Types of Contact

[Colin Harmer]

I need to give credit to "John the Impaler
" on this one from the Spec Miata NER baord, but I really liked his definitions of "on track incidents":

We've all seen each of these I'm sure...

1: ‘Racing Oops’ – where unintentional contact/etc. just happens, in spite of the best intentions of both parties. Side-by-side in a corner, somebody has a little wiggle and there is contact, etc. I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of these, and always knew what it was, right when it happened. Had it happen with a regular here in Specmiata.com, and as I got out of my car, my first line to him was “I knew you didn’t mean to do that !”. Apology accepted, even before he could blurt it out.

Now…the following two are harder to differentiate –

2: ‘Bad Judgment’ – Somebody makes a bad/stupid/inexperienced move, which costs you positions or results in contact or a crash. ‘Bad Judgment’ is sometimes ‘actionable’ via a protest. Too many people try to brush off ‘Bad Judgment’ as ‘one of them racing thangs’, but in reality they are not taking responsibility for the mess they created. Repeated incidents of ‘Bad Judgment’ require some sort of action, and a simple apology or scolding in the paddock won’t do. Some drivers need to be put ‘on notice’ that they have to clean up their act. Good time to start the protest process.

3: ‘Malicious Idiocy’ – Some people try to explain ‘Malicious Idiocy’ as a momentary absence of good judgment, and the real $hitwitz try to explain it as ‘one of them racing thangs’. These are the times that a protest should always be started, regardless of any half-hearted apology or dim explanation.

Original Thread from sm.com

http://forum.specmiata.com/cgi-bin/ultimat...=7;t=000715;p=0

Cheers,


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Colin Harmer
ITB 2-Red Golf
Halifax, NS
www.gomuchfaster.com
[email protected]

[924Guy]

LOL... reminds me of talking to one of my (many) mothers-in-law about a good hard race that involved some of the racing oops'es... "You remember, like your parents taught you, there's Good Touching and there's Bad Touching..."

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Vaughan Scott
Detroit Region #280052
'79 924 #77 ITB/GTS1
www.vaughanscott.com

[dave parker]

Colin,
I too enjoyed John's comments on the specmiata.com thread. But i enjoy most of the comments that he makes about our crazy little hobby. I have never met John, but he seems like he has a pretty accurate grasp of what is going on out there.

I have had scenario 1 and 2 happen to me, as well as being the perpetrator. The best thing you can do is stand up for what was done and make your apologies. Sometimes it can take the other party a while to calm down and get over it, the best thing to do is to remain sincere and approachable (hey we ALL make mistakes right?) and things will generally work out.

There is no acceptable excuse for scenario number 3. Period.

I think the biggest thing to remember in all of this is that this is CLUB RACING. It is all for fun. The fun factor is why we keep coming back for more of the pain, suffering, and hard work of campaigning a racing car.
When you are standing in the paddock after an on track session looking at a wadded up car that will involve a lot of effort and $$$$ the fun factor is greatly reduced.

Remember its a hobby. No one is getting rich doing this. Be nice to your fellow club members.

Cheers
"dangerous" dave parker
wdcr ITC#97


[This message has been edited by dave parker (edited July 18, 2005).]

[lateapex911]

Originally posted by dave parker:
Colin,


IRemember its a hobby. No one is getting rich doing this. Be nice to your fellow club members.

Cheers
"dangerous" dave parker
wdcr ITC#97


[This message has been edited by dave parker (edited July 18, 2005).]

Agreed...

I thought John's comments were particularly insightful on that thread.

It IS club racing, but actually, money (pro racing) doesn't change a thing either. The morals or code of ethics should not change just because money is involved. Right is right, wrong is wrong, regardless.



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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

[joeg]

They shouldn't, but they do...

Racing for money truly brings out the "red mist"

Try a local oval sometime!

Cheers.

[JohnRW]

Originally posted by dave parker:
I have never met John, but he seems like he has a pretty accurate grasp of what is going on out there.

Oh...you might have...pretty sure you've shared a track with him someplace...

Pretty easy to figure out who the 'adults' are in that thread.

[dave parker]

John
I have shared the track with you at Summit Point for the EMRA "twinight" enduro.

This year please make sure that you stop by the OG Racing store and say "HI".

I am sure after the race we can hoist an ale together. Or maybe some of Wreckerboy's jello shooters.

The MOST entertaining part of that thread on SM.com was watching "adults" show their true colors. It was a free show, but I left feeling like I really should have paid an admission fee.

Cheers
"dangerous" dave parker
wdcr ITC#97


[This message has been edited by dave parker (edited July 18, 2005).]

[Wreckerboy]

Jello? Did somebody say Jello?

Thus "dangerous dave" sets a new record for earliest mention of EMRA Jello shooters!

[mgyip]

To quote one of the responders on SpecMiata.com - I think I lost 15 IQ points while reading that thread. In my case, I think I'm clinically brain-dead...

[JamesB]

You sure its not a pre-exisiting condition after this weekends trip?

[mgyip]

Originally posted by JamesB:
You sure its not a pre-exisiting condition after this weekends trip?

I think that came from the company that I was keeping during this weekend's trip

It's good to see that Spec Miata is just like the rest of SCCA - a whine and cheese party after each session...

[JamesB]

You know its quite possible, I can drive most people into a comatose state with how fast I can change directions to the end goal I commited to.

[lateapex911]

Originally posted by JohnRW:
Oh...you might have...pretty sure you've shared a track with him someplace...

Pretty easy to figure out who the 'adults' are in that thread.

Jeeezz...well, I guess I have never been accused of being the MOST mature guy around....

In the end, I think that crew lady is going to think what she thinks...I wonder if she drives??



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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

[dave parker]

Jake
With the attitude and immature behaviour that was displayed in the post on sm.com let's hope that she does NOT.

Flame away.

cheers
"dangerous" dave parker

[whenry]

I got "mugged" one time and after consulting with friendly stewards, I went to the offending driver to ask for an explanation. He cussed me and told me to leave his paddock space. I protested him and he was placed on probation for 3 races. All I was looking for was an explanation and apology. My point is that in racing there will be contact and while we can hope that the damage is minimal, it is possible to antagonize and escalate the situation with your own actions. YMMV