Flag rules for Toca

[EvilPumpkin]

Does anyone know where I could get my hands on the MSA flag regs for BTCC please?

[andrew_powell98]

What the drivers no what the flags are? Don't tell me some BTCC drivers have knowledge of them now. Is this a new rule???
Seriously EP try e-mailing the MSA. I am sure they have a contact on thier website.

[Dave Brand]

You need to beg, borrow or steal a copy of the Blue Book! As a last resort, the MSA will sell you a copy for £20.

The safety car rules will (should!) be contained in your final instructions.

[Flagman]

Does anyone know where I could get my hands on the MSA flag regs for BTCC please?

Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

TOCA pace car rules seem to obey some strange rule(s) of their own...

[Craig]

Originally posted by Dave Brand
The safety car rules will (should!) be contained in your final instructions.

Dunno if this is of interest but this is the relevant section from the 2003 ToCA Sporting Regs:

3.14. Safety Car:

3.14.1. The BTCC Clerk reserves the right to introduce the BTCC Safety Car at any time during a BTCC race.

3.14.1.a. The car will be marked “SAFETY CAR” and will have at least two flashing lights on the roof.

3.14.1.b. The Safety Car will be driven by a driver holding an International racing licence (not Historic) and crewed by a BMP appointed Safety Car Observer who will be in permanent contact with the BTCC Clerk.

3.14.1.c. The Safety Car will be sited at the end of the Pit Lane (unless otherwise advised at the Briefing for the Meeting) and will join the track with its flashing lights turned on.

3.14.1.d. As soon as the order is given to run the Safety Car, all flag posts (including the Start Line) will display a stationary yellow flag and an SC board which will remain out until the intervention is over. These boards and flags will go out in order from the Start/Finish Line in the directional flow of the track in front of the Safety Car. Until a driver is within a yellow flag zone racing may continue.

3.14.1.e. Each time the Safety Car passes a flag post the yellow flag will be waved continuously while the Safety Car and all competing cars following it remain in the section between this post and the next post.

3.14.1.f. The Safety Car intervention period is deemed to start when the competitor passes the first SC Board on the track but not in the Pit Lane and is deemed to be over when the competitor passes the Green Flag at the Start/Finish line on the track. All competing cars when notified of the Safety Car intervention (by flag signals and SC boards) will reduce speed and line up behind the Safety Car maintaining the same speed as it. Overtaking of the Safety Car is forbidden unless signalled to do so by the observer in the Safety Car at which time the competing car may do so and continue at reduced speed until it reaches the train of cars behind the Safety Car. Overtaking and/or overlapping of any competing car during a Safety Car intervention is forbidden.

3.14.1.g. When the BTCC Clerk decides to call in the Safety Car, the SC board and stationary yellow flag on the Start Line will be withdrawn and all flag points around the track will withdraw the flags and boards in the directional flow of the track after the last car in the Safety Car train has passed. At the same time, the Safety Car will turn off its flashing lights and leave the track via the Pit Lane Entrance at the end of that lap. The Safety Car will not complete one full lap of the track with its lights off.

3.14.1.h. A Green Flag will be waved on the Start Line and overtaking and/or overlapping remains forbidden until the competing cars pass the Green Flag on the Start Line.

3.14.1.i All laps completed during a Safety Car intervention during a race will be counted as race laps.

3.14.1.j. While the Safety Car is in operation, competing cars may stop at their Pit, but may only rejoin the track when the green light at the Pit Exit is on. It will be on at all times except when the Safety Car and the line of cars following it are about to pass or are passing the Pit Exit or at the end of the intervention until the last car in the Safety Car train has passed the Pit Exit having passed the waved green flag. All cars rejoining the track whilst the Safety Car is in operation must proceed at reduced speed until reaching the end of the train of cars.

3.14.1.k. All cars must maintain the same speed as the Safety Car whilst in train and the same speed as the car in front of it. From the time that the Safety Car is withdrawn until competitors pass the waved green flag of the Start Line all competitors should maintain a maximum distance of one car’s length from the car in front. At no time during this procedure may any part of a competitors car overlap with any part of a car of another competitor or the Safety Car. The BTCC Clerk may impose a penalty upon any competitor and/or team and/or manufacturer who he considers has gained an unfair advantage whether inadvertently or not from a breach of this Regulation. In the event that one competitor breaches this Regulation for the benefit of another competitor then both may be penalised. Penalties under this Regulation may include a Drive Through Penalty.

3.14.1.l. The operation of the Safety Car will be notified to teams via their Pit Lane timing screens although failure to display this information will not invalidate the procedures above.

[EvilPumpkin]

Hi folks,

Many thanks for your responses - I've also been emailed them for which I'm most appreciative. Having said that, about 10 mins after I put the request up, I found out that we'd just received them......

[KayBee]

EP I hope you've left plenty of room in your bag after receiving your final instructions because unless it has changed this year there is a separate sheet of Safety Car instructions for each championship and the Brazilian Rain Forest has lost a few hundred acres.

Do what I do ask the Observer to go over each one with me before the start of each race; with all the extras going on you usually have time to sort it out.

[Chigley]

Craig, reading through the reg's I notice that they state that a green flag is only displayed at the start/finish line and not at each post after the SC and yellows have been withdrawn. Correct me if I'm mistaken but isn't this a change from last year or am I not reading correctly.

[JimW]

Why are the BTCC allowed to use different safety cars regs?

Why is anyone allowed to use a different set of flag rules?

To quote only one instance, the rules quoted earlier in this thread differ from those used last weekend at Donington for the GT/F3 meeting.

It confuses the hell out of me and I can have a piece of paper in front of me. What must it do to drivers.

Regards

Jim

[Flagman]

They probably don't read them

[EvilPumpkin]

Originally posted by KayBee


Do what I do ask the Observer to go over each one with me before the start of each race; with all the extras going on you usually have time to sort it out.

Thanks Kaybee - ordinarily I would, but in this case, I'm actually doing up the briefing sheets for each post. In theory, the IO of each post (we don't use Observers) will be going on what they get from me (well me in that I'm the mug that gets to type them up!)!

[KayBee]

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[EvilPumpkin]

LOL - we're running 2 sets of rules for BTCC - standard Irish for our own support classes and then BTCC rules for the BTCC classes. Whenever we do that, we do up briefing sheets for the crews so that people can refer to them to see if there are any changes throughout the day. Seems to work!

[Shinners]

Originally posted by Chigley
Craig, reading through the reg's I notice that they state that a green flag is only displayed at the start/finish line and not at each post after the SC and yellows have been withdrawn. Correct me if I'm mistaken but isn't this a change from last year or am I not reading correctly.

As far as I can remember we did (over here) display the green at every post after the SC.

[mark ch]

correct me if i'm wrong but I believe last for the "super" weekend we had three set of SC regs. Guess who would w#get the blame the blame if we were slightly wrong. money talks... hence the reluncance of a lot of us to do "big" meetings..

[theracegypsy]

EP, you begin to see what I mean!

[EvilPumpkin]

LOL - nothing new there RG

Actually the regs don't state that a green flag is not waved at every post after the s/f - they just don't say that they are

We have a pre-briefing this Wednesday anyway and I'm sure this will be covered then. Also there will be briefings both mornings.

My guess is that it's not going to be the end of the world if the green flags do go out - I seem to remember we've done that for the last couple of years with no complaints!

mark, I know what you're saying - but the fact of the matter is that there's always someone somewhere ready to blame the marshals. No matter what the level of racing. It's just that big meetings get higher profiles and more visible complaints!

I say sod 'em all!

[2CV Racer]

Definition of green flag at one post - clear to race.

Definition of green flag at every post - clear to race.

The practice of putting out one green flag or many green flags may differ from country to country (or even class to class) but IMHO the resulting message to the drivers is exactly the same - so if more greens than were expected are displayed then no harm done.

Apart from that it turns out all the flag regs are pretty much the same as what we use over here. Two things in the regs we won't be using are hazard boards and black/yellow quartered flags.