On 14 Sep 99, at 21:20, Malaboge@aol.com wrote:
> The first installation
> of the Armco was at the very edge of the track all the way around. It was
> like racing in a tunnel. .... I understand that the
> Glen moved some of the Armco back from the entire track, but kept it at
> the edge in many places
A couple clarifications on last weekend's incident conditions:
- the accident was in the Glen's Esses- up the hill, right at the bridge. Close
armco is about the only choice here, other than vaulting over the side. There
is no runnoff available to the sides. (I suppose concrete would also be an
option?)
-A few years ago, WGI installed the yellow lights up through the esses, an
area where it is very hard to put a flagger, in order to improve safety. There
is
a marshal on a tower with a view from the bottom (turn 1) to the top (on the
way down the straight). That marshal has the button to push for the lights.
This
system has been very effective, even for series like NASCAR with many fast
cars all packed together. I have heard it stressed at a past drivers meeting
that yellow flashing lights are the equlivant of a waving yellow flag.
-All Watkins Glen supplemental regs should spell out the use and reasons for
the yellow lights through the esses. This could avoid much confusion.
-It would also be a good idea if clubs clearly listed red flag procedures in
the
supps, seeing as they do change from event to event. (And make sure they
match what the marshals are doing, which was a misunderstanding at the
zippo event, but not source of incident.)
There were a couple of unfortunate incidents during the weekend, but overall
the driving was good. There were very over cautious flagging procedures,
which has been also reported in SCCA events this year. In group 1 this
included a black flag all for a car off in the boot, and a full course yellow
for oil
& a safety car after the boot. Both of these would normally have been
covered by local yellows at the Glen, or elsewhere. It felt a bit like running
NASCAR - with extra restarts to keep the racing close?
Roger
Roger Garnett rwg1@cornell.edu (607) 254-6193
Director of Computing Services, Cornell Alumni Affairs & Development
55 Brown Rd. #252, Ithaca, NY 14850
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