“I’m just going to check your neck for any soreness.” Stood at the side of a race track with a medic gently massaging my neck was not what this writer had on his bingo card last month, but then neither was having my first proper ‘crash’ in a racing car.
I say ‘crash’ because, although I did hit the barrier, it was perhaps the most uneventful collision there’s ever been. The left-front wheel of my Ma7da just glanced the Armco along Cooper Straight at Brands Hatch, which was enough to bend the wishbones and leave me stranded in a wet qualifying session.
On the flip side, it gave me a first-hand glimpse at the response from the marshals, medics and recovery crew – and it was exemplary. The medical crew took all of a minute to reach me after I’d got out of the car unaided and a marshal had already asked if I was OK.
My neck and hands were then checked for any sign of injury, while my helmet was given a quick look over to make sure it had not suffered an impact. All standard procedure for what was just a minor prang but, if anything, it put my mind at ease knowing that, if a far more serious crash were to happen, those same people would have been on the scene in the same professional manner.
As it transpired, they were called into action several hours later for just such an incident, which occurred at the start of the opening race and eliminated four cars, one written off in the case of poleman Eddie Mawer – who had been slow to launch off the line in horrendous conditions.
We were left to question why no green-flag lap had been given after being sent straight out of the assembly area to line up on the grid. While a green-flag lap is only reserved for categories running with a race tyre or that use a rolling start, as per Motorsport UK regulations, conditions had undeniably worsened since qualifying nearly four hours earlier, even if that session had ultimately been run in the wet.
There’s obviously no guarantee that a formation lap would have prevented the incident that took place, but it would have given drivers a chance to feel the lack of grip off the line at a track where even launching well in the dry is a challenge. In my own case, I’d never started a Ma7da off the grid in the wet and, low and behold, I had a stinker as the rear wheels excessively spun. Although, ironically, that probably saved me from running straight into the incident ahead.
Sitting on the reformed grid with the rain continuing to fall as I got cold and questioned where exactly the fun of national racing lay in this situation, the marshals came down the grid to rub salt into the wounds – there would be one green-flag lap ahead of the restart. If there was time for a green-flag lap after a lengthy delay to remove wrecked cars, then surely there was time for one prior to those cars suffering that significant damage?
It was the second time during the day that I was not alone in being thoroughly unimpressed by officials. The Ma7da championship had been selected for scrutineering at 0900, which coincided with an open practice session for many of us – for which we had paid an extra £95 to participate in. We’d been told that we would be able to scrutineer from 0730, which is when it opened for the BMW Car Club Racing Championship.
There’s no denying that scrutineers and race officials have a difficult and generally thankless task, which is shown in a lack of new blood coming into the sport to fill these important roles
Prior to 0730, Ma7da drivers had queued up ready to go, but it took until 0850 for us to be pulled through into the scrutineering bay. I had the ‘honour’ of being the last, as other Ma7da competitors behind me were waved away because officials had run out of time!
I hastily put on my race overalls as the car and equipment were being checked and was sent on my way literally as the track action started. It put needless pressure on drivers and teams as they rushed to prepare tyre pressures and fuel for the session, which unlike all of testing on Friday, was held in monsoon conditions to compound our frustration.
The 750 Motor Club that ran the meeting confirmed seven scrutineers were present during the day and that a full list of those competing in the open practice had been sent to the scrutineers, which was confirmed by officials on arrival. So why were we not given priority? Why did they also decide that some Ma7da runners could go out for practice before returning later to complete scrutineering? Surely that decision should have been made well in advance of the 0900 session, not with 10 minutes remaining.
There’s no denying that scrutineers and race officials have a difficult and generally thankless task, which is shown in a lack of new blood coming into the sport to fill these important roles – a serious issue for UK motorsport. But, for the club competitor, who has spent hard-earned money to be on the grid, there’s also no denying that such decisions and subsequent consequences leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
