BMW Race Driver Series

Transcription

1 BMW Race Driver Series Minutes of The Annual General Meeting Held at 12:30pm on Saturday 21 st May, 2011 at Ellerslie Racecourse Committee Present: Michael Delmont, President (MD), (MC), Grant Clegg, Secretary (GC), Murray Brown, Treasurer (MB), Grant Scheuber (GS), David Lawrence (DL), Mike Thompson (MT) Members Present: Brent Allen, Mike Ashton, Fred Bardon, Kayne Barrie, Richard Batcheler, David Brace, Richard Brocklehurst, Michael Clark, Paul Clark, Judy de Leeuwe, Tony Easton, David Farmer, Graeme Fraser, Fred Geissler, Harvey Gray, Will Gray, Geoff Guenole, Tony Houston, Dennis Huijser, Marty Irvine, Steve Kahn, Barry Kirk-Burnnand, Milan Klinac, Stephen Lawrence, Gordon Legge, Bruce Miller, Anthony Munns, Paul Olson, John Paladin, Matthew Parish, Greg Russell, Clint Scott, Martyn Seddon, Jeff Storey, Craig Suester, John Thomson, Andrew Timms, Jon Tyler, Tony Valder, Ross Wilson. Total of 46 members present, including Committee, as per sign-in sheet. Apologies: At the meeting Mark Crompton, Gerald Fava, Zac Lawrence, Graham McDonald, Keith Mitchell, Mike Moros. Prior to meeting Don Bell, Ash Blewett, Ian Brown, Craig Coates, Peter Heaphy, Jo Johnson, Oli McDermott, Grant Metson, Paul Mill, Anthony Munns, Peter Robinson, Bob Sievwright, Phil Smurthwaite, Marty van Geest, Chris Watson. Proxy Voting: The following proxy voting requests were received prior to the meeting: - Clint Scott (#320 Open) voting for Grant Metson (# 320 E30) The following matters were discussed A) Meeting Opened The meeting was chaired by Michael Delmont, who welcomed the members present, confirmed that a quorum of 20 had been achieved. Apologies were called and recorded, along with those which had been received prior to the meeting. Minutes of 2010 Meeting had been circulated previously. MD called for a motion to accept these: Paul Clark, Judy de Leeuwe. Carried. Rules of the Meeting: The process for members wanting to speak at the meeting was explained, as was the process for voting on remits/suggestions. B) President s Report MD presented his report, thanked the Committee as well as all the competitors. The 2010/11 season saw 22 new E30 competitors and 17 in the Open class, of which 6 had graduated from E30 s. He confirmed that Castrol had just renewed their principal sponsorship of BRDS on similar terms for another two years. Radio Sport had also renewed their media sponsorship of the series. We would continue to try and cover all rounds on TV, either fully or as highlights, though this would be based on it stacking up financially. As part of our continued growth and to help maximize our TV exposure we are considering being part of two Tier 1 race meetings in the 2011/12 season. The next season would also include the Festival of Motorsport at Hampton Downs, with BMW being the featured marque. The President s report was accepted by the members. Moved G Legge, 2 nd H Gray. C) Treasurer s Report & Accounts Copies of the Financial Statements were made available to members at the meeting. MB provided some additional comments on the TV coverage and the intention to hold subs at their current level. BMW Race Driver Series 2011 AGM Minutes Page 1 of 5 Draft 14 June, 2011

2 G Fraser asked why the income for TV/advertising was down so much. MB explained this was due to minimal recharging of TV coverage to other classes and that TV expenses were also down, meaning that net cost for TV/advertising was similar to last year. No further questions were received from the members. The Treasurer s report was accepted by the members. Moved G Fraser, 2 nd M Clark D) Appointment of Officers MD confirmed that he and GC were stepping down at the end of the meeting, the last of the founding Committee members to retire. David Lawrence was announced as the new President and Barry Kirk-Burnnand was announced as a new Committee member. Appointment of the BMW Car Club s new delegate was being finalized and would be announced in due course. With both Driver s Delegates standing down, nominees had been called, with just one name being put forward for each class David Farmer for the E30 class and Gordon Legge for the Open Class. These two were confirmed as the Driver Delegates without the need for a vote. E) Member Motions. MD explained that where a vote was required, then if that topic was specific to only one class, then votes would only be taken from members within that class. Furthermore, the results of such votes would be non-binding on the Committee, who had the final say in all matters. 