Driver Abilities

[Alex Lindsay]

Hi Guys and Gals

Driver abilities are causing a bit of concern because of those drivers who only race one formula either wood or carpet!

At the end of TQ in each meeting there is the ability to update drivers abilities. It works like this. The fastest driver on the night is awarded a 15 ability and each other driver who took part is awarded an ability based on how well they done compared to the fastest person. (by percentages of laps). You then get the option to amend the drivers who are moving up ability, down ability or all.

If someone doesn't run on the wood or carpet, then his/her ability will stay the same during the rounds in which they don't compete.

However, the committee should review each driver's ability on a regular basis (to be agreed) and then apply them to the system. This ability would only apply when racing at FRCC and a different one would apply when racing at bigger meetings. (that is the reason for Super pole during the SRCA rounds).

There is a way round it and that would be to give each driver a wood car and a carpet car with corresponding abilities for each formula. However, I think this would cause problems during booking in.

A fairer way may be to make up the heats using the "make heats by ranking" option. This looks at each driver's ranking position in each respective championship (not ability) and puts drivers into heats with similar drivers.

i.e. the first six drivers in each series would be in the top heat, the second six in the next and so on downwards. The first round of the heats could be started by random release order as opposed to 1-10 release order. This way no-one would be getting an advantage of a clear track every week.

This would also reward drivers who attended regularly and raced cleanly and may just encourage drivers to attend on a regular basis to keep their position in the series'.

Please discuss or ask any questions.

Regards

Alex

[Maxxed_Ross]

Sounds like a good idea, I'm sure it used to be run like this years back.

My only concern is how it would affect someone like me who has no choice but to miss several weeks of racing because of work? :sad:

[big si]

quick question alex


how would this effect me with having such a rough time of it in the last few weeks and having really bad results? afterall im not a bad driver but im not the best so how would the this ranking system effect me

[Alex Lindsay]

I looked at the results after the qualifying heats from Friday. In particular, I looked at Simon and Ross's cases.

When I set up the abilities and asked the PC to predict the abilities, it would have changed Simon from an 11 to a 8 (on his performance after that nights racing). For the likes of Ross who didn't race, he was not in the list of drivers so his ability would have stayed the same as at the beginning of the year. So that in itself says that if you want to keep a higher ability, then don't race!!!??? This policy would of course be totally unacceptable.

However, when I looked at the overall championship, where there is the ability to update ranking in the overall series (two separate championships) Simon was 24th overall, which would put him in heat three if eight drivers were in each heat. Ross hasn't registered a score on carpet and he would be in the bottom heat. Now this is technically correct where the drivers who have contested previous rounds will be rewarded for that and be in front of people who have not contest it at all.

But there may be safety issues with allowing Ross/Simon to run in a lower heats (not so much for Simon as he would be in a higher heat).

Normally, this is the way it would be in the real car championships, but if say Colin McRae want to do a bit of practice and he entered a championship rally, he would expect a number in the top three because of (a) his past history as a great driver and (b) if he was put way down the field, because he had not contested the championship, he would catch slower drivers and then be a safety risk.

So unfortunately/fortunately I think that the only way to do it would be for the committee to review the abilities on known driver performance and by looking at their championship positions then adjust them up or down on a regular basis.

[big si]

how about a review every 3 months at a committee meeting which saves people like myself from being penalized by a bad week or 2

or just revert to your original idea of each driver has a rating for each championship (the little extra hassle at booking in would be worth it would it not)

[madmac]

Spoke to Alex yesterday about this, You don’t want the situation of much faster drivers being in a much lower heat because of a bad weeks racing, Also you dont want novices in higher heats. My son's Ryans ability was increased by the computer and i asked to have it put back down as he was being a danger to other drivers in heat 3 a few weeks back, Prob the safest way is to manually set the abilities.
Every week is too quick as everyone can have a bad night, but I also think 3 months is too far apart. Somewhere in between, mebe after every 3 or 6 week cycle the results should be looked at by NON racing committee members (this will stop them sorting their own and rivals, abilities ) and adjusted to Grade people into the heats that reflects their driving ability.
If people don’t turn up every week I feel there ability should move down over time.
E.g. if they don’t turn up within the 3 week cycle their rating goes down by 1.
It isn’t fair to turn up every 6 weeks or so and expect to still be in the top heat, where as people who race every week get bumped down the heats when they decide to turn up to race.
Only my own thoughts, debate welcome.

