Phil Wicks has been having problems with his driving schools for years. I have not spoken publicly on this before, only PMed people. If the way he runs his race series is anything like the HPDEs, don't hold your breath for much improvement.

I attended an event of his over 3 yrs ago. It was my 3rd track day EVER. The instructor I had, after riding with me for 2 sessions, said, "well, you're line looks pretty good, uh, I don't know what else to tell ya..." I was smart enough to know that I still needed LOTS of help. I did manage to find some excellent instructors and stuck with them for the rest of that weekend.

Even at that event, a MINI almost went over. The only thing that stopped it was the trees. He didn't have an instructor. Novices should not be on track without an instructor. MINIs should be having very few accidents. They are very forgiving and relatively easy to drive in a driver's ed situation. Way too many MINIs have crashed over the years at his events.

Phill Wicks did not then and does not now have proper instruction. I know of a chief instructor of a BMW chapter that tried to help him, how to structure his events differently, how to set up the classroom instruction. He never cared to change anything. And since the organization is so poor, no instructors want to work with him.

I know this is about racing, but his problems in the driving school are reflected in the racing. When I heard he was having a race series, I knew it would not be a good situation.

Since getting involved in HPDEs with my MINI, I've done 3 different racing schools, 3 different instructor clinics, the most recent of which less than 30% of the candidates passed (I was among those that passed.) That is an organization that takes it's instructor corps seriously.

O.K., that's beyond the realm of what Phil can do. But, if he had been willing to make some changes, and take some constructive criticism, he could attract many more of those excellent instructors instead of having such a hodge podge of capabilities.

The overall safety of the school is compromised by not having enough qualified instructors. Again, his attitude towards that is then reflected in his attitude towards safety in the racing series.

I don't care how open the passing rules are in the Advanced and Instructor groups of various organizations, racing is different. People behave differently, period. I can't imagine racing without all of the proper safety equipment.

As far as this series goes, the entry fee is ridiculous. How are people timed in qualifying, with a stopwatch? No transponder equipment?

Off topic of this series, dmh, you are right, without manufacturer support, racing MINIs is not going to take off the way it has with the Miatas.

At NASA's Mid-Ohio event in April, I spoke with Bryan Cohn, the National Director of Competition. I asked about the Spec MINI series and couldn't they somehow get together with the BMWCCA's Spec MINI series and have the same rules to increase participation in both. He said the real problem was lack of manufacturer support and expected that the Spec MINI series would most likely become part of the Performance Touring class, along with a few of the other smaller classes.

I've been racing Spec Miata, starting this season in February with NASA. I am still interested in doing something with my MINI, but must decide where to run it in order to prepare it.

 

It sort of sounds like this might not ever get addressed then. Just ignore it, and hopefully it will just go away mentality .

I now find myself in a situation where I must make a decision, if Phil Wicks chooses not to... If the status quo continues, my interest in this Series will not.

This sucks.

 

Transponders ARE required to race with ....

Qualified Instructors .... ARE NEEDED and welcomed

 

This car passed tech with a belt set-up like this?

BMWCCA would not even let that pass for a DE.





I know it will sound like BS, but it's very true. I'm sure the Wicks series could give a hoot, but after reading all of this and seeing no pro-action taken by the Wicks management on this thread, the driver who's car we were to prepare for Summit Point has decided not to support this program and will not attend. This was an experienced racer who I would have thought was what the Wicks series was seeking out, not to mention a licensed instructor for several other clubs.

I will be very interested in seeing what is said at Shenandoah next week.

 

Phil, I was unsure about this myself. So, all who qualify and race have transponders? Who supplies these, the series or the participant?
Thanks

 

There were no transponders at Gateway. It sounds like they've arranged some kind of timing system for Summit Point, however.

