WSMC Toyota 200 endurance (scoring) issues

First - I apologize for posting here since I haven't (yet) been active in WERA West - but this problem has been driving a bunch of us nuts.

Some of you may have heard that (again) the WSMC scoring system failed - 2 years in a row. Last year it was the RRW 250/50, this year the Toyota 200.

When they finally got it published, the "Official" results posted ONLY the rider's final position but did NOT post lap counts and gave a very limited time to protest.

Since WERA is well ahead of the curve on endurance racing and since the Toyota 200 and RRW 250/50 races "only" have about a quarter million in $prize$ between Toyota and RRW, I'd hope that WSMC MIGHT listen to a group such as WERA that has demonstrated some success in endurance racing.

Kinda sucks to have all the transponder system fail about 45 laps into an 80 lap race.

I don't have any pull anywhere - I'm just a very frustrated pit slave and WSMC club racer who was pitting for Scott Jensen (AMA 61) for this race. Depending on who is doing the tally, he came in 9th (maybe 11th) - one other racer (Stu Smith) is somewhere between 5th and 15th (a $1,000 difference in cash but a BIG difference on his race resume!)

Some questions:

How often have you had transponder system failures?

Even if the transponder system failed (as it has 2 years running at Willow Springs) - does providing a scorer from each crew help if you do have to go to a manual backup?

Any suggestions? (besides recommending that Endurance race scoring is better left to the professionals)

I'd just like to hear why we can't seem to get our feces into one bag with a couple years experience and yet WERA seems to have it together...

(ps - hope to see y'alls at Fontana this year!)

 

Does having a scorer provided by each team help in the event of a failure of the scoring system?

With the failure of the transponder system/computer/link, they only had maybe a half dozen eyes and clipboards doing manual scoring. There's just TOO MUCH going on in a 40-bike race for 200 miles to do eyeball scoring with so few eyeballs available (in my humble opinion). I say that because I volunteered to help in scoring 6 and 8 lap sprints one weekend and as bad as that was, I can't imagine watching the whole field for the length of a full race.

Maybe they'll have a good system in place next year with usable back-up manual scoring (Video too?)

I also goofed in the first post about Fon-Tucky. I should have said hope to see you all at Willow (mebbe Vegas too). My brain Farted when we were talking at work about the cool garages at Fontana but the painful costs. Willow is our home. Vegas is fun. (flat but fun)

 

Where do I apply to be your assistant

 

I like to travel, at others expense

 

Excuse my ignorance. What is WSMC, RRW 250/50 and Toyota 200(sounds kind of NASCARish)? Is the the left coast attempts at endurance racing?

 

Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. Kinda like the Daytona 200, not endurance.

 

Pays the winner 50K

 

Just got back in doing some scuba - but I digress

Until MotoGP, the Toyota 200 was the highest payout of any motorcycle race run in the US. $50K for the 250/50 and $150K for the Toyota 200. Just to start and complete a lap, a racer gets $1000 (and no- nobody has sandbagged it yet)

I've seen WERA run very professional and legitimate endurance races without the glitches that keep scores from becoming official for 3 days.

WSMC - Willow Springs Motorcycle Club is not a bad gig - but just runs at the one track.

Hope to be competing as part of a mob of locals here at Willow and in Vegas next year in a REAL endurance race (still holding my WERA carry-over). Somebody has to fill in the back of the field!