Driver numbers / car speeds

[Derek Coghill]

I've just been comparing numbers (Cadwell and Snetterton, 04 and 06); Cadwell we were 3 down on 2 years ago, Snetterton we were 2 up. Snetterton's probably not an ideal model though, as it's such an unusual event. Anglesey is probably not an ideal circuit to take numbers from, though, as it's a long way from anywhere; see what happens at Silverstone and Mallory for a better indication.

I think what's happened is that the slower cars aren't coming out any more; I saw this at Cadwell as it was all I could do to keep the two cars ahead of me in sight (and, eventually, I couldn't even do that).

The reason for all this is that I went to compare times to see if the car (and the rest of you) has actually been getting faster; a second faster at Cadwell but 3/4 slower at Snetterton. Fastest lap at Snetterton 1/2 sec slower, Cadwell 1.6 secs faster. So I'm sort of keeping pace but I'm not getting a tail-end-of-the-field race any more.

Any further ideas?

:-)

:-(

[Francis Rottenburg]

I'd be interested to see what the cummulative entry costs are for each of the last three years, probably fairly similar as the number of races has diminished but entry costs increased.  Would tend to indicate that (how's this for creating a hypothosis without any data...) something else is the cause of slower cars deciding not to enter.  

Silverstone is a bit of anomaly, partly because people want to have blessed the same tarmac as the F1 boys and partly it was the last race of the season (wasn't it?).  The racing was stunning because of the slipstreaming cancelling out a lot of the power disparities until Tim decided to go fully aerobatic!  I suspect that Mallory or now possibly Snetterton will get a big entry based on being the last race.  

As to why slower cars aren't entering, I think your data on Snetterton speeds is misleading because of the strong winds over the whole weekend which would inevitably compromise speed.  The regulars are faster and better prepared.  Perhaps the chance of an upset has reduced or perhaps the higher individual entry cost has prevented the people that did one or two races each year from entering.  I doubt if any one thing has caused the change, more likely a whole range of different things keep the cars in the garages....