[NZST12R7] Ruapuna - 24th - 25th November

[flyingduck]

So jmac is out arm is not broken I read I'm sorry but can someone tell me about the other 2 will they make it Sunday?

[flyingduck]

Also how do we get sector times?

[socram]

Needless to say, absolutely zero ST news in the Auckland Sunday Star Times...

[flyingduck]

The herald has a piece on the Korea round and that's it

[promax]

whoa lotta drama for the st boys this week. strange... none of this was mentioned in the 3 news item i saw last nite?

hope john is ok

[Sommersby]

Originally Posted by promax

whoa lotta drama for the st boys this week. strange... none of this was mentioned in the 3 news item i saw last nite?

hope john is ok

Hi

The footage of the crash wasn't released until today. With out pictures it's called radio.

Now I have it, and I've talked to John, It will be in the news tonight.

I hope this clarifies things for you.

Shaun

[flyingduck]

Anyone know what happened on the first lap???

[Sommersby]

Originally Posted by flyingduck

Anyone know what happened on the first lap???

madness....it be on at 1.15pm

[socram]

When I see this sort of carnage at a top level, I am reminded of the major differences between driving a fairly rare classic, for fun, on a miniscule budget and having ready access to a pile of spare parts, mechanical and bodywork - and the budget to deal with the problems!

[flyingduck]

A few quick things I saw

Paul Morris what a goose enough said.

Owen Kelly see above.

Thought young Scotty did so well up to murph and good to see he owned up to the error.

Edgell seemed to be trying to make a move on murph not blocking thought it was harsh call.

[Biggy G]

Originally Posted by http://www.v8st.co.nz/results/points.html

M3 Racing #10, Team # 51, M3 Motorsport #15 deducted 100 points from round 3 for technical infringement..

Wonder what it was? All 3 of the M3 cars hit with the penalty.

[flyingduck]

Something with the rear bumper I believe.

[Axeman444]

Mr Perkins mentioned the nerfing on twitter, and Russell Ingall has likened Mr MacG to his boss in the V8SC enduros. Said boss then has a go at Russell who returns serve. More fireworks than the NZ Summer series thread! lol

[flyingduck]

Have to say after watching the Johnny Mac crash and reading his concerns after the accident will we the Ruapuna track up there safety as I have already heard rumors the South Island round of next years series may be at the new Queenstown track?

[Goat Boy]

Originally Posted by flyingduck

Have to say after watching the Johnny Mac crash and reading his concerns after the accident will we the Ruapuna track up there safety as I have already heard rumors the South Island round of next years series may be at the new Queenstown track?

I think that would be a great place to have it, very high quality venue. Once the Nelson circuit is built and running that would be a good option too I would think.

Don't think you would ever see them at Levels though, or maybe not at Ruapuna either now.

[NZSTfan]

Man that was chaos! the Johnny Mac crash made my stomach turn and the interview with him was awful to watch...feel really sorry for JM.

But congrats to Scott, but also Tasman with their first win in the series.

Seems to me that this was an all-out, oh-well, we'll get new cars next year, kinda race. That first lap in race one was like nothing i've seen before.

[on_to_it]

Originally Posted by Goat Boy

Don't think you would ever see them at Levels though, or maybe not at Ruapuna either now.

Not a chance for Levels or Teretonga for that matter IMHO.

[Club racer]

[QUOTE=NZSTfan;3171337]Man that was chaos! the Johnny Mac crash made my stomach turn and the interview with him was awful to watch...feel really sorry for JM.

Yep couldn't agree more. The circuit is not safe enough for those cars or for those faster enduro cars that raced there. It has a safety license, but it's obvious that the tyre barriers don't work. Not enough of them, not tethered and in some places buried into the bank itself and so full of dirt that effectively you are hitting the bank directly anyway.

Complacency in my opinion, because you can get endless old tyres for free, Manfeild have a tethering machine which I am sure they would be happy to loan out and the CCC guys could crack it over a few days of working bees. No excuses realy.

[flyingduck]

I thought in such a high speed area the tyres would be 3 or 4 deep.

