I read an interesting comment about the caution flags at Rolex. One guy said it seemed like they have a tendency to over use the caution flag. He said they throw the yellow out for things they may not need to. One example was that they throw a caution for a car down on power that is still on track but way outside the racing line. Then they use the same flag for a car completely stopped like the Delta Wing crash. He suggested a new kind of caution flag. I think he has a decent point but having no racing experience I can't really speak to that. Maybe Dj or others with wheel to wheel experience can chime in?
2019 Accord Sport 2.0 A/T
2012 Civic Si - Sold
Since the series was taken over by NASCAR, the caution flags fly if someone drops a ketchup packet offline on the coldpits.
They used to do more localized cautions, but not anymore.
JPolen01 Wrote:I read an interesting comment about the caution flags at Rolex. One guy said it seemed like they have a tendency to over use the caution flag. He said they throw the yellow out for things they may not need to. One example was that they throw a caution for a car down on power that is still on track but way outside the racing line. Then they use the same flag for a car completely stopped like the Delta Wing crash. He suggested a new kind of caution flag. I think he has a decent point but having no racing experience I can't really speak to that. Maybe Dj or others with wheel to wheel experience can chime in?
Double yellows or local yellows. The Delta Wing crashing into the other car was because "pro" racers don't use caution around a yellow flag. I don't know how to solve this, but all the pro racers I have driven against are incredibly aggressive and don't back off for yellows. I once had a very well respected pro ram a guy mid-corner in front of me so that he could keep up his mid-corner speed and then I still had speed on him so he swerved out into me and crunched a fender.
60s and VIRs "30s" have good intent, but I honestly think a full double yellow is better for pro racers in enduros. They have the time.
I thought there was very little caution time when watching the 24. And this had to be the single best year of the Rolex. Intense racing in both Prototype and GTLM racing the whole way. From the 8 hour mark, 4 hour mark, 20 hour mark, and countless other times I was sitting on the edge of my seat. No BOP is perfect but they got it damn close in GTLM for Daytona track, we will see if that actually works out for the rest of the tracks.
2020 Ford Raptor
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S
Jalopnik is reporting that there wasn't a full course caution on at the time of the collision - only a local yellow which may not have been visible to the Delta Wing driver. Full caution only went on after the collision
2019 Accord Sport 2.0 A/T
2012 Civic Si - Sold
JPolen01 Wrote:Jalopnik is reporting that there wasn't a full course caution on at the time of the collision - only a local yellow which may not have been visible to the Delta Wing driver. Full caution only went on after the collision
There was a yellow. A local yellow, because the prototype car was still running so they didn't want to throw a FCY in case he just started moving again which seemed likely at the time.
I think the local yellow call was acceptable, but every now and then you have some dingbat not heads-up racing. If you look at replays, you can clearly see he tried to dive deep. He actually was going probably a bit too fast anyway to make the inside line that he "supposedly" was going for. He under steered right into the back of the other car.
That's my take as a racer. Turn 1 is somewhat blind, but they have radios (which he claimed he didn't hear), yellow lights (which were on), and a waving yellow.
The BIGGEST mistake he made however is something nobody has touched upon. All the other drivers slowed up just a tiny bit. He went for it. Most experienced racers notice when everybody is "off pace" just a second and looks ahead with caution. I know if I see people dropping back, I look ahead to see if there is something I missed. But that's me as a cautious driver.
2020 Ford Raptor
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S
Great racing! I loved watching the GTLM battle. The armchair QB in me says the Deltawing crash was driver fault. As DJ said - local yellow, yellow lights, traffic bunching up, radio (that may or may not have been working/listening). I know that driver caught major shit for that mistake.
I really like that Corvette told the guys to RACE to the end. Naturally they risked crashing after 24 hours but it was great for the fans. It also forced them to keep up the pace, sort out the drivers, and make for one hell of an authentic photo finish.
I wish the Ford GTs had done better on reliability, and it was interesting that even the CGR Prototypes had problems. I wonder how thin CGR spread themselves with the GTLM GT series or if that had anything to do with it? It looked like the GTs could get a pretty good pace going (I think one of them had the 2nd fastest lap of all the GTLM cars).
I like Scott Pruett, and was bummed to see him not get his record breaking win. I chatted with him at a Rolex race I was crewing one time - he kicked ass in the late 80s in a Trans Am XR4Ti and we talked for 5 minutes about the car, and then he signed a pic I had of him in his Trans-Am XR (/fanboy). Not many drivers are that approachable.
I liked all the media coverage too. Most of the manufacturers had both/either live twitter feeds or private chats going on. Ford did a great job with the private chat by giving pretty specific details on what was going on. Really engaging.
http://www.85xr.com
1985 Merkur XR4Ti Track Car
2013 Ford F-150 FX4 Ecoboost
E46 BMW 330Ci Sport 5spd
1973 Honda CL125S
1985 Honda CX500
2013 Arctic Cat 700 ATV
2017 Onewheel +
the coverage this year was much better. FS1/2 and the entire race online was great. I was also disappointed by Ford's issues. From what I have read they did miles and miles of testing yet still had numerous mechanical problems. There was definitely great racing from start to finish. Very exciting to watch this year.
The driver of the Delta Wing should catch shit for that crash. It was the first year they were actually looking like they might finish a race. Katherine Legge was driving the fuckin' wheels off that thing from last place to first. Mighty impressive.
2019 Accord Sport 2.0 A/T
2012 Civic Si - Sold
oh BTW,
FANTASTIC frigging race. I have never been so glued to coverage (thank you IMSA.com for streaming the whole time).
Plan next year if I don't go (doubt I will) is to have a "Daytona 24-hour party", so mark your calendars boys.
2020 Ford Raptor
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S
Im wondering if the in car caution lights work for locals.
If they do, he has no damn excuse.
Regardless, my disdain for that car continues. So much hype, but it cant finish race.
Funny thing, I texted Blair/Paul and said i'm bad luck for the deltawing cause it was still running and I wasn't there.
Then I get a pic of it in the garage 30 min later.
