Randy Blaylock
Highlander Motorsports
Good discussion. I think it's a training issue partly, which will open the door to awareness at least, then a cultural issue, which will be enforced through peer pressure (or not). For what it's worth, I have been mulling this over for a while now, and have an idea of a way to try to address it. It would be facilitated by a change in the rules that would help the License Director focus on the issue.
The following text is actually my memo submission for the upcoming memo, but it can't hurt to post it here for early discussion and consideration. Since it's germane to the issue, even though there is a strong element of rules change discussion, I'll ask Steve to leave it on this thread instead of moving it over to the rules change section.
Here's the License Director submission for this memo. Please feel free to comment;
" We’re more or less halfway through this season and the Novice turnout this year has been very good, with many promotions to Area, and several to Senior. The ICSCC Novice program is highly regarded and a proven success, but there is always room for improvement. It’s my personal opinion, and safety indicates that we should train like we want to race, and in general the Novice training program is pretty darn comprehensive and follows this philosophy. There is one area that I’d like to enhance though.
Currently, per the Competition Regulations 703 C. 2., Novices have two practice sessions of at least 15 minutes each. I suppose it’s nit-picky, but as License Director I’d prefer that the sessions be branded as one practice session and one qualifying session. I will be submitting a rule change proposal, asking for your consideration to change the language in the Competition Regulations to reflect this change, because I think there is an important distinction that needs to be included in the Novice program if we are to train new drivers properly.
You may wonder, what is the distinction between a practice session and a qualifying session anyway? In conversations with lots of different people, for some there is no distinction, for others, there is a big distinction. There has been discussion recently on the Conference forum about this subject specifically, and I think these different perspectives are probably the basis for some friction and frustration out on the track during qualifying sessions.
For those of us that don’t see a distinction between practice and qualifying sessions, the session is just another opportunity to get some track time, maybe practice some different lines, or test some chassis adjustments. The urgency level is moderate to low in this case. On the other hand, for those of us that see the qualifying session as just that, the session is all about getting the best possible time. This means putting together as perfect of a lap as possible, with as few compromises due to traffic as is practically possible. In this case, the urgency level is very high, especially in classes where the cars are very closely matched and starting position has a huge impact on your race.
Functionally these two objectives are at odds with one another, and a large amount of cooperation, or maybe “coopetition” is necessary for everyone to get what they need out of the session. I guess a good place to start is to simply recognize that there are two different objectives trying to occupy the same space. This is the reason I feel it’s important to train new racers in both types of situations, so they will be able to both recognize, and to appreciate the difference and needs of each.
There may be some of you that disagree with this concept, maybe you feel that Novices should simply concentrate on track time, or that labeling a session as qualifying will change the expectations of the Novices when it comes time to set the grid for their race.
It’s true that we shouldn’t be putting too much pressure on Novices, and maybe calling one of their sessions a qualifying session adds too much pressure, but I think that’s something that can be managed through careful instruction and mentoring. Novices don’t have to cut their session short either, as one would normally do in a true qualifying run.
One way to approach the situation that I’d like to see, is to have the Novice driver prepare themselves mentally as if the session were a true qualifying session. Have them visualize a perfect lap, sharpen their focus, prepare a plan, and execute. Maybe plan for a three lap qualifying run, with a contingency for an extra hot lap if needed. One lap to recon the track and clean off and heat up the tires and brakes, one hot lap or maybe two depending upon traffic and how well the money lap went, and a cool off lap. At the end of the cool off lap, come off the circuit into the hot pit lane, simulating the end of the qualifying run. During a short interval in the hot pits, the Novice will reflect on the run, and make a conscious mental shift to recognize the difference between a qualifying run and lapping, in order to raise awareness of others possibly still on qualifying runs. Then go ahead and finish off the time remaining in the session to get some track time. Training like this gets Novices ready for the real world of the senior race groups, which is ultimately what we’re trying to do.
As far as setting the grid for the Novice race, changing the label of the second session to “qualifying”, does not change or affect the ability of the License Director to set the grid as outlined in the Competition Regulations section 708 A., so that is really a non-issue. Novices would be advised that their qualifying runs are a training exercise, just as the varied flag situations during their races are training exercises designed to make them better racers.