 

I spoke with Phil Wicks this week, I was also at laguna Seca ... Where they were also required, they are mounted in the wheel well, You wouldn't see them as an observer

They are the drivers responsibility. AMB transponders .... Just like most other race series out there

http://www.ioportracing.com/Merchant...egory_Code=AMB

 

I hope the they have access to timing & scoring this time, not requiring transponders is rediculous in this day & age.
Hope to see you at Summit.
Regards,
Steve

 

Sorry you haven't seen any "pro-action" from Phil. But what do you expect? You want him to get on here and just argue with everyone on this thread, because that's all this is. Nothing is going to get resolved from these posts. Because no matter what he does someone will complain about it. May it be the rules for the series, rules for the cars, safety, time on track, dates we have the event, etc. etc. Somebody isn't going to like something about it, Because fact is YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE. This is the first year for the series so there will be bugs that we will have to work out. I think we all want to have a MINI race series that is perfect, but it will take time. So Unless someone else is willing to throw Thousands of dollars to get tracks, insurance, and people to the events to do it their way, we have nothing to compare it too.

Yes it is unsafe to race without a cage/rollbar like Randy did. It was Randy's butt on the line not yours or mine. But Phil made an executive decision to allow him to race. Fact is if any of us had come 1000 miles to race and couldn't, we would prob want to do the same. Also there was only 5 cars on the track with experience drivers behind the wheel, so how is that any less safe that putting 30 average joes on the track for a school???? If I had my choice I would take track time with 5 people that know how to drive on a track.

As for timing equipment I talked to Phil earlier this week and he is renting it from the track so racers will need to bring their transponders to Summit Point.

 

I think you are trying to say that there is a group of people out there that would be angry if safety was strictly enforced? Is this the deal, because no one has spoken up here and said that if Wicks actually enforced the same safety that every other club enforced that they would be angry and would not attend his events.
Or, are you saying that in order to get entry fees to pay for these events that Wicks has to overlook safety?
I'm honestly confused here and still don't understand where the disagreement is.

I do believe that a representative from Wicks should have addressed this concern here in better responses then "if I had a magic wand" or " you can't please everyone". Just come here and say either ..'..hey, we made a mistake and from this point on all safety requirements will be strictly enforced', or '... we will continue to offer wavers to those who want to race without the required safety equipment..'. That's it, that's all I'm asking for. Let us know just where the Wicks program stands on safety and wavers.
Being that this is just NOT done in any other club racing you have to understand that it's a bit alarming and disconcerting to those that have spent time and money investing in their safety.




Just feel lucky that this went into a tire wall instead of the side of Brian's car! Did Randy do this intentionally, or was it what's called an "accident"?
As someone already stated here, it's just 'lucky' that another car was not in the way of Randy's uncontrollable car. If he had hit Brian broadside, this would have been a very different thread. As I see it Brian had no window net, no Hans, nor were his belts set up right. Brian would have sustained life threatening injuries.

I'm done on this I guess. Really nothing more that I can input. I feel bad that I will be the one labeled as the trouble maker it seems, as I was hoping to see this series grow into something I could participate in. Not sure I would feel very welcome when it does though.

 

Let's recap:

NAMCCRS is a fledgeling race series, organized by a small outfit

The rules are NOT written in stone and are few

The sanctioning body is NOT a known National Race-Membership Organization

They are understaffed and NEED help

There are NO sponsors or prize money, just a MAJOR trip offered to the points winner, free ride and car to use in an overseas JCW Race

It is modeled after the succesful JCW MINI Challenge

The track can be very dangerous ,,, With or without full safety equipment, I saw 5 cars go into the wall at Road America in May

The Summit Point Race will get some exposure for the series and MINI racing ... Oh ... NUZZO will be racing there too !!!

 

Thank you RedFury for the general statements...right to the point.

Look...it is not NASCAR, IRL or F1..but the MINI needs to start some promotion or nothing will evolve for our fun little cars. I have raced Karts on some very unusual circuits and if the drivers themselves are not comfortable...do not race in the series. Simple.
As far as participation...we need more.
Safety...should always be a concern..and can NEVER be ignored. If this series had 20 entries..would Randy have raced without a cage? I don't know.

Please allow the organizers , vendors , participants to grow with the series and keep comments coming for improvement. Do not kill it!!!

Thanks to all for promoting the MINI community.

 

If one was to just read this thread one would probably conclude this series is not in good shape. However, bad publicity is certainly better than no publicity at all. I opened asking what the point of this series is. Now I have a better understanding. Along the way I interjected my thoughts on what I would have done differently from the start noting the success of spec series here and abroad and of the stock and prepared classes of BMWCR.

