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Great video!
I’m out of action for a while but really looking forward to racing 206 in a month or so. Hope someone didn’t steal my number (12) but it looked like there was a 12 on the video.
Nice racing and how it should be, make a mistake you get passed, race clean and you move ahead. Does put the pressure on for qualifying well. Looking forward to racing with the 206 crowd.
BTW how many were in the different categories, Light, Med, Heavy?
It might be less confusing if you simply listed them separately. All the rotax series race dates followed by the club series dates.
Are specs for TAG still the same. MG Yellows, weights etc, or will people be allowed to use other tires since it is a club series?
Also, how many drops for the series (one per track?)
The ribtec 2 makes a big difference and I am not one who typically endorsing things. It allowed me to drive with what I’m sure was a cracked rib (I’ve had em before).
while some tracks jossle you around that will just create relative soreness. If something hurts bad it is likely that your kart took a big hop while pulling some serious side loads. The Track is nice but if your kart hops on the downhill turn going into the main straight (CW direction) it is going to hurt.
I have bruised and broken ribs just in practice sessions.
#1. try to get your kart from hopping. Odds are you are hopping or skipping around some turns and that is what causes the bumps to the ribs that are bad. I can’t offer solid advice on tuning your kart to prevent that as there are lots of variables to work with.
#2. While it is expensive, consider a Ribtec 2 rib protector. They are about $200, but this has made a Huge difference for me compared to my old rib vest. Worth every penny.
jj
the kart weight has little to do with the tounge weight. it is the weight that presses down on the the ball. Given that the kart will be somewhat over the wheels of the trailer it will likely be around 20-40 pounds. A class 2 hitch should be fine for a small kart trailer.
What is really neat is changing the view direction. At The Track it shows everything from late last season to pre construction depending if you are looking for a N, S, E or W view.
Not sure if this is Aerial work or 1m sattelite imagery, but it is Very Hi-ResNo problemo on the ACL and Meniscus. I have no ACL and only half the meniscus in the left knee. I still ski just fine but wear a brace if I”m doing black or double black diamond runs. Still run too, just need a little vitamin I at times (Ibuprofen). Also severed all my quads and most of the hamstrings in the other leg in a bad biking accident.
waiting out part of a season is a pain, but focus on rehab. You can and must rehab. Then you can still have fun, but don’t short change the rehab time or effort. Make it as serious as any sport you want to continue with. Hope to see you on the tracks again soon.Nice video. I especially liked the on kart camera. That came out really good.
I guess it wasn’t much of a pile up after all. From what everyone was describing I thought a lot more karts were involved with far more impact etc. :idn:
If people want Xs or Os or whatever I don’t really care but as RBI somewhat suggested it should be based on where you have finished rather than individual lap speed. Someone could be slightly slower, but a better driver and finish very well. That would still leave plenty of people with rookie/novice designations. That is why some competitive events have separate A, B and C mains, and some plate numbers are reserved for people who have finished a year out in the top positions. But I’d rather something that identifies the whole field A, B and C levels rather than just an X designation for 3 races as in SCCA.
What I find particularly frustrating is:
#1. As Ian pointed out two races ago, everyone is supposed to have a rule book, have read and know it. Ian was clear that he was not happy that people did not have their rule books and several people didn’t even know how to get it. That is not good.#2. Rules and how they are applied should be well understood by all racers before they even get on the track.
Unfortunately, as this thread points out, there are many different opinions and interpretations of what is permitted. That is (IMHO) the main problem. When asked was is legit and what is not we should all have the same answer. Each driver will choose to stay within or outside of those rules, but they ought to know what they are and what the consequences are for infractions.
The CSC rules are pretty clear and unambiguous, but it is obvious that many drivers feel the “real” rules for karting” are more towards the Nascar side of things than the F1 side.
If that is the case, fine, but then we should change the way the CSC rules are written.
When rules and enforcement are clear it helps everyone understand what is to be expected, what you can and can’t do, and what you should or should not get upset about.
It is obvious that there is a huge amount of ambiguity and it is not confined to newbys.
I’ve read Karting rules from different organizations that are very different on the same topic. One example:
One kart is in the lead going into a turn, another kart gets their front wheels ahead of the rear wheels of the lead kart but does not get side by side.
Can the front kart shut down the driving line or do they need to allow space?
Can the rear kart try to maintain their driving lane and position if that will result in contact with the lead karts side pod?
One set of karting rules I’ve read was very clear on this, but our CSC rules contradict those other karting rules. I personally like the other set of rules, but I’m supposed to know and follow the CSC rules.
The less ambiguity, the less debate and frustration for everyone. If someone doesn’t like what gets clarified, they can choose to not participate, or just deal with it.
With this much ambiguity we are asking the race officials to weigh too many factors into each decision making a tough job much harder than it needs to be.
Will IMI be open for racing on the new surface either Saturday or Sunday.
This is like a fresh powder day :sun: .
Just in case it isn’t incredibly obvious to all…
My comments about getting more karts across the finish line in races has very little to do with me other than perhaps a slight perceived increase in safety. (more karts on the infield might actually be safer)
Yes I’ve been nerfed out of two races but one case was aggressive, but not intentional and I wouldn’t have expected a black flag for the other driver, the other case I’m not so sure about.
Regardless, finishing those races might put me way up into perhaps mid pack of TAG Masters. Big deal. Me finishing the year out 5/10 or 8/10 doesn’t mean anything. If you’re not on the podium it doesn’t matter. Maybe next year.
I would like to see the Best drivers finish in 1, 2, 3 and qualify for the Nationals, and I would like to spend more time on the track racing with as much of the starting field as possible. I think that is what everyone wants out of racing. No one wants to spend all that prep time to sit out the Main or get injured.
So, can we make this better?
I think so and apparently Jamie and others think so.
Why is trying to improve things so controversial?
Guys, this was Jamie’s thread, not mine. I missed this last race and found it sad to hear about the pile ups, and to hear about them from Jamie who obviously has a lot of credible racing experience. Doug’s comments from the first race this year holds a lot of weight too.
You cannot really know what is happening in a race while you are part of that race. You need to be focused on your race. You also have no idea on how well or poorly you are driving during that race as you are focused on driving the best you know how. I doubt a serious competitor knows when they were driving beyond their limit or out of control as they are trying to stay on the edge whether they have raced 10 time or 100 times.
That is why it is important for the race officials to be clear, direct and not particularly lenient. I’ve gotten docked points in National RC Combat events and although I thought I was inside the line, I had to accept that I screwed up knowing if it happened again I was DQ’d from that whole competition (2 strikes at any point in the day and you’re out).
In the racing I observed, either from the pits or after being punted to the infield I have seen some great driving and some bone headed driving. The video I made of Mini-Max and Intl RMax showed some really nice driving. Not Senna like driving, but pretty nice for regional racing.
When barely half the field finishes and half of those were pushed off the course, there is a problem. It doesn’t require years of experience and 50+ races to figure that out.
It is obvious we have issues and I’d rather that people propose ways to finish races with 90% of the starting field and where the other 10% have self inflicted DNFs. There will still be some bumping and there will still be some injuries and risk. That goes with the territory and I’m fine with that.
Races are not as competitive and don’t improve skills when people are randomly nerfed off the course while the nerfee finishes. At IMI the RD made it clear that if you nerf someone off the course you are DQ’d. That is a tough call to make, but it makes perfect sense. The judges and Race Directors have tough jobs because it is real time and they can’t watch every kart go past their corner. In an ideal world with an unlimited number of turn marshals the problem could be resolved during the race. Perhaps our best solution is to film videos and give the race officials a top 5 list to watch and be ready to black flag for the next race.
So Rick, Tom, are you saying everything is peachy?
As I said earlier the track officials are to be commended for staying out there and doing a tough job. I know, I do it for RC Combat and Pylon racing where your are flying planes very close around you at 150mph. One mistake and someone gets impaled. I also was a race marshal at top level RC car racing back in Chicago. Less at stake but tactics, lines and the difference between experienced and newby racers might have been even more obvious as you could see more of the track in your field of vision.
As I’ve also stated Many times there will be bumping in racing just due to inertia, someone braking in front of you hard or just plain hitting some dirt kicked up on the track that causes you to lose grip you thought you had. It is when someone is driving way past their ability or too aggressively that they need some reigning in. Yes it is a Very tough call to make. It requires you to watch the follower, not the leader, and in many cases you can’t tell what happened. You have to watch trends. It is even more difficult when we have some many different levels and classes racing together.
I was not out this weekend because I was ill Friday and only felt so so on Saturday so didn’t practice / tune and felt I might be iffy on Sunday and was more likely to cause an issue than have a good race. Being a pilot I take full mental and physical preparedness very seriously. I took myself out because I wasn’t fully ready to race.
What is distressing is the attitude of many to try to win on the first or last lap, much less the first turn. As others have stated a good driver will spend some time learning how to pass someone and not crawl up their rear as soon as they can. They have got plenty of laps to do that. And if you do leave some space to observe and learn a good line and the newby brakes too hard then you have the space and lane to run right past them. Too many drivers here haven’t learned lines and patience in passing. I know the latter and strategy but don’t have the experience and skill in this form of racing to put it all together yet.
Having an X isn’t the solution because a smart driver spots and knows the slower drivers before the race begins. Perhaps you need to split classes and licenses to have A, B and even C mains. That would allow success to grow and would keep the best drivers from losing out due to inexperience or overly aggressive driving.
What I find amazing though is that watching the Mini Max or Intl RMax videos you see great driving. Pushing hard but nothing unreasonable.
I wish we could get some of that sense and balance into all of the classes. I know this is hard to do, but we have some smart and dedicated people in this group. A first turn pileup should not be that bad!
