ivan
23-03-07, 05:58 PM
What to do on race day
Scrutineering:
Be early, and be ready to race. All cars are scrutineered for safety and for compliance with technical regulations before they are allowed on the track. Present your car as you will race it, not with bits missing, or extra bits added e.g. jack and spare wheels in the boot. It is not unusual to see these items make it to scrutineering. What is unusual (but I've seen it) is these items making it through qualifying.
A clean, well turned out car will attract less attention in scrutineering than a scruffy one, and less attention is what you want. If a car doesn't present very well, a scrutineer will naturally wonder what else is wrong with it, and take a closer look.
While on the topic of scrutineers, there is a simple rule about arguing with them. That rule is "DON'T". I have seen heaps of arguments between scrutineers and drivers, and I haven't seen a driver win one yet. And remember, the scrutineers will probably know the regulations better than you. The procedure to follow is this: If you get pulled up by the scrutineer for something, immediately say, in a polite tone, "would you like me to fix it now, or can I fix it for next time?" If the item isn't too serious, chances he will say "fix it for next time" and won't even log you for it. If he says "fix it", don't waste you time arguing, the time is better spent fixing it. You can make all the excuses you like, but he probably knows the rules a lot better than you do. One of the oldest excuses is "but it's been like this all year." This never works - it just means that the scrutineers who had previously scrutineered the car hadn't done the job properly. A classic is number patches. They are supposed to be either black or white, and a contrasting colour to the surrounding coachwork, so a black or white pin stripe box is not acceptable. A certain high profile CCRR official went for a 18 months before getting pinged for this one!
Trap for young players..... After scrutineering, go and collect your permit to practice/race from the office. If you show up for qualifying without it, you won't be allowed on the track. A last minute rush to get it is not the sort of distraction you need immediately before qualifying.
Qualifying:
In Club Car racing, you will see some competitors lining up to get on the dummy grid before the session even starts. They are doing this for a good reason. They want to get on the track first. Club Car grids are so big that traffic in qualifying is a problem for drivers trying to find the last couple of tenths of a second, so they get out on the track first so they can get a couple of clear laps. If a couple of tenths isn't going to make much difference to you, don't try to get on the front of the dummy grid.
Qualifying is qualifying, not racing. Don't try to dice with anyone in qualifying, chances are you will just piss them off, and you will both go slower as a result. If you get caught up with someone, back off and find a gap. Keep an eye in your mirrors for drivers in a fast lap. Be aware that individual drivers can vary their speed considerably - they may do a couple of slow laps, then a quick one, etc for a variety of reasons. When you see a faster car coming up behind you, point to the side that you want the car to pass you on. Just giving the other driver clear road is not sufficient, he/she needs to know you have seen him/her coming. When you are on your quick lap, approach any car which has not "pointed" for you with caution. Don't assume that the driver has seen you, or the waving blue flags. When passing a slower car, don't cut it off, or push it into the marbles, dirt, etc. Remember, it is your responsibility to pass cleanly, and not the other driver's obligation to get off the track when you are coming through. When you are on your cool down lap, stay off the racing line, there may be other drivers still trying to do a quickie.
Racing:
When you are gridding up to race, look around you to see if someone is out of place. When the light turns green and racing starts, don't weave all over the track before approaching the first corner. This is a good way to get some unnecessary panel damage, by collecting someone from the row behind you who got a better start than you did.
If you are midfield or further back, be aware of the length of the race and the likelihood of being lapped. It won't happen in a five lapper at Oran South, but in a 15 lap race two thirds of the field could get lapped. If you are about to be lapped, don't hold up the other driver or try to dice with him. Let him through, pointing to the side you want him to pass on. If you are about to lap someone, or in particular more than one car, be aware that they may be involved in their own dice, and may not see you coming. The fact that you are lapping them does not entitle you to stuff up their racing by running one or both of them off the road on your way through.
If you are dicing with another competitor, you pass only on your merits. If you don't have the ability to get past cleanly, you do not "give them a tap" to let them know you mean business, and you do not punt them out of the way. This will get you a chat with the Clerk of the Course, possibly a fine, and will certainly endanger the life of the other driver. Remember the saying "motor racing is dangerous" - don't do anything to make it worse.
Regards,
Ivan
Note: This article may have been copied from another website and revised to better suit the Starlet community. If you are the owner of the original article and would like us to remove it, please contact me via email with the subject "Remove Article" and i will remove it from this website as soon as possible.
