Howdy,
On Mon, 16 Sep 2002 TeamZ06@aol.com wrote:
> You were not sent away from the event, but rather penalized for an
> obvious rule infraction. Your exhaust exceeded the very specific rule
> which set the length limit at a firm 24" from the rear axle
> centerline; there is no allowance for exceeding that length. I fully
> believe your explanation and am not accusing you of intentionally
> cheating, but the car did not meet the specifications called out in
> the rulebook. It was your responsibility to ensure the vehicle met
> all of the requirements. It wasn't like you were only a smidgeon
> over, but almost 3" too long.
>
> I'm sorry to hear about drivers not wanting to return to Nationals,
> but if they don't consider rule enforcement a necessary part of the
> event process then it's probably in everybody's best interest for them
> not to return. I'm also sorry that you made a mistake that resulted
> in dashing your shot at a National Championship, but it's not right to
> put the blame on anyone but yourself. IMO you followed one mistake
> with another by not appealing the severity of the penalty, but it is
> certainly every driver's right to pack up and leave the event if they
> so desire. If anyone is truly a contender for the championship then
> logic would suggest that you make the car legal and prove your point
> while pursuing the appeal process, then come back the following year
> to prove it again.
>
> FWIW, some people feel the subjective time penalties should be
> eliminated altogether; either you're legal to the tee or you're DSQ!
> Time penalties were only enacted as an attempt to be fair, but it
> would appear that the SEB simply opened pandora's box because
> ironically the only thing that results is criticism about how unfair
> the penalty is. My apology for sounding harsh, but rules is rules,
> especially so at the National Championship event.
The part of this whole deal that I don't understand is why the penalty was
so harsh. Let's face it, a DSQ or a 10 second penalty are _both_
essentially disqualifications.
Given the nature of the penalties for other stuff, late to grid being one
of the main ones, this seemed _way_ too harsh.
So am I missing something? Muffler / Stinger length on a two stroke
exhaust doesn't do much, if anything, to power output (as opposed to the
pipe itself, which has a _large_ effect). I've also heard a _ton_ of
people bitching about two stroke exhaust notes, so you'd think an attempt
to quiet them would be received well.
Of course, rules is rules and all, but it _did_ seem a bit over the top to
dq these folks. What am I missing?
Mark
(Not to mention... Stingers can be removed in about 2 minutes with no side
effects. I fail to understand someone who chooses to protest their
competitors rather than speak with them prior to their runs and give them
a chance to fix the problem. IMHO, that person has lost sight of what
autox (or any type of competition) is all about.)
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