Steve G - Scrappy Races

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Question: If the teams had a choice of a different vehicle what would they choose and why ? Love the show and how do we apply ? Val, Mick & Jim

NEW Dennis Mapp made the simple but clear statement, what else but a .......... "4x4 Volkswagen LT35 van, nice" Dennis Mapp (Maximus)

Regarding the second part of your question you should find the application details on the Channel4 web pages when they finalise the next series details. The website for the previous series Scrappy Races 2 (2005) posted this Applications Page after the 2005 series ended. Therefore best to keep your eye on the Channel4 2006 Scrappy Races Rally website over the coming months for team application details. Steve G

Question: Hindsight is a wonderful thing but can the Rally Dragons say how they may have carried out the build section different if they had the time again ? especially the sheep thrower rail as they did not have time to check it at the end. cheers Spook.

Answer: no reply received from the Rally Dragons as at the end of the series

Question: Nikki, as you are the only team member to have done scrappy races before, do you miss the public road sections that were in between each challenge in the last series ? Sally

Answer: no reply received from Nikki (Rally Dragons) as at the end of the series

Question: Hi, what has happened to Scrappy Races? The new series is in the American style, where vehicles are merely modified, from a predetermined starting point. The previous series have been much more entertaining, as the eccentricity of the initial vehicles has been instrumental in the modification for the challenges.

The main excitement for the last two series was watching these highly improbable machines driving across the UK!, being modified on the way. With the new format there appears to be an inherent advantage to those teams supplied with adequate vehicles. There is no individuality between the creations, just fixed starting points. This lessens the competition.

Am still watching it, just don't enjoy so much :-(

FWIW think the scoring system is better this year.

Sorry to moan. Ian

This question was passed on to RDF Media the makers of the show and we received from them an excellent in-depth answer. The reply from the series producer for RDF Media is as follows:

1. The need to keep it fresh. While many scrapheap fans would wish us never to change anything, experience in the TV industry highlights the need to keep breathing new life into even established formats in order to keep pulling in audiences. After series 2 of Scrappy Races both RDF and C4 felt the show was in need of a bit of a revamp, lest it become just a pale imitation of Scrapheap Challenge. This season’s changes reflect those concerns and we hope the programme has now a distinctive feel that makes it feel different from SHC, without sacrificing quality. Hopefully this will ensure the longevity of the series.
2. To introduce more racing. For a programme called Scrappy Races, there wasn’t that much racing in the first two series. The first programmes builds weren’t particularly against the clock, and the driving across country wasn’t either. We felt that we could introduce more drama by having the gun go to start the rally in Part 1 of the first show, rather than actually the first bit of true racing happening in programme 2. While some people obviously like seeing the teams build their machines we felt that more people might switch onto the show if the first programme was a full on, exciting challenge.
3. To Make Scrappy Races/Scrappy Races Rally a distinctive programme in it’s own right. One of the criticisms of the first two series was that we just recycled challenges from SHC and that the modifications in some instances were negligible (e.g. The Boat Buoys taking off their outboards and the Green Goddesses adding the polystyrene slipstreaming device in Series 1’s Pendine Sands speed challenge, or any of the modifications for Series 2’s Hill climbing challenge). By making bigger changes in the format we hope it will make it a distinct programme in its own right and allow us to create different challenges that really stretch the teams and will give the audience something new.
4. Road legal issues. One of the headaches with making the first two series was that after each challenge the teams had to spend ages stripping the vehicles of their modifications to get them road legal again. By keeping everybody off the public roads we created a situation where the vehicles could mutate over the weeks, unfettered by regulations, and teams would benefit or suffer from previous modifications. We felt this would ultimately be more interesting than a brief travelogue of the teams driving through Britain – again you decide whether that was worth it or not.
5. Excitement. While I take the points onboard we felt the main excitement of the show was people racing to modify vehicles and then racing against head-to-head against each other as they carry out madcap challenges. We’ve tried to make the show more exciting, to have teams racing on the course at the same time. Abandoning the points scoring system and replacing it with overall time really means every second counts, even on the stages where one vehicle might have a disadvantage.

 Question: I am sure i used to own the Capri that the rally dragons are using, any ideas where it came from. I live on the isle of wight. Kev

Answer: Hi Kev, the vehicles were actually obtained by the program makers on this occasion via a third party and the engineering crew for RDF Media. The registration mark for the Capri is D807 *** so that may help you know if it was previously your car. In answer to your specific question I do not know at this time where the Capri was actually purchased. When I next speak with the engineering crew I will however ask if they know.

Reply received from Kev: Thanks for taking the trouble on my behalf, very much appreciated. Don't worry I will still be watching. Thanks again. Ian

Additional reply received from Nikki (Rally Dragons): Kev, We loved the fluffy dice! I think I am correct in saying that was once your car. All I can say is keep watching your Capri lived up to the challenge. Again, hope your not to disappointed by its final days and its slight bump on show one! Just very glad the Capri radiators are set back! Nikki

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