July 2016 Minutes

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cendiv37
Posts: 386
Joined: June 25th, 2006, 7:29 pm

July 2016 Minutes

Post by cendiv37 »

The FV Ad Hoc Committee met July 6, 2016
Members attending: Stephen Saslow, John Petillo, Bruce Livermore, Dietmar Bauerle, Stevan Davis, Guest: Fred Clark

1 - Steve Davis gave us his personal impressions after driving on a prototype spec. tire provided to him by Hoosier. He ran the tire in all 4 sessions at the June Mid-Ohio Majors event. He found the tires to "feel" very similar to the normal Hoosier FV tires but he was 2.5 to 3 sec. per lap slower than the current tires. He was surprised to see that his data showed that he had only marginally slower top speeds. He did not run enough sessions to assess the durability of the tire.

2 - We continued our discussion of our concerns over the measurement of deck height and the wording of the rules related to this. We have discussed a possible rewording of section 9.1.1.C.5.D.6 to address these concerns. The plan is to pass this proposed rewording by as many engine builders as possible to see if we can come to a mutually agreed upon measurement process. A list of builders was generated including Dave Carr, Dave Satterly, Roland Butler, Mike Palermo, Chris Cox (Noble), Brian McCarthy, Ron Chuck, Ron Whitston, Erik Oseth, Bill Vallis, Al Varacins and Dietmar Bauerle. If there are additional builders we should contact please let us know.

With luck we might be able to get something in place for next season.

3 - There was a brief discussion of surface treating of gears. Some of those attending would like to allow it since it is almost impossible to test for. Others wish to continue as things stand where it is officially illegal. The concern on their side is that making it legal will add just one more expensive "gotta have" to that ever lengthening list in FV. No conclusion was reached.

4 - We celebrated and discussed the CRB's decision to create an official Ad Hoc FV Committee in response to this committee's "letter to the CRB" requesting that this be done for the good of the class and the CRB. Most of the current committee members have or will be submitting resumes for consideration and we hope that at least some of the current committee members will be chosen so there is some continuity and issues we have under discussion can continue to be addressed. At the same time we hope there is enough interest from the rest of the FV community that the CRB has a good set of volunteers to select from.

Respectfully submitted,
Bruce
Bruce
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problemchild
Posts: 901
Joined: June 25th, 2006, 9:34 am

Re: July 2016 Minutes

Post by problemchild »

Hey Bruce.
Thankyou to you and the other committee members who are retiring from committee service. Your addition to the committee was, at the time, very important as it was a shift from the "elite" drivers that were initially selected. Not that you are not "elite" in your own way, but the SCCA always seems to weigh the concerns of the top 10 Runoff racers much more than the concerns of the bottom 100 regional racers. I think the committee evolved to a point where it was much more reflective of the FV community than the group first selected by Mr Oseth. Perhaps that is why the BOD seemed to disrespect much of the committee's input. :cry: Let's hope that the changes at SCCA bring some reform to the SCCA process and the new people can work on rebuilding the class from the bottom up rather than the top down.
I hope Steven can keep up with his valuable communication efforts.
Cheers
Greg Rice
"Happy 50th Birthday"
cendiv37
Posts: 386
Joined: June 25th, 2006, 7:29 pm

Re: July 2016 Minutes

Post by cendiv37 »

Thanks Greg,

I had a long run on the committee, probably too long...

Just to correct you on one thing: I was on Steve's original committee, not added later. And yes, I did feel a little out of place at first with all those past national champions. What I quickly found out was that they were all really good guys with the best interests of the class foremost in their minds. Competitive as all get out, especially on the track, but very dedicated to their class and it's survival. It was a pleasure getting to know them and working with them.

That said, the committee did grow and get more "balanced" over time, including the addition of younger, up and coming drivers (they all grow up and become "National" drivers don't they :shock:). This was intentional and driven from within the committee itself, trying to get more representation from throughout the class as a whole and to bring in some new blood. It's good to see that some of that new blood made it onto the new committee and very glad to see the FV community finally get real representation within the SCCA system.

RIP the old committee.
Did we all agree on everything? Definitely not. Did we all agree on anything? Probably not. Did we, for the most part, come to a consensus and move forward? Yes.
As a bonus, I made some great friends! The hard part for me was losing a few as well as a result of all the politics going on outside the committee.
Bruce
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jpetillo
Posts: 759
Joined: August 26th, 2006, 2:54 pm

Re: July 2016 Minutes

Post by jpetillo »

I first have to say thank you to those in the outgoing FV Committee who elected to include me several years ago as a member. It’s been a great experience. As Bruce said about the founding committee, the outgoing committee was composed of folks all extremely dedicated to the class and its survival.

The depth of knowledge of the outgoing committee was truly impressive, allowing no stone to go unturned, as issues were being debated. I salute all of you, and again, thank you for the opportunity and experience, and mostly for what you did over the years working for our class!

John
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