Your first NZ Superlap Series race day

You should have completed your entry for the meeting online. Remember - late entries may not necessarily be accepted, especially if we have opened up the round to individual entrants to fill up spaces – once our spots are all filled, we can’t fit more drivers in. 

You should have your license (if you need one), MSNZ logbook and club membership all up to date. If not – get it sorted urgently. You are not likely to be allowed to compete if the paperwork isn’t right.

Your potentially class-winning car should now be looking tidy and presentable, and be set up in accordance with the rules for your class. You will have gone over the car, and confirmed that all the safety check items have been checked, and done a “spanner check” on critical items or known weak points.

You should have your competition number on the car, or ready to go on.

Charge your transponder – some models take a few days for the initial charge.

Write your transponder number on the inside front page of your logbook, this will save a little time at documentation. It’s also a good idea to tuck your club membership card into the logbook, and store them all in the glovebox of your car so it’s all together and ready to go on raceday.

Generally on the Thursday prior to an event, the timetable will go up on our facebook page. It’s a good idea to either print this out, or take a screenshot on your phone so that you will know where you need to be during the weekend. You should expect to have 5 sessions over the course of the weekend, plus a shootout for the top 10 cars at the end of the weekend.

Parking maps should also come out at this time, so have a look at where our class has been allocated for parking, and do your best to park in this spot if you have not booked a pit garage. We know sometimes parking can be at a premium, so just do the best you can. If you have a trailer, unload your car in our parking area and then take the trailer to the trailer parking area to free up space. You can have a support vehicle with you to store your tools in, but if you have friends coming to support you, we would ask that they plan to park in spectator parking spots.

Make sure that everything is packed, prepared and ready to go. Documentation, tools, spares, phone & camera batteries charged, and some snacks for at the track (most tracks do have a food cart, but the options are limited so we recommend bringing something with you).

Eat breakfast! Raceday can be busy so you need fuel to keep yourself going.

If you are towing, double check your trailer lights before you set off. And remember that it’s not a race to get to the track, we don’t want anybody’s weekend ruined through getting a ticket, or worse.

The timetable and supplementary regulations will give you information for when the track gates will open and what time documentation and scrutineering will begin. Make sure you arrive on time.

Remember to park in our allocated area (unless you have hired a pit garage)

There will be limitations as to the amount of fuel you may hold in your pit area generally no more than 2 x 20l containers. Check the supplementary regulations for the event to ensure that you stay within the limits.

When refuelling at a meeting, remember that you are also required to have another person, in overalls, with an extinguisher on hand in case of incident. Check the motorsport NZ website for the approved code of practice.

http://motorsport.org.nz/sites/default/files/motorsport/documents/fuel/Code-of-Practice-Fuel.pdf

The exact roles and responsibilities of the various officials are set out in the Motorsport Manual, and the following is a brief outline for guidance only.

Clerk of the course – Runs the meeting, makes the operational and disciplinary decisions – i.e. the boss.

Stewards – Appointed by Motorsport NZ to ensure that the meeting runs according to MSNZ rules – i.e. the Boss’ supervisors

Competitor Relations Officer – The official to see if you have any problems or concerns with regard to the meeting.

Scrutineers – Carry out technical inspection of your car, and will advise the Clerk of the Course if your car is/is not acceptable to race.

Judges of fact – Officials delegated to make decisions as to breaches of specific rules, e.g. noise, start line infringements etc.

All the officials are dedicated car club people, who have volunteered, unpaid, to put on a race meeting for your enjoyment. They are trained and experienced and are there to make the meeting run safely, within the rules. Politeness, respect, good humour and doing things right make for a pleasant relationship with the officials, and a successful race day

Once you have arrived, unloaded your car and parked your trailer, your first port of call is to documentation. This is where you “check in” with the organizers;

You will need to;

• Confirm details of, and correctness of your entry
• Produce your license and club membership card
• Produce your car’s logbook
   

The organizers will check off details on your entry form, look at licence & membership card, and check the logbook to see if the car is to be scrutineered. Cars are generally scrutineered every third meeting, or if the car has not been scrutineered in the last 6 months. It may also be scrutineered if it had a problem noted at the last entry, if there has been a change to the roll protection, or at the organisers’ discretion.

If your car is not required to be scrutineered, your logbook will be marked “not audited” and generally a sticker will be given to you to place on the car to show that it has been accepted at the meeting.

If required to be scrutineered, you will be asked to present your car at the scrutineering bay.

Your car must be presented at scrutineering as it will be raced, along with your helmet and overalls. i.e. no fuel containers, spare tyres or lunch boxes on board. (If you intend running an in-car video camera, this should be securely mounted for scrutineering too.)

Scrutineering is all about safety, your safety as well as that of the other competitors and officials. The scrutineer will look at selected safety items on the car, so be ready to assist with opening bonnet or boot, and showing him your safety equipment when requested.

We all feel a bit nervous when someone is looking at our car and possibly criticizing our mechanical handiwork. If the scrutineers do ask you to change or repair something on the car, it will be for good reason and for your safety.

Don’t be defensive or argue with the scrutineer. The scrutineer is an unpaid volunteer, and is doing it for the love of the sport and for your safety. In any case, you don’t get to race until the scrutineer passes the car.

