Is the sport in trouble
 

Our club had fewer than normal attendees at our latest NJMP event. Usually there's a wait list and instructors are asked if they'd take 2 students. This time, many instructors didn't have students. Obviously, what we do is a luxury and the economy being what it is, a lot of people aren't affording luxuries. How's attendance been in your regions?

Seemed like we had the typical attendance at the DE's this year...

Actually, at least at the first few RMR PCA HPDEs of the season we set attendance records. RMVR, on the other hand, seems to be struggling a bit.

I think part of the issue is that drivers have many more choices where to drive than they did 10 - 15 years ago. When I first started I would set an alarm to make sure I registered as soon as it opened up otherwise I might not get a seat because I was instructed. That doesn't happen as much these days if we have our normal number of instructors.

I know you are talking about DEs but attendance at PCA races is noticeably down as well. At this year's NJMP race the paddock was a ghost town. Years ago there would be teams set up a good ways toward T1 but this year it was almost totally empty.

It's sad to see, but I also think PCA needs to adapt a little bit more to improve the race experience. IGT and HSR do a great job toward making it a great race weekend. AER and Champ Car do a really good job as well. That's not to say PCA does a bad job, but I think they could look at some other series and see what they are doing and get some good ideas.

Bigger trophies!

^ +1

I would also add that NNJR in particular has a bad reputation for been unwelcoming and bit overzealous with "authority".

Another challenge for PCA DE's is the mandatory inspection requirement to be done by an approved repair shop and then stamped by that shop. Most approved shops are Porsche dealerships

Another unintended consequence of COVID-19 is the retirement of older technicians and limited availability of replacement technicians. Appointment dates are extended and post COVID it is becoming a hassle to get the car inspected.

Other non PCA DE organization let the owner self inspect and sign off. Is PCA attorney paranoid?

Everything is driven by insurance, which in turn is driven by attorneys and actuaries (who are really just evil accountants).

What concerns me is the number of time a driver shows up in the tech line with brake pads below the minimum required amount. I then start thinking "what else did the tech miss?"

After an incident it is hard to tell what broke and caused the accident, and what was broken because of the accident. PCA does have an incident report both for HPDE and races, but it is not like the NTSB investigating a downed airliner. I wonder how many times it is a mechanical versus driver error?

I understand your point about self-tech but how do we decide between drivers who have the knowledge and aptitude to make these determinations, and those that don't? It is a problem that needs to be fixed and maybe a middle ground is to make any ASE accredited mechanic have the ability to sign off. That would increase availability for tech.

I’ve always felt that once a driver reaches solo level they should be able to self tech. Just my 2 cents.

Lack of knowledge and/or bad risk management is the problem standing in the way of this.

Maybe a more stringent tech line, where people get sent home, is what is needed, but it puts the onus on the people doing the tech line to spot issue and be the bad guy.

Or Club Racing license holders should be able to self tech. Having to load my car, drag it too a certified shop is a real PITA. You have to take a half day off of work just for an inspection. This is what typically keeps me from participating.

Huh? What?

We (RaceTeq) are frequently hired by individual clients to do trackside support, setup, and coaching for various DE events.

The amount of drivers (non-clients) that come up to us on any given day with questions about their cars... Can you just look at this for a moment... What is this noise... Do you think this is ok...

With distressing frequency we see minimal (or below) brake pad thickness, toasted rotors, tires that won't finish the day, low oil, low power steering fluid, brakes that haven't been bled or fluid that is boiled, etc. Once in a while we find a bad wheel bearing, worn ball joint, or loose stud, or broken stud. Yikes.

In general, none of these people have spare parts or fluid or tools or know-how. And these are at events where drivers are to self-tech and have been emailed with a specific list of things to check, particularly re. brakes.

Anecdotal but perhaps helpful for this convo.

Don't know about the reputation. I do think in general PCA has too many rules and regulations. Seems they have a bunch of lawyers and insurance agents that sit around justifying their existence by coming up with a new rule(s) every year. I went out with a non-PCA club that actually didn't require a point by in the upper run groups. Sounded scary, but worked out well. Lots of guys still gave poiint bys but on a long straight, seriously, who needs it. Just one example.

All PCA and BMW regions and private track orgs that I run with (HOD, Chin, Trackmasters, etc.) were all down this year. All of them.
If they weren't down at the beginning of the season, they were surely down by the end of it. Most felt it all season long. Is what it is.

Lots of folks are in much worse economic shape than they were even just a year ago, let alone 2 years ago. Luxuries such as track days and travel have taken a back seat to necessities, like putting food on the table and paying utility bills, mortgages/rent, education, insurance premiums, etc.

The cost of fuel (towing to the track, used at the track, and towing home from the track) had a lot of people I know cutting down their track days, whether it be DE or racing. Everyone's attendance was down.

At the cost of taking this thread off topic, elections have consequences.....

Still waiting to hear about this "NNJR reputation!!

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