Gingerman National July 7-8, 2012

[AlBerto]

Does anyone have the results for the Gingerman National?

Thank You.
Alex

[G.B.]

Saturday.

1.Loughead
2.McCormick C
3.McCormick S
4.Jennerjahn
5Abbott A
6.Varacins
7.Delaney
8.Richter
9.Landon
DNF Abbott B
DNF Satterley
DNF Bowman
DNF Bellingham


Sunday


1.Loughead
2.Jennerjahn
3.Abbott A
4.Bowman
5.Bellingham
6.Richter
7.Varacins
DNF Satterley
DNF Landon
DNF McCormick S
DNF McCormick C
DNS Abbott B
DNS Delaney.

[Amon]

What happen to the DNF's and DNS's on both Sat. and Sun.?

Thanks!

Mark

[G.B.]

An F500 spun in the first corner of the Saturday race, I took to the grass to avoid him, cutting a tire on the outside of the curbing as I returmed to the track. I nursed the car back to the paddock and changed the tire, but was not allowed back on the track.

I believe David Satterly and Kerry Bowman tangled and I'm not sure what happened to Brandon Abbott.

I know Stu Delaney had car problems, so I'm guessing that having qualified for the Run-Offs chose to sit out the Sunday race.

Michael Varicins was leading both races, but incidents right at end of both races caused him to drop back. I am not sure of the full story or the other DNFs.

I'll have to let the others fill in the gaps.

[Terry Abbott]

Mark,

see if i can answer.......

Sat. B. Abbott we broke a trans.
Satterley, lost a engine
Bowman, No brakes
Bellingham, umm not sure didnt get a chance to talk to Guy

Sunday,

Satterley, lost another engine
Landon Not sure
McCormick S exhaust problem ?
McCormick C engine problem
Abbott B no spare trans.
Delaney. went home saturday

[Chris Elwell]

Do you know what happened to Satterley's engine(s)?

Chris

[Amon]

Thanks Guy and Terry!

That's a shame for Dave...two engines in one weekend..

Sorry to hear about the rest of you guys...


Mark

92' protoform P-1 / 004

[fv58]

Dave's DNF on saturday was actually from getting sideswiped by Bowman, we did lose the engine in qualifying on sunday, appears to be rod bolt failure.The second engine was a older engine that we have not run in awhile do not know what caused the noises in that engine yet.

[csatte02]

Video of the Saturday incident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gTRw...1&feature=plcp

Video of the Start of Saturday's race,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCrXu...fuftodlkw2QOVg

[G.B.]

Thank you for posting the video of the start.

Now I know how I incurred the rear damage and it looks like I owe Mike Landon an apology. I didn't realise until I reached turn two that I had no air in my front left tire and understeered straight off.

[AlBerto]

Thank you all for the race results. Bad luck about the start and all the DNFs but it is good to see large FV turnouts at nationals this year, in the Great Lakes Division.

Hopefully, Grattan on Aug. 11 - 12 will also have good attendance.

[nhJohn]

An F500 spun in the first corner of the Saturday race, I took to the grass to avoid him, cutting a tire on the outside of the curbing as I returmed to the track. I nursed the car back to the paddock and changed the tire, but was not allowed back on the track.

<snip>

I'll have to let the others fill in the gaps.

Why were you not allowed back onto the track?

[Steve Davis]

Why were you not allowed back onto the track?

He went back to the PADDOCK. Once "behind the wall", you cannot reenter the track. You can come in to the PITS - no further - no paddock.

Steve, FV80

[nhJohn]

He went back to the PADDOCK. Once "behind the wall", you cannot reenter the track. You can come in to the PITS - no further - no paddock.

Steve, FV80

So, I am presuming this is a "safety" rule?
or is it other?

The resason I ask, is we (us members, organization) are trying to keep and gain members. A rule that prohibts you from chagning a tire in your pits (as some of us do come alone) is not a help to the cause...
A new person (just to SCCA racing) just asking the "why"?
john

[Steve Davis]

I can't say FOR SURE "WHY".. but the general thinking is that someone could go out and run "most of" the race with "something illegal" .. come into the paddock and "fix" it and then go back out to take the checker. The same reason that the GCR says you must proceed DIRECTLY to impound at the end of the race (and NOT deviate through your paddock space first).

