First Rolls this year almost didn’t happen. Saturday couldn’t go since sweepstakes was unable to secure the permit. Sunday started out a bit wet with a light drizzle, but after a couple false starts, rolls got underway. For the first day of rolls and crappy conditions, Sweepstakes did a great job as no one crashed or spun out. This could be because it was the first day and everyone was taking it easy, but requiring bags on every buggy every roll certainly didn’t hurt.

I  was actually unable to attend rolls this Sunday, so in my stead, former safety chair Jake Reid took the notes that I will be sharing in this report. If anyone else has notes they would like to add, or pictures to upload, please send us an email at news@cmubuggy.org and upload your pictures to the gallery! This post may get updated as more notes reach me.

UPDATE: I’ve gotten some additional notes from former Apex Chairman Connor Hayes which have been added to the observations section.

There will be no rolls next weekend (even though it’s Ceilidh) because of the Great Race on Saturday. Instead, come check out Tom Wood’s “Evolution of Buggy” presentation that will be happening on Saturday at 2-3 in the UC, Peter/Wright/McKenna room and root on those Tartans!

In Attendance  (Red indicates failed drops)

Observations (Sunday Gallery)

• Turnout was surprisingly good given that it was the first day of rolls and more than a little wet. Fringe, CIA,  SDC, Spirit, Apex, SigEp, and AEPi all showed their faces to start off the year. PiKA apparently had their tent out, but only as a reminder that they are still a team, not as an actual staging area as none of them showed up.
•  Typical for a first morning of the year, teams were cautious and laid back, with lazy hill 2 pushoffs and multi-bagged pushbars. Many Xootrs seen on the course by teams who didn’t want to break out the fast wheels for drivers who are learning the ropes or shaking off the rust. The morning proceeded safely without a stop or crash, despite the five-month layoff, the influx of new talent to the teams, and the wet pavement.
• A few minor safety issues were handled without incident by the new Sweepstakes committee.  SDC struggled at drops in the rain and had to scratch 2 of their 4 buggies and Spirit had minor issues with their windshield fit.
• Though Sweepstakes mandated bagged pushbars all day due to the wet weather, a few teams were able to get up some speed on their buggies. I wasn’t down in the chute, but I have been told that Fringe’s Beacon managed to get a good rollout despite the wet conditions.

Additions from Connor:

• Lots of new Drivers were out on the course, at least for the independents. Two each for SDC, CIA, Fringe, and Spirit, and one for Apex who had to split time in their only buggy.
• Apex showed growing pains  expected with a new leadership group failing reverse drops twice and rolling once without bags even though there was a mandate for bags all day.  They seemed to figure it out as the day went on shown by their speed and ability to get a second driver rolling successfully with one bag that became twisted on the downhill providing minimal drag.  Their hatch was spotted bouncing in the chute potentially caused by what seemed to be a worsened road.
• Fringe looked to be making a statement with their first day.  Showing up with the largest group we’ve seen from them in a while they were clearly the speed champions of the day out rolling every team by 3-4 windows.  It may be early but they seem motivated to put last years disaster behind them.
• CIA came out and rolled 3 buggies.  With their A team driver on co-op this year, Ascension had a new driver for the first time in its history.  They took it slow on all of their buggies with everything looking smooth.  Their social chair brought rolls to rolls in typical CIA goofing fashion.
• SIG Ep was rolling smooth with two buggies.  Mambas driver has moved over to barracuda.  No sign of Kraken but it should be coming out sometime in the fall.
• Spirit was large and loud on this morning.  Starting and ending the morning with motivational cheering and speeches they were smooth and confident.  You have to imagine good things from this team in 2013-2014
• AEPi was out with the largest group I’ve seen from them.  This is great as rumors were going around that the lack of house support was going to end the program.  Instead they are discussing finally getting project Mexican thunder started by Jake Reid out by spring.
• SDC for all of their early issues, with every buggy failing drops first time around and some twice, they stayed totally poised.  This is another team with all new leadership as two year head mechanic mike Darcy has stepped down and Melisa yepes their head driver is now ass chair of sweeps.  Their pushers looked fast, probably the fastest group out this morning.  We know the speed will come up in the buggies so they’re still looking like the team to beat.

Rumor Mill

It’s early in the season, but it’s never too early for some rumors. Here are a few to get us started:

• SigNu is supposedly repairing the severely-damaged Skua, which hasn’t seen the course in two years after a nasty crash in Panther Hollow. This may be partially intended to train their mechanics for an upcoming build
• ROTC hasn’t been seen at capes, but has expressed interest in making it out to fall rolls. It is unclear whether this would be in last year’s buggy Patriot (formerly SigEp’s Shrek) or something else. Patriot had some nasty mechanical issues on raceday and likely needs some serious TLC.
• Fringe may be working on a build that would see the course in the fall, something that hasn’t happened in quite a while.
• PiKA’s last two builds have been scary-fast and the whispers indicate some teams may have plans to experiment with the tiny wheels that have been so good for them.
• SDC may or may not have wrenches.

LiveStreaming

This did’t happen since we weren’t organized and didn’t think about it. BUT, I do plan to continue this when I’m back at Rolls. I’ve also been working on a small side Project that I think could be pretty cool. If you have interest in helping me develop a video rolls report, shoot me an email at news!