There were only 5 orgs out on sunday for the 1.5 hours of rolls and it was one of the smoothest yet. Teams that came out were generally the most skeleton crews that have ever seen the course, but they were all very efficient and organized. The cones were back out on the course flagging those awful potholes. Despite Lars being the only regular sweepstakes person there, a few pass tests happened on the frigid Sunday morning and we also got to see our first new buggy of the year!
It was so cold that morning that my phone died midway not leaving any chance for me to even think about the livestream. Hopefully in the last few weeks we have left I’ll be able to get one going as well as charge up the GoPros for some Freeroll timing.
In Attendance
| Org | Saturday |
|---|---|
| AEPi | |
| Apex | “Arson?”,Phoenix |
| CIA | Impulse |
| Fringe | Beacon, Bissa |
| PiKA | |
| NROTC | |
| SAE | |
| SDC | Vice, Bane, Malice, Psychosis |
| SigEp | |
| SigNu | |
| Spirit | Kingpin II, Zuke |
Observations (Sunday Gallery)
Apex – Starting off big, Apex got out the first new buggy of the season and joined the ranks of the multi-buggy orgs. In normal fashion, they revealed the wrapped buggy for the first roll in… bubble wrap. Not very effective at guarding any secrets, but that’s not really what they’re going for are they. They managed several rolls around the course, switching to rolling a single buggy after the first couple cycles. Their new buggy (Arson if I have heard correctly) is being driven by Palak Pujara and has a very low front, low enough that they bottom out in a couple places around the course. Later in the morning, she ran into an issue coming up hill 3 and had to be carried off the course instead of finishing her roll. Veronica Jamie-Lara had a pretty uneventful morning in Phoenix. Aside from losing her rear hatch on the first roll, she only had to deal with a stray Pitt runner who didn’t look as he jumped into the chute just as she was rounding the corner. Luckily he was shooed off just seconds before she would have taken him out and no one got hurt.
CIA – Only out with Amy Hung in Impulse, CIA was surprisingly the only team out with just one buggy, and not even enough manpower to warrant a tent. Having not come out for the first weekend and with no other buggy for the team, Amy racked up several rolls Sunday morning making her CIA’s most qualified driver so far this season. Her rolls were a bit slow, even for the cold morning, so there might be something that needs a little checking as we close in on the big day. CIA also participated in the flagger sharing program that happened Sunday morning where it looked like everyone but SDC was sharing a single flagger.
Fringe – Finally making it back to the course as well, Fringe one-upped CIA by bringing out not one, but two buggies to their first rolls. Madison Scott nabbed the first rolls after spring break in Beacon and switched off rolls with Angela Lo in Bissa, who may have gotten a little cold waiting on hill 1 and got a blanket to help warm up. It was another smooth morning for the org as the only incidence that I found was a popped hatch on Beacon in the chute forcing Madison to brake at the end of the haybales and unload off the course. Nothing too serious, but for all of their hatch issues, Fringe might want to figure out what’s going on with their attachments.
SDC – The only org to make it look like any other day, SDC was out in surprising force with 4 buggies. For their very first roll, Rachel Chow in Malice cleanly passed Vivian Wong in Psychosis right around the first bend. In their second roll I believe it was Jing Xiao in Vice who passed Vivian, leaving Rachel to lead the pack and start working up her speed. SDC almost managed to leave the morning unscathed, but on what ended up being the last roll of the day, Callista Gonzalez in Bane took the chute line just a bit too wide and nestled into the outer bales. Callista seemed fine and was extracted on the sidewalk unable to finish her roll while EMS sat in their shiny new, over-heated van.
Spirit – Staging far away from everyone on a skeleton day can be tricky as Spirit discovered early in the morning. Communication issues brought them up the hill and started lining up as CIA brought their buggy for their first roll. Aside from that Feyi Quadri in Kingpin II and Vanessa Kalu in Zuke were Close all morning. I couldn’t quite tell if they were trying to do pass tests, but they twice were neck and neck coming into the chute, passing one and other on the back hills. Neither made it very far into the chute giving the hill 3 pusher something to gripe about. There was never any contact though and the trailing buggy always kept a good distance when steering around showing some great control albeit in slow motion.
As we get closer to Raceday, the @cmubuggy twitter is getting more and more activity. So if you have a twitter and want up to the second news from rolls and don’t want to wait for these reports, follow us. Also a reminder, tweet @cmubuggy with #buggyrolls if you see something interesting at rolls that you want reported on!
Connor Hayes says:
New buggy bottomed out on a pothole on hill 3 that is normally under a parked car and will never get filled. Luckily no damage but the roads still haven’t been properly repaired. These roads are getting close to unrollable and I really hope something is done soon
Ryan says:
Seems the normally lively comment section is also running a skeleton crew.
Gabe says:
This is a 2014 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor:
http://cdnedge.vinsolutions.com/AP/StockPhotoThumb.ashx?D=0&F=USC30FOS361A01302.JPG
This is the brand of vehicle that we (EMS) have.
Terms that could be used to describe this vehicle: Car, SUV, Quick Response Vehicle, Emergency Vehicle.
Terms that could not be used to describe this vehicle: Autobot, Decepticon, Buggy, Skateboard, Bicycle, Motorcycle, Aircraft Carrier, Amphibious Assault vehicle, Helicopter, Plane, Humanoid Robot, Jaeger, Hot Air Balloon, Autogyro, Kite.
A reasonable person would pick from the first list.
An unreasonable person would pick from the second.
But what does Ben call it? A van.
ITS NOT A VAN.
Ryan says:
Ambulance Driver
bordick says:
a Bus?
felmley says:
A boo-boo bus
hvincent says:
why don’t you guys have an EMS motorcycle yet?
DAConley says:
I call it my daily project…I’m with Ford and spend the bulk of my time on the Police Utility program. The real question is which engine does it have? The 3.7L is totally capable, but we just released the 3.5L EcoBoost version which s pure fun, especially with the Police running gear, on a closed track….wait a minute, maybe we should use those for lead and follow cars! Shall I talk to my product marketing team?
If Sowers is reading this, will there be a Durango that it can compete with this year?