I just want to share my experiences. Many more can add to the anecdote below.

Unlike the title I actually lost many spots on the restart. The SCCA double regional at Laguna was a good weekend. The final race had a few incidents all on the first lap. One of the incidents was on the first turn (the hairpin actually T2). The otehr was on the back straight uphill towards the corckscrew. That brought out the pace car and the tow crew. After 3 laps under caution the field came to T11 which is the last turn before the straight. What happened was I looked at the flaggers at the entry to the pits and at T11 and they both had the double yellow flags up. But as I started to enter T11 I got dive bombed by a Miata. Down the straight about 3 more Miatas got by me. SM gets a 30 sec slpit start but with the incidents they caught up under pace car laps.

What did I learn that I would like to share?

1. Under a restart the feild is in single file, thus the field is twice as long. The starter has to throw the green before the back half of the pack gets on the straight.

2. Know the bigger picture. After seeing the parked RX-7 on one lap, then the tow crew out pulling the car off on the next. Then one more lap later there is no RX-7 in that spot, I should have known that the next time was to be the restart.

3. Watch the flaggers! After reviewing the video tape, I can see the flagger at the pit entry drop the double yellows before I got to T11.

4. Radios can help. Practice radio communications while in the pits.

 

Thanks for the info. I agree that radios are a huge help. e.g. @ Thunderhill, the lead car can be getting the green flag with you still on the straight between 13 & 14. Another thing you can do is to make sure that it is you getting the black flag. Your crew can find out your position relative to others in your class. Last weekend, even though the RX-7 got by me, it didn't matter. They were a lap & a half down with five minutes to go. I was also able to tell my co-driver to stay out because our pit space was blocked by a another car. He stayed out one more lap before the driver exchange/fuel stop.

 

Yes, radios do work, So do crew guys!

 

I've never been to Laguna or anything, but sadly I know the turns you're talking about and can picture them in my mind. Gran Turismo series rockz nadz!

 

just remember to shift! forgot to downshift going up turn 2 at sears point, which is a steep uphill, on the rolling start of the contingency dash. got a little love tap from behind from a ITC 510 and was like WTF? then i realized i was in the wrong gear and saw everyone pass me... oh well. also make sure youre in the lowest possible gear at the start, probably 2nd.

 

Tyson,
Which 510 was it?

 

the purple and green one. forgot his name. no big deal. he ended up in front of mackintosh and the yellow 510. the yellow 510 actually won the full race previously, which was a surprise to them. i stayed behind mackintosh and the yellow 510 and the red alfa the whole contingency race. george dropped out before the start due to overheating problems so the next ita guy was andy banta, which was not possible to catch up to. i left barry streets in the dust after recovering from my bad start. i hardly ever saw him the whole weekend.

 

If you blow Barry Streets away, then tat means you will blow me away. Barry and I go toe to toe at Laguna. Anyway, I plan on the Sept. THill race for my next event. Do you want to try and get all of the ITA Honda folks Pitted together?

 

Just remember, the race restarts when the green flag flies, not when you see it. Watch for the lights of the pacecar to go off, then get ready. If you aren't in position to see the flag, and you don't have radio communications, guess.

Matt

 

definately, havent seen joe craven come out or chris with the itc civic hatch. john beckwith seems out of contention. will be interesting since quintero is beating borlick now, but is 2 races behind already.

btw, the flag station at sears is really visible from far down the track, so no worries there.