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Now that some time has passed I'd like to discuss the 2008 ProSolo Finale.

Let me start by saying I love the ProSolo format and my hat's off to Howard for his dedication and commitment to making it work and working to expand it with the single course format in areas that don't have the space for a dual course.  Thank you Howard.

We all know the issues with the equipment and the heroic efforts the ProSolo team has gone through to keep the equipment working through extrodinary weather conditions.  And I encourage them to continue seeking solutions to the timing and light issues that plaque the series.

Given the Finale is the pinacle of the ProSolo Series I personally felt the handling of the equipment failure at the event could have been better handled, albeit with other consequences.  I can't think of any other sporting event (Racing, Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, etc.) that, had the timing and scoring equipment gone down, would have said, "We'll run the first third of the contest as practice."  I think they would have delayed the event, postponed it, or rescheduled it.  Maybe it's just that the ProSolo crowd is the step child of the SCCA Solo community.  If timing went down at Nationals would we have said, "Heat 2 will have their first runs only count as practice"???  No way.

Delaying the start of the ProSolo may have caused issues for the Test and Tune and possibly the Day-Off on Monday, or could have delayed the challenge rounds until Sunday morning, but I really think if we want the ProSolo series to matter we must treat it with the respect a top tier national Finale event deserves.  As long as we treat it as an afterthought, it will be.

Flame suit on....

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Ted

2004 Z16/Z06 SS

Discuss or pass judgement?  Sounds like the latter in disguise to me.

It happens, i.e. that's racing ....

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"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you." --Anonymous

The second ProSolo I ever attended had a worse downpour than even the 2008 Finale, and the same problems were evident.

That was the 1997 Columbus (Indiana) event, and I know there are people on this forum who remember that deluge.

They did the same thing there -- cancelled the Saturday morning runs -- with one exception. We didn't get practice runs there.

It isn't often that a class winner stands on their Saturday morning runs. I don't see any reason to bicker with the decision. They made all the first heat runs "practice runs" so that they could fix the timing issue and cycle cars through to make sure the timer worked before "officially" timing cars for the Saturday afternoon heat. I applaud the decision that kept the event moving, and allowed people a chance to play on the course before it really "counted." It was a rare opportunity to really push the envelope of the course without penalty, though I, personally, used it merely as a means to learn the course (since, in the course of tracking down my rain tires, I only got the chance to walk the right side course once, and the left side course.... not at all!).

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Karen Kraus
2005 SCCA SEDiv FS Champion
2007 SCCA DSL National Champion
2008 SCCA ProSolo L1 Champion

I am amazed that they were able to keep going at all.  That was some serious rain.  You have to give the equipment credit for not just going up in smoke. 

Here's another instance where we only got 4 runs per side after the morning heat was "cancelled" : 2000 Ft. Myers ProSolo.

Not timing equipment that time, but again, I think it was a perfectly legit reason to shorten the number of runs.

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Karen Kraus
2005 SCCA SEDiv FS Champion
2007 SCCA DSL National Champion
2008 SCCA ProSolo L1 Champion

I was bummed that there were no times for my heat because I pretty much suck at autocross except in extreme weather, my first runs were real good and it would've been nice to see how high up I would be in the results.  But in all reality, I don't think it matters that we lost those four runs.  It happens, as a driver, you have work around it just like everyone else.

Definite bummer losing runs. I think you just chalk it up to s8!t happens. Imagine pushing it into Sunday and then having X-hundred folks who drove out up to 4 days early to get a taste of HPT surface not getting to run because the "ProSolo guys" get favorable treatment. Talk about a firestorm. Baseball games get called short due to weather. Pro races get called with laps to go if they run long on time. It's really hard to be flexible like that when you have a set schedule with folks driving across the country. The only thing I would say is that if it isn't already documented somewhere, these contingency plans should be laid in print ahead of time so everyone knows what they're signing up for. It's kinda like reruns. It sucks to lose to someone on their 4th run, but when you start your 1,000-mile drive knowing that's part of the game, it's a lot harder to complain or feel cheated if it happens.

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Randy Noll

You cannot compare our Pro Finale or Solo Nationals to a "PRO" sporting event because it just simply isnt.

We dont race full time with sponsorships etc to flip the bill. We all have to take personal vacation time to participate in this sport. Postponing the event simply isnt an option because of scheduling conflicts. Not everyone stays all week. People fly home and then fly back or some may have done the Finale only..who knows..

I do see your point, but given the "Grassroots" nature of our sport, we dont have the luxury of rescheduling. Rescheduling an F1 race or an NFL game is just fine..what the hell else are they going to be doing..that is their full time job..not so for us...

All just my opinion of course....

 

Scott... who worked course during the finale...

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I live my life one cone at a time........

 

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Trying to get faster

Yeah.

I got rained on quite a bit during the finale.  My 4 year old Wal-mart rain suit had given up the ghost.  I was soaked to the bone, from head to toe.

But did I complain ? NO

I made lemonade out of lemons.........with the copious amounts of rain obsecuring everyone's vision.....I put a hand down my pants, and was playing with myself the whole time.  I worked the course with a  giant smile on my face.

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Trying to get faster

I didn't have a problem running it the way we did, as other have said, you usually don't sit on those runs anyways... now if all of my runs on one side were all dirty I might have thought differently (probably not though).

What we should really be doing is trying to figure out a way to better protect the timing equipment so we don't have these problems in the future.  How about some solutions to keep the equipment water tight.  Have we evaluated what was causing the problem?

