THSCC Forums

So you guys aren't a fan of the pink camouflage numbered car that shows up from time to time?

_________________
Has no responsibility whatsoever.

I'd have to agree with that. While I thought the course was very fun and would love to run many more like that, if you got into trouble on the main runway you could have entered the dirt at a very high rate of speed. I think we dodged a bullet in that respect.

It wasn't so much the top speeds attained as it was the speed of some of the transitions. I know I was going 60mph+ through nearly the entire main runway section as I tired 2nd gear on my first run and saw nothing but rev-limiter on a car that does 60mph in 2nd. It was fast enough to evoke a verbal "uh oh" from the car owner when he was riding along with me and we got a little sideways. Sorry if I spooked you Matt!

We should probably save those type of speeds for "experienced" and possibly members-only types of events if possible. Like, say, the "switch rides" event.

Jim

I think roving tech works really well for us and I would hate to see it go away because of the numbering situation.

Does it *really* slow the event down THAT much to have the bus call the starter and pull someone out of line? Sure, it sucks for the person who has to get back in line, but that's the point!! I'm thinking it will only take one time for someone to learn not to show up with small numbers/letters.

The raw sheet worker is generally 2 or 3 cars ahead in writing down car numbers/class, which means the car could potentially be pulled before it even gets to the line.

One last comment on trying to catch this in tech. The tech worker doesn't have the same perspective as the bus worker. While there will be some obvious cases of bad numbers/letters, you are asking a tech worker to determine what will or will not be acceptable for a bus worker.

How about the box of paper numbers and classes being put by the start or grid with a roll of tape so they could be fixed right there?

_________________
One of those LeMonHeads...
91/95 Miata, 02 Focus SVT, 01 Ford F250, 09 Suzuki SV650SF
rusty 84 C4 Vette, tiny piece of the General Lei
Irish Sport Horse - 1hp NA!

How about self policing? The start line is not the place to correct a car's numbers just like it's not the place to adjust air pressure or purge your NAWWWZ.

_________________
Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Or spray your intercooler, but I know a few people that do that at the start line as well.

True enough - I guess you'd start to get alot of people just waiting until grid to put numbers on.

Roving tech seems the place, then.

_________________
One of those LeMonHeads...
91/95 Miata, 02 Focus SVT, 01 Ford F250, 09 Suzuki SV650SF
rusty 84 C4 Vette, tiny piece of the General Lei
Irish Sport Horse - 1hp NA!

Ha ha... I think I'm just accustomed to riding/mentoring with the novices at much slower speeds. Besides, I think it was a loud "Whoooooa!" I was grinning ear-to-ear on the entire second run when I knew what to expect.

Just a random note, I think the fastest part of the course was the second gate on the main runway before the straight three cone slalom. IIRC, a saw a paralaxed 79 mph riding with Jim in the Ack' from my perspective so it was actually higher. Awesome!

Maybe I'm just desensitized from track events but it didn't seem that fast to me.

I KNOW it was fast, but I was just too busy trying to look ahead and not screw up.

_________________
02 Focus SVT
STF 9

re: class numbers letters

so based on the comments, it seems like we should enforce the rule....well....everywhere. tech should catch it first, then the grid worker and if all else fails the starter.

i agree with Wes though...the starter really shouldn't have to pull anyone out of line...it messes up the flow a good deal and will probably confuse the t&s worker on the computer.

re: roving vs tech station

for the first couple of events this year i did a tech station because of the shear # of entrants needing tech..for the tech station, i was not hesitent to send a car back if it wasn't race ready...once we handed out a bunch of annual tech stickers i went back to roving tech which is a little more slack but is much more convenient for everyone imo.

unless told otherwise i'll do the same for next season, but i think i will pay better attention to numbers/letters.

_________________
05 MCS

As someone who DID enter the dirt at a pretty high rate of speed, I'll echo that. It was really fun, no doubt, and my spin was totally my own doing, but it was REALLY fast through the transitional elements, and I was on street tires in a pretty low hp FWD car. That said, I LOVED the course, it was REALLY fun, and something new for Sanford, which isn't easy to do.

_________________
2012 MX-5 Sport SUV

I forgot to mention this in my earlier post: This was the first course that I've run that gave me adrenalin shakes.

_________________
Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

You need to try HPDE!

I have a chart from the sign industry that lists visibility based on letter height. I'll have to dig it out. But I think the biggest thing is contrast. That makes a huge difference in visibility.

_________________
Not spectacular just decent.
I'm not sure what I'm driving.
Maybe an ITR in DS.
Or half-assed STX prepped 330.

I couldn't quite make it out over the screaming going on in my own head but I about busted out laughing at the time. I think what made it really funny to me was that I wouldn't have given the sideways slide any thought had you not said anything or had I been driving alone. I think I did nearly the same thing on every run in the same spot. Compared to a typical run in the CRX on a "loose" surface, that was about par for the course.

Fun car and a fun course. If anything, it further fueled my drive to find something different to drive next year.

Jim