30mph sustained winds all day Sunday ... sand storms .. portajohns blowing over (luckily no blue men :o ) ... track marker cones blowing around on course ... 38 races ... but everyone stuck it out at Vegas last weekend. BIG Thanks to all the corner workers! ;)
Jeanne, you are so right! I announce it at every one of our races- but maybe I should say it here too for all the regions.
You can all the CCS staff in the world but without cornerworkers- you cannot race. Next time you see one walking through the pits shake thier hand, give them a cold one (if racing is done!) and say thank you. Wave to them during your cool down lap. Alan Muse did a great thing in Vegas, getting the top 3 finishers of FUSA races on the radio to say thanks to the corner workers. I started on corners over 20 years ago- and I don't think I could hang with them anymore!
I've cornerworked in snow, wind, rain hail, and tornadoes. Sometimes all in one day! For the last six years I've raced.
Cornerworking is harder! When a racer says "Screw this," and goes off to hide in his car, the corner workers are still manning their posts. Cornerworkers are the best!
The Vegas cornerworkers had it tough, but all of the help was really appreciated. I'd like to thank Ali and the gang especially for toughing it out in the wind and heat and even managing to get some good video. Thanks guys!
Here here!!!!
I must say that every weekend that I cook for my fellow corner workers I stand back and count my blessings. We are a all volunteer and this past weekend when I looked out over everyone eating lunch and dinner I realized how lucky we truely are. We have these great people that come out race weekend after race weekend. They don't complain, they don't b*tch, and they don't have attitudes.
I just want to say thank you from me to all the MARRC workers who give so much of their time, energy, blood sweat(and sometimes tears) to keep our club going. Without you this club wouldn't be able to continue and the racers wouldn't have the awesome, professional and compassionate protection that we provide.
thanks to all!
Will
PS. and props to the Vegas crew! talk about nasty! dang!
I thought long and hard about replying or just letting
this slide but every time I think of it I still cringe
at the possible disasters.
I would like to start by saying I appreciate the great
work the corner workers do at a mostly thankless job.
Conditions were terrible and I thank all that stuck it out.
That being said, I must relay my displeasure about
the extreamly dangerous conditions that were caused
by the incorrect showing of the RED flag that happened
twice (that I know of) over the course of the weekend.
The first occured on Friday during the GTO race.
The rider in front of me was shown a Red flag that was
quickly withdrawn. I did not see the mistake so I was
under the impression that all was well and we were
still racing. He, on the other hand, was in red flag mode. Just as I was passing him on the outside he
was turning into the hot pit :o Thank God he saw me
just in time not to turn into me. In case anyone forgets
there is alot of concrete there. As I said, I still cringe when I think of it. The 25 minute race was scored only to lap 7 to correct the error.
As luck would have it I was involved in the second incident during the Saturday LWTGP. A rider went down
hard in the back sweeper. As the rest of the pack (the
entire Amature field) came thru the incident, a Red flag
was displayed two corners later. We ALL came to hot pit
with our arm up and awaited instructions. The instruction we got was the starter franticaly waving us through to continue the race ??? I and a couple of other riders were caught of guard by this and were fortunatly not hit from behind as other riders sped off
through the hot pit and raced thru the new section that was deemed unsafe at the begining of the weekend.
This race was mullaginned and re-ran at the end of the day.
I'm not saying this was completely the corner workers fault (actualy the later incident should have been red flagged) but there was definitely some miscommunication going on that could have lead to
disasterous results.
Again, I thank and appreciate what the workers do for us and I realize everyone makes mistakes but please let us all remember that mistakes at the race track
could cost someone their life.
Mike Lytle #310
Mike,
Not to drag this wonderful thread down but have you ever worked a day as a cornerworker? It's easy to sit back and talk about mistakes after the fact. But let me tell you something...
We are out there trying to stay focused from 8am to sometimes 6pm. When an incident happens it happens fast. A lot of times things happen in rapid succession. One thing we teach(or try to teach) the workers with MARRC is to pause that extra second to see how the incident is going to play out. All too often a quick call to control for, lets say, two bikes down on track, to stop the session could have been prevented if the captain had just waited till the bikes stopped moving to see what exactly was needed.
Yes it is important to get flags up and to be as responsive as possible but sometimes there is a knee-jerk reaction (which is human) to what we see happening infront of us. Workers (and captains) need to take that extra second or two (which in all reality isn't going to make any difference to anyone because the riders seeing the incident most likely aren't going to see the flags) to assess what exactly is happening, to who, and what the outcome will be.
If workers are throwing the red flag without being instructed by control to do so they need to be talked to.
Please don't tell us that lives are at stake. We know this and you know this. We just try to make it as safe as possible and we are afterall only human.
I used to teach the worker's school for CCS Midwest until I started racing.
The way Midwest does it, the worker with flags has the debris flag under one arm, and the yelow under the other. The red flag is at his feet. The worker has his back to traffic so he can watch the corner, and pop a flag instantly. His partner looks at the oncoming bikes.
If a corner needs a red flag, they say, "Control, please stop the session" The Control then says, "Red flag, red flag, all corners waving red flags." At this point, the worker is diving for the red flag at his feet. Control in the Midwest really trusts the workers, and will ask why after the field has slowed down. Also, no one but Control is supposed to say red. Workers call a red bike a crimson bike.
I recently cornerworked for the first time in several years. When a bike passed me dumping fluids, I gaped for a second before I wipped out the debris flag. That second of delay was enough to trash a very pretty R6. Fortunately, the rider was OK.
