Thoughts on 24hr race 2010

[Nigel Hollis]

Congratulations to the Rent Boys - had hoped to be challenging to the line but steering arm problems & a front wheel bearing breaking up put paid to that. Special thanks to Mike Cooper without  whose skill & expertise we would have tumbled even further down the order!

Must mention something that may need clarifying for 2011. About 4hrs in, a fire marshall removed the large extinguisher from outside the garage & hung it up on the wall on the next block stating that on no account must it be used by competitors, who should have brought their own. I did protest to the barc offical patrolling the pit lane but he declined to intervene. This left us with only a small d.i.y. type extinguisher to use. We do not have a dedicated person on fire ext. duty at refuelling pitstops, the exiting driver undertaking this role, so at the next fuel stop he exits the car not knowing about the situation, cursing about the extinguisher not being in position, grabs the one from the wall which triggers the fire marshall into action so we have the extinguisher being wrestled between the two amid threats & foul language whilst the car is being fuelled up behind them! Don't know if this was caught on camera but would make a great comedy moment! The marshall later relented & a sand bucket appeared as well. Exactly what is the situation - all the supplementary regs. state  is that a team member must be adjacent to an extinguisher!  As far as I am aware a compulsary fire drill for teams did not occur this year either.

Finally, some of you may know that Richard & Matthew's grandad passed away during the meeting so many thanks to all who expressed their condolences.

Hollis Motorsport Car 2

[Mary Lindsay]

 We always bring a large fire extinguisher from home and have that ready for our fire-duty person to use.

[Chris Yates]

We too fell foul of confusion regarding regulations. We were told in no uncertain terms by the lady scrutineer that was watching our stops that there must be NO work behind the front bulkhead while fuel was going in. We were also told that the fireman watching the refueller MUST have balaclava, gloves, full fire-retardant clothing, etc.

A little later on, I caught hold of Mike the chief scrutineer and got that rescinded - he was able to clarify that in our regs we're allowed to work in the driver compartment as long as both feet are on the ground, and the fireman doesn't have to wear full kit.

As far as extinguishers go, we've always been able to use the circuit supplied one - for two reasons I believe - one, the circuit knows the provenance of those extinguishers and knows they're going to be effective in case of a fire - one brought from home (possibly a workshop spare) might not work. The circuit ones are usually bigger too - I know which ones I'd rather use!

I think this may be a case of the various volunteer scrutineers and marshals not being briefed on our little 'quirks' before the race.

Very sorry to hear about Richard and Matthew's grandad, Nigel - it was nice that Richard was able to say a few words on the circuit commentary during the race.

[David Bain]

I remember the fire extinguisher question coming up in the past. As far as I remember the final decision was that we could/should use the site fire extinguishers while fuelling but they had to be put back in their official position in between pitstops. This was because the fire regs would be satisfied that they hadn't simply been moved and left elsewhere but someone had charge of them within a reasonable distance of their official position and would be able to react appropriately. When replaced they were fulfilling their requirement on the fire plan.

[Sean]

yes had asked for this to be clarified in the past, teams are supposed to bring own extinguisher the ones on the walls are for the fire marshal use not the teams

we also need to have clarified the attire for fueling and fire cover, we had been told in the past full flame proof suits to be worn, boots, gauntlets and balaclava.

many teams had fire retardent ( most definatley NOT the same as flame proof) boiler suits on with full gear

another team was observed fueling with driver, still egressing, fueller in sandals and race suit nattily tied round waist no gloves( as is his usual driving stylee!) or balaclava and no extinguisher untill someone dressed as a bank teller came out

we too were threatened with a penalty for ajusting belts while fuelling, and for not getting the driver clear....not only was he clearly out the car and in full flame proof gear apparently he was standing too close!

next year clarification prior to start of race, bulletin to new teams and rules applied equally to all be it old hands or plucky newcomers

Sean
Dogfish

[Trevor Williams]

Condolences to the Hollis Clan! A fine effort under trying circumstances

As for refueling... I hate to say it, but read the regs!! Both the supplementary ones AND the Blue Book!! You DO NOT need fireproof race overalls for refueling or being the extinguisher monkey! Proban are acceptable! The extinguisher criteria was in last years supplementary regs, can't comment on this years

The problem lies with some of the pit lane marshals, they do have a tendancy to be stuck in their own world and not fully versed in the events regulations

Trevor

[Paul Robertson]

As some people never received tickets and supp regs before they left that would have been dificult for some,however point taken.
The use of the fuel jugs next year may mean a complete change to the refuelling regs .
It is possible it will become the same as other 24hr races where no one other than the refueler is allowed on the car and all others have to remain in the garage until he has finished.
Paul

[Steve Panas]

Dispatch of tickets is wholly down to when BARC decide it is reasonable and most economic. Due to the logistics of the event it is only reasonable to send tickets to the main entrant which is unfortunately dictated by the rate of information related to the driver lineup from ALL teams.
Supplementary regs are sent with the tickets. As there was no directive from the technical commitee to make alterations it wasn't conceived to be an issue. For first timers this may well be a problem initially and this situation could well be improved. The larger solution we require is an agreement from officials and competitors regarding certain criteria of the regs before and during the race. The "any further questions" at the driver breifing would have been an ideal time to air these views, many of which are recurring from year to year.
I do not believe it would be beyond the current electronic age to publish the previous years regs as a guideline to all and then initiate any changes closer to the event

Well done Sammie. [Running water cooled for the first part of the race may well catch on]
Take care to all the Hollis family
Awards to be held in Germany next year??  and
Where  were all the championship back markers buying their fuel this year?

Steve ;D

[Martin Harrold]

Sorry to sound like a boring old fart (I see I'm now listed as 'veteran' - surely that's now illegal under EU anti-ageist legislation), but we do greatly value the safety of our crew.

Surely, it's not just a matter of the small print of the regs, which all have to be met, but also what is safest by any commonsense measure. It's clear and sensible that we should bring our own extinguishers, leaving the circuit kit for the marshals to use.

In addition, we make sure that the fueller and the fireman have full flame resistant kit, with gloves and headwear. This year, we gave them polycarbonate goggles to wear, as the eyes are very much exposed.

Next year, the regs will undoubtedly be tightened, so as others have said, we'll all have to further refine the kit and the process.

I did take a look at the special fuel churn in the petrol office - it looks like a well designed item There were two versions, but I cannot now recall the differences. We'll have to fix the fuel filler necks much more securely to deal with the downwards pressure.