Timing

[Mafia]

How come timing stops at half day on Sunday? The fastest times are more likely to occur towards the end of the day as the traffic dies down and the track gets rubbered in more and more. Would be nice to keep timing for the complete weekend if possible.

[Pat L.]

Sorry, but which region stops timing/scoring for the second half of Sunday? Link to literature where you read that? I find that hard to believe.

[jp99gt]

How come timing stops at half day on Sunday? The fastest times are more likely to occur towards the end of the day as the traffic dies down and the track gets rubbered in more and more. Would be nice to keep timing for the complete weekend if possible.

 

There are several reasons we adopted this. First, you have plenty of time to post fast sessions - there were (6) twenty minute sessions for people to get their fastest time done. As Lawrence said in Saturday's drivers meeting, we all had to get it done by noon Sunday. Second, if you look at the times, often the warmer afternoons are not when a driver's fastest time is posted. It occurs more often in the late morning sessions, while the air is still cool.

 

Third, we've never had a good trophy presentation session until this past weekend for TT. If we have to wait to the last session, most people are gone or leaving and we miss handing out the trophies. We had a great session passing out our trophies during Sunday's lunch, complete with an audience.

 

Finally, remember the people running timing and scoring have to get home too. The region tries to finish the races by mid Sunday afternoon, as they then have to pack up all the equipment and load it. Remember, at Putnam everybody has to off track property by 6pm. That won't happen if we are still timing up to 5pm. By finishing T&S functions by 4pm (the final race), we can be sure everyone has a chance to get home at a reasonable hour.

 

And you still have your track time to have fun on Sunday afternoons.

[mitchntx]

I will have to chime in with that is a fantastic idea ...

 

As a director, trying to assimilate the winners, find the medals and the find the winners is a royal PITA ... especially when MY pit is almost a mile from timing and scoring.

 

Shutting down TT early on Sunday is avery good idea.

[Pat L.]

Wow, I would be pretty screwed seeing as how at all three of my time trial days I seemed to get my fastest lap in the very last session of the day.

 

My Big Willow times started out at a 1:34.2 in the relatively "cool" morning and after fighting some rear shock valving/nitrogen pressure issues and tire pressures I had that down to a 1:33.3 in the afternoon. Much of that difference was due to the fact that I hadn't been on that track in a while and didn't run on Saturday.

 

You guys seem to have good reasons for closing up shop early, but hopefully as long as SoCal has a large competitive group they will let us run all day.

[Gumball]

Up here in Norcal we scratch the first session to allow folks a chance to get familiar with the track conditions and get everything warmed up. The next three sessions are timed. Frequently, the best lap times are during the final (4th) session of the day. Typically, this is because of less traffic on the track.

 

I can understand why you shut things down at noon on Sunday and it sounds like a fun time you put together for passing out awards. In Norcal, we finish so late on Saturdays that the trophy presenters and photographer are long gone by the time we get off the track. So, we are forced to take pictures of Saturday's winners on Sunday. Sunday's winners are SOL.

 

Each region does things a little differently and we all do the best we can with the constraints we have been given. All said, Time Trials is growing like gangbusters!

 

Regards,

 

John

[Greg G.]

In Jim's Oh/In region, he typically runs the entire weekend as a single event, whereas most of the rest of the regions run two separate events per weekend. Jim is right though, I am flat out scrambling to get Sunday's results tabulated, and put together a medal presentation meeting at the end of the day. Then, pack up my own stuff, and get off track property on time. I'm typically one of the last ones to leave the track. I've got some great folks in timing and scoring (Merle, Jodi, John, and others--Thanks) that help me out, and begin merging Sunday's results as soon as the last session is over. And, we do tend to lose drivers that leave after the third session on Sunday to try to get home at a decent hour. But, those of us that stay for the last session on Sunday often have a great time with the less crowded run group. So, for now, I'll keep including all of the Sunday sessions in SoCal.

[GAC]

In Jim's Oh/In region, he typically runs the entire weekend as a single event, whereas most of the rest of the regions run two separate events per weekend. Jim is right though, I am flat out scrambling to get Sunday's results tabulated, and put together a medal presentation meeting at the end of the day. Then, pack up my own stuff, and get off track property on time. I'm typically one of the last ones to leave the track. I've got some great folks in timing and scoring (Merle, Jodi, John, and others--Thanks) that help me out, and begin merging Sunday's results as soon as the last session is over. And, we do tend to lose drivers that leave after the third session on Sunday to try to get home at a decent hour. But, those of us that stay for the last session on Sunday often have a great time with the less crowded run group. So, for now, I'll keep including all of the Sunday sessions in SoCal.

 

I like that idea Greg.