I wasn't there on Saturday, but I do know the timers, and they very easily
deal with extra trips - you simply remove that trip (or trips) (even after
the car has finished) to get the correct time. Because the timer is so easy
to use, the SFR events I ran last year tended to go without a timer person
in the trailer. He/she is not usually needed, but in cases like this
(frequent walk-throughs of the timer) that person contributes greatly to a
smooth running event. Note that the timer is not perfect, so someone doing
the hokey-pokey with the light might overload it's memory, but hey, if they
have that much time, they coulda gone around :-)
The chalk line (dashed, and maybe even in a different color) is a great
visual reference and great idea. However, if accidents happen it's good to
know how to deal with them (note that this is in now way a dig against the
chairpersons or those in the trailer!)
Kevin McCormick
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Smith, Corey [mailto:Corey.Smith@kla-tencor.com]
> Sent: Monday, March 13, 2000 4:43 PM
> To: 'Carl Merritt'
> Cc: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: Course design and surface
>
>
> An extraneous chalk line might be a good idea. You could use
> those drywall
> strips to chalk off a little "DO NOT ENTER" zone that is at
> least the width
> of the timing light box, and extends all the way up to the edge of the
> course itself. Hopefully this would prevent any course
> worker from tripping
> the lights. It would only take a couple more minutes and a
> few more inches
> of drywall to setup.
>
> In addition to that, a good visual clue that runs across the
> course might be
> a dotted chalk line parallel to the light beam. And, of
> course, it's dotted
> so that it doesn't get confused with a course edge. This
> would also aid the
> course worker in knowing where the timing lights are located,
> but would also
> help the driver know when he can get off the throttle. I've
> noticed many
> rookies staying on the throttle well past the timing lights. I know a
> couple people were nervous when a couple cars were sliding
> sideways and
> backwards toward the grid.
>
> Oh yeah, I just wanna mention that I really enjoyed the
> course design at
> Oakland. That long, fast, left-hand sweeper was great,
> especially the kink.
> It took some courage to bomb through that kink without using
> the brakes
> much, but it took lots of time off. The next two turns, left
> then right,
> were all about patience, and keeping the car on the clean
> stuff. The finish
> S's were especially difficult, but very rewarding when you
> set up for them
> correctly.
>
> Corey Smith
> '00 Blue Audi S4 #25
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carl Merritt [mailto:cmerritt@ati.com]
> Sent: Monday, March 13, 2000 3:31 PM
> Cc: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: Course design and surface
>
>
> > Maybe we could tape a crepe paper streamer along the cones
> that mark
> > the light beams? It'd stand out in a scrambling worker's
> mind a lot
> > more than just the cones.
>
> It's those cones that were most often getting whacked, and
> the resetting of
> those cones that caused the most timing trips. I would think
> paper would
> just complicate things. A chalk line however would be nice,
> as several
> times I had to move to one end of the beam to see which side
> of the beam a
> downed cone was before going to pick it up. Would an
> extraneous chalk line
> like that confuse drivers too much?
>
> At the beginning of group 6, when I was working the finish S,
> I started out
> with more than 10 spare cones (I went and collected a big
> pile from the
> timing slip guy). By the end of the run group, I had just one left!
>
> Charlie's point is well taken, with the need to slow the cars
> down before
> the finish because there just isn't proper shutdown room at
> Oakland. But
> something about that finishing S was just brutally difficult for many
> people, and I would say it was probably more difficult than
> necessary to
> slow people down (In my humble back-seat-driver
> never-designed-a-course-before opinion).
>
> -Carl
>
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