Did it matter after all?

[Malcolm UK]

Well .....  the last few pages of the poll on racing organisations that measure the speeds of racers brought forth some interesting insights into personal opinions - not facts of course, just opinions.

If there was something to be gained in the p*****g contest, then you might think than an event organiser could knowingly change some aspect of the course to see higher speeds achieved.  But why not do that from the outset?  Everyone in the sport of speed knows that the fastest track is Black Rock, the fastest track for outright wheeldriven car and bike is Bonneville, the best non salt events are on the east coast of the USA and the Aussies claim to have the best salt of all, period!  

On permanent tracks once the timing marks are laid in the positioning is surely not an issue.  Prior to running anyone could walk the track to see that the lights are on the correct marks.  But how do you know what the status is of timing marks on temporary tracks where the course is repositioned each meeting or set out for the private attempt?  You only know by independant measurement and verification by a person skilled in surveying.

I know KT and his co-owners in ECTA can and have spoken up for  themselves, but how does someone get to (almost) hate all that a racing organisation does and express there venom in libellous rantings?  

At least I have visited both sides of your country to see how US speed racings is conducted.

[1212FBGS]

Let it go

[JackD]

The only time I saw anybody cheat a layout was at a permanent facility that just switched the wires in the tower to score the finish line 66 ft. short at the MPH start cell to make a bad track look good.
He was taken to task by an honest racer that screamed about it.
Mistakes happen all the time. Most recent was a failure at an NHRA event at Indy. and they had the honesty to look at it again and reverse their decision the next day.
The security of the distance is the responsibility of the timer after the survey is complete. It is possible to sneak out overnight and move them but an independent mark that is only known to the timer is all you have. The simpler the timing system is the less chance their is for monkey business. Hands off is the best.
Everybody makes mistakes, fixing them is easy, owning up to them is the toughest to swallow from both sides.
The cheater I mentioned is gone to his just reward but his reputation lives on.

[rosemeyer]

Regarding measurement. I may be wrong but I understand that increasingly GPS is used to survey courses and tracks to determine distances. It may be used to survey a record course covering several miles (Bonneville? Black Rock? Lake Gairdner? I don't know) It is an accepted method, but is it accurate? It is accepted as such, but is it really?
Sometime ago, I read on this site someone questioning it too.

A few months ago, I was having a conversation on the subject with a civil engineer whose company builds long span bridges, and his opinion was that GPS is not too accurate, and certainly not foolproof. He was quoting me the recent case of a 1.6 km bridge (that's a mile!), measured by GPS on 3 different days, by the same surveyor with the same equipment, giving discrepancies up to 6m.  

So, even without deliberate cheating, you can have inaccuracy to start with, even on permanent sites.

[JackD]

The last time I experienced a GPS survey the operator was so lost because the electrical disturbance on the salt had him wandering around all night. It depends on triangulation from the fixed position of a signal and is useful for a lot of things but not good for that.
Other methods are very accurate and repeatable but they can make mistakes also. That is why the official that takes custody of the survey should observe and also know enough about it to spot a mistake. If they don't , that is a mistake and yes that has happened also.
The applicant deserves the best and they don't always get it.

[John Burk]

At Bonneville the BNI people use gps to decide the best place for the courses to be . Later professional surveyors come out and spray X's at the mile points  and every 1/4 mile the length of the courses for positioning the photocells and for putting down the black lines . Accuracy is routine for a surveyor .