Race Licence "exam"

[Toast]

Good idea Frosty - key being that it would cost next to nothing to roll out and enforce.

Having workshops, etc. would be great, but what you suggest would be an awesome starting point, make people think about things a bit, and be far better than the situation as it is now!

[Skunk]

What about if the MNZ rep has no idea either?!?

OK, you get rep for that one!

[Nasty]

As opposed to what we have now?
Great idea Frosty! The current system is flawed. I would like to see a practical test included also and a parole peroid.
At the moment your 15 year old son or daughter can buy Robbie Bugdens last years bike and go out and race without any prior track experience. Luckily people aren't that dumb....

Hmmm what I was getting at is what we have now is inadequate ... what is suggested is also inadequate .. so why not put something in place that is not inadequate.

[scracha]

Stuff just the "theory" :- all the clubs have "training days"* so why not have experienced club members (with some sort of MNZ endorsement) follow new riders and perhaps coach them a little to see if they're competent (braking, turning, etc) before signing off their license? This could also be done on trackdays.

As the license application is now online then it wouldn't take much to put a theory test online. An annual refresher theory test for ALL riders wouldn't be stupid.

*and there's a practise day at quite a few events so perhaps have a couple of morning sessions for new riders to get their competency assessed.

[scott411]

[QUOTE=scracha;1129440976]
As the license application is now online then it wouldn't take much to put a theory test online. An annual refresher theory test for ALL riders wouldn't be stupid.
QUOTE]


thats is a very good idea, to fill out either online or by mail if you do it the old way,

[FROSTY:Me]

Interesting proposition ... means anyone can get a license without thinking about it or actually knowing anything ... and doesn't need to remember it at all ....

Why no time limit? I have sat a number of exams which are open book - and they have time limits ... is saying no time limit so that people have more time to find the answers that they should perhaps know as a racer?

Ya see currently ANYONE can get a race licence by joining a club and filling out the form. NO flag etc knowledge needed AT ALL -Front up with a licence and your all good to go


Im proposing that FIRST TIME licence applicants need to do a questioneer before they will be given their licence.No time limit so they can look the info up on the MNZ site or even by asking on here. The HOW they get the knowledge doesn't matter Its the fact that they will at least have SOME knowledge of the system before fronting for their first meeting.

[Shorty_925]

Stuff just the "theory" :- all the clubs have "training days"* so why not have experienced club members (with some sort of MNZ endorsement) follow new riders and perhaps coach them a little to see if they're competent (braking, turning, etc) before signing off their license? This could also be done on trackdays.

As the license application is now online then it wouldn't take much to put a theory test online. An annual refresher theory test for ALL riders wouldn't be stupid.

*and there's a practise day at quite a few events so perhaps have a couple of morning sessions for new riders to get their competency assessed.

Making it any harder would turn more newbies off racing. Plenty of people turn up to non MNZ trackdays and off road trail rides which speaks volumes for what people want/want to do.

Look at the amount of non MNZ off road endurance events turning up out there. The 4-hour off road race in Taupo had 200+ riders in it, yes Im sure some would be MNZ members as well.

Im all for the training from some more experienced riders, but that would be either a two day event or a stand alone training day, which is more expense for the club and rider. I know some off-road clubs around where I am they used to get the faster guys within the club to do training days.

[Billy]

Throwing an idea out there to see what you folks think.
I'm proposing that all riders wishing to obtain a race licence for the first time be required to sit an OPEN BOOK exam before being given their licences. Baqsicly when the licence is sent in to MNZ they are required to answer a 25 question exam covering off Flags,passing,basic requirements for scruteenering etc.
BY open book It means theres no time limit and they can refer to ANY reference material they need to in order to pass.

Yip,Bloody good idea,Already suggested to 1 club they take the initiative and make it part of their entry form and also mentioned it too Jim Tuckerman about the same time (approx 3 months ago).Havent seen any action from MNZ at this stage,But who knows???