Many Regards
Mark Ewing.

[big si]

so again people like me are being penalised for not racing wood

i think its unfair for my ability to be reduced just because i dont run on wood or have (like my last few weeks) had a run of bad luck and have been been partly the victim of other drivers and marshals.

[Garrypd160]

In my opinion, people should be penalised if they chose not to race on wood, or they break their car.

Breaking your car - I know a lot of it might come down to luck, but generally if you break your car every run, two weeks in a row, its down to bad preparation, and in my view, a top driver should have top car preparation. You cant expect to automatically make a higher heat based on your performances last season etc. Whats to say you get put in the higher heat, and you break your car every run again. Does that mean you should still be in the top heat, just in case you dont break it next week?

Regards people not running on wood, or not being able to make it, why should a driver who races every week be penalised, to allow someone who doesnt race every week.

[ballsie]

I can see a manual evaluation being the only real solution to this issue.

[big si]

its down to bad preparation, and in my view, a top driver should have top car preparation.



not true my car prep is top notch. the reason i have had 2 bad weeks is because of other drivers driving through me and popping off ball joints and breaking steering arms. now how can this be seen as bad car prep? this to me is a case of other drivers not following rules and bad driver etiquette

[Garrypd160]

Not picking on you specifically Simon. You have had a run of bad luck - but, you have been in the second top heat, where the driving should be fairly good and the marshalling should be pretty good too ( I should know, I marshalled you)

So in your case especially, moving you up isnt really a possibility (Others would start to moan), and although you might move down a heat at the first evaluation, you should be the best driver in that heat, and move up at the next evaluation. I was the heat below you on friday, and qualified higher than all but two of the runners in your heat. So it would suggest that the current order is not exactly correct. I know there were two other people from my heat who qualified pretty high too. If those abilities were adjusted then drivers of similar ability should be running together, and hopefully it should mean the drivers with bad etiquette/driving should be moving down the way.

[Dave]

There should be nothing that says you have to race on wood and carpet. These are seperate championships and the top person on carpet may be the bottom on wood so you cannot take the ability as joint over both championships.

I think it should go by your last weeks performance as you should be awarded for having a good week. If it is left to the computer to do then there is no talk about being baised to other drivers.

[Garrypd160]

I would imagine its a fair bit quicker to let the computer do it too, especially if you keep getting the numbers that you've been having the last few weeks.

[big si]

I'm not asking to be moved up by any means if anything a drop may do me the world of good what i don't agree with is my ability being dropped due to others bad driving who in turn don't get penalized for wrecking my race and ability rating. it has been the same driver 2 weeks on the trot who has put me out of the race due to them not following the rules! but they don't get penalized for this but the total opposite they would have there ability level put up.

there are many things that need to be addressed at the club mainly to do with driving standards and marshaling standards to avoid people being pushed further down driver rankings

[Garrypd160]

For club racing, I'm not sure how you stop that Simon. The same person hit me in the final, knocking my speedo out of my receiver and ending my race. And I was given a warning over the microphone for it. I was on the outside at a turn and he rolled into me, and that was my fault :roll:

But unless you have a designated referee or the race director watches every race and makes the decisions (and everyone agrees with them hahahaha) then theres not a lot you can do about it. I wasn't particularly impressed on friday. I think the driver made a genuine mistake, trying to squeeze through and losing it, but the call was wrong when I was given the warning. Not much I can do about it though, and hopefull next week, it will go my way instead.

[big si]

we can live and hope eh :lol:

[John Lindsay]

Random Heat assortment?

