Start Line Car Postioning Error

[graham frankland]

Hi Folks

A word of warning

For the first time in my sprinting career I was twice lined up incorrectly yesterday on the start line at Loton Park

The first time was in practice and the second was on my last (and best PB timed run)

I did not query the error in practice but certainly did after my last run

It transpires that it is possible on certain cars even with perfectly correct Timing Struts for the Marshals to line up the alignment beam against the back edge of the timing strut as opposed to the front edge!

It is also possible to line up with the edge of the nose cone in certain situations where there is enough space for the beam or maybe the colour has a bearing as well (as you know my nose cone is black)

This means the timing beam which is located in front of the alignment beam is already broken by the timing strut when starting light is switched from red to green and hence the timing starts before the car has actually moved!

In my case these errors added in excess of 2.5 secs incorrectly to my overall run time in each instance.

The moral of the story is to query every instance where a time looks odd including those in practice, do not pass them off as just a practice glitch (as I did)!

It looks like I have had my final run corrected so all is now ok but it took some strong discussion to get o the bottom of the matter as we were at end of the last batch at the end of the day and a re-run was not possible.

I have been advised to fill in the gap between the back edge of my timing strut and the front of the grill in an attempt to stop such an occurance in the future!

I hope you find this info useful as being fore warned is fore armed!

Thanks

G 

 

 

[AdamR]

9 hours ago, graham frankland said:

I have been advised to fill in the gap between the back edge of my timing strut and the front of the grill in an attempt to stop such an occurance in the future!

 

Awaiting another thread in a few weeks saying your car failed scrutineering on a non compliant timing strut

 

Seriously though I have experienced some very similar goings on in the past (carbon nose cone) so this would explain it - thank you for posting up!

 

Adam

 

PS: Saw your missed call over the weekend, will ring back today

[Onliest Smeg David]

Having marshalled myself a lot at Blyton on start line I have seen how this could happen if start line Marshall is not paying full attention.

 

Drivers can also help be ensuring they stop several inches before beam. The Marshals can then easier see the start lighting combinations as the car is moved slowly forward.

 

I also always take a final look along the beam line to check car positioning.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Having done a lot of start line duty, it's very easy to do, IF the start line Marshals are not alert/concentrating on what they're doing, as it's also very easy to see it happening while you're aligning the car.

 

As Dave said though, drivers can help themselves hugely, by stopping short, and letting the marshals position you that last final amount; it's so much quicker and easier - it's such a pain for the start line crew when people roll up and through the beams before slamming to a halt, at which point, for some reason, they always seem to need more rolling back and forth to position than normal! (- not that I'm suggesting Graham crashed the beam, I've no idea what happened in that instance, inexperienced team maybe?)

[AdamR]

Perhaps this should be relayed to the man doing the briefing It all makes perfect sense when explained, but I guess unless you do the start line job you'll never know!

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Absolutely; when I've done it in the past, we've usually asked the paddock marshals to tell the drivers while they're queuing, too. Stop a foot short of the beams and let the start line team roll you in - you'd be amazed how quickly you get into a rhythm when drivers do, and how - other disruptions aside - you start moving through cars more quickly and smoother. I used to signal where to stop as the driver pulled up - you'd be amazed how many would still just shoot by though, too busy looking for the times of the last guy, or too focused in on themselves and their lap.

[Keith the Teeth]

On hillclimbs it is practice to pass the beam and then let the marshalls roll you back down the hill till the beam is broken

Stopping short of the beam makes sense when the start is on the flat (such as Blyton).

Marshalls are not too keen (understatement!) on pushing a car that has stopped before the beam up the hill particularly in heat at Loton  🥵🥵

 

 

[Onliest Smeg David]

1 hour ago, Keith the Teeth said:

On hillclimbs it is practice to pass the beam and then let the marshalls roll you back down the hill till the beam is broken

Stopping short of the beam makes sense when the start is on the flat (such as Blyton).

Marshalls are not too keen (understatement!) on pushing a car that has stopped before the beam up the hill particularly in heat at Loton  🥵🥵

 

 

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that... Obvious now!

I stand corrected. 

[graham frankland]

46 minutes ago, Dave (OnliestSmeg) - Manchester AO said:

 

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that... Obvious now!

I stand corrected. 

Hi All

I would like to add the following info to help round out the circumstances That I faced at about 5-30 pm on a Sunday evening at the end of a long and hot 2 day event!

Firstly I would like to restate my total appreciation for the time the marshals give us to help make our sport as enjoyable as it is!

Particularly Dave and Dave for their support of the WSCC event at Blyton!

I would also like to assure Dave E that I was given a real good working over by the timing team that it was my fault, ie dragging clutch, wrong size timing strut and anything else that came up at the time of night.

I stuck to my guns as I know my Westie better than I know my wife ( I spend more time with it) and the head timing guy agreed to inspect my car which was still in the paddock un-touched sinced my final run.

After the inspection it was explained to me what had happened and as a result my time for my last run has been corrected to everyone's agreement and satifaction!

For those who have not been to Loton Park this is still one of the events where tyre warming is still available.

So controlling a squirming 200 hp Westie flat out in first gear on an uphill patch of track no longer 3 car lengths without hitting anything, going off into a pond or deep foliage and more importantly not injuring anyone dressed in orange takes up every ounce of concentration we have at the time!

So with the greatest respect the position of the alignment beam is not at the top of priority list at that time!

I believe I have always stopped in approximately in the correct area as I have not had such an experience on any of my many previous visits to Loton, something was wrong on Sunday!

My only only regret is that I did not query a similar error on my second practice run which would hopefully would have eliminated the issue that I have brought to your attention in my initial post!

Hopefully the bigger picture is now somewhat clearer for you?

Thanks

G   

 

[cast iron]

if this is a repeatable concern should it not be fed back to the governing body for a potential need to alter the strut design. I would not like to think I was a start line marshal lining up a few hundred cars and having to know the quirks of car body shapes and the timing strut, for every different vehicle and colour

[graham frankland]

9 hours ago, cast iron said:

if this is a repeatable concern should it not be fed back to the governing body for a potential need to alter the strut design. I would not like to think I was a start line marshal lining up a few hundred cars and having to know the quirks of car body shapes and the timing strut, for every different vehicle and colour

I am not sure if it is a repeatable concern as it is the first occurance I have experienced in 10 years of sprinting and hill climbing and I have not heard of it on other venues on the circuit!

I guess the timekeeping community would have asked for a timing strut design change if it was causing the problems you describe!

It was busy day last Sunday with Bank Holiday Meeting at Loton and the Mini 60th Celebration meeting at Shelsley on the same day!