CFTR Peace River HS 2020

[Randy Rash]

Not sure where to post this properly but feel it is paramount that we address it as an organization. I have an incident that occurred on pit lane during the afternoon race on Sunday that I would like to present to the officials without embellishment and see what sort of solutions could come of it.

While pitting for my son in the Open B class, we were at the far end of the grassy area as the pit lane looped around back to the course. While we were fueling the bike, giving water to our rider and changing goggles, a rider in the same class came through the pit lane at a high enough speed that he could not navigate the corner. I was told that the rider never stopped for any service. I wouldn't know, my back was to him as he came through. I was between my son's bike and this rider. We were not in the middle of the pit lane, we were mere inches from the outer red ribbon perimeter.

The rider lost control on the coarse grass and slid at considerable speed into the backs of my calves trying to navigate the corner. One second I was helping my boy, the next I was on my back wondering what the heck had just happened. As you might imagine, I gave this fella an earful of expletive laden.... thanks. He apologized and went about his business returning to the course. I am not one to hold grudges. It was a mistake. Mistakes happen.

With the number of riders we have, someone at the official level has got to start thinking of limiting speeds on pit lane in a circumstance like this particular one. If you are not stopping for service, what is the point of flying through pit lane? It endangered many people. I took the brunt of this one myself and luckily didn't receive permanent harm. It could have went much differently, resulting in broken bones, torn achilles tendons, burns or a head injury. This was not a minor love tap. It was A TOTAL TAKE OUT from me fully standing upright to ending up sprawled out on my back on top of the rider and his bike.

I will leave it in your laps, officials and club members putting these events on. Does this circumstance warrant a change and some sort of limits on pit lane....or are we going to sweep it under the rug as an anomaly and ignore it UNTIL someone is injured seriously?

Michael
I'm glad to hear you weren't seriously injured that could have been bad.
I noticed that the entrance to those pits were very well marked however I could see how someone could have drifted to the right by mistake.
generally our pit areas are not that long but this one was made longer to accommodate for social distancing thus giving people the chance to carry to much speed threw the pits. I will have a discussion with the clubs at the firs HS committee meeting at the SADRA event.

 

[Michael Rewis]

Mike Rewis- I understand your concern, but not sure exactly what rule could be made, or how it would be enforced fairly. Need suggestions.

One thing, now that I think about it, is the Gas Pit area often seems more like a spectator area than an actual pit area. It is crowded with golf carts, lawn chairs, dogs, and little children right up to the edge of the ribbon. At lest 75% of the people in that area are just spectators rather than actually being there to service a bike. I am guilty of that myself. I think if the area was a little more restricted and less crowded, maybe it would help. If this topic grows, I will move it to it's own thread.

Bill, I do appreciate you responding. I totally understand where you are coming from and want to emphasize that I am not someone who likes rules just for the sake of rules. We have an awesome thing going with FTR (for the most part) and I don't want to see anything negative happen to the club. AS Wolfi noted above, this was a pit row with a 180 degree turn, the entrance to the pits was well marked, I'm not sure what else could have been done in this case, other than for the rider to keep control of his bike and not hit someone. We've all made silly mistakes, his was just more visible. I just want to make certain that no one is permanently or seriously injured in a future similar incident.

Other racing sports have limits on pit lanes to keep repeat fatalities, fires and "issues" to a minimum. If we are talking about it, doesn't it warrant serious consideration to discuss it with officials? Just putting it out there. I love the sport and our FTR family. I don't want a ridiculous rule and I don't want something like this to hurt the sport or another individual. AS our sport grows, we are having capacity records to the grids and parking areas. Officials please don't wait until it is too late to implement more safeguards so that we may keep our passion viable in these events.

 

[Michael Rewis]

Randy, I didn't see your post until after I had posted above. Thank you as well for responding and please understand, I want to be part of the solution, not just one of the complainers. I have 23 years experience as a paramedic, 13 of those on a critical care flight program in Alaska. I was a safety officer for our program and in other positions I have held in my career. I'm now a licensed physician assistant here in the state of Florida. I've encountered a lot of damaged people in my line of work over the years. An ounce of prevention can help stave off a TON of problems.

 

[Ty Thomas]

Big thanks to the club for putting together a great course and handling the huge crowd. It was truly appreciated. Excellent job!

 

[Elesa Berard]

Thanks to all who attended! All suggestions are awesome and would be great if we can discuss these during the next harescramble committee meeting.