not a thing in NASCAR. They are all racing the same car with different decals on the front. I think it applies, in theory, to all the major series getting TV coverage these days. The team owners want lower costs and having a spec car is one way to do it.
A wide open racing series like old Can-Am is possible but expensive. And sadly not as profitable for teams as a spec series.
Haven't really worked out a business model yet, but the starting point idea would be something like "Here are the safety rules, here are the specs for the fuel you need, and you get X gallons for the race. Have at it!"
Probably the best business approach would be to pitch it as a new top level for an existing racing organization - or if an existing series needed a do-over. Come to think of it - when was the last time you heard much about the Indy 500?
"Here is $xxxxxxxxx number of $$$$$$. This can be as huge a number as you want the series to be, so not talking Lemons here.
Please show up with car and receipts. Driver cost included. Air tunnel time and track rental for practice also included.
If this sounds like the exponential version of the $2000 challenge, it is because it would be. Name one other series that has the scope of creativity and competition for a defined price.
The teams could be allowed to build on YouTube for revenue recovery back to Zero $$$ for the car. Good sponsorship opportunities also.
Tracks are the major limiting factor. If you have purpose-built tracks with massive (Bonneville-level) runoff room and get rid of spectators you can get away from the safety rules that are the major factor limiting F1 performance. This would instantly blow the limitations on aero and engine power wide open. Otherwise the rules wouldn't have to be massively different from F1, just allowing more cylinders/displacement, more hybrid power, bigger wings with double-DRS and maybe more driver freedom on its use, and sucker fans. Realistically they might end up making the cars remote-controlled pretty soon for driver safety reasons...
Have only 4-6 races a year, and one of them be 24 hours.
This saves money on traveling logistics. One of the things really hurting the smaller teams in F1 is the 20+ race schedule.
Also it allows for development time. If a new 1500hp engine blows up, the problem probably won't be solved by next month's race.
The Challenge is the closest thing we have to unlimited racing.
The only restrictions are financial ( which is exactly in line with our title) we can be as clever as we wish, Engine as big as we want, as light as we can , tires as wide as we can afford.
It doesn't even have to be very reliable. Just enough to go as fast as possible in a 1/4 mile, and fast enough to do the autocross.
Heck you can push it into the judging.
Any other event where budgets aren't restricted just isn't Grassroots.
I think the answer will depend a lot on how you ask the question. Having a fun and competitive amateur/club series is very different than a mass-marketed pro series that's designed to attract the most eyeballs and sell the most tickets possible. And there are (at least) two different philosophies involved: one is the level the field as much as possible and let the best drivers win, the other is to show off technology and engineering to the greatest extent possible. So in short: what are the goals for the series?
Formula None
No rules, no caps, no limits.
The fastest racecars ever created on the best race tracks of the world, that every GRM’er can engineer, create, and race their own creation against the best engineers and drivers in the world! Too good to be true? Not with computers and simulation!!
Bring in everything outlawed in F1: all wheel drive, 6 wheels, skirts, sucker fans, wangs, and add in directional rocket engines, full bodywork, or whatever your imagination creates. Everything just needs to be fully CAE modeled so that the car could be run through a real physics-based vehicle simulation to determine true performance. Any innovation, like rocket engines, would be disclosed to GRM, and if GRM approved, would guarantee exclusive rights for 3 races, and then shared with the community. Like a patent, but much quicker, which would make everyone faster and keep the racing competitive.
Think of it like iRacing with content that anyone can create a physics-based race car with no limits. It could be a traditional racing organization with 100 people, or one person in a shack in the woods, but all can race against the best. GRM would need to be the benevolent overlords to run the simulations, determine the race conditions, create content, host/stream the race sessions, keep the cheating to a minimum, and rake in the profits. Easily scalable to start off small for a trial and could overtake F1 for a real physical series around the world.
MadScientistMatt said:Haven't really worked out a business model yet, but the starting point idea would be something like "Here are the safety rules, here are the specs for the fuel you need, and you get X gallons for the race. Have at it!"
Probably the best business approach would be to pitch it as a new top level for an existing racing organization - or if an existing series needed a do-over. Come to think of it - when was the last time you heard much about the Indy 500?
If we're talking an unlimited series, why bring in how many gallons of fuel you can use? If you use more it'll mean more pitstops, yes? So the racers will build with that in mind and findng their own balance that works best for them.
No limit series - just make sure it's got the basics of safety and have at it. Run what ya brung.
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