Scrutineering:
Be early, and be ready to race. All cars are scrutineered for safety and for compliance with technical regulations before they are allowed on the track. Present your car as you will race it, not with bits missing, or extra bits added e.g. jack and spare wheels in the boot. It is not unusual to see these items make it to scrutineering. What is unusual (but I've seen it) is these items making it through qualifying.
A clean, well turned out car will attract less attention in scrutineering than a scruffy one, and less attention is what you want. If a car doesn't present very well, a scrutineer will naturally wonder what else is wrong with it, and take a closer look.
While on the topic of scrutineers, there is a simple rule about arguing with them. That rule is "DON'T". I have seen heaps of arguments between scrutineers and drivers, and I haven't seen a driver win one yet. And remember, the scrutineers will probably know the regulations better than you. The procedure to follow is this: If you get pulled up by the scrutineer for something, immediately say, in a polite tone, "would you like me to fix it now, or can I fix it for next time?" If the item isn't too serious, chances he will say "fix it for next time" and won't even log you for it. If he says "fix it", don't waste you time arguing, the time is better spent fixing it. You can make all the excuses you like, but he probably knows the rules a lot better than you do. One of the oldest excuses is "but it's been like this all year." This never works - it just means that the scrutineers who had previously scrutineered the car hadn't done the job properly. A classic is number patches. They are supposed to be either black or white, and a contrasting colour to the surrounding coachwork, so a black or white pin stripe box is not acceptable. A certain high profile CCRR official went for a 18 months before getting pinged for this one!
Trap for young players..... After scrutineering, go and collect your permit to practice/race from the office. If you show up for qualifying without it, you won't be allowed on the track. A last minute rush to get it is not the sort of distraction you need immediately before qualifying.
Qualifying:
In Club Car racing, you will see some competitors lining up to get on the dummy grid before the session even starts. They are doing this for a good reason. They want to get on the track first. Club Car grids are so big that traffic in qualifying is a problem for drivers trying to find the last couple of tenths of a second, so they get out on the track first so they can get a couple of clear laps. If a couple of tenths isn't going to make much difference to you, don't try to get on the front of the dummy grid.
Qualifying is qualifying, not racing. Don't try to dice with anyone in qualifying, chances are you will just piss them off, and you will both go slower as a result. If you get caught up with someone, back off and find a gap. Keep an eye in your mirrors for drivers in a fast lap. Be aware that individual drivers can vary their speed considerably - they may do a couple of slow laps, then a quick one, etc for a variety of reasons. When you see a faster car coming up behind you, point to the side that you want the car to pass you on. Just giving the other driver clear road is not sufficient, he/she needs to know you have seen him/her coming. When you are on your quick lap, approach any car which has not "pointed" for you with caution. Don't assume that the driver has seen you, or the waving blue flags. When passing a slower car, don't cut it off, or push it into the marbles, dirt, etc. Remember, it is your responsibility to pass cleanly, and not the other driver's obligation to get off the track when you are coming through. When you are on your cool down lap, stay off the racing line, there may be other drivers still trying to do a quickie.
Racing:
When you are gridding up to race, look around you to see if someone is out of place. When the light turns green and racing starts, don't weave all over the track before approaching the first corner. This is a good way to get some unnecessary panel damage, by collecting someone from the row behind you who got a better start than you did.
If you are midfield or further back, be aware of the length of the race and the likelihood of being lapped. It won't happen in a five lapper at Oran South, but in a 15 lap race two thirds of the field could get lapped. If you are about to be lapped, don't hold up the other driver or try to dice with him. Let him through, pointing to the side you want him to pass on. If you are about to lap someone, or in particular more than one car, be aware that they may be involved in their own dice, and may not see you coming. The fact that you are lapping them does not entitle you to stuff up their racing by running one or both of them off the road on your way through.
If you are dicing with another competitor, you pass only on your merits. If you don't have the ability to get past cleanly, you do not "give them a tap" to let them know you mean business, and you do not punt them out of the way. This will get you a chat with the Clerk of the Course, possibly a fine, and will certainly endanger the life of the other driver. Remember the saying "motor racing is dangerous" - don't do anything to make it worse.
Regards,
Ivan
Note: This article may have been copied from another website and revised to better suit the Starlet community. If you are the owner of the original article and would like us to remove it, please contact me via email with the subject "Remove Article" and i will remove it from this website as soon as possible.