CASC-OR Solo 2 Event 5 Official Ruling and Unofficial Results

[tanney]

Well, that was an interesting Event #5 of the CASC-OR 2005 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship Series.

As most of you probably heard, there was some controversy over the last couple of runs at the Bronte GO Station on Sunday July 17th. Some people were very vocal about there displeasure about related aspects of the event.

The facts;
It rained! It rained a lot! We stopped the event during the third run because it was felt too dangerous to continue, at that moment, due to lightning storms fast approaching and marshalling stations situated under massive metal light standards.

The event resumed approximately 30 minutes later after the storms had passed and most of the massive amounts of water that was on course had drained away.

During the fifth run, at approximately 1:30, the event organizer called over the PA that there would be six official runs and a post event driver's meeting would be held 5 minutes after the last car.

At approximately 2:15 in weather conditions that were improving, it was announced that there would indeed be seven runs and that the seventh run would be without rain.

I, as the Solo 2 Director, was immediately approached as some competitors had packed up and were ready to leave thinking that there would be no opportunity to go faster than they had in previous runs in the sixth, and “announced” final run. Some unpacked and ran the final run, some decided not to.

During the sixth run, in drying conditions, a car that ran in the middle of the run group spun taking out the first of two markers that were “double coned with a leaner” just before the first loop. Three marshals attempted to set the cones up exactly where they originally were, but due to the massive amounts of rain that had just fallen from the sky, the drywall "chalked" box was no longer present on the asphalt, so the cones were not placed exactly where they originally had been.

The first indication of an issue was the next few cars on course, all setting times that were substantially quicker than their previous quick times. At first this was thought to be attributed to the fact that it was drying and that the competitors now knew the course well enough to improve.

During the end of the sixth run, I, as the Solo 2 Director, was again approached as some competitors were talking that the course had indeed changed and was substantially faster.

At the completion of the sixth run, the event was halted as the course approval committee members reviewed the course and from a visual standpoint while walking the course, it was determine that the course would be re-chalked and the seventh and final run would commence.

I, personally, in my seventh run (and first look at speed of the “course changes”) realized that indeed the course had changed enough to skew the day's results. After the Course Approval Committee and Chief Scrutineer had run, a discussion took place to decide if the seventh run, or event the sixth run should be allowed. Counsel was given and considered.

It appears that the cones were set up approximately two feet toward the south side of the lot and eight feet to the east of the marker’s original location, making the exit from the first loop MUCH quicker.

As the event was wrapping up and after the event was completed, I, again as the Solo 2 Director, was approached to protest or complain about allowing the sixth and more specifically the seventh run. I listened to the facts that I was given, as well as the opinions and the following is my ruling on this matter.



The Ruling on Event #5 of the CASC-OR 2005 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship Series at Bronte GO Station, July 17th 2005.

Due to car 91 spinning on his sixth run and taking out the first double cone with a leaner "gate marker" and the marshals being unable to properly locate the original asphalt markings (no fault of either of these parties), the gate marker was not put back in the position that it had been originally located. The course change was substantial enough that the second half of the sixth run group and all of the seventh run group’s runs were "tainted" in comparison to previous runs.

The event WILL count towards the ten event CASC-OR 2005 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship Series. It will NOT be dropped from the official event count.

The only fair thing to do at this level of the sport (if this was a club event then the outcome may have been decided differently) is to disallow the entire sixth and seventh runs, making the event official after the fifth run. All timing and scoring will reflect ONLY the vehicles that ran BEFORE the start of the sixth run (car Number 1 started the sixth run).

None of these issues is any one person's fault and not the club's fault, although it would be recommended for all clubs to look into a better, non-permanent way of marking cones in the event of non-cooperative weather conditions for future events.



The Rest;
This decision will affect a lot of competitor’s results. Before you criticize this decision, take a step back and look at the big picture. Not everyone had the chance to compete on a level playing field and this is the best way to rectify that issue without throwing the entire event away.

Results from Sunday's CASC-OR 2005 Mobil 1 Autoslalom Championship Series Sponsored by Inside Track Motorsport News - Event # 5 hosted by COMP will be up shortly on http://www.casc.on.ca and http://www.solo2ontario.com.

The Novice results will be posted after the small scoring issues have been resolved.

The next event is July 30th at the Brampton Centre for Sports & Entertainment, hosted by TAC. See you there.