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Transponders and qualifying times introduced in GP’s in 2019

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On 5/23/2019 at 9:36 PM, DutchGrasstrack said:

There has been a little rule change... the slowest rider from free practice will not automaticly start at first for the qualifying but there will be a draw now.

But, as someone has pointed out elsewhere, we have, sort of, replaced the old lottery draw for a new one.

Why not give the lowest scorer from the previous GP, first pick of his qualification slot. At least we'd avoid any worries about manipulation. And before you say the lowest scorer would obviously go first, the first 3 GPs don't support that assumption. Warsaw being the most obvious example where Matej Zagar was fastest, having gone out 8th.

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1 hour ago, False dawn said:

But, as someone has pointed out elsewhere, we have, sort of, replaced the old lottery draw for a new one.

Why not give the lowest scorer from the previous GP, first pick of his qualification slot. At least we'd avoid any worries about manipulation. And before you say the lowest scorer would obviously go first, the first 3 GPs don't support that assumption. Warsaw being the most obvious example where Matej Zagar was fastest, having gone out 8th.

Lets scrap the whole thing.    Unless the track is graded after each rider the track cannot be the same.     Yesterday was ridiculous with the track being slower for everyone in the second half.    Unless conditions are the same it is a futile exercise.   

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Whole thing is a waste of time , Lindback fastest yesterday but one of worst riders in meeting. 'Fastest' riders picking riding position with 2 gate 1's and then gate one turns out to be the worst.

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21 minutes ago, Rob B said:

Whole thing is a waste of time , Lindback fastest yesterday but one of worst riders in meeting. 'Fastest' riders picking riding position with 2 gate 1's and then gate one turns out to be the worst.

Agree completely.   Waste of time and money.   There are so many flaws in the sysetm.   In the GP it depends who drops the clutch first in most cases.

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I can see what authorities are trying to do in creating some interest pre the actual racing, but it’s not really working so far.

in F1 though, a lot is put on being fastest qualifier - it puts you on pole position but F1 is much different to speedway. What F1 needs is to definitely to go to “draw out of a hat” to to determine grid position. Now that would create potential race action, seeing top cars/drivers toward the back of the grid randomly - but it will never happen, the prancing horse HAS to be near the front.

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12 hours ago, Rob B said:

Whole thing is a waste of time , Lindback fastest yesterday but one of worst riders in meeting. 'Fastest' riders picking riding position with 2 gate 1's and then gate one turns out to be the worst.

I quite like it. I think it adds another dimension and a new set of discussion points for riders, fans and commentary. Whether or not having the 'best' pick makes a real or predictable difference over time is another matter. Antonio's performance certainly leads to this view, albeit on a very limited data set.

However, for years, we've seen interviews with riders where they've lamented they got a 'bad draw', at least this gives them an opportunity to do something proactive to get a better one.

I believe that at this level, so much is also down to psychology on the day. Some riders just seem to do better when faced with a 'tougher' position so in fact having a 'bad' set of gates makes them up their game. Conversely, for a different rider, having a good set of gates could lead to some element of complacency. I'm not saying anyone in the series gets obviously complacent but at this level, minuscule differences add up.

With the qualifying being televised, it's something more for the fans to watch and engage with so it's good to try these things. Ultimately, if you are not interested in it, then you don't have to watch it. However, the alternative being a simple lottery, surely this is more interesting than that?

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How long will tv continue to show the qualifying ? There can't be much of a viewing figure for this !   

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10 minutes ago, Bavarian said:

How long will tv continue to show the qualifying ? There can't be much of a viewing figure for this !   

It was entertaining watching the quicker riders pick there number because "I get gate one early" to see yellow win the first four heats.    Pointless isn't it.

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8 hours ago, Mark said:

It was entertaining watching the quicker riders pick there number because "I get gate one early" to see yellow win the first four heats.    Pointless isn't it.

We can debate the pros and cons of qualifying.

For me, the focus is now starting to move to where it should be. Just what makes one gate better than any other? Last year, 10 of the 23 heats were won from gate 3. Unacceptable in my view and I ask, "what was so good about gate 3?". Well this year, something quite different happened. There was a total of 2 points scored from gate 3 in the first 8 heats. Two contrasting sets of statistics which should raise some questions. But worse still. A late significant "track grading" suddenly changed the picture completely. In the last round of qualification races, 3 out of 4 of the heats were won from gate 3. It was quite clear that this track (as well as any, in my opinion) could be prepared to make all 4 gates fair. Oh, I know the characteristics of gate 4 and to a lesser extent gate 3 do evolve as these are on the racing line. But grade the gates. Men with rakes. It ain't rocket science.

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7 minutes ago, False dawn said:

We can debate the pros and cons of qualifying.

For me, the focus is now starting to move to where it should be. Just what makes one gate better than any other? Last year, 10 of the 23 heats were won from gate 3. Unacceptable in my view and I ask, "what was so good about gate 3?". Well this year, something quite different happened. There was a total of 2 points scored from gate 3 in the first 8 heats. Two contrasting sets of statistics which should raise some questions. But worse still. A late significant "track grading" suddenly changed the picture completely. In the last round of qualification races, 3 out of 4 of the heats were won from gate 3. It was quite clear that this track (as well as any, in my opinion) could be prepared to make all 4 gates fair. Oh, I know the characteristics of gate 4 and to a lesser extent gate 3 do evolve as these are on the racing line. But grade the gates. Men with rakes. It ain't rocket science.

Which gate wins is not important as that does not recognise any passing in the four laps.   At Prague there is hardly any passing so maybe the stat is more relevant here but the the judgement should be who got to the exit of bend 2 in the lead.     In every race if the rider drops the clutch slowly he will be at the back. 

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1 minute ago, Mark said:

Which gate wins is not important as that does not recognise any passing in the four laps.   At Prague there is hardly any passing so maybe the stat is more relevant here but the the judgement should be who got to the exit of bend 2 in the lead.     In every race if the rider drops the clutch slowly he will be at the back. 

You are quite right, of course. But if you take a big enough sample, the influence of one gate over another will begin to emerge.

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