Course markers

[Stainless1]

We raced with just mile markers for several years... it sucked!  The new Guard at the scta must not have been there then.  It basically means you can see 3-4 pairs of markers defining the course, not enough since they are a mile apart and can get lost in the mirage. 

[Sumner]

.... The new Guard at the scta must not have been there then.  It basically means you can see 3-4 pairs of markers defining the course, not enough since they are a mile apart and can get lost in the mirage.  

Not sure how the decision was reached to only have mile markers or who the parties were that came to it but at this point Scott (SCTA President -- SCTA's BNI Representative) is making sure that we will have the markers probably on the 3 main courses.  I don't personally know Scott, but just called him the other day and he has been more than receptive.  I couldn't ask for more than that.

I have a feeling the main reason for eliminating the old quarter mile markers was based on safety concerns for anyone hitting them.  Of course that raised the problem of racers not knowing where the course was  .  It looks like we have a solution for this year and if it doesn't pan out then something else can be considered for the future,

Sum

[Stan Back]

Maybe ten years ago, at the drivers meeting, they told us of a particularly rough spot  on 1, down about the 3, that was about 30 feet wide and ten feet deep.  They'd marked it with lots of green dye.

We drove the course in our chase vehicles right after the meeting, and sure enuf, there it was.

Made a really early run right thereafter, in our roadster, not a low one either, and at 200 never saw it.

I don't think marking the ground will do it.


There's no reason I can think of of not filling the balloons with good ol' cheap air.  They'll sit on the ground.  They could be marked with a dye circle for maintenance.  They could be easily replaced during the day, and moved when a course is moved -- not easily done with a big dye mark, even if it could be seen.

[manta22]

Maybe use a big tethered beach ball?

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Ron Gibson]

I'd vote for a 3' or 4' tethered balloon. Would be as visible as present markers. In the meantime I sent a hundred to SCTA for this year.

Ron

[jacksoni]

We raced with just mile markers for several years... it sucked!  The new Guard at the scta must not have been there then.  It basically means you can see 3-4 pairs of markers defining the course, not enough since they are a mile apart and can get lost in the mirage. 

Yes but we also had big black oil lines on edges and center of the course, now outlawed. I ran a mostly lay down streamliner and could see the center black line ok. Now, with no lines, only having mile markers would indeed, suck.  I think the foam stuff will still whack a bike rider pretty hard so I vote for balloons too and every quarter mile.

[Speed Limit 1000]

One problem I had with the black center line was it wasn't strait enough. In a low car the line was very annoying at 220 mph.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Here's what happens when a bike rider goes through an orange marker at 200.



Here's Todd taking a look at my hands, and from here you can (sort of) see the front end damage to the bike.  The crossbar of the flag holder hit the windshield and folded/forced it down hard enough to crack the electronic dashboard rendering the bike to "no engine running" status.  Damage also included bending the clutch lever back far enough that the clutch would no longer disengage:



I wear kevlar long underwear - pants and shirt.  Whap it with a piece of PVC at two bills and it was strong enough to give me some abrasions through the leathers and the kevlar:



It hit this knuckle of the carbon fiber-reinforced gloves and kind of smashed the middle and lower joint of my left hand:



The crossbar even managed to ding and scrape my helmet (it's sort of hard to see in the bright photo):



The moral of the story is - don't concentrate so much on the tachometer that you don't see where you're going, and:  don't hit the mile markers if you can help it.

[Dynoroom]

I'm pretty sure this face shield would not have stopped the PVC tube that clobbered this helmet.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Ivjust got an email from Scott Andrews - saying that all three "regular" courses will have the new foam markers.  Sure hope they work out well -- lots of time and $$ invested in this experiment.  Thanks for your discussion and support - from Scott and me.

[manta22]

A big vinyl plastic beach ball doesn't require helium, it is filled with low-pressure air and sits on the ground. If ones about 4ft diameter were tied down they should be visible-- and cheap. Put green ones on the side for a normal turnout and red ones on the side for an emergency turnout. You could even put blue ones on both sides of the last half-mile to indicate the end of the course.

http://www.beachballs.com/48-inch-solid-green-beach-balls-inflated-diameter-35in-88cm.asp

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[kiwi belly tank]

I think a beach ball would likely drop a bike on impact.
  Sid.

[Speed Limit 1000]

Here's what happens when a bike rider goes through an orange marker at 200.



Here's Todd taking a look at my hands, and from here you can (sort of) see the front end damage to the bike.  The crossbar of the flag holder hit the windshield and folded/forced it down hard enough to crack the electronic dashboard rendering the bike to "no engine running" status.  Damage also included bending the clutch lever back far enough that the clutch would no longer disengage:



I wear kevlar long underwear - pants and shirt.  Whap it with a piece of PVC at two bills and it was strong enough to give me some abrasions through the leathers and the kevlar:



It hit this knuckle of the carbon fiber-reinforced gloves and kind of smashed the middle and lower joint of my left hand:



The crossbar even managed to ding and scrape my helmet (it's sort of hard to see in the bright photo):



The moral of the story is - don't concentrate so much on the tachometer that you don't see where you're going, and:  don't hit the mile markers if you can help it.

Slim, You should try going between the markers not through them

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Johnboy, tell that to Joe Amo and Sam Wheeler and whomever else has also gone through the markers.  I know there are more of "us".  And moving along at that speed it was, for me at least, quite a surprise.  I was studying the tach watching for wheelspin and  looked up.  I had time enough to think "Oh, F*CK" before I hit it.  No time to steer, no time to do anything but think and swear.

[NathanStewart]

Each one of those foam weenies is a fifth or at best a quarter the size of the old black trash bag markers.  For comparison:



I can usually see the black markers down past to about the 3 mile when I'm standing on the starting line.  Those weenies are going to disappear after about a mile IMO.  And the fourth course, which is usually where all the rookies make their first run, isn't getting 1/4 mile markers at all.  That should make for some exciting times.   

+1 for safety, -1 for visibility which is really a -1 for safety.