With less than 3 weeks to go until Raceday, teams were full steam ahead this weekend trying to get everything up to speed. This meant that, for the first time all year, every single team was on the course on Sunday. Of course, 2 days would have been even better, but the Pittsburgh weather gods decided that’s not allowed this Spring, and brought rain on Saturday morning. Sunday was clear and nice…except that the temperature was in the mid-20s. But that didn’t scare off the 12 orgs and 24 drivers from getting in as many rolls as they could on Sunday. And for the most part, things went pretty smoothly.

The warmest person on the Buggy course

• What Happened To Spring? Where did Spring go? A week after weather reaching the mid-50s, the bottom dropped out of the thermometer on Sunday. Temperatures in the mid-20s kept everyone on the course pretty cold. And the buggies weren’t much warmer. Robobuggy even reported that their wheels were rolling at -1° Celsius. But even if the temperature was cold enough to move early morning Chairman’s Meetings (and Flagger/Barricader meetings) inside, they weren’t enough to stop every team from putting in a solid effort to get as many rolls, and passes, in as possible.

It was so cold, Sweepstakes had to resort to running to keep warm

• A Better Roadway. Last week, we noted a patch covering Lane 1 that was the subject of a bit of a sinkhole effect. Well, this week we’re happy to report that, at least based on appearance, the road has been fixed. Sweepstakes will still have to test and make sure that the new patch doesn’t negatively affect any buggies (they may already know), but it looks pretty likely that Lane 1 will be back in action for Raceday.

No buses were harmed in the making of this Rolls Report

• Speeds and Times, Part 1. We had not 1, but 2 sets of alumni out this weekend to collect data. Alumnus Ben Brown was out on Sunday with his speed trap just below the crosswalk. Unfortunately, the results ran into a bit of a hiccup – the lack of WiFi at the Crosswalk. Without an internet connection, the speed trap was unable to push the speeds into the Google Sheet that it was tied to, so we sadly don’t have any specific data to report. But we do have some general notes from Ben – “The highest speed seen was 35.9 ft/sec (24.5 mph), while weaker push-offs produced ~32 ft/sec (22 mph). A drop from the top of Hill 2 typically produced 20-22 ft/sec (14-15 mph).”

Alumnus Ben Brown set up his Speed Trap at the top of the Freeroll on Sunday…if only CMU WiFi were good enough to cover the course.

• Speeds and Times, Part 2. The speed trap wasn’t the only setup on the course on Sunday. The BAA was also out, with a few volunteers (which we’re very grateful for!), to test its new timing system before Truck Weekend. The good news is that this test was a success, and the data is available at the bottom of this Rolls Report. The bad news is that we were short on volunteers, so we only captured the first trip through the roll order. But it’s still something, and we expect to have much more data come Truck Weekend…if we can get enough volunteers. If you’ll be in Pittsburgh for Truck Weekend and are willing to help (it literally just requires you to stand at one of several transition points and press a button on your phone), please let us know!

If you’re reading this on mobile, then you looking at your screen is the image of what it looked like when our timers were out there timing.

• AEPi. My org is back! For the first time since 2019, AEPi is back on the Buggy course! They’ve been working hard all year to get Kamikaze back into rolling condition, and after passing capes last week, they were finally ready to go. They began Sunday with their new driver riding in the follow car, watching other drivers and getting a feel for the course. Unfortunately, their attempt to get their first roll in hit a bit of a hiccup. The buggy started rolling fine, but came to a stop around the Stop Sign. It’s unclear if this was due to the driver hitting the brakes, or if the combination of drop + bags + 14 year old buggy that hasn’t rolled in 5 years meant that it didn’t have the speed to keep going. But it’s encouraging that they were out this weekend, and they’ve still got 2 more weeks to get everything moving for Raceday.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Kamikaze – Unfortunately, since Kamikaze didn’t complete a roll on Sunday, rookie driver Catherine still needs the full 15 rolls to qualify. But not to worry – there’s still 2 weekends to go before Raceday, and teams have gotten more rolls in less time in the past, so it’s still possible.

