DRiVA (may interest mexicans most)

[big fella]

As I have stated in earlier threads, I'm not a drag racer. Just a fan who would like to step up and have a crack. As a result, I also know virtually nothing about the politics surrounding the sport, particularly in Victoria. The only thing I do know is that there are many here who have strong feelings. I was reading in the new issue of PFM about DRiVA and their endeavours to secure funding and backing for a new competition facility.

They mentioned that they have fundraising events, dinners etc. and I wondered whether a.) Anyone from the forums has any direct involvement in the group? b.) Should we as a forum ask DRiVA to provide us with regular updates on their progress? c.) Should we also ask them to give us notice of their fund raising events so that we can incorporate a cruise, or book a table at their dinners etc?

If these people are the real deal, and their efforts are worth supporting, it may be mutually beneficial for us to get involved as a group at the ground level. As I said earlier, I have no personal knowledge of how it works and who they are, but I'm sure there'll be others here in a better position to comment.

[Melz]

From my perspective... (and i must stress MY PERSPECTIVE) to answer your questions

A) haven't been involved with them, but have been approached by a representative from DRIVA looking for my opinion on the current state of the sport. But From the information i've gotten they aren't supporting the people who support them.

B) I believe as a forum we should be supporting ANDRA if anything, which is a governing body for MOST of Australia. After all it is the Australian Ford Forums, not the Victorian Ford Forums. If we show bias to one state's organisation, it simply isn't fair.

C) I believe there would only be a very select couple or few that would actually go to their fundraising events from this forum....


But I only have limited knowledge of what they are about and would be interested to hear from other forum members' experiences with this organisation.

[big fella]

Originally Posted by Melz

From my perspective... (and i must stress MY PERSPECTIVE) to answer your questions

A) haven't been involved with them, but have been approached by a representative from DRIVA looking for my opinion on the current state of the sport. But From the information i've gotten they aren't supporting the people who support them.

B) I believe as a forum we should be supporting ANDRA if anything, which is a governing body for MOST of Australia. After all it is the Australian Ford Forums, not the Victorian Ford Forums. If we show bias to one state's organisation, it simply isn't fair.

C) I believe there would only be a very select couple or few that would actually go to their fundraising events from this forum....



But I only have limited knowledge of what they are about and would be interested to hear from other forum members' experiences with this organisation.

This is the sort of feedback I was after, as I said, I know very little about the whole thing. The only point I would raise is that I don't see why Victorian forum members can't support ANDRA and DRiVA at the same time, unless they are opposed to each other, in which case you would have to support ANDRA because national champ series is what we want back in Vic.

[Craig]

Unfortunately ANDRA is a spineless orginisation that does not have a vision or a business plan that goes beyond tomorrow. DRIVA should of never have been formed if ANDRA had the foresight to see what was happening at BJ's two facilities. Once BJ pulled the pin on the 2001 Nationals that's when the wheels should of been put into motion to get government owned facilities in Vic & S.A.

But no lets sit in our comfy chairs in Adelaide and let other people works there a r s e s off. We often ask ourselves why is the NHRA so sucessfull? i can tell you why because most (not all) give them the respect they deserve, yes they have had there fair share of unrest amongst the racers but they damn well get together and resolve issues.

Dead wood is just that dead.

I could go on here for ages but i would probably cop a weeks holiday from admin because this whole deal really upsets me like you wouldn't believe.

Cheers CC

[strife]

Originally Posted by Melz

From my perspective... (and i must stress MY PERSPECTIVE) to answer your questions

A) haven't been involved with them, but have been approached by a representative from DRIVA looking for my opinion on the current state of the sport. But From the information i've gotten they aren't supporting the people who support them.

B) I believe as a forum we should be supporting ANDRA if anything, which is a governing body for MOST of Australia. After all it is the Australian Ford Forums, not the Victorian Ford Forums. If we show bias to one state's organisation, it simply isn't fair.

C) I believe there would only be a very select couple or few that would actually go to their fundraising events from this forum....


But I only have limited knowledge of what they are about and would be interested to hear from other forum members' experiences with this organisation.

way off base

Driva are an ANDRA affiliate club

www.driva.com.au

[Melz]

Originally Posted by strife

way off base

Driva are an ANDRA affiliate club

www.driva.com.au

Excuse me 'way off base'????? I simply stated that we should support the NATIONAL BODY, not just the state affiliated club.....

[strife]

what is andra doing to get victoria a drag racing facility

you should support them all

[SpoolMan]

DRiVA are welcome to post info and updates on drag racing and events they would like supported, from what i have seen they don't give much of a update on how there quest is going for a drag track in Victoria.

[strife]

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

DRiVA are welcome to post info and updates on drag racing and events they would like supported, from what i have seen they don't give much of a update on how there quest is going for a drag track in Victoria.

