Found this on a racing humor site: www.hitthepacecar.com Does this maybe sound like the current state of affiars in rally too?
ALMS to Limit Car Counts, Class Sizes in 2006: “One Car per Fan is Enough†says Panoz
February 28th, 2006
Concerns about excessive entries, fan’s ability to keep track of multiple cars sparks new rules
BACKWATER, Georgia (Feb 28, 2006)
American LeMans founder and owner Don Panoz launched a new initiative to limit the constricting ALMS car count, and institute a new approach to rewarding fan loyalty.
With car counts settled at 4-6 cars per class, Panoz sees a great opportunity to draw ALMS fans and teams closer together “ We have 4 classes in the ALMS—big prototypes, little prototypes, big sportscars, and little sportscars. We get less than a half-dozen cars in each class, so I thought if we make the rules so that no more cars can run, we’ll have a perfect 1:1 ratio of cars and fans.â€
The unique “one car per fan†rule will be the first of its kind in auto racing. With the new rules in place, each of the 20 ALMS fans will be able to adopt a car, its driver, and its crew. Fans can make lunch for them, spend the night and watch scary movies, and do all the other things a foster-parent would do for abandoned children.
Realizing how long its been since ALMS teams felt the influence of fans, fans are urged to bear with their ALMS teams as they come to grips with no longer racing to empty grandstands.
ALMS stalwart Rob Dyson spoke of the long overdue “one car per fan†rule “It’s been kind of lonely the past few years—I can only hope our new surrogate fans can make us feel loved and welcomed at our races this year. They’ll be a big improvement over the cardboard cutouts of people that Don Panoz and his organization have used to fill grandstands. Real live fans are going to be great.â€
Identities of the “ALMS 20†are being kept secret to avoid recruitment from other viewer-challenged series like Grand Am, Champ Car, and the IRL.
yeah, i've got a six foot keel. what's it to you?
