If the Marshals are feeling stretched, they need to speak up and the circuit need to react, as the Marshal Post in question has to watch the entirety of Lunar, which is effectively 270 degrees worth! I think the increased grids add a case for this and I would have thought the increased volume of Entry Fee revenue would cover wages. Also, if it is true that the Marshal supposed to monitoring the incident area was on/using his phone and not paying attention to the race and reacted slowly, then that surely is a disciplinary - he is effectively endangering everyone on the track at that point.
I can not comment on the Red Flag incident as an example as I was not involved, nor do I know how or what happened. But I do feel that we could do more to prevent racing incidents or otherwise happening all too often, as at least one kart per evening will loose a lot of time or even retire due to unnecessary and avoidable contact and it seems that some drivers are just not conforming to the general rules of racing (which may not be the cause of last nights Red Flag, but it certainly is the cause for other incidents that I am sure we have all experienced).
We have seen over taking during Yellows Flags, and last night even over taking on Red Flags, speeding in the pit lane and not stopping sufficiently at the stop box, which all builds up to inevitably overly aggressive and inconsiderate driving out on track.
Upon the restart, by the time the karts came back round the final hairpin, there were HUGE gaps between packs of karts… how so? A formation lap is supposed to be slow so everyone can be bunched together and not race pace for some and formation pace for others; something Marshals have to enforce.
A stricter drivers briefing informing drivers that unacceptable driving will be punished and that ultimately, we have to respect each other, our karts & the safety rules, would help matters. Penalties should be more accessible & reactive to back this up (an addition of drive through penalties for example), empty threats are worthless. Ultimately, every driver has to follow the rules, the most important of which being the SAFETY RULES, which are the most common to be broken; it wasn’t long ago that a driver at Three Sisters didn’t even know what a Yellow Flag meant! Even a clear and concise Safety Information handout passed out at the beginning of every race when you sign-on would be a step in the right direction; example details being: Warning Flag definitions, Driver Expectations and Penalties & how they will be enforced. I wouldn't even mind producing it, but it would have to be backed up by the actions and consistency of the circuit Marshals.
New teams could also do with a more specific briefing to ensure they are watching behind them as much as they can do, as whilst it may sound harsh and I am sorry, while they learn the circuit, general race craft & improve their karts, most new teams will be slower than a good chunk of the grid and will be lapped. Even now, I always check behind me intermittently for the inevitable lapping of the top 5 karts and try my best to let them through - it keeps everyone racing with minimal disruption on both counts. (Please do not take that as a reflection of last night as it is not).
In conclusion, we need a crack down on Safety Rules and Drivers Safety Standards.
That’s my rant over ;-)
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red flag incident at wigan by 'rosco21centurykarting' (17 Aug 2010 @ 0:26)
