<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Babelfish @ Apr 13 2009, 09:38 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>By the commentators comments it sounds like it's the least likely season for rain there. The reason they don't hold it in the day is the heat. This time of year the temperature is perfect for racing in the night so if there ever was going to be a night race this is definatly the place to do it. Pretty much optimal time for racing. In the long run we would probably be better off replacing the british, dutch early spanish, and late australian rounds. Much higher risk of unraceable conditions there.
If it was a similar rain in the day the race would still have to be delayed for hours due to the rain as this was a rain storm as bad as any we've seen, including the shortened round in USA.
Actually Feb, March, April, Nov and December are the months most prone to rain, but admittedly this is trivial (peaking at about 20mm). That said, one practice session for WSB two years ago here was affected by rain, but that was in February I suppose. The point I made twice last night has been raised again - simply that this race could have ben run in October, at night when there is quite literally ZERO chance of rain. The risk of it raining in April is I concede negligible, but it is still there, and
I say again, the race was switched from October due to financial benefit as opposed to concerns over high track temperature.
Yes the track temperature was excessively high when it was run in October, but the night race last year by contrast, was the coolest track temperature of any race in the entire year, which in itself caused massive problems.
As usual with Dorna, there is no measured response, seemingly no feasibility study, as ever, we are hurled from one extreme to the other. Last year, by the time the riders were racing (eleven at night), the track temperature had plummeted rendering the data gleaned from practice superfluous and buggering most teams set up. Your man Vale himself commented how hard it was to get heat into his 'stones (on an M1 still craving it's Michelins) and voiced disapproval of a night race at that time of year.
Your earlier point that irrespective of the lights, this wouldn't have run during the day in such a downpour is fair enough...but it
didn't rain like that during the day yesterday - it would have also meant that had this happened in the afternoon there would have been time for a delayed slot later in the day.
Last year, the opening round of BSB at Brands was cancelled due to freak weather - very heavy snow in late March. This was completely unforseen, and no amount of pre-planning cold have saved the event. Heavy snow in Kent at that time of the year is virtually unheard of. Similarly, rain in the desert sounds just as unlikey...but when you choose to stage an event at night which is
DEPENDENT upon dry weather, then the possibility of rain, no matter how remote should be considered.
No one is blaming Dorna for the fact that it rained. Where they are culpable as usual, is their consistent lack of vision and foresight, and as usual, the absence of any contingency plan.
