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Just got an email to take the Mazdaspeed Motorsports asking about which forms of racing I participate in etc. Did anyone else get it? I found it strange how it kept asking me about NASA events and if there were any in my area etc. It brings me back to the convo about the SCCA pissing off Mazda royally, I wonder if they're trying to see if they should switch to NASA for primary contingency support.
I got it also, Mazda is pissed at the SCCA this week. ;-)
The survey is really geared to road racing. That's where SCCA upset some Mazda drivers and Mazda North America Operations. They have a right to be upset since there are Mazdas racing in SCCA...... NASA is an option, and there is a Texas Region. They race more places than SCCA does.
Gotcha, so as soon as I hit the (autocross/solo2) button the survey probably just got flushed ::Rant::Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMerv
There is suppose to be a meeting this weekend between SCCA and Mazda to smooth out the ruffled feathers. I'm hoping SCCA will get their act together and treat all the manufacturers fairly in the future. If a big dog like Mazda did pull their support of SCCA, it would first impact the club racers and then (maybe) eventually impact the SOLO program. Overall, not a good thing for SCCA.
Update!
http://scca.org/newsarticle.aspx?hub=6&news=3242Quote:
Dear SCCA Members:
In the last several weeks, there has been considerable public discussion regarding the relationship between SCCA and Mazda. Recently, management and leadership from both organizations met face-to-face, and while we are not going to re-hash everything that has happened over the last 12 months, we are confident in stating that both SCCA and Mazda have similar goals and are moving forward together in a positive manner.
Specifically, we have discussed and reached an understanding regarding car classification, the Court of Appeals processes, the role of manufacturers within SCCA racing and comments made publicly and privately by members of both organizations.
Following our face-to-face meetings, we are confident that both SCCA and Mazda are on a positive path heading into the future. There have been things that both organizations have done to upset the other in the past, but we believe that we are all stronger, and smarter, moving forward.
It is important to note that the discussions and activities over the last several months have given us great feedback on how to better serve and communicate with not just Mazda, but all of our partners. Motorsports would be nothing without competition, and while some programs are designed specifically to remove the brand of vehicle, tire or other component from the equation, diverse activities demand diverse participation. That is something on which both SCCA and Mazda can certainly agree.
This is our first and, ultimately, only public statement regarding the issues of the last several months. Some will always desire greater detail, but it would not be productive for SCCA, Mazda or any of our partners to continue to focus on anything but the future and building stronger, more viable programs for the Club.
- Jim Julow, SCCA President & CEO
That tells us.......................NOTHING!
It says Mazda is staying with the SCCA...............for now. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMerv
Rcvd this email from MS -
To: MAZDASPEED Team Members
From: Robert Davis
Re: Survey Results & SCCA Update
Thank you for the strong response to our survey. Over 1,500 MAZDASPEED team members took the time to complete the survey. The comments were fantastic. I have personally read ALL 93 pages of unfiltered comments. I have also read as many of the on-line forum discussions as I could find. Overall the discussion has been very productive. This customer feedback was a major part of our club racing discussion with the SCCA leadership when we met face-to-face in Orlando last week.
The following is a recap of the survey, our recent meetings, as well as a few thoughts about 2008 and beyond.
Survey highlights:
My team is still analyzing the data, but some key results include:
· 76% of you currently race with the SCCA. That number is projected to drop ~10% next year based upon our question of where you will race in 2008.
· Approximately half of you have raced over 14 times in the past two years. You are an active group.
· The majority of our SCCA members were overall satisfied or fairly satisfied with the club BUT a majority also felt that the SCCA management could do better.
· 19% of those who wish for Mazda to maintain the same level of support said that they would take a more active role within the SCCA to facilitate change. Please do so, this is YOUR club. Don't do it as a Mazda rep. Do it as a club member who wants the club to succeed and grow. We enjoy the competition with our rivals at Toyota, Nissan, Honda, GM, Ford, etc. We hope their racers will likewise step up. No one should feel like they need to stop driving to become a regional club manager, but if we all take a turn, things can and will improve.
SCCA Meeting:
On Thursday, December 6th the MAZDASPEED management team met with the SCCA leadership at the annual PRI show in Orlando, Florida. To squash one rumor I saw in several forums the meeting was NOT just about the MSR package. That was just one agenda item. Rather we covered a multitude of topics related to both club and professional racing. Topics included:
· Court of Appeals process
· Classification/rule change process
· MX-5 Cup
· SPEED World Challenge
The meeting was lengthy and productive. After two plus hours we hopefully all came away with a better sense of serving our respective (and often overlapping) customers. I will not go into too many details as the SCCA leadership will be conveying a message to all of their members. I would like to note that:
The SCCA board expressed a unanimous position that Mazda participation is critical.
We were advised that changes to the Court of Appeals process will allow all manufactures their day in court.
The SCCA is handling the board member remark internally and we are satisfied with their course of action. Again, this one comment was not the issue.
Mazda racers who wish to contact the SCCA leadership should direct all comments to [email protected]
Note: In late November we had also met with the NASA leadership and are looking forward to serving our Mazda customers who race with NASA. NASA has not positioned themselves as a replacement for the SCCA, and we know that for certain regions of the country, NASA is not an option. Our support of NASA should be viewed like our support of the NHRA, contingency support of a national organization where our customers chose to race. End of story. We will support each organization based upon objective criteria. Being better than the other guy is not the issue.
MAZDASPEED in 2008:
Our contingency programs for 2008 will continue pretty much the same as in 2007. We plan to keep our MX-5 Cup Shootout open to racers from both the SCCA & NASA.
If you heard the news from Orlando you'll know that we had several announcements of our own, along with some from our partners:
· The 2008 MX-5 Cup will be sponsored by Playboy
· The 2008 Playboy MX-5 Cup schedule was announced (7 confirmed with one more to be announced)
· The 12-race 2008 Star Mazda schedule was announced
· Skip Barber announced a new MX-5 Cup regional series managed by their school.
· Skip Barber announced the "Elite 12" for the Skip Barber Mazda karting shootout in January.
Final thoughts:
Our success is collective. The MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development department exists to support you the Mazda racers. Feedback is always desired. When we do something wrong. Tell us. When we do something right. Tell us that as well.
Likewise I encourage you to work towards the betterment of any organization with which you race. Regardless of whether you prefer the SCCA, NASA, NHRA, GrandAm, IMSA, etc., all racing organizations need the active involvement of the racer to succeed and grow.
Thank you again for your collective support in 2007. We wish everyone a happy holiday season and hope to see you at the race track again in 2008.
Thanks for racing a Mazda!
Sincerely,
Robert T. Davis
Senior Vice President, Research, Development & Quality
Mazda North American Operations
Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development
I got the survey and the Davis letter too
I don't know what the big "issue" it refers to might be specifically, but obviously Mazda is not happy with SCCA. I hope they work it out in a mutually respectful way
It is sad to note that in 1993-1995 I got to know a number of the local SCCA corner workers, who are the heart and soul of club racing, and that now none of them are even SCCA members. They have gone to CVAR or NASA or somewhere else to use their talents. When asked why, the answer is they were tired of being dumped on.
And I was talking to a many year national level racer a few weeks ago, and he was venting over stuff that happened at Topeka, and in my presence he called Shannon at NASA and asked about 2008 schedule and stated he would never run SCCA again.
You can't please everyone all the time, but from this small sample, SCCA is in trouble