Hi Folks, this is a photo of me showing leadership, or possibly holding everyone back.

If you are not aware we have postponed Sunday's sprint due to a significant shortage of entries. Below is a letter that went out to the 30 odd entrants we did have. It is intended for everyone, because I cannot provide the answers we need without your help. Please read the letter and let me know why you are not entering like you did in the past. Often I only get to talk to the people who enter, if that is you, talk to your mates who aren't out there as often and see if what you can find out. I guess it is still fun?

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MSCA Sprinters, it is with a great deal of regret that I write to you today to inform you that we have been forced to postpone this Sunday’s event. At this late stage we find ourselves with entries in the low thirties. As you are aware we have been forced to increase our entry fees to cover increased charges from Mallala for track hire and Medical Services. These increased costs proved to be too much for Track Time Motorsport who have ceased running their Regularity events. Unfortunately, we have seen very few competitors from those events joining us, despite offers to give them regularity events.

As this letter is going in the first instance to entrants for Sunday, I want to thank them for their ongoing support and most importantly their entry. Your entry will be held over to our next event, round 4 on September 21st.  If for some reason you cannot make it on that day, please contact Sue and a refund can be arranged.

It is the intent of the MSCA to continue running events into the foreseeable future; however, we cannot do that if it is not financially viable to do so. We made a profit on round 1 with 82 entries, the 6 hours lost a small but acceptable amount. Round 2 at 59 entries also lost money, effectively putting us in the red for the year to date. If we were to go ahead with round 3 the loss would be substantial.

This letter will be published on our websites and facebook page to reach as many people as possible so we can try and find a solution. The problem now, as it has been for a while, is to work out what is happening. Where are the 40 odd extra entries we had in March?

My first thought it is the “cost of living” I keep hearing about. I don’t have a mortgage or children to feed but I do know tyres are not cheap.

I also know there are other forms of motorsport that are attracting people. Hillclimbs have always been popular and the extensions at Collingrove would be of interest. Atom Sprints are very popular and are getting good fields.

“Practice” days and “Track Days”, especially those run by the track owners are, by design, impossible to compete with. While they do pay their very limited “Officials” they’re not paying five figures for track hire and medical.

Please don’t get me wrong I fully support people’s right to do what they please. If you decide 5 events a year is your limit, but you want to mix it up a bit, I get it. That is exactly what I try to do.

As we move forward, we need to find out what we are doing well and what is bad. What you realistically want to spend. Motorsport is not cheap, and entry fees are only one thing. Even if you drive your road car to an event there is probably a $100 worth of fuel and $200 worth of tyres. It is a simple fact that we all have different levels of income and non-motorsport costs. If a $200 entry fee seems fair, but you can only realistically afford to do that 3 times a year let us know. We need to set a schedule, at a price where we can get a minimum of 60-70 entries reliably every round. If you don’t like winter rounds lets us know.

Speak to your club delegates, post you thoughts respectfully on facebook, or write to me on a.flynn1@bigpond.com. If you hate me and think I’m the problem write to Sue comp@mscasa.com