Thanks Bob, I was not aware that Joe had suffered injuries. Hope he has a speedy recovery. Anthony, there was an incident between the left and right just before no name straight, one SRF spun on his own and another (me) spun in avoidance with the ensuing calamity that included you and Tom as a result. I for one will not race again at LRP if it is a mixed class, the track is just too short and too tight to remain reasonably safe.

FWIW at the drivers meeting we asked for a split group and start and were told it would require a separate pace car and couldn't be done. I didn't quite follow that logic unless LRP has special rules and costs for vehicles that can be used as pace cars. That was followed by a work it out among the drivers response. Bottom line for me is I will not race at LRP and perhaps other venues with an STL, STU, SPU grouping ever again as I truly felt at risk during the early portion of that race.

funny how they make split starts to be a huge effort: a group of us got together and ran a NASA race at ECR a few years ago; I think 10 or so SRFs. We were in a group with a triple split start - one pace car, two groups on their own, it wasn't a problem and in typical NASA fashion, I think we did 4 (short) races over the weekend.

John Walsh wrote:
SRF can coexist with the small GT and small Prod cars. That's probably the best solution...we need to make sure that we communicate workable solutions to race organizers, either on the regional or divisional level.

I've been in my SRF on track with the fast wings & things, and it's truly terrifying for them and us. Although FVee's sometimes run with SRF, I have nightmares running with Vee's and 500's. Yikes.

JW

I agree. I've been hit by both an FV and an FA when racing with wings & things groups. Have yet to have a problem racing with Spec Miatas and other small production cars.

Peter in my case the STL Miatas were the problem and were every bit as menacing as the larger Porsche 944 that was involved in the incident. In my mirrors cresting the hill all I could see was a bumper and the lower part of the hood of the 1st place Miata who rightfully was going as fast as he could. That didn't make the situation safer for me with 11-15 SRF's ahead of me in the opening lap running order battle.

We ran there in June with some lighter weight IT cars and although there was some controversy on speed differentials and having to be heads up on both sides I didn't feel as threatened. Having attended the Narrc runoffs for more years than I care to count the event seems to to bring out the red mist in many drivers. The number of cars wrecked by days end on Friday and in impound was at least half a dozen or more before counting cars crashed or totaled on Saturday. Personally I was glad when the race ended.

I don't understand the resistance of many race organizers to running split starts. Yes, they take planning and coordination...cuz they can go bad. I hope we're not saying "NO" to splits just because it's the easy road.

I don't get it, either. It takes a certain amount of planning and could be hard to pull off if someone asks for it, say, an hour before the race is to start. But it doesn't take *that* much planning. On some occasions I've walked away with the feeling that officials said "no" for exactly that reason. But I'll never know for sure, of course.

This is why I want to see it as SOP with exceptions allowed - so that officials are forced to at least think about it.

FWIW at the drivers meeting we asked for a split group and start and were told it would require a separate pace car and couldn't be done. I didn't quite follow that logic unless LRP has special rules and costs for vehicles that can be used as pace cars.

GCR 6.5.2.C : Each segment should be led by a pace car, if possible. [italics mine] Who knows what was going on at LRP, but absent weird rules, lack of pace car isn't an excuse.

BTW, for anyone who feels as I do about this, the time to do something is when you register. Read the supps, find the names and contact info for the Race Chair, Chief Steward, and anyone else who might be appropriate, and write them a respectful message detailing your concerns and desired solution. It is *much* easier to address these issues in advance of the event.

Here in Portland, I have not seen a separate pace car. And we are fortunate to have enough cars so we have our own race group. It is interesting enough doing test days prior to races where they have GT1 cars in with everyone else. One pays CLOSE attention to one's mirrors!!

What Elizabeth said. Split starts do not require pace cars for each group. We routinely run split starts for our Vintage groups with the second group self-paced. It just takes a little thought and planning. Heck we've even done triple split starts with group 2 and 3 self paced!

As she said, contact the region officials before the event. It is much easier to plant the seeds of split start (or other class grouping changes) ahead of the event then day of the event. SCCA has lots of arcane rules about changes to scheduling and class groupings once an event is "open for registration". It is supposed to take formal steward action to make changes (really depends on your officials and how creative your Race Chairs are wrt draft vs final schedules ). Depending on how formal your region officials are, give them time to work the process to make or at least consider the requested changes. Be cool, calm and respectful when you ask.

Elizabeth,

Thanks for your thought. Having spent many weekends as Race Chair/Race Committee, you are absolutely right about the challenges of making up race groups, etc. In MiDiv, we typically get 6 to 10 SRF entries and a separate race group simply isn't feasible. Fortunately, we generally "play well" with the small production cars if we get a split start (which is nearly automatic in MiDiv).

As an 18 year veteran of the Steward's program, I feel there is no excuse for not having a split start with classes that are fine when they are spread out, but a safety risk when starting together in a big group (SRF/small production or FV/F5). Any Chief Steward who declines a request for a split start is lazy or doesn't understand the risks (no doubt some of my former fellow stewards will take issue with that comment).

If you get turned down, make up a quick (handwritten) petition, stress the safety issue and get as many signatures from the affected drivers as possible. "Safety" is a difficult word for any steward to ignore or deny.

Ed Smith

[quoteHaving attended the Narrc runoffs for more years than I care to count the event seems to to bring out the red mist in many drivers. The number of cars wrecked by days end on Friday and in impound was at least half a dozen or more before counting cars crashed or totaled on Saturday. Personally I was glad when the race ended.][/quote]

Talk about red mist how about this move on the restart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3-iXnZGKiM
What exactly was this Miatas plan exept to knock me out of the way. I don't think I left an opening and I don't think he any fear of a SRF to Miata weight contest. A lap later the second Miata that got through goes off at the down hill biring out the yellow yet again. While the SRF did seem to go wide at the apex of the down hill he seems to be fully along side before turn in. From this vantage it looks to be the SRF's corner but the Miata decieded to try go side by side and that is never a good idea at the down hill