Karsten Hagen

Scott,

Well put. I think you are very clear at the start. But as Patton said, no
battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. Maybe it wasn¹t Patton.

Anyway,

Here¹s what I see:

1. The group being overtaken doesn¹t seem to hear the overtaking group until
the group behind is right on top of the group ahead. This is especially
true when it¹s only a few riders doing the overtaking. So when you yell
³Stay right² or whatever, you¹re probably already overtaking on the left and
the hope that the group being overtaken all does the right thing is often a
pipe dream at best.
2. There are too many egos involved on both sides. There, I said it.
3. I was passing a women¹s group a few weeks ago and when I yelled ³on your
left² I got a chorus of ³we¹re in our last lap² replies. Is this true? If
a group being overtaken is in their last lap (this was on the back wall),
they don¹t need to neutralize?

Anyway, I don¹t know an easy solution here. I raced Pacific Raceways in
Seattle two weeks ago and we had the same issue. In fact, I was in a
masters break and the 1-2 guys repeatedly failed to neutralized when we
passed them. Again and again.

Karsten

On 7/9/09 3:43 PM, "Scott Jones" wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> The last few weeks have had some hairy incidents at Monday Night PIR when it
> comes to neutralizing/overtaking other groups. I tried to explain this last
> night and got some positive and negative feedback. I am writing this message
> for several reasons, but mostly for rider feedback. As a racer myself, I know
> that things out on the road can be perceived one way by one person and another
> way by others. I'm going to lay a few things out for you and would enjoy your
> feedback.
>
> First, this week when I asked the men's fields to give the other groups,
> especially the ladies, plenty of room and you guys tried to laugh it off as no
> big deal, that wasn't very sportsman like. I got another report of it
> happening last night, not cool guys! Is there really this big of an issue to
> give another group room on the road? PIR has a surface that is well over 20
> feet wide in all areas, so why do you need to buzz another group when
> overtaking? I realize that things happen on the road, people can be all over
> the place, groups can be wide, moving around, attacking, etc. and I can't see
> the whole track, but after last week when the 1/2/3's decided to literally
> buzz the women that were neutralized and going at least 15mph slower than you
> while hugging the concrete wall, directly in front of the officials, your word
> on giving them room where I can't see you lacks credibility. Sorry guys, its
> the truth and I hate hearing from the women on an almost weekly basis of this
> happening. Look, if you give them room I won't have to keep reminding you to
> be respectful of other racers.
>
> Second, when you are overtaking a group, be vocal, "On your right/left",
> choose one side and stay there. The group that you are about to overtake most
> likely knows you are coming and should slow down and let you pass as easily as
> possible. Of course there are turns at PIR where passing can get touchy, but
> it shouldn't be this big of an issue year after year. The group that is being
> neutralized/overtaken needs to stay neutral until a time when you can resume
> racing and not immediately get on top of or immediately be in a position to
> overtake the group that just passed you. This should be a good 30+ seconds of
> room if not more. I know you want to race, but you need to give that space.
> When we are road races the lead car sits there until the official gives the
> word to move and race, but we don't have that luxury at PIR, you are on your
> own to do this. The group that is doing the overtaking should NOT slow down
> after overtaking a group, keep racing!
>
> Third, remember that when your race is over that there is no cooling down on
> the course. Please exit to the infield and cool down there. There are racces
> still going and the course is colsed once the first race starts.
>
> Fourth, you need to sign in on the start sheet prior to lining up to race and
> you need to make sure your number is on the correct side and visible. I do not
> like my chief judge spending his own time trying to determine and place people
> who's number are placed in such a way that its almost impossible to recognize.
> Please use more than 4 pins when pinning your number, as that helps eliminate
> folding and flapping.
>
> Although I try very hard to get the groups out on the course in a way to
> prevent overtaking immediately or shortly after starting your race, it is not
> always possible.
>
> Questions for feedback:
>
> 1) Is there a problem with my instructions on neutral/overtaking? 
>
> 2) How do you think things could be changed to improve the process?
>
> 3) How did you guys like the moto on the course a few weeks ago?
>
>
> Thanks for your time and feedback,
> Scott Jones
> Cheif Ref Monday PIR
>
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