The Seriousness of Turnworking
What we do at the racetrack is serious business, and we have a good
time doing it. But we must take our job seriously - lives depend upon
it. We are responsible for track safety. We work together as a unit to
provide that. One worker cannot watch the whole track so; we put eyes
everywhere and then connect them all together with the Comm line to
promote the flow of information in all directions. This information is
provided to the Head Communicator and Race Director for the race logs
and general decision making. This information is also on a party line
for all to hear. If you hear of a crash in the turn after yours -
listen to what flag they are on - do we need to put up a flag too? Do
we need to notify the coming racers of the great danger in front of
them? The sooner we get that information to the racers the better the
chance of them becoming aware of something dangerous ahead. The racers
will have more time to shift their focus from racing, to slowing down
and reacting to what’s happened. 80 MPH is about 117 feet per second.
With bikes spaced about 20 feet apart, 6 bikes go by every second. So
every second that passes, 6 racers think that everything is fine in
front of them - possibly adding to an already bad situation. Cameras of
any type should be left in the pits. So should any other distraction.
If it pulls your attention from the track when bikes are on
course, you and the racers are at risk.
I remember talking to departed Turnworker, Flagger extraordinaire, Bill
Riggins, after a race one weekend. He was trying to figure out,
if by standing a little more to the right and scanning his turn a
little faster, he might have been able to get his flag out a little
faster and warn the approaching racers of the crash in his turn sooner.
When the track is hot (bikes on course - not just temperature wise,
like the last race at T-hill) all attention needs to be on the track
and your eyes always be moving. You are the eyes and ears of the
decision makers. Getting the important information that you see to them
quickly is vital to everyone’s safety. Important information: what
happened (short version - two or three words); who you are (what turn);
what flag you are on; where (track and rider conditions). What does
that get you? Let’s look at a call.
“Turn 5. Bike down. Waving yellow. Course Blocked. Rider’s not moving.
Early entrance, riders’ right, checking.”
“Turn 5” tells turn 4 and turn 3 to pay attention to what’s next.
The “Bike Down” call gets everyone to stop any lesser important calls
or chit-chat on the Comm. “Waving Yellow” must be backed up by a
standing yellow in the turn preceding or if the crash is before their
flag station for the preceding turn to have a waving yellow flag.
“Course Blocked” and “Rider not moving” gives the race director
information about track conditions that may require a red flag. “Early
entrance, riders’ right” lets us know where the crash is in your turn.
“Checking” means more information to follow. Take a breath, and tell us
what you are seeing. You are our eyes and ears out there. Keep the
information flowing if it is serious. Important decisions are being
made based upon what you are telling us. If the other turns are paying
attention (you are paying attention, right), they will have the
appropriate flag displayed with out being told directly. Can you see
how fast this information can flow? Can you also see how it could break
down if you are not aware?
Being on a hot track can be exhilarating and dangerous. If you are
responding to a downed bike, you are in an impact area. Chances are
others may crash into the same area. So, always keep your eyes looking
around and especially up-track; for every second you look away, at
80MPH, what ever is coming at you is over 100 feet closer to hitting
you and ruining your day. Remember, only Superman can out-run a
speeding
bullet and so far no one has shown up at the morning meeting with a
large, red “S” on their blue tights. (Now any of you with the bright
idea for wearing blue tights to the next morning meeting should refrain
out of common decency for all involved! Don’t say you didn’t think
about it! You know who you are.)
We have an awesome responsibility to the safety of everyone at the
track. Number one is self preservation of the Turnworker species.
Number two are the racers still on the track and last but not least is
the incident that caused it all in the first place. Should we attend to
the incident first? No! We must warn approaching racers of the danger
ahead or you could make a bad situation worse by adding to, or worst
yet, running into it. Most of us don’t deal with Life or death
situations working behind our desks, taking orders at Taco Bell or
watching Jerry Springer. (I said watching Jerry Springer, not appearing
on his show). About once a month we are asked to take it up a notch and
be part of something that is bigger than who we are individually. We
have become part of The Crew - arguably, the best Motorcycle
Turnworking Group in the States, and quite possibly the world. This is
not bragging. I’ve been told this by many racers and officials who have
seen what the rest of the world has to offer. Please take it all
seriously, if you can’t take it seriously, by all means, stay home.