Starting

[sharpandroid 88]

why isn't it that touching the tapes is the only indicator that somebody jumped the start, surely that was the intention of having tapes in the beginning, anticipating the start is part of the riders skill and should be allowed.

[MattK 3,447]

why isn't it that touching the tapes is the only indicator that somebody jumped the start, surely that was the intention of having tapes in the beginning, anticipating the start is part of the riders skill and should be allowed.

 

Because the regulations state that riders should be stationary when the tapes are released.

 

By definition, any rider who has anticipated the tapes rising is no longer stationary.

[The White Knight 9,039]

In this day and age surely Laser Starts are the way to go. If nobody touches the Beam then it is a good Start. If they do - then it should be straightforward finding out who was the cause.

 

I must confess to having no idea how much something like this would cost though.

[MattK 3,447]

In this day and age surely Laser Starts are the way to go. If nobody touches the Beam then it is a good Start. If they do - then it should be straightforward finding out who was the cause.

 

I must confess to having no idea how much something like this would cost though.

 

What difference would that make though? Would it prevent rolling/anticipation or would it simply make it easier to identify?

 

If the aim is to reduce the number of re-starts, surely a technology which flags up any kind of movement would results in MORE races getting stopped and re-starts being held?

[The White Knight 9,039]

 

What difference would that make though? Would it prevent rolling/anticipation or would it simply make it easier to identify?

 

If the aim is to reduce the number of re-starts, surely a technology which flags up any kind of movement would results in MORE races getting stopped and re-starts being held?

You could be right. I merely offered an alternative to what we have now, and I think would be an improvement.

[Grand Central 2,654]

I'm getting a little fed up with all this obsession with anticipating the start.

 

Perhaps BSI can employ a sniper.

 

If getting a flyer is so much of a problem for some here.

And the stoppage causes too much pain as well.

 

Let's take them out.

And be done with it.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Grand Central

[MattK 3,447]

I'm getting a little fed up with all this obsession with anticipating the start.

 

Perhaps BSI can employ a sniper.

 

If getting a flyer is so much of a problem for some here.

And the stoppage causes too much pain as well.

 

Let's take them out.

And be done with it.

 

Same question for you.

 

If movement is allowed at the start and only touching the tapes is penalised, do you think riders moving would result in more tape-touching and therefore more re-starts?

[balderdash&piffle 720]

I'm getting a little fed up with all this obsession with anticipating the start.

 

Perhaps BSI can employ a sniper.

 

If getting a flyer is so much of a problem for some here.

And the stoppage causes too much pain as well.

 

Let's take them out.

And be done with it.

Let the flier go and shoot the rest

[Hodgy 976]

I'm getting a little fed up with all this obsession with anticipating the start.

Me too, I wish they would just sit still until the tapes go up.

[Grand Central 2,654]

I am completely fine with the 'amount of movement' that has occurred in the vast majority starts I have seen over the last twenty or thity years since the tape touching rules were brought in.

 

I see no reason to do anything about them at all.

 

Only a very few of those that have been stopped actually needed to be brought back due to an obvious mess up in control by Start Marshall or referee.

Their role is key.

 

The rest, in fact most, that have been stopped, and restarted - with or without warnings - were absolutely fine for me.

They should have been let run.

 

Generally, I just dont have a problem with the starts of the last many years.

From before this recent change of attitude by refs and 'tampering' with the rules on warnings etc started.

 

EXCEPT referees now stopping them at all the bloody time.

That IS the problem.

Not the riders or the start.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Grand Central

[Tsunami 10,219]

I am completely fine with the 'amount of movement' that has occurred in the vast majority starts I have seen over the last twenty or thity years since the tape touching rules were brought in.

 

I see no reason to do anything about them at all.

 

Only a very few of those that have been stopped actually needed to be brought back due to an obvious mess up in control by Start Marshall or referee.

Their role is key.

 

The rest, in fact most, that have been stopped, and restarted - with or without warnings - were absolutely fine for me.

They should have been let run.

 

Generally, I just dont have a problem with the starts of the last many years.

From before this recent change of attitude by refs and 'tampering' with the rules on warnings etc started.

 

EXCEPT referees now stopping them at all the bloody time.

That IS the problem.

Not the riders or the start.

A perfect start is now technically illegal. If it looks too good, they stop the race, and penalise a rider with the best starting technique. I remember when Stuey Robson used to ride on SKY with Coventry many years ago. Couldn't gate for toffee, but when did he always seemed to be pulled back as it must have been a flyer by Stuey. Not fair.

[The White Knight 9,039]

You beat me to it Tsunami.

 

I was going to say that some of the best Starts I have ever seen were down to Stuart Robson and James Sergeant. They were always pulled back by the Referee. If they don't touch the Tapes, it is a fair Start in my book.

 

The problem is that both Stuart and James now have a reputation for jumping the Start and Referees are looking for it. To me, that isn't fair either.

Edited October 26, 2017 by The White Knight

[Baldyman 6,243]

Just get rid of the mucking about once the start has been stopped.. 30 seconds max

 

All this clutch cooling stuff isn't needed. You don't see a Ducati rider pull over after leaving the lights to cool their dry clutches down.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,936]

In this day and age surely Laser Starts are the way to go. If nobody touches the Beam then it is a good Start. If they do - then it should be straightforward finding out who was the cause.

There are already transponders for motorbikes. Whilst it might be problematic to put the detection loop in a dirt track where bikes rip up the surface, I can't imagine it's impossible to do the detection from a gantry over the track, and therefore easily be able to work out who jumped the start. But yes, some sort of optical beam would also work, and is what F1 falls back on if there's a transponder failure (although F1 cars carry two transponders).

 

No need for tapes at all in this day-and-age - just go on green light out.

 

I must confess to having no idea how much something like this would cost though.

A workable system would probably be in the order of GBP 10-15K, including 20 transponders. If you needed to build a gantry, that would be an additional although not a huge cost.

 

Speedway is light years behind other motor sports.

[balderdash&piffle 720]

There are already transponders for motorbikes. Whilst it might be problematic to put the detection loop in a dirt track where bikes rip up the surface, I can't imagine it's impossible to do the detection from a gantry over the track, and therefore easily be able to work out who jumped the start. But yes, some sort of optical beam would also work, and is what F1 falls back on if there's a transponder failure (although F1 cars carry two transponders).

 

No need for tapes at all in this day-and-age - just go on green light out.

 

 

A workable system would probably be in the order of GBP 10-15K, including 20 transponders. If you needed to build a gantry, that would be an additional although not a huge cost.

 

Speedway is light years behind other motor sports.

Thought we had solved this problem .

Scantily dressed start tart with a flag, will take your mind off the real start tarts on the bike