Welcome back AEPi! (P.S. – Let me know if you guys need anything)

• Apex. On an overall clean and efficient day of rolls, Apex provided some of the lone “drama” in their first roll of the day. Apex had Firefly set to pass Solaris on their roll, and the pass was successful and uneventful, with the pass being completed before the Transition Flag. However, as Firefly approached the Chute flag, it became apparent that something had happened on Hill 3 with SDC (more on that below), and Firefly was given the Stop Flag. The driver successfully braked, which caused the reverse trike buggy to do a 180. The buggy came to a stop in the middle of the Chute turn without hitting anything, and both buggy and driver were fine – but as Firefly only needed the pass test to qualify and the pass was completed, Apex decided to let Firefly and driver Brooklyn stay warm for the rest of the day, and focused on getting pass tests in for Solaris and Scorch, which were also completed.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Firefly – With a completed pass on Sunday (even though the roll itself didn’t count towards the required number of rolls), Veteran driver Brooklyn is now qualified in Firefly for Raceday!
    • Scorch – Rookie driver Bella got 2 more rolls in Scorch on Sunday, including a successful pass test with Solaris. That leaves the Bella-Scorch combo just 1 roll away from qualifying for Raceday.
    • Solaris – Veteran driver Maggie successfully passed Scorch while in Solaris on Sunday, while also being the target of both Firefly and Scorch for their pass tests. The pass test was successful, and with those 3 rolls, Maggie is also officially qualified in Solaris for Raceday!
    • Phoenix – Phoenix wasn’t out on Sunday, which leaves veteran driver Mia with 5 rolls to go (including a pass test) in order to qualify in Phoenix.
    • Molotov – Veteran driver Mia also spent some of the Fall in Molotov, but we haven’t seen the buggy out this Spring. If it does return, Mia will need 5 rolls (including a pass test) in the 2020 build.

Firefly had already passed Solaris by this point, so the full roll wasn’t needed.

• CIA. After taking it a bit slower to start the Spring, CIA was out in full force on Sunday, with all 5 of their buggies going down the course, 4 times each. And the consensus among course watchers was that CIA was consistently one of the fastest teams rolling, which lines up with our timing data below, where Kingfisher had the fastest freeroll of the first trip through the roll order. This is unsurprising though, as CIA was testing their wheel heating for Kingfisher. Overall, the rolls went well on Sunday – the only slight hiccup came during an attempted pass test for Roadrunner, which tried to pass Emperor. Unfortunately for CIA, Emperor’s bags were defeated by the cold/wind/Wile E. Coyote, and fell off, leaving Emperor too fast for Roadrunner to catch. It was no-harm-no-foul though, and Roadrunner completed the pass test on the next roll, with Emperor already having successfully passed Equinox earlier in the day. New buggy Goldfinch, meanwhile, continues to roll in poorly-attached trash bags that continue to confound curious alumni who are trying to interpret the buggy’s dimensions.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Kingfisher – With 4 rolls on Sunday and the pass test completed last week, Veteran driver Audrey is officially qualified in Kingfisher!
    • Emperor – Rookie driver Kaylan picked up a successful pass on the first roll of the day, and then added a few more rolls on the day, bringing their total number of Spring rolls in Emperor to 5. This leaves Kaylan just 2 rolls away from qualifying in Emperor. Meanwhile, veteran driver Lucy has been focusing on Goldfinch, but with 5 rolls on the first day of the Spring and 12 in the Fall, Lucy needs just a pass test in Emperor in order for CIA to have 2 different drivers qualified in the buggy.
    • Goldfinch – Veteran driver Lucy got 4 more rolls in the 2024 build, bringing the total to 6. This leaves Lucy just 4 rolls, including a pass test, away from being the first 2024 build to qualify for Raceday 2024.
    • Equinox – Veteran driver Jazz was in a buggy for the first time this Spring, but with the full 5 carrying over from the Fall and 4 more added on Sunday, Jazz is just a pass test away from qualifying in Equinox.
    • Roadrunner – Rookie driver Amber took 2 tries to get a pass test in, but the second try was successful. With those 2 rolls, plus 2 more on the day and the Fall carryover of 8, Amber is up to 11 in total and needs just 4 rolls to qualify.

CIA’s full fleet was out on Sunday, but what’s the deal with Goldfinch? Does it have wings?

Emperor lost a bag, so Roadrunner couldn’t quite catch it during a pass test

• DG. DG has been absolutely killing it on the course this year, and Sunday was no exception. With only one buggy, DG can’t pass themselves, so this weekend they teamed up with SigEp to get pass tests both Insite and Hydra (more on Hydra below). DG’s pass attempt was successful, and they continued on for the rest of the day, getting 5 total rolls in. And in their timed roll for the day (the first roll), they put up the 3rd fastest Freeroll and 3rd fastest Backhills of the day. We’ve been hearing great things about the enthusiasm from DG, and the consensus from those watching on Sunday is that DG was in the top 4 of speed, even more impressive coming from a 2003 Fringe build that deviated from the Fringe norm.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Insite – With 5 rolls, including a successful pass test, Veteran driver Ines is officially qualified in Insite, leaving DG as the first org to officially qualify all of their buggies and drivers. Congrats DG!

