Afm Rip Off???

[Pakow]

I'm just a race # 2 rookie, but the idiocy here completely baffles me.

The thought that the turnworkers should SHORTEN their already SHORTEND lunch? dumbass.

On the other hand, there were a couple races where almost NO ONE - white or yellow plates - was waving back to the turn workers. These people are WAVING AT YOU to say "good job", there not trying to get an officials attention to ask if they can take a break....you should wave back.

I havent done it yet, but i think it should be part of the licensing process to work a turn for one race, thats a brilliant idea.

On the other hand, i would like the practice sessions longer too, even at the expense of doing fewer of them.

I think some people might run harder than they should because of the short session. Kind of the nature of the personalities around a racetrack, no?

I will say this - Race 2 (open twins/production) was FUCKING MAYHEM!~!~ there should be a whole thread just on that...

 

[Fast Turtle]

Someone should petition the AFM and make it mandatory that in your novice season, you are required to spend 1 full day as a corner worker (saturday or sunday your choice).

-=gp125racer=- [/B]

+1 I would add you should have to work a race PRIOR to actually racing. I know it gave me a whole new appreceation for what the corner workers do and I got to watch everybody fast and slow go thru the same corner all day. Very enlightning.

 

[JimE]

It was a crashfest. It was an oilfest. It sucked for everybody. We didn't get enough practice and the turnworkers were way too busy. Do you think they LIKE running to a fallen rider wondering if the guy is okay? Everybody lost out because too many racers were too aggressive and crashed too much. Case closed.

 

[Rummo-YZF]

Can I volunteer to be a worker during Saturday's practice at the next infineon date even though I don't have my AFM license yet? I don't have the finaces to donate towards the air fence fund at this time but my time is free!

 

[rothmans]

On the other hand, there were a couple races where almost NO ONE - white or yellow plates - was waving back to the turn workers.

Dude! tell me about it!! At the end of my Clubman race it was SO COOL seeing the cornerworkers out there waving and giving the thumbsup, I was waving and throwing a leg to all of them, it was a perfect ending to an incredible first race experience...those guys are so great, talk about dedication, how about the guy in the wheelchair at turn eleven!?! My hats off to ALL of them, they have my complete respect!

Late Saturday afternoon well after the track was closed my gf and I were walking the dogs down near the grandstand, we passed by a few of the cornerworkers enjoying some well deserved adult beverages....you know what they were talking about?

The wreck in turn 2 in MW Clubman ( I think) and how it was handled ( I think in regards to getting the Ambulance and tending to the downed riders) point is, these people take this stuff as seriously as we take the racing, bike prep and everything else.

to Cornerworkers and ALL the AFM staff....I was really impressed at my first AFM event with everyone from registration to tech and all those on the track!

 

[afm199]

At the end of the weekend I was wondering if I could afford to make a cash donation to the turnworkers, cause those guys ARE the AFM. They protect us, defend us, watch out for us, take care of us, pull hot greasy bikes off us when our stupid ass behavior results in crashes and bikes are flying by at 100 mph plus. They risk their lives so we can get go out and race.

The AFM could lose any 50 racers and still survive, without the underpaid overworked corner workers, it would not exist.


Yeah, they should cut their lunch short so we get another two laps of practice. right. NOT.

I got in maybe 20 laps, or roughly 40 miles and skipped a session. When I do a track day at Sears ( riding with a fair number of, uhh, squidly dudes), I get in 100 miles if lucky. So that shortened, crash prone, oiled up practice day cost just as much as a track day in terms of cost per mile. Only I got to ride with a peer group of racers. That's priceless. Frankly, there should be a rule suspending anyone for making derogatory remarks about turnworkers.

TURNWORKERS ARE THE GODS!!

 

[Trackho]

comments appreciated

comment; youre a complete fucktard--grow the fuck up

i bet you dont even race-fill us in pleeeeze

 

[scalvert]

Having been on both sides of the fence I have to say the good news is that the saddams of the world are pretty rare. Shit if he's got half a brain after the beating we've dished out he's probably thought things through and changed his opinion. I will say this though... I know that most of the racers have a lot of respect for the cornerworkers but it's never a bad idea to show it.

