Another weekend of buggy is in the books! This one is a little late because we wanted to bring you all of the qualification details- read on to find out! There was also a unique buggy from Fringe –>
See more in our galleries, we had many alumni out reporting! This is your last full report of the semester, as next week’s will be short as we prepare the members-only Raceday preview.

Fringe’s newest buggy!

• Raceday is approaching and you can tell from the list of teams and buggies out. For the first time this year we have every active org in the rolls report, all 11. Teams are also combining in the rolls order to get everyone practice. On Sunday we saw SDC and PiKA roll together as well as Fringe and SAE. They were very successful, as every buggy that wants to roll on Raceday has at least 1 driver qualified! The teams can spend next weekend focusing on fine-tuning.
  

The other Fringe new buggy

• Weather was a bit of a factor this week. A serious storm rolled through and left debris along the course including a pile of mud and rocks in the chute. The sweepers were very busy, and even so it was difficult to clear the course. We also heard reports of gravel making its way into buggies. It was also chilly and most of the teams decided to stage down near the bottom of Hill 1 to do full pushes.

Banta continues to roll!

• This weekend also saw fast buggies, tight lines, and a few incidents. Read on for all the details! We had a few pusher falls and a good bit of fishtailing from the forward trikes as they added speed. Our intrepid BAA reporters were out gathering data, including more freeroll times. Look for those details in our Raceday Preview next week, available to members only! Renew Here!

Kerosene, the newest Apex buggy, wasn’t out but I wanted to keep the theme here, so this is from last week

• Apex. Apex was rolling 2 buggies on Saturday and just 1 on Sunday. Helios on Sunday started the day turning a tad late for my taste. Sometimes she seems to turn straight for the chute stop sign before she always completes the turn very smoothly. The line was adjusted throughout the day. Their other buggies rolled well on Saturday. Overall they move around the course well and always have a strong contingent out at rolls.

Helios Sunday

• CIA. Starling is in the midst of re-painting after the adjustments we discussed in last week’s report. Roadrunner was her only companion Sunday. On one roll, Roadrunner encountered an issue and needed to be extracted on Hill 4, but was back for the next roll. Saturday CIA had a double stop with Emperor dragging a wheel on the curb when breaking, but she also returned next roll. Emperor on Saturday was looking to be their fastest buggy through the freeroll, and their buggies were maybe slightly slower Sunday. Starling also almost lost a data logger as it detached in the chute and was dragging along by its wire. They continue to have a large presence around the course and look to have one of the deepest teams.

CIA’s deep team catching Goldfinch

• DG. Banta returned Saturday along with Insite. On one roll Insite stopped just past Scaife (just enough to have the following org cleared), causing the CIA stop mentioned earlier. On another roll the Insite Hill 5 pusher just missed the pushbar and took a fall, but they seemed to bounce back fine. Banta is looking closer to a final paint job, we’re excited to see that!

A DG fleet!

• Fringe. Fringe was rolling consistently and sharing their slot with other teams as well, helping SAE get more rolls Sunday. Saturday they had a bit of a scary incident with a biker traveling on the course meeting a bagged Baltic in the chute. They were able to avoid each other thankfully. The biggest news for Fringe was the debut of their second build of the year! This buggy is a real throwback to older designs, look for many pictures in our gallery. On Saturday before rolls started it was jogged down from the monument to get a short roll in. Will Sweeps bring it back for exhibitions? Time will tell!

Fringe Freeroll in Formation

• Robobuggy. Robobuggy brought out one buggy with shell and one buggy sans shell this week. Maybe it was for technical reasons or maybe Short Circuit just wanted to feel the air in its gears a few more times. They had one incident where NAND decided to stop on Hill 2, but otherwise got a few times through all the way around the course.

Robo Transition!

• PiKA. Out on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday they mostly rolled their newer driver, who started with some bags but was moving well without them by the end. On one roll the Hill 3 pusher wasn’t quite in position, so BAA Events Chair and expert rolls watcher James Wong went to save it. Their transition flag has always been different than the others, but recently we’ve see the chute flagger standing in the road on their rolls. They will need to be really careful on Raceday!

PiKA Chute flagging

• SAE. Barbie accumulated many rolls on Sunday including sharing time with Fringe and a pass test. The first time they passed Blackbird too early, but the second time around they passed Bermuda and it counted! Given the limited number of rolls they have had this year the buggy is moving well.

Barbie

• SDC. Paranoia was rolling very well this weekend as usual. We also saw Lust and Vice deliver some solid driving at speed in the chute. Vice started the weekend with bags but progressively shed them and got up to speed well. One Hill 5 pusher took a tumble while pushing Vice towards the finish, but seemed to get up OK. (It was something of a theme this week across orgs!) Unfortunately, on the final roll of the day Sunday, Lust had some trouble heading into the chute and spun into the inside bales. It seemed that the bales did their job and the driver emerged OK. After many good lines this weekend we look forward to seeing them back out! Their overall speed puts SDC towards the top of the order without question.

SDC Prep

• SigEp. Barracuda only rolled on Saturday. At one point, a pusher was missing at Hill 3 and BAA Events chair James Wong not only held it, but this time took a turn pushing up the hill. Overall Barracuda continues to move around the course well and we know their pushers can always show up on Raceday!

Cuda turn

• SigNu. By our eyes and watches Jaeger is posting very nice times in the freeroll. Some of our alumni also reported their pushers were looking up to the task as well. Always a wild card so we’ll see how they look in the next two weeks!

Jaeger start

• Spirit. Seraph on Saturday in particular rolled very well, and they had all four buggies rolling both days with some nice rolls. The enthusiasm this team and its pushers brought was very impressive this weekend, and I would look to them if anyone would be able to challenge CIA and SDC for a win this year. (If you want our full predictions and analysis, you’ll need to join the BAA and read our Raceday Preview!)

Zuke’s new blue

• Volunteers. WE NEED YOUR HELP to make Raceday run smoothly and help the students! Sign up to volunteer here!

Only YOU can keep the course clear and make sure timing goes smoothly! (Yes, there will be donuts)