Passing on yellow flags....

[scott411]

cheers Shaun, i think we sometimes we all write some stuff on here with out really thinking it though fully,

[CHOPPA]

Well if thats the case there needs to be alot more monitoring of the rule!! In the wet at the last vic club meeting there were bikes doing 2 min lap times and the leaders were doing 1 15s, there were several yellow flags but i can assure you none of the leading bikes stopped behind a slow lapped rider for an entire lap or yellow section!!

I know that theres no passing under a yellow flag but as your not passing for position then i thought it might be ok so i followed all the other riders passed.

No one wants to go protesting at a club race but how would it be dealt with if I was to not pass a slow slow rider whilst all the other competitors did...?

I can understand with mx because generally in mx everyone slows down because theres no run off and the person is on the track but in road racing ive never seen anyone slow down and in my understanding if you need to slow down the race should be red flagged of coarse you have to be carefull and maybe back down to 90% or something but whos to say what 90% of your riding is...

Thanks for your answers everyone i now know the law! Even though it sounds straight forward even after years of racing i wasnt totally sure and i know that theres alot of people with the same mind set....

[boomer]

You need to pull your head in fag boy! nothing against the marshals but some i've seen put there flag out cause the see some one else has there's out even if its after the crash.

ahaha i think thats fag girl.

and Choppa raises a good point.. no passing surely means 'NO passing'.. not 'no passing for position'..

[Shaun]

cheers Shaun, i think we sometimes we all write some stuff on here with out really thinking it though fully,

YEP, I have been guilty of ther same thing mate

[wharfy]

I have been passed while under a yellow flag and it gives you a bit of a fright because you are:

a) not expecting it.

b) going slower than normal racing speed so the differential is grater than usual.

It also pisses you off a bit because you think, "is this guy blind, and didn't see the flag or deaf and/or wasn't listening at the riders briefing or just being a prick ?"

[sidecar bob]

fair call, post edited

Cheers mate, I have removed my wee outburst too.

[ajturbo]

hey people,, if you see someone passing on a yellow, please tell the rider's rep (yer it was me last Vic round) and i will pass on to the correct person, but i will need name/number, "Mel" would MORE THAN likely have seen the maneuver, but it will not hurt to make it known to the RIGHT people...

[roadracingoldfart]

It means dont overtake at all (including lapped bikes) and be prepared to stop if the track is blocked.
If you are passed at a yellow flag incident and you lose a position then protest the offending rider. the riders rep is announced at every riders briefing.

I dont accept the club level meeting mindset some people have as racing is racing and danger occurs at club and national / international level. We all need to be aware of the rules and as its so easy to get a comp licence it is often overlooked, even if the flags are explained at riders briefing.

VMCC has become the largest race series in the country and as such the rules have to be followed and if broken the punishment must be the same as a national event. The MNZ steward will enforce any breach he is made aware of. Safety is the reason they are present at the meeting.

[Nasty]

You need to pull your head in fag boy! nothing against the marshals but some i've seen put there flag out cause the see some one else has there's out even if its after the crash.

Boomer is right ... I is a girl .. and sorry to all I am not a fag. I got over that years ago.

Point 1 - been made by others

Point 2 - there are penalties for passing under yellow.

Point 3 - read the regs - and obey that is what they are there for, YOU can see a small portion of what is going on ... think of how you feel when lying on the track .. when other riders are zooming past ---- as a rider you can not see a lot - understand that as race organisers (of which I am one for Vic Club) I can see a damn sight more and have more communications across the entire track than riders do.

I hope the others got you over your little "faggy" temperment - if not get over yourself and read the bloody regs - if you see wrong doing report it.

[Grub]

I know that theres no passing under a yellow flag but as your not passing for position then i thought it might be ok so i followed all the other riders passed.....

If you think about it .... it's a safety thing so why would you be allowed to pass some but not others?

Think about it being you and your bike lying in the middle of the track. Passing under yellow doesn't seem such a flash idea then. What the yellow is doing is stopping racing without stopping the race - it doesn't matter what all the relative lap times would be.

