Entries # 1987 & 331
The main problem from my point of view was how the staging for the short and long course was organized. They had two lines (bikes on trailers and bikes by themselves) going to one portal where the staging official had his list in hand with the lineup. Since the line of trailers and bikes stretched for 1/4 mile through the pits, you had to be standing near the official with the list to hear him call your number. When he did, you had to run back to your bike or trailer, manage to get out of line and maneuver through the tight pits and get to the starting line. This made for a big traffic jam and road rage. There was NO radio communication, everthing had to be done in person by running back and forth.
I agree 100%. The three-line, list based system is simply not workable. It needs to be abandoned. This was the biggest problem at the meet, that I saw.
Eliminate the list of names. Just have one lineup OUTSIDE of the pits. First come first served.
+1
This is the single biggest thing they could do to solve the issues.
Don't segregate based on long or short course, or whether or not the person has a tow rig. Don't keep a "list", it accomplishes nothing except to aggravate people.
The only fair way to do it is one line for everyone, first come first served. Simple, effective, and fair.
Space the pit rows farther apart.
+1
It was much too congested. Even if you eliminate the tow rig line snaking through the pits, it was too congested. There's no reason not to use more room.
Additional suggestions:
Lay out the impound such that people can have their support vehicles closer to the teardown area. The farther we have to park our trailers & toolboxes from the teardown area, the longer it takes us to do our work.
Prepare two courses, side by side, and halfway through the meet, switch courses. They did this at World of Speed and it really helped. The course deteriorates badly and gets more dangerous as the event goes on. A second course that can be easily and quickly switched to, because it's right up next to the first course, enhances everyone's safety.
At WOS they did the switch overnight. The next day, we had roughly an hour delay is all before we were running again. The new course was noticeably smoother, at least for awhile.