SMRW14 - Initium [EVENT DONE]

Kreator · 26 April 2025 17:48

Ping Jumpscare time!

The results are in! Let’s get to it.

DQs

@AKA_NOBUDDY (both vans)
Reason: Race Parts.

Even though this is a race, the vans cannot use race parts. Both of these vans use Radial Race tires, which are forbidden.

@TimTheChaotic (Hexe Helen 2WD)
Reason: Car was built with an older version of Automation.

This van couldn’t even be opened, so it is out.

@SheikhMansour (both vans)
Reason: Lacking proper race preparation.

As stated in the rules, all racing vans must have:

Single full seat, race interior, +3 quality.
Basic AM radio, +3 quality.
Advanced 80s safety, +3 quality.

Neither of these two vans had the correct race prep done, and making the necessary changes placed both over budget, so they are out.

@Knugcab (both vans)
Reason: Changed suspension type.

Both of Knugcab’s entries were originally on progressive springs. However, they were changed to standard springs for the racing portion, which was forbidden in the rules, so they are out.

@George
Reason: No ad posted.

George never posted an ad, so both of their vans are out.

For those not in the above list, your van has made it! However, some had a few technical issues in the screenings.

Warnings

@Isabella (Hexe Helen 2WD)
Reason: Wrong number.

When reserving the number, Isabella asked for the Hexe Helen to be #17. However, the vehicle I was sent had the number #25. The Helen will still participate, but will have a 20s time penalty on the first race.

@abg7 (both vans)
Reason: No number on rear.

Both of abg7’s vans were missing their numbers on the rear. They will both still participate, but will have a 20s time penalty on the first race.

Based on the stats of the vans, I have split them into two competing classes based on their PI. There will both be an overall and class winner in this competition. The final running order is below:

Pings

@Danicoptero
@Edsel
@oldmanbuick

Knugcab · 26 April 2025 17:50

Ahh, I didn’t think about changing from progressive to standard as a change since that’s still steel springs, I should have thought about that really…

SheikhMansour · 26 April 2025 18:16

I am going to do some lawyering here, but the relevant parts for my DQ were not in the race build rules, but in the budget calculation section.

TimTheChaotic · 26 April 2025 18:18

Welp. I completely spaced the Automation version and making sure it was updated. Overall, I was happy with my build, especially being my first challenge. Looking forward to future challenges tho!

oldmanbuick · 26 April 2025 18:45

What is the “PI” mentioned here. Sorry if I’m missing something obvious.

Kreator · 26 April 2025 20:29

Yeah, the main inspiration behind this rule was making sure someone from hydropneumatic wouldn’t switch to standard and gain a huge budget advantage (which believe it or not, there is a hydropneumatic van in the mix). You can make an argument that a progressive to standard spring change would make sense in the context of this challenge, but the rules do state that it’s banned. Classic “letter vs spirit” of the law case.

Upon further review, that is true, those requirements are not in the rule section, but by not doing them, you may have a budget advantage/disadvantage and your car isn’t as “race ready”. Another “letter vs spirit” of the law case.

Happens to the best of us. Stupid mistakes plague us all.

The PI was a parameter I came up with to measure a car’s performance, used for the competitors to see how fast their car is and for me to quickly judge where they all fall. I did mention it in the main post rules and only used it for placing cars into classes should it be needed.

Knugcab and SheikMansour, I’ll have to think on where your vans stand and if a resubmission of some type is of order since they exist in a not well defined area of the rules.

Kreator · 28 April 2025 23:28

Alright,

@Knugcab , the rules did state a suspension change was banned, so unfortunately, both of your entries remain DQd.

@SheikhMansour , the “race prep” technically wasn’t in the required rules, but I can’t let the cars race as is. Since your cars don’t follow proper race prep, you can resubmit ONE of the two vans within 48 hours WITH the correct race mods done (single seat race interior with basic AM radio, +3 quality, and Advanced 80s safety, +3 quality). It will go back through screening and if it passes, it will join the lineup.

For the rest, I will start prepping the sim and seeing where the vans stack up lap time wise.

Kreator · 2 May 2025 18:13

Here’s the setup for Race 1 of 4 around the Ellisbury GT Circuit. The car’s raw laptimes are displayed before any modifiers are applied. I will run the sim and will share the results over the coming days.

Kreator · 7 May 2025 20:22

Race 1/4 - Ellisbury GT Sprint Race

The inaugural race of SMRW is complete! A full grid of 12 hit the track for the 10 lap (~20 minute) race, and boy was it an eventful one!

