2021 Scrutineering
Discussion
cashmax said:
One advantage of the Covid regs in 2020 was the online sign on & scrutineering. Quicker & easier and made race weekends feel much more relaxed. I am wondering if anything learned during this year can be adopted on a more permanent basis?
I would imagine that it will certainly remain in place for 2021.. and hopefully in the longer term.There has always been an option for scrutineers to look at cars they think are not as self declared or just pick a few at "random"
However in my experience they have obsessed on paperwork trivia outside their expertise on some cars and missed some pretty fundamental stuff with others.
Overall it's been a good thing IMHO. As an organiser the extra pre event paperwork was a lot of work keeping tabs on it all, but the pay off was a more relaxed morning at the venue before the event start.
However in my experience they have obsessed on paperwork trivia outside their expertise on some cars and missed some pretty fundamental stuff with others.
Overall it's been a good thing IMHO. As an organiser the extra pre event paperwork was a lot of work keeping tabs on it all, but the pay off was a more relaxed morning at the venue before the event start.
I was randomly selected this year for scrutineering and I know others in our series have too. It isn't full scrutineering of old which is understandable at the moment, but it is a check over the car from a distance. At one event they were checking lights on every car in assembly too.
I think it's a good idea and does make the weekend less busy, but I do agree that when things are back to normal cars need to be pulled at random for a good check.
I think it's a good idea and does make the weekend less busy, but I do agree that when things are back to normal cars need to be pulled at random for a good check.
I think the system works quite well, with scruts looking over cars in assembly too.
However, the biggest issue this year has been to complete lack of eligibility/technical scrutineering. If this continues there will be a lot more people cheating unfortunately.
I’ve seen cars running in a power to weight based series this year that are clearly WAY over the power to weight limit but as they know there has been no dyno testing this year they can do what they like.
However, the biggest issue this year has been to complete lack of eligibility/technical scrutineering. If this continues there will be a lot more people cheating unfortunately.
I’ve seen cars running in a power to weight based series this year that are clearly WAY over the power to weight limit but as they know there has been no dyno testing this year they can do what they like.
I agree that we need more post race eligibility scrutineering.
The pre-race scrutineering has been a huge improvement. At one of the 5 events that I did this year I was randomly checked after qualifying to make sure that my scrutineering declaration was truthful. I hope they continue in this way as it makes race day morning so much less stressful.
The pre-race scrutineering has been a huge improvement. At one of the 5 events that I did this year I was randomly checked after qualifying to make sure that my scrutineering declaration was truthful. I hope they continue in this way as it makes race day morning so much less stressful.
Dan BSCS said:
I think the system works quite well, with scruts looking over cars in assembly too.
However, the biggest issue this year has been to complete lack of eligibility/technical scrutineering. If this continues there will be a lot more people cheating unfortunately.
I’ve seen cars running in a power to weight based series this year that are clearly WAY over the power to weight limit but as they know there has been no dyno testing this year they can do what they like.
Despite being my first season I had suspected this as well and here's hoping things will level up a little next year because a car pulling 10-15 lengths on a straight doesn't make for great racing. However, the biggest issue this year has been to complete lack of eligibility/technical scrutineering. If this continues there will be a lot more people cheating unfortunately.
I’ve seen cars running in a power to weight based series this year that are clearly WAY over the power to weight limit but as they know there has been no dyno testing this year they can do what they like.
Also being a first timer in a new build car I wasn't scrutineered until event 3 which could be a little disconcerting for a lot of new drivers, particularly those who built a car themselves. I guess you could get an independent check if you were that bothered... But still something to consider if it did go down this route.
k20ris said:
Dan BSCS said:
I think the system works quite well, with scruts looking over cars in assembly too.
However, the biggest issue this year has been to complete lack of eligibility/technical scrutineering. If this continues there will be a lot more people cheating unfortunately.
I’ve seen cars running in a power to weight based series this year that are clearly WAY over the power to weight limit but as they know there has been no dyno testing this year they can do what they like.
Despite being my first season I had suspected this as well and here's hoping things will level up a little next year because a car pulling 10-15 lengths on a straight doesn't make for great racing. However, the biggest issue this year has been to complete lack of eligibility/technical scrutineering. If this continues there will be a lot more people cheating unfortunately.
I’ve seen cars running in a power to weight based series this year that are clearly WAY over the power to weight limit but as they know there has been no dyno testing this year they can do what they like.
