Live snatching of stranded race cars

[andrewcliffe]

I noticed that 750MC were happy to perform live snatches with telehandlers under double waved yellows, whereas MSVR would have released the safety car to recover those cars.

Thoughts?

[stevenconnor]

UK motorsport has been a bit inconsistent this year with Code 60, safety cars and live snatch.. tricky decisions for Clerk of Courses and different approaches by different clubs.

[andrewcliffe]

Using the most recent race as an example.

Qualifying was redflagged due to Andrew Barron ending up just off the exit kerbing in the gravel at Old Hairpin. Session ended up red flagged after 12 mins. A safety car wouldn't have achieved anything, nor would yellow flags in that section, so most sensible option was to red flag session 3 minutes early. Whilst there may have been time for a single flying lap afterwards, it would have required a brisk outlap for everyone as well.

Race 2 - everyone on slicks but was starting to drizzle. Cold temperatures, and drizzle probably contributing more for loss of concentration rather than loss of grip, at least two people went off down Craner Curves / Old Hairpin as well - Andrew G-C went in fairly deep and that was recovered under waved yellows. I'm fairly certain MSVR would have deployed the safety car for two laps, whereas 750MC chose to deploy the telehandler and to perform a live snatch under double yellow flags.

As an observer I felt the 750MC's method provided more racing as the rest of the lap was conducted under racing conditions, but recovery took longer and put more people at risk than deploying the SC. I wondered what other racers felt.

[Terry Scannell]

Gents,

If I may be allowed to clarify the situation regarding live snatch.

It is possible to use at most circuits that are licenced for live snatch to retrieve cars from potentially dangerous positions using a telehandler or a suitable snatch vehicle under double waved yellows.

However as far a MSVR is concerned since the sad situation that arose with the Jules Bianchi F1 accident MSVR have had the strict policy that for any session with any type of cars that do not benefit from full frontal roll cage protection we are not allowed to perform a local live snatch under double waved yellows and this is also normally stated in the MSVR final instructions hence I have no live snatch option available to me unless under the cover of a Safety Car. The only other options being to either Red Flag the session or leave the vehicle where it is, as long as the driver is in as place of safety. This will also apply to other classes such as Radicals and Sports 2000 and Historic sports cars which either have a roll cage behind the driver or forward facing sloping brace bars which do not fully protect the driver's head as such.

Reading the final instructions for the 750MC Donington meeting on the 30th Sept / 1st Oct these state that a Safety Car option was not applicable to that meeting hence I believe that option was not available to the 750MC clerks.

As stated many times in my briefings the last thing any Clerk wants to do is to intervene with Safety Cars or Red Flags as we want to provide all involved with the full race distance, however we have to make virtually instant assessments of any situation presented to us via the best information available from the marshals on the scene at the time whilst trying to ensure the safety of all drivers / marshals / rescue crews involved and whilst trying to maximize the drivers race time.

I trust this information is helpful.

[tristancliffe]

My two pennies addition...

I've driven the safety car for Terry three times now (not with Monoposto), and when the car is put into use there is a constant flow of communication between Terry and the car advising progress being made with the recovery.

I have always tried to drive at a speed suitable for the cars in the race. If they are 'road cars' then I can drive a bit slower knowing that tyre temperature and engine temperature isn't as critical, and if they're single seaters I will try to drive quicker so thy can weave and get some cooling air through the radiators unless instructed otherwise by the Clerk to ensure we achieve the ultimate aim below.

The ultimate aim is to have the incident cleared just as the safety car reaches the lights-out point on the circuit. If I drive too fast then we'll be too close to the end of the lap to restart with enough warning, committing you all to another lap behind the safety car, and if we drive too slowly then you'll all boil your engines and have stone cold tyres.

And of course another aim is to close up the pack of cars into one train so the marshals can work for 90% of the lap with nothing around. However, many drivers go at safety car speeds even when there is a 30 second gap to the car in front. It would be helpful to everyone (including your own race) if you could catch up to the train of cars as quickly as is safely possible, slowing down near any incidents but speeding up a bit when not. For starters, you might get a chance to gain a place at the restart, and it might mean there is one less lap under the safety car because the marshals can work more effectively without having to worry about a constant stream of cars that can't be bothered to catch up.

[stevengriffin]

I was uncomfortable watching the guys retrieving that car. It was wet and greasy and it wouldn't have taken much to slide off into the snatch team. personally I would have been happy with a safety car.

[willcox1998]

I was unaware of even seeing a safety car vehicle throughout the weekend!

[stevenconnor]

I was unaware of even seeing a safety car vehicle throughout the weekend!

Reading the final instructions for the 750MC Donington meeting on the 30th Sept / 1st Oct these state that a Safety Car option was not applicable to that meeting hence I believe that option was not available to the 750MC clerks.

As a safety car was not applicable as stated in the Finals, there probably wasn't one on site.