Some minor infringements may be noted in your logbook as requiring attention prior to the next meeting. Please make sure these items are attended to, if you don’t you will not be able to race and are liable to a fine.

All meetings will do their timing by the use of a transponder. A transponder is a small “Red Box” which allows the organizers to record your lap times electronically. This ensures accurate lap times and saves the need for people to do timekeeping.

Timing loops are fitted at the start finish and pit lanes of the major circuits to detect the transponder as it goes by in your car.

The transponder does need to be fitted according to the organizers directions otherwise it may not necessarily register your times, and your lap records may go unrecognized. If you’re unsure how to mount it for a particular track, check with documentation office.

We highly recommend purchasing your own transponder. They’re approx $220 which includes a 1 year MyLaps subscription, and you can keep the transponder. Otherwise you can hire transponders for around $70 per weekend. If you hire one, make sure you return it at the end of the race meeting or you may lose your deposit.

Once documentation and scrutineering is completed, all drivers are expected to attend drivers briefing. The officials of the meeting are introduced, and matters of importance or concern are advised to the drivers.

If you don’t understand the briefing, do ask for clarification, because it is very likely there are a bunch of other drivers who are as puzzled as you are.

Do make sure you attend. They may well do a roll call, and it is regarded as most unacceptable not to be there. Also, make sure your pit crew don’t run your race engine during the drivers briefing.

The Clerk of the Course can impose a fine for not attending drivers briefing

If it is your first race at a particular circuit, you will be expected to make that known on your entry form, and to attend a briefing for new drivers. It is a requirement that you attend, and is again very much with safety in mind.

Each circuit is different, and the organizers need to know that everyone on track understands what is happening. Do make sure to attend.

At the first round of each season, we call our own Superlap Briefing for all competitors. This is so we can familiarise ourselves with all the new faces and explain how Superlap is run. This is your chance to ask any questions you may have before you head out on the track.

Time for a final check of fluid levels, torque up the wheelnuts, check the tyre pressures and give the car a final “once-over” to ensure that it is all ready for the race.

Favourite mistakes are leaving objects in the car to rattle around in the race or to be a danger in a crash, or even not doing up all the wheel nuts. Get into a checking routine and stick to it. Perhaps make up and use a check-list.

We have a whiteboard setup either in the pits or outside the documentation office. We allocate all drivers into groups based roughly on what time you run around the track. Keep checking back after each round as this does shuffle around throughout the meeting. You won’t want to miss your session because you didn’t check!

When called to the dummy grid, move up, and be ready in the same order as the whiteboard. We will be around to help position you but it pays to know who should be infront and behind you.

You should be belted into your car with your helmet on prior to the group before yours finishing. If you are not ready to go you may be prevented heading out onto the track.

You will be waved away onto the track at 5 second intervals, in order of fastest to slowest. First lap is generally a warm up, followed by some “hot laps”. Ideally you shouldn’t have to pass or be passed during the session.

Be careful not to surprise any of your fellow competitors with dramatic weaving or crash stops during the warm up or cooldown laps.

If an incident occurs, the flag marshals will display the appropriate flags.

Watch for the flags and do take note of them:

• Yellow – Slow down (possible car has spun ahead).
• Red – Race stopped, cease racing and return to the pits.
• Blue Flag – A faster car is coming behind you.

The rules on flag signals may change slightly from time to time. Check your current copy of the Motorsport Manual so you know exactly what you are supposed to do.

You can get fined, or have your licence endorsed for not obeying flag signals. Worse, you could be endangering an injured competitor or a flag marshal going to assist at an incident. Keep your eyes open and stay aware of the flags.

No matter how good a driver you are, there will come a time when you will be overtaken by another car. While it is the overtaking driver’s responsibility to overtake safely, it is also up to you to select your line through the corner, hold a consistent line in the corner, and not make any sudden manoeuvers that may be dangerous. i.e. no blocking.

Do not try to suddenly pull out of the way for the car approaching from the rear.

Be predictable, maintain your line, and let the other driver overtake in a safe manner.

If possible try to signal the overtaking driver which side you wish them to pass on. As well as signaling the obvious it lets the other driver know you have seen them.

Respect the pit lane speed limits posted at the pit entry. The pits generally have two lanes. The outer lane or “fast” lane is limited to 40 km/h. The inner lane is limited to 15 km/h. 40 km/h seems very slow after a race, so do take it easy.

There are likely to be people working in and around the pits, as well as other cars coming and going. Speeding in the pits is a danger to all concerned.

If you are going to withdraw from the meeting during the day, please make sure you advise your class coordinator. This will help us ensure the grids are full and nobody is hunting around looking for you.

If your car is involved in an accident on track it must be re-scrutineered to confirm that it is OK to continue racing. The car may only return to racing at the discretion of the clerk of the course.

At the end of the weekend, if you have hired a transponder, return it to the documentation office. Superlap have a prizegiving at every round, about 30 minutes after the final shootout, so do stick around for that. Give officials a friendly wave as you head off, or even stop and thank them for their time – without volunteers, you wouldn’t be able to get out on track and have fun.