Think it may be a good idea, as it will give the younger guys in the club a chance to race against the more experienced drivers and improve their driving, and also give the more experienced racers in the club a chance to work on their ability to drive in traffic, works both ways.



John

[big si]

mmmm sounds like a fun idea
it would be nice to see this tried out

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[John Lindsay]

We could try it if you like, perhaps call a drivers briefing before the start of next weeks racing, and see what everyone thinks, take a vote since not all members have access to the forum.



John

[madmac]

Sorry John, not sure if you kidding or not, but if you fancy going in the same heat as Ryan and Sam your quite welcome to, Me i have just bought a new car and i dont want to be wrecking it anytime soon.
I'm by no means the greatest driver in the world and i prob cause my fair share of crashes. but to be lapping the same car every two laps by a wee boy who by all accounts is trying his hardest to just maintain a straight line and is using every line except the one you think he might be on is just asking for a disaster.
The other more serious point is we have a lot of younger racers, its ok to have them marshalling the next ability level above them where they dont have to move quite so fast, but to expect them to jump out in front of a mix of really fast and slow cars to marshall the crashed slower ones is asking for trouble and really should be a non starter.
I watched Ryan in Heat 3 the other week and i did think of taking him off to be fair on the other drivers, i could hardly watch as the next fast car came up behind him not knowing which way he was going to go next....... and he's my son.
I then asked John Alan to lower him and Sam back to ability one for the sake of my sanity and everyone elses cars!!
We had 53 racing last week, as i said before 'dont mess with a winning format'

Cya all on Friday:smile:

Regards

Mark Ewing

[Maxxed_Ross]

Regards people not running on wood, or not being able to make it, why should a driver who races every week be penalised, to allow someone who doesnt race every week.

Yeah I can see your point... but for someone like me I have no option and I'm not very keen on having to go in the bottom heat every time I return back from offshore :-x

It happened that last time I raced on wood (because my ability was hell of a low as I didn't race much last season) and I spent all my race trying to go around people and avoid being taken out - which I eventually was. That's not very fair on either me or the other drivers in the race IMO.

[Malcolm Williams]

Sorry John, not sure if you kidding or not, but if you fancy going in the same heat as Ryan and Sam your quite welcome to, Me i have just bought a new car and i dont want to be wrecking it anytime soon.
I'm by no means the greatest driver in the world and i prob cause my fair share of crashes. but to be lapping the same car every two laps by a wee boy who by all accounts is trying his hardest to just maintain a straight line and is using every line except the one you think he might be on is just asking for a disaster.
The other more serious point is we have a lot of younger racers, its ok to have them marshalling the next ability level above them where they dont have to move quite so fast, but to expect them to jump out in front of a mix of really fast and slow cars to marshall the crashed slower ones is asking for trouble and really should be a non starter.
I watched Ryan in Heat 3 the other week and i did think of taking him off to be fair on the other drivers, i could hardly watch as the next fast car came up behind him not knowing which way he was going to go next....... and he's my son.
I then asked John Alan to lower him and Sam back to ability one for the sake of my sanity and everyone elses cars!!
We had 53 racing last week, as i said before 'dont mess with a winning format'

Cya all on Friday:smile:

Regards

Mark Ewing

Tend to agree with you Mark, I was hit up the back twice by lower graded drivers whilst trying to get out of the way of a faster car and ended up in the main straight pointing the wrong way adn getting a head on crash with another car.
The only place I see it being interesting and fairish is say A,B and possibly C heats and finals IMHO;) :-P

[Alex Lindsay]

I think that FRCC is not ready for randomly sorted heats - it is already a hostile environment without causing any more problems for ourselves. We should all be trying to maintain our calm and getting rid of this problem.

I have spent most of the afternoon updating and trying to sort out FRCC's BBK and the problem over abilities. Everyone now has two cars: a wood one and yes you've guessed, a carpet one.

Each car now has the drivers' respective ability and ranking in each championship. So now when competitors are entered into the race, the person on Race Control must select which car to use depending on the format being run that night. This will keep the championship separate and the ranking will be sorted automatically depending on your overall position in the championship.