Granted the workers do appreciate the $$$ and gifts at the end of the year, but $$$ is hard to come by. Cheaper and just as important are the kind words on forums, the thumbs up after a race, the directed thanks after a crash, and the thank you's in the paddock. The workers all notice and appreciate these small gestures.

Now if you REALLY want to help, getting more workers is the best form of appreciation. Sometimes the budget isn't there to race, or the bike's not ready, or, say, the knee's not healed yet. Do go out and spend a weekend with the workers; many hands make light work. It'll also make you a better racer, cause you get to spend all day watching EVERYBODY's line through your corner. Do go out and recruit workers from among your friends, assuming that they are intelligent and serious minded people. (We've all got friends who are drunken losers, do the workers the favor of NOT recruiting those guys).

Anyway, a lot of the workers are on BARF and the support for the workers in this thread has certainly been noticed and appreciated.

 

[jb]

Do go out and recruit workers from among your friends, assuming that they are intelligent and serious minded people. (We've all got friends who are drunken losers, do the workers the favor of NOT recruiting those guys).

So.. Hold on, why do you keep trying to recruit me for cornerworking? I don't get it.

 

[RacerRob]

I just love Jeff, he dances around the subject as you never know what the man is thinking

I watched the bike handler in 9 struggle with at least two bikes .... he'd try and try and try to pick up the bike, he didnt have the power or maybe he was just worn out from picking up all the bikes before?

The rider unaware of this was walking away with back turned (I was thinking 'turn around, help the guy out !!!!')

BTW did you notice lunch was cut short on Sunday because of all the redflags in race 2 ??? (NOT OGP, which was race 5)

In fact - I was so sympathetic to the turnworker plight I decided (quite by accident) to cut my OGP race short by one lap and start waving my appreciation to the workers in turn 2 !!! I was thinking way arent they waving back?

It was turn 5 by the time I fully realized what I had done ..... by turn 11 Sarros made the pass for second, I was really lucky to only lose the one spot.

Guess there's a first time for everything.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

so little practice IS why there are so many crashes.

I don't think so.

If that were true, there wouldn't be any incidents towards the second half of the day.

Racing is racing. Incidents happen. So little common sense is why there are so many crashes.

As far as your comments about the cornerworkers, you need a bit of a fucking wake-up call. You need to eat a little humble pie and realize the AFM and it's staff isn't there to "serve" you. They are there doing a largely thankless job, trying to move heaven and earth while getting the races to happen. Grab a flag and stand a post for a weekend. Let's see if you can hold your mud all weekend dealing with things. Then make some sort of comment if you wish. Until then, please rethink your position and STFU.

 

[2WheelBear]

Oh, man, I wish my MS would allow me to be a cornerworker. My main problem is that I cannot commit to being out there for a full day. I had to cut out early from being a spectator on Sunday cause the heat and sun just about did me in. I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the work the cornerworkers and the NMP's do. I was chatting with a few of the NMP gang on Sunday and they are the nicest people. They really love coming out to take care of you. Man, what I am thinking right now would get me a boot from the forum right now. Saddam, grow up, get a life, and if you can't afford it, go find something else to amuse yourself.... Racing is not cheap, and it does not always come out the way you want it. But as the saying goes, "That's Racing!"

Some of you may know me, my husband Peter and I were pit crew for Pete Demas last year. I'm the short half-asian brunette that walks around the pits with a silly ass grin the whole time. Reason why I am grinning, cause I love this sport so much. Let me tell you a bit about us. First thing, bottom line, we are extremely low income due to medical expenses. Coming out and supporting you folks by buying tickets means that we go without some things to do so. We are HUGE racing fanactics. Some of my friends have told me to shut the fuck up about racing already. Heck, we ate mainly rice and beans for awhile to be able to afford going to the AMA races last week, plus the AFM this week. We celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary this weekend, and what better way to do that than hang out with a bunch of great folks, watching some very good racing.

Thank you again goes out to all of the folks that volunteer to come out and allow the racers to put on quite a good show! And to all of the racers out there, YOU ROCK! Peter and I appreciate it. It makes my bad days, (unable to walk, pain that I would wish on no-one) go by a little faster knowing that I have another race to go to soon.

