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2009 Events Dropped From 2010 Rotax Rankings

press release

Unfortunately for everyone concerned, there continues to be issues with the perceived and actual fairness of Rotax Rankings.

I remind everyone that the intention of Rotax Rankings is “to provide a meaningful ranking of Rotax drivers”, nothing more nothing less. I also remind everyone that “IKD reserves the right to modify any rules and conditions of the Rotax Rankings as IKD deems appropriate, in the interests of fairness and maintenance of the original intention of the Ranking system”.

To try and describe the problem as simply as possible I will write in point form the sequence of events that have lead to this:-

The errors that were contained within the original spreadsheet (that have now been fixed) was actually allocating too many points to drivers.
This resulted in the high ranked drivers having a lot of points (incorrectly) and drivers that were ranked below them felt they had no chance of catching up.
Before we realized that this was actually caused by a system error, we modified the points structure for 2010 to level out the playing field and ensure that the ranking system remained relevant to as many drivers as possible
Then Rotax, announce the date for 2010 World Final and it is quite a bit earlier than we expected. This meant that a number of events from 2009 are still impacting on the World Final selection for 2010 AND more to the point, these events were worth more points. This effectively gives people who participated in these events in 2009, an unfair advantage, something that we simply did not for see or expect to happen and this was certainly never the intention.

So what do we do from here?

If we adjust the 2009 events to the new 2010 point structure, there is a group of people who think this is unfair. If we leave it the way it is at the moment, (2009 points are worth more than 2010) there is simply another group of people who think it is unfair. Either way, there is unhappiness and both groups have a reasonable case to present as to why they see it as unfair. To top it off, IKD never intended the higher valued 2009 events to impact on the eligibility of drivers for the 2010 World Final in the manner in which they now are. Something needs to be fixed…

Therefore, in the interest of overall fairness for everyone I have decided to delete all 2009 events from the ranking system.

This solution means that both sides of the fence (so to speak) do not get their way entirely but rather we find common ground and meet in the middle. We remove the problem itself – which is the 2009 events and the debate over how they should be treated.

I personally came up with the idea of the ranking system and I believe in the concept. Unfortunately, some errors within the original spreadsheet have flowed on and caused an amazing sequence of events that we could not have predicted but have resulted in us ending up where we are today. This is a difficult situation that does not have an easy fix but a decision had to be made that was in the interest of the overall fairness and I believe I have done this.

If the changes that have been decided upon today, affect you negatively, please do not ring IKD and vent your frustration. It is inevitable, that this change will not suit everyone BUT I had to make a decision and the ecision is final. The drivers who are rewarded with a trip to the 2010 World Final will be the drivers who obtained the best results over the course of 2010 and with points that have been awarded on a level playing field for EVERYONE.

This brings the system in line with my original intention which is to provide a fair system for all concerned. The ranking system is good, it does work and it will work for the future. There will be further changes to the ranking system for 2011 in response to the feedback we have received, none of which will cause the type of drama we have all endured this year, that is a promise!

I know we have made numerous announcements recently and we have probably confused many people, once again I am sorry. I am extremely embarrassed by the whole situation as IKD prides itself on doing things professionally and the recent rankings issues have been unacceptable. I accept responsibility for it and am looking forward to being able to put it all behind us - finally!

Ian Black

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	2009 Events Dropped From 2010 Rotax Rankings press release Unfortunately for everyone concerned, there continues to be issues with the perceived and actual fairness of Rotax Rankings. I remind everyone that the intention of Rotax Rankings is “to provide a meaningful ranking of Rotax drivers”, nothing more nothing less. I also remind everyone that “IKD reserves the right to modify any rules and conditions of the Rotax Rankings as IKD deems appropriate, in the interests of fairness and maintenance of the original intention of the Ranking system”. To try and describe the problem as simply as possible I will write in point form the sequence of events that have lead to this:- The errors that were contained within the original spreadsheet (that have now been fixed) was actually allocating too many points to drivers. This resulted in the high ranked drivers having a lot of points (incorrectly) and drivers that were ranked below them felt they had no chance of catching up. Before we realized that this was actually caused by a system error, we modified the points structure for 2010 to level out the playing field and ensure that the ranking system remained relevant to as many drivers as possible Then Rotax, announce the date for 2010 World Final and it is quite a bit earlier than we expected. This meant that a number of events from 2009 are still impacting on the World Final selection for 2010 AND more to the point, these events were worth more points. This effectively gives people who participated in these events in 2009, an unfair advantage, something that we simply did not for see or expect to happen and this was certainly never the intention. So what do we do from here? If we adjust the 2009 events to the new 2010 point structure, there is a group of people who think this is unfair. If we leave it the way it is at the moment, (2009 points are worth more than 2010) there is simply another group of people who think it is unfair. Either way, there is unhappiness and both groups have a reasonable case to present as to why they see it as unfair. To top it off, IKD never intended the higher valued 2009 events to impact on the eligibility of drivers for the 2010 World Final in the manner in which they now are. Something needs to be fixed… Therefore, in the interest of overall fairness for everyone I have decided to delete all 2009 events from the ranking system. This solution means that both sides of the fence (so to speak) do not get their way entirely but rather we find common ground and meet in the middle. We remove the problem itself – which is the 2009 events and the debate over how they should be treated. I personally came up with the idea of the ranking system and I believe in the concept. Unfortunately, some errors within the original spreadsheet have flowed on and caused an amazing sequence of events that we could not have predicted but have resulted in us ending up where we are today. This is a difficult situation that does not have an easy fix but a decision had to be made that was in the interest of the overall fairness and I believe I have done this. If the changes that have been decided upon today, affect you negatively, please do not ring IKD and vent your frustration. It is inevitable, that this change will not suit everyone BUT I had to make a decision and the ecision is final. The drivers who are rewarded with a trip to the 2010 World Final will be the drivers who obtained the best results over the course of 2010 and with points that have been awarded on a level playing field for EVERYONE. This brings the system in line with my original intention which is to provide a fair system for all concerned. The ranking system is good, it does work and it will work for the future. There will be further changes to the ranking system for 2011 in response to the feedback we have received, none of which will cause the type of drama we have all endured this year, that is a promise! I know we have made numerous announcements recently and we have probably confused many people, once again I am sorry. I am extremely embarrassed by the whole situation as IKD prides itself on doing things professionally and the recent rankings issues have been unacceptable. I accept responsibility for it and am looking forward to being able to put it all behind us - finally! Ian Black Home
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