Grega,
However, the exceptions. First I felt a sense of dread as I watched an open-wheeler cream the downhill wall early in the day.
I felt a sense of dread, too. Like, is the driver OK? Funny, I think that when the sedans crash hard, too.
I watched as our 30-minute float melted away as they extracted him and fixed the wall.
I appreciate your obvious concern for his well being. I wish I'd have kept track of all the time other race groups, IT especially, have torn up each other and/or the track and messed up the sacred schedule. (Hmm, what about that time at NHIS when three IT cars creamed each other leaving turn 12 during a WARM-UP and left us sitting there for 45 minutes or so?)
Unfortunately, the 20-minutes-per race time constraints burned the ITA group, who only got in three flying laps before getting caught behind the pace car. That group finished 15 minutes later, still behind the pace car, so they got all of three race laps.
My educated guess on that is that the course went to double yellow because of an on-track incident, no? Why is that the problem of other groups? We've all had races messed up because of crashes, it happens, get over it.
Also, the ITS race was shortened (admittedly, self-assisted) because of carnage all over the track; seeing a lot of cars strewn about, being attended to by workers, the stewards chose to "Black Flag All" and checker at 5:55 PM.
Your parenthetical statement makes my case.
So, it came off, but not without a hitch. IMO, we got lucky to make the day with 5 minuts to spare. I was very unhappy watching the sacred cow Formula Vees toodling around the track with 17 total cars
Those sacred cow FVs have been one of the top 3 subscribed race groups for around 40 years.
and the SM group with less than 15, while the majority of the rest of the world was cram-packed with up to 40 cars on the track with multiple classes. ITA got screwed, ITS/ITB screwed themselves, and everyone got, at most, 40 minutes of total track time on the day; most got less.
I revert back to my prior post for suggested regroupings. I realize that my suggestions were too late to merit consideration, but I ask that for future events the open-wheel contingent get dropped to two groups, and the rest of theclasses get moved around to minimize the total number of groups and maximize time for everyone.
Time for everyone, or time for Grega?
And before you start screaming about "safety", take a look at the lap times from the ITS/ITB session. I'm a slow-ass ITS driver, and I was flying by some ITB cars much faster that an FC will go by an FV. Sorry, but we all have to compromise for the betterment of all.
I don't know what the lap times were yesterday, but I'll repeat that open wheel cars have a safety concern not present in sedans. I spoke to several FC and FA drivers yesterday and all were clear that they don't feel any safer sharing the track with Vees than we do with them.
I would hope that SCCA, a club that places safety higher than anything, will not be so hypocritical as to require harness changes every 2 years and yet mix race grouping that are hazardous just to accomodate your wishes. That means paying attention to both speed differentials, car weights, and car types. And I would feel the same if I drove an IT car.
Besides, would you be pulling out the "safety" trump card if it wasn't affecting your group...?
I could pull out the "fun" factor and the "sporting" factor or even the "fairness" factor but I'm sure from your tone you wouldn't care anyway.
had the oportunity to be classed with ITE... 56's - 58's and ITB was 1:05's - 1:07's.