Lap 2

Diana Marbella in the 24 tried to pass Rocinate in the 432, but misjudged and slammed into a wall. She was able to keep racing, but lost 3 positions from the maneuver.

Lap 3

James Clerk in the 14 lost control while pressing to catch Gabriel Hall in the 120 and hit the wall, but was able to keep moving. James lost 3 positions from the incident.

Lap 4

Gabriel Hall in the 120 missed his braking point and hit a wall, but was able to get it moving again, only losing one position.
The leader, Walter Forker in the 01, spun out, but only incurred minor damage and kept his position.
Kobi Mahdi in the 45 lost control and spun out, dropping him two positions into 12th. Kobi incurred minor damage.

Lap 6

Pushing her wounded car, Diana Marbella spun out, but saved it from hitting the wall. She lost one position.

Lap 7

Diana Marbella heard a strange noise coming from her car, but pushed onwards.
Rusty Jones in the 8 heard a strange noise coming from their car, but pushed onwards.

Lap 9

Gunning for 5th, Alex Chen in the 17 locked their brakes and hit a wall, but was able to keep going. Alex lost one position.
Kobi Mahdi, eager to make up the lost time, hit a wall and suffered severe damage, but was able to keep going.

Results

After a blistering performance, Walter Forker crossed the line first in his modded ACZ, setting a total race time of 20:53.13. Rocinate in a Spaceline finished in an uneventful second 54 seconds behind Walter, and Gabriel Hall limped their wounded Spaceline to a solid 3rd, 2 seconds behind Rocinate.

Post race penalties of 20 seconds were applied to the 17, 33, and 63 for number violations.

The full results and finish times are below.

Walter Forker examined his car and fixed the minor damage from his spin with zipties.

Rusty Jones investigated the strange noise and found it to be a quick fix after applying copious amounts of duck tape.

Due to having big crashes, Diana Marbella, James Clerk, Gabriel Hall, Alex Chen, and Kobi Mahdi will need to sit out the next race to exact repairs.

Race 2, the Quarter Mile Drag, will be coming soon.

Participant Pings

@oldmanbuick
@Danicoptero
@Edsel
@Isabella
@abg7

Isabella · 7 May 2025 21:15

Typo, unless Alex Chen had her car stolen midway through the race.

Kreator · 7 May 2025 23:28

The thief was so sneaky even the tournament organizers didn’t catch it (now fixed btw).

Kreator · 8 May 2025 19:16

Race 2/4 - Quarter Mile Drag Race

On to round 2, 7 of the 12 cars entered the drag race! The winners were determined by the fastest average times between their 5 runs. Now, onto the results:

Heat 1

Rocinate in the 432 missed a shift but finished the run (the dashcam footage of that heat will NOT be uploaded to the internet).
Rusty Jones in the 8 heard a funny noise coming from the car.

Heat 3

Don Travers in the 33 missed a shift but finished the run, annoyed at the stupid slip up.

Results

Walter Forker (A) put forth the fastest average time of 10.88s. Maxine Caulfield (A) came second with a solid 12.79. Steve Price (B) came third with the fastest B Class time of 13.29. Rocinate (A) in fourth is seething from his missed shift, costing them precious seconds.

Rusty Jones (B) applied more duct tape and fixed their reliability problem.

Filthy and irritated, Diana Marbella (A), James Clerk (A), Gabriel Hall (A), Alex Chen (B), and Kobi Mahdi (B) have fixed their rides and will rejoin for race 3.

The current standings are below.

Walter Forker is leading A Class by 4 points over Rocinate.

Steve Price is leading B class by 4 points over Lamar Kendrick.

Race 3, the Time Attack, will be coming soon.

Participant Pings

@oldmanbuick
@Danicoptero
@Edsel
@Isabella
@abg7

Kreator · 9 May 2025 21:34

Race 3/4 - Time Attack

For round 3, all of the cars entered the time attack! The winners were determined by the lowest standard deviation of their times across their 5 runs. Onto the results:

The Race:

Lap 4

Don Travers heard a funny noise from their car.

Results

Walter Forker (A) put forth the most consistent lap times with a standard deviation of .17 seconds. Rocinate (A) came second with a standard deviation of .22 seconds, and Diana Marbella came third with a standard deviation of .36 seconds.