I was once a cornerworking teacher, but I was also a bit out of practice. It cost a rider big bucks. Would the debris flag have saved him? Who knows, but I feel really bad.
Corner workers take their jobs as seriously as racers do their racing. Workers can be old pros, rookies, or good but out of practice. Most are razor sharp. Believe it that no corner worker wants to think a situation could have gon better if he or she had done something different or faster. That sense of responsability, completely separate from the free lunch and gas money they get paid, is the reason why corner workers deserve such thanks and praise. You couldn't pay a rational person less that $100 per hour to be a corner worker, but these people give you their BEST EFFORT, essentially for free.
I've been on both sides of the fence, and know of what I speak! :D
Quote I recently cornerworked for the first time in several years. When a bike passed me dumping fluids, I gaped for a second before I wipped out the debris flag. That second of delay was enough to trash a very pretty R6. Fortunately, the rider was OK.
I was once a cornerworking teacher, but I was also a bit out of practice. It cost a rider big bucks. Would the debris flag have saved him? Who knows, but I feel really bad.
:D
Chris...I can totally understand where you are coming from. I constantly beat myself up afterwards on what I could have done better, or faster, or more accurately but most riders don't see the flag station even if they haven't passed you yet. As you know the riders are looking past the turn and even if he did see a rocking debris he may not have had time to react to it. I've talked to some riders who don't even notice the flags unless they're moving (rocking or waving). so don't beat yourself up too hard. we take the good and the bad.
Just for the record we do not pay our MARRC volunteers. They do however get fed three awesome meals a weekend and get lots of MARRC clothes to wear, a video night and a banquet.
As I said, I realize mistakes are made and I did not
tell you of the possible consequences, just reminded.
The problem, it seems, was the fact that the corner workers did not inform Control of their error because
the starter or Cotrol had no idea a mistake was made until a protest was made after the race in both instances.
If a Red flag is shown then the race is Red Flagged
at that point. Mistake or not.
I have no problem with a race being restarted due to a mistake. What is unacceptable is haveing some racers
in Red Flag mode and some racers in Green Flag mode on the same track, in the same race.
Yes I have worked a day as corner worker and I agree that it is very difficult job.
Have you ever almost run into a stopped GSXR1000
on a TZ250 at 80+mph next to a concrete wall?
As I said before, I've been a racer for six years now. Walls, GSXRs.... I've nearly hit or actually hit just about everything!
The system used in the Midwest would pretty much prevent an accidental red flag, but it has always been policy there (Remember, I used to be the teaher!) that if you accidentally popped a red flag, you kept it out there and told control that the race had to be stopped. Obviously, showing a red and then taking it down could easily get someone killed. I would guess that this was a rookie mistake. Beginners don't always do it right, but I can't imagine an experienced worker doing that.
On the other hand, I once saw a VERY serious wreck during an endurance race that all but killed the rider, but the red flag was laps and laps late in coming, and the workers couldn't get to the rider. Why? Dead radio! Midwest policy on that? It's been in place forever. Need a red and the radio's dead? THROW IT! The next corner will surely figure out something's wrong when the riders all start coming out of your corner slow with a hand up.
Another time at Barber, I saw a three bike crash happen right in front of me. It was really bad. I threw up my hand, as did all the riders around me. It was three more turns before we saw the red flag, but we riders sure already knew what time it was!
First and formost- THANK YOU WORKERS!
Secondly- I have turn worked for Club level racing, AMA, and WSB. I was dumbfounded by the red flag and the handling of it. I was in the LWSB race that had the red flag popped and then continued.
Quote that if you accidentally popped a red flag, you kept it out there and told control that the race had to be stopped. Obviously, showing a red and then taking it down could easily get someone killed. I would guess that this was a rookie mistake. Beginners don't always do it right, but I can't imagine an experienced worker doing that.
was!
That was my assessment of the situation. There was a second issue here- why did control contunue to run the race? I am sure the bells went off in thier heads when we all came into the hot pit "gee..I wonder why the entire feild is coming in.."
I have not seen anything like this all year from the TW crew in the SW or Pacific. I chalked it up to the need for more workers because of the FUSA weekend.
Matt, Mike, and all you guys, thank you for the constructive criticism about the flag issues. You are correct the red was tossed twice accidentally and dangerously. I was in the tower (even with my wireless mic I was not going into that windstorm!) during both and can only chalk it up to race control and the cornerworkers not ever working together before. The National control person did things a little different. The first red flag was most likely cornerworker fault as they were brand new workers and quite green. It is real hard to get workers on a Friday since most people work, all I can say is sorry and I am glad no one was hurt and that it was rectified in the scoring dept. The second one was with corner workers that have worked with us before and am not sure what went wrong there. May have been a newer trainee. As I understand, Sat/Sun corners all had at least one CCS experienced worker. Who knows, with all the heat and wind, could have affected the workers judgement. I know I have seen all manner of boneheaded moves from racers when it gets hot and they lose concentration. Once again, thankfully no one was hurt and the situation was rectified. I will say the CCS Control and the cornerworkers went to school on the situation and everyone learned something. On the whole, with as many racers and classes ae we had, I was really surprised we weren't out there racing on Monday! And- we did not shorten one single race or session - AND had one extra race! I really put the sucess of this on the cornerworkers for being there, flagging well through the remainder of the weekend and helping clean up when the USS Valdiz came to visit (damn Buells- you can dress them up, move the shock around and slapp a bunch of aluminum on it- but it is still and oileaking 883! :o) So good comments from the racers and heres to hoping we never see it again.-Cory