IRL Safety Team = Epic Fail

[anthonyvop]

I watched today's race from Watkins Glen on my DVR. Watching Simona's wreck I waited for the arrival of the safety team in anticipation of seeing a marked improvement.

There wasn't.

I re-winded and timed it.

From the time the Yellow came on on the ABC feed till the arrival of the Safety Team truck a excruciating 1:23.5 past.

I realize that on a road course it can take a little longer than on an Oval but almost one and a half minutes is unacceptable.

[call_me_andrew]

Back in the old country, you were lucky if the safety team came at all. And when they did come, all they did was throw you into the fire.

I'm not sure why they were called the safety team.

[Easy Drifter]

My understanding is they will not dispatch the Safety Team until the entire field is under the control of the Safety Car. I might be wrong on that.
That may work on an oval but it is not satisfactory on a road course with much lower speeds and usually a longer track.
If it is the case IC must stop their USAC type hidebound thinking and adapt before someone dies.

[markabilly]

stupid once again...

But it was quicker than easy's favorite old fart doctor, got to RS when he smashed the wall at Indy F1 race....while a safety crew and ambulance right a few hundred yards away was forced to wait until the ole doc figured out he needed help getting him out of the car since RS had a fairly serious back injury, and those who finally showed up did not have the muscle to get it done

[call_me_andrew]

Mark, I think the main issues with F1's safety protocol are that:

1. The only ambulance is the medical car.
2. The medical car must travel in the same direction as traffic.

Ralf crashed near the pit entrance (far away from any marshals), so the medical car (once dispatched) had to travel the entire lenght of the track before it got to Ralf.

[markabilly]

Mark, I think the main issues with F1's safety protocol are that:

1. The only ambulance is the medical car.
2. The medical car must travel in the same direction as traffic.

Ralf crashed near the pit entrance (far away from any marshals), so the medical car (once dispatched) had to travel the entire lenght of the track before it got to Ralf.

protocal bs....just like the irl so it seems....plenty of safety crews were all over that track, including an ambulance and a crash truck probably 200 to three hunderd yards away in the vicinity of between the last banked corner and the next to last corner...perhaps from CC, I dunno, but there they sat, while I sat and watched

and those were the guys that finally pulled him out, when they were finally permitted to respond after being required to sit there for about five or more minutes by race control

I know as i sat there and watched

[anthonyvop]

stupid once again...

But it was quicker than easy's favorite old fart doctor, got to RS when he smashed the wall at Indy F1 race....while a safety crew and ambulance right a few hundred yards away was forced to wait until the ole doc figured out he needed help getting him out of the car since RS had a fairly serious back injury, and those who finally showed up did not have the muscle to get it done

Please spare me "the other guys" argument. What they did in F-1 years ago is irrelevant the the discussion.

We are talking about the IRL.

Today Simona sat in a heavily damaged car for almost a minute and a half before the safety crew pulled up.
That is unacceptable for even a SCCA club race let alone what is suppose the premier series in North America.

[Mark in Oshawa]

It is unacceptable, but it is just another case of pride going ahead of common sense. The best safety team in the world was mothballed and let go when the CCWS was folded up. Out of all the parts and pieces the IRL took from the CCWS, THAT should have been the first, but stupidity and pride dictated those guys were not required. Now twice in one year someone's safety was jeopardized for this stupidity. I think owners like Penske and Ganassi need to lean on Bernard, Barnhart and the like and get some changes made before someone suffers an injury or disability due to the dopey way things are being done...

1:23? My god, at Mosport our safety/med teams are quicker than that for club racing...

[Easy Drifter]

It appears IC will not use any 'local' rescue/safety crews. Not sure but it looks that way. At the Glen you have a 3.4 mile track so you could easily be talking over a mile and a half away. If they were to run Elkhart 2 miles!
Loaded as they are and from a standing start with hills and slow turns thrown in just using two vehicles and crews is not acceptable.
Maybe you do want them there for a major extraction but local crews could handle fires etc.

[Mark in Oshawa]

It appears IC will not use any 'local' rescue/safety crews. Not sure but it looks that way. At the Glen you have a 3.4 mile track so you could easily be talking over a mile and a half away. If they were to run Elkhart 2 miles!
Loaded as they are and from a standing start with hills and slow turns thrown in just using two vehicles and crews is not acceptable.
Maybe you do want them there for a major extraction but local crews could handle fires etc.

Here is a brainstorm? Why have only one rescue response unit? How about have 2 or 3? CART/CCWS did? What is more, as we saw in Texas, even when they do arrive, it is Keystone Cops time. They are a joke....