David Darnés:
“It all started in France, where the great drivers went to test the new system, so I didn’t have the opportunity to experience it first-hand, but I do know that the French saw the system with good eyes. In Spain the news reached me through Josep Serra, informing me that the Catalan and National Championships would establish the same system, called Openfree.
At a glance I thought it was good, in fact we are used to continuous changes of regulations from time to time, so I transferred my good feelings to see everything very positive and different. We had to try.
From then on, it was time to train. We haven’t changed anything in our training methods, as it doesn’t make sense to mark an area with ten different steps and see which ones you dare, so we arrived at the first race very lost, both us and the controls. Race by race we have been getting the pulse of the new system.
The Hardest Part It’s looking at an area and deciding whether to risk or not, those that come more often and in which you can lose more time, since that is a determining factor. You have to be very sure of your level and trust which steps you can take to “zero” or with few feet, because if you don’t tune, no matter how much you have risked in one step, the score skyrockets.
My personal situation at COTA (Cto Catalan) is as if nothing has changed. It’s easy, and if you want to be in front of it, the only solution is to go through all the red doors without customizing. There is always someone who takes risks, but it was curious that almost everyone was looking to secure with blue doors and thus not penalize for “feet”. It is just as important to add points as it is not to subtract them. In the end, it’s almost the same to do a very difficult section and penalize, as it is to do an easier one without penalties.
I’ve found that with Openfree you improvise more, you have to be very clear about what your trump cards are within the zone. The Nacional is more complicated, there are a lot of doors and the strategy counts a lot, you don’t stop seeing colors and you end up a little crazy because it’s hard to find your priorities in the area.
In the case of TR3, suitable for amateurs of a certain level, you have a lot of doubts. Whether to risk or secure, whether to finish the area on time, whether to pass more gates… There are too many options and if you waste too much time on one step, you can mess it up. It’s a little stressful. It’s partly fine to set your own level within the zone, but you have to choose: your maximum level or the guarantee level to move the zone to zero? The answer depends on many factors and above all on each driver.
I also think a lot about the audience. In Motocross or Enduro you know who wins because they are first, or in Trial because the scores of the “top” are low and can be controlled, but with the openfree, where a rider finishes with thousands of points, people should dedicate themselves to the show and not to continue in the competition. I don’t have a calculator on the bike, so the results are anyone’s guess until I hand in the card at the finish.
The Controls they also have twice as much work, which causes queues, especially in Motoclubs where a test of these characteristics has not been held. This year there have been a lot of complaints about miscounting the points for the gates. There is a lack of fast and reliable technology applied to this issue, since the traditional method of fast adding is often associated with adding badly.
In short, there are good things and bad things, as in everything. For the lowest level it is very motivating to pass through “doors” of a higher level, or otherwise skip a step if you see it as too complicated. The downside is that none of them are able to calculate their points well in real time, which leaves a bittersweet taste. Young pilots, on the other hand, are lost, because if they take risks to learn, the results don’t come out, and vice versa.
For those just starting out, such a strategic method can be detrimental to them, since with experience you know how to act in atypical situations or when time is running out. In short, if the Trial in itself is complicated, I don’t see the need to tangle it up further with strategy and calculations.”
David Darnés
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