2 wave aborted start question

[marcus mcbain]

The only thing that concerned me about the situation is riders decided to turn around and go against traffic on a hot track. The bikes that stalled (IMO) should have immediately been moved to the pit wall and immediately off the race line. I cannot ever remember at any time at any place in 25+ years of being involved in racing that it was ever recommended, allowed, or considered anything less than dangerous to turn your bike against the traffic flow on a hot track. To me it is very disconcerting that several riders decided to turn their bikes around against the traffic flow in the situation that occurred.

[Joe Rodriguez]

or stop
..yikes

[Steve McNamara]

WOW!!!!!
Its pretty clear what happended. The riders jumped the start.
Our rules and procedures are in place and our staff did their job.
I'm glad nothing worse than some bruised egos happended.
Next............

[James Newton]

I can not speak for the other riders, but Jay did as he thought he was being instructed to do by a race official in accordance with the rulebook section below.
3.10 On Track Regulations
All travel on the racetrack and pit lane will be one-way, in one direction. Riders must
not travel backwards on the racetrack unless explicitly instructed to do so by race officials.

[Danny Dominguez]

James I got to admire your dedication to this topic..at 1ST you said "Jay did not jump the start"..is he 1 of the bikes in the video that leaps ahead of the stalled expert?? If so he most definitely did.. you seem to have backed off that stance a bit, now you are arguing the tuning around..I see comments from you like "he did what HE THOUGHT he was being told to do" and you even quote the rule book. I have seen starters all over the country motion for stalled bikes to move aside before the 2nd wave, which appears to be the case here, and Jay missunderstood it and went against the flow.. every person alive makes mistakes..instead of trying to justify this we (parents..you and i) have the resposibilty to make sure our kids race as safely as possible,use this as a teaching tool..It would be horrible if he turned as was hit head on and both riders were injured or worse...hate me , call me a **** as others have i dont care but i dont want the kid hurt..couple of points and tire certificates aint worth it.

[James Newton]

Danny, I completely appreciate your post! I have in fact, used this as a learning tool, and have discussed this with Jay, more than once. I am not trying to justify what he did, I am merely saying that you, nor anyone else, can know what was going through his head at the time. I however, do know, because we did talk about it. He has told me numerous times that he thought the lights blinked. In the video, it is not definitive if they blinked, or the card blocked them briefly. I was watching the lights, and not Jay. I too thought I saw them blink. I may have possibly seen the same thing he did. If he did jump the start, then he was at fault and did not rejoin the race until the complete wave was in or through T1. At the time the start actually commenced, he was well off the presumed race line. I assume this line, because of where the cones are. It was my understanding that the cones were some type of out of bounds barrier not to be crossed until clear of them. I fail to see how someone can condemn his actions of trying to re-grid though, and yes, it is because he THOUGHT that is what he was being directed to do by the action of the waiving card. Was it a misunderstanding? Absolutely, but one with too many circumstances to completely place blame upon the rider. I really do appreciate your input Danny!!

[David Baumgarten]

I'd have to look at the video again, but I believe the rider next to Jay jumped the start first which probably provoked Jay to go.

At a stop light, sometimes if I roll forward someone next to me will blow the red light because they were using me as their light subconsciously. It happens, life goes on. Everyone's ok, it's better to laugh about it than to blame a led bar. Just because the card goes sideways doesn't mean the lights will go off. It's part of the game.

[Mitch Williams]

This thread reminds me of when I coached T-ball. Not sure why.

[Tom Anderson]

This thread reminds me of when I coached T-ball. Not sure why.

*like*

[Mike Paxton]

Educational topic.
I can't say I would have reacted differently than the riders that jumped.
Having never been in this situation, I hope to now react appropriately if I am.
I have read the rule book many times, and browse it frequently because I want to be familiar with the rules.
Experience is a better teacher than text IMO.