In the event of two drivers having the same ability, the program looks to the ranking position in the championship (after ability) to decide who gets the higher place in each heat.

I have attached the current ability/ranking list per car for all to see. These abilities will be updated manually at an agreed frequency (I suggest after every group of three races) by looking at your championship position and perceived performance by the committee.

Of course that will not be final and drivers will be able to discuss their own ability after it has been amended. Remember that abilities may go down as well as up.

Alex

[big si]

very impressive alex great job

[madmac]

Well done Alex, you have put a lot of time and effort into sorting that.

manually sorting it seems to be the fairest way and as you say updating it every 3 or 6 weeks is the best way to keep it as up to date as possible.

best regards

Mark Ewing

[ballsie]

Impressive stuff Alex - good on ya :)

[Malcolm Williams]

Excellent Alex, as always M8
Malky

[Alex Lindsay]

Hi folks

See attached screen print of predicted abilities from the computer, and my note at the foot. Please note that this is for Carpet only.

Regards

Alex

[big si]

wheres the attachment?

[Alex Lindsay]

Sorry folks, Broadbank won't let me upload the file. I will try to upload it later.

[ballsie]

Alex - you can e-mail me and I'll upload if that helps?

[Alex Lindsay]

Sorry folks.

Don't know what happened. I couldn't send e-mail or post on the forums.

Anyway here is the file of what the PC predicts the abilities to be at the end of the last round of carpet. This does not look at the previous two rounds. When i do it manually, I will look at the abilities over the three week period to decide the changes. I would suggest that no-one should go down anymore than 1 point in any three week period to account for bad/off nights.

I think the computer has made a good stab at the abilities with some obvious clangers (but it is looking at driver ability on a percentage of laps compared to the fastest person on the night) it doesn't actually know that some of you are crap......lol

When I get time, before Friday, I will post abilities fro wood and carpet for all to see.

Regards

[IAN R HUNTER]

As a driver with limited ability having started only last year and missed several nights due to other commitments I see drivers come in who for what ever reason turn up and are put in the top heats due to their ability ratings having not being changed for sometime. I think that heats should be as per points scored, afterall it's points that settle the championship and you should strive to climb up the points table by driving, not because you once held a high rating. ever heard of skillfade it happens to the best .

[Dave]

If you look at it this way:

Say Driver A has a bad week then if you don't lower his ability he will stay at the same.

If Driver B has an excellent week and his ability goes up then because nobody's ability is going down because of their current ability everyone will then go up and up and everyone will be on a high ability.

If the championship leader gets a new car and he just cant get the setup will you lower his ability as it should be or because he is the reigning champion you will just leave it as be?

I think the computer should be left to do it as it is unbiased unless like madmac says a competitor would like to be in a lower heat for safety of other drivers.

[big si]

all fine and well dave but (sorry to go back to the same old thing) looking at the computers predictions i would have the ability of 3.

3 for god sakes im sorry but i have spent far too much money to put my car in a heat against all the other drivers with that ability level my car would be SCRAP in no time!!!(no offence to drivers of this ability)

im all for ability levels changing from week to week but not to that extent.
i have an ability to drive my car quick but the problrm i have had for the last 3 weeks does not reflect driver ability levels its a mechanical problem but the computer cant see this hence the reason it should be done manualy.

the perfect example dave is the second week on carpet in round 3 i was on for possition A4 until yet again mid corner without hitting anything the top tunbuckle came off now this is not something someone with ability 3 could do im sorry i know its harsh but its true!!!

[Dave]

Maybe it should be capped then?

You are only allowed to move 2 ability points up or down?

Alex can get what the computer thinks the abilities should be and if it is 3 or more it is capped to 2 up or down.

That would be fairer

[Dave]

If it was capped at what I said above it would look something like the attachment

[big si]

capped where though dave??

weekly every 3 weeks ?

if its weekly it would be more damaging to people than every 3 weeks.
where do you draw the line on this one?

i say leave it up to the committee as they are the only ones who should be doing this stuff!

