Wowwee now thats good stuff I will save this one! Good
job Rex! What went on with the kids in PFM?
Ross CR and our crowd?

--- Rex Burkheimer <rex@...> wrote:

>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [WtW] Race Report: Montreal Subject: [WtW]
> Race Report:
> Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 22:31:02 -0700
> From: Donald A Erickson <derickso@...>
>
>
> This year, I again flagged F1 both at Montreal and
> Indianapolis. The
> two races, from their host cities to their circuits,
> can't be more
> different. I enjoy the contrast.
>
> For example, at Montreal, one thing unique to that
> event is that you're
> assigned to the same crew for the weekend but you
> work a different
> corner each day. Thus, on Friday, I found myself at
> Turn 15, the corner
> just before the start/finish line (and where Button
> crashed during the
> race). Nothing so dramatic happened there on
> Friday.
>
> However, the response post on DL is one of my
> favorite vantage points on
> the entire circuit. From that vantage point, the
> Renaults, McLarens,
> and even the BARs were all noticeably quicker than
> the Ferraris. The
> Ferraris seemed to be handling like barges thru that
> turn.
>
> Saturday, we were assigned to Turn 11. It's on a
> straightaway and it's
> the track's gateway to the paddock. Still, I wasn't
> expecting much that
> day.
>
> Then we watched one of the Medical/Safety pace cars
> back into a tree.
>
> Someone slapped a band-aid on the "oowiee". That
> prompted much photo
> taking. Later, whenever that car tried to back into
> its position, 4-5
> people appeared to guide it into place. Finally,
> some of the Emergency
> people wrapped an airbag around the tree that car
> hit!
>
> The only other notable incident came at the end of
> the Star Mazda
> race. On Friday, that group had been tip-toeing
> around the track.
> However, come the race, they quickly reverted to
> their usual selves. At
> the end of the race, we had 9(!) broken FMs stacked
> behind our station,
> awaiting lift tows back to the paddock.
>
> Plus, we had yet another FM park at our station with
> a mechnaical
> problem. Recognizing the driver, I just had to say,
> "I'm the only Cal
> Clubber on the entire course. You just had to park
> it here, didn't
> you?" What else do you say to someone from your own
> region track-side
> in Montreal?
>
> Sunday, race day, found me beside the river at Turn
> 5. Actually, it was
> a quiet day -- except we saw Alonso strike the wall
> at the exit of Turn
> 4 as well as Michael Schumacher put two wheels off
> when he caught the
> marbles overtaking a Jordan.
>
> That was F1 @ Montreal. On to Indy....
>
> On Thursday, Tony George joined us at the Workers
> Dinner. However, most
> of the discussion focused on Bernie's complaints
> about IMS' promotion of
> the race, his comments about Danica Patrick, and the
> possibility of a
> second USGP in Las Vegas.
>
> Come Friday, I went to my station for the weekend,
> Turn 13. That flag
> station is located on the short chute between Oval
> Turns 1 & 2. It's
> also at the very entrance to the pit road and just
> downstream from where
> the road course re-enters the oval.
>
> As you know, IMS re-surfaced the oval, then diamond
> ground it before the
> Indy 500. Just walking the transition from the
> infield course to the
> oval, the difference in the surface was noticeable.
> The grinding left
> grooves in the surface that really grabbed at the
> soles of your shoes.
>
> I didn't think much of it until after Ralf's crash.
> That was a
> memorable moment: I was yellow flagging when Ralf
> suddenly snapped
> sideways in the exit of Turn 13 -- and hit the wall
> right at the Turn
> 13A flag station. Time really does slow down in
> such instances. I
> distinctly remember seeing the 13A blue and yellow
> flaggers going down
> -- with a flag pinwheeling in the air above them --
> just before Ralf hit
> the wall.
>
> It was a great relief when the 13A crew returned to
> action seconds
> later. BTW, the SAFER wall looked like someone had
> taken a giant can
> opener to it.
>
> Afterward, we flaggers were most concerned with how
> to manage the field
> should a similar event happen during the race. The
> obvious thing to do
> was re-direct the field into the pit lane. How'd we
> do that was a
> matter of debate that wasn't settled until Sunday
> morning.
>
> Meanwhile, during Saturday morning's practice
> sessions, the
> Michelin-shod teams took to the pit lane on almost
> every lap. By that
> afternoon, all kinds of rumors were flying.
>
> As we flaggers understood it, a big part of the
> problem was the diamond
> ground surface on the oval. It was proving to be
> very abrasive. That
> seemed to catch Michelin by surprise; however,
> Bridgestone, courtsey of
> their Firestone brethren, wasn't. (As to all of the
> saw dust being
> thrown about, the smell of burnt wood was quite
> strong. All of the cars
> were spewing sawdust, especially the two Jordans.)
>
> In addition, it was obvious that a lot of people
> were spooked by Ralf's
> accident.
>
> Come Sunday, while the rumors flew about the race, a
> decision was made
> about re-directing the cars into the pit lane if
> necessary. Originally,
> Race Control wanted us to show an arrow board from
> an e-hole opposite
> the 12A flag station. That wouldn't work because of
> a creek (the one
> Pedro de la Rosa fell into a couple of years ago)
> flows underneath the
> oval just before the Turn 13 station. Put simply,
> we couldn't get there
> from here.
>
> So, instead the crews at Turns 12, 12A, and 13 would
> show arrow boards
> to point the field into the pit lane should a "Ralf"
> occur during the
> race. Great, if it happened, I'd be showing 3-4
> flags, an arrow board,
> and a safety car board. You know, there's only so
> much you can put thru
> an e-hole.
>
> Things started to get interesting after the Porsche
> Super Cup race that
> morning. One of the cars littered the pit lane with
> its undertray.
> After the race, I walked down the pit lane to return
> the parts. Walking
> back, I realized I was leading a parade of team
> members, techs, and the
> like. Apparently, they figured if a flagger was
> cleared to walk up the
> pit lane, they could do so too.
>
> They also wanted to know what I knew. One
> volunteered that he didn't
> know what was going to happen. He claimed that
> Michelin had
> confisicated all og the left rear tires. He then
> mentioned the proposed
>
=== message truncated ===


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com