This is a regulation change with immediate effect, for the CSCC Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens Series.
Dear Competitor,
The Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens Series has always been a fun place to race a Seven, it's a series, not a championship, where it is possible to compete on a minimal budget, whatever the make and model of your Seven. We are lucky that our lightweights are relatively kind on consumables, with some of you able to take part in a full season on just a set or two of tyres. We do enjoy close competition up and down the classes, but, as is common in most forms of motorsport, to compete at the sharp end of the grid, there are talented drivers and teams who perhaps inevitably spend more money.
In recent years we are fortunate that Avon, Kumho and others have developed tyres to suit our cars, helping lap times to fall, but with an inevitably sooner loss of performance and sometimes availability difficulties. In order to maintain the reputation our series has earnt, as accessible, club-level motorsport, whilst reducing wastage and costs, we are re-introducing a similar regulation we had in the last two 'Covid' seasons. Competitors will restrict themselves to a maximum of one set per CSCC race meeting, unless the tyre or rim are in an unsafe condition, or weather conditions dramatically change.
The series regulations have been amended to reflect this decision, this will not affect the vast majority of racers within the Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens.
Q. I'm worried that the tyres I want to use won't last qualifying and both races?
A. It is up to the competitor to select the correct tyres for the conditions and wear rate at a given track. That single set of soft tyres may not last a full day at Thruxton mid-summer, but could be fine at a chilly Silverstone for example.
Q. Who decides if a tyre is damaged and needs replacing?
A. We trust that drivers will play fairly and this will only be used to replace a single tyre damaged by a kerb, wing stay etc. This is not an excuse to use a super-soft compound at Thruxton, wear them down in 20 minutes after breaking a lap record and stating that another four tyres are needed for 'safety'. MSUK Scrutineers and/or a CSCC official may inspect a damaged tyre, with a penalty applied for non-compliance if necessary.
Q. What happens if it rains, do I have to use the same set of tyres? A. We race on any MSUK list 1A/B/C tyres, all are treaded and a driver should select a make and model of tyres suitable for the conditions we may face in the UK and overseas. That said, if the conditions dramatically change from dry to wet, or wet to dry, it is in the interests of safety to allow a full tyre change, if desired, as we have always done pre-Covid. Three drops of rain on a drivers visor is not a dramatic change of conditions and should not be used as an excuse to bolt on a full set of tyres! The driver must decide what constitutes a significant change of conditions, but be aware that your peers and officials will be watching.
Q. Why have you decided this now? A. We have, as always, talked to and listened to a wide variety of views, from drivers and preparers up and down the grid, over the last 12 months, proposing various options. We are also aware that we attract many drivers from other championships, who value the ability to join us for specific rounds and take part on their existing tyres.
We hope that all drivers will embrace this new line to the regulations as we have your interests at heart. We don't want to go down the route of barcoding and tyre listing, this is not what the club is about, so please work with us and play fair.
Our first two grids of the season were considerably smaller than we can remember, but none-the-less delivered some fantastic racing. Numbers at Anglesey are perfectly respectable, given that a number of you are waiting on car parts and it's a trek for others. It's great to see that grids at Brands Hatch on Friday 3rd June have bounced back, with both Sevens races numbering in the mid 20's and plenty of time for more entries to come in.
Finally, as always, my thanks go to the CSCC for keeping most race entry fees at 2019 levels and their continuing support for all their race series and of course both the series sponsor Gold Arts and the registered competitors both past and present, who have supported the fun- packed series, that provides close, fair racing, throughout the classes. I am looking forward to seeing you at race meetings throughout the 2022 season.
Peter French
CSCC Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens Drivers Representative.
