Pitboard signs
Discussion
Hello folks,
Not sure this is the right place for this question but I am sure I'll soon be put right if not. :-)
My job is wielding the pit board during our races, currently mainly with CSCC but next year we are thinking of doing some of the Masters races with the Mustang (including the 6 Hours - oh the insanity of it!).
I know for the endurance races there is a whole new level of pain with having to light the pit board etc but for now I am just thinking of getting some extra signs made in addition to the regular OMV set we currently have. We did the 3 Hours in Spa Summer Classic and could have benefited from something referring to penalties, such as "DriveThr" (or something). I also thought "Stop&Go" might come in handy.
Any top tips? What signs have you had made and what signs do you find yourselves missing?
Thanks in advance!
Not sure this is the right place for this question but I am sure I'll soon be put right if not. :-)
My job is wielding the pit board during our races, currently mainly with CSCC but next year we are thinking of doing some of the Masters races with the Mustang (including the 6 Hours - oh the insanity of it!).
I know for the endurance races there is a whole new level of pain with having to light the pit board etc but for now I am just thinking of getting some extra signs made in addition to the regular OMV set we currently have. We did the 3 Hours in Spa Summer Classic and could have benefited from something referring to penalties, such as "DriveThr" (or something). I also thought "Stop&Go" might come in handy.
Any top tips? What signs have you had made and what signs do you find yourselves missing?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks for taking the time to reply, Graham!
I've more or less managed to train the boys to read the board - they know they'll be in trouble with me if they don't. ;-)
You make a very interesting point actually about then having signs on the pit lane rather than cramming stuff on the board for penalties; I agree the simpler the better on the latter. This would mean they only have to follow the "IN" sign.
I'm very tempted by an LED board.. Any specific recommendations? Also, did you find the pit wall very busy during the Spa 6 Hours? We were one of 3 teams located and signalling from the old endurance pits this year and it was... the pits... The monitor connections weren't turned on and we were basically flying blind. Had lots of room though! :-)
I've more or less managed to train the boys to read the board - they know they'll be in trouble with me if they don't. ;-)
You make a very interesting point actually about then having signs on the pit lane rather than cramming stuff on the board for penalties; I agree the simpler the better on the latter. This would mean they only have to follow the "IN" sign.
I'm very tempted by an LED board.. Any specific recommendations? Also, did you find the pit wall very busy during the Spa 6 Hours? We were one of 3 teams located and signalling from the old endurance pits this year and it was... the pits... The monitor connections weren't turned on and we were basically flying blind. Had lots of room though! :-)
Ok, so "NOW" is a useful addition too. Thanks!
I wouldn't trust us with the indicators; one of the other would get things the wrong way around. At best the drivers remember to flash their lights if they are planning to come in for a pit stop at the next lap (if they haven't been called in)...
I wouldn't trust us with the indicators; one of the other would get things the wrong way around. At best the drivers remember to flash their lights if they are planning to come in for a pit stop at the next lap (if they haven't been called in)...
Hey Thurbs!
Good pointers; I am glad to say we already follow all these rules (pretty much common sense, eh?)
As for point 5 - we agree with the drivers in advance what the best place will be to have the board, just for these reasons. When you have the pit wall between La Source and Eau Rouge to choose from, there really isn't an ideal place....
And your point 7 is actually a really good tip - in the longer races I admit I can get a bit blaze with it when there really isn't anything else to add though I know the guys like to feel/know there is someone from the team "out there" with them throughout.
Thanks!!!
Good pointers; I am glad to say we already follow all these rules (pretty much common sense, eh?)
As for point 5 - we agree with the drivers in advance what the best place will be to have the board, just for these reasons. When you have the pit wall between La Source and Eau Rouge to choose from, there really isn't an ideal place....
And your point 7 is actually a really good tip - in the longer races I admit I can get a bit blaze with it when there really isn't anything else to add though I know the guys like to feel/know there is someone from the team "out there" with them throughout.
Thanks!!!
First of all I have to say that you guys taking the time to respond has re-confirmed what I already knew - people who take part in motorsport are (for the most party any way) a really good bunch.
@Graham - Having the board near where your pits are makes sense, right? And showing the board to the guys at the pits is a really good tip - means the team is all on the same page. At the 3 hours this year our garage was right at the bottom of Eau Rouge and you obviously can't signal from there. So we had the board right at the other end of the wall. It was a nightmare. And you raise the point of the radio; this is something else we need to look into. Obviously not allowed in all races but would be great for when it is.
@IanUAE - Whoa - that is quite something! 11 24h races??!! I am actually quite jealous, must be amazing to be part of something like that. Like the idea of counting down the laps as well rather than just relying on giving them the time left and then calling them in. Your board looks good with the LEDs. Just need to rig something for the battery like you have there.
Thanks for all the tips guys! The things that I have taken away, in addition to the ones stated in the messages above that you all prefer to count time down rather than giving time spent on track. Also, noone has mentioned differences to cars ahead or behind - I guess this is really not that important in the endurance races.