True

and neither does ANDRA

The biggest event on the calender has just completed and the last ANDRA update about it was the 9 May....

[Work Horse]

I would give my left nad to see the national dragracing back in Victoria.

It's unimaginable that this, the biggest sporting state, does not have a new govenment backed strip, regular ANDRA events, and the Nationals.

The market is there, the spectator base, sponsors keen to be involved and racers ready and waiting.

We seem mired in history and politics, unable to move forward.

I have high hopes for DRiVA, and would support anyone trying to get a new Victorian strip on the go.

Hopefully before I get to old to press the n2o button.

[rodderz]

Originally Posted by Work Horse

I would give my left nad to see the national dragracing back in Victoria.

It's unimaginable that this, the biggest sporting state, does not have a new govenment backed strip, regular ANDRA events, and the Nationals.

The market is there, the spectator base, sponsors keen to be involved and racers ready and waiting.

We seem mired in history and politics, unable to move forward.

I have high hopes for DRiVA, and would support anyone trying to get a new Victorian strip on the go.

Hopefully before I get to old to press the n2o button.

It's frustrating isnt it mate, all your points are dead on too!

[SilverMustang]

I think you only have to look at the driva web site and see how often its updated to see how commited they are.

If an organisation or individual is really commited to drag racing in victoria then many more people would know about the plight of drag racing in victoria. The sad fact is that not many people know whats going on with Victoria drag racing.

Maybe some demos or displays at varous places such as shopping centres or Southbank or the city square would help.....

I agree a national body like ANDRA should be taking this issue to the streets....I think the problem is that these guys leave their balls at the race track

[BJ]

Hear we go a gain. First it was Adrenalin now it DRIVA both are toothless tigers. I was involved with the Nostalgia racer from the very start of all of this, i have been to some of the later fund raisers with DRIVA and all they have done is talk about it and not done very much at all. I have been a big supporter of there efforts over the last five or six years but i will tell you now, with the current state Government we will never see a new facility in the state of Victoria. I would like tho see Helen and Peter do it for all of us but?? And as for Andra i use to be an official for them at Calder park and they could stick a ####edited#### with out help. But this is just my perspective. Bj

[blownvn]

Originally Posted by Craig@ACE

Unfortunately ANDRA is a spineless orginisation that does not have a vision or a business plan that goes beyond tomorrow.

So true.

I just spent a week up at QLD for the Winternationals and I can tell you the ANDRA has absolutely no support at all from the racers. they have plenty of good people working for them but no leadership worth a damn.

ANDRA should function like the NHRA where the NHRA makes all the decisions but instead ANDRA gets led around by the nose by the NCC which is prodominantly made up of the various dragstrip promoters.

[302donk]

[QUOTE=blownvn]So true.

I just spent a week up at QLD for the Winternationals and I can tell you the ANDRA has absolutely no support at all from the racers. they have plenty of good people working for them but no leadership worth a damn.
QUOTE]

what a load of horse , how many people here have ANDRA licences here ill tell you stuff all, how many race at championship races about 3 of us! bagging ANDRA about no support to racers how the hell would you know
#edit#

[JG3282]

Melz, DRiVA are trying to get ANDRA quarter mile drag racing back to Victoria.

Currently every other state bar South Australia (who have their own version of DRiVA) has ANDRA drag racing on a regular basis.

I hold an ANDRA licence and have competed at ANDRA events since 1999 and my father did so since the very beginning of ANDRA until the mid 80's when he became an official at Hidden Valley Raceway.

However, to be perfectly honest I agree with Craig about ANDRA, because, like Craig I have spent every day of my life involved in drag racing in one way or another and have seen racers and fans treated like crap.

- Who took it upon their wisdom to cancel Nitro Funny Cars (clearly the most popular category in this country) from the championship schedule when there were easily 8-10 cars in action around Australia?

- Who sat back in 1988, 1998 and 2001 while Bob Jane bullied them and brought Victorian and South Australian championship drag racing to its knees?

- Who procrastinated about bringing late model vehicles and the four/six/rotary brigade into the ANDRA roster for so long that when they did most competitors did not the money or sponsorship to compete anymore?

- Who continues to be ignorant of modern technology and it's potential for creating a more cost-effective and consistent showcase in ANDRA group 1 & 2 categories? Seriously how many carburetted V8's have been manufactured in Australia in the last 20 years?

It certainly hasn't been DRiVA has it!?!?

[JG3282]

Unfortunately Victoria has a Government that makes more revenue from slowing cars down and throughout Australia sponsorship dollars go to football teams and V8 Supercars because they are on TV all the time... Drag Racing gets 1/2 hour occasionally on SBS if it lucky!

[blownvn]

[QUOTE=302donk]

Originally Posted by blownvn

So true.

