First of all I apologze for being so late with this review. I had a lot of mixed emotions involving the start of this first race in the 4 Class ILMS Series race. I must say that for the first one I wanted to be lenient and hopefully everyone will start to get our collective act together.

We had some failure to get away off the grid by a driver who has since taken a self imposed penalty by switching to another class. At the moment although it does not really help those involved in the "Grid Incident", it is sufficient for me for now.

There will be no further penalties from the start in the grid area, just another reminder to be prepared to go on the green and to have an idea of where you want to go should the car in front stall out.

Also everyone should do their best to warm their brakes in the last quarter of the formation lap. TBH I would prefer a somewhat quicker pace to the formation lap in order to get some heat into the tires.

The more serious incident occurred in the turn three keyhole. A chain reaction started with Jim Best sliding slightly into Tom Cinnamon's car which basically slowed Jim to a stop causing contact with the car behind him. After that there was some overeaction to the first incident causing a couple of offs and major confusion. The ensuing action which followed the first incident entering the keyhole may not have occurred if not for the first accident.

Jim Best will recieve an 8 point penalty for an "Orange Zone" violation.

All drivers are EXPECTED to review the drivers meeting notes prior to each race and I encourage you all to read or read again the following posted by Mike Tyler.

Race Start Thoughts...

“Should I take off as fast as I can when the lights turn green or should I wait until the car in front of me moves?”

Both points of view are valid, however the proper solution lies somewhere in between. Generally you cannot participate in a standing start only thinking about who's in front of you because your race can end just as quickly from being run into from behind as it can from running into somebody in front of you.

The natural and frankly logical assumption for any racer is that green means 'go.' On this there can be no debate because it's a universally accepted flag standard in all racing series. As a driver the fact is when you return to the grid at the end of the formation lap you know exactly what is about to happen. There's no guessing or mystery to this. There will be 30-40 or more cars all leaving the grid to start their race the moment the red lights go out, the lights turn green, or the flag drops. No matter what signal you use no one here can say that they don't know what is expected during a standing start. If you don't, then you're in the wrong series.

That said however, like good drivers everywhere, even though you know what the conditions are and what's expected of every driver on the grid you also have to be prepared for the unexpected. Why? Because people make mistakes. Maybe they just aren't paying attention, or they just happened to look down at just the wrong moment, or they maybe they got distracted by a cat jumping up on their laps of their wives flashing them and shaking their 'stuff' in their guy's face at just the wrong moment, (which really did happen to me a couple of years back. And of course there's also the age old, 'shit happens.' Computers ask for updates at just the wrong moment, internet goes down, lag goes up, or whatever. But again none of this, except maybe the wife shakin' her stuff ... should be any surprise to anyone.

Being prepared for the unexpected means you come to the grid with your escape plan already formulated. You start your race just as everyone should to start their race, but be prepared for something to go wrong. Depending on which side of the grid you happen to be on and the physical configuration of the grid you should already know where the exits are located. Check the seat pocket in front of you and know where the nearest and more importantly the safest escape route is in case the driver in front of you misses the cue to start the race or, the driver in front of the driver in front of you misses the cue.

If you're on the front row, man, you've got it made because it's a simple drag race to the first turn, however after the first row we all know that there's going to be a slight delay rippling back through the grid, so be prepared. Go ahead and drop the clutch when the race starts, but do not expect to have the same level of freedom for acceleration that the very front of the grid has. And more importantly you also know that the driver in front of you will be launching his or her car under the same limitations. So take off as the lights go green, but just don't try to take off as fast as you would or could with an empty track in front of you because it's going to be like trying to drag race during rush hour traffic. If the driver in front is asleep then go around him or her, and for the sake of everyone else around you and whenever possible, never plan an escape route that leads you towards traffic.

On the other hand if you're the driver who missed the starting cue then your only choice is to suck it up and deal with it later. Don't try to win back the positions you lost before the first turn. You missed the cue and you lost the positions, so don't be an ass about it! As I said, suck it up and deal with it, but deal with it after the traffic has thinned out. With 75-80 minutes of racing ahead of you, you'll have plenty of time and opportunity to make up any lost ground. What you do not want to do is find yourself in the position of having to make up for lost time spent in the pits making repairs, or driving the rest of your race with the possibility that no matter where you finish or how many lost spots you make up there's a strong possibility that you're going to be loosing those points and maybe even a position or two looming over your head.

Intentionally waiting... on the grid... during a standing start.... is a really, REALLY bad idea. There is a definite 'res ipsa loquitur' standard applied to standing starts and any thing, a-n-y action that intentionally introduces an unknown or non-standard element into the scenario will usually lead to disaster. Perhaps not always to the person who initiated the effect, but certainly to those around him or her.

Nevertheless we all know what the standard is. When the lights turn green, the red lights go out or the flag drops the race starts, period. As I said, there's no gray area in this regard. You start your race, you know what's expected of you and you know that you still have 75-80 minutes of racing in front of you. So you can either drive accordingly and with the skills and situational awareness expected from competitive driving or... you give up your seat to someone else who is prepared to race within the accepted standards.

Whenever there’s an “Orange Zone” safety standard in place it does not mean go as fast and as far as you can until you get caught, nor does it mean that you can pass as many cars as you’d like as long as you don’t cause any damage. It means that while the officials fully expect that a driver may wind up making a pass or two, if for nothing else than the normal shuffling that comes with the start of any race, drivers are required to refrain from engaging in any excessive or risky moves during what is traditionally the most dangerous part of any race. Every driver is expected to be courteous and professional and to refrain from making any bold or risky moves at any time within the applied “orange zone.” Furthermore even though it may not always be specifically stated, the implied driver conduct standard is that this refrained approach to the race start basically carries through the end of the first lap of the race.

Personally speaking I've raced for too long, reviewed far too many starting accidents and issued far too many penalties to find any other practice acceptable. Moreover rolling starts are not really a solution to race start problems. Rolling starts are only a different way of starting a race and the fact is rolling starts come with their own sets of problems, not the least of which is the fact that any first turn accidents now generally turn into high-speed first turn accidents with an even smaller chance from which a driver can recover and continue his or her race.

No matter what starting format is used or applied by the officials the only real solution to any race start issues lies within us. As drivers we need to be focused and pay attention to the lights and our surroundings. Every driver needs to drive appropriately for the conditions and not make sloppy moves or take unnecessary chances. Drivers should have all the skills necessary to make a clean and quick start off the grid and without any undue torque spin. They should know exactly where they are located in relationship to the grid and the track and they should know who’s around them. And no matter what the outcome of qualifying, every driver needs to accept the fact that he or she qualified where they did and then do his or her best to drive with a more polished and professional attitude and less like some high school punk with his daddy's hot rod.

"We have met the enemy... and he is us"

Which basically means that whenever we have problems with our standing starts, we can usually find the solution by first looking... in the mirror.

Autobahn Race Start Review can be expected in the next couple of days.