Safety car issues (Silverstone)

[ss_collins]

The way the safety car operated tonight was a joke, not picking up the leader, losing a number of cars heaps of time, being deployed for apparently no reason whatsoever - being called in for a lap and being deployed again. The traffic lights at the end of the pits seemingly had no logic to when they released cars it ruined the race really. I spoke to a few team members and they said they had no idea what was going on only that a numberof them had lost whole laps due to the dodgy deployment

[ss_collins]

rant pt 2:

When the lola spun at the restart and hit the wall under the footbridge it was daft. At the start line cars were being shown the green flag and yet 100m later there were marshals trackside trying to shift the Lola. Safety car should have been deployed immediatley but oh no they waited two laps with marshals on track then deployed the SC AFTER the Lola had driven off and the problem was solved!!! WTF was going on!

[Fab]

I think the whole race was a mess, including for the direction... fortunately, no damage for the persons, pilots, mecanics or marshalls (except if there was some not mentioned).

A marshall opinion would be greatly welcome...

[Nordic]

I think chaotic and disorganised spring to mind. I really should not be hard to know the correct car for the safety car to pick up or see when marshals are on track and need the cover of the S/C.

It sometimes seemed that the Race director was unsure of the procdures he needed to use, surley that cannot have been the case.

[The Badger]

Why cant Alms and Lmes co-opperate . For example , adopt the pace car rules from the Alms and also the three id lights .

[ss_collins]

I suspect it may have been a BRSCC race director - after all did Brit GT not have these same problems last year

[SALEEN S7R]

Hindy and Mark Cole were saying the race was directed by the BRSCC. IMO this explains a lot of the problems that we had yesterday, I'm sorry but the organisation was a farce! We coudn't have done anything about the weather but we could have done something about the safety car picking up the leader!

[ss_collins]

Explains it all really - why do they not learn

[Kicking-back]

LMES pace cars never pick up the leader for some reason - they've had the same problems at Spa and elsewhere

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

LMES pace cars never pick up the leader for some reason - they've had the same problems at Spa and elsewhere

I must admit I thought it was completely absurd. Especially on one SC deployment where it picked up the slowest car on the damned track - what was that #22 mobile chicane anyway?

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

what was that #22 mobile chicane anyway?

It was the Tracsport Tampolli AER V6, driven by Eddy Morris, Richard Jones and Del Delaronde. The car only completed 36 laps.

[ss_collins]

It had an ali chassis

[Piglet]

I'll not comment on the rest but the concept of picking up the leader is usually related to where the hazard is on the track, where the cars are and where the safety car is being deployed from. If there is an incident on track the best option is often to get the safety car out and get the race neutralised and THEN wave cars by to get them in the right order. Not neutralising the race just to wait for the leader isn't always a practicable solution.

[ss_collins]

true but they didn't wave through

[Piglet]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

true but they didn't wave through

What do the reg's say?

[TheNewBob]

The BRSCC regs probably say "as long as we get our schedule cup of tea and cake then we're not fussed what the safety car does"...

By the way - what were the last two safety car periods for? I imagine one was for the Saleen losing it's wheel - I was making my way all the way around the track in the last 2 hours so I didn't quite catch the reason for the final one.

[Piglet]

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

The BRSCC regs probably say "as long as we get our schedule cup of tea and cake then we're not fussed what the safety car does"...

By the way - what were the last two safety car periods for? I imagine one was for the Saleen losing it's wheel - I was making my way all the way around the track in the last 2 hours so I didn't quite catch the reason for the final one.

Sorry Bob can't remember - I've got a feeling it wasn't for the Saleen though - I think something else happened at the same time? Perhaps the Lister off into the gravel at Luffield?

[Marcel ten Caat]

They said something about (a) car(s) in the gravel just moments before the Saleen lost its wheel. So you're probably right

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

It had an ali chassis

....and a rubber band to power it?

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by Fab

A marshall opinion would be greatly welcome...

Total shambles. On some occasions it was bad luck that the weather took a turn for the worse just as it came in, but I really don't understand why cars weren't waved past to get the leader to the front.

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

By the way - what were the last two safety car periods for? I imagine one was for the Saleen losing it's wheel - I was making my way all the way around the track in the last 2 hours so I didn't quite catch the reason for the final one

First one was for car 6 in the gravel at the edge of the track at Luffield Out (right at my feet - two of us on post were doing a flag dance with SC board, double waved yellows and a waved white as the Saleen limped through at the same time as the pack arrived.) 25 went up the back of 17 in the confusion!

Second was for a car off at Luffield centre after contact with a Porsche who also spun off (#90?). Probably didn't need the car but for the overtaking going on. One car went around the outside of the backmarker only a few feet from where the marshals were working - very scary in the dark. It was reported, but I'm not aware anything was done about it. We would all have heard if it had been, I'm sure...

[iucrmh]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

LMES pace cars never pick up the leader for some reason - they've had the same problems at Spa and elsewhere

Safety cars don't pick up the leader at Le Mans either, LMES is run to ACO rules so maybe that has something to do with it. Wherever the safety car picks up the pack is going to be to the detriment of many come what may. Given the extrordinary conditions the organisers did at least listen to the team managers (eventually) and send out the safety cars. Some of the holding at the end of the pitlane needs some explaining though, that nearly spoilt what turned out to be an incredible race. Could do with some lights around the back of the circuit though, the trip back to the car was "interesting....".

[neilwaynesmith]

Originally Posted by iucrmh

Some of the holding at the end of the pitlane needs some explaining though, that nearly spoilt what turned out to be an incredible race. .

As one of the marshals doing the holding at the end of the pitlane, we would have liked some clearer 'explaining' too....

Believe me, if YOU felt frustrated, it was nothing compared to how WE felt knowing that most people would be blaming us 'controlling' the pit exit for enforcing policy made elsewhere.

Neil Smith.

[Woolley]

The word 'Policy' may be giving it too much credit.

[Erki]

What does that "holding" mean?

[Woolley]

When a car is prevented from leaving the pit lane during a Safety Car period, in this case for a reason that wasn't made clear to the marshal doing the preventing.