"Anyone who is being lapped four or five times in an eight lap practice session shouldn't have been allowed to pass an arks test."
There are any number of reasons why someone might be travelling slowly on a race practice day. They are as legitimate as any reasons for travelling fast. Among the reasons for travelling slowly might include running in.
However someone travelling slowly, and certainly any Arks driver I have met, is usually trying not to get in any body's way.
On the other hand, a fast driver in a train or unwilling to slow down to a safe closing speed is downright dangerous and possibly illegal on a practice day since it amounts to intentionally putting others at risk. Pre race meetings don't confer an automatic right to smash into or over other drivers because they aren't doing what you want to do.
"Maybe the club could insist on only msa license holders practice on the saturday of an event."
There is a difficulty arising with practice. Some clubs (Clay for example) limit pre race Saturday to only those drivers who have signed up for the meeting. Others, who have less practice time available, have 'Pre-Arks sessions'. One club changed from 'Pre-Arks' to 'Non-licence holder' and is beginning to get experienced non MSA drivers turning up to race in what was meant to be 'inexperienced drivers practice'.
However, there are legal problems liable if one mixes experienced non-licence and experienced licence holders because of the insurance position.
I'd have to say that in the South and for Formula Blue, Tabor and Ron Shone do their fair share. A novice who makes himself known will be invited to take up a slot next to the open-fronted Tabor pits and will be included in efforts to get them to the right place at the right time with their kart in an acceptable condition for free. The Dentech mob are pretty helpful with their advice too.
At Clay Pigeon, I gather there's a TKM 'village' up by the gates which serves much the same purpose too.
It's the novices who assume that everyone is only out for themselves who find life more difficult than it might be. Perhaps one of the jobs of a Club information officer should be to steer novices into friendly and helpful hands.
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