Structural Engineer Needed

[Keith DiBrino]

OMRRA is looking for a structural engineer who is willing to (volunteer or at a very reasonable price) look at PIR drawings to cover the corner stations and if they look good, approve them. The request for covered corner stations came from our corner working volunteers and the board would really like to help facilitate getting them done. It was already on PIR's list of improvements, but the budget does exist. If we can get the plans approved, we hope to work with the other major PIR users to figure out how to make it happen.

Please respond to;

kdibrino@drewpaints.com
503-784-6158

Thanks!

[Kevin LaFavor]

Maybe it needs to be in it's own thread, but I (hopefully others see it) think the turn 7 station should be moved back away from the track(6-10 feet) where it was, before any other limb ripping hard points are placed in the second fastest impact zone on the track. Dan Wilson first pointed this out to me(I was not on track immediately after the PIR makeover) & I was stunned at the fact someone would think that was a good idea! I brought it up to the board at the time............. heard nothing but crickets.
So, before we cover a station that should be moved back, lets address safety concerns with the current configuration(not build on a problem).
It's been a couple years since I brought this up (& I would race it even if we had to dodge corner workers in the middle of the track) but that doesn't mean the design isn't flawed.
Have fun

[Josh Mayfield]

Hey Kevin, the existing towers will be covered, I don't think the plan to build new ones is there. The turn station that you are referring to is rarely manned for most races.

[Keith DiBrino]

Kevin,

Your request about Turn 7 was definately heard. It was addressed with PIR management last year, I believe before the season started. Unfortunately, PIR doesn't see the potential hazard as severe as you do. In hindsight, PIR may have done it differently if given the chance, but they do not have the budget to redo it now. Potentially, if the AMA sees it your way, they might dictate it being moved either at their expense or as part of an agreement to race at PIR in the future. The AMA will have some teams and safety personel visiting PIR this summer to determine if they want to race here in the future and exactly what track changes they will require.

As for this thread, the goal is to provide some of what our much appreciated volunteers are saying will make their days more pleasant.

[Kevin LaFavor]

I am glad the workers will be getting some releif(I seriously don't know how they do it!!).
Thanks for the reply Keith. Like I said, not stopping me, just what I thought was a valid safety point.
Maybe it hasn't been an issue yet(& hopefully it won't be) but my brother & I would go through that area on average once a weekend.
There "was" a concrete strip there you could use for some braking(better than grass) & now there is a station there. So it would seem logical that that would be an impact zone.
Josh, the T7 station is always manned in OMRRA races. I think we are talking about 2 different things. No worries

[Keith DiBrino]

Kevin, I hear you and don't disagree at all. It will be interesting to see what an outside party (like AMA) thinks about it and what they will require in track changes. It may be surprising to some, but I'm told they were fine with the festival curves and said they would run them.

But back to the point of the thread. Are the any structural engineers out there?