Posted on | by ben

For what has so far been a disappointing start to the year, Pittsburgh finally decided to cooperate and give us our first clear days of rolls.

Despite being incredibly cold, Rolls happened and come Sunday, some teams had already kicked it into high gear. Despite this, both days were a little slow going with some teams going slower than usual, and others having steering difficulties getting through the chute. Overall, everyone was excited to have rolls going again and with only two regular weekends left, teams will need to work hard to make sure everything is in tip-top shape for Raceday.

In Attendance

(The new roll count list hasn’t been posted, so this list might be inaccurate.)

Org Saturday Sunday
Apex Phoenix Phoenix
AEPi Kamikaze
CIA Ascension, Orca Impulse, B1r, Orca, Ascension
Fringe NBXIII, Bissa, Banyan, Bedlam NBXIII (?), Bonsai, Banyan
PiKA RD2013, Chimera RD2013, Chimera
SDC Vice, Bane, Avarice, Malice Vice, Bane, Avarice, Malice, Rage
SigEp PtE, Peregrine, Barracuda Pandora the Explorer, Peregrine, Mamba
SigNu Bungarus Krait Krait
Spirit Kingpin II, Seraph, Haraka, Fuko Kingpin II, Haraka, Fuko
No-Shows ROTC, SAE AEPi, ROTC, SAE

Observations (Saturday Gallery | Sunday Gallery)

  • There were a few orgs out with only one buggy this weekend. Some of them might be bringing out another in the coming weekends, but time is running out if they want to get them Qualified. Apex had Phoenix out both days and was rolling well as the new org on the course. One side of the buggy had tape stripes which I can only guess is for another layer of paint that hasn’t yet gone on. AEPi was in similar shape on Saturday but took Sunday off keeping to their one day a weekend strategy. This time they went for Saturday so they could take a break after a great performance at Greek Sing. SigNu came out with what I think is Bungarus Krait and was rolling very well, though not with the typical speed that we can usually expect from the long-standing org. Word is that they’re planning on fixing up Skua to roll for raceday. I for one hope they can pull it off and I look forward to finding out as we close in on the big day.
  • On the opposite end of the spectrum, a few orgs have started rolling their new buggies for the year and some of them are already looking good. CIA was the first to cape their new buggy, but missed the first day due to a brake issue. They made it out on the second day with Impulse rolling slow and steady and covered in trash bags. After building three reverse trikes in a row, I guess they felt like they had that under control and tried their hand at a forward trike again. Impulse looks like it will roll better than it’s similar predecessor Renaissance, but only time will tell if it will compare to the rest of their fleet. Fringe had NBXIII out on Sunday and by the end of the morning she was off bags and getting pushes. Pike in great form came out with their new buggy for both days. RD2013 had a few issues on Saturday, but rolled smoothly Sunday. Deviating from their norm, the new buggy had some color other than black which made it look a lot like spirit’s new buggy. The new name hasn’t been announced (or I haven’t heard it yet), so I’m calling it Kingpin III since the blue line makes it look like another new buggy on the course. SDC was rolling their new yellow buggy Vice which looks a lot like Addiction. The similarity confused a few of us in the chute giving it the name Addiction 2: The Relapse. Aside from the similar color, Vice seems more like another Malice clone joining Bane from last year. SigEp also came out with their new buggy this weekend dubbed Pandora the Explorer (or so I have heard). The new buggy hit the course looking a lot like something fringe would do wrapped in some kind of bag with beer case fairings over the front wheels. I’m not sure whether the fairings are going to be actual parts of the new buggy, or if this is just a jab at Fringe’s normal reveal traditions, but either way, I’m excited. Spirit successfully finished their new buggy and had Kingpin II out both days. The shape is similar to Haraka, more pointed than Seraph or Fuko, though she has a very sloped windshield instead of their more standard elliptical shape that they use for their other buggies.
  • Both Saturday and Sunday had a series of incidents that brought rolls to a screeching halt. Saturday’s stops were mostly harmless with PiKA’s new buggy stopping just before the chute flag, allowing Chimera to pass slowly by and continue her roll, though she didn’t make it very far in the chute having lost so much speed from the roll. Bissa later seemed to feel overburdened and shed some hatches as she came through the chute losing the fairing cover as she entered, and the main hatch by the end of the chute. Sunday’s stoppages were a little scarier as Seraph spun into the bales on her first roll followed soon after by SDC’s Avarice spinning just before entering the chute after getting passed by Malice. Later in the morning, SDC had a new driver out in Rage who turned too sharp at the chute flag and corrected too late hitting the un-baled inside curb. Fortunately it wasn’t a direct hit, so she glanced off with enough momentum to get into the chute, nearly missing the outer bales. Eventually she straightened out and was almost picked up by the hill 3 pusher before the chute audience stopped her leading to the second SDC extraction of the day. Because of all of the stops both days, some lasting almost 15 minutes, teams only got around the course a few times. Hopefully this won’t prevent teams from getting enough rolls to qualify for raceday.
  • With so few weekends left, some teams decided to start doing pass tests as early as Saturday. I can’t recall all that happened, but I know that SDC was running pass tests and I believe CIA or Fringe was as well. Once the roll count notes get posted, I’ll be able to have a more definitive answer. If we don’t see pass tests every roll next weekend, I will be surprised.
  • There was a clear division in speeds this weekend as some teams stayed safe and calm where others were already balls-to-the-wall fast. SDC and Fringe were the clear outliers followed by CIA and Spirit. SDC and Fringe were no surprise, getting their veteran drivers up to speed in no time while keeping their newer drivers a little slow until they know the course a bit better. Despite a couple issues with Bissa, Fringe was rolling great with Bonsai and NBXII. CIA’s Ascension was rolling as well as she has all year leaving the new buggy in the dust, and Orca struggling to keep up. Clearly the different color wheels are making a difference in their speeds. Spirit was rolling great and managed to keep everything under control (aside from Seraph). Kingpin II as their new buggy is rolling just as well as any of their other buggies, and if you didn’t know it was new, you wouldn’t be able to tell at all. All of these times are speculative since I don’t know anyone that has been recording them. If anyone wants to share some split times, I’m sure that would make everyone here happy.
  • For anyone that was paying attention to the last roll, they would have gotten sight of something uncommon to the course these days: a Wooden buggy. That’s right, CIA this year has TWO new buggies on the course. Impulse which I already mentioned as their new standard trike, and B1r (B-one-r) as a reverse trike more like what they’ve built for the past 3 years. B1r apparently was built by one of their more motivated and extremely excited members who decided to take on the challenge over the long winter break. So instead of being lazy and relaxing before coming back to campus, this new buggy was designed and built in a matter of a few weeks needing only a few finishing touches when she got back to CMU in January. No one really knows how much this buggy will be rolling or if it will make it to raceday at all, but even without a crazy painted buggy like Orca last year, CIA shows that they can continue to keep things classy and fun year in and year out.

