I would just like to remind you all about driver etiquette at our club.
Throttle Control
When your car crashes off the track please remove your fingers off the throttle control! We've had a couple of marshalls get fingers burnt from catching the spinning wheels as they pick the car up to marshall.
Firstly, more often than not, if you have crashed it is your fault (normally - unless you've been knocked off). Either way, especially when you fly off the perimeter, you must wait for the marshall to pick up the car and place it back onto the track before you even think of spinning the wheels again.
A rubber burn is not nice and one driver last week got 3!!! This really is not acceptable by any driver to be doing this and we need to nip this in the bud very quickly otherwise those drivers who marshall and keep getting their fingers burnt will just move onto the next club and this is the last thing we want to see happen.
Generally speaking the standard of driving and marshalling is very good, especially as so many of you are new to racing model cars so you should be congratulated on that, but it is always useful just to remind you all about how to drive and how we can all continue to improve. I shall request that all marshalls who approach a car that has crashed and is spinning the wheels to ignore it until the wheels stop.
Crashes
Another topic is when drivers crash into each other. I fully appreciate that in the heat of a race tension can build, especially as we are now in a championship. However, is it good etiquette in radio controlled model racing that if you have been a little too agressive and spun another driver off the track, that you wait for them to repass you and then continue racing.
If you ever watch the professionals racing on MotorsTV, then you'll often see this happen, even when a world championship is at stake. Remember that what goes around comes around and next time it could be you given the chance to repass after being knocked off track.
Backmarkers
Next time you are at the club, watch the F1 drivers and you'll see how we are able to race even with slower cars on track. They are aware of everyone around them and will slow down off the racing line to allow the faster cars to lap. Of course if you're on the same lap you'll both be fighting hard but clean we hope
Marshall posts
From next week we shall have Marshal posts numbered 1-5 on the walls so that we can check to make sure that all drivers from the previous heat is out to race.
Now that we are running 4 heats and 3hr race evenings, there is no excuse to not be at your post before the next race starts. You must remember that once your race is over, you get back to the pits, switch off your car, put the car on charge and straight backout to marshal.
So next week, if your race number is 1 you'll marshall at post 1, if 2 at post 2 etc. If your car is broken and you need more time to fix it, then you must confirm a replacement marshal to the club officials (myself or Russell).
If you fail to be on your post before the start of the race you should be marshalling then you will get 1 warning. There after, if you continue to not be ready to marshal then we will deduct points from your championship total.
As with everything to do with racing, you would expect marshalls to be out and ready before your race, so it's only fair you marshall your correct heat too.
Moan over now
- lets enjoy the racing again
