Steward's Corner - by Tom Anderson, Chief Steward [back to top]
Continuing the discussion on communication between the turn workers and competitors, we need to consider that there are action flags and advisory (no action) flags.
ACTION FLAGS are:
Green flag means the race has started – hit the accelerator!
Checkered flag means the race is over – stop racing, slow down safely and take your cool-off lap.
Yellow flag means slow down – prepare to take evasive action. Double yellow means that the pace car is on course.
Black flag at start/finish means you have done something wrong – report to the black flag station the next time by.
Black flags at all stations mean the race is stopped – slow safely, do not pass, and pull into the hot pit next time by.
Black flag with orange ball (the “meatball”) means that something has been observed on your car – for your safety, you must report to black flag for an inspection. This flag has saved lives. Workers around the course are constantly visually inspecting your car as you proceed, and have determined that something is not normal.
Furled black flag at start/finish means you have done something wrong – don’t do it again. This looks like a black stick, and is pointed right at the offending driver.
Red flag at all stations means the session has been stopped due to a major incident, course blockage or potential requirement for major medical attention – slow safely, come to a stop and await further instructions.
ADVISORY FLAGS are:
Yellow flag with red stripes indicates that there is a course condition just ahead that may require avoidance, or may cause a loss of adhesion. It is displayed for two laps. If displayed with a yellow flag, there is a severe problem – use great caution.
Blue flag means that a faster car (or cars) is approaching from behind you. This flag requires no immediate action. Do not alter your line or speed, complete your passage through the turn and then point the overtaking car by.
You should be familiar enough with the flags to know what each one means without having to take a rulebook from under your seat to look it up. If a flag appears in front of you and you don’t know what to do, do not hit your brakes – continue on. Then, at your earliest convenience, study the flags in Section C of the rules manual.
Fast Esses -- by Murray Chalmers, Chief Driving Instructor [back to top]
A Saab Story
This is the fifth of a series of columns for our newest drivers, although it may also provide a useful refresher for veterans.
Back in 1966 Cal Club ran into a problem with the FAA who would not allow the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbra airport races. As a result they scheduled a 6-hour endurance race at Riverside International Raceway, on August 14, as a replacement for those two races.
This was the old track with half buried white painted tires in the apexes of the esses. Also the back straight did not have the kink that was added later, the straight went directly into turn nine. They announced that we would have a full Le Mans start on the back straight. To prep for this race I obtained the optional 10 gallon tank for my Lotus 7A and the optional 4:11 rear end rather than the 4:875 used for sprint races. I also rebuilt the engine with new car tolerances to withstand the rigors of a 6 hour run. In terms of engine revolutions over the 6 hours it would be the equivalent of 75,000 miles worth of engine revolutions without stopping. The cars were required to only use equipment which had been homologated by the FIA for that model of car. I was fortunate that Lotus had done so with both the 10 gallon tank and 4:11 rear end.
I got my old friend and original owner of my car, Bill Horn, to co-drive with me as co-drivers were required by Cal Club. We devised two five gallon Jerry cans with dump valves for refueling as the requirements were a maximum of five gallon cans and gravity feed only. After some testing we found that the car could go for an hour and a half on ten gallons. Perfect, that worked out to three stops with driver changes.
I spent much time practicing the start so that we could get it done without ending up with a foot through the steering wheel or some other dumb move. They lined the cars up from the Champion Bridge and on down towards turn nine, about three quarters of the way to turn nine.
There were 54 cars in all production and sedan classes. That meant everything from a VW Bug, up to an AP Cobra, and everything in between. Oddly enough, I do not remember anybody complaining about speed differential; perhaps we were too dumb in those days to know better.
For the start we drivers lined up on the east side of the track with the cars on the west side of the track. Bill and I qualified 25th in the field so we had a good starting position for a EP car. On the start they fired a gun and I ran across the track and jumped into the car. They had a course worker at each car and we were not allowed to leave until all belts were on and tight. The Lotus was great for this and I hit it perfectly. I hit the starter and when the tach hit 4000 rpm I dumped the clutch and took off. I looked up and was surprised to find that I was the only car moving. As I headed to turn 9 I was busy congratulating my self on the start. As I was in the middle of the big bore cars, I realized the error. Suddenly I was surrounded by tire smoking, sideways going fire breathers. As we entered turn nine, I was now running at the same speed as they and I began to relax. Oops, too soon. On the exit of nine on to the start finish straight, I was once again surrounded by roaring bullets streaming by on both sides.
It was quite a field. We had Lee Mueller in a TR4, Jim Dittmore in the AP Cobra, Pete Brock and Alan Johnson in a Hino, Bill Young in a Lotus 26R and other future racing names. Speaking of future VARA racers, Fred Plotkin was there driving a Alpha an finished 7th overall and first in EP.
Things were going really well up to lap 10 or so. I was passed every 4 laps by the Cobra and I passed the VW every four laps. The car was really working well and we were averaging over 85 miles per hour. While passing a SAAB sedan in the esses he did not see me and closed on me in the apex (SCCA had different passing rules than VARA does). I saw there was to be contact so I turned into him to keep from being shoved into the half buried tires. That worked well as far as it went. After I got my car under control I looked over to see he was working hard to keep from spinning and came back at me at speed. Fortunately we were now past the buried tires as he then punted me off the track up a steep hill, down the other side and stopped at the entry to turn five. I re-fired the engine and re-entered the race. I continued on without further incident, other than admiring, each time I lapped him, the two NASCAR 0s on his passenger door which my left front tire had carved.
By the time I was due to make the first pit stop we were running first in class and 4th overall, mostly by virtue of getting great mileage (12.4 MPG) and not having to stop for fuel. We pitted on lap 48 for fuel, made the driver change and were out in 17 seconds. All went well until lap 70. Bill had to bring the car in as it had become un-drivable. It seems that my little agricultural excursion had cracked the frame where the lower right A-Arm mounts and we were done. So done in fact that as we pushed it to the trailer the right front collapsed.
We covered 182 miles in 2.2 hours and averaged 82.7 mph including the pit stop, were running 4th when we had to retire and had a great time. It was truly a unique experience for us club racers.
