1st F3 Race, 1st Safety car.

[Tim 27]

I have just finished watching coverage of the F3 races from Oulton on Motors TV, and have been left with a burning question.
On the first lap of the first race, Dennis Retera clobbered the back of his team mate entering the hairpin. He came to rest facing the traffic,front wheels just off the circuit, rear wheels just in the gravel, engine running.
My instant reaction was that he would probably be pushed directly forward (about 4 feet), and be able to rejoin. I was extremely surprised that in the next camera shot, the marshals were attempting to pull the car sideways and backwards through the gravel, causing the safety car to come out.
Am I alone in this thought or am I unaware of something else occuring to cause this course of action?

[Hepatic]

oooOO, i can help you there, seeing as i was one of those marshals

We had 2 cars to deal with, and Retera was beeched. We did try and give it a quick shove but it was well and truely stuck, so the only option we had was to get him out of the car. As he was so close to the track edge and right in the firing line, we decided to man-handle it towards the barrier and round the bend a bit, to try and keep it in one piece. Normally a snatch tractor would have done the hard work for us, but it's positioned a long way from Shell and takes ages to get there, so it was quicker for us to move it oursleves. As we are under a lot of pressure to keep safety cars to a minimum, it was the best option.

Believe me, that gravel trap is a lot deeper than it looks. Generally, any single seater that goes in isn't going to come out again without mechanical assistance. We got a lot of practice moving cars from the kittie litter that weekend, including 2 visits from Miss Keiko Hope that answers your question!

btw, did anyone record it? I wouldn't mind a copy if you have!!

[Woolley]

Should be repeated several times during the week, so keep checking the schedules.

[Hepatic]

Originally Posted by Woolley

Should be repeated several times during the week, so keep checking the schedules.

ah, should have added i no longer have sky

[mikep]

totally agree with Hepatic as I was also one of those marshals and he wasn't going anywhere. I counted 7 cars in the gravel at Shell and one spun off over that weekend in total. Did Miss Keito only visit the Shell gravel twice ? it must just have seemed like more

[Tim 27]

Thanks for that explanation Hepatic, all is now clear! The footage didn't show you trying to push it forward, hence the question.
Sounds like you had a busy day!

[SRPhoto]

Originally Posted by Hepatic

ah, should have added i no longer have sky

PM me your address details and I will sort it out for you

(Nice explanation of why we did what we did)

[mikep]

Originally Posted by Hepatic

ah, should have added i no longer have sky

The F3 program is repeated on Channel 4 this Saturday(6/5) at 7:30am if you don't manage to get hold of a copy. (assumming my Sky TV planner is correct that is)

[Mark Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Hepatic

Normally a snatch tractor would have done the hard work for us , but it's positioned a long way from Shell

.......yeah, like Donington!!

In my 15 years at Oulton Steve, I've never seen a snatch tractor.

[Hepatic]

Originally Posted by Mark Mitchell

.......yeah, like Donington!!

In my 15 years at Oulton Steve, I've never seen a snatch tractor.

err, there definately WAS one that day, cos it got called to us but was too slow getting there. We'd moved both cars by the time it arrived!!! Have to say its the first time i'd seen one at Oulton, other than the usual stuff they use to sweep the track.

[Mark Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Hepatic

err, there definately WAS one that day, cos it got called to us but was too slow getting there. We'd moved both cars by the time it arrived!!! Have to say its the first time i'd seen one at Oulton, other than the usual stuff they use to sweep the track.

I wasn't there so I don't know!
From what I understand, a circuit has to have CCTV/cameras in order to get "Snatch" vehicles onto the circuit licence.
I'm assuming that because there were TV cameras - probably sending live feeds back to RC - then snatch could be used for this event.

[Matthews Dad]

Originally Posted by Hepatic

err, there definately WAS one that day, cos it got called to us but was too slow getting there. .

AFAIK there were 2 hired in for the event (JCB type multlifters) as used at Brands for big events 1 stationed at cascades and 1 in the safe area at Island, certainly from a specatators point they seemed to clear up quicker than usual at Oulton, First time I had seen them at OP after several years there nad much needed, certainly Shell seemed to get more than its fair share of action on the two days I was around the tracks

[Davie-c]

There was also a tractor at Lodge to do snatches with.It had nothing to do on both days.

[Garry Holmes]

As one of the IOs up at shell on that day, here is my 2 penny worth. Firstly, the driver spun the wheels both forwards and back, so the car was on its belly meaning we had no choice but to get him to switch it off and get him out. Personally I've found the best way to move anything light enough with a flat bottom is backwards (whether on grass or in the gravel) as they tend to slide rather than dig in and sink or get stuck (think about the design of the under tray). The safety car was scrambled to allow the snatch vehicle to arrive from Island, however we had the car out of the gravel and out of the way before the tractor arrived. Excellent work from the team.

[flying muppet]

Originally Posted by Mark Mitchell

I wasn't there so I don't know!
From what I understand, a circuit has to have CCTV/cameras in order to get "Snatch" vehicles onto the circuit licence.
I'm assuming that because there were TV cameras - probably sending live feeds back to RC - then snatch could be used for this event.

The CCTV bit is only required if 'snatches' take place under 'live' conditions, I understand.

The tractors at Oulton for the F3/GT meeting were only ever deployed under SC conditions, thus avoiding the CCTV / circuit licence issue.

[Gordon Knight]

I was on flags at 'Shell In ' for the meeting and thus had a close view of
the events described. I just want to say that the incident team at Shell
did a fantastic job over the whole meeting. During the obs/flags briefing
at sign on we were told that as the first F3/GT meeting of the season
all eyes were upon us and we would be expected to set the standard for
meetings to come. I can only say that based on the performance of the guys at Shell the rest of the country have got a hard act to follow.

[Jan Gower]

Did anybody tape said F3 meeting? I forgot to...... will it be repeated again?

[SRPhoto]

Originally Posted by Jan Gower

Did anybody tape said F3 meeting? I forgot to...... will it be repeated again?

Jan PM ed you.

[SRPhoto]

Originally Posted by Gordon Knight

I was on flags at 'Shell In ' for the meeting and thus had a close view of
the events described. I just want to say that the incident team at Shell
did a fantastic job over the whole meeting. During the obs/flags briefing
at sign on we were told that as the first F3/GT meeting of the season
all eyes were upon us and we would be expected to set the standard for
meetings to come. I can only say that based on the performance of the guys at Shell the rest of the country have got a hard act to follow.

Thank you for you comments, as you know Gary is an experienced IO and this was my 2nd time as IO. Comments like this from a respected person as yourself are very reassuring and welcomed by me!

As I said in another thread.... THANKS TEAM!!!

[Hepatic]

No problem, it was a great team to work with! When you get events like that, you are always going to get things to do and with TV ever present, its more important than ever to get things right. The 2 teams on Shell just worked so well no matter what was thrown at us, and it was an utter pleasure to be part of it. I only hope it goes so well in front of the squillions of people at the GP later in June