Steve good comments. My replies:
— “Penalize” comment – I removed it since after reading it today, in the context it does not make sense, and to explain what I was thinking at the time would take too long and probably be mis-understood. I certainly do Not think Parc Ferme as a practice is a penalty at all; its a preventative measure and also helps reduce late race starts.
— I think it would be good to clearly Announce a specific time that all cars should be in Parc Ferme, which should probably be 5 minutes before green light (enough time for a bathroom break). If you can’t make the cutoff you cannot compete and are relegated to marshal duty.
— Callout – I agree that anyone should be able to alert the Series Manager that Parc Ferme practice was not followed, and that it could be grounds for an automatic post-race inspection (at discretion of the SM). I suggest that any DQs or time penalties occur after the inspection.
— Crap Happens – Yep if a car breaks mid-race the racer can pull out and request a breakfix, or choose to limp on (as long as their car is not presenting a clear danger to other racers/cars (e.g. wheels or screws flying off etc.) The SM should make the decision on what repairs can be allowed, should monitor the repair in real time, and keep repairs less than 5 minutes.
P.S. In a related thread, I discovered the source of my wheel hop/chop this weekend,
http://austinslotcarclub.com/forums/topic/2019-slot-it-mclaren/page/2/#post-14059
"... get on your bad motor scooter and ride!"
Sammy with Montrose