Gravitywerx Raingutter Grande Event
I suspect that the reason that the Sizzlers Fat Track has
ridges going lengthwise down the lanes is to help keep the
cars going straight and not spinning out too much. I wonder
if there would be a way for you to glue down some fishing
line to give little ridges.
Here's an old pic where you can see the vertical lines
running down the track.
Sideways is not the fastest way to get down this track. I'm surprised that they were not passed by a better tracking car. I'd rather they went straighter but have no plans for any ridges anytime soon. Most of the tracking issues are caused by the flaws in the track surface and bumping other cars. Also the first turn is most unfriendly to a car that wants to go straight. I might consider ridges at the beginning of the backstretch coming out of it. I also need to adjust the deflector at the finish line that is supposed to prevent cars getting passed in the finish line chicane. George
Starting lineup for Round 3 A race: listed by Raingutter event car # (and original start position), description, round 1 and 2 results, and point deficit from first place: Pole # 13 Racing Champions Buick, 5,6,-8. 2) #7 Matchbox Pontiac Firebird 4,7,-8. 3)#12 R/C Buick 1,10,-7. 4)#5 HW '40 Ford sedan, 1,8,-5. 5)#10 First generation R/C Pontiac 2,5,-4. 6) #8 HW Mercedes 3,4,-4. 7) #9 R/C Pontiac 7,1,-4. 8)#20 HW '55 Chevy 4,2,-3. 9)#14 HW Ultrahot Lambourgini 2,3,-2. 10) #17 HW Corvair 3,1 points leader. I'll probably just do a 5 round series. I think I can get plenty of good video in 3 more races, if I can get some help. George
Red Ultrahots win round 3 A and B race: I drug the facility over to the opening of my cluttered garage and rigged a pulley to lift the gate in order to get some backstretch video from above. Some of the laps didn't capture due to battery issues. The silver Corvair tore through the pack and was leading at the halfway point. It lead for 3 laps before crashing and landing just out of view of the camera that was sitting in the turn 3 infield. The red Lambourgini led the remaining 3 laps for the win. It holds the point lead with the #10 R/C Pontiac, one of 3 in this event in second. The Corvair is 3rd.
The B race was won by an emaculate Ferrari Testarosa that I bought at a yard sale the day before with 6 other cars for $1.The race took 13 laps due to a see-saw battle with another R/C Pontiac. (2 consequetive laps must be lead to win). The Ferrari replaced a struggling cereal box car. The Pontiac replaced the FTE Mustang. The Ferrari will move to the round 4 A race.
3 hotshoes and one new kid vie for Raingutter crown: It took a few rounds to become apparent, but it looks like the 5-round Raingutter Grande Event has come down to a battle between 3 A race regulars and a recent move-up from B class. The red Lambourgini has a 2-point lead over the R/C Pontiac which has a 3-point lead over the Corvair. In 6th place, 10 points out of 1st place, is the replacement Ferrari Testarosa. We shall see how it does in the A race. A replacement car has never won a Gravitywerx championship, but this time the original cars are old and this one is new (appearing). Every position gained on a car ahead of it in points is worth a point, so it has 2 races to gain 5 positions on the leader. Not very likely in most forms of racing, but in Gravitywerx, the chances of a late-race crash by a leader is high. Unless a car can get a 12-point lead by the next-to-last race, it usually comes down to the last lap of the final round. George
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvWRKD5JLkE. Finally a repeat winner in round 4: As a Gravitywerx series winds down to the last few races, it gets harder for the rear-starting points leaders to move up; That's because the best cars are all in the A race (points don't lie). The points-leading Lambourgini finally worked it's way up to 5th, where it finished. The 3rd place Corvair crashed repeatedly and finished 9th. The 2nd place Pontiac was in the lead by lap 6 and led for 4 laps but was passed on the 10th lap by one of the R/C Buicks, the one that won the round 1 B race. The Buick led the required back-up lap for the win, and the Pontiac dropped to 4th. The old Ford finished 2nd. The yard sale Ferrari crashed early and struggled, being in 10th by lap 5, but recovered for 3rd. The Lambourgini now has a 1 point lead over the Pontiac.
The B race was dominated by a pair of identical green Camaros, one which came from the yard sale a week ago. The original one led laps 3-5 and the new one led laps 6-10. They finished 1-2. The new one will move to the A race for the final round. Lots of Chevy's in the B race: 2 Camaros, 1 Chevelle, 1 '55 Hardtop, and 1 Monte Carlo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0vDBL8mapU. Quarter-speed footage from round 4 showing start order, halfway order and all ten cars in finish chicane after lap 9. The #12 car would pass the #10 on the next lap for the lead necessitating an overtime lap in which the #12 clinched the victory. I'll probably use this speed for any future youtube videos. It's the speed I wish they went! George
Raingutter Finale a 2-car showdown: I ran the numbers on a hypothetical situation where all the cars for the final A race finish in the order that they started (possible, but not likely). The 2 front-runners, the Ultra-Hot Lambourgini and the R/C Pontiac, would still retain a 1-point lead over the nearest competitor. That doesn't guarantee that one of them will be the champion. If the 3rd place R/C Buick wins and the 2 front-runners get held up, or any one of a number of things happen, the whole thing could be an upset. But I think that it's basicly between these 2 cars. The Lambourgini must pass the Pontiac to claim the crown because the Pontiac has the tie-breaker advantage of 1 more A race than the Lambourgini. I don't see that happening. There is no "alpha" car in Gravitywerx. At least not in this bunch. It usually just comes down to who can stay somewhere near the front and be there on the 10th lap.
I bought a couple cars at Kmart that will be used as replacements in the final B race. They seem alot better than the FTE Mustang and Acura NSX that bombed out earlier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDXxreK2pSs. Racing Champions cars finish 1-2 in race and points: After slinging some Christmas lights over and through Gravitywerx International, the round 5 finale of the Raingutter Grande Event got underway. I tried to keep the video on the Lambourgini/Pontiac battle but it was a little dark. It didn't take long to notice that the points-leading Lambourgini was struggling; By the 6th lap it was still in last place. The R/C Pontiac, meanwhile, was sitting in 3rd by lap 8. But there was a massive pileup on the next lap which ended up about a foot and a half from the finish line. Don't know where it originated. The Pontiac was involved, as was the Ferrari, the old Ford, and the Mercedes. The Lambourgini escaped, but not as well as #19 Camaro, having moved up from the B race, and the R/C Buick, last weeks winner. The Camaro led 6 laps, the old Ford one, and the Ferrari two. But exactly like last week, the Buick passed for the lead on lap ten, necessitating another lap which the Buick took for the win and the championship. Another R/C Buick (not in points hunt) finished 2nd. The Pontiac finished 6th, and the Lammy 9th.
The somewhat inconsequensial B race was dominated by one of the new cars I bought last weekend. It lost part of it's body on the 1st lap but led laps 1-9 but was passed on lap 10 by the Matchbox Firebird which led the overtime lap for the win. The other new car finished last.
The purpose of the concave-shaped start grid is to align (through gravity) all the cars and not have to be concerned about lining cars up perfectly straight. A similarly shaped section guides the cars into the first turn single-file because there was too much carnage without it. As far as the cars in the back not having much of a chance, in Round 1 the 10th starter was in first place by lap 4. Also, the fastest cars (based on points totals) are in the back. It is called an "inverted" starting grid (versus "heads up"). I saw it used on a real track when I lived in Texas. A lot of sheet metal was damaged but it made for some exciting racing. It is not feasable with most kinds of real racing (too dangerous), but ideal for miniature racing. George