I’d appreciate it if you would please consider voting to approve this change, I think it will be one more element that when added to the training curriculum will build better racers.
Thanks,
Randy Blaylock "
The following text is actually my memo submission for the upcoming memo, but it can't hurt to post it here for early discussion and consideration. Since it's germane to the issue, even though there is a strong element of rules change discussion, I'll ask Steve to leave it on this thread instead of moving it over to the rules change section.
Here's the License Director submission for this memo. Please feel free to comment;
" We’re more or less halfway through this season and the Novice turnout this year has been very good, with many promotions to Area, and several to Senior. The ICSCC Novice program is highly regarded and a proven success, but there is always room for improvement. It’s my personal opinion, and safety indicates that we should train like we want to race, and in general the Novice training program is pretty darn comprehensive and follows this philosophy. There is one area that I’d like to enhance though.
Currently, per the Competition Regulations 703 C. 2., Novices have two practice sessions of at least 15 minutes each. I suppose it’s nit-picky, but as License Director I’d prefer that the sessions be branded as one practice session and one qualifying session. I will be submitting a rule change proposal, asking for your consideration to change the language in the Competition Regulations to reflect this change, because I think there is an important distinction that needs to be included in the Novice program if we are to train new drivers properly.
You may wonder, what is the distinction between a practice session and a qualifying session anyway? In conversations with lots of different people, for some there is no distinction, for others, there is a big distinction. There has been discussion recently on the Conference forum about this subject specifically, and I think these different perspectives are probably the basis for some friction and frustration out on the track during qualifying sessions.
For those of us that don’t see a distinction between practice and qualifying sessions, the session is just another opportunity to get some track time, maybe practice some different lines, or test some chassis adjustments. The urgency level is moderate to low in this case. On the other hand, for those of us that see the qualifying session as just that, the session is all about getting the best possible time. This means putting together as perfect of a lap as possible, with as few compromises due to traffic as is practically possible. In this case, the urgency level is very high, especially in classes where the cars are very closely matched and starting position has a huge impact on your race.
Functionally these two objectives are at odds with one another, and a large amount of cooperation, or maybe “coopetition” is necessary for everyone to get what they need out of the session. I guess a good place to start is to simply recognize that there are two different objectives trying to occupy the same space. This is the reason I feel it’s important to train new racers in both types of situations, so they will be able to both recognize, and to appreciate the difference and needs of each.
There may be some of you that disagree with this concept, maybe you feel that Novices should simply concentrate on track time, or that labeling a session as qualifying will change the expectations of the Novices when it comes time to set the grid for their race.
It’s true that we shouldn’t be putting too much pressure on Novices, and maybe calling one of their sessions a qualifying session adds too much pressure, but I think that’s something that can be managed through careful instruction and mentoring. Novices don’t have to cut their session short either, as one would normally do in a true qualifying run.
One way to approach the situation that I’d like to see, is to have the Novice driver prepare themselves mentally as if the session were a true qualifying session. Have them visualize a perfect lap, sharpen their focus, prepare a plan, and execute. Maybe plan for a three lap qualifying run, with a contingency for an extra hot lap if needed. One lap to recon the track and clean off and heat up the tires and brakes, one hot lap or maybe two depending upon traffic and how well the money lap went, and a cool off lap. At the end of the cool off lap, come off the circuit into the hot pit lane, simulating the end of the qualifying run. During a short interval in the hot pits, the Novice will reflect on the run, and make a conscious mental shift to recognize the difference between a qualifying run and lapping, in order to raise awareness of others possibly still on qualifying runs. Then go ahead and finish off the time remaining in the session to get some track time. Training like this gets Novices ready for the real world of the senior race groups, which is ultimately what we’re trying to do.
As far as setting the grid for the Novice race, changing the label of the second session to “qualifying”, does not change or affect the ability of the License Director to set the grid as outlined in the Competition Regulations section 708 A., so that is really a non-issue. Novices would be advised that their qualifying runs are a training exercise, just as the varied flag situations during their races are training exercises designed to make them better racers.
I’d appreciate it if you would please consider voting to approve this change, I think it will be one more element that when added to the training curriculum will build better racers.
Thanks,
Randy Blaylock "
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