[Dave]

But we need to have it regularly and then you would need to see what the computer says for the 3 weeks and then average the gain in points or loss in points and do it that way.

If someone is doing good one week I would like to see them move up and race better drivers instead of having to wait 3 weeks to do it.

[big si]

If someone is doing good one week I would like to see them move up and race better drivers instead of having to wait 3 weeks to do it.

but what if there ability is say a 4 for most of the season and all of a sudden the make pole in the B there ability would jump from a 4 to 11 say all because they had a good week. but then the next week they are back to normal form but are put in a higher heat say heat 5. they would cause carnage because they aren't able to compete at that level week after week and don't have the control of the car that is required at that level.

you cant throw people in at the deep end week to week because the standard of racing would suffer badly from it i for one would not like to see Scott meichan or john Lindsay put in heat 1 or 2 because there final position would suffer due to them having to carve your way around cars a hell of allot slower than theres and drivers allot less able to move out of there way

updating ability's every 3 weeks is suffice and would mean less work for whoever would be doing it! i would be penalized under this system due to my bad performance which i would expect. however as i am a competent driver i would also expect to have my skill and knowledge from years of racing added to the decision before my ability is altered as should everyone Else's

when i started back racing my ability was very low and i have worked long and hard to improve it! i therefor wouldn't like to see it taken away from me in the space of 2 or 3 weeks thats just unfair.

the only way to have a fair heat system is super pole! a 3 minute qualifying session to make up the heats end off that way there are no arguments at all.

[Big Gordy]

Oooooooooooh superpole8) I like the sound of that:mrgreen: Super sticky tyres, lighter battery pack, special qualifying motor......could be interesting:roll:

[big si]

not quite that far gordy :lol:

i think this would be a great idea at frcc as if someone is having an off week it is noted and they are placed accordingly and would also save any problems with visiting drivers being placed too low in the heats

[madmac]

Hmmm 53 drivers ....3 minutes each equals 2 hrs 39 mins to run superpole and thats without changing over between drivers, you might get the abilities sorted but you certainly wont get any racing done. Oh and what if you have a bad night at superpole, what you gonna do then.

No i think looking at it after every three week cycle is the way forward, Its very unlucky to have 3 bad weeks in a row (not impossible, as Si will comfirm).

The computer might be clever but it only follows a set program and doesnt factor in having a bad few weeks racing, thats where Alex looking at it and sorting it manually will be a fairer system for all.

P.S Si.......Ryan and Sam were really looking forward to 'locking horns' with you since they thought they had been moved to ability level 3 !! they were most upset when i told them they were still at level 1 :twisted:

Many Regards

Mark Ewing

[big si]

thats not how superpole is run mark

its a heat with say 8 drivers that runs for 3 minutes and your best 3/5 whatever many consecutive laps count for your heats placing

so thats 6 heats say 3 minutes each = 18 minutes of running with lets say 2 mins between heats = 10 minutes

total = 28 minutes

all this means is we need to start at 7.30 or 7.00 on the dot

ps tell sam and ryan i look forward to the day i can run against them :lol:
the way they are going it wont take them long to be in the A and kicking your ass mark :lol:

[Dave]

but what if there ability is say a 4 for most of the season and all of a sudden the make pole in the B there ability would jump from a 4 to 11 say all because they had a good week. but then the next week they are back to normal form but are put in a higher heat say heat 5. they would cause carnage because they aren't able to compete at that level week after week and don't have the control of the car that is required at that level.

you cant throw people in at the deep end week to week because the standard of racing would suffer badly from it i for one would not like to see Scott meichan or john Lindsay put in heat 1 or 2 because there final position would suffer due to them having to carve your way around cars a hell of allot slower than theres and drivers allot less able to move out of there way

updating ability's every 3 weeks is suffice and would mean less work for whoever would be doing it! i would be penalized under this system due to my bad performance which i would expect. however as i am a competent driver i would also expect to have my skill and knowledge from years of racing added to the decision before my ability is altered as should everyone Else's

when i started back racing my ability was very low and i have worked long and hard to improve it! i therefor wouldn't like to see it taken away from me in the space of 2 or 3 weeks thats just unfair.

the only way to have a fair heat system is super pole! a 3 minute qualifying session to make up the heats end off that way there are no arguments at all.