I do not participate in this series for several reasons, the main being time; my family doesn’t want me gone like I used to be. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it grow. Though my stand alone Mini shop is new and our sister shop, Precision Motorsports, is focused on Porsches and BMWs maybe I can get some of my Mini clients interested. (Noteworthy is that we do have racing experience both professional and club. I have posted links to our club racing success with driver John Paton in BMWCR, JS and JP. My racing experience, other than being a club level driving instructor, comes from the world of karts and motorcycle road racing, mostly endurance.)

The biggest hurdle is money and lack of race prepped cars. Wick’s is not currently getting support from Mini the way Mazda supports their spec series or Dodge supported theirs. And due to BMWCR rules, savvy racers will not build a Mini because it falls at the bad end of the weight to power spectrum of J and you can forget being competitive in D mod for numerous reasons. Available track dates are also a problem.

Plus, we’re not Europe with all their semi-pro motorsport teams. For those without any knowledge of club racing in Europe I can tell you that it is quite different to say the least. Very few of us strip a brand new car and go racing wheel to wheel. None-the-less, this series is supposed to be a mirror of the British series; a spec series. And if you boil it down that is why NASCAR, at all it levels is so successful: spec series.

So how do you get racers excited about the Wicks series? Forget this being a tuners series with their unlimited modification; that’s nonsensical, save it for Pinks. The TV contract, no matter how small, is a good start. Enforcement of the rules and adoption of the 13/13 rule would also help. As exposure widens and time passes this series just might make it. And that’s a good thing.

 

Nah... Everyone who is involved in this thread is doing so because they care. Let's not forget about that folks. That's the common ground we all have...

No one here wants to 'kill this Series.' We just want as the highest of priorities measures to prevent killing of any kind, the series or its participants.

For those of us who are adamant regarding change, and are willing to stand-up for the higher cause, do so knowing that their expressed criticism is negative, and of course that makes for difficulty, and not just here, but internally. The way I see it Greg, you care a lot about this Series, and the health and safety of others as you are willing to go against the status quo to inject no-compromise safety standards at the possible expense of the short-term viability of the Series, and how some might feel about you. The other racers who agree with this firm stance (a few chimed-in here) commend you, and all those who would benefit by the eventual implementation and enforcement should...

The venting here regarding these important concerns is not simply because of the aforementioned Gateway experiences/occurences alone. We have come to learn that they are chronic, going back quite some time. One would expect action to rectify matters, yet at this race, after a pretty serious reminder in practice, a race waiver is granted, and safety provisions not enforced.

The audacity that it continues, blatantly, is just mind-boggling. Operations need to change, as should have been self-evident to anyone within PW. If they need phone calls and emails to gauge how many people are disturbed by these incidents, that's just pathetic. Fix things because they are wrong, and that someone could get hurt, not just because enough people (whiners) now make it a thorn in your side.

Asking people to stop posting here, and to call or email PW directly is apparently not the best solution, although it should be. As I understand it, PW has been approached on this subject in the past, and was again this week by various people; including a link to this thread. This is now a public matter of discussion (in this forum) simply because they have allowed it to escalate to such by lack of appropriate, corrective action. It has seemingly fallen upon deaf ears...

I echo Greg's (onalsed) sentiment in wanting to know what the official stance is here, and going-forward. If this is the way it is, and will be, frankness would be much appreciated. If we should expect changes for Summit, we'd (the racers namely) would love to know! I want to be a fan, please.

 

As a participant, I appreciate Greg's input towards safety and his concern for the improvement of the series. It doesn't take a genious to see that Greg knows what he his talking about, just look at how thorough his car building is coming along. I'm sure safety every safety item is beyond minimal requirement. For us racers that go to the trouble to fullfill the rules required to race in a recognized sanctioned event, It concerns us to see any participant exused of meeting these requirements.
We all want the series to prosper and I'm sure PW is aware of all these posts by all concerned parties. Let's hope Phil will be open to suggestions and whatever help we can offer to make it happen.
If you or Greg are planning to be at Summit, let's get together and meet with Phil.
Steve

 

To expand my very limited knowledge, what's the problem with that belt set-up?

