Nuddy wrote:MX593 wrote:Only did 2 runs before the heat and arthritis got the better of me.
Did better in the class points than I thought though. Good strategic move that one.
Had a hard time with a new 6.2 liter HSV Commodore that chose to ignore the blue flags being franticly waved at him and intentionally blocked every corner lap after lap.
Fast in a straight line with a few hundred more horsepower, but couldn't brake and get around a corner to save his life.
The bloke in a WRX that put in a dangerous overtaking move on me under a yellow flag was a worry too. He could only do it after getting the checkered flag for the end of session.
The 5 liter Commodore that was clearly un-road worthy, blowing thick blue smoke and dropping oil every time he hit the gas was a special. With his weaving all over the track to try to block other cars and dropping oil had all of us trying to pass him treading carefully and waiting for a safe stop to pass.
The organisers kept banging on about windows being open in hardtops, but ignored clear breaches of motorsport rules.
An Amazing day at the track! Can't wait to run with MX5s again.
Reading the above it concerns me (in advance).
Lap times being made up of speed down the straights and speed through the corners can easily result in
cars with very different characteristics (power vs cornering) running similar lap times and thus being grouped together (my emphasis) in a supersprints.
Then i imagine you would get the powerful car overtaking the less powerful down the main straight and the less powerful clawing back through the rest of the circuit. Possibly the less powerful car would the overtake the more powerful car before the main straight, only to repeat the process each lap.
Correct. Obviously.
As I mentioned previously, there are ways of dealing with this situation. Not all of them work all the time, but generally the situation can be resolved. I should also point out that while this does occur, it only happens infrequently and then to usually only one MX5 driver. To that driver though, it is a very real problem, and most of us have experienced this situation at different times.
First option is to outbrake the other car into (in this case) T2, if feasible. That is, get ahead at the start of the twisties, and hope that you have built enough of a gap to get to T1 before the other driver.
If that doesn't work, or is not possible, gap them - slow down, sacrifice the lap to establish enough of a gap to have a full speed lap next time around. This means you have to exit the last corner at full speed, so the decision to try this tactic needs to be made early enough to let the other car pull ahead (sometimes a looong way ahead). Sometimes judging how far back to fall is hard, and you get it wrong.
Then you have the option of speaking to the other driver, and arranging a grid swap, which includes an agreement for you to go hard on the warmup to open a gap, and the other driver to hold back. Most drivers are amenable to this, but you need to remember that they are trying to do the same as you so it needs to be a win/win arrangement.
Finally, see the CofC/grid marshal and formally arrange a grid swap. If the other driver is uncooperative, this might mean having the grid marshal having a word in his ear, to tell him to leave you room.
Sometimes more than one is employed - first try the overtake, then try the gapping, and finally the grid swap.
The on-track stuff needs care, because we are not racing. However overtaking is permitted, and though it probably has happened, I have not heard of an MX5 getting grief for hassling, and overtaking, the V8 barges where we have the handling advantage.
This is highly competitive State title level motor racing, and few people are there just to make up the numbers. So you need to handle situations like this in a way that complies with the spirit of the event, but still gives you the best chance of getting the result you want. The alternative is to simply drive around with same same cars, and I don't think either of us want that.
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