If someone makes a good run and takes the Win the B final this means that they are doing good but remember its not just if they are good in their final it is about their lap time compared to the FTQ person so if they were pole in the B they deserve an increase in ability and an increase by 2 is not going to make them go from heat 1 to 5 in a week!

Scott Meichan or John Lindsay would never be in Heat 1 or 2 with what I am proposing because they could only drop their ability by 2 points each week and if prolonged period of bad driving means they are going lower then they deserve to be in a lower heat

But if your skill and knowledge is not being delivered on the track then that is what matters and we are not going to praise a skillful and knowledgeable driver over one who is working their way up through the pack because then that is hindering the younger and less skillful drivers.

Superpole is not the way to go because the racing is too complicated just now for new and younger drivers but also it would cause carnage.

[big si]

who is working their way up through the pack because then that is hindering the younger and less skillful drivers.

Super pole is not the way to go because the racing is too complicated just now for new and younger drivers but also it would cause carnage.



and i haven't worked my way up through the rankings????

super pole is not complicated at all and would not cause carnage if policed properly we are here to support scottish rc and scottish rc run superpole with no problems. what im getting at here is are you going to tell the younger drivers oh you cant race at our srca round because the race format is too complicated for you we need to educate them




Scott Meichan or John Lindsay would never be in Heat 1 or 2 .

if its possible for me to drop so low then how is this not possible???


if prolonged period of bad driving means they are going lower then they deserve to be in a lower heat.

so my problems are to do with bad driving now are they?? not a problem with the car?

[Dave]

who is working their way up through the pack because then that is hindering the younger and less skillful drivers.

Super pole is not the way to go because the racing is too complicated just now for new and younger drivers but also it would cause carnage.


and i haven't worked my way up through the rankings????

super pole is not complicated at all and would not cause carnage if policed properly we are here to support scottish rc and scottish rc run superpole with no problems. what im getting at here is are you going to tell the younger drivers oh you cant race at our srca round because the race format is too complicated for you we need to educate them


But why should you stay at your ability just because u have worked ur way up to it. If that was the case I could win the A Final once and get an ability 15 and I would be running in the Top heat every week but only qualifying in the C? I am not saying it doesn't work in Scottish Rounds but their rounds are not as busy as a friday night and their tracks can probably overtake at any point.

If we did this we would really need a Race Director for every race so someone would need to step in when Andy is Racing and Marshalling as he cannot be two places at once


Scott Meichan or John Lindsay would never be in Heat 1 or 2 .


if its possible for me to drop so low then how is this not possible???


Because instead of dramatic drops what I am saying is cap it to 2 ability places. So you were meant to go from 8 to 3 but with capped policy you would only be dropped to 6.


if prolonged period of bad driving means they are going lower then they deserve to be in a lower heat.


so my problems are to do with bad driving now are they?? not a problem with the car?

It could be a number of factors why ur ability could drop, luck, bad driving, others bad driving or bad preparation.

[John Lindsay]

Si, I think you're taking it too personally bud, I don't think Smally is directing everything he says towards or about you. More of a generalisation.

Superpole, in my opinion is not the answer at FRCC. The abilities being sorted every 3 weeks seems like a fair decision.

At the end of the day also, cars don't just fall to bits, if someone is having repeated problems, it must be happening for a reason, whether they've bumped something and moved something slightly on the car (i.e. motor for example) Car preparation is usually a major factor in how well ones nights racing goes, however, no amount of preparation can account for general accidents, which DO happen, again, not aimed at anyone in particular, I know for a fact that I don't spend enough time on my car nowadays, everything used to be Tip Top, but I'm slowly getting short of time, and the work you see me do to the car on a race night, is pretty much all the preparation the car gets between meetings. However, It's not a contest of who spends most time on their cars, or who knows most. It's about who's thumbs are best connected to their brain, thats what affects ability.