 

Jason,

I want to start out by first stating that in no way was I intending that the posting of this photo to reflect on the owner, but was rather just pointing out that I am quite surprised that the car passed tech. I have since been in contact with the owner and it in fact he says the he has passed more then one tech, and not only with Wicks.
This should probably be a start of a new thread, so if this topic goes ay further I will start a new thread for it.
So, what's wrong with this picture? A few things. One being the shoulder harnesses. What is wrong with the way it's set up is not as much as what really should never have passed tech. The main 'tech' issue is the fact that there are no belt 'guides' on the horizontal bar to keep the belts in place. The way the belts are now they can slide around that bar. The other thing that should not pass is the fact that the metal adjusters should in fact be tight up against the bar. Two things happen here during impact, when the belt is like it is in the photo, one is the adjuster will in fact travel back to the bar loosenig the belt by what looks to be about 10". Second, with that large of a loop, with the adjusters so far out, the belt will stretch about an additional 20% at least. But the stretch means little as that sliding adjuster will already let the driver hit the wheel, and if not that, in a secondary impact, which there usually is in racing, the driver is now no longer strapped in. Injury will most certainly occur.
This can be easily fixed before the next race, and I do hope the owner will do so . How this passed tech is beyond me

 

Thanks Greg... I at least got part of the answer right (the big loops / not having the metal adjuster close to the bar).

 

Wonderful!

To unite and work for change is the help I was asking for. Good policy is forged on the anvil of compromise with the hammer of controversy.

Thanks to all of you who are so passionate about the sport that you will take action to improve it. With your help, 2007 will rock! Good on ya!

 

I totally concur. Thank you Jerry. And... Go Bears!

 

Its funny you say this. As I was trying to goo-gone some of the tape residue off #93's roof yesterday, I decided to see how his belts where set up. It turns out that they are strapped in the same way. I dont remember Randy complaing about hitting the steering wheel when he crashed going 85mph into a wall.

I am not trying to say your wrong on this issue(I have since tightened them up on your request), just that you stating I "will" get injured in a crash with my set-up may not be true.

Also, how will the belts move from side to side when they are tight?

-Brian

 

Anyone watching Rolex right now???
Talk about a wreck!

 

Brian,
If Randy really did hit a wall head on at 85 mph, then he just may not know how incredibly lucky he was. It doesn't surprise me that his belts are set up the same way. He may be a great tuner, but his safety practices are obviously something not to be made a good example of.
I'm truly very happy that you took my advice on the belts, really... thanks
Page 123 of the GCR section of the 2006 SCCA rulebook, section 20, paragraph 4 should be read.
In short ;

There is nothing in the rules that state where the adjusters should be, but anyone with race experience knows that they will in fact slip if not tight up against the bar.


I have seen a bunch of harness test videos in my time. If you have not seen them then I understand why you may not really understand what the forces are like under crash loads. The only quick video I can find right now is the Hans Video. Have a look as it dose show somewhat of what I am trying to explain. Note how tight and how close attachment points of the shoulder belts are to the driver and still how much they stretch. Just multiply that by at least 10 as your attachment points are that much further away. Now add another few inches due to the big loops. Yikes.

This is my point with the Wicks program. They should have gone over all of this stuff with you before you ever hit the 'race' track.
Sorry, I need to regress, but this just starts to get my anger going when I think about it.

I would recommend that anyone here that feels that I may not know what I'm talking about to contact someone like Joe Marko of HMS Motorsports and ask him.

Brian, You can do what I did once in the past when in fact I did not pass tech because of the same reason. I just bordered each strap with roll bar padding and then taped in an aluminum bar accross the top of each strap. Note, this was just my DE setup and is just a temporary fix for you racers.
Picture here


Added this; Note that the Hans video is only about a 31 mph crash.

 

Figured I'd do a search. Please read this PDF File!
I was actually relieved to find page 34 through 67 ...

 

There is no compromise on safety, and there would be no way I would ever meet with anyone to work out any compromise on safety.
If you guys decide to actually take it seriously then I would be more then happy to get involved and do everything I could to help the Wicks program.

Good luck with Summit point. I hope all is safe and the turnout good. I'm hoping that this event will be the turning point for the Phil Wicks program.