I saw this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBg1PtIwCDk&feature=youtu.be&t=4m58s How can an Instructor pass another rider in the grass!!! WTF!!!!!
It's already been posted over here http://www.sttforum.com/showthread.php?t=15774 And It's already made its way to the top of the STT food chain.
From my understanding he didn't have anywhere else to go as there were other riders following that guy to the right of him.
No excuses to pass someone on the grass!!!... He could crash and hurt that guy!!! Do you know what his name is??? I would like to write a letter to the owner of the STT!!!
I've been to 3 southern region STT track days run by Trever at 3 different tracks and all good. I've been to 3 Northern track days with STT, Nick at Autobahn and Grattan twice and I can't remember the guy's name who was in charge but I will say this. Trever and Nick go through the rules in great detail about what track days are about and the main point is that it's not a race! At Grattan, I noticed that the novice group is very structured but I and A group, not so much. The riders meeting was very brief and casual but totally unlike Trevor or Nicks meeting. I've ridden with 4 other organizations and some are strict and some are just "hey, be safe out there and have fun" and it's not fun getting passed on both sides with no respect for the 6' rule in I group! This vid looks like A group so I suppose this kind of overly aggressive racing style is acceptable which is something I personally disagree with. From the looks of it, I agree, he had no choice at that moment but, what about 5 seconds before that moment when he could have backed off and waited until the straight just two turns away? That is aggressive riding for what is supposed to be a "play nice, it's not a race" track day! Why the inconsistency within STT?
Maybe he overtook so fast that he had to take evasive action. He could be a hero for preventing a crash for all I know. The guy with the camera was running 1:40 laps, which I would imagine are not typical for A group. No matter what, I have always liked riding with STT because it's a safe org. I'm sure they'll resolve it one way or another.
PS I'm not bitching about this as much as I'm saying that when I decided to buy my loyalty card with STT, I did so based on the websites advertising about how much better STT is than the other organizations who steal their format and I immediately felt confident that I had found the right organization to ride with. So far my experience has been very good with STT but I am pointing out that Grattan, which I've done twice now is more laid back. I've learned to just deal with the fact that some riders are gonna push the limits and rules and sometimes, those riders are the ones who are supposed to enforce them. I've seen that in almost every organization I've ridden with.
Something tells me, if an instructor ended up in the grass, it was the only option at the time. Sure he could have waited. But maybe he had certain expectations since it was A-group of the lines the people he was passing would be running.
What he said. I will add: While riding in I group, I was pushed out in that same area once and had to get up on the pegs and MX style it thru the grass. My hats off to him for a good save.
A courtesy wave would have been nice..... I would hope they apologized after... Without being asked too...
I believe the guys taking the video were only in "A" because the "I" group was full and Fox didn't care where you rode. I had a few instances where they sat up on me and I had to take action. instructor saved his ass and that guys ass from a crash. I agree with the lap time statement and I also want to stress they were not predictable with lines and braking zones. Fox Advanced group was very poor example of riders. I had 1 person tell me he wasn't even in advanced but Fox let him ride that group anyway.
Plenty of excuses... 1) Its the advanced group 2) guy recording didn't belong in "A" 3) Self Preservation 4) No passing rules in advanced 5) Guy recording blew his line and the pass was already setup and in motion. Instructor made the proper call. I chose to follow that instructor around a bit Friday... TOP CLASS!
Personally, I thought this bus stop crash from July 4th was MUCH worse. For some reason it did not seem to get the attention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYwqzMJSfAw This was a completely unacceptable pass whether contact was made or not, and someone did pay the price for it. I think the control riders do a pretty good job of being safe and courteous of others.