Working the Course

Top rules to ALWAYS remember:

YOUR safety is always your top priority. Make sure you never turn your back on a car when the course is hot!
The safety of the other workers on the rallycross course is your second priority, so keep your friends safe.
The safety of spectators is your third priority. Sometimes people will wander on course or stand somewhere dangerous. Stop cars if necessary until they can be directed to move somewhere safe.
The cars on course can sometimes be a danger to their drivers or other cars on course. Be especially wary of novice drivers on their first run. They can sometimes wander off course and head for other cars. Stop cars that are lost or point them to a safe course exit.
Resetting a cone is last and least important duty when you are working a corner.

Always stand. NO SITTING, EVER! You never know when you’ll need to fetch a cone or even run out of the way of a car.
When you see a cone hit at your corner, RUN for it! DO NOT WALK. Quickly reset the cone and get back to a safe distance.
If you can’t get to the cone, or there are a bunch of them, DO NOT risk your life! Call in with the radio and ask the starter to hold the next car. If a second car is on track, they’ll just get a rerun if the cones are down. Radio in right away if you cannot get the cones.
Always face the course. Know where the cars come through your area. Only if you are RUNNING back to your corner station should your be back to the course.
Always keep the red flag bunched up and ready in your hand. Don’t roll it up. If you are told to red flag a car, wave the flag around vigorously. It should unfurl itself as you do this. Remember, the driver is very focussed on the course and you need to make the flag stand out for him. You might need to step toward the course a little to get more attention.
Hold the stopped car until direction is received from the stage captain or safety steward.

If a cone is knocked over or massively displaced, PENALTY.
If the cone gets tapped, then it is GOOD (OK, no penalty). Cars have been known to hit cones, flip them in the air, and have them land in the same spot, standing up. This is OK, also awesome to watch! (no penalty).
If the car goes outside of a gate then the car is OFF COURSE and is DNF’d (did not finish). If the driver stops, reverses and corrects the mistake by going on the correct side of the gate, no penalty.
If a car ends up on the wrong side of pointer cones that do not have a corresponding upright (ie pointers that are directing the course), no penalty.
Only when a gate is missed is it OFF COURSE. If a car spins around, turns around, or gets outside of the “normal driving line,” yet stays inside the proper gates, does not shortcut a gate and does not go twice through a gate, it is OK (no penalty).
If a driver goes through the same gate twice by way of spinning out or not going through the correct gate sequence (i.e.. slalom), that is OFF COURSE.
If the car hits a family of cones, and some of them are pointer cones (laying down), the pointer cones do not count in the total cone count.