0
This is a response to a question posted by a racer on NEAR. It should answer more of your questions:
I posted this on the list as an answer to BJ.... but I don't know if it made it on there. It addresses a few of the questions that have been raised as best I know how.
BJ (& others)
Hopefully I'm not doing myself in by vioating my (self-imposed) policy of staying off internet message boards....but since there are so many questions floating around and I have somewhat of an inside perspective on what is going on, I'll toss in what I know. These are all my personal view and not necessarily those of LRRS or VP.
First, I know that there are several details still being sorted out. Many of these are in response to questions posted both here and elsewhere. I think that the best thing to do is to reserve a bit of judgement until the rule is actually formally written down and posted - which will happen certainly by the first weekend. The information on the fuel rule was promised by Monday, and on Monday a considerable portion of the information was delivered.
I knew of many of the proposals offered by various fuel vendors, and the VP program was the best one for LRRS racers by far. The main reasons were that they offered the best contingency program (some offered none) and they were also willing to offer (by far) the least expensive alternative to pump gas of all the companies. With Super Unleaded selling at the Mobil station in my town for $2.80 (at massive volume), I was impressed that VP had the ability to blend a special fuel for our series for only $3.25.
I know for certain, having talked with VP, that the MS93 we are getting is actually not MS93 but MS93.1. This is a variation of the MS93 that is blended for motorcycles, just for NHIS. I don't pretend to know the chemistry, but the MS93.1 purchased at the track will have specific differences. I know that someone asked about the price staying constant all season, and I did ask about that. The answer was that they would do their best to hold the price, but couldn't guarantee it. If crude oil goes crazy again, all gas prices will go up a bit.....this would be the case if there were a spec fuel or not.
In order for this program to work, the fuel must be purchased at the track. I know that information was not in the original post - but here is the reasoning (from my understanding). First, that is the only way that both the C12 and MS93.1 can be guaranteed to pass. Regular dealers reuse drums that could have been MR9 the pass before and the residue could throw things off. Second, I know personally that they were hammered to sell to us for their best price - especially on the MS93.1. Unless you don't want to run a decal, everyone at LRRS will be looking to collect contingency. Since VP Atlantic (not VP national) is paying out the money, it only makes business sense that they need you to buy from them and not some other VP source. It's like Dunbar Euro Sports paying you contingency for a Ducati purchased at BCM - doesn't make any sense.
From the perspective of current pump gas running guys (like yourself), you're looking at a maximum increase of 75 cents per gallon. That equates to about $5 per weekend. If you win on $10 contingency certificate, you've made out.
I beleive that you will be able to buy drums of either fuel at the track to avoid having to stand in line each weekend for fuel.
There is no minimum weekend purchase to be legal, that is 100% certain. You must buy 5 gallons per weekend to qualify for contingency, but not to be legal. I do not know the exact details of the contingency program. That is still being discussed. I do not believe that every single class will pay. I also do not think that they will pay contingency 6 places to a race with 5 guys in it. Again, this is my personal view - and not fact. But, it doesn't make sense to me to do that.
On the enforcement and punishments, this is what I know. Riders need to use the fuels sold in order to make this all work. The spirit of the rule was to get rid of the bad stuff, and in order to do that the rules had to make it so everyone uses a fuel that cannot be messed with (i.e. non-oxygenated). Unfortunately, you have to make punishements severe enough to be an actual deterrent. For a $50 fine, Doug Scheer will run MR9(or similar) all day and run the risk. The first weekend is going to be a test bed - were going to test fuels after draining tanks, half filling them up, running cheater additives, etc. Once we become educated on what contamination looks like as a result of mixing with both pump gas and the outlawed fuels, LRRS will be in a better position to make calls.
No one is going to get anything stupid done to them for unwitting infractions. The purpose here is not to make life hard - especially for the new guys. I'm sure that there is going to be an education process that will take a little time. However, get caught pouring MR10, Nutec or an illegal additive after the 2nd weekend, and expect the penalty to be severe. If you get caught pouring pump gas into your bike on Saturday, expect to get punished as well becuase LRRS cannot tell if you've got a quart of "Nitro X" in pump gas due to the fact that pump gas is oxygenated.
Keep in mind, I am not the one making calls or giving out the punshments - but I have been around when officials have talked about the above scenarios.
So, that's what I know for now. I hope this helps clarify things a bit.
Thanks,
Eric Wood
President,
Woodcraft Technologies, Inc.
105 Baldwinville Rd
Winchendon, MA 01475
(978)297-2977
Fax (978)297-2922
www.woodcraft-cfm.com
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by TheIglu