In fourth overall was Alex Chen (B), leading B Class with a standard deviation of .446 seconds. Right behind Alex was Lamar Kendrick (B) with a score of .449 seconds (very close), and behind Lamar was Kobi Mahdi (B) with a score of .56 seconds.

Don Travers (B) hit their car with a hammer and solved their reliability problem.

All the drivers are anxious for the grueling 1 hour mine endurance race.

The current standings are below.

Walter Forker is leading A Class by 5 points over Rocinate.

Steve Price is leading B class by 3 points over Lamar Kendrick.

Race 4, the Mini Endurance, will be coming soon.

Participant Pings

@oldmanbuick
@Danicoptero
@Edsel
@Isabella
@abg7

Edsel · 9 May 2025 21:46

If I get lucky next round, I could come out of this with the best and worst finish!

Kreator · 10 May 2025 16:13

Race 4/4 - Mini Endurance

For round 4, all of the cars pulled onto the track for the toughest event yet, the mini endurance. This ~1 hour circuit (20 laps) around Ellisbury Grand Prix will push the battered cars and drivers to their limits! Here’s how it panned out:

The Race:

Lap 1

Steve Price (B) misjudged their braking point and collided with Diana Marbella (A), taking both of them out of the race. Both cars were pulled off of the track as their drivers exchanged kind words.

Lap 4

James Clerk (A) heard a funny noise coming from their engine bay, but keeps pressing onwards.

Lap 5

Gabriel Hall (A) lost control and smashed into a wall, but they were able to keep going. Gabriel dropped from second to fourth.

Lap 6

Rusty Jones (B) hears a funny noise from their brakes, but keeps pressing onwards.
Lamar Kendrick (B) spins out, but incurs minor damage.
Don Travers (B) loses control and hits a wall, but is able to keep racing.

Lap 7

Maxine Caulfied (A) lost control and found their way into the infield, but keeps going with minor damage and a position down.

Lap 8

Gabriel Hall (A) pushes their wounded car too hard and hits the wall again. They sit on the crumpled remains of their race car as the tow truck arrives.
Rocinate (A) goes exploring in the infield, but incurs minor damage and keeps going, losing a position to James Clerk (A).

Lap 12

Maxine Caulfield (A) lost control of their car and rolled. Maxine crawls out of the mangled wreck as the tow truck arrives.
Lamar Kendrick (B) spins out, but recovers fast before hitting a wall. Lamar rejoins with minor damage and no lost positions.

Lap 14

Lamar Kendrick (B) spins out again, but incurs minor damage and returns to the race. Lamar hears a new noise from the rear axle, but ignores it.

Lap 16

Don Travers (B) notices the transmission sounds different when shifting, but ignores it.

Lap 17

Lamar Kendrick (B) pits for fuel.

Lap 20

Walter Forker (A) pits for fuel. Upon rejoining, he notices a strange noise from his engine, but ignores it.
Kobi Mahdi (B) pits for fuel.
Rusty Jones (B) loses control and slams into a wall, but is able to continue to the finish line.

Race Results

Walter Forker (A) crossed the line 1st, with a total race time of 58 minutes and 20 seconds. Rocinate (A) came second 15 seconds behind the leader. James Clerk (A) came third 27 seconds behind the leader.

In B class, Alex Chen finished on the lead lap 145 seconds behind the leader. Kobi Mahdi was second in class a lap behind Alex, and Rusty Jones came third in class 18 seconds behind Kobi.

The full race results are below:

Event Results

Well this is awkward.

Walter Forker in the 01 ACZ has performed a full shutout over the weekend, winning every event and taking the title. No one could stand in his way to victory.

I don’t want to win my own challenge, especially when the ACZ was the only AWD van that made it past the rules, so the challenge winners are:

2nd Place Overall

Rocinate! (@Edsel)

This V6 beast came second in 3/4 events, often hot on the heels of Walter. Despite it’s high power, this one was of the more drivable entries, even more so than the AWD ACZ. A very strong showing from the Spaceline.

Edsel will officially “win” the challenge for A Class.

3rd Place Overall

Axel Chen! (@Isabella)

The smallest entry of the lot not only took home the B class trophy, but came 3rd overall in the standings, outscoring 2/3rds of the A Class competition. Perhaps Colin Chapman was right after all.

Isabella will officially “win” the challenge for B Class.

4th Place Overall

Lamar Kendrick (@oldmanbuick) and Maxine Caulfield (@Isabella)!

