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THE PHILLIP ISLAND EIGHT HOUR - REFUELLING: The following comments are my own personal opinions, they are not to be read as criticizing any organizer, person, company or product line, they are however offered as an attempt to sway opinion toward a safer, superior way of refuelling Endurance Racing Motorcycles in Australia. I commented at length on the suspect refuelling methods at the inaugural Bel-Ray Six Hour Race of 2009 at Oran Park, Sydney. To my dismay the same equipment was dictated by the Race Regulations for the subsequent Phillip Island Bel-Ray Six Hour Race of 2010. I was amazed to read the same equipment was again dictated by the Race Regulations for the inaugural Phillip Island Eight Hour Race and it came as no surprise to me as I witnessed many teams struggling as they hoisted plastic fuel canisters full of fuel over very hot motorcycles, luckily there were no major incidents, however the agonizingly slow refuel times, vagaries of opaque vs transparent containers, the need for adaptors and funnels to allow fuel to flow and apparent leaking seals did not sit well with an otherwise promising, hopefully annual, race event. There needs to be a total rethink with regard to the refuelling of Endurance Racing Motorcycles in Australia. With regard to each team's Refueller and Fire Extinguisher Person, only one (1) team met both the requirements of the Race Regulations and common sense with regard to apparel. Anyone that witnessed the agonizingly slow refuel times over the eight hours, the anguish on the faces of refueller's and most importantly race riders and team managers would surely realize something needs to be done to speed up the refuelling process and increase the overall safety aspect thereof and included in the safety aspect is the matter of refueller and extinguisher team members apparel. I have recorded below various images, comments, the vagaries of safety apparel and ultimately, recommendations on a proven, simple solution to refuelling techniques.
PLASTIC FUEL CANISTERS: The following comments are similar to those I raised following the inaugural Bel-Ray Six Hour Race of 2009, they have been altered slightly to target the only type of plastic fuel canister, hereinafter referred to as 'canister', used during the Phillip Island Eight Hour Race. The canisters, of plastic construction, came with a big surprise to some teams, by co-incidence or due to prior knowledge, some of the more fancied teams had containers constructed of transparent material, many other teams along pit row were hindered by opaque red or blue containers which visually concealed the fuel contents remaining and offered no opportunity to add critical fuel content markers on the exterior thereof. I asked two teams at random about their opaque containers and they advised they had not been aware of the transparent/opaque option until their containers arrived. One team admitted they had never seen or used the containers until Friday afternoon's practice sessions it was only then that they discovered the container's standard outlet would not fit in their motorcycles fuel tank opening. One team with an opaque container resorted to timing the fuel delivery with a stop watch as their only guide to fuel flow. All canisters offered a reasonable diameter standard outlet and shut off valve incorporated therein, however the inlet air relief tube appeared undersized which appeared to add to the agonizingly slow fuel flow. There was no question however regarding problems adapting the canisters standard outlets to some production motorcycles fuel tank openings and/or available internal fuel tank clearance, many standard outlets would not fit and some could not be pressed far enough into the fuel tank to force operation of the canister's inbuilt fuel valve. The adaptability issue was overcome to some extent by the use of reducers and funnels, sadly this only added to the overall complexity, the time necessitated to refuel and the need to lift the canisters higher to clear the various adaptor components, obviously there was a greater risk of fuel spillage. I recorded the following images of various canisters in use during actual race refuelling stops, the transparent and opaque issues, reducers and funnels:
THE VAGARIES OF SAFETY APPAREL AND EQUIPMENT: FIRE EXTINGUISHER TEAM MEMBERS: In my opinion there are so many issues that need to be addressed here. Starting with the apparel, only one team came close to complying with the requirements of the rules, more critically complying with common sense, obviously if a person is appointed to handle fire extinguisher duties then they need to be appropriately dressed during each refuel, the gentleman in a flame retardant racing suit and balaclava came close to my expectations of what is required here.
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS: The wide variety of fire extinguishers and their inherent capacity was interesting, one glaring issue was that many appointed team members were holding large capacity fire extinguishers with one hand and the hose end with the other, only problem was the safety pins were still inserted in the trigger mechanisms. It is stating the obvious here, Fire Extinguisher Team Members need some training, they need to be aware of the unique aspects of a fuel fire, especially with regard to the initial fuel vapour ignition and where to stand to ensure there own safety prior to approaching the fire source, if in fact it is safe to do so. Stating the obvious again, many Fire Extinguisher Team Members appeared to have a visual fixation with the mouth of their respective motorcycles fuel tank, I gained the impression they considered this to be the likely source of ignition, in my opinion a fire during a refuel would initiate from a large flame front and blast due to ignition of fuel vapour around the motorcycle and the refueller, that is why I again highlight the issue of where a Fire Extinguisher Team Member needs to stand to ensure they are not involved in an initial fire event.
THE REFUELLER'S: In my opinion only one team had their Refueller's properly attired, Team Suzuki had adjoining Pit Garages and each pit had a designated Refueller dressed in a Flame Retardant Race Suit and gloves, jet type helmet with a detachable chin piece and full protection goggles, well done. From a practicality viewpoint the outfits offered the Refueller's immediate relief from heat exhaustion by detaching the chin pieces and opening up the suits, it all appeared to work very well for the winning and second place team!
MY RECOMMENDATIONS: I recommend that Motorcycling Australia and all Organisers of Motorcycle Endurance Racing in Australia urgently vary the relevant Race Regulations to mandate appropriate refuelling practices, in no way am I recommending the inherently costly dry break systems of major car racing categories, however I am recommending cessation of plastic containers and the need to lift the contents of same over the top of a very hot racing motorcycle, a few key points follow:
MORE PHILLIP ISLAND EIGHT HOUR 2011 COVERAGE: For more coverage of the Phillip Island Eight Hour 2011 please select from the following pages.
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