Oh I am quite excited now instead of dreading the 6 Hours next year. Might see some of you at Spa this September, so if there is a girl in a yellow t-shirt spying on your pitwall set up, that'll be me! :-)
@Graham - Having the board near where your pits are makes sense, right? And showing the board to the guys at the pits is a really good tip - means the team is all on the same page. At the 3 hours this year our garage was right at the bottom of Eau Rouge and you obviously can't signal from there. So we had the board right at the other end of the wall. It was a nightmare. And you raise the point of the radio; this is something else we need to look into. Obviously not allowed in all races but would be great for when it is.
@IanUAE - Whoa - that is quite something! 11 24h races??!! I am actually quite jealous, must be amazing to be part of something like that. Like the idea of counting down the laps as well rather than just relying on giving them the time left and then calling them in. Your board looks good with the LEDs. Just need to rig something for the battery like you have there.
Thanks for all the tips guys! The things that I have taken away, in addition to the ones stated in the messages above that you all prefer to count time down rather than giving time spent on track. Also, noone has mentioned differences to cars ahead or behind - I guess this is really not that important in the endurance races.
Oh I am quite excited now instead of dreading the 6 Hours next year. Might see some of you at Spa this September, so if there is a girl in a yellow t-shirt spying on your pitwall set up, that'll be me! :-)
Oh, I did have a follow up question actually - so say you have brought your driver "IN" because they need to serve a penalty. How does the whiteboard trick work when the penalty box is right at the beginning of the pit lane? Would you just run to meet them as they enter the pitlane or am I just being totally thick here (not unheard of..)?
IanUAE said:
Correct. Having a couple of walkie-talkies helps as you can send a pit crew member upto pit entry earlier than the planned pit stop and inform them when the driver has been told to pit. The person can then report back when the driver has served their penalty.
We need a bigger team. And definitely need walkie-talkies! :-) Thanks!eastlmark said:
One issue we have in club racing is we don't usually have a pit and its basically a free for all to set up on the pit wall while the driver is in the assembly area. so once our driver is out on the track he has no idea where we are located. Even if we say we will be where we were in practice, chances are someone else has grabbed that opening in the fence. We are not allowed on the pit wall for gridding up or the start so the first lap is the only time the driver will get a chance to see where we are and he is usually too busy at that time to do so. Was very tricky last year when we were doing CSCC races with a pit stop as he would pit often not knowing where we were with the inevitable hand waving and sign waving of all the teams going on due to the narrow pitstop window.
We are racing with CSCC for the first time this year and I have to say that I find the pit wall roomy enough, maybe it's our class (Future Classics) as I know some of the other classes are busier. Our "team colour" is yellow and I always wear either our team t-shirt or the hoodie so the driver coming into the pits always spots me fairly easily when I wave them down. We have also used the yellow in the pit-board so that helps. There is a lot riding on these non-timed pitstops though and I would love for them to make them 1 minute minimum, just to keep the competition on the track and not about how fast we can get the driver changed. :-)eastlmark said:
yeah have to admit that although we had more people sometimes, it was often just me and the driver so really needed to be in the assembly area incase of an issue and then sprint into the pits. Of course a bigger team would not have such issues.
We usually go the three of us (2 drivers and myself) and only head to the wall after the cars have left the assembly area and it works ok. I think people probably end up making space for me at the wall as the pit board is big enough that they feel it safer to just move away... ;-) I have to say we've really been enjoying racing with CSCC; perfect for the Mazda. Thurbs said:
am surprised the marshalls haven't said anything. They dont like any colours being shown which is the same as a flag, hence why marshals wear orange. I have had team members removed for wearing green jackets, hi-viz jackets etc.
Oh interesting, noone has ever said anything and we have been racing both in the UK and at Spa in Belgium. I have seen others in yellow as well so we are not unique. I guess we are easy enough to distinguish from a flag, still.. :-)geeks said:
Depends on the event, at RoR we have to wear a high vis in the pit lane at all times during the night stints, failure to do so ends in a serious b
king from the nearest guy in orange!
Our pit board tends to air on the simple side, goes out for the first few laps so we can gauge where it is then gets shown at 50% stint length, 75% (where we display position in class, occasional insult and a "push or steady" message) and the last few laps then on the final lap of the stint just has "Car Number" "IN" acknowledge signal is a flash of the lights and in you come!
Night time it has a few LED's lighting it up
We don't stick it out every lap there, for a sub 2 minute lap over a 2 hour stint length means someone on would need to go to the gym the following day to even their arms out
I think I will just stick to my yellow garb and if someone decides to take offence to it then I'll review. I did have a look around and cannot find anything in any rules or regs that would permit the use of "flag colours" - I guess I would not be hanging around at a point where the flags are out anyway.king from the nearest guy in orange!Our pit board tends to air on the simple side, goes out for the first few laps so we can gauge where it is then gets shown at 50% stint length, 75% (where we display position in class, occasional insult and a "push or steady" message) and the last few laps then on the final lap of the stint just has "Car Number" "IN" acknowledge signal is a flash of the lights and in you come!
Night time it has a few LED's lighting it up
We don't stick it out every lap there, for a sub 2 minute lap over a 2 hour stint length means someone on would need to go to the gym the following day to even their arms out
I have to say that I have a kind of masochistic desire to do the full 6 hours with the board out on every lap. I am into endurance sports anyway so I am approaching it from that angle. Oh those arms the next day... (It will all end in tears...)
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