Quote:
Originally Posted by fishguy
I would like to see how many HPDE guys really know which flags are command flags, and which are informational flags.
I see guys doing really dumb things at times, its usually not because they are dumb, but because they dont obey the flags.
Fishguy
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Instead of asking folks to explain the difference between "command" and "informational" flags, the more appropriate challenge, I think, is, "Explain what every flag means, and how you must react, and spare no detail." I write this because in the many HPDE events I've run, and in the seven days of racing schools I've run, flags have never been described as "command" and "informational" -- at least not in terms of, "There are two types of flags, command and informational, and now we'll explain which is which."
Yet at every event I've been in, the flags have been explained in depth, including which flags entail mandatory responses from the driver, and which flags are more aptly described as "alerts." And I would hazard to guess that about 95 percent of all guys running in the equivalent of advanced-intermediate and advanced HPDE know the flags very well. (At least in the case of the Northern California groups that I happen to run with.)
Obviously, we all have different experiences, but I would say that in my experience, understanding and obeying flags has not been the main problem with on-track dumbassery. The bigger issue concerns people who drive above their talent thresholds, and don't really understand the concept that their actions on track can have profound effects on those around them.