1) Motion to change E30 reverse-grid races so that only the top 10 are reversed. (Greg Russell) Greg spoke to his motion, saying that fast drivers want reverse-grid races, slow drivers generally don t. K Barrie opposed motion, saying that there can be some big differences between positions when grid is only part-reversed. MD called for vote on the motion to reverse only the Top 10. In favour: 5, 50, 17, 64, 41, 96, 320P. Against: 100, 10, 18, 76, 35, 316, 66, 3, 9, 287, 187, 88, 35, 12, 93, 58, 101, 54, 1 & 99. Motion defeated Race formats to be further discussed in other motions and General Business. 2) Motion to retain same basic format for E30 race meetings. (Committee) GC introduced related topic of how to deal with qualifying if one group had been affected by changing track conditions. Explained a possible system (part-proposed by David Oxton) where grids were formed directly from each qualifying group. Rather than having odds and evens race groups from the full E30 field, the drivers would be seeded (probably on championship order) into the two qualifying groups and would remain in those same groups for the first two races, and only for the third race would the entire field be resorted on points earned at the meeting. K Barrie supported current race 2 format (reverse-grid block start with 5s delays) reiterating that it s not about the fast cars necessarily winning, but about getting as far up the field as possible. M Irvine no issue with proposed qualifying system, supports current reverse-grid system as it provides racing space between groups. P Clark supportive of new system. M Ashton stated that we must put into practice the items we agree at the AGM, especially regarding driver behaviour. GC called for a vote in support of the motion: 35, 88, 287, 187, 320P, 96, 12, 9, 58, 93, 101, 3, 62, 54, 1, 99, 316, 56, 76, 75, 18, 41, 64, 50, 17, 10, 100, 5, 8. Against: Nil. Motion 29-0 in favour. To be incorporated in Committee discussion on race formats. 3) Motion to reinstate drop-3 points system for E30 class: Tony Valder put the motion forward as he felt that many drivers had other commitments and should be able to take one round off, without compromising their championship possibilities. C Suester Says it s good that every race counts and that this year for the first time in a while, the championship was won by the person with the most points. Having a drop-3 would allow many northern based drivers to skip the Manfeild round, in his case saving about $1500 in expenses. M Ashton opposed the motion. J Thomson to assist drivers in panning their season/budgets, he wants to have the rounds confirmed as early as possible, ideally with no subsequent changes. Vote to reinstate 3 drops in E30 s. In favour of the motion: 12 & 99. Against the motion: 17, 50, 10, 5, 96, 35, 88, 187, 18, 41, 64, 76, 75, 9, 58, 93, 1, 54, 101, 62, 316, 56, 3. Motion defeated BMW Race Driver Series 2011 AGM Minutes Page 2 of 5 Draft 14 June, 2011

3 4) Motion to delete the current Open Class race 3 format of reverse-grid by group: This motion had been proposed by several members as well as the Committee. G Guenole Agreed. D Lawrence agreed, crazy system. G Legge supports concept. B Kirk-Burnnand Likes the format, but accepts the concerns about speed differentials. J de Leeuwe Less of a concern for those in Group C. F Geissler Does not necessarily think we should drop that reverse-grid format. G Clegg not in favour of this format as the slower cars in each group get swamped on Turn 1 and the results are inevitably the same as a scratch race with far more potential for damage. M Seddon Ok about the format. If the current system was dropped he would still like to see some way of starting the third race in groups. G Fraser Waste of time, wants to drop the format. W Gray Format is ok. Vote to stop current system of reverse-grid by group races for the Open Class. For = 142, 2, 320, 4, 87, 55, 354, 53, 51, 40, 107. Against = 387, 71, 24, 35, 6, 7, 318 & 111. By a vote of 11-8, the motion is carried. To be incorporated in Committee discussion on race formats. 5) Changes to overall race formats for Open Class: (Various) With the reverse-grid by group races being deleted from the programme, members were asked for input. Options include reverting to 2009/10 system of two handicap, one scratch race (with or without full points for qualifying) or going back to the earlier system of two scratch and one handicap race as used up until 2008/09. G Fraser supports handicap races but we need to consider options rather than just waiting for an accident to happen. G Legge asked if cars should be allowed to compete in both Open and E30, albeit with different drivers. Strong support for this to remain as this was no different to cars doing double-duty by being raced in BMW groups as well as non-bmw groups. R Wilson Proposed two grids for Open class. With not enough cars to completely fill one grid, race organisers are unlikely to offer BMW a fourth grid. (assuming 2 x E30 and 2 x Open) S Lawrence