Gorm
05-31-2009, 06:22 PM
I guess most scale racers have followed the never ending soap opera with the IMCA races.
First of all I have always liked participating in the IMCA races, because you never knew what would hapen up till the race, during the race and after the race. It was never dull. Who were at moment the good guys and the bad guys, as it often changed.
I have also often defended the ruling in IMCA as it reflected every day life decision making - especially the totally far out decisions.
However, the latest development in the IMCA races have made the otherwise fun events into something which is hard to define : Is it fun ? Is it fair ? Uncertainty with the future races, as the drama developed from day to day.
The latest development towards the end of fun racing within the IMCA regime - as I see it - was as follows.
The ruling regime within IMCA, was upset about a participant who bended the rules to edge of the current ruling - but clear within the ruling. The ruling regime wanted the local race committee (Oslo) to ban the racer in question for racing. They could offcourse not do so, as nobody had broken any rules. Then there were mentioned something about the 'spirit' in the rules , but you can only rule as the current rules states.
So the driver in 'bad standing' was still in the game. So what could the ruling regime do next to stop this driver ?
Unlicenced bodies ! This has never been an issue before. So why now ?
For us who loves scale racing in old indsustrial building on however nice tracks, it is very hard to believe that a company like Porsche AG should even notice our small hobby, and on top of that claim payment of 2 million euros for damaging their intelectual rights !?? I guess that less than ten homemade Porsche bodies were racing in IMCA. If I were a carmaker I would be proud if some enthusiasts would use an endless number of hours to make a nice looking model of their 1/1 cars - as long as the modelmaking not were for large scale commercial sale (Read less than 25 copies per mould). Many drivers and race organizors asked for documentation of these very hard to understand claims from Porsche AG (Including the race committee of the Toronto Worlds). Nobody never saw a single piece of paper from the ruling regime within IMCA.
I'm working as an engineer withing the Danish Royal Defence, and every day I am questioning the picture of reality I am presented for. If I did not do so many errors would occour. So I find it very reasonably to ask for documentation for the so called Porsche AG claims. Untill they are documented I will act like the 'body-gate' never occurred. And if the reality is like the IMCA regime claims, I will deal with. But never before.
The race management for the Toronto Worlds was now in trouble as they did what most other racers did : Asked for documentation in the Porsche AG matter. As nothing was documented they could not do anything else than to follow the long time agreed rulebook for the worlds. Result : The race was no longer an IMCA event. However it is still a Worlds as the partipants were almost the same as before the 'Body-gate' matter started.
All international organisation can invite to international championships within their organisation. Nobody can patent words like European Championship or World Championship. If that was the case I'm sure that at least one of the four world boxing accosiations would have done that a long time ago :-).
So what about the future in international scale racing ? As things stand now it is very hard to belive the present soap opera is a solid basement to continue on.
Personally I was thinking about the posebility to withdraw from international 1/24 scale racing and strenghten my efforts in international 1/32 endurance racing where everything goes as planned race management wise.
Fortunately many of the good racers I have met during the IMCA era - where of several have become real personal friends- have organized a real world series, not only for invited racers, but for everybody, where ruling not is in the hand of one man.- The OEPS. Thank You
I was not surprised when I received a personal 'freat-note' from the ruling IMCA regime, stating that if I wanted to race under the OEPS umbrella, I would recieve a life long disqualification for future IMCA racing. Why ? Because OEPS do not ban home made scale models from racing, as they according to IMCA are illegal - this is still undocumented.
In EEC I did race a homemade Porsche, but how should Porsche know this ? My Porsche could very well be a licenced Studio27 body.
And if OEPS participants are banned from IMCA, most other racers are banned as well. I cannot recall any local and national series where it is specificly specified that all bodies must have a certificate stating that the body is produced under license from a 1/1 manufacturer.
As stated above, I do not intend to follows 'freats' and I will offcourse continue in OEPS. I had hoped to participate in future IMCA events like the Worlds, but that is unfortunately no longer my own decision. IMCA racing CAN be fun and you used to meet very fine people there. But I guess that it has come to end with that. Which is bad. But enough is enough.
Sorry for this long 'song' - but I needed to write about it, as IMCA was a big part of my life. But sometimes you have to say NO - in order to move on.
I'm not in any way slamming the IMCA door (You can say that IMCA slammed the door on me - but not the other way arround.
See you all the tracks for some good racing and meet with new and old friends og our great hobby.
