Quote:
Originally Posted by KRDG
No, I dont think so.......... but I smell a story about a past president of MSNZ and his antics on top of tire walls during a race but ony know a bit about it.
Can you help us here with the facts Bill?
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Perhaps I can help out with the history here as it was about 20 years ago and I was the Clerk of Course.
Steve Kennedy and the late Ian Snellgrove were stationed on top of the centre embankment at the southern end of the circuit where it sloped down to ground height and they were undertaking driver observation duties. They were located at a point that had been used for this role since the circuit opened in December 1967. A car exiting Castrol corner ran wide then started a "Tank slapper" and came back across the circuit and nosed into the embankment behind them and the shockwave sent Steve flying off balance quite successfully. If I recall correctly this was one of the first if not the first meeting that we ran after the trees that used to line the circuit at the end of castrol corner had been removed and this now allowed competitors to run wider off the circuit than previously hence the half spin back across the circuit. Naturally we reviewed what had happened and as a result the observer point was relocated to a position that was more appropriate now that the circuit had been changed and the centre embankment was lenghtened to reduce the possibility of a car now coming back towards turns 1 & 2
When the accident took the life of the late Allan Ramage who was the 1st Motorcyclist fatality at the circuit the review indicated the possibilty that the location of the flag point at Castrol may have obstructed the view of the following bunch of riders entering the corner and that they did not see Allan dropping his bike and as a result the flag point was relocated so as to give a better and clearer view through the corner.
I dont want to bore you with detail but the then Clerk of Course Gerry McKissock had a number of us sitting at various positions on the track surface so that our eyes were at single seater height rather than at standing height or driving around in a saloon car height when we were going though all this process. Once satisfied that good visability and safety was possible this point was relocated. We then undertook the same process with every other flag point on the circuit and gained the appropriate approval from the Circuit Inspector to complete the works.