Uniting for the common good

You can read full details of Racing Ahead’s objectives elsewhere in this issue. On paper, they may not look like much, but…

In recent years, the available range of Sunday leisure pursuits has multiplied manyfold: professional soccer (live and televised), horse racing, more and more shops opening… It’s little wonder that the public has sometimes opted to stay away from grass roots motor racing, where running a seven-race programme could sometimes occupy a whole day.

In the past, self-interest has often prevented race organisers uniting for the common good, but we are pleased to see that the launch of Racing Ahead indicates unprecedented co-operation between clubs, circuit owners, race promoters and, not least, the RACMSA.

For far too long, motor racing as a spectacle has been stymied by the rigid refusal to place common sense before the rulebook. Racing Ahead’s ideas, however, allow scope for much-needed flexibility.

Purists may shudder at gimmicks such as grid positions being decided by a spectators’ poll, but we implore them to look at the broader picture. The sport has long needed to be shaken from its complacent perch, and to wake up to the type of entertainment demanded of a family day out.

Racing Ahead’s ideas are an appealing blend of the traditional and the modern. We encourage spectators and competitors to support this fresh initiative. Together with sound marketing plans, a little fine-tuning of the RAC Blue Book could just prove to be the best thing to hit British motorsport for many years.