10 minute warning?

Ok, I understand the reasoning behind
"The 5- minute warning will be given at 9 minutes before the published race start time"

but it's pretty confusing.

What about changing the 'five minute'
wording to say ya gotta be at
pregrid 10 minutes before the published start time?

Guess that makes it 'ten minutes' then...
Maybe 'engines off' can come a bit after that.

It SEEMS early- but it's about when we have to go
down now to avoid being sent to the back...
and at least it says what it means!

Thoughts?

Toby

Here's the quick backgrounder...

The rule book mentions the 5 minute warning but does not define what the 5 minute warning is. The 5 minute warning is generally accepted to mean a 5 minute warning until you leave pregrid. This is not a problem during practice and qualifying.

The water gets muddied when it comes to the race, a race cannot begin before the scheduled race time. But in order to stay on schedule and make sure you get your full 30 minutes of race time, the cars must depart pregrid before the posted race start time.

For example a pace lap at Pacific Raceways takes 4 minutes. If your race is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm, the cars would have to leave pregrid at 12:56 to stay on schedule. Therefore the 5 minute warning must be given at 12:51.

The reason that the rule wording is muddled this year is because of the way the rule change proposal was put in last year. It was too late to simply write in a rule for the 2008 seaon defining the 5 minute warning as being 5 minutes before the cars depart pregrid. So hopefully someone will submit a rule change proposal defining the 5 minute warning, and maybe suggest that the pace lap time be written into the sups.

"The only reason that we have a schedule, is so we have something to change." --Me

How about this one...

For Races, the five minute will be given five minutes before releasing the Pace Car.

Practice and qualifying are the only session-types that can give a five minute warning before the green flag (clock starts).

At PIR we figure 3 minutes for a pace lap. At PR it's like 4, Spokane 4-5. So that time is not part of the 30 minutes written on every race schedule. Although I haven't seen it stipulated, the schedules have been written in "green flag" times.

So think about releasing the Pace Car at the green flag time on a schedule, and you actually started a 30 minute timed race 3-5 minutes late per the schedule. Which of course means that it will end 3-5 minutes late per the schedule.

So the checker flag is thrown and it's another cool down lap's worth of time before the last car is off and the course goes cold. Add 2-3 minutes.

3-5 plus 2-3 makes 5-8 minutes out of the 10 minute cush.

When is the five minute warning called for next grid?

5 minutes before someone figures out when we can release the Pace Car.

So there's some math to use when you may only have 5-10 minutes between sessions 'on the schedule' for cush. Remember always that there is most likely be some activity around the course to pick things up. Debris, kick some rocks, tow a car(s).

Somebody asked me today (Rose Cups), "What do we have time for?"
"Because without it, we wouldn't have a schedule."

Yeah, the mechanics of how this all works make sense just fine
(which scares me a bit...)

The name does not. But frankly, the more I think about this, since I usually seem
to be the beneficiary of other drivers misunderstanding of the rule,

maybe I should just shut up!

Right, Alan???

hee hee,
Toby

Why not name them such as "1st call"(10 minute), "2nd call" (5 minute), "pregrid closure warning"(1 minute),all times given before expected (key-word here!!!)release time.

How about "last call"?

Guess that's why I've been "late" so many times. I thought "5 minutes" was some indication of time relative to some subsequent event.

How to spend it

Thought I wrote this.. All you good drivers, did you know that GM spent
$1.81 per minute last year. This would buy a lot of race tracks.

I have a feeling that it's really just semantics and really doesn't matter what it's called, there are still going to be some that come to pre-grid early, and some that for whatever reason wait until the last minute and sometimes don't make it in time to take their place in the grid.

And then some that are waiting for pre-grid while the previous group is still leaving it... Randy, I'm lookin' at you, bucko!

Steve Adams said:

And then some that are waiting for pre-grid while the previous group is still leaving it... Randy, I'm lookin' at you, bucko!

Click to expand...

That will be me too. Nothing better then sitting in a race car suited up and strapped in while it's 90 degrees out!
I would rather be there early then late, besides the nice grid people always wake me up when I am napping.

At least it is not hydroplane racing: 10 to the 5 to the 5. Geez!

I got it!

You grid in the order you show up! Get rid of all the pesky time trials.

You can join any time til the checkered flag drops!

Sorry it just struck me funny....

Dave T.
Portland Or

What's funny, is that's exactly the method that's been used to set the grid for the Novice races a few times this year. Get to pre-grid early is emphasized in the meeting, for those that listen, the payoff is a starting spot closer to the front, the first person coming to pre-grid gets the pole.