Minutes of April’s Directors' Meeting, 27 April 2010

The board wished Doug McLay a rapid return to the tracks after his operation.

Club Officials.

David Cox accepted the position of President after it was established that its acceptance would not prevent him continuing as a director.

John Dawe had been invited to fill the post of Championship Steward, he had accepted. He would join Jock Gardner and Julian Pratt. There was a suggestion that a fourth Championship Steward be appointed, so that if a meeting of championship stewards be convened, a selection of three form the four available could be made.

The Vice President post(s) was/were to remain vacant. The intention is to fill these posts with one or two high profile names.

Mono1000/1400 Class Representative. A club member had been approached, but a setback had prevented immediate acceptance. An advertisement with regard to this post has been published in Startline. Directors were optimistic about appointing the representative in the near future, meanwhile Simon Davey is to become the acting Mono1000/1400 class representative at race meetings.

The Deputy Chairman's post remained vacant, directors saw no urgent need to fill it.

A similar view was taken with regard to the vacant places on the Board. This strategy would permit the recruitment of a director with the appropriate skills if a need be identified.

The compositions of the sub-committees were ratified. These are as published in the Yearbook.

Race Committee.

The Paddock Coordinator raised the topic of driving standards at the Brands Hatch meeting. He accepted that mistakes had been made by flag marshals and that some decisions were questionable, but thought that the CoC's verdict, that the standard of driving in the Monoposto races was the worst driving at the meeting, justified. Failure to observe yellow flags could not be defended even though the level of non-observance enabled some to escape detection by officials, but not the eagle eye of the Paddock Coordinator. The CoC was to brief Monoposto drivers before the next race.

The MSA has circulated clubs with regard to nominations to MSA committees. Following Doug McLay's rotational retirement from the MSA's Race Committee last year, the MRC has lacked representation at the MSA. It was agreed that David Cox was a well qualified candidate, and he agreed to prepare a suitable CV for submission to the MSA.

It was thought that the non-championship round at the Silverstone GP circuit was likely to be oversubscribed. Directors were of the opinion that entries from competitors who support the club most regularly should have priority. Various ways of achieving such a situation were discussed. Some suggestions were:
• One third for MSVR entries paid up front , two thirds on the number of championship rounds entered.
• Close entries three weeks prior to the race and use the Race Committee to select the entries using appropriate criteria.

As this meeting is effectively a double header it was decided that the entry fee be £295.

Publicity/Social Committee.

Jonathan Baggott reported on the 'Race Car Retro' Show at Stoneleigh, 12-14 March. He found it difficult to give an accurate assessment of the benefit that this exposure had for the club, but 13 names with addresses had registered their interest. He considered the exposure achieved worth the cost of participation, and pointed out that transferring to a more prestigious hall would cost ten times more. The venues was thought small enough to ensure that most visitors circulate through all sections, and that having a F1 Lotus as a neighbour, as in 2010, was adequately prestigious.
Both Snetterton and Mallory circuits have been contacted with regard to organising the summer BBQ. Mallory Park were happy for the club to repeat its successful event of 2009, while MSVR had more stringent requirements. The summer BBQ will be held at Mallory Park.

Technical Committee.

A briefing document for the Club Scrutineer was discussed.

Financial

Tony Cotton was pleased with the overall financial situation and the outlook, but pointed out that this time of year represented a low point due to the demands of cash flow. This emphasised the need for substantial financial reserves.

Administration.

MSVR have offered MRC competitors the use of garages at the Thruxton meeting. These garages are small, probably only suitable for a single car. The allocation of these garages was discussed. Scrutineering at Thruxton will take place in the garages and awnings.

A.o.B.

David Cox had attended Alan Putt's funeral. The club had been well represented by past officials.
David Cox, with the assistance of Mary Cox, offered to collect and collate Alan Putt's archive and combine it with other available material to form a club archive. Directors were pleased to approve this offer.

Patrick Huston
Club Secretary
06/05/10