F4 marches on?

AndyY · Post by **AndyY** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:54 am

It seems that F4 is possibly stealing a march on Mono at the moment - there are regular race reports on 10-tenths in the club single seater section meaning that the series is kept in the "public eye" - well, the eye of the 10-tenths reader anyway. I also see that Renault sport, having decided to ditch the F Renault Club class for pre 2000 cars has agreed to provide a prize money fund for Pre 2000 F Renaults running in F4 - there will be a stand alone class for these cars. F4 seems to have done OK on grid sizes this year, and I am not saying that Mono hasn't, but 750mc are a competitor to keep an eye on!

andrewcliffe · Post by **andrewcliffe** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:14 pm

Would it be worth, for next year, making sure a press release published following each race. More formal and briefer than the normal Startline article but can be sent to ten-tenths, crash.net and the various other motorsport news agencies that I am sure exist but can't think the names of at the moment.

broadside · Post by **broadside** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:42 pm

spbracing wrote:AndyY

Great idea and yes we could do it and it is easy. The only problem is CONTENT. We struggle now for the bits we do as no one puts pen to paper or types the keys. Just as Patrick & Tony.

Perhaps we could give someone some sort of incentive to be the 'official mono reporter' ?? dont know how - maybe a cr&p idea, just thinking aloud......

phuston · Post by **phuston** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:01 pm

Stephen is correct in that Tony & myself write the majority of race reports.

In my case I write the reports as a service to the competitors, lets face it we like to see our names in print.

However, reading race reports for a series where the club competitors are not known to one, is about as interesting as watching paint dry and I don't think that I would enjoy writing reports for another website unless these would double as programme notes (which I also write).

The Startline articles probably generate more interest. Would a link to Startline be more productive and less time consuming?

samier · Post by **samier** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:43 am

A total redesign of the official website would be a start, would help make the series appear professional. The current website looks very out of date and visitors would be put off.

Maybe use a CMS type package such as Mambo or Joomla could be used, which allows easy editing and content management.

Look at Tristans website, very professional and very well done!

tristancliffe · Post by **tristancliffe** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:25 am

But written by a retarded freak with excessively strong opinions and only about 10 views a day (most of which are friends anyway)

andrewcliffe · Post by **andrewcliffe** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:01 am

Setting up a content management system based website it quite straightforward. Joomla is quite a favourite with many people and its pretty straightward to manage.

Choosing one which has seamless integration with the forum would be ideal - some CMS's don't like some forums, wheras others is easier to get talking to each other.

AndyY · Post by **AndyY** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:06 am

samier wrote:A total redesign of the official website would be a start, would help make the series appear professional. The current website looks very out of date and visitors would be put off.

Maybe use a CMS type package such as Mambo or Joomla could be used, which allows easy editing and content management.

Look at Tristans website, very professional and very well done!

Thats all very well but i would guess that most people that look at the Mono web site or Startline On Line are already enthusiasts of Mono and know what the club and its classes are all about. The point about F4 at the moment is that they are making sure that news about it is viewed by a slightly wider motorsport audience via the means of 10-Tenths. Mono is reaching the converted, it might need to reach out a bit more, because at the moment if i was relatively new to club motor sport and I was thinking of trying single seaters I would be drawn towards a F Renault class in F4, because thats what I can find out about most easily via the popular forums. Crikey F4 is even talking about prize money for F Renaults!

samier · Post by **samier** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:19 pm

Good points Andy, 750mc and F4 really seem to be promoting their championship. I did notice a lot more features in Autosport of late.

Surely the profile of Mono can be raised too? with out increased costs of memberships?

samier · Post by **samier** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:21 pm

andrewcliffe wrote:Setting up a content management system based website it quite straightforward. Joomla is quite a favourite with many people and its pretty straightward to manage.

Choosing one which has seamless integration with the forum would be ideal - some CMS's don't like some forums, wheras others is easier to get talking to each other.