Regards,

Denise Lindquist

 

[TurnWrkr]

It's really funny what you hear from people that don't understand what it takes to run a weekend like the AFM race weekends. I won't get into the financial or logistic aspects of it as I'm sure most people understand that it takes a lot and the benefit financially, if any, are minimal.

I agree with Mike, we don't give the saddams of this workd a second thought. And I also agree with Scott that showing a little appreciation is nice.

Beleive it or not one of the best forms of appreciation, and it costs you nothing, is that wave, leg up, etc. at the end of your races. Just that little gesture lifts our spirits and with no words lets us know that you appreciate us being there.

The support from all of you on this thread to what saddam said also shows us how you feel and we deeply appreciate that and thank all of you.

Hoping to see all of you next month at THill, and say hello when you pass by one of us.

Ruben

 

[afm199]

I just love Jeff, he dances around the subject as you never know what the man is thinking

I watched the bike handler in 9 struggle with at least two bikes .... he'd try and try and try to pick up the bike, he didnt have the power or maybe he was just worn out from picking up all the bikes before?

The rider unaware of this was walking away with back turned (I was thinking 'turn around, help the guy out !!!!')

I saw the same incident. The guy who crashed was fine and moving about, and just turned his back and left the mess for the cornerworker to clean up . What a jerk... And further, if the turn worker cant' move the bike, the rest of the race the corner is under waving yellow.

 

[rothmans]

And further, if the turn worker cant' move the bike, the rest of the race the corner is under waving yellow.

Good point Ernie, maybe some good can come of this thread and noobs like myself can learn a thing or two. I am not sure, maybe I need to go back over my rule book, but I did not know the proper etiqutte(sp) on what to do if you go down.

Should you try and help the cornerworker with your bike, get the hell out of the way, both??

 

[afm199]

Both. First get to a bit of safety. Then If the bike is in the middle of the track, the cornerworker is by theirself, and you are healthy and able to move, take a second to help move it. If they don't need help cause another worker is coming they will let you know. This instance the guy had no help available. If they don't want you there they will let you know. If you are a bit disoriented they will not let you help.

But if I crash, the first thing I do is look for safety, go there, and then examine the situation. On the other hand, I have not crashed at a race in ten years

 

[MackeyStingray]

i try to wave at all the workers on the cooldown lap no matter how i did. i can't think of even 1 race where i haven't tried to wave at ALL the workers. the minor monetary compesation barely makes up for standing out there all day in the baking sun and it wasn't even that hot out. imagine the next 2 rounds @ thill?! it's the least we riders should do.

not sure the logic on saddam's point. it's...the...cornerworkers fault riders crash? they wouldn't be cleaning up any mess if there wasn't one made by the racers.

hm, maybe he crashed and has a bit of a cuncussion so he's not thinking clearly.

 

[scalvert]

We spoke at some length in my NRS about post crash stuff. Things happen very quickly during a crash clean up and there are things the workers expect of the riders. After a crash the workers need to know if you are ok and they need to get you out of the impact zone. Take a moment to make sure you aren't really fucked, get to your feet and get someplace safe. Doing that means the workers don't have to worry about you and can deal with the course and your bike.

Now if there's only one worker and that worker's got more than one person's worth of work you can help. There are times and places where you just need to stay out of the way and others where your help can make a huge difference. The person who knows the difference is the worker on the scene. If you're ok and it seems you could help let the worker know... they won't be shy about using your help when you offer.

 

[sv_goon]

Just to pile on Saddam the troll, before I thought I'd like to be a racer I turnworked a couple races. On the cooldown laps I would applaud the riders, who I thought had the hard job. They waved back, and it was an incredibly cool little moment, repeated at the end of every race.

Now that I've done a few races as a rider, I know who the real stars of the show are. They wear white and blue and they are the only reason we get to go have fun.

Great work this weekend!

Cheers...

Will
#859

 

[ALANRIDER7]

On the other hand, I have not crashed at a race in ten years

Until now, you haven't raced in ten years.

Bitch.