The bottom line is under yellow you should be down to a speed that enables you to possibly stop or at least avoid whatever it might be just around the apex of the corner. It just makes sense and that's why the penalties are severe, they were announced at rider's briefing.

[Nicksta]

this is a clear cut rule.....
that said.. there is room for debate.... I have witnessed while racing some and all of the following: passing, going race pace, going slow, lapped riders going so slow they are almost backwards (last VMCC) during yellows.
with the above mentioned... it is hard as a racer when you see a yellow, obviously you immediately taka caution through th eyellow area, you assess the area and make a judgement, should i slow lots or a little, should i raise my arm and warn others of a big danger? where is the next flag booth and do they have a yellow also? I like to think if its a concentrated yellow, ie one booth only, you can get back to racing when your clear of the caution or is it full course yellow? Passing someone would mean a change in the placing order, but in the case of a lapped rider, it actually doesnt change the standings at all, so does it affect anyone? But the rule is steadfast, no passing anyone on yellow.

One point i do have to make as a racer, yes we appreciate the volunteers who marshal for us, and totally appreciate it on weekends like last, when it was raining and cold. But it is hard for us to see the flags sometimes and are only human and miss them sometimes. I know I have an issue with seeing flags that are "held" and not waving. My eye sight is not the best and if its waving, catches my eye a lot better, and in the "heat of battle" if its not waving i might miss it as i'm busy watching the bike thats 10cm away from me.

I watched Paeroa this year from the bank by the hairpin. The marshalls there had one man with the red and one in charge of the yellow. Now how confusing is it to see a yellow and a red waved simultaneously? well these guys seemed to both put their respective flags out weather it was a caution or stop call. If i was a racer on that track (and yes i'm blonde, but) I would have been totally confused as to weather i was supposed to be just heeding caution or slowing and preparing for the race to stop. I watched some racers take caution and some slow right up only to find a yellow further on and loose places and race pace. Sometimes we need the marshals to help us help them.

that said, club racing is where we learn to race and gain valueable experience hopefully we arent punished too much for little mistakes.

[Gremlin]

I know I have an issue with seeing flags that are "held" and not waving. My eye sight is not the best and if its waving, catches my eye a lot better

Yep, can understand movement is easier to see, however, its the regs that dictate how we use the flag. Yellow can be waved or held, means different things, and the red is NEVER waved.

Also, marshals are not thick on the ground, so often newer ones are being trained... they all have to start somewhere.

I guess the other thing is that when the action is thick, castrol at pukie is one , things can happen very quickly, and 5 seconds may not sound like a lot to check correct flags are out, plan how to attend the incident, whether the race has to be stopped, does the ambo have to be called... but 5 seconds for you guys is ages.

Our number one priority is our safety (can't help ya if we've been collected), then fallen riders (have to be prioritised) and while picking you up, we also have to keep an eye on the track, are people passing, are they a danger to us, etc... so yes, you guys may be frustrated you can't pass, but from my viewpoint, a postion or two means bugger all compared to injuries. Safety comes first, you want to race at the next round don't you?

[Grub]

"Mel" would MORE THAN likely have seen the maneuver, but it will not hurt to make it known to the RIGHT people...

Often we don't see the passing manouvre AJ, we rely on the flag marshalls to keep an eye out as well. When someone goes down we're intently focussed on the incident because there's several things we need to know in milliseconds, before the next bike or bikes get there
- Are the rider and bike on the track?
- Is the rider moving and getting up?
- Is there debris obstrucing the track?
- Do we need to roll the Ambulance?
- Is there oil or petrol on the track?

In that split second the decision to Red Flag or continue under Yellow is made. It depends on a safe balance between the safety of the fallen rider and the safety of the rest of the field and it assumes responsible riding by those coming up to the incident.

[Nasty]

That said and done, I know that the Steward has seen people doing this and cautioned them ... in addition to the calls on radio from the marshalls.

[CHOPPA]

I fully agree and appreciate the yellow flag rule, i know from experience when someone doesnt obey it, it can really hurt! I still have a chunk out of me ass from someone who landed on me on a yellow flag.....