Anyone else watching the crash fest in race 1??
Yep.
Wow.
That place is an abomination.
Check out the pics of Dean's bike on RRW. Broken in two.
That was totally nuts. You had blown engines spewing oil. Ruptured gas tanks catching fire. And how about the guy who supposedly dumped his cooler contents on the bridge and caused Mladin and Hacking to crash?? That has to be the craziest reason for a red flag ever!
Can anyone top that? Locusts? Flood? Earthquake??
The 'rabid' opposum that attacked the cornerworkers at Autobahn North a few years back was pretty odd.
You may not remember that one though Paul. I see to recall someone rather focused on a clutch lever that was stuck in a tail section. :kicknuts:
what a crazy race.. Was bummed to see Yates toss it in Race 2.
Quote from: Burt Munro on August 04, 2008, 12:02:19 AM
The 'rabid' opposum that attacked the cornerworkers at Autobahn North a few years back was pretty odd.
You may not remember that one though Paul. I see to recall someone rather focused on a clutch lever that was stuck in a tail section. :kicknuts:
Oh man, I only wish it was my clutch lever! I rammed my brake lever into the back of Greg Avello so hard that it instantly stoppied me over the top and into oblivion. Yep, I broke the brake lever off in his tail section and it stuck there all the way around on the red flag lap. Doh. Thanks for reminding me.
Yeah me and my buds where at the bridge. We saw water on the track before and I ran over to the workers and told them 3 in a row almost hi-sided. and they said "oh thats how they ride" I was like bit@@ I race and I know how we ride but there is water on the track! she's like we check it before everyrace. then red flag #1 workers run half way to where it was, but it must have dryed cause they didn't go all the way. Had to clean up oil in t11. I kept an eye on the bridge to look for more water, didn't see any until they started by then it was to late. workers wouldn't give me the time of day .
after the crash they didn't even see the big spot of water on the track til everyone started yelling at them . :wtf:
Glad they don't work Blackhawk
I once threatened to have the workers director tossed out of the track if he didn't get his shit straight. Those people are pretty much useless as corner workers. This was back in the 80's so not much has changed...........
What do you expect from a bunch of car people that are "burdened" with motorcycles. I watched this race and was shocked at how terrible the workers were... I mean completely useless. How in the hell do you not notice water pooling up at that point on the track... or maybe spot it dripping in the first place... to hell with that: why isn't the freaking bridge water tight in the first place? That unexpected loss of grip is the kind of situation that causes major injuries and death. I also like the guy who refused to put out the bike that eventually burned to the ground. I can understand not wanting to get in the line of other possible crashers, but the dude who crashed went as far as possible so just go 10 feet further away on your way out to it and put it out! The combination of bad things I've heard and the bad things I've seen about Mid-Ohio make me glad I've never been there.
Quote from: weggieman on August 05, 2008, 07:23:13 PM
I once threatened to have the workers director tossed out of the track if he didn't get his shit straight. Those people are pretty much useless as corner workers. This was back in the 80's so not much has changed...........
Which group is the Safety Crew for Mid-O?
They use a lot of Lake Erie Communications SCCA peeps filled in with others. I know a number of them do know how to work bike events.
Quote from: cardzilla on August 05, 2008, 07:41:22 PM
What do you expect from a bunch of car people that are "burdened" with motorcycles. I watched this race and was shocked at how terrible the workers were... I mean completely useless. How in the hell do you not notice water pooling up at that point on the track... or maybe spot it dripping in the first place... to hell with that: why isn't the freaking bridge water tight in the first place? That unexpected loss of grip is the kind of situation that causes major injuries and death. I also like the guy who refused to put out the bike that eventually burned to the ground. I can understand not wanting to get in the line of other possible crashers, but the dude who crashed went as far as possible so just go 10 feet further away on your way out to it and put it out! The combination of bad things I've heard and the bad things I've seen about Mid-Ohio make me glad I've never been there.
Most corner workers are highly trained. Yes, most are "Car guys", but 80% of the events at any track are car based. Each corner will have a corner captain. In cases like Matt Lynn's crash, they are not to leave the "safe area" until its deemed safe to do so. If you look at the turn 2/3 area, a lot is in an impact zone. Remember your first aid training? Make sure the situation and area is safe to work in. Its easy to call the shots from your couch in your living room.
The only experience with AMA races I've got as a corneworker is from the first ever AMA event at Barber - so I'm in no position to be judge and jury. That being said I (as well as the 3 other guys who made the trip with me) was surprised at the level of danger to our well being that was expected.
The phrase they hammered home all weekend was 'do whatever you need to do to keep the race from being red flagged.' This was especially emphasized on Sunday because the races were being televised live. The comment was also made several times that the expectation would probably put us into situations that we weren't accustomed to.
I didn't see any of the races from Mid-Ohio so I can't compare it to what we ran into at Barber.
...... just my 2 cents
Quote from: Burt Munro on August 06, 2008, 10:03:30 AM
That being said I (as well as the 3 other guys who made the trip with me) was surprised at the level of danger to our well being that was expected.
The phrase they hammered home all weekend was 'do whatever you need to do to keep the race from being red flagged.' This was especially emphasized on Sunday because the races were being televised live. The comment was also made several times that the expectation would probably put us into situations that we weren't accustomed to.
Wow, I hope you got paid well!!
Quote from: Simon on August 06, 2008, 10:17:29 AM
Wow, I hope you got paid well!!
$65 a day minus $5 a day for our lunch. Checks came several weeks later.
Keep in mind that doing whatever you can to keep things rolling included you not getting hurt which would cause an immediate red flag....
Maybe I didn't phrase that properly......... the expectation was clear. We were to remove bikes from impact zones that under 'normal' CCS/WERA conditions would not take place under a green or yellow flag.
Kinda like crossing a 4 lane city street with 35 mph traffic versus crossing a 6 lane highway with 55 mph traffic. You can get across - you just gotta pick the right time!