I know what you mean, Mambo and Joomla seem to be the better ones to go for, I have experience with Mambo and seems to work well.

Can we nominate you to redesign the mono home page?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:20 pm

Samier wrote "Can we nominate you to redesign the mono home page?" in reply to a thread from Andrew Cliffe.

The short answer is No.

Stephen Brooks is a Director of the Monoposto Club with one of his responsibilities being the upkeep of the web site.
Stephen earns his living in IT and is i'm sure up to date with all of the systems available. Further. The Home page is relatively new, as is the whole site, and this is a major improvement on the previous site.
It's got everything there that is required.
Entry forms as soon as they are available.
Entry Lists.
Paddock plans if supplied.
Results.
Gallery
Forum. For all manner of people to express their opinions.
Etc.

I agree that we can always improve so i'm not trying to block good ideas. But these good ideas generally mean work for someone. Are you willing to write race reports ?. Can you write an article suggesting why F4, Formula Renault or Formula 1 drivers should join us. If so I suggest you send such articles to Patrick Houston, The Mono Secretary and Startline Editor, who i'm sure will be delighted to print them.

This would be of far more use than sniping from the forum at People who do a very good job and i'm sure will be more than a little upset at your comments.

andrewcliffe · Post by **andrewcliffe** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:21 pm

Happy to help where I can, but I think Stephen already has things in hand, and has plans for the website over the winter months.

If he needs to bounce any ideas around, he's more than welcome to do so.

samier · Post by **samier** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:45 pm

My comments regards to the website were not intended cause any upset, so please dont get hyper sensitive and get upset.

I know the hard work that is done by all the members here and I am not suggesting otherwise.

I work in the IT industry as well, technology is always moving forward. The use of frames died long time ago on websites.

Using a CMS system is a fast and efficient way to update content, race reports can easily be updated with out uploading whole pages using a ftp client as in the old days.

I would be more than happy to help in the setting up of a cms system.

Dave wrote:Samier wrote "Can we nominate you to redesign the mono home page?" in reply to a thread from Andrew Cliffe.

The short answer is No.

Stephen Brooks is a Director of the Monoposto Club with one of his responsibilities being the upkeep of the web site.
Stephen earns his living in IT and is i'm sure up to date with all of the systems available. Further. The Home page is relatively new, as is the whole site, and this is a major improvement on the previous site.
It's got everything there that is required.
Entry forms as soon as they are available.
Entry Lists.
Paddock plans if supplied.
Results.
Gallery
Forum. For all manner of people to express their opinions.
Etc.

I agree that we can always improve so i'm not trying to block good ideas. But these good ideas generally mean work for someone. Are you willing to write race reports ?. Can you write an article suggesting why F4, Formula Renault or Formula 1 drivers should join us. If so I suggest you send such articles to Patrick Houston, The Mono Secretary and Startline Editor, who i'm sure will be delighted to print them.

This would be of far more use than sniping from the forum at People who do a very good job and i'm sure will be more than a little upset at your comments.

Dermot Healy · Post by **Dermot Healy** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:50 pm

Alarm bells always seem to ring loudly when i hear the following words/phrases:

"professional"
"seamless integration"
"managment system"

As for Mambo & Joomia they sound like lovely names for home built Mono cars and i look forward to seeing them on the grid.

Don't bother about the website as it is fine....just get the Joomia out there
beating the Dallaras

schomosport · Post by **schomosport** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:02 pm

F750 caters for a significantly different type of car to Mono. The (complex and detailed) regulations are readily available from their website.
Some key differentiators:
Limited engine choice - mostly 1800cc or elderly 2000cc 8 valvers
4 speeds, no LSDs
significantly different minimum weights 505-520kg for most cars, 455kg for bike engined cars

Grids mostly full of recent Van Diemens and Mygales at present if that floats your boat.

Me, I think the two series are complementary rather than rivals, depends on what you want to drive.