Speedweek 2014

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JonB
Posts: 268
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:35 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by JonB »

Lynchy wrote:
****** "you" in this post refers to the collective of people, not a particular person****
who does "we" refer to?
I thought it was us, I could be mistaken though. Often am.
DLRA#1115
Underhouse Engineering
Rob
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Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 5:30 pm
Location: Richmond, NSW. DLRA #888

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by Rob »

I thought I was confused part way into this thread, now I'm certain of it... :wink:
I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.
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ROSS BROWN
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Location: COORPAROO BRISBANE

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by ROSS BROWN »

rgn wrote:I was offering to build a trailer for the DLRA



OK.... ALL GOOD

Let us know how it comes along....

Ross...
IT IS ALL A RACE AGAINST TIME.
TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.

HOW FAST CAN YOU GO ?

S/UF 925
rgn

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by rgn »

ROSS BROWN wrote:Let us know how it comes along....Ross...
I think there would be a little more process required than just your papal nod Ross. If the club does need one for the mats and recovery we can talk about it at the next meeting perhaps...just let me know when it's on okay?
OLDtimer
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Location: Eyre, South Australia.

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by OLDtimer »

For all those "experts" who think we should go back to racing in March, have a look at the latest weather forcast for the area. Severe weather warning has been issued for Thunder storms, strong winds & rain. February is the best time & if people go into the harsh Australian outback unprepared, then more fool them. In the late 90's & early 2000's it was often in the mid 40's & hotter, we all survived because we used common sense.
Pete Noy
DLRA #6
SATA #3
momec3
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Location: Cedar Grove Qld

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by momec3 »

Pete,
I understand what you are saying and I am certainly not an "expert" on predicicting rain.
Bridgee who I wrote about and almost died from dehyration induced kidney failure at the beginning of this thread was well prepared.
He drank sufficient water. He did not overhydrate. He had been to the Lake before and knew what to expect.
As our team chief he also insisted pre event we purchase and use an electrolyte replacement powder for our team. It was bloody expensive but he brought it out of his own pocket and was the first to use it.

I thought at the time personally that "I,ve been there plenty of times and never needed that shit" but did not object, we had a big team with a variety of people and some had not been before. No one else in our team had kidney failure post event.

Pete, my point is we are not all the same.
I have been to the Lake every year since 2000.
This year in my opinion the conditions were the worst I have expierenced. We have had plenty of years of Mid 40c temps in the past but this year the humidity was also above 80 % on several days.
This makes a huge difference.
Bridgee had perfect kidneys before he went to the lake as his kidney function was tested in his annual checkup last December.
As of last night he has 30% kidney function.
He will be released from hospital this weekend and be able to do light duties running his own accounting practice for the next 2 weeks. It remains to be seen as to how well his kidneys will recover.
I am not being alarmist, these are facts, as our sport continues to grow so does the variety of people who attend. We are not all 'rough tough Outback Blokes who are ten foot tall and bulletproof'
I do understand what you are saying and as much as any other racer I want a dry race track. Personally I am happy to put up with peak summer heat if thats what it takes to RACE but as a club we have a duty of care.
If we had such a close call from a racing accident we would be rewriting rules from what we learnt. So what is the difference here.

Chris Hanlon
Chris
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Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by OLDtimer »

As a club we don't really have a duty of care, you cannot compare that to race incidents. It is unfortunate that this has happened but it is not the clubs responsibility. People know what to expect in the outback. Sorry to hear what happened to him but noone is to blame & moving back to March will result in tears again. Perhaps the club can run an education campaign , but that may be admitting liability (lawyers will jump on anything).
Hope your friend recovers soon.
Pete Noy
DLRA #6
SATA #3
IN2VWS
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Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by IN2VWS »

Chris, I mean no disrespect in any way........Just a point which I don't get.....If someone dehydrates......Isn't that caused by not drinking enough? If Bridgee drank enough, then how did he dehydrate?

My experience....normally I am the first to dehydrate in hot weather because I don't drink enough......Every Bendigo and Ballarat Swap Meet, I f@#k myself up.

On a normal day, I would drink 2 maybe 3 cups of tea, and 1 cold drink with my dinner......Been doing this for 30+ years.
At the salt this year, I drank soooo much, I couldn't believe how much I was drinking without the need for taking a piss. I was drinking approx 4 litres a day.....which is a lot for me. I was also adding electrolyte powder to my water.
I am not a regular alchohol drinker as I know it dehydrates me, and I pay for it the next day. So I made sure I wasn't going to drink any beers etc during these hot days and nights......and I survived fine.

On another note......On the Monday night I saw a poor bloke in the camp site next to ours. He was so badly sunburnt, it wasn't funny. He had 2 massive blisters on each leg, and they were filling with his sweat. Don't know who he was, but I hope he made it home ok, as the rest of his week would have been torture.

John
momec3
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Location: Cedar Grove Qld

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by momec3 »

My point guys, Jan and Feb is the hottest time of the year at the lake.

Did we consider any other option apart from Jan or Feb. Even the Rangers had concerns about a Feb meet prior to this event. To run next Feb seemed a hasty decision to me considering it was decided at the AGM before Speedweek was even over and the event been evaluated in full.

BTW Bridgee is a DLRA member and was an entrant. He is not stupid and as I have already stated prepared well,was already educated as to what to do and did not drink alcohol. No extra education would have changed a thing as far as what happened to him.

Chris Hanlon
Chris
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RGV
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Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by RGV »

I drank more water than beer, :shock: first time for everything. Im not trying to be 10 ft tall and bullet proof but there must have been a reason for Bridgee's unfortunate condition or more people would have been affected by dehydration?

An extract from "our rules"

"Land Speed Racing is a dangerous sport. There is no such thing as a guaranteed safe high speed run.
Land Speed Racing always carries with it a risk which will always exist no matter how much everyone
connected with Land Speed Racing tries to make our sport safer. Although the DLRA works hard to
promote and enhance the safety of our sport, there are no guarantees that such safety measures will
ensure safety. A participant always has the responsibility for their own safety and the safety of their crew.
By participating in Land Speed Racing, the participant accepts all risk of injury, whether due to
negligence, vehicle failure, or otherwise. If at any time a participant does not accept these risks, the
participant agrees not to participate in Land Speed Racing."

Dave

Last Minute Racing
DLRA #928

2010 MPS/G 250 118 MPH
2011 Washed Out
2012 Washed Out
2013 MPS/G 250 131 MPH (RECORD)
2014 MPS/G 250 140 MPH (RECORD)
2015 MPS/F 250 DNF
2016 MPS/F 250 114 MPH (RECORD)
2017 MPS/F 250 DNF
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ChrisACT
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Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by ChrisACT »

RGV wrote:I drank more water than beer, :shock: first time for everything. Im not trying to be 10 ft tall and bullet proof but there must have been a reason for Bridgee's unfortunate condition or more people would have been affected by dehydration?

An extract from "our rules"

"Land Speed Racing is a dangerous sport. There is no such thing as a guaranteed safe high speed run.
Land Speed Racing always carries with it a risk which will always exist no matter how much everyone
connected with Land Speed Racing tries to make our sport safer. Although the DLRA works hard to
promote and enhance the safety of our sport, there are no guarantees that such safety measures will
ensure safety. A participant always has the responsibility for their own safety and the safety of their crew.
By participating in Land Speed Racing, the participant accepts all risk of injury, whether due to
negligence, vehicle failure, or otherwise. If at any time a participant does not accept these risks, the
participant agrees not to participate in Land Speed Racing."

Dave
I was just thinking of this.

Motorsport is dangerous. All of us are prepared to get out there and go as fast as possible and we have all accepted the risks associated with that.

Yet here we are, debating whether or not the club should be responsible for protecting us from the sun.

If we all look after ourselves, the problem goes away does it not?

Surely the club's responsibility ends with recommending that people who go out into the desert prepare themselves for the heat.
momec3
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Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:36 pm
Location: Cedar Grove Qld

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by momec3 »

My only debate has been the time of year we run. We could do better.

I read the ticket and totally agree "Motor Racing is Dangerous"

Chris
Chris
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gennyshovel
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Location: Broken Hill

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by gennyshovel »

momec3 wrote:My only debate has been the time of year we run. We could do better.

I read the ticket and totally agree "Motor Racing is Dangerous"

Chris
Mossy's suggestion has a lot of merit,,trust a local I say :wink:
Tiny
Tiny DLRA# 484
Postiebike Racing , created & funded by TwoBob Engineering
OLDtimer
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Location: Eyre, South Australia.

Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by OLDtimer »

The days are too short in April and May (not enough racing hours as it is). Besides which we have looked at the lake in those months & it does not recover from the March rains to be useable.
Pete Noy
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Mossy
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Re: Speedweek 2014

Post by Mossy »

Gee, what have I done. I was just asking about a date for next year. :D
For what its worth here are my thoughts on the various points raised here and just because I did something, doesn't mean I think everyone else should. I'm all for being given the options and do what best suits you.
Pete is right, while the weather is best in April/May, if you do get a rain storm during or even a couple of weeks prior, then racing will be over. Also, having now experienced how long it takes to get a run, you do need all the daylight you can get.
For my prep I scavenged the empty bladders out of spring water boxes and used them for water. That way you can freeze a few beforehand ( just don't overfill like I did with one or they split and then leak everwhere as they melt) and get some cold in the fridge before you leave. Doing that gave us cold water for 3 days. There were 3 of us and I was allowing 10l per day between the 3 of us which we found to be about right (along with a few `other' drinks afterwards, some of which did have tonic water amongst the ingredients :) ) and the best thing is they take up bugger all room on the way home.
I made a cradle that goes into the towbar slot and carries the front wheel of the bike (copied from Mal Hewetts Vincent Team) for my support vehicle. Though I have a small light bike thats easy to lift into the cradle, probably wouldn't be suitable for all bikes. That way we could tow the bike down to the start line and I didn't have to put leathers on until 10-15 minutes before we were due to start. I also had a large umbrella for shade, though the pit crew did draw the line at wearing mini skirts and stockings :?
The only thing I will add for next year are water spray bottles.
So overall I found it wasn't as bad on the salt as I expected and being my first time I found the whole week awsome. Can't wait to get back next year with hopefully another 5 mph available from the bike.

Mind you, I start to shiver below 30C and think the best bikes ever made are parrallel twins with pushrods from a small village in England called Meriden.
So some people would consider I'm probably not the sanest person to take advice from :D :D :D
Cheers Mossy
DLRA # 959
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