GH, Solo Events Board, and Luminaries and Pundits Abroad,
While I appreciate the SEB's response to member inquiries about
video and data acquisition systems, I think the fears about them are
misguided. Video cameras and data acquisition systems are only learning
tools. They don't drive the car for you. And I would oppose any
attempts to limit learning in our sport.
Some drivers learn best by taking a school. And we don't limit their
ability to do that. Some learn best by coaching from another driver.
And we don't limit that either. Some drivers learn by walking the
course, or watching others, or taking split times with a stop watch--
you name it, and we don't limit it. I've always thought that the skills
that you learned and assimiliated and brought with you to the starting
line stored safely away in your own brain were exactly what we were
trying to measure in this competition.
And we don't limit last minute attempts to gain more skills, whether
just before you run, or even between runs at Nationals. It's still
permissable to continue to be coached, to learn between runs, right up
to the point that the green flag drops. After that, it's all up to you.
To me, this is the very core of Solo competition. It's not about the
car, or at least not primarily about the car. It's not about who has
the biggest wallet. It's about skill. And it's the pursuit of that
skill that keeps us all interested and coming back. Why would we want
to put up road blocks to limit that pursuit?
A top level national driver who just ran the National Championship
course with a National Championship winning time is allowed and even
encouraged to share his insight and first-hand knowledge of the course
with another driver in the hopes of making that other driver faster.
It's allowed and encouraged because we quite correctly assume that the
student driver will still only perform to the best of his/her own
abililities. No matter what he is told between runs, once the clock
starts, even the best coached driver is still all alone out there. His
actual performance is up to him.
Data acquisition and video work the same way. Just as being coached by
Mark Daddio doesn't necessarily make you drive like Mark Daddio,
watching video and reading data acquisition, whether of your own runs or
even Mark's, won't make you suddenly drive like Mark. When the timer
starts, it's all up to you. Nobody is gonna drive the car for you.
But there is an important distinction between data acquisition/video
versus having a great coach like Mark Daddio. GEEZ and video are
available to all competitors--there's a limited supply of Mark Daddio.
So I guess my fundamental objection to this idea of limiting the use of
video and/or data acquisition is that it flies in the face of what I
thought the sport was all about. We preach driver improvement at local
events, driving schools, and even in the rule book when we talk about
the sport being primarily a test of skills. We smugly tell those
seeking "legislative relief" for their car's classification or
rules/specifications to "just focus on driving". So how is it now that
we are considering an initiative to limit the tools a driver uses to
improve his driving when he's not even on course?
Oh, and by the way, I'm assuming we are talking about non-active
data acquisition, which in no way assists in driving the car.
Non-factory devices which actually take a role in driving the car, such
as through limiting slip-angles and yaw rates, etc, are NOT in the
spirit of the driver-oriented nature of our sport. I fully support
prohibiting these kinds of devices, and would suggest that we alter
15.11.C to mention this much more directly. Perhaps something like,
"Non-factory active data acquisition systems which control or assist in
actual vehicle control in real time while competing are prohibited." I
believe this was the original intent in 15.11.C anyway, and yes, I was
there on the SEB at the time. I'd love to see 15.11.C modified this
way, and inserted in the general rules ahead of the specific category
rules of sections 13-16, so that it applies to all classes.
Regarding cost, consider that video or data acquisition is a one time
cost. A driver who studies GEEZ can greatly improve his performance
over a period of a few months, accomplishing what might have taken years
or longer without GEEZ. The investment will be a fraction of his tire
budget. That's the first year. In future years, he'll have no further
investment in GEEZ. But the tire bills keep coming. And unlike tires,
GEEZ doesn't make the car go even a tiny bit faster...it only seeks
to give the driver more understanding and improve his skills.
Video provides an exciting record of your runs, and nowhere more so than
at Nationals. Showing video to your friends when you return home from
Nationals is very good for the sport. In fact, I think it's important
that we allow it. It helps us to grow the sport, and it does no harm to
any other driver except allow his competitor to possibly improve his
skills. Which again, is the very point of solo competition.
Among those geeks like us who use GEEZ, we feel the same way about our
GEEZ recordings from Nationals. We share them over the internet with
each other. We use them to improve our driving in the winter months.
And mostly, we use them to lament or congratulate ourselves and each
other over what we did or what we might have done, on that last critical
run. GEEZ and video are a part of the experience, and especially the
memories of Nationals.
Summary, I promise...
Please reject any restrictions on video and data acquisition at all
events including Nationals. Instead take this opportunity to apply
15.11.C to all classes by placing it prior to sections 13-16 in the
book, and specifically prohibiting active data acquistion systems which
assist in driving the car.
We shouldn't limit learning tools. Video and data acquistion provide
information only; execution is still up to the driver. The costs for
video and the new inexpensive data acquisition devices such as the
G-Cube and GEEZ software are clearly in line with the core values
expressed in the pre-amble and tacitly throughout the rule book.
Video and data acquisition provide important records of our performance,
which as we review over the coming months and years, drive our
enthusiasm and even provide a way to explain our sport to friends who
ask about this silly think we do in Topeka every year. Video and data
acquisition help extend the "Topeka experience" through the winter and
even the coming season.
Thanks for your efforts!
Byron Short
President, Extreme GEEZ! Inc.
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