Question for organizers

[dubya_rx]

Question for the organizers... maybe a suggestion.

Is it possible to more evenly spread out the run sessions through the event day? I was in group Z (GT2) and it must have been close to FIVE hours of waiting around between my first run session and the second run session. I remember the first session starting around 11am, and the second just after 4pm. Being a novice, I think I had totally forgotten my proper lines for the last two sessions.

I think the five hour delay may also have contributed to the mustang hitting the wall in the second Z session. Just a guess.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Walter

[gaspeddle]

I agree... I was in "Y" and had 3 runs in before lunch and waited around for 3 hours only to pack up without my 4th run.

The schedule would work if we were marshalling, however given the services provided by the track, I would think a more evenly distributed schedule would be a great improvement for next time...

[Slowpoke]

If it's your first weekend there, I would suggest keeping an instructor with you the whole time, even if they're willing to sign you off. IMNSHO, an instructor in car will be more useful to you when new to the track than saving 120-250lbs of weight in the car. If they don't want to stay with you, have them provide another instructor for you.

Yeah, there was a long wait for X group too. I think it's more for the convenience of swapping shifts for organizers, timing committee, and minimizing the chaos on the grid, no?

And seeing someone else lose control and hit something is never good for your confidence or times either.

[Chuck91GT]

It was done to guarantee everyone 3 runs and hopefully a fourth. The main delay was caused by the oil cleanup. I didn't keep track of how long this took, but I was told that it was in the area of an hour and a half. Please do not mention vehicles in this forum.

The organizers try to do their best to guarantee all competitors equal time and an equal number of runs.

Here's an interesting thought - imagine how long you would have been marshalling if this had been run at any other track?

[gaspeddle]

... I tried not to think of that :eek:

Just a suggestion given the relatively few people needed for marshalling at the event, perhaps the rotation schedule could be revisited for next time (ie: back-to-back runs followed by multi-hour break + lunch).

I know it's tough to schedule and those on the outside don't always see the complexities to put these deals together...

... and by the way Chuck - thanks for all your griding duties! You never seem to get a break or get to drive!

[Carguy]

There will be delays caused by mishaps on the track. They're unavoidable. The same thing happened last year except that the organizers tried to give everyone 4 sessions. Some of us only got 3 sessions. A valuable lesson was learned and it was applied this year. The event was run as smoothly as the organizers could run it. I for one think they did a good job - especially with the free lapping at the end of the day.

You know the chief marshall in the timing tower noted all the session start times and how many cars in each run group. Did the organizers get a copy of those notes? I think it might help for next year.

[Rob McAuley]

We record the times for each of the groups, and by now, it's pretty well understood. You just can't predict the problems (oil, gas, walls).

We were running ahead of schedule before lunch, but lost about 45 mins in the afternoon.

Kudos to all drivers. I never saw a situation where we were waiting for someone to get to their car. Every run group was on the grid, ready to go.

We wanted to give everyone 1 run to sort out the grid order, then give everyone 2 more runs for a total of 3. If we had time, we could go one more time round. We also tried to minimize timer/clerk marshal changes.

Given the 20 or so cars in each run group, we could probably do a quick rotation of XYZ/XYZ/XYZ. The clerks/timers will be running, but people would have a short break between runs (time to get gas), but not be waiting around for hours.