if we went to two scratch races, we d still have speed difference. Others responded that the overlaps are one at a time, not a great rush of passing in the last lap or two. G Fraser Proposed half handicap. GC said that this would still potentially have all the cars in the same place at the same time, except that it would be after 4 laps, rather than 8. To counter this, others suggested that the passing would be more orderly, as drivers would not be under the same pressure to pass on the same lap. Half handicap results would be similar to scratch races. Barry Kirk-Burnnand supported 2 scratch and 1 handicap to minimize speed differential issues. DL Suggested the three race groups be set as E30, Group C and Groups A & B together. Would mean that some E30 s would not be able to run in E30 group, especially at tracks with low grid limits, and would reduce the overall number of BMW entrants to about 75 at each meeting. (currently 85-90) GS suggested 3 scratch races to keep formats/planning simple and reduce speed differential issues. Votes from Open Class drivers in support of each format: 1 scratch/2 handicap = 142, 35, 4, 87, 55, 354, 7, 318, 107, scratch/1 handicap = 35, 320, 2, 71, 24, 6, 53, 40 & x scratch = no votes. By a vote of , the Open Class drivers support a motion to have just one scratch race and two races of a handicap nature, with the exact meeting format to be determined by the Committee. 6) Motion to retain current drop two points system for the Open Class: (Committee) MD with 3 races per round and only two able to be dropped, this encourages members to attend all rounds to remain competitive in the championship. Judy deleeuwe against drop system, prefers all rounds to count as this rewards consistent driving. No further comments offered from the floor, so the motion was put to a vote: In favour of the motion: 320, 2, 71, 55, 354, 53, 7, 318, 24, 51, 111, 107, 40. Against: 387, 142, 87, 35, 6, 4. By a vote of 13 to 6, the motion to retain the drop two system is carried. BMW Race Driver Series 2011 AGM Minutes Page 3 of 5 Draft 14 June, 2011

4 F) Television Coverage At this point, Ian Rawkins of TeleSport joined the meeting to discuss television coverage. He explained that the extreme delay of 8 months for the broadcast of Round 1 was due to a lack of interest from Sky TV and no other options for broadcasting on any other network. The technical issues of video quality from the first telecast were explained as being a function of Sky s HD broadcasts, which use a large amount of satellite bandwidth, compromising the quality of non-hd programmes being broadcast at the same time. It had nothing to do with the recorded quality of the images all were HD format, and this would be apparent if members viewed the original DVD s of the race coverage. He expected future broadcasts to be at a much higher level. G) Race Series Discussion Points 1) Subscriptions: MB explained that even though GST had increased during the last race season, the Committee did not feel that it was necessary to increase subscriptions for the 2011/12 season. 2) Penalties: Members were asked for input on what level of intervention they wanted to see from the Committee with regard to on-track driver behaviour. K Barrie said that we should leave it only to the meeting officials. G Russell keep it simple. B Miller agreed that the official system was flawed (by missing most incidents) and that we needed to have additional processes in place to make additional judicial decisions. G Fraser Said that drivers were unsure if an incident was going to be investigated by the officials and therefore did not know whether they should be submitting a separate report to BRDS Committee. R Wilson asked that processes, including timeframes, were confirmed to all drivers for next season. M Seddon said we needed to address driver behaviour, so supported Committee getting involved. J Paladin suggested Committee has notebook to record repeated infringements. G Fraser asked for clarification on whether drivers needed to make an approach to meeting officials before contacting the Committee. D Farmer agreed that not enough was being done officially, especially yellow card incidents even when video evidence was available. A show of hands was requested to see if members supported the current system. In favour : majority (30+). Against: 96, 5, 64, 41, 354, 4, 12, 12, 100. Committee to continue applying sanctions. 3) Pre-Season Scrutineering: J Tyler supported process but asked Committee to ensure allowance was made for out-of-town cars. M Clark once again, offered his Manukau premises for the scrutineering checks. Much appreciated. Committee to work out which cars need to be checked and set timetable for getting this done well ahead of the first round of the season. 