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Jason Frank
Bridgestone / datatoys.com / Redshift Motorsports STS Civic Si

TeamUndercoatRacing.com

Maybe it's just me that believes that the amount of equipment failures at national events is much higher than it should be? It really shouldn't take rocket science to weatherproof the equipment, we all know that it's likely to get wet at least a couple times a season. There are waterproof containers available for < $1.00 (ziplock freezer bags) to low tech (rubbermaid food containers) to high tech (specialized containers such as ones used to protect electronics in extreme environments or for underwater use) I can go to my local dive shop and buy a soft bag with an optically clear port, or a fitted hard plastic case that will fully protect a still or video camera under 150' of salt water dive after dive even thru mutiple openings and closings and the bouncing around it gets on a dive boat, even a surface monsoon is a spilled glass of water in comparison to that environment. If the tree getting wet is the problem, have a lexan slipover cover made for it, or have a custom boat cover shop make a clear vinyl and waterproof fabric bag, they are intimately familiar with keeping rain storms from filling up boats at mooring. If it's the cables and connectors laying in water that is the problem, punch holes thru a few plylons near the point and string the wires thru them like support trestles from the tree to the trailer to keep them off the ground. I use a pretty low tech waterproofing of electrical connections method to keep my outdoor Xmas lights from shorting out in the rain: I buy the 1/2 size ziplock sandwhich bags, and snip off the bottom corners to form large enough holes for the extension cord or electrical cord end to pass thru. I insert the wiring connectors thru the holes into the bags and tie the corner of the bag to the wire with a bread wrapper twist tie. I plug the wires together inside the bag and zip it closed. I have yet to find one bag even damp inside, yet I can unplug/replug the connection in a moment if needed.

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TEAM DYNAMICS

03 GSL, 05 HSL Nat Champ
AS 07 Solstice GXP

If we aren't pros, then why do I have so many decals on my car? 

Sean O'Gorman:

If we aren't pros, then why do I have so many decals on my car? 

 

Definitions of wannabe on the Web:

 

someone who wishes to be or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; want to be; aspiring

 

 

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I live my life one cone at a time........

CamaroFS34:

The second ProSolo I ever attended had a worse downpour than even the 2008 Finale, and the same problems were evident.

That was the 1997 Columbus (Indiana) event, and I know there are people on this forum who remember that deluge.

 

That was on the original PS timing system, and the temp dropped down into the low 50s with high winds, my bones are still warming up nine years later ... poor Howard was even wetter at that one than this years Finale.  I still have a clear memory picture of him laying down on his chest in 3" deep water adjusting the starting beam lights.

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"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you." --Anonymous

That rain was incredible.  Beth and I remember leaving and driving down the road exiting the site, and our trailer started floating sideways in the water running over the road.  Just like at Nationals, the Challenge had sun, though. 

BTW, I am hoping a rule is added for events that have rain for all sessions.  Need to drop the break out multiplier altogether for a rain event.  Certainly, it will help cars with power if the course is drying, but that will be the rare time having a high horsepower car is an advantage in the Challenge.

 

TeamRX8:

CamaroFS34:

The second ProSolo I ever attended had a worse downpour than even the 2008 Finale, and the same problems were evident.

That was the 1997 Columbus (Indiana) event, and I know there are people on this forum who remember that deluge.

 

That was on the original PS timing system, and the temp dropped down into the low 50s with high winds, my bones are still warming up nine years later ... poor Howard was even wetter at that one than this years Finale.  I still have a clear memory picture of him laying down on his chest in 3" deep water adjusting the starting beam lights.

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Erik Strelnieks
93 3-ROTOR RX7
01 Honda S2000
05 SLK 350 AMG
08 BMW 135i

I think it was handled as well as it could have been. They needed to make a decision, right or wrong, they made it. I was glad that by the time we ran the timers were working at least you knew how you stacked up. I feel bad for th earlier heats that didin't have that.

In the end we all had to play the same hand dealt. Some rolled with it and for some it probably affected them mentally.

They did put everything in containers and zip-lock bags. They tested at 7:30 a.m. and everything worked fine. But by 8:30, nothing. One of the wireless transmitters in a zip-loc bag cooked itself, from it's own heat and condensation, in the interim. At least that is what I was told by R.C. This was the day one issue, the day two cable thingy I didn't even ask.

As far as being wet, I just embraced it. It was less annoying that way. The only saving grace that I thought of when I was working was, we had 2 days of solid rain and no lightning. I didn't even want to imagine the delays if we were being called off course every ten minutes. It would've really been the finale that never ended. 

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02 wrx 78 stx

ErikZ06:

BTW, I am hoping a rule is added for events that have rain for all sessions.  Need to drop the break out multiplier altogether for a rain event.  Certainly, it will help cars with power if the course is drying, but that will be the rare time having a high horsepower car is an advantage in the Challenge.

I tried to get Howard to do that Saturday morning when it looked like it would dry for the Challenge.  Pro Solo can changethe rules as they see fit and this looked like a more equitable way to play it out.  But no dice.  I've already sent a letter on this one.

I've also suggested that for the Finale that the first run session grid ordering be in year-end points order.  That way, there are no weather-related effects (plus or minus) due to who has a co-driver and who doesn't. 

If you have strong feelings on either of those, write to Howard.

--Andy

Andy Hollis:

I've also suggested that for the Finale that the first run session grid ordering be in year-end points order.  That way, there are no weather-related effects (plus or minus) due to who has a co-driver and who doesn't. 

If you have strong feelings on either of those, write to Howard.

--Andy

That's actually a pretty good idea.  Keeps the flavor of a Pro by starting in rank order.  Of course I'll be starting at the back again....

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Ted

2004 Z16/Z06 SS