Thoughts on the April course and grid arrangement?

[Mike H]

What was everyone’s thoughts on the big course and alternate grid location?  I really enjoyed the big course and I liked leaving the car and gear in the same spot most of the day. Most of the comments I heard were very positive. It did require a little more coordination moving into and out of grid spots but seemed most adapted quickly. With the more open course I noticed very few if any DNFs. And while there were cone penalties, I didn’t see a slow down from a large amount being taken out.  On the registration side, this was the first event in a while that sold out and had a waitlist before registration closed. 
 

[Kim Kemper]

Enjoyed the course and for the first event using a much different configuration it went well, imo. I will follow up the course designer about moving the start line slightly into the course to avoid the slight hassle of starting cars lining up in the lane of exiting cars. 

[John]

I really enjoyed both. I am pleasantly surprised the club is still finding ways to improve.

[Dan Hipskind]

My wife and I really enjoyed it. Seems worth the minor hassles associated with it. Was refreshing to look ahead and not just see a sea of cones. 

[CRBWS6]

From a Novice instruction perspective, we were able to focus more on driving technique rather than just finding the course.   

Static grid was a also a great upgrade.

Nice job Steering Committee in getting this done. 

[Clifton]

I loved it, coarse, grid, trailer parking. Only thing that could go better is maybe having a speaker in the grid area so coarse workers know when to head up. It seemed like there was some delay as people were walking out of grid with others already out on coarse.

[Mike H]

Yeah I noticed that also. There was no announcement speaker that could reach the grid area. 

[bustin_arown]

I didn't care for the grid setup (as a grid worker at lest). Here are a few of my points.

-Not double stacking the cars made for a lot of walking back and forth (if my math is right, about double)

-The backing in caused traffic jams sometimes confusion of where people were trying to go. I saw one person try to drive behind a car that was actively backing up into their spot.

-Depending on where we were in the grid many cars would get backed up waiting on 'traffic' . This led to no cars being queued up by start or a line of 5+

-Drivers would stop in the single line of traffic to chat with someone or pickup a passenger, also adding to the back up

-Spectator and/or other traffic (not active group drivers) ended up in the active grid area

 

With that being said, I know we are limited due to the curbs and this is much much better than a rolling grid.

 

 

[Jim Harris]

The Club deserves a lot of credit for trying something new and a little different. And very nice job pulling off something new and different so smoothly.

The fixed grid was enjoyable. Yes, the walking was a bit of a hassle. But just a bit and only at the beginning. 

Mixed feelings about the longer course. "Longer" was really good departure. But it was a too visually busy for my taste. The event 3 course somehow had more flow to it.

Anyway, please do it again.

 

[smeyers]

Lots to like about the course design, the length challenged the ability to recall the flow, had to resort to visual support. Will get better with practice.

Very much not a fan of the logistics of the remote/fixed grid. The new lot space has ample room to tuck a basic standard double-stack grid “over there”, and reduces the need for traffic “crossing guards”. Plenty of room for both longer courses and that. Plenty.

The distance and need to back in to the “grid” space creates a certain awkwardness and concerns, with that car movement. One narrow gate in and out. Yes, move the start farther inward on the lot.

So let’s keep the things that worked well previously, and enjoy the opportunity for longer and easier to see and follow courses.

Whatever you decide, let us know before we arrive. Somehow I missed the note about this arrangement. Maybe I just didn’t read carefully.

[Kei]

Good evening!

Loved the course!   Great job using the two lots.   It really helped me get a feel for the car.

I think if the cars were positioned in Grid angled towards the grid exit, things may have gone a bit smoother.

Great event everyone!!!

Kei

JFR

[Zuko305]

Great way to end the season and excite participants for next season!

I personally liked the static grid, the walkway between vehicles, and ability to set-up in the assigned spot for the day. The grid entry/exit coordinator and use of the cones to direct flow (at least in D group) were good moves. Certainly, there are some opportunities for improvement here, however, for the first time trying this, it was satisfactorily managed. 

Course was exceptionally enjoyable and I really like the long layout and use of the two lots.

[phxsteele]

18 hours ago, Mike H said:

Yeah I noticed that also. There was no announcement speaker that could reach the grid area. 

Yea couldnt hear anything in grid until I turned my radio on. A cheap option for the future would be to get a few of those portable speakers that can tune into FM radio. I have one I can bring to the next event to try out. Someone will need to remind me though 🤣

[mikej]

Traffic control for the Comp Grid workers was challenge & alot of walking/running from #40 back to #1. They had to space the outgoing cars while holding up the incoming cars from behind them. Suggestion, would it be possible to set up the grid positions in a descending order (#1 to the east)? This would allow all outgoing to not be worried about getting backed into and the incoming cars to have plenty of room to backup into their spot without concern. This was brought to my attention by an "F" group driver during my Grid details for that group. One other thing noticed was the repositioning of the cars for the Time Only spots was crossed up by a few cars remaining from the Comp runs. Yes these are only minor hiccups for such a major change in the event operation... WELL DONE PASR!

[SSLance]

15 hours ago, mikej said:

Suggestion, would it be possible to set up the grid positions in a descending order (#1 to the east)? This would allow all outgoing to not be worried about getting backed into and the incoming cars to have plenty of room to backup into their spot without concern. 

That seems like an EXCELLENT idea...  The car incoming back to grid would have to go past the last car parked before backing in, but that doesn't seem like it would be an issue unless I'm missing something.  Thanks Mike...

[smeyers]

Again, less is more. Keep our plan as simple as possible.

if this were better in any way, it would stand out as such. It does not.

Just use a small section of the lot near the road and host the usual grid up there. Lots of advantages as far as familiarity, proximity, communication, workers, traffic flow……etc. This is a huge space, you don’t have to use it all, and a small section borrowed for something simple, known and works very well and might I say more convenient would be the better move. Especially for newer entrants …. and event flow.

I see nothing better about all of the additional complexity needed to make this happen. New special protocols, awkward traffic flow, more workers, backing into your grid spot…… hey, step back and ask why? What we had done before was not broken, nothing needed fixing. It was and is comfortable and very successful.

There is plenty of space to do both "upstairs".😎

Let's just enjoy the longer courses and eliminate all the distraction. Please.

Edited April 22 by smeyers
Rephrased wording to be more clear.

[MTP-Madmat]

I really enjoyed the longer course and it flowed well. Sorry about ejecting the front brake reservoir near the back of the track. The grid was a bit hectic but manageable. A couple questions, is there enough room for grid where the pod was placed and can we use that space for grid? 

[smeyers]

So you were the guy……😬.

I like your question (thank you) and second your curiosity about that as an alternative. I too missed the convenience and flow and function of the classic grid arrangement.