Big jumps and marshalling

[twisty]

Hi folks,

we have a bit of a topic going on on our website at The Nook about our big jump and marshalling etc.
Anyway,i thought i would start a topic here as it may help some of the racers,builders and marshalls here,also you might come up with some ideas that help us.

The story so far,we are a largescale off road club,we also have a good turn out of 1/8 nitro buggys and truggys.A couple of years ago we invested quite a large sum of money on a huge galv steel crossover,it`s got a 4M table top.Well the jump bit runs from side to side at the moment and the tunnel runs from front to rear,this is exactly wrong from what i can see,the general feeling is that it`s really not safe marshalling and getting the jump right for good flight is well tricky.

We are just putting a new rostrum up on top of a container,so lots of members are wanting to get rid of the big jump.I have said that the main problem is the jump is from side to side,meaning if there is a marshall on the track,you are relying on your periferal vision to avoid a major incident,this is just not good enough,marshalling the jump is scary even for experianced racers/marshals.

I would like to put the big jump in front of the new rostrum,but with the jump facing front to rear[head on],90 degrees from how it is at the moment meaning the marshal is in plain open view before the next driver hits the jump making it loads safer and still having the fun of a big jump.

Do you think this will work better and safer or are we wasting our time and just go back to flat tracking with bumps.I would like to hear if anyone has any thoughts and tap into oOples vast experiance of track building,racers and marshalls opinions/thoughts,conserns over safety,feedback etc.

Thanks for reading and over to you

cheers,
Simon F,
Treasurer for The Nook.

PS,I took a big hit directly in the kneecap from a 1/10 buggy years ago at Batley,i don`t want to ever be hit by anything again,let alone something much bigger.

[super__dan]

Front to back jumps are always crap as you can't judge you're car's speed, that why there are always side to side.

[rocketrob]

big supercross jumps seem to be problematic, and even more so as a track gets worn, and ultimately really proves nothing compared to the rest of the track. they might look cool, and sound like a great idea conceptually, but they're nothing but car breakers and marshal killers
IMHO

[DCM]

If you have a big jump, the Marshall should have a safe haven to stand/sit at whilst not being needed to recover a car, if he has to recover a car, then it is the Marshalls responsibility to stay safe.

[telboy]

Yep keep it as it is. If there is an incident on the crossover, then race control should mention it on the rostrum, then ALL car should then take the crossover LOW and not get big air, endangering the marshal.

There just needs to be some control from a race referee indicating when a marshal is in action, and make sure that everyon endures to the 'no big air' rule, thus keeping the marshals safe.

[ashleyb4]

Put it at 45 degree's or make the new rostrum higher...

A

[twisty]

Thanks for the replys so far chaps.We have 3 sided steel cages for marshals inside the track area already,on race days the race director shouts if there is a problem and when it`s clear over the PA system.We are just putting a new rostrum on top of a container this week so a huge height over the old one.

I love big jumps,it`s so satisfying when you get a nice flight and smooth landing.
I think it`s maybe just the heat is getting to everyone at the moment and causing a bit of a silly season of complaining.They havn`t even tried out the new ideas and just want rid of it,it`s just irrational to me.

I`ve asked them to wait and see what they think when we change it round a bit.

Must be the heat

cheers anyway,i`ll let you know what happens,if anything and thanks again for your thoughts

[SlowOne]

Can I ask why the jumps have to have huge ramps going up? The most spectacular jumps in WRC are when cars come off a crest, the road falls away faster than the car descends, and they cover huge distances barely six or eight feet off the ground.

Why can't that be done in electric and gas off-road? The skill required remains high, and the spectacle is still fantastic, but the cars are nowhere near as high or 'invisible'. IMHO, the time is fast approaching when these huge jumps cannot be sustained due to the foreseeable risks involving marshals and spectators. Why not try to build something as challenging, but less obviously risky?

[twisty]

The structure is huge to get the 4M required by the BRCA large scale section to comply with track width rules,the angle of the jump is not crazy,so the largescale cars don`t get much height anyway,maybe a bit more height with the 1/8 `s but not mad,this can be restricted easy by making only a short approach to the up ramp and restricted on the landing area by a corner or second small jump close after.

[danDanEFC]

Any pics of this track?

[twisty]

This might help,


Stevo driving his 4x4 MCD

[Garry]

How about turning it so its 45deg to how it is now?

Like an X shape instead of an + shape?

[craigosh]

The last thing you'll want to do it move it closer to the rostrum, there will be less in your peripheral vision so your going to be less likely to see a marshal attending a car. Move it further away and get rid of the cross over!

I don't agree with the WRC statement, whenever I watch it and the cars hit a 'jump' they look so out of control, i think its simply luck more than anything else that they dont all end up fliping! There is no skill in a feature like that, you simply hit it flat out and hope for the best!

With a properly built jump, to get it right you have to learn a lot of things, the ideal speed to carry into it, when to punch the throttle to preload the buggy to get air, when to brake to get the nose in for the downslope. Unfortunately a lot of people do think its a simple case of hit as hard as you can and clear the jump, and thats were the problems come from.

Marshals need to have some common sense as well, every good marshal wants to get to a crashed buggy as soon a possible but you need to be safe, and if there are a load of buggies coming over a jump, you just wait, regardless of if some idiot on the rostrum is shouting at you..

How about lowering the height of the jump so that the angle of the take off is shallower? should make it easier to jump and not make the car fly so as high! You only have to make it 4m wide it can be any height/length you want!

[twisty]

Some good and thought provoking ideas there so thank you very much
I`m thinking now about using it more like a table top with a drop off and no jump,we don`t have loads of room at The Nook,so a crossover helps with different layout options,the new rostrum will definately help too.

Cheers,
Simon.