John

[big si]

granted john im getting frustrated with dave because he isnt listening to what in saying i have posted the same things 4 or 5 times now i had a duff hub in the car which i never saw not the kind of thing you take off every week and dave is basically saying my driving is the problem! that to me is personal

my driving standard has never been better but im having problems with the chassis so how can my ability drop so much? thats not exactly what i call fair

[Dave]

If you car is not going you fix it. I don't for one minute think that you should stay at the same ability if u have 3 bad runs. So if you were doing it by the committee doing it you would drop ability points anyway.

This is in no way a personal attack at u si but we have been using your situation and also Kenny's to see the downfalls of the computer doing and yes I admit that the computer is dropping you too many places but if it was capped it would be better. You have already dropped 4 places over 3 weeks so this may already be in place.

[big si]

my car is now fixxed anyway (i hope) i have replaced both from hubs both front C hubs both kingpin ball joints and replaced all ball cups on the front.

you are beginning to understand my point dave but not entirely i have already said my ability should suffer please read some of my previous posts and it already has but i am as sure as hell if it was put to a stupidly low level i would be writing a letter of complaint to the committee and would stop racing as i have said my car is worth far too much to ruin in a lower heat especially when we dont have race refferees in every heat

[big si]

can someone post the current carpet abilitys?

[Dave]

Carpet Abilites from Round 3 (http://www.falkirkrcc.co.uk/results/2007/carpet/r03/ressum.htm)

[big si]

sorry should have been more specific i meant the ones altered after the last round

[Dave]

Think Alex or Ballsie would have that info

[Alex Lindsay]

The abilities have not yet been altered after R3 Carpet on the computer, so this has not happened yet. This is for discussion. Attached are my thoughts on the new abilities. Please note, that I have not discussed these with anyone on the Committee as yet and are only draft.

At the start of the Carpet Champs Simon your ability was 12, where you should be when you are running good, with no car breakdowns. At the end of round 3, the computer wanted to put you down to ability 3 because of your performance on that night. And at the moment, due to car breakages/accidents you are 24th O/A in the championship , but I don't think that your ability should be reduced as far as 3, that would be plain silly.

We know you are a good driver and have been unfortunate is your races. But in F1 when i you don't go well, breakdown or miss a meeting, then drivers should be expecting your rating to fall also.

I don't think anyone is (or least i hope they are not) trying to get at anyone. It is a discussion site and as such, writers will need to have practical examples to follow and demonstrate their points. Smally has used driver A and B before, trying to keep names out of the forum. If everyone just keeps calm, we can surely sort the abilities amicably.

I don't know what formula could be applied to arrive at a number that everyone would agree with. Perhaps some of you boffins out there could sort it out. Please let me know what you think of my performance, good or bad.

[big si]

Alex i would agree as i have said in my posts previously i would expect my ability to drop but not to a dangerously low number i feel there should be a lockout number or something to stop people going to mega low ability's as once you get to an ability of a high level your not likely to drop far below it.

personally i know my ability should drop and i would say to about 9 after my bad 3 weeks but 10 is fine :lol: and as i have said before i have worked long and hard to get a highish ability and would not be happy to see it hit rock bottom after just 3 weeks of racing hence the reason i suggested super poll which would even things up allot.


ps great doc again alex and thanks

Si

[madmac]

Looks good Alex,
i dont think anyones rating should move more than one in either direction in any 3 week cycle.
this would stop any pogo effect of people jumping up and down the ability ratings.
Also, until we get to round 13 and we start dropping scores championship positions are not quite a true reflection of some drivers ability. so i dont think we should grade everyone on where they are in the championship alone. but use a mixture of championship standing and the previous 3 weeks results.

Many Regards

Mark Ewing