A two way tie between Lamar Kendrick (B) and Maxine Caulfield (A) round off the “podium” for this event. Lamar finished a point behind class leader Alex, scoring very high in the Time Attack. Maxine, while the slowest in A Class, came second in the Drag Race and came fifth in the Sprint Race.

6th-12th

6th - James Clerk and Rusty Jones.

James was hurt a lot in the time attack and an early reliability problem in the Mini Endurance, not to mention sitting out on the Drag Race.

Rusty was plagued with reliability problems throughout most events, but still finished strong.

8th - Steve Price

This V6 van didn’t have the pace as those in A class. It placed in third in the Drag Race, but that was its best finish.

9th - Diana Marbella and Kobi Mahdi

Diana came in third in the Time Attack, but sitting out for two races hurt her scores.

Kobi started three of four events, but never finished high in any of them.

11th - Don Travers

Don crossed the line in all four events, but was last in two of them and bottom 3 in the other two. Slow and steady doesn’t always win.

12th - Gabriel Hall

One of the fastest vans in testing came stone dead last. Not starting in one event and not finishing another negated its third place in the Sprint Race. A subpar showing in the time attack also hurt its chances.

Raw Data

Here are the full overall standings:

Here are the standings sorted for each class:

Class Podiums

A Class

Walter Forker (@Kreator)
Rocinate (@Edsel)
Maxine Caulfield (@Isabella)

B Class

Alex Chen (@Isabella)
Lamar Kendrick (@oldmanbuick)
Rusty Jones (@oldmanbuick)

Thank you all for participating! This was a massive challenge to do and I was glad to be a part of it! If you’re feeling especially kind, please fill out this survey so I can figure out where to improve on should I do another one of these. (I should’ve probably done a shorter challenge as my first but oh well.)

Thanks for participating!

Organizer's Notes

It pained me to strike off all the other AWD minivans before they even touched the track. I wanted more of them to race, especially since some of them were on par with the ACZ lap time wise, but none of them made it past the production or race car rule screening.

I ran the sim numerous times before it was “locked” for the true race, mostly to crush those pesky bugs, but here’s what I found in some of those early trials:

The ACZ was the fastest by far, if it could stay in control and not break down. It wasn’t always the winner in these “debug runs” I did, and its other A class competition pounced on its mistakes and claimed the win.
Danicoptero’s two entries were a steady 2-3 in most of the debug runs. The Palmera tended to do better than the Spaceline, but both were very strong entries. When the ACZ messed up, they both were right there to take the lead. However, both of these cars had bad luck for the true race.
Edsel’s Spaceline wasn’t too far behind Dani’s entries in the debug runs. It shone in the true race with its much lower crash and reliability probabilities.
My second entry, the Palmera, wasn’t as fast as the top 4, and neither was it as tame. It’s only strong suit was its high reliability, which didn’t help it much in the true event.
Isabella’s two entries were very close in performance. The CBC made it to A Class since it boasted a higher PI and faster lap times. However, the Hexe had strong performances in the debug runs to where it would beat some of the A Class cars, much like it did in the true race.
abg7’s AAA did well in B Class, but it didn’t have the lap times that the Hexe did, so it never had an opportunity to steal points away from it. The Warbler, however, was the second slowest of all the cars. Their only saving grace was their high drivability.
oldmanbuick’s two entries were solid, but weren’t fast enough to take the win. The CBC always seemed to experience reliability problems, but never had anything to take it out of a race. Fun fact, the 87 Flint was the least fuel efficient vehicle in the whole event, scoring less MPG than the 500 HP ACZ.
Edsel’s second entry with the Flint was a decent B class competitor, only really doing bad in the Sprint Race. Its reliability focus seemed to have paid off.

The sim, once debugged, worked well, and its architecture allows for more variables to be added should I do another race in the future, such as [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED].

The PI system could be improved on, but it did its job well.

I also did think of using AI photos for immersion, which went well.

Participant Pings

@Danicoptero
@Isabella
@Edsel
@oldmanbuick
@abg7

Danicoptero · 10 May 2025 16:41

Isabella · 10 May 2025 17:11

Fun challenge! Didn’t expect that good of a result but still I welcome it.
Colin Chapman was and always will be right.

Musicman27 · 12 May 2025 15:14

I’d be willing to join in one of these if they were ever held in Al-Rilma.

Kreator · 12 May 2025 15:59

I have plans for Al Rima once it drops, including another event like this one.