DG got some extra practice in by being the Pass Test Dummy for SigEp.

• Fringe. Fringe continued their professional operation on Sunday, with Burnout, Baltic, and Brimstone each getting multiple rolls in. Unfortunately, Brimstone twice failed to gain the speed necessary to pass the bagged Baltic, so those two efforts only count toward the roll count and still leave the pass test to be accomplished next week. The most notable moment during Fringe’s rolls actually came courtesy of another org, SigEp. In an effort to get some extra rolls in, Fringe let SigEp roll Hydra with them during one of their rolls. However, Burnout was traveling a bit faster than Hydra, and managed to catch up to Hydra as the buggies entered the Chute. This was an unplanned pass, and Burnout’s driver did an excellent job of keeping control of the buggy and making sure that both buggies made it through the Chute cleanly. Otherwise, things went smoothly, if not quite as fast as some of the others on the course on Sunday.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Baltic – After last week’s successful pass test, rookie driver Abbey only needed 2 more rolls to qualify, and those rolls came on Sunday, so Abbey is officially qualified in Baltic!
    • Burnout – Rookie driver Winona picked up the 3 remaining rolls that were needed for qualification in Burnout, and now sits just a pass test away from being qualified for Raceday.
    • Brimstone – Veteran driver Kyrsten was behind the wheels of Brimstone this week, picking up 4 needed rolls in the buggy. Unfortunately that included two failed pass test attempts, but with the 4 rolls Kyrsten now needs just a pass test to qualify for Raceday. Meanwhile, rookie driver Arini had the day off from driving on Sunday, which keeps Arini 2 rolls (including a pass test) away from qualifying in Brimstone.
    • Blueshift – Blueshift wasn’t out on Sunday, so rookie driver Freda still needs just a pass test to qualify in Blueshift.
    • NB2024 – Much like rookie driver Arini, NB2024 also had the day off, so Fringe still needs another 7 rolls in their 2024 build for Arini to qualify here.
    • Bumper – Bumper hasn’t hit the course yet in 2023-2024, so rookie driver Abbey still needs a full 10 rolls in Bumper if Fringe is planning on bringing it out. But since Abbey is already qualified in Baltic, our guess is that Bumper is staying in the Froom for this Raceday.

Things got a little close for comfort during one roll between Burnout and SigEp’s Hydra, but Burnout’s driver did a great job adjusting and avoiding problems.

Timing a pass is much trickier than most people think, and Brimstone was the unlucky buggy caught in a mistime on Sunday.

• PiKA. Some good news for PiKA – We’ve heard reports that Banshee might not be as damaged as some believed after its crash last week, and that it has already been repaired. But despite that, PiKA was out with just Raptor today. Even with Raptor and bags though, PiKA was reportedly putting up some decently quick rolls, and they got a solid set of 4 rolls in. PiKA has been juggling 5 different drivers across their 2-3 buggies, so it remains to be seen how the assignments will shake out, but for Sunday it was a solid day of rolls.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Banshee – With Banshee on the shelf this week, rookie driver Su Mae had the weekend off, leaving her with 5 rolls (including a pass test) to go in order to qualify in Banshee.
    • Raptor – Rookie driver Kaylie was the one out in Raptor today, picking up those 4 needed rolls. With those 4 and the 8 carried over from the Fall, Kaylie needs just 3 rolls (including a pass test) to qualify. Rookie driver Vi hasn’t been out yet this Spring, but with the max carryover from the fall only needs the 7 remaining rolls to qualify. Rookie driver Cat, meanwhile, has 5 rolls from the fall, so Cat will need 10 in Raptor to qualify. Rookie driver Su Mae, who picked up a couple of rolls in Raptor earlier in the semester, will need 8 rolls (including a pass test) to qualify in Raptor.
    • Cleona – Cleona still hasn’t been seen on the course this year, so if PiKA is planning on bringing it out, any driver will need 10 rolls to qualify in Cleo.

Raptor getting some solid work in on Sunday.

