NZSBK: Round IV from Hampton Downs, 16-17 March. Feedback?

[Kiwi Graham:Me]

Friday and Saturday ran like clockwork with the prospect of some fantastic lap times and records being broken but Sunday dawned in a very different way.

A meeting between Supersport and Superbike riders saw the TT laps to be reduced by five. A little disappointing because the entry form including lap distance had been out for months prior to the event but many had only just realised the distance and hadn’t tested for this. The TT is a prestigious event and as such should have the recognition it deserves so please note TT’s will be a longer race in future (weather permitting)

After months of dry settled blue sky weather we were delt with the obvious prospect of rain and lots of it.

With this in mind we pushed the start time earlier than planned only to be met with the rain 5 mins before scrub was due to start. So straight away we were met with an enforced delay for tyre changing and then a wet meeting was declared.

The club has for years been restricted with a start time and this mind set will be changed because no restriction is in place at HD. Time saved at the beginning of a meeting can pay dividends at the end.

Scrub went ok but for a few offs requiring recovery….more delays.

The Supersport race probably had the worst of the rain and as a result a fair few competitors ended up as spectators with the result of further delays for recovery of several bikes.
The sidecars were next out on a sodden track and showed amazing machine control having obvious problems of maintaining grip even in a straight line.
The 125’s and proddie 250’s showed us some close racing all day and another Aussie Cameron showed the Posties the way home on one of Ken’s beautifully prepared Suzuki McIntosh’s.

We (AMCC) are trying to make this event more than just another bike race. To this end we are trying to appeal to other factions of the population ie other petrol heads, mum and the kids. The weather clearly put pay to the children’s entertainment section plus the fact who would want to attend a rain sodden race circuit with soaking wet children. Nic Kroeze the stunt rider was stood down due to the delays and although he was more than willing to do his thing the show wouldn’t have been so spectacular due to the conditions. Trade stands and the Helecopter rides understandibly didn't make it for obvious resaons. The Muscle cars (some people came to see them) did go out for a reduced number of laps but unfortunately and very disappointingly for both me and their club one of the cars transmissions leaked some tranny fluid and on the wet surface looked far worse than it was. Clean up took about half an hour…..more delays.

The decision was made to reduce race distances and cut lap times to ensure the programme could be completed. Further delays in getting competitors to the dummy grid in a timely fashion and red flag incidents and machine recovery meant the young guns in the Development class had their race cancelled and I felt so bad for the other young class the GP125’s several of them were excluded from the restart of their TT because of a basic mistake in what to do following a red flag incident, the side car crews were onto it during their race, I guess experience will tell and they will know for next time.

The Superbike TT was spectacular, a first Superbike win for Dennis, a shower of sparks from Nick and a friend in the sand pit for Craig (sorry mate but at least the gap has closed a little).

I asked at the beginning of riders briefing for your ideas, Sloan was the only one to see me during the day with an idea (thanks mate) but I’m still keen for others.

We all know Hampton Downs is a difficult venue regarding the quality of the PA, we have tried to do our bit by providing a number board on the balcony of race control. So if you can’t hear the PA make sure someone is keeping an eye on this board. Your race will appear on it 5 mins before you are due out or get a radio in your pits and tune it to 106’8 and you will hear the call. All of this was either in the event info sent to you advertised and/or raised during briefing.

So to improve the day apart form dry weather for all of us;

Start the day earlier
Read the SR’s
Know the rules
Keep a close eye on when you’re due on circuit via number board, radio as well as the poor P/A
Don’t crash requiring recovery (the two Kawaski’s managed it )

I'm pretty thick skinned so give me your thoughts either in reply, pm, email or ring me..........I just want to make this event the best we can.

Good luck to Andrew and the crew for next weekend and everyone racing I'll see you their on Sunday.

[jellywrestler]

The Ctas was great, 2 cameras, Grant does a great job

Yesterday arvo it kept freeeving up tho, anyone else have problems like that, think my modem may have had enough by then

Lucky it rained to make up for no showers there, wonder if a communal sprinkler was provided by AMCC for the racers

there were plenty of showers there, every apartment had one and I'm sure you one could've asked someone else for access, the club would've taken a huge hit with the weather they didn't need to add $2k to that for showers for a few people really

[jellywrestler]

Were the muscle cars scrutineered? Are they relevant at a bike race event?

the club put in a lot of effort to add some flavour in the pits, good on them for doing that, shame it backfired on em...

[jellywrestler]

Can anyone let me know why there were only 3 bikes in the 125GP race 2?

I saw Matty H have a huge off at T1 and was wondering/hoping he is OK.

same reason there were so many riders after crashing rode back to the pits, they don't know the rules.....

[jellywrestler]

Were they told this when exiting the track or were they expected to have the rule book on them ?
Knowing the rules is one thing but coming in under a red and being expected to know that particular one there and then when you've prob never had to before ?(ok so most have but hey)
(don't expect an answer here Steve)

nice to have a comedians opinion, The Red flag is one of the most vital safety features at a track, if you don't know and understand the red flag and the rules, and what to do around it then you need to take a good hard look at yourself.

[jellywrestler]

I'm sure you're onto it. Maybe the C.O.C. needs a hand ?
(and a debrief). Sometimes you're just up against it and everything fails.
I recall the best organised meet I went to in about 1973 BC at Levin where all classes on the day got 5 races ! as well as the usual practice, crashes etc. Fine weather of course.
Rd 5 will have the benefit of hindsight and run like clockwork.

the nats at levels about five yr ago were over by 2.30 pm, I was a little flyblown by the time prize giving came along.....

[jellywrestler]

When i started in the sport as a Marshall back in 1980. We had to be at track no later than 6.00am. Scrutinneering for ALL bikes started at 6.00am. And you would be working /checking bikes while it was dark. Mind you we did then get a hot breakfast provided at 7.30/7.45 and bikes were always on track no later than 9.00. And after we packed up we would hang around to chat to the riders in the clubrooms. And they really appreciated the job we done. It was a 16/17 hr day by the time you got back home.
Everyones gone soft............. and the appreciation for those who help the event run is not as forthcoming.

the first Isle of man TT's started at 3 AM !!!!

[Damien_Toman]

the club put in a lot of effort to add some flavour in the pits, good on them for doing that, shame it backfired on em...

Yes, if the track had not been oiled by the muscle cars (likely a factor in Bugden and Shirriffs going down) and if everything had been running well within time, they would have been appreciated by more people.

[craignzcd]

dont think any oil had any effect on those 2...they were pushing really hard and by the looks in the pics i took robby just leant over a bit too far....and craigs was probably and a reaction one seeing robby going down in front of him.....

[craignzcd]

a few shots of the slide....

[jellywrestler]

Yes, if the track had not been oiled by the muscle cars (likely a factor in Bugden and Shirriffs going down) and if everything had been running well within time, they would have been appreciated by more people.

doubt it caused their crash, to me i think they both were on the hard charge and may have not had the tyre compound bang on for the conditions as track temperature was changing????

[GD66]

We all know Hampton Downs is a difficult venue regarding the quality of the PA, we have tried to do our bit by providing a number board on the balcony of race control. So if you can’t hear the PA make sure someone is keeping an eye on this board. Your race will appear on it 5 mins before you are due out or get a radio in your pits and tune it to 106’8 and you will hear the call. All of this was either in the event info sent to you advertised and/or raised during briefing.

So to improve the day apart form dry weather for all of us;

Start the day earlier
Read the SR’s
Know the rules
Keep a close eye on when you’re due on circuit via number board, radio as well as the poor P/A
Don’t crash requiring recovery (the two Kawaski’s managed it )

I am a level 3 (State championship level) Clerk of Course and Steward in Perth, and in running meetings with 14 practice/qual sessions and 21 races, probably the most effective means of preventing time loss due to riders dawdling to the grid is the use of a siren. First call is two minutes until the opening of pit road for the next event, then another siren with 30 seconds to go until pit road is opened. After the field is released on their warmup lap, the pit road is kept open for 30 seconds : if a rider dawdles down after the 30 seconds, they start the race by a flag from pit road after the field has passed. Strangely enough, you get very few repeat offenders with this system !
And don't worry if there isn't a siren amongst the PA setup, it's easy enough to run your own system off a car battery that's plenty strong enpugh to be heard all round the pits. Kiwi racers who have raced in Aussie will already bear testament to the efficiency of this system.
Regarding the red flag protocol, riders sign off on the supp regs when they enter the meeting, and again when they sign on on race day, this means they agree to run under the rules as set, so there is NO argument when they transgress in a red flag situation. It helps if the CoC emphasises the procedure at riders' briefing if there is likely to be confusion amongst slow learners. It's not a sign of weakness to spend twenty minutes reading and learning the supp regs for a meeting : as I've outlined elsewhere on the forum, to have all the rules on a string means you can get on with the complex business of running your day's race programme in a calm and organised way.

[Damien_Toman]

a few shots of the slide....

Great shots Craig.

I mentioned the oil being a factor as another rider commented on losing the back-end at the same spot as it was more slippery than normal - he held it and took it easier in the following laps. That was also after the muscle cars. I could actually see the oil on the track at "Barrel51" corner without moving from my position. Tell-tale multi-coloured trails on the damp track - about a foot wide in places - right on the racing line.

Damien

[yungatart]

Great shots Craig.

I mentioned the oil being a factor as another rider commented on losing the back-end at the same spot as it was more slippery than normal - he held it and took it easier in the following laps. That was also after the muscle cars. I could actually see the oil on the track at "Barrel51" corner without moving from my position. Tell-tale multi-coloured trails on the damp track - about a foot wide in places - right on the racing line.

Damien

Did you think to talk to an official about that? Perhaps pass it on to a flaggie so they could pass on your observations to an official, on your behalf?

Or just bleat on about it on kb after the fact?

[Damien_Toman]

Did you think to talk to an official about that? Perhaps pass it on to a flaggie so they could pass on your observations to an official, on your behalf?

Or just bleat on about it on kb after the fact?

I immediately pointed it out to the marshals' who then got on the radio. Soon the clean-up team arrived at Barrel51 and sprayed the oil. They also wisely delayed racing as it was drying up. I'm not sure about the rest of the track though I overheard that the whole track had been affected. Think before you accuse. I am a racer from way back and would never hesitate to point out safety issues.

Damien