Vintage Road Racing Association

At the Sidecar racers AGM, the issue of flagging for a missing passenger was discussed. The key concern was immediate communication with the driver. We generally use the debris flag but this takes time to pick up and point at the driver. The suggestion was to point the furled yellow flag at the rig, because the yellow flag is always in hand. Comments?

Makes sense to me.

Agreed. Whatever works for the marshals.

mgill wrote:Agreed. Whatever works for the marshals.

+1

A furled yellow flag pointed at you would only be noticeable when you get close to the marshal station,and by then the driver will probably have noticed,with possibly disastrous results,the lack of passenger holding the chair down.Ask me how I know this?
Perhaps a "hold it steady,then point....hold it steady,then point...." as many times as possible as the rig approaches the corner.
Just my $.02 worth,or is that now rounded down to $.00

Yes......what Mike said.

Miles.

Further to what both Mike and Gary have commented on...the suggestion was to hold the yellow flag open over the head and 'shake vigorously' and then point at the rig in question. As stated, the Marshals will always be holding the yellow flag so precious seconds can be saved.

I have been on both sides of this situation and while sometimes the driver does notice immediately, there are situations where they may not. Obviously communication on the Marshal Net is also key so the affected driver can be 'flagged' as they approach a corner. Hence the "use the flag you have in your hand already' option.

Gary Green wrote:Further to what both Mike and Gary have commented on...the suggestion was to hold the yellow flag open over the head and 'shake vigorously' and then point at the rig in question. As stated, the Marshals will always be holding the yellow flag so precious seconds can be saved.

I have been on both sides of this situation and while sometimes the driver does notice immediately, there are situations where they may not. Obviously communication on the Marshal Net is also key so the affected driver can be 'flagged' as they approach a corner. Hence the "use the flag you have in your hand already' option.

"Shake (the flag ) vigorously and point" gets my vote.

Stop falling off, you crazy monkeys! ......gets my vote.

The crazy ones aren't the ones that fall off.

Some sort of warning would be nice.....

Mike - Agree a furled yellow works well and is obvious - actually this is what happened to me at the Quinte TT when Joel jumped off in surprise I actually braked at the right point for Allens. The marshall did exactly what you suggest here as there was no time to go search for other flags. It was obvious and worked well and allowed me to pull up safely before the next corner.

I always found that duct taping Sharon down to the rig was effective at preventing escape.... Its not so much to prevent falling off as abandoning ship when things get hairy..... . Whatever the Marshalls can do to get your attention works for me including firing a flare across the bow.

Again what ever works is the logical answer.
In reality however...
I have been on all sides of this question; corner marshal, driver & passenger on the ground.

First off, passenger = waving yellow prior to the incident to notify racers of an incident. Well I suppose it could be debris

Second, inform the affected driver of a problem. Ideally it would be a black flag, come to a controlled safe stop off the line. Since corner marshals don't have a black flag the next best thing is a mechanical wave off with the debris flag.

Remember here are the priorities for all marshals in order: 1) Protect yourself & partner(s). 2) Protect the riders still racing. 3) Protect the downed racers.

This is the job of the marshals. If they need to change flags to do this that is part of the job.
No different than as a driver to avoid contact with other drivers.