• Robobuggy. Robobuggy was out on Sunday with both Short Circuit and NAND, as the team continued working on robot-on-robot passes as well as its autonomous driver. Short Circuit began the day with a remote controlled roll, but due to transmitter sensitivity and teams still on their course walks as the buggy traveled down the course, the buggy’s line was a bit all over the place. On the second roll, NAND and Short Circuit were each pushed around the entire course, which went well except at the Stop Sign, when Short Circuit decided to swerve into the curb when it got too close to NAND. The third roll was the best of the bunch, as Short Circuit was shoved off of Hill 2 and let its autonomous driver take over, completing the course with no human intervention (although the line was still a bit wobbly). The team continues to collect data and refine their algorithms, and we’re exciting to see what happens on Raceday.

Robobuggy, in a stunning lack of compassion for their drivers, refused to give their drivers any blankets, jackets, covers, or warmth of any kind. If the robots come for us, you know why.

• SAE. The other big news of the week – SAE is officially back! At the end of the Fall semester, CMU announced that SAE would be permitted to resume its existence on campus and participation in campus activities, and two weeks ago it was confirmed that the organization briefly known as Frontier would be relinquishing its buggy and team members back to SAE. And boy were they back this week. They had not 1, but two drivers out for Barbie. And in order to try and get as many rolls in as possible, they partnered with SigNu to double-up in the roll order. This resulted in a full 7 rolls for Barbie, split between their two drivers, and they went bagless the entire day. Not only that, but their timed roll just barely missed the top 5 fastest freerolls of the day (based on the rolls that were timed). So with the issues of last year behind them (or at least at a point where they can start moving forward), we’re excited to see what they can do in these last few weeks.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Barbie – Both veteran driver Carleigh and rookie driver Bee were out this weekend. Carleigh got 4 rolls in, which combined with 4 more in the Fall, leaves Carleigh with just 2 rolls (including a pass test) needed in order to qualify. For Bee, who got 3 rolls in on Sunday, the lift is a little higher as they’ll need 11 more rolls (including a pass test) to qualify. But SAE has qualified with more rolls needed in less time in the past, and if this weekend was any indication, they’re figuring out ways to get those necessary rolls in.

What was I made for?

• SDC. SDC was the source of some serious intrigue this weekend. Multiple of our spies spectators report that before the first roll of the day (which started with Spirit), and while the sun hadn’t quite risen yet, SDC snuck a roll around the course – and that the buggy rolling was their new buggy, Lust, with a hand on the pushbar the entire way around the course. But Lust didn’t make it on the roll count sheet this week and doesn’t appear to have been out on Sunday, so we’ll chalk it up to a mirage (no, not that Mirage). Bane and Vice were out on the course though, with Vice getting its pass test completed. And SDC was reportedly one of the fastest teams on the day, both passing the eye test and with Vice’s pass test attempt having the second fastest Freeroll time that we clocked on Sunday. Bane had a rough first roll of the day though. After being successfully passed by Vice, something happened on Hill 3 that caused Bane to stop. We don’t know what exactly, but whatever happened led to Bane being pulled off to the sidewalk and the buggy being unloaded. This meant that the follow car stayed behind to deal with Bane. Unfortunately, since this was well onto Hill 3, W3VC had already cleared the next team, Apex, so Apex was on their way down the hill before anyone realized that they wouldn’t be able to get up the backhills. Apex’s flaggers were paying attention though and threw stop flags, with both drivers coming to a safe stop. Bane would go on to get a couple more rolls in, so whatever caused the stoppage on Hill 3 didn’t seem to affect anything too significantly.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Vice – With a pass test and 4 total rolls on the day, rookie driver Elizabeth is now officially qualified in Vice!
    • Bane – Rookie driver Ezrin added 3 rolls to the ledger on Sunday, and with Bane first appearing in the Spring, the total number of rolls is up to 5. That means Ezrin needs 5 more rolls (including a pass test) to qualify in Bane.
    • Inferno – Inferno wasn’t out this weekend. Rookie driver Elizabeth drove Inferno once last weekend though, and now that she’s qualified in Vice, SDC can decide whether to keep her there or try and get the 9 remaining rolls (including a pass test) that she would need in Inferno.
    • Avarice – After last week’s minor incident, Avarice wasn’t out on the course this week (though we understand the buggy is fine). Rookie driver Sabikun got her first roll last weekend, so she’ll still need 14 rolls (including a pass test) to qualify, but she’s not alone in that number so it’s definitely still possible. Meanwhile, rookie driver Elizabeth has the full carryover from the Fall, but will still need 5 rolls this Spring to qualify in Avarice – it doesn’t seem necessary though, since she is already qualified in Vice.
    • Vanity – We still haven’t seen Vanity this Spring, and with rookie driver Ezrin being the only driver with rolls from the Fall but focusing on Bane here in the Spring, it seems like Vanity might be a backup plan. But Ezrin would only need 5 rolls in the Spring (including a pass test) to qualify in Vanity.
    • Lust – Much like Bigfoot, there’s no evidence that Lust has been on the course yet, except for some unconfirmed sightings. So Lust will still need a full 10 rolls to qualify, and depending on who drives the buggy, it might need as many as 15.

