I disagree Fred I do think qualifying is the best way to do it, while getting riders to do this race as practice is good for the club I don't think it is good for the race as it is a race. That being said it is a endurance and the Iron Butters who run it will not be at sprint pace for sure, so part of the challenge is lappers who will be seen by the teams who will have many riders and bikes who will be riding at a faster pace. I do want this to be a full grid but it will be a cluster to a certain extent and there is nothing to done about that, we will just have to do our best.
For my own part I have been thinking about doing the Iron Butt class myself just to see how long I can go before I barf.
Bartman