here's my two bobs worth.
I thought the pre-stage arrangement was pretty good. That is because I'm a half owner/driver...if I was a lone wolf I'd be less happy, we always had enough people to stand next to and push our car....if you're Patma , it could get tedious. For outfits like us there is a benefit that most wouldn't see. It is very difficult to strap our driver in, it takes two people about three or four minutes . At one point our battery decided to go under just as we were called , we had to change it at the line.....that took ten minutes.This may not seem like a big deal but sitting fully suited in our tank is an unpleasant experience if there is no air movement.So , going to the line in a group of ten was handy because three times out of our four runs we said" we'll go last".
There have been occasional instances over the last few meets where people have decided to try their hand at pushing in. The greatest proponent didn't come this year, maybe there was something wrong with her buzz-box however others did. A guy on a bike seemed preoccupied with it, on our first run he was lined up about six back in prestage , by the time we got to the front he was at the very front of the group we were at the back of, so he did OK. Frankly I couldn't be bothered challenging him,he was a first timer, didn't run very hard and with any luck he didn't like it and won't come back...there were others.
The communication ain't perfect , there were four drivers credited with driving our car, in reality there were only two.....go figure.
Two meets sounds like a whizz bang idea but first we might want to think about a few things.
Why separate bikes and cars?
when...
1./ Bikes clear the track quicker than cars.
2./ at a glance speeds are evenly spread b/w cars and bikes
3./ long course cars take the most time of all
4./Bikes are a good source of entry fees because of the cheaper set up costs.Almost without exception (Matty) cheaply built up cars are boring and pointless.
Why is two meets better than one big one?
when
1./ we'd only pay one surveyor's fee
2./ the canteen still only has to be staffed for a week, for greater through-put
3./media coverage isn't diluted
4./we pay one access fee
5./
what happens when the first meet is rained out???
and the big one.....
Who is going to run it?...and where on earth are the volunteers going to come from?
There have been mentions that a private meet could be the go......methinks that the risks are too great and the rewards too small for anyone with enough readies to go near it..........
The fact is we're all one big family and we have to get along.Don't ask me my personal opinions on what are the most and least precious entries out there , they will differ from yours.
This game is about going fast. If it was the fastest then we could all stay home. There are hundreds of classes , they give people the chance to wring the last drop out of whatever they've built or bought whether it is a big block Chev or a postie. If you want to turn up on a stocker , so be it ,if special construction and aero are your thing come on down, if you want to build a mountain motor and stuff it in a car that was mass produced for looks alone then go crazy ....you've paid your entry like everyone else. Circuit cars, trucks,roundy round cars, drag bikes , chook-chasers, they can all park right alongside Al Fountain and wait their turn to get a time slip.
Who's gonna be the judge of what's a real landspeed entry and what's not because there are many dedicated bikes and many dedicated cars........It seems we don't have street car anymore, but we have PP bikes...is that what people don't like?
I'll say this , if there was going to be two meets I'd vote for a special construction meet with a simple criteria. The vehicle must have significant modifications that are for landspeed racing,period.
and that , Gentlemen , ain't never gonna happen.
...few understand what I'm trying to do , but they vastly outnumber those who understand why..
Of all the time I spent at "prestage" (most of the week) , approx 99%, of people reckon the NEW prestage was excellent, great, sh!thot etc only a couple had a gripe and when things were explained were generally happy. I only had a spit at one person all week which was pretty good I thought 
Lets break the meeting in two like they do in Boneville (as a lot of people use Boneville as a reference for ideas) Lets have a car, lakester, truck meeting only and a Motorcycle meeting only this would halve the entries and double the amount of runs people would have 
The point of the suggestion was to just raise further the point of the need for more volunteers for a harmonious smooth running meeting.