I was critical of the driving standards employed by some of the S1 drivers that attended my club ahead of their visit (it was mostly the little nudges that just pushed you wide enough to get by without attracting much attention). When I marshalled at the S1 round, I was amazed to see how much better the standards were. This was entirely down to there being enough officials on track and strict enforcement of the rules. There were still some inconsistencies - the clerk stood no nonsense although I raised an eyebrow or two when watching the TV footage and seeing a few incidents at other parts of the track. It made me realise that the clubs do share some of the responsibility: they should demand strictness from their clerk. If they don't get it, employ someone else! They also have an obligation to provide sufficient race observers IMO. I know that some clubs are finding it hard financially but race observers should be considered mandatory. It is unfair to expect the marshals to do it all (they don't do as thorough a job given reporting is not their primary responsilbity). The clerks themselves should also be on track whenever they aren't in the office.
All of this said, there were plenty of officials on track at the TKM Festival but I think only one person was summoned to the office after a third of the karts failed to finish one of the finals!?!
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