I had no idea where to post this so I figured it safe to post in her. My question is for the racers and track day folks. Is it ever appropriate for a corner worker to be on the track while bikes are on the track? I'm not talking edge or even the side. I am talking at least ten feet on the track. After last year's terrible accident I was just curious if someone could answer this with positive knowledge?
If there is good reason for them to be there, they've got flag coverage upstream, someone is watching their back and giving bikes a point, then yeah.
Darren A little bit more info. When you say someone watching their back are you talking about at the site they are at? The good flag coverage should be behind them correct? Should someone be there with the person waving a flag? What if it is over a hill on a red flag?
In the CRA, we have flagging procedures we call "FUCD" or "FUCDR". Flags Upstream Comms Downstream Rest If we've got a corner worker on track surface, we've got two. One will be watching upstream to hopefully mitigate any bikes coming towards the incident with the Daytona Point as well as to be able to scream and run if shit happens. Corner worker at that point should be near track before the apex waving the flag like a madman so coming traffic knows there is *really* something fucked up around the corner. Our comms are also FM, so the comm guy *can* be the flag guy in a situation like that, freeing up another warm body to do traffic control. I'd say if it was over a hill with a red flag, same thing but there should be a concerted effort to point riders away from the incident (track left, track right) as well as some "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN" hand signals from the flagger.
I blew a gasket and oiled down the ENTIRE track at tally years ago. They were waving black flags at me but i thought they were waving at the guy in front of me..next lap the cornerworker was ON the track pointing and waving wildly. That was appropriate. Ed Bargy cussed me like a sailor afterwards. Great day!
Yep. i had no idea,get back to the pits and the whole left side of me and the bike covered in oil. Luckily (this was back when tally ran cw and ccw) we were running cw and it only really wet spots and it did not delay things too bad. I will never forget Ed coming over the loud speaker in a VERY angry tone "Bike 119 to the tower IMMEDIATELY..Bike 119!!!!!" i was like FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yea, Jim, a CW SHOULD be on the track when there is a bike on the track spilling oil/gas. Especially when its in relation to the one your speaking of. Matter of fact, here is the ENTIRE chain of events, straight from the CW youre referencing (my son). And yes, even in light of the Sutton death at Barber, CW's STILL go out on a hot track.
Now the next question, should CR's be riding so fast as to A) not see a CW in the middle of the track motioning them off the line in order to keep them from crashing, and B)dont you think they should be looking where the f'n going rather than worrying about their little duckings following along behind them? Especially when the excuse for looking back was to make sure they knew to pit in? I mean, it WAS the last session before lunch, they REALLY should know where pit in is by that point. Always remember, red flag speed is "school yard" pace, and always be looking in front of you for the incident. Had those two rules been followed, this would have been a non incident. :up:
A corner worker (at least in well run situations like we are used to) would ask for and be granted permission to do this. If control says "GO" then we have to place our trust in the fact that they are making a good call based on a lot more info than we as riders have at our disposal while on-track.
Let's not forget sitting bolt upright in the saddle with your left arm in the air to let those behind you know. I'd probably have a word or two with the CR if that happened to me as described.
Its school ZONE. Do you DRIVE in a school YARD? You would kill a lot of kids that way. We try to get riders to slow down and proceed with caution at a reduced pace to the designated pit-in location. Many times that is more than a school ZONE speed of 20 MPH, If it is safe to do so then a speed faster than school ZONE speed is ok. We don't want to take ten+ minutes to get around Road America's 4-miles or Road Atlanta's 2.5, not every track is Tally. In the Novice group the staffers will set the pace.
