You lost me on that one.

The finish line this year at San Ardo was more congested than the previous years but the moto's did the best they could in controlling the traffic on the road. The safety of the riders should be the primary concern and they dealt with the situation involving the big rig and overlapping fields as best they could. I don't think more moto's would have affected the outcome. The riders in the fields need to self police themselves on occasion and do the right thing.

As one of the San Ardo motorefs, I'm glad to hear that we are needed, as well as the suggestions to exercise good sportsmanship. San Ardo is certainly not the simplest or cleanest road course in its finish stretch; of the races that I do, it's probably the worst (highway off-ramps in the final 1k !). And yet I can't imagine a better way. So I think this particular course demands a high standard of cooperation and sportsmanship from the riders.

Neutralization should be clear, but sometimes it is assumed when it actually isn't in effect. For example, if the road is fairly clear and visible, we might not bother to neutralize a small group of Cat4 women as the Pro/1/2 men go by, simply because the pros are moving so fast that it's done in an instant. And, although there can be varying circumstances and exceptions, we generally do not want to neutralize anyone close to the finish, as it might affect their race results. Thus, we sometimes just have to let two groups finish en masse. I think there should be no "nuances of neutralization at a finish," because it shouldn't happen. I hope I never have to do it. Nobody likes that circumstance, but it's not fair to shut down a race group within a couple k of the finish, either.

Stuff happens, though. For example, at about 4k out, the 8-10 Masters123 leaders rapidly passed the M45 4/5s. Naturally, we would assume that they would continue to pull ahead of the 45+ field. But they caught their solo breakaway and then slowed up, as one of them said, "to play cat & mouse." Consequently, the 45+ group caught back up with them in town and over the bridge. IMHO, if you pass another race group close to the finish, you gotta figure they're going to be coming up behind you if you slow down, so gamesmanship just has to be abandoned or minimized in that circumstance, unless you want to risk sprinting alongside some 4/5s.

But as it developed, we couldn't supervise much of this anyway, because both myself and the other motor had to go up the road to try to clear some big slow moving vehicles. At that moment, the greater potential problem was an 18-wheeler going 15mph across the bridge, so we went off to try to prevent a major stoppage closer to the finish. At times like this, we can't be focused on centerlines or who's riding with whom, safety is #1, and so the riders are left to police themselves. Sometimes no amount of officials can take care of every situation that arises.

It's amateur racing, we don't have closed roads at San Ardo nor sheriffs in lead cars, and in late August it is not easy to find available officials, either. Those are the terms of this race, and thankfully most of the riders rise to the occasion and make the best of it.

-Gregg

as i am always pointing out the value of personal responsibility, i have to agree that following the spirit and rules of the race goes a long way to making these situations more fair and less dangerous

but from racers that i talked to, there was confusion at times as far as which group was to be neutralized and for how long

and there were some overtaking groups who weren't neutralized at all

centerline rules are pretty damn cut and dry but the nuances of neutralization at a finish is something that gets screwed up and misunderstood all the time and i think that more official help would have helped

Please, please. The real problem is not with Velo Promo and the paucity of cops on the streets, the problem is racers not following the rules and common sense.

I was watching from the top of feedzone hill:

The winner of the 45's ignored a neutral order and drafted a van that was in the gap behind another group ahead. Yes, it would be nice to have a cop on hand; but WTF was he thinking?

The sprint in the 35 1/2/3's front group was in the midst of a 4/5's group, causing disruption and gaps. That break group of 8 had been neutralized; they should have allowed the lower group more room to finish their sprint. Or earlier in the lap when the 4/5's were neutralized as the 8 passed, the 8 should have worked together to establish a gap. They were likely playing position games, which screwed up the official's plan.

The story that Jon told of the lower cat group that wouldn't let go of the pro break is another example.

The immediate problem is not having too few cops or too many fields; it's having racers who know and obey the rules and act with some modicum of common racing sense.

As far as the motos go, the handful they had should have been enough for San Ardo. With no appreciable wind, there was really only one section of the course where the centerline was critical to the race -- on the bridge/feedzone on the final lap. The motos should have been used in relay on the concluding laps to patrol the overlapping fields in the final few miles, and to enforce centerline on the bridge/feed zone hill. Seven motos would be more than adequate.
Also, having the early morning and late morning groups finish at the same time creates more problems than it's worth for convenience.

But the practical truth is that it's up to US, not Bob, not the moto cops, to make our races safe and non-conflicted. But when racers ignore neutrals, draft cars, ignore the centerline en masse in crosswinds (eg Dunnigan) for personal advantage, there is no possible solution.

Or would you really prefer fewer fields, smaller fields, and inevitably fewer races?

Agreed, fewer groups or more motos were needed. We had one (unknown) group of 10 to 15 masters riders that sat on our break in the P12 for at least half a lap. We asked them numerous times to either pass us or drop off, but eventually gave up and did our best to ignore them.

They finally disappeared off the back once one of the moto refs showed up.

i saw 5 fields that finished at the same time as another field during the 40 minutes i was watching finishes

needless to say, the finishes of these races were a mess

i agree, the race needed more motos or fewer fields or both