When you’re running a pass test, you can never have too many bags

Vice had one of the fastest freerolls of the day

• SigEp. SigEp brought Hydra out this weekend and confirmed their place on Raceday by getting in their needed pass test, along with a few other rolls. SigEp got creative on Sunday to get rolls in, teaming up with DG to conduct pass tests for both Hydra and Insite, both of which were successful. Later in the day, they also teamed up with Fringe to let Fringe get some additional rolls in. On that roll, Hydra wasn’t rolling quite as fast as Burnout, and there was a near pass in the Chute (see Fringe above). But other than that, Hydra was consistent and solid on the day, though not quite as fast as the top tier of teams. There’s still a couple of weeks to ramp that up though.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Hydra – With a pass test completed and 4 total rolls on the day, rookie driver Mia is officially qualified in Hydra! Meanwhile, veteran driver Lizzie needs just 4 rolls (including a pass test) in order to also qualify in Hydra.
    • Kraken – Kraken wasn’t out on Sunday, so rookie driver Lucy still needs 7 rolls (including a pass test) in order to qualify.

Hydra cruises into the Chute

• SigNu. For the first time this school year, SigNu was out on Sunday with both of their buggies as they work to get both buggies and drivers qualified for Raceday. To do that, they teamed up with SAE to roll during both turns in the roll order. This was successful for SigNu as well, as they got 5 rolls in for Jaeger and 4 for Krait. SigNu did give up one of the most notable moments of the day though. During one of their rolls, Krait (edit: photo evidence shows that it was Jaeger) lost its back hatch just before the Stop Sign. As one observer reported, “I could see the driver’s feet from the back of the buggy”. Jaeger made it through the Chute and the rest of the roll fine though, and the back hatch was returned to the team.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Jaeger – Rookie driver Lian added 5 rolls to their total on Sunday, to bring their Spring total to 7. When added to 7 from the Fall, Lian needs just a pass test in order to qualify in Jaeger.
    • Krait – Rookie driver Alyssa got 4 rolls on Sunday, bringing their Spring total to 6. Krait wasn’t out in the fall though, so Alyssa will need 9 more rolls (including a pass test) to qualify for Raceday.

Jaeger sheds some weight as it approaches the Stop Sign

Just a quick reminder to double check that all your bolts are tightened before you roll

• Spirit. Last but never least, Spirit was out with 3 of their buggies and 4 of their drivers on Sunday. They continue to be a well-oiled machine as they haven’t missed a day of Rolls this entire year, and their results are showing. Our observers report that Spirit have been showing Top 3 speeds overall and that they’re right with CIA in terms of consistently fast rolls. The timing data backs this up, with Kingpin’s second roll clocking our 5th fastest freeroll time of the day, and both Kingpin and Seraph putting up faster total times in their first roll (we don’t have Freeroll times for those rolls). Spirit was also super efficient, getting 3 pass tests completed and being the first org of the year to qualify three different buggy-driver combos.
  • Qualification Update:
    • Seraph – Veteran driver Natalie was the first to complete a pass test on the day, and with that, she qualified in Seraph for Raceday. With that qualification out of the way, rookie driver Emily took over driving duties for Seraph and got 2 more rolls in, bringing her total to 4. Emily will need 11 more rolls in Seraph to qualify.
    • Mapambazuko – Rookie driver Nanz was the second to complete a pass test for Spirit, and with 4 total rolls on the day, Nanz is not only qualified in Zuke, but also leads all drivers with 14 Spring rolls.
    • Kingpin – Rookie driver Ivania was the third and final driver to complete a pass test for Spirit on Sunday, and with the additional 4 rolls, Ivania is now qualified in Kingpin.
    • Inviscid – Inviscid took the morning off, but with veteran driver Melina aboard, Spirit only needs to get 2 more rolls (including a pass test) to add a D team to Raceday 2024.

Spirit, getting ready for their annual repainting, has kindly labeled their buggies for us.

Oh no, they labeled the OTHER side!