Hi Nick,

Long time lurker, first time poster.....and this is a topic I felt its worth posting about.....
Ive enjoyed watching your race videos, which is how I found this forum, and the last video you posted of that unlimited race you started from the back has compelled me to post. That was some of the scariest shit ive ever seen. The desperate moves some of those guys in the wobbler vests are the reason we have delays like we had on saturday. Trying to pass people so tight they are on the curb....wow....and then they wonder why they dont make it out the other side....

When I did my first road racing back in 1994 or '95, nearly everyone in D grade started on 125's or 250 production bikes. Very few rode 600's, and from memory, that was the biggest you could ride whilst in D grade. I rode my dirt track bike before getting a 250 proddie!
Perhaps an idea would be to return to a similar idea for those starting out or inexperienced? Nothing bigger than a 600 or similar power output bikes? (My bike is a 1000 but has similar power to a 600).
I always had thought that grading worked on the idea of your lap times being within a certain percentage (consistently) of the lap record for your bike or class. So if we say the superbike lap record is 1:30 at eastern creek, and we say you must be within 10% of that to be graded C grade, that takes us to 1:39. If we then say B grade is 8%, that gives us roughly 1:37. (This is just a quick example to make the maths easy....not a hard and fast suggestion). That way the percentage criteria could be taken across to any given category, rather than say finishing top 30% results wise....some years the depth is greater than others?

Agree with the obvious exceptions for those coming from MX, dirt track, motard, juniors etc, but simply lapping at ride days and racing are not the same.

Anyway, just a suggestion, but I like your initiative in attempting creating a better and safer system!

Cheers

Brad