Jon Walpole

I'm surprised how many people feel comfortable offering up their

opinion on what the rules should be for PIR. It just goes to show

that few people actually agree on what PIR is (a race or a training

ride) or understand how to race it. This goes some way to explaining

the bizarre behaviour I see out there -- and I don't just mean missing

laps and sprinting. Nowadays I even find myself confused about what the

objective is when I'm riding out there, but maybe thats just old age

setting in.



This confusion can easily be cleared up by the organizers. If its a

race, then apply the USCF/OBRA rule book to the letter. This means

identifying which of the recognized race formats it corresponds to

and following the rules. For example, in "points races" laps take

precedence over points, so even if you keep your points they only

serve to differentiate you from others on the same lap. Following these

rules explains how to score the night's racing. When it comes to

calculating the monthly series results there are more problems though.

Is each monthly series a stage race (scored on time) or an omnium

(scored on placings for the nights) or some other kind of event that

nobody does elsewhere? The current practice of accumulating the points

for all riders, and disregarding the lap they are on is bound to confuse

people -- why not just run it as an omnium?



On the other hand, if PIR is not a race but a training event, then there

is no need for officials, finish line cameras, commentators etc etc. Lets

save the money, lower the entry fee, and just go out on the track and hammer.



-- Jon