How an organisation responds to criticism is always a true test of its leadership. And Motorsport UK has passed that assessment in recent days, following the uproar sparked by its consultation into plans to overhaul series regulations and place severe restrictions on their calendars and names.
Yes, the furore was completely unnecessary and avoidable, but the governing body equally deserves credit for the way it has reacted. Aware that the proposals had generated a wave of fury, a meeting of the race committee was scheduled for as soon as the consultation concluded to immediately review the plans. Inevitably, the suggested changes were scrapped and this was quickly communicated to the club racing world, so everyone knew where they stood.
“We’ve got to praise Motorsport UK for that because it could have been another three or four weeks of uncertainty, but they called a meeting straight after the consultation deadline and, within 24-48 hours, published that response,” says Luke Souch, sporting manager of the British Racing & Sports Car Club, which wrote an extensive open letter to Motorsport UK highlighting the many flaws in the proposals.
“It’s demonstrated that the consultation process does work and they’ve reacted very quickly. There were obviously lots of responses, including from us and other clubs and individuals. There was quite a bit of concern but there’s now quite a bit of comfort in knowing those concerns have been listened to.”
For Souch and the BRSCC, chief among those concerns was the proposed limit of six rounds for a series.
“There’s two types of competitor: you have those that want to chase a championship and another type of competitor that prefers series because it’s less serious and a bit more relaxed and gives them flexibility to bounce around categories,” he explains. “Reducing the number of races in a series to six was going to disrupt the market.”
Classic Sports Car Club director Hugo Holder sums up the general mood when he states: “It hit a nerve and a lot of people have breathed a sigh of relief it’s not going ahead.”
Yet, for all that relief, there is still concern around how this situation arose in the first place, how the proposals were ever deemed credible, and why they were felt appropriate. Several people have also described Motorsport UK’s assertion that some racers do not know the difference between a series and a championship as “insulting”.
With Motorsport UK’s quick response, there is now the chance to draw a line under the whole sorry saga. But that does not mean that it should be completely forgotten about, and it is still important that lessons are learned. Motorsport UK CEO Hugh Chambers has held his hands up to say that the organisation got it wrong and says steps will be taken to avoid something similar happening again.
"It seemed unfair that series were gradually becoming quasi-championships. So the problem I think everybody agreed on, where it then fell over was on the solution"
Hugh Chambers
“What I think we’ve learned from this exercise is we need to have a better internal mechanism and a greater sensitivity to when something is likely to be controversial, such as this,” says Chambers, who admits to having been irked by some “wild accusations” online that Motorsport UK would just railroad the proposals through.
“And I think that if it is going to be something quite seismic – and this would have been seismic, there’s no question – we should have actually communicated it in advance and given the explanation behind it.”
Fundamentally, he believes the idea stemmed from a valid problem whereby some series are unfairly circumnavigating the rules that championships must adhere to.
“The rationale behind the debate – and it was very lengthy, over 13 months of discussion at race committee – was a lot of the series are nibbling at the heels and, if not, having the lunch of the championship organisers,” says Chambers. “It seemed unfair that series were gradually becoming quasi-championships. So the problem I think everybody agreed on, where it then fell over was on the solution.
“But the problem remains and there should be clear air between a championship and a series. So I think we, Motorsport UK, should have done a much better job of explaining to the community in advance of a proposal even going out.”
Having a greater dialogue with those directly impacted by any changes can only be a good thing, and should prevent people being shocked by radical proposals. And Chambers also highlights how these series plans were generated from the race committee, which comprises a wealth of highly respected figures from UK motorsport.
In this week's Autosport magazine, we spotlight some of the good work Motorsport UK is doing to try to grow the sport via its new StreetCar Festival initiative. This is something that should be celebrated, but instead such commendable efforts are at risk of being drowned out because of other, more controversial, developments.
Ultimately, returning to the series regulations, it’s all well and good responding to such fierce criticism in an exemplary manner, but the key must now surely be to avoid such situations needlessly arising in the first place.
