I think Mark has a point about commenting on events you don't attend.
The comments do then lead to a general discussion on speeds. These
discussions, inevitably, get referenced back to the course which started the
discussion. Most people notice this trap and "Lurk" -- not caring to get
embroiled in petty discussions and leaving the safety issues to the Safety
Stewards at the events. These people have a copy of the rules and the
reality of the site conditions in front of them.
In broad generalizations, some people feel that the speed has increased to a
point where safety is becoming an issue while, others feel that there is not
a safety issue with speed but, rather that poor course design (improper
corner/speed/obstacle combinations) would be the primary contributor to
safety issues and that those issues do not typically exist. The latter
argue that a "red herring" does not constitute the norm and this is a lot of
fuss about nothing.
I fall with the latter group. In my opinion, one should not plan for utter
stupidity but, rather, some mistakes, stuck throttles, brakes going out,
etc. should be the factors which are considered. Everyone participating in
motor sports (even autocross) should be aware of the inherent risks. If
there is a section where high speeds are attained and you could lose control
and hit something, given that loss of control, then you have an unsafe
course. Just because you hit XXmph does not make it unsafe.
I think that everyone involved with actually executing the rules of this
sport does an excellent job of taking all the factors into consideration.
What I have heard on Team.net are typically extreme viewpoints which are
taken as such. The rules and people applying said rules are typically
(hopefully) in the middle of the spectrum.
My $.02
James Gunn-Wilkinson
San Diego
Z06 SS
-----Original Message-----
From: TeamZ3@aol.com [mailto:TeamZ3@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2001 9:21 AM
To: pfoster@tampabay.rr.com; autox@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Speed Creep!
In a message dated 4/10/01 9:52:33 AM Central Daylight Time,
pfoster@tampabay.rr.com writes:
> Yes, I am a speed creep and I am proud of it. The rules clearly state that
>
That's not what the rules say, but it's no surprise that you read into
things
only what you want to see. You got the creep part right, anyways.
I highly recommend that anyone who shares with the creep's interpretation to
go back and re-read the 2001 rulebook sections 1.3 and 2.1, although the
common sense portion may elude some of you. Please note that the terms
"generally" and "not normally" are not absolutes.
Based on the size of the Fort Worth tour course I would say that the speeds
generally were well within the guidelines and the highest speeds were not
normally encountered for the vast majority of the run. Or in other words,
you should "generally" not comment on an event you did not attend as you
would "not normally" be correct in your assessment, as you are not.
Mark
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