I just spent a week up at QLD for the Winternationals and I can tell you the ANDRA has absolutely no support at all from the racers. they have plenty of good people working for them but no leadership worth a damn.
QUOTE]

what a load of horse , how many people here have ANDRA licences here ill tell you stuff all, how many race at championship races about 3 of us! bagging ANDRA about no support to racers how the hell would you know
#edit#

Mate, don't judge me without knowing me, I've been racing since 92/93. I've held ANDRA licenses on and off for years, I've been involved in ANDRA as a NSW Divisional Council representative for my club back when clubs actually meant something to ANDRA.
I'm also a motoring journalist which means I get to see and hear alot about things that most people don't.
So I'm telling you (as opposed to passing on an opinion) that ANDRA, and in particular those at the top levels, do not have the respect of the racers.
On Saturday night at the track during the Winternats I walked around and talked to quite a few teams, from all levels of the sports, and I can tell you NO-ONE had a good word to say about ANDRA.

If ANDRA was serious about Drag Racing in Australia they would:
1) Get ANDRA controlled dragstrips happening in VIC and SA
2) Negotiate National sponsors for National Championship and the Sport Compact Championship, and form a Pro Street Championship
3) Have a permanently employed team of track prep and safety guys to travel to each track like the NHRA do.
4) They would tell the tracks how the sport would be run instead of the other way around

[BJ]

Originally Posted by blownvn

Mate, don't judge me without knowing me, I've been racing since 92/93. I've held ANDRA licenses on and off for years, I've been involved in ANDRA as a NSW Divisional Council representative for my club back when clubs actually meant something to ANDRA.
I'm also a motoring journalist which means I get to see and hear a lot about things that most people don't.
So I'm telling you (as opposed to passing on an opinion) that ANDRA, and in particular those at the top levels, do not have the respect of the racers.
On Saturday night at the track during the Winternats I walked around and talked to quite a few teams, from all levels of the sports, and I can tell you NO-ONE had a good word to say about ANDRA.

If ANDRA was serious about Drag Racing in Australia they would:
1) Get ANDRA controlled dragstrips happening in VIC and SA
2) Negotiate National sponsors for National Championship and the Sport Compact Championship, and form a Pro Street Championship
3) Have a permanently employed team of track prep and safety guys to travel to each track like the NHRA do.
4) They would tell the tracks how the sport would be run instead of the other way around

I'm also a motoring journalist and i could not have said it better myself, it is a shame that there are some on here that jump to conclusions and there for think none of us have the first idea about the sport or the organising body's. I like you have done the hard yard's at both club and state level and can not see it getting any better in the short term with ANDRA. Bj

[Bandit702]

DRiVA are not accepting memberships as they dont feel the need to report their progress to the public. What is the reason?

BECAUSE THEY HAVENT DONE ANYTHING.

I have had many disputes with Helen Russo and the DRiVA commitee about their apparant lack of progress, and have volunteered my time, along with 4-5 collegues of mine, to operate in a working party to try sort through the groundwork. But it all seems to lead no-where.

[UNRULY]

I reckon the board of ANDRA need an overhaul with people with experience, racers, and marketing gurus. They should all take a trip over to America and sit down with the NHRA management and see how they do it.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by UNRULY

I reckon the board of ANDRA need an overhaul with people with experience, racers, and marketing gurus. They should all take a trip over to America and sit down with the NHRA management and see how they do it.

No need to waste money going to America to see how it works. The NHRA control the sport not the racetrack owners or promoters it's the NHRA in charge. If you don't play by the NHRA rules then your out. :jab: :jab:

[GRNKPR]

you cant polish a turd so the whole lot needs a re vamp .Maybe journo s and mags can get together and put some sort of inferstructure and how to do so from a punters point of view ............ANYONE FOR A POLE?????????????????????????????????

[jd dad]

Only know what I have read and heard but I wouldnt go to hard at DRIVA without all the facts. Lets face it there would be very few who have spent as much time and money in Drag Racing as the Russos. They must love the sport and obviously are not fools so how about take them at their word that things are progressing even if its not obvious untill the truth becomes otherwise.

[BJ]

Originally Posted by Bandit702

DRiVA are not accepting memberships as they dont feel the need to report their progress to the public. What is the reason?

BECAUSE THEY HAVENT DONE ANYTHING.

I have had many disputes with Helen Russo and the Drive committee about their apparent lack of progress, and have volunteered my time, along with 4-5 colleges of mine, to operate in a working party to try sort through the groundwork. But it all seems to lead no-where.

I have to agree with you on this. They have never held a public meeting of any sort at all. I guess they think they are the only one who give a dam. Yes Peter and Helen have put a lot of time and money into the sport but and it is a big but, what are they trying to prove and to who??

[supakel351]

I think that we should all get behind what DRIVA are doing as i hav'nt been racing in vic sonce 2001? i think. you need a "championship" standard strip in australias second biggest city. i will travel 700 k's for a good weekends racing.