RedlineMan

Hmmmmppfff;

It's yet another difficult situation. If insurance says we have to have one, then we have to. End of story.

I would rather have NO ONE there than have some doofus who can't make quick decisions and has not the anticipatory skills necessary to blend people out efficiently. Having milk-toast noobies there creates more frustration and potential danger than it mitigates, sending pissed off red mist drivers out in anger onto a hot track. They may then pay less attention to traffic than how cheeesed they are at the lollypop person! I've been one of those PO'd people more than once. I mean, at Watkins Glen? You've got to be kidding.

Having said that, it is not necessarily an easy job. I personally don't see any need for it if we follow the stinking rules and stay inside the blend line. I can't think of anywhere I've driven where it is truly necessary under any circumstance. If people are aware and follow the rules, it should never be a problem.

If we have to have one, I think it needs to be at least an advanced driver, if not a pro.

Z-man

As an instructor I always focus on keeping my student within the blend-line when I am riding with them. Hopefully I will be able to impress them with this very important safety item.

Of course, we are all expert instructors here, and expert instructors yield obedient students who listen and apply EVERYTHING we teach them. Yeah, and I can put down a 55-second lap at Lime Rock in my 944S2....

Teaching students the right way to get on to the track is PARAMOUNT. But just in case the student (or instructor) failing understanding that, having a qualified individual controlling the flow onto the track can only serve as a friendly reminder to all.

-Z-man.

Potomac-Greg

By definition, an HPDE has people who are not professional and are often complete beginners. They can and will do things that are unpredictable and wrong.

Bull

Which is why I believe that if there is anyone directing traffic, it should be a paid pro with experience at that track. I have seen more errors made by "volunteer" pit-out workers than by beginner drivers, who have an instructor directing them in the car. Our Region is using paid pros this year.

Gary R.

And at LRP it isn't just pit-out that is dangerous. I personally was waiting at Pit-in and the track was hot mid-session. I remember a girl with a green wristband was standing there, alone, and waving me into the hot-pit. Thing was I also noticed she never even looked at the track. Sure enough, right then a car came flying in.

Bull

Good point Gary. I forgot about pit-in (haven't driven LRP in a couple of years or so), and have seen the same thing there.

Sean F

don't worry, alan wilson is going to fix all this

Bull

Actually, Thunderbolt is going to fix all of this!

BostonDMD

Without a doubt......

Potomac-Greg

Nobody's perfect. I got waved out onto VIR by a "professional" just as two cars were coming through the kink side-by-side. Luckily, I saw it and I clung to the curb until they passed.

Gary R.

Here is my solution..

Bull

Of course not, but you can reduce the odds of multiple F'ups.

RonCT

Although there were no incidents Saturday, there were some close calls that I observed. One of them was from my car. Low car and Hans and zero visibility - what I ended up doing to try to get some visual clue was to adjust my center mirror to try to look for a gap. We had about 35-36 cars out there and on Lime Rock that's a fair number meaning fewer gaps than when there are only 20-25 as we have in many DE events. In our group we had some extremely fast cars and "racing rules" appeared to be in force because people were passing everywhere - downhill, Esses, etc. So you have 2-3 cars in passing formation coming into Big Bend and a car coming into the track with no idea they are closing at 120-140 MPH. I heard the reason for no volunteer was liability - and I understand that. Same reason volunteers will no longer flag. But I think there should be somebody there to give you an idea that there's a gap approaching - you still have to be careful and conscious of the situation - and drivers on the track have to be aware of somebody entering. But at these speeds, information is key and now we have none with respect to pit-out.

prg

RonCT,
You might want to consider getting one of these kits for your HANS. It allows the Hans tether to slide so you can rotate your head. I used one for the first time 2 weeks ago. I spun off in the rain and it was really nice to be able to turn my head to see if anyone was coming before pulling back on track. Previously this required a rather frightening act of faith in my fellow competitors.

RonCT

Thanks for the suggestion. My Hans is new and I had the option to get that model and decided against it. Then Joe from HMS gave a safety presentation at CVR's DE Workshop and he too discouraged that model. The reason I was uncertain, and was reinforced by Joe, is that one of the things you want a Hans to do is make sure your head doesn't torque in the wrong way. With that allowing unrestricted left to right motion, I can't see how that's a good thing in the event of an incident. For daily ability to look hard left or right, maybe it's good, but I don't feel I need that more than I need optimal support in the event of an incident. Then again, would Hans put something out that was less safe? I wouldn't think so but my gut was the same as Joe's...

As I mentioned, I adjusted my center mirror way "left" to see what was coming down the pike, but having a set of unrestricted eyes that was only focused on informing us of gaps was extremely convenient and in my opinion safer overall.