All the best
Gorm
(Team owner of 'Scuderia Minimale')
Elsignore , Denmark:autofahrer[1]:
First of all I have always liked participating in the IMCA races, because you never knew what would hapen up till the race, during the race and after the race. It was never dull. Who were at moment the good guys and the bad guys, as it often changed.
I have also often defended the ruling in IMCA as it reflected every day life decision making - especially the totally far out decisions.
However, the latest development in the IMCA races have made the otherwise fun events into something which is hard to define : Is it fun ? Is it fair ? Uncertainty with the future races, as the drama developed from day to day.
The latest development towards the end of fun racing within the IMCA regime - as I see it - was as follows.
The ruling regime within IMCA, was upset about a participant who bended the rules to edge of the current ruling - but clear within the ruling. The ruling regime wanted the local race committee (Oslo) to ban the racer in question for racing. They could offcourse not do so, as nobody had broken any rules. Then there were mentioned something about the 'spirit' in the rules , but you can only rule as the current rules states.
So the driver in 'bad standing' was still in the game. So what could the ruling regime do next to stop this driver ?
Unlicenced bodies ! This has never been an issue before. So why now ?
For us who loves scale racing in old indsustrial building on however nice tracks, it is very hard to believe that a company like Porsche AG should even notice our small hobby, and on top of that claim payment of 2 million euros for damaging their intelectual rights !?? I guess that less than ten homemade Porsche bodies were racing in IMCA. If I were a carmaker I would be proud if some enthusiasts would use an endless number of hours to make a nice looking model of their 1/1 cars - as long as the modelmaking not were for large scale commercial sale (Read less than 25 copies per mould). Many drivers and race organizors asked for documentation of these very hard to understand claims from Porsche AG (Including the race committee of the Toronto Worlds). Nobody never saw a single piece of paper from the ruling regime within IMCA.
I'm working as an engineer withing the Danish Royal Defence, and every day I am questioning the picture of reality I am presented for. If I did not do so many errors would occour. So I find it very reasonably to ask for documentation for the so called Porsche AG claims. Untill they are documented I will act like the 'body-gate' never occurred. And if the reality is like the IMCA regime claims, I will deal with. But never before.
The race management for the Toronto Worlds was now in trouble as they did what most other racers did : Asked for documentation in the Porsche AG matter. As nothing was documented they could not do anything else than to follow the long time agreed rulebook for the worlds. Result : The race was no longer an IMCA event. However it is still a Worlds as the partipants were almost the same as before the 'Body-gate' matter started.
All international organisation can invite to international championships within their organisation. Nobody can patent words like European Championship or World Championship. If that was the case I'm sure that at least one of the four world boxing accosiations would have done that a long time ago :-).
So what about the future in international scale racing ? As things stand now it is very hard to belive the present soap opera is a solid basement to continue on.
Personally I was thinking about the posebility to withdraw from international 1/24 scale racing and strenghten my efforts in international 1/32 endurance racing where everything goes as planned race management wise.
Fortunately many of the good racers I have met during the IMCA era - where of several have become real personal friends- have organized a real world series, not only for invited racers, but for everybody, where ruling not is in the hand of one man.- The OEPS. Thank You
I was not surprised when I received a personal 'freat-note' from the ruling IMCA regime, stating that if I wanted to race under the OEPS umbrella, I would recieve a life long disqualification for future IMCA racing. Why ? Because OEPS do not ban home made scale models from racing, as they according to IMCA are illegal - this is still undocumented.
In EEC I did race a homemade Porsche, but how should Porsche know this ? My Porsche could very well be a licenced Studio27 body.
And if OEPS participants are banned from IMCA, most other racers are banned as well. I cannot recall any local and national series where it is specificly specified that all bodies must have a certificate stating that the body is produced under license from a 1/1 manufacturer.
As stated above, I do not intend to follows 'freats' and I will offcourse continue in OEPS. I had hoped to participate in future IMCA events like the Worlds, but that is unfortunately no longer my own decision. IMCA racing CAN be fun and you used to meet very fine people there. But I guess that it has come to end with that. Which is bad. But enough is enough.
Sorry for this long 'song' - but I needed to write about it, as IMCA was a big part of my life. But sometimes you have to say NO - in order to move on.
I'm not in any way slamming the IMCA door (You can say that IMCA slammed the door on me - but not the other way arround.
See you all the tracks for some good racing and meet with new and old friends og our great hobby.
All the best
Gorm
(Team owner of 'Scuderia Minimale')
Elsignore , Denmark:autofahrer[1]: