bella1

Matt is a consummate gentleman! And his GT4 is beautiful!!

I did see the Yellow GT4 in Red, and he had Hoosiers and some other track upgrades. My 2001 Carrera Stock H was running 2:09 to 2:10 and he passed me more than once so maybe he was running 2:07 or thereabouts? I had no issues with him passing. I would have been glad to speak with the Yellow GT4 had I known about the incident noted herein. Dan Dazzo, Bob Mulligan, and I received mostly positive feedback on all run groups, and we certainly addressed all safety concerns where appropriate. I had a great three days personally, and I hope we continue with an excellent PCA Zone 2 event at VIR for years to come!! Thanks to everyone including instructors, students, drivers, and volunteers for a fun three days.

GT3 Nut

Hey Matt, hope all is well - long time no see!
We all know you are a lunatic on track.....hahaha.
No for real, I know you wouldn't pull any unsafe moves.
When will you be out there again?
I would love to run with you again.

GT3 Nut

Come on man. Uncalled for.
Alex is a great guy and they work very hard to put on events like this one.
If it wasnt for guys like Alex, PCA wouldn't have DE Events.

Sorry I missed this one Alex.

GT3 Nut

Too funny T-roy! Youre too kind - or maybe just delusional...
How the heck are you?
Havent seen you and Michelle in a while.
Hope to see you guys soon.
I may try to do the David Murry event in April and/or the CHIN event later in April. When will you guys be out there again? I like to see you run through the corners on all the Porsches bumpers only to be left sitting on the straights....

Trj

Hey Matt, can't wait to see the new car. My next event is First settlers. Then the club race in june. I will probably set up something in between at VIR. Im sure we will catch up. Chin has a monday coming up that looks fun!

Trj

Sorry about your experience. I would always bring it to the attention of the organizers as well as directly with the driver involved. We all like to have fun but safety comes first. Alex has always addressed these issues properly in the past and I am sure he would have this time as well. We have worked really hard over the years to get the point by's and passing zones opened up for faster driving and it only works if everyone is proficient and cooperative.

bella1

I do hope everyone feels all of us in the DE community are approachable and take all comments seriously. As a PCA representative I want that for our DE program as well. Feel free to call or email anytime. We are all volunteers here dedicated to having fun and being safe.

bella1

Hey Matt when we all have our GT4s I guess I'll be last with you and the other Matt kicking my butt! And sorry we missed you. The weather looked sketchy but we had three good days. Great group of drivers and volunteers.

930man

perfectly Run DE! thanks for all the hard work!

930man

dude been way to long let me know your schedule for the track! you and i would never break the rules of a DE!

Manifold

I wasn't there and don't know the context, but there's generally some truth in that statement. In a group in which passing is allowed anywhere, not taking a point-by when given can cause distraction and uncertainty for both drivers, which has its own safety implications.

Drjimh

Speaking only to the point bye issue. Communication on the track is the most important aspect. Just because you get a point bye does not mean you have to take it. I have had many times that I waved off a point bye and many times I have given one that has been waved off. Setting a tone where you make drivers feel as though you have to take one is irresponsible. There are many times when the point by is given is not be a safe pass. The driver is fully justified in waving it off and waiting to take it later. We are not racing! This comes down to making the correct judgement for the driver that is taking the pass. Maybe if we had more common sense on the track and less ego about speed and lap times we would have better safer DE's. When I started doing DE's 20 years ago, one or two off tracks in an event was rare. Last year I was at two events that had 5 plus incidents in 2 days with 2 cars totaled in one event.

Manifold

Simple rule for passing in a group which allows passing anywhere is that, once the passing car moves to initiate the pass, each driver stays on their half of the track until the pass is complete. This can require both drivers to slow down considerably (eg, going up the climbing esses of VIR), but shouldn't present a safety issue if drivers understand the protocol. That said, when doing such passing, it's a good idea to be ready to take evasive action in case the other driver errs.

If a driver is uncomfortable with this, just move down to group with passing limited to straights. No shame in that, not everyone is cut out for passing anywhere just because they have X amount of experience.

Drjimh

Its not the point of the simple rule or X experience. It is a point of being patient and respectful of fellow drivers on track. I did not see a single driver who was on track in the Black group over the weekend that I felt was holding up traffic or was not managing traffic effectively. The point here is that it is right of the driver to wave off a pass if he wishes to do so. For what ever the reason, ie. safety, wet track, cold tires, over taking in the marbles, possibility of putting a tire off etc. You should always be ready to take evasive action. My point is if you should respect someone else on the track who is driving at pace in your group, managing traffic correctly, and not being a hazard in your group, then what is wrong with a wavy off. If you feel that a driver who waves off a pass belongs in a lower group, then maybe you need to evaluate your where you are as a driver and maybe move out of DE and go into club racing. We can argue all day about this point. I think we just all need to have more respect on the track of fellow drivers.

Drjimh

I don't want to beat a dead horse. but here is just and FYI on the extended passing rule from PCA

Expanded Passing Program

The Event Chairman may choose to implement the expanded passing program. With expanded passing, passing may occur on all portions of the track, including all turns. If expanded passing is allowed at an event, it shall follow these restrictions:

Expanded passing will ONLY be run in the Instructors run group which may include non-instructors.
All passing must be initiated WITH A HAND SIGNAL.
All signals MUST BE demonstratively clear and there must be one for each car.
All signals are “real time”. If you initiate a pass with a signal, expect a car to pass at the time you give the signal, not at the next straight away.
All signals are a contract between two drivers. If you initiate, let the car pass. If you are given a signal and decline, you must wave off the signal.
No more than two cars side by side in the turn.
When entering a turn with another car, NO ONE OWNS THE TURN. Each driver is entitled to 50% of the track as if there was a white line through the center of the turn.
The only passengers allowed in the expanded passing run groups are qualified instructors.
All drivers of the designated run group must participate in expanded passing. Any driver who does not care to participate must be moved to another run group.
When entering a turn with another car, NO ONE OWNS THE TURN. Each driver is entitled to 50% of the track as if there was a white line down the middle.
The Chief Driving Instructor may designate up to five (5) instructors per event who may take advanced students as passengers (no beginners or novices), for the purpose of instruction only. Otherwise, the only passengers allowed in the expanded passing run groups are qualified instructors.
All drivers of the designated run group must willingly participate in expanded passing. Any driver who does not care to participate must be moved to another run group. This program is self-policed and any passing done without a signal or over aggressive driving may result in exclusion from the program or may be dealt with as decided by Regional DE management.