Regardless of the reason, it's *THE RULE* .. and has been for at least the last 35 years...

Steve, FV80

[GT1Vette]

You can return to the paddock, but you have to get permission from a steward (Operating or Chief) and be accompanied by a Pit & Grid worker. The reason (at least during qualifying) is because someone COULD set a blistering lap with a non-compliant car, go back to the paddock and make it compliant, then return to the track and still get credit for that lap. And like the Rules of Golf, the reason that rule is there is because someone did just that in the past.

This was certainly an extenuating circumstance and there's no doubt permission would have been granted, but unfortunately you DO need to ask before doing so (and then be sure the person you're talking to really DID get permission from the applicable steward).

[Purple Frog]

I completely understand the reason for the rule. (In pro racing we expect that entrants will have sufficent crew.)

That does not mean it is good for some club racers. I brought this up at the Road Atlanta drivers meeting last weekend, after the debacle at the June Sprints I thought a ruling would be good before the fact.

The answer was they were sticking to the "no paddock" rule. If you thought you may need rain tires, then it was the competitor's responsibility to stage everything in the pits before the session. They might "stretch" the 15 minute period to give us a break. OK...

But... i was racing solo. And, i had no golf cart, no hand truck, just feet. Now this is Road Atlanta... or Road Hotlanta... it was 100 on the thermometer under my canopy. How many trips up and down the steep ramps to carry 4 wheels, jacks, and tools?

Right. Then if it doesn't rain, or even if it does, i would have to hand carry all that stuff back up the ramps.

Bottom line. If it rained... i was screwed.

I'm not saying the rule is bad. But, the unintended consequence of such a rule in "club" racing could be negative for a regional racer.

OBTW... how many scrutineers were they going to post out in the rain along pit lane to make sure i didn't fiddle with my mandatory rev limiting chip? In pro racing we have about 5, and i'm not sure we could catch a good sneaky team.

Not saying its a bad rule... but.

[problemchild]

Whether its a rule or not, its application to a crewless competitor running in the rain, is purely stupid. Next time, he can sit in the rain for 15 mins, and then continue on slicks in the rain when the race restarts. That will teach him a lesson!

In this case, considering Guy's race was over from any competitive posture, if he wanted to go back out, let him.

[Purple Frog]

It is CLUB racing... for a $5 trophy.

The problem that reared its ugly head at the Sprints, and would have at Atlanta:

What if you put the rain tires on, and the car is now resting on the pavement?
My rain tires require raising the front 1/4" to get the same ride height as the slicks had.

There has been discussion to maybe allow ride height changes during declared rain race black flags.

In the pro ranks this is easy. There is no declared "rain race". No black flag because it starts raining (competitors choice whether they want to come in and change tires). If the session was black flagged for corner worker safety, no working on the cars until it goes green.
Simple.

[G.B.]

I have been away for a week on vacation (& from the internet), so have only just seen how this thread has developed.

As you can see from the above video, I had a flat by corner two of the first lap. I nursed the car round the rest of the lap and having no pit crew, I could only return to my trailer, where, aided by the crew parked next to me, changed a tire in double-quick time and presented myself at pit exit. The race was still under full course yellow and I believed I could complete enough laps to be considered a finisher and earn points. It was at this point I learnt about rule 6.2.2.

6.2.2. Retiring to the Paddock
A car that retires to the paddock during its qualifying session, and then returns to the track automatically forfeits qualifying times earned before retiring. A car that retires to the paddock from the pits or the track during its race may not return to the track unless the Supplemental Regulations or the Chief Steward specify.

Although the Pit Marshalls asked for the Chief Stewards permissions for me to return to the race, it was not given to that was the end of my race.

I later discussed the incident with the Stewards, who were keen to explain why the rule was in place, but unable to satisfactorily explain why the Chief Steward’s permission was not given. A mix up in communication it would seem, as they agreed – when it was too late – that under the circumstances I should have been allowed to rejoin the race.

The price of an education, I suppose.

Guy.