[FROSTY:Me]

Nasty--From memory you are involved with vic club so you get where I'm coming from here.
Heres the thing as someone's pointed out.Make it too tough and it could really easilly have the effect of putting people off joining up and giving racing a go.
So a test requiring a 100% correct answer rate to pass will mean they come armed with the basic knowledge needed.
I actually propsed to Paul Pav a year or so ago that to get a ROAD/sealed track race licence that you should attend at least one track day --the likes of MotoTT BEFORE being allowed to race.
Trouble is there seems to be a heck of a lot less of that sort of thing in the mainland which would be unfair.

[racerhead]

Heres the way it works in the UK

This was brought in a couple of years back and seems to work ok

"

ACU Training Course for Road Race Licence Applicants
As part of the ACU’s ongoing policy of rider development and education, all first-time applicants for Novice and Intermediate Novice Road Race licences, and riders who wish to renew a lapsed licence, must undergo a training course.
The ACU training course is classroom-based and designed specifically for you. The purpose of the course is to ensure that you understand the basic safety and organisational requirements to participate in Road Racing. Before any new licence can be issued you must satisfactorily attend the course and pass the multiple-choice test. If you have any worries that you may find the end-of-course test difficult to complete, please call the ACU on the above number.
The course is held every Monday at ACU House, Rugby (except on Bank Holidays), starting at 11.00am and finishing at approximately 3.00pm. To book your place on the course please complete the attached form. The fee for the course includes the course notes and the test itself. If you are the parent of a youth rider you must attend the course with them.
Please note: you will have one year, from the date you attend the training course, to apply for your ACU Competition Licence.
To obtain your Competition Licence you must also prove your competence to ride a motorcycle. You can do this in one of the following ways:-
• Obtain a certificate of competence from an ACU recognised track-based training school and attach this to your licence application form.
• If you hold a valid DVLA Class A driving licence or valid CBT Certificate attach a photocopy of this to your licence application form.
• If you have held an ACU Competition Licence for a minimum of one year for any off-road discipline attach a photocopy of this, along with a result sheet from a race, to your licence application form.
During January - March the training course may occasionally be available at alternative venues. Details will be published on the ACU website.
Please complete the Booking Form overleaf and return it, together with the booking fee of £50.00 per person, to the ACU at the above address. Please do not apply for your licence until you have successfully completed the training course."

[Shorty_925]

And what about day licences...? How would you still keep them?

[FROSTY:Me]

And what about day licences...? How would you still keep them?

Good point ol son
Maybee day licences only issued to people with expired race licences?

[Henk]

Just to be a difficult bugger
I race buckets with the ocassional Enduro, MX, Cross country and Trial thrown in for good measure. Do I need to sit 4 tests? and does the fact that I've filled a couple of log books off road change anything when I rock up for my first road race?
On another note. One of my old log books has a "Has completed the requisite 6 meetings" stamp in it, all off road, but would that let me as a suicidal idiot buy the aforementioned Buggden bike and rock up to the boxing day races?

At the buckets and pretty much all off road races I have taken part in, at breifing somebody usualy says something along the lines of "Anyone here never done this before?" followed by a crash course in how things work for newbies, this seems to work and is probably as useful as filling out an open book no time limit test sometime in the preceeding 6 months to my mind.

[roadracingoldfart]

What about if the MNZ rep has no idea either?!?

Ohhhh you are soooo on the dot with that call . Too many made up regs quoted by idiots that bluff thier way to authority.

OK, you get rep for that one!

I hope you meant good rep , not red.



.

[roadracingoldfart]

Good point ol son
Maybee day licences only issued to people with expired race licences?

Day licences have been an issue for many yrs Frosty , as you know.
Your idea has merit and i would put my hand up to get a plan like this going in my area.
In 1982 when i started i had to do all the grade races first and then go onto a Formula class.

They were like a nursery class as Clubmans should be now.