I rewatched the coverage last night and in race one did no one get a penalty for the turn 1 accident?
I don't know how Edgell was done for blocking going into the Hairpin. It didn't look like Gaunt had a chance to pass and Edgell was looking to make a move on Murphy I don't think he would have even looked in the Mirror.

Also thought that the Accident on the first lap must have been a scary ride for Canto,


Also can any one confirm the reason for points docking for the M3 team?

[Bill Brown]

[QUOTE=Club racer;3171360]

Originally Posted by NZSTfan

Man that was chaos! the Johnny Mac crash made my stomach turn and the interview with him was awful to watch...feel really sorry for JM.

Yep couldn't agree more. The circuit is not safe enough for those cars or for those faster enduro cars that raced there. It has a safety license, but it's obvious that the tyre barriers don't work. Not enough of them, not tethered and in some places buried into the bank itself and so full of dirt that effectively you are hitting the bank directly anyway.

Complacency in my opinion, because you can get endless old tyres for free, Manfeild have a tethering machine which I am sure they would be happy to loan out and the CCC guys could crack it over a few days of working bees. No excuses realy.

I thought our tracks were inspected annually by MSNZ Track Inspectors??

[on_to_it]

Originally Posted by Bill Brown

I thought our tracks were inspected annually by MSNZ Track Inspectors??

They may well be, but inspected for what exactly? When safety should be paramount, either the criteria for approval is pretty low, or they aren't doing a great job. All those South Island tracks are dangerous; we've raced at them all and have seen the results of a minor tap that puts a car off the track. Heaven forbid if the grass is wet (as it frequently is at Teretonga) because you will likely wreck your car on the "tyres" (they are so old and full of stuff, they're as hard as concrete).

[NZSTfan]

Doesn't that remind you of the 'other' Johnny Mac crash in the NZV8's (was it teretonga or levels??), but anyway it was very wet and he lost the back end and went into that bank of tyres/dirt on the left hand side. And then from memory a few more cars piled in over the top....

I guess hindsight is a major here as well. You probably dont really know the safety levels of a circuit until it gets proved by a real life crash

[harcey]

Originally Posted by on_to_it

They may well be, but inspected for what exactly? When safety should be paramount, either the criteria for approval is pretty low, or they aren't doing a great job. All those South Island tracks are dangerous; we've raced at them all and have seen the results of a minor tap that puts a car off the track. Heaven forbid if the grass is wet (as it frequently is at Teretonga) because you will likely wreck your car on the "tyres" (they are so old and full of stuff, they're as hard as concrete).

because they are low category rated circuits they have minimal safety requirements thrust on the operators....
this is where common sense comes into play as far as extra work being carried out...
but i guess the dollars will always intervene.....
old tyres are free and old conveyer belt rubber is very cheap and sometimes free....and the three tracks down south are club/owned run so you would think they would be more likely to have access to club volunteers to help.

[Club racer]

Originally Posted by on_to_it

They may well be, but inspected for what exactly? When safety should be paramount, either the criteria for approval is pretty low, or they aren't doing a great job. All those South Island tracks are dangerous; we've raced at them all and have seen the results of a minor tap that puts a car off the track. Heaven forbid if the grass is wet (as it frequently is at Teretonga) because you will likely wreck your car on the "tyres" (they are so old and full of stuff, they're as hard as concrete).

My guess is that the criteria must be low. Just because it's a 'pass' doesn't mean it's as good as it could or should be. Lessons should ALWAYS be learned from accidents like this - they are 'big ones' where the only control in the outcome anyone has is in the quality and effectiveness of the safety infrastructure they put in place.

I hope they do go back to Ruapuna but I also hope they make some cursory effort to put more tyres where John crashed and at a couple of other points on the track. It's a really fabulous track with fabulous people but I really, really hope they don't put their heads in the sand and say safety is all good because they have an MSNZ track license. That would be a real shame, because these are not criticisms. And John's crash presents a big opportunity for them to say 'yep, we can improve that and make it safer' -

[Armco Bender]

I started off watching the races....but found myself drifting back to watch the Aussie cricket.
Maybe they need some more cars,or a shorter sprint race?.