Team/Solo challenge race time limit, how is it determined?

[zeroice]

So really, how is the team challenge race time limit determined?

At the riders meeting before the race in Daytona they said the time limit was 2hrs 15 minutes but when the race started, the clock was 2 hours.

At CMP, Phill said that the race will be limited to 2hrs and 15 minutes but it ended up getting cut short due to the red flag.

At HPT, I assumed it would be 2:15, but it ended up being 2 hrs and 25 minutes!

Whats the deal? How long is the race supposed to be limited to? And when is the clock supposed to start counting down? When the 5 board goes up or when the green flag is waived? Can someone explain this to me?

[LilJayRR]

It is supposed to be a 2hr race. It can either end on time or on x number of laps. Normally it ends on time. The time is started when the 5 board go out .

10.2 Race Distance- Team Challenge events will be considered complete after posted
distance or the posted time limit has expired, whichever comes first. The clock will start at
the display of the original 5-minute board. . Should the checkered flag be displayed prior
to the published or announced race distance or time, the race will be considered
complete.
A. Unless otherwise posted, the Team Challenge distance will be 200 kilometers
or 2 hours in length.

[Court Jester]

kept me guessing on the pit board. we kept holding back on putting the time left up after we figured out it wasn't 2 hours so we could slowly work the mistake into place without freaking you out.

[zeroice]

I know the rules. I've read it many times. What I'm saying is, unless posted, the race should be 200km or 2 hrs, whichever comes first. Personally I prefer a longer race, but that's not my argument. My point is, the race has been advertised on the schedule as a 250km race, which is fine, but the time limit keeps on changing. How is the time limit determined? Is it based on average speed during morning practice? How do they come up with the 2hr 15min time limit for CMP? How do they come up with the 2hr 25min for HPT? The 2hr 25min wasn't announced or posted, I assumed it was 2hrs and 15 mins. So my pit crew was confused after the 2hr 15mins expired. It would be nice to have some consistency or predictability.

[LilJayRR]

They just wanted to let us play in the rain for a while! 

[Super Dave]

They knew the hail was coming...

[zeroice]

Hey, I had fun in the rain and hail but I wasn't sure if I was going to run out of gas! There were no red flags, so I calculated my fuel based on 2hrs and 15 minutes since I pit in on TIME elaps and not LAPS  completed.

[Garywc]

the hail was fun

[LilJayRR]

I didnt know what it was at first when the hail started. I thought the guy in front of me had went off track or something and was flinging rocks and mud or something up. Then the white things bouncing off the track back up at me caught my eye.
That was one of the craziest races I have ran. Rain, Sun, Rain, Hail, Rain, then Sun. Hey if you dont like the weather in KS.. wait 15 mins!

[HAWK]

Race is for a specified distance, time limit is to prevent delay of other races if conditions prevent completion of the distance. The finish is based on the FIRST rider to reach the distance. Race might be 1 hour 45 min if conditions are good. You need to watch the overall leader to determine your pit strategy.

[Court Jester]

so how do you go about figuring out who the leader is 30 laps into the race?

[Burt Munro]

The race was scheduled for 62 laps.  Track length is 2.5 miles. Race length = 155.00 miles.  250 kilometers = 155.343 miles.

Race time limit was set at 2:30 hrs.  The race winner completed 62 laps as the time limit was expiring.  A time limit countdown clock (located under the starters bridge) showed the time left for the last 60 minutes of the race.

Anyone who asked at the starters bridge was given info on who the top 3 were.  Would it have been nice to have a monitor showing the running order?  Most definitely!  A real time online feed?  Oh yeah!

FYI....  there were major problems with the track's scoring loop on Friday and Saturday consistantly picking up transponder hits.  (Much of Friday's problem may have been due to the rain.)

It was necessary on Sunday to rebuild the the coax connection to the scoring loop which finally solved much of the problem.

Any other questions? 

...and no, I don't know what it feels like to get hit with marble sized hail at 100 mph!!!  But I do know what it feels like to stand on a metal bridge, 20 feet in the air with an electrical device strapped to your head when it's lightning and you're updating the Race Director with each lightning strike, hoping that it isn't your last words!!!

... and no, I don't know if there is a way to indicate 'hail' with a flag.  Do icy marbles constitute a different kind of debris?

Rick