Also being a first timer in a new build car I wasn't scrutineered until event 3 which could be a little disconcerting for a lot of new drivers, particularly those who built a car themselves. I guess you could get an independent check if you were that bothered... But still something to consider if it did go down this route.
Caterham did post race eligibility checks in every race other than the first, seemed fine to me, I think they did even go as far as to check flywheels on a few cars, regular fuel testing, and weight/ride height pretty much every weekend (both after quali and race)
There were a few lights checks at noise testing, but outside of that I didn't see a single safety check happen. Personally, knowing how clueless some racing drivers are, I think it's pretty bad that more checks weren't done on things like race suits, belts, extinguishers etc. Additionally there are lots of new drivers out there who might not know, and a random check post race is completely pointless from a safety perspective. I know one driver who raced with a tear under his arm for half the season for example.......
I think there needs to be improved safety scrutinising re-introduced.
There were a few lights checks at noise testing, but outside of that I didn't see a single safety check happen. Personally, knowing how clueless some racing drivers are, I think it's pretty bad that more checks weren't done on things like race suits, belts, extinguishers etc. Additionally there are lots of new drivers out there who might not know, and a random check post race is completely pointless from a safety perspective. I know one driver who raced with a tear under his arm for half the season for example.......
I think there needs to be improved safety scrutinising re-introduced.
We Mazda motorsports club (Max5) have a drivers watsap group & any newbie building a car is asked to attend a trackday before the season opener where one of the 'old hands' can cast an eye and point them in the right direction.
As a racer of many years if anyone near Sheffield with any race car needs someone to cast an eye over it I'm happy to help
As a racer of many years if anyone near Sheffield with any race car needs someone to cast an eye over it I'm happy to help
k20ris said:
Also being a first timer in a new build car I wasn't scrutineered until event 3 which could be a little disconcerting for a lot of new drivers, particularly those who built a car themselves. I guess you could get an independent check if you were that bothered... But still something to consider if it did go down this route.
One of several unfathomable differences between racing and rallying is that all rally cars need to have a “technical passport” or “log book” before they can be used on an event. The passport can be checked as part of the normal scrutineering process and in the on line version the technical passport number has to be quoted.To get a technical passport a senior scrutineer has to examine the car well before its first event to make sure the car complies with the blue book, a form is filled in with various details and various photographs are taken. All the details are sent to MUK who check them and issue the passport.
If a car has an incident on an event, a scrutineer can annotate the passport with comments and recommendations that need to be actioned before the next event, and these can obviously be checked at the next scrutineering.
I do think that something similar in racing would be a good idea!
Hi Andy97
In theory I would agree with you but it just becomes another hurdle and expense in a hobby dominated by people 50 plus who may think enough’s enough and play some of that golf thing instead
Personally for the few races we competed in this season it made it so much more relaxed to sign in online and turn up before practice
As we had rebuilt the car we had a scrutineer who lives down the road have a good look at the car beforehand
Hope to catch up in 2022
In theory I would agree with you but it just becomes another hurdle and expense in a hobby dominated by people 50 plus who may think enough’s enough and play some of that golf thing instead
Personally for the few races we competed in this season it made it so much more relaxed to sign in online and turn up before practice
As we had rebuilt the car we had a scrutineer who lives down the road have a good look at the car beforehand
Hope to catch up in 2022
Kickstart said:
Hi Andy97
In theory I would agree with you but it just becomes another hurdle and expense in a hobby dominated by people 50 plus who may think enough’s enough and play some of that golf thing instead
Personally for the few races we competed in this season it made it so much more relaxed to sign in online and turn up before practice
As we had rebuilt the car we had a scrutineer who lives down the road have a good look at the car beforehand
Hope to catch up in 2022
Hi Nigel, hope to catch up in 2021!In theory I would agree with you but it just becomes another hurdle and expense in a hobby dominated by people 50 plus who may think enough’s enough and play some of that golf thing instead
Personally for the few races we competed in this season it made it so much more relaxed to sign in online and turn up before practice
As we had rebuilt the car we had a scrutineer who lives down the road have a good look at the car beforehand
Hope to catch up in 2022
The expense of the log book was fairly minimal - £45 istr plus a fiver for petrol, and only needs doing once. You had a scrutineer look at the Marcos so it was the same principle really.
Agree about the more relaxed start to the day - to be encouraged!
Gassing Station | UK Club Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff