Guest driver for Qualifying

[robits325is]

The Friday Qualify - Saturday Race schedule next weekend at Lime Rock makes it impossible for one driver to attend the Friday qualifying session due to a work conflict. Is it legal to have one driver qualify the car and another driver race the car?

Just Curious.

[JoshS]

The Friday Qualify - Saturday Race schedule next weekend at Lime Rock makes it impossible for one driver to attend the Friday qualifying session due to a work conflict. Is it legal to have one driver qualify the car and another driver race the car?

Just Curious.
[/b]

Not legal. 6.1.2.A: "It shall be the car/driver combination which qualifies a starting position."

Your driver will have to start from the back.

[Mike Guenther]

If you pay for a secong driver, one could qualify and the other could race. However the race driver would normally have to start from the rear unless the supplemental rules for that race stated otherwise.

[dickita15]

as said here he will have to start from the back. remember to get permision from chief steward as he won't have his 5 laps minimum in qualifying. happens all the time at lrp

[Zneed4speed]

That brings up another question.

What is the thinking behind requiring a 5 lap minimum for qualifying?

If my crew tells me I laid down a "ringer" in lap 2 why should I have to catch and fight traffic for 3 laps?
Is there mistrust in the timing equipment to the point that you have to show you really ran that time?

R.L.

[dickita15]

That is a pretty old rule in the GCR. I guess it was meant to make sure everyone in a race has some experience with the track. I have overheard the chief steward asking questions when someone asks for permission and the few questions were with regard to “does the driver know the track” and “is the car mechanically sound”. I have never heard of anyone being turned down.

[Zneed4speed]

Sounds like a reasonable Genesis, and that a Chief Steward would be reasonable too.
Now I wonder if it is a competitor protestable item, I need to go read the rule...

[Maddog]

That is a pretty old rule in the GCR. I guess it was meant to make sure everyone in a race has some experience with the track.
[/b]

This goes back to when most of our races were on airports and other temporary tracks. The idea was that the first lap of the race was a poor time to learn where the track turned right and left.

[jjjanos]

That is a pretty old rule in the GCR.[/b]

Where is it? I cannot seem to find it.

[Zneed4speed]

Maybe it's gone.

[planet6racing]

Maybe it's gone.
[/b]

In the five years I've been racing, I've never seen that rule in the GCR. Perhaps y'all might take them out of the plastic one-in-awhile...

As for the original question, just take the military/government approach:

Don't ask, Don't tell...

[CU Zcar]

6.1.2.A is on page 51 of the GCR pdf I downloaded in July...

[JoshS]

6.1.2.A is on page 51 of the GCR pdf I downloaded in July...
[/b]

They are talking about some 5-lap minimum rule, not 6.1.2.A.

[Beran]

Hmm,
I did get hit with this once when I was only able to complete three laps during qualifying. I did 2 fast laps that I was happy with then I had a fuel problem.. or lack of :-) (my ITE World Challenge Camaro)
I was told that I had to start at the back. I was not happy and asked the chief steward or whoever was in charge that I needed to talk to and he said "I do not care I am not giving you permission and you will be starting from the back" So I had to start at the total back of the pack with a time that would have had me in the first couple cars. I think the steward was on a little bit of a power trip. It did not make any sense to me and it actually made it more difficult for the people I was passing to race their own races.
I think this rule is still around but I do not know where it is... maybe they stick it in the supps.
Beran

[JGreen]

The rule is usually in the Supps. Its kind of like the "No shorts in the pitlane" rule. It was put in once and "everyone" liked it. It sure is nice to know if someone is new to the track or a "veteran" of the track. This info is passed to the Operating Stewards as an FYI. Personally I would not put someone at the back of the pack for not making less than 5 laps. It is up to the Chief Steward since he is in charge and responsible for the weekend. It also depends how the item is written in the Supps. If it says "Anyone not completing a minimum of 5 laps must start at the back of the pack" then his hands are tied.