Fun Musings

As I mentioned in my last post, I was out in the chute grilling for anyone that came by. While there wasn’t a huge gathering, we managed to make food for all who spent the morning in the chute, as well as some kids that came down from top of the hill including some unsuspecting Fringe haybale movers. For those of you that made it out I hope you had a good time, I hope to do this again in the fall, and maybe (probably) Truck weekend as well. A big thanks to Spirit alum Thomas Felmley for bringing the drinks in the form of tea and hot Cocoa.

I feel like it’s worth saying that SigNu has probably the best looking follow car right now. The bright green mustang is a huge step up from their Uhaul van last year and made heads turn even though Krait wasn’t rolling her normal speedy pace.

In my attempt to webcast every morning of rolls, I got things together for Saturday though with a late start and a low battery phone, I wasn’t able to stream everything. Sunday had a completely different issue and I wasn’t able to connect to the server for live streaming. So instead I recorded to my phone. I haven’t yet been able to upload these videos off my phone, but hopefully I’ll figure that out soon and get those up. For now, here’s the footage from Saturday.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

20 thoughts on “Rolls Report: March 23 & 24 – Spring Start”

  • Connor says:

    Fringe got you. That was just Bonsai in wrapping paper no NBXIII this weekend.
    Also there has been no confirmation either way from Spirit whether “Kingpin 2” is actually a new buggy or just a rebuild of the old Kingpin. They are the same shape so take from that what you will
    Phoenix is misspelled in the chart at the top and Sig Ep only had the new buggy out Sunday.
    Spirit was flying around the course this weekend, watch out for them on raceday this year…

  • Vivek says:

    Minor correction: On Saturday, Fringe had Bissa, Banyan and Bedlam rolling and on Sunday, we had NBXIII, Banyan and Bedlam.
    Connor, I have no idea what you’re on about. Fringe has a long-standing tradition of being very open and honest about which buggies are going around the course on the first weekend of rolls after spring break.

  • Elmo Zoneball says:

    Does anyone know (I can’t find it in the rules) what the minimum number of Free Rolls a driver/buggy must have to qualify for the race, assuming they didn’t roll at all in the Fall?

    • blue says:

      New drivers need 15 total rolls (one of which must be a pass test) to qualify for raceday. 10 of those rolls must be in the buggy being driven on raceday.

      Veteran drivers need 10 total rolls in the buggy they will be driving on raceday (one of which must be a pass test) to qualify for raceday. To be considered a veteran, a driver must have driven in the previous year’s raceday.

      For both old and new drivers: a pass test is needed for every driver-buggy combination that will roll on Raceday.

      Source: the driver rules/guidelines/safety information sheet.

      • blue says:

        and while I’m at it:

        Veteran drivers can carry over 5 of their 10 required rolls from the Fall semester. New drivers can carry over 8 of their 15 required rolls from the Fall.

        Worded the other way (as it is on the actual information sheet), veteran drivers must have at least 5 of their 10 required rolls take place during the Spring semester. New drivers must have at least 7 of their 15 required rolls take place during the Spring.

        That’s how it’s worded on the Drver Safety Information sheet, but in conversation I’ve always heard that new drivers can only carry over 7 rolls from the Fall.

      • Elmo Zoneball says:

        Sam, thanks for the link.

        Does anyone have a feeling for how many orgs are going to be scrambling to make the minimum rolls requirement?

        I fear that few FRs remaining may turn into an “Ethnic Fire Drill” as multiple orgs ALL try to get multiple driver/vehicles qualified in an ever closing window of opportunity. This will be especially true for orgs that haven’t been out either this Spring or last Fall. They all need 10 rolls per buggy/driver (15 if it’s a rookie driver,) and their organizational skills will likely be rusty if they haven’t been out in almost a year. That translates into missed rolling chances.

        Too many eggs in too small a basket, in little words.

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