Safety car & multi class racing

[ger80]

The 12h of Sebring showed again that FCC can ruin the race easily for cars on the lead lap in their class but not in the lead lap in respect to the overall leader. So as long as you are not the leader in your class, it only need a little bit of bad luck and you are a lap down. Any thoughts how this could be improved?

[NightStalk3r]

Wave by everyone who is not on the overall lead lap.

[Victor_RO]

Line up and wave cars by until all the class leaders are line-astern right behind the SC.

[arakis]

bring everyone to pits, and let them go in intervals basted on the lap before incident! its the safest way with the least amount of posible error, of caurse keep pits closed, let only dameged cars get repaired with stop go penalety

[deggis]

How about first reducing the amount of FCCs by not bringing the safety car out because a splotch of seagul poo has been spotted on the track. Not in reference to this race particularly but sometimes the reasons are so overly cautious...

[ger80]

whats about open the pits after the SC catched the leader seperate for cars on the lead lap in their class? First open the pits for cars that are not on the lead lap in class, next lap for the cars that are on the lead lap?

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

Line up and wave cars by until all the class leaders are line-astern right behind the SC.

Close but not quite right. You get a wave by, if you are in front of your class leader in the line.

[AndrewF31]

even if you're between the Overall leader and your class leader?

I'm ok with giving cars back a lap on the overall leader but it's going to be tough for them to sort it all out.

[Bramzel]

Am I the only one who thinks 'waving by' and 'safetycar' don't belong in one sentence? What's the point of having a Safetycar when you let people pass? Actually I don't find arakis' solution too bad at all.

[Adam43]

You have to wait until the problem is fixed. It would extend safety car periods.

The SC comes out and you can gain a lot of time on the leader. Or you can lose a lot of time. Both are equally annoying. I like the idea of restoring the gaps as they were before the FCC. Although I don't think it is practical.

I think the practical solution is to reduce the number of FCC by not over reacting (I can see why race control does). Then you just have to put up with the remaining whinging.

[davehenrie]

I thought ALMS had already addressed this, but their rules were not in effect at Sebring. Because Sebring and Petite are part of the ACO rules races, they have to abide by the ACO method of Safety car. I 'think' that starting in April, at Long Beach, a Safety car period will sort out the various classes if the cars in any particular class are on the same lap as the leader of the class.
(boy that is hard to read....sorry)

dh

[RichardRenes]

I think it's time for the code 60 rule: no safetycar, but full course caution leads to a 'code 60' in which all cars have to reduce their speed to a max of 60 km/h and they are not allowed to overtake. that way general positions stay as they are, without closing the gaps between drivers in the same class.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by davehenrie

I thought ALMS had already addressed this, but their rules were not in effect at Sebring. Because Sebring and Petite are part of the ACO rules races, they have to abide by the ACO method of Safety car. I 'think' that starting in April, at Long Beach, a Safety car period will sort out the various classes if the cars in any particular class are on the same lap as the leader of the class.
(boy that is hard to read....sorry)

dh

No the rules were in effect, and the snafu involved the #55 as the first, class leader, behind the safety car.




L.P.

[AstonGeoff]

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

I think it's time for the code 60 rule: no safetycar, but full course caution leads to a 'code 60' in which all cars have to reduce their speed to a max of 60 km/h and they are not allowed to overtake. that way general positions stay as they are, without closing the gaps between drivers in the same class.

This is my favoured solution too, if it's possible to fit a pit lane spead limiter then it's possible to do the same thing for a "code 60".

Obviously there are two possible problems, when do you start it and when do you stop it, and how. But with modern electronics it can't be that difficult to solve!

[AstonGeoff]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I think the practical solution is to reduce the number of FCC by not over reacting (I can see why race control does). Then you just have to put up with the remaining whinging.

I think that the LMS managed to get through all of last season without any safety cars, so it is possible to keep on racing, none of the incidents at Sebring really needed a FCC as far as I could see from Motors, and the ones that were called certainly didn't need to be as long as they were!

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by AstonGeoff

I think that the LMS managed to get through all of last season without any safety cars

There were several at Spa.

[GT6]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

There were several at Spa.

I can confirm that they ruined the race and in some cases seemed to be serving no use at all, I was there and it was very annoying

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by AstonGeoff

This is my favoured solution too, if it's possible to fit a pit lane spead limiter then it's possible to do the same thing for a "code 60".

Obviously there are two possible problems, when do you start it and when do you stop it, and how. But with modern electronics it can't be that difficult to solve!

Race control pushing a Code 60 button

[arakis]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Race control pushing a Code 60 button

yeah but it would be dangerus to turn on the limiter if a car is doing 250, the best way would be for the system inside the car to wait for the signal from race control, then wait for the car to slow below lets say 80 for a corrner and then engage, some people would get a few sec addvantige, but with a no passing in effect it shouldnt mess anything up.....

Does this system exist in any series, becoause the sheer symplicity of it is cool

[FIRE]

I know (my reply wasn't serious)

[Matt]

Originally Posted by arakis

bring everyone to pits, and let them go in intervals basted on the lap before incident! its the safest way with the least amount of posible error, of caurse keep pits closed, let only dameged cars get repaired with stop go penalety

You have no idea how stupid that sounds.

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by arakis

yeah but it would be dangerus to turn on the limiter if a car is doing 250, the best way would be for the system inside the car to wait for the signal from race control, then wait for the car to slow below lets say 80 for a corrner and then engage, some people would get a few sec addvantige, but with a no passing in effect it shouldnt mess anything up.....

Does this system exist in any series, becoause the sheer symplicity of it is cool

Or a more simple way of doing it is.... let the driver control the speed of the car (obviously to a maximum speed of 60).

Tom.

[arakis]

Originally Posted by Matt

You have no idea how stupid that sounds.

No, Explain why?
P.S.Making a statment like that without any explanation is insulting

[Matt]

Originally Posted by arakis

No, Explain why?
P.S.Making a statment like that without any explanation is insulting

Ridiculously unsafe, what happens when cars are laps down to others? No where near as exciting for the fans, and don't get me started on the whole "but the leader worked so hard to get away, all that hard work is gone when they have to do a rolling restart." Tough crap, this is racing, and things like that happen. If the driver is so good, he'll just sprint away again after the start, would he not?

[arakis]

Originally Posted by Matt

Ridiculously unsafe, what happens when cars are laps down to others? No where near as exciting for the fans, and don't get me started on the whole "but the leader worked so hard to get away, all that hard work is gone when they have to do a rolling restart." Tough crap, this is racing, and things like that happen. If the driver is so good, he'll just sprint away again after the start, would he not?

I am kind of guessing your view of racing is depicted on your avatar! your statment holds true in nascar, where the only point of the race is to see a big crash!!!!! BTW, there are a milion little things that go into someone making a gap, not only driver skill!

My answer to safty car is safer because, everyone would be in the box, and leting cars go aout after the danger has been averted is the safest way, for both marshals and drivers. as for your qouestion about cars being a lap down, that wont change, I don't see how you don't get that.--Cars are timed when they cross the start/finish line, mark the times when they crossed the line in the last lap, at set them free in order off the timings,