Official Discussion Thread - Rotax Grand Nationals

[Andre Martins]

Curtis,

You and the rest of the DD2 field got beaten by the 2 brothers who drove very well, and because at the end of the day you feel secure that tech has done a perfect job. You have been around many many years and knows the value of having Scott there. Some new guys don't. By the way great job for you too.
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Andre Martins
Orlando Kart Center
www.orlandokartcenter.com

www.tonykartflorida.com

Tony Kart World Champion - 1986,1987,1989,1991,1992,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2004,2006,2007,2008

[Lewis Cronis]

FWIW and AFAIK, (my son drives an Arrow AX9, not in DD2) the AX9 chassis family (which includes DD2, BMax and CIK) have always had the front frame clamp (they don't have torsion bars front nor rear) arrangement.
I was under the tent all week with the people who have been mentioned and those were standard Arrow AX9 DD2 kart chassis.

Earlier versions of the Arrow chassis had a solid bar and no front frame clamp (my son had an AX8 as well).

[Stacey Gunn]

In regards to last year in Wisconsin and the senior class being red flagged 2x....

I remember the first time was for the start of the rain.

I am fuzzy on the 2nd one, I believe we had 2 injured drivers one being a transport where they slid into the barrier and had a hay bale hit them in the head. I thought it was red flagged because of that the second or third time. I am not sure though, last summer was all kind of a blur though, it might have been the masters class too that happened in? Anyone remember?

Also, easy on the flagman. He is at the mercy of his scoring personnel. Both are tough jobs. During the final laps of a race the flagman is trying to keep his eyes on the leaders, see what's coming at him, and keep the lap count. From someone who has raced and done scoring it is much harder to score. In racing you only have to worry about getting you on the track, in scoring you have to worry about the 35 members of the class. As a score keeper for rotax in the past, I had to not only run the computer, making sure everybody had their transponder on and on the right kart, but also.... help flagman keep lap count, provide media with results, post results, give tech top 5 and take dqs and info, answer questions about the grid sheets, ....last year someone asked during a race, if there was a bathroom in the tower.

Being a race official is the toughest job there is out there. From the standpoint of a driver it seems like, how hard is it to see what just happened in front of you like I saw it? It's not that easy though you see a streak of something, you think might be an out of control driver headed your way or a potential yellow flag it catches your eye you look away, in that moment #5 blasts #40 in the rear in the corner. You try to be fair and recall what you see but its not that easy.

This is not a slam or criticism at all. I can understand both points of view. If you have not flagged a corner or help run the scoring system, volunteer at your local track to do it, see how it is. If as a worker you have never raced, get in kart, rent a ride, borrow someones see how it is. Try to understand the other guys point of view. Life is tough all over.

I didn't return to the Nationals this year because scoring is too stressful for me and it is not my speciality. Last year I had to take 3 weeks off work, 1 unpaid, I spent 3 weeks in the summer away from my new husband, we had been married less than a year, I worked from 5am until sometimes after 7pm to keep all the points, and scoring data updated for the officials per their schedule they created, didn't hardly get any breaks, sometimes got a cold hamburger for lunch, one time didn't get any lunch. And why, to help run a race that I would hope people would attend and find they had a great time, not a bad experience. I complain but when I sat at home this week listening to the race on racefanradio.com, I kind of missed not being there. Some stuff sucked but I am never sorry I did it.

[Andy Seesemann]

We missed you this year, Stacey.

Especially when you whispered your father's name in that dainty voice of yours.....




A
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Andy Seesemann
FULL THROTTLE KARTING
Orange County, CA.
www.fullthrottlekarting.com
Rotax Challenge of the Americas
www.rotaxchallenge.com
WKA District 10 Trustee
www.worldkarting.com
Really Good Guy.

[David Odenthal]

I was there last year and is was exactly the same as this year. The race was red flagged somewhat in haste. After which nobody put on rain tires. Because it was not realy raining yet. Then after they stopped the race it did not rain for the 20 min. Everyone returned to the track on slicks, and then it was stopped again because a driver did hit the barriers, and was put in an ambulance. That is the reason for the second or maybe third red flag. I can't recall 100%.

I think when it comes down to a national event we should know whether it is allowed under CIK rules to let a rain called race finish if certain drivers elect not to put on rain tires. Because if it was, in fact, called a rain race, then everyone had an opportunity to put on rain tires if they thought they would need them to complete the remaining laps.

I may not be correct.

Let me know, if not!
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Do you have your Odenthal racing components on your kart?

[SHAYNE SHIPLEY]

Andre, come on. Big team, there were two of us. I suggest going out and buying Arrow go karts. It's always amazing when someone does well, there are always haters. You know how many years of karting are between my-self and the Marsel boys??? Not to mention the help from others.

Curtis were you using the Higher gear?? Maybe that's why you had less on the straight away.

Maybe the ones complaining missed that crucial 30 minutes in the pits whinning to Scott. That's when I found what made us quick.
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Shayne Shipley
SpeedTech 765-744-6211
shayneindiana@yahoo.com

[David Cole]

First off, thank you to all those who checked in througout the Rotax week and tuned in to RaceFanRadio.com for the live broadcasts. Archives of the broadcasts will be available soon.

We are locking the thread, asking that any new topics surrounding the event begin in a new thread. The legality of the Arrows were confirmed by Scott so any further discussion can be made elsewhere.

Again, thank you.
_________________
David Cole
News Desk Manager
eKartingNews.com
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