4) HANS Devices: C Suester (and others) had suggested the Committee make these compulsory for the upcoming season. Committee has decided they will not be mandatory but will investigate what options are available for both restraints and matching helmets. They will ask suppliers about favourable pricing, given the large number of potential customers in the series. About half of those present (about 25 out of 45) indicated that they would like to get one. Committee to circulate any pricing and specifications as soon as possible. 5) E30 M20 Rocker Cover Seals: Committee confirmed that they would change the location of this seal to allow for routine tappet adjustment, whilst still maintaining the integrity of the camshaft and head. 6) E30 M20 Camshafts: G Russell had asked the Committee to add the Christchurch-made Kelford camshaft to the list of allowable cams for the E30 series, as they were considerably cheaper than new BMW cams and supply of used ones was starting to become tricky. There was some doubt about the ongoing manufacture from Kelfords, but the Committee would definitely look at options for a Series cam, from the same suppliers as the 318i cam introduced several season ago. 7) E30 Weights.: General agreement that the minimum weights for each model were ok. 8) Open Class Weights for Groups B & C: Suggested that these were dropped as many cars could not get close to the minimum and the additional administration in setting and measuring weights for 70% of the Open Class field could be avoided. Strong support for this move, though others suggested that those wanting to run without weight limits should just move into Group A. Committee to determine if the current system needs to be adjusted or dropped completely for 2011/12. BMW Race Driver Series 2011 AGM Minutes Page 4 of 5 Draft 14 June, 2011

5 G) General Business - MD called for members to bring up items of general business. K Barrie on a similar topic to M20 cams, he suggested that the Committee consider allowing replica pistons from ACL in Australia to be used in the E30 class. They are more readily available and considerably cheaper than the OE versions from BMW. Committee to consider. GC in relation to queries about eliminating minimum weights for Groups B & C, GC asked if members were satisfied with the current displacement cut-off between each class. ie Under and over 2 litres. There was general agreement that this cut-off was ok. GC also reminded members that a simple upgrade to 0.25mm oversized pistons on a 2-litre engine would be enough to push it over 2 litres something to bear in mind for those running in Group C. Alternatively, the Committee might need to make allowance for this in the Open Class technical rules. MT works at BMW NZ and would try to organize a larger discount structure for all/some BMW parts. Even if it was only the most commonly used expensive items (camshafts, pistons, gasket sets, etc) it could make a big difference to anyone contemplating an engine rebuild. M Seddon Asked what we (the race Series) can do for BMW NZ. Wants us to try and build that relationship so that the Series is beneficial to both parties. 2011/12 Season a list of potential events for next season was circulated for discussion. (see below) It included more rounds than will eventually be confirmed, as well as the two HD Festival meetings in January 2012, which will be celebrating the BMW marque. Those meetings are likely to be nonchampionship, but the Committee may award points to all who attend to ensure the grids are full Sept Icebreaker Hampton Downs 5-6 Nov Tier 1 Pukekohe Nov MG Classic Manfeild 11 Dec TACCOC Hampton Downs Jan Tasman Revival Taupo Jan BMW Festival Hampton Downs Jan BMW Festival Hampton Downs 4-5 Feb TMC/TRS Hampton Downs Feb HRC / Supertourers Hampton Downs Mar Tier 1 Taupo Mar Legends of Speed Pukekohe 1 April ERC Series Hampton Downs Lots of feedback was received that it was great to have so many potential meetings to choose from, especially having more at circuits other than HD, but the Committee needed to be aware of costs. Therefore we shouldn t schedule too many meetings this season, especially if the Festival was compulsory. GC suggested that we could look at having one class at each weekend of the Festival to reduce the commitment for drivers. Putting the Festival aside, a vote was taken on how many championship rounds we should have. 29 votes for 6 competition rounds and 22 votes for 7 rounds. Committee to factor this into their planning for 2011/12. No further items of General Business were raised. MD thanked the members for their input before and during the meeting and said that he was looking forward to the evening prize-giving. Meeting was closed at 3:45 pm. BMW Race Driver Series 2011 AGM Minutes Page 5 of 5 Draft 14 June, 2011