hmc
Just Getting Started
Posts: 2
Threads: 1
Joined: May 2008
Reputation:
0
|
RE: Eddie Nelson,is he up to the joib?
beepee Wrote:I am wondering if Mr Nelson is the right man for the job of Clerk of the Course.
I refer to the debacle over the cancellation of Saturdays racing until Monday.The reason cited was that after rain 24 hours of dry conditions were required before racing could take place.This seemed a contradiction because on Wednesday after many delays the races got underway only a few hours after heavy rain.Some may argue that the supersports run on road tyres and therefore have a tread pattern which makes wet running okay.....a mute point.
However the Senoir was delayed because of wet roads in the west of the Island but was run after only a 30 minute delay.What happened to the 24 hours of dry conditions?
Another point to consider is the shambles following the sidecar incident at St.Ninians during practice,why on earth did Mr Nelson order a full course red flag,leaving crews who were ahead of the incident stuck out at remote points for no reason.The same ridiculous situation developed after Nick Crowes terrible accident,full red flags shown around the course leaving crews out all over the course and giving severe headaches to all those who had to locate them and make sure they were all accounted for in order to return them safely to the pits.
I have it on the very best authority that when questioned about the decision Mr Nelson replied 'that is what we do at Donongton'
Wake up Eddie this track is 38 miles long.
The problem here is that Eddie Nelson can not possibly explain to everyone why he made the decisions he did. Without breaching anyone's trust, you can rest assured that the correct decisions were made, given the information which was available to Eddie on each occasion mentioned here, bearing in mind he has to try and ensure everyone's safety. I wouldn't be the Clerk of the Course here for a bloody big clock, and take my hat off to him.
|
|
| 13-06-2009, 08:21 AM |
|
The Bag
Senior Member
Posts: 268
Threads: 14
Joined: Nov 2005
Reputation:
0
|
RE: Eddie Nelson,is he up to the joib?
hmc Wrote:beepee Wrote:I am wondering if Mr Nelson is the right man for the job of Clerk of the Course.
I refer to the debacle over the cancellation of Saturdays racing until Monday.The reason cited was that after rain 24 hours of dry conditions were required before racing could take place.This seemed a contradiction because on Wednesday after many delays the races got underway only a few hours after heavy rain.Some may argue that the supersports run on road tyres and therefore have a tread pattern which makes wet running okay.....a mute point.
However the Senoir was delayed because of wet roads in the west of the Island but was run after only a 30 minute delay.What happened to the 24 hours of dry conditions?
Another point to consider is the shambles following the sidecar incident at St.Ninians during practice,why on earth did Mr Nelson order a full course red flag,leaving crews who were ahead of the incident stuck out at remote points for no reason.The same ridiculous situation developed after Nick Crowes terrible accident,full red flags shown around the course leaving crews out all over the course and giving severe headaches to all those who had to locate them and make sure they were all accounted for in order to return them safely to the pits.
I have it on the very best authority that when questioned about the decision Mr Nelson replied 'that is what we do at Donongton'
Wake up Eddie this track is 38 miles long.
The problem here is that Eddie Nelson can not possibly explain to everyone why he made the decisions he did. Without breaching anyone's trust, you can rest assured that the correct decisions were made, given the information which was available to Eddie on each occasion mentioned here, bearing in mind he has to try and ensure everyone's safety. I wouldn't be the Clerk of the Course here for a bloody big clock, and take my hat off to him.
I think overall Eddie did a good job, it must be a nightmare to be C.O.C at the TT, lots of pressures from all directions and of course the weather. I think the decision to delay racing last weekend and run it on Monday was brave and also a VERY good call. As a former competitor I can assure you that delays all day and even the next day is a horrible thin g to endure.
As for the sidecar incidents I do think the practice could have carried on until the outfits that had started got back to the grandstand, but I wasn't there so don't have the full details.
As for the race its a tough one, waved yellows from Bishopscourt through to the indidnet may have been possible, but when a machine is on fire in the road it is also very dangerous to all concenred, again, stop all outfits that hadn't gone through the incident with a red flag, but then the outifts that had gone through could have proceeded under waved yellows . However maybe under fim rules you can't just red flag part of a circuit, its either red or not, so maybe then it becomes complicated as to what to do.
Its always easy for us armchair critics to cast ideas but the reality is often very different, usually due to red tape and rules that are designed for short circuit events and aren't always practical at the TT or MGP.
Russ
Meanwhile back on planet earth..........
|
|
| 13-06-2009, 09:32 AM |
|
Tomcat
Member
Posts: 229
Threads: 10
Joined: Mar 2006
Reputation:
0
|
RE: Eddie Nelson,is he up to the job?
hmc Wrote:I wouldn't be the Clerk of the Course here for a bloody big clock,
Haha, that's a true Manx expression, never heard it anywhere else 
As much as I don't care much for the money men at the ACU I feel Nelson didn't do a bad job this year. The only guy I would say was better was Jackie Woods who retired after several years fine work, presumably for a big clock!
Red flags. You may recall Joakim Karlsson's tragic accident in 2005, where there was uproar in the press because his body was allegedly left in the garden of the house where he crashed because the ambulance couldn't get there while bikes were circulating. I can see some justification for stopping proceedings if they are hazarding the access of emergency services to an accident or the accident itself has caused major course blockage and there is a real risk of following riders crashing (think DJ). The TT course has enough hazards and it's necessary to make a balanced judgement between disrupting the races/practices and leaving many riders needing pickup, and allowing them to continue at an unacceptable risk level. Inevitably you won't please everybody whichever choice you make.
The TT has changed (sadly if you view it as a sporting event, or perhaps not if you prefer it to be a spectacular and profitable show). With that change has come insurance difficulties, local opposition and ambulance chasing lawyers. It's hard to be as free and easy as the TT of years past when riders were sent off knowing they couldn't see more than 50 yards over the mountain (happy days! ). Today if you send them off in conditions less than ideal or don't take 100% precautions and somebody is hurt you will be hung out to dry (as happened after Marc Ramsbotham's accident in 2007). Sad, but true.
The 'wet roads' thing is really a separate discussion and as you say there are strong arguments to making a rule for the use of treaded road legal tyres only. On the IoM the weather is hugely variable and the use of slicks coupled with the above risk averse culture has led to a lot of race postponements and cancellations in recent years. In 20 years doing the Manx I don't think I ever set out when there weren't wet patches somewhere on the course, and in my last race I finished in a rainstorm (on treaded tyres, natch!). You have to make a judgement again, and a "24 hours dry" rule would never work - as we saw one TT was run in partially wet conditions this year (without major incident thank god) and the use of slicks makes this a hard one to call. Some weather conditions, which might have been viable in past years, are now deemed too risky. That's a consequence of folk wanting the TT to be a huge spectacle - you wouldn't get 130mph laps on treads. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
Lastly I wouldn't waste your breath asking Nelson for explanations of his decisions. Aside from the fact it would take all his time if he had to justify and argue his every decision, you don't get to the top of the ACU moneymaking machine explaining your decisions.
|
|
| 13-06-2009, 10:03 AM |
|
|
Eddie Nelson,is he up to the job? (split)
