Bonus racing this week! After some confusion last week about when the season was over and when we'd get trophies, gift cards, etc., the league director at Autobahn, Jordan, had us come back this week for some free racing. Despite not getting an actual e-mail from Jordan, word got around and everyone made it there. We got two races - one on Monaco and one on Le Mans - as a thank-you for participating in the league this season.
Both tracks are finished with their surface work and the karts are set up with better tires. The results are phenomenal. There's so much grip, and the karts are so neutral. They just turned great at speed and the g-forces shoved you into the seat with each change in direction.
The results weren't for season points, but as far as bragging rights are concerned, here's how we finished:
1. Bob: 23.028 avg
2. Greg: 23.243 (0.215 back from 1st)
3. Peter: 23.338 (0.310 back from 1st)
4. Taylor: 23.340 (0.312)
5. Paul: 23.551 (0.523)
6. Andre: 23.576 (0.547)
7. Joseph: 23.799 (0.771)
Greg finished 2nd! His best finish of the year and earning him the office trophy back from me.
Bob took home the championship trophy for the year, with Taylor and I getting medals. All three of us received gift cards for Autobahn, which is cool. When they announced the final standings, they actually originally had Bob in second and me in first, but it must have been because the league manager forgot to drop the lowest score when doing the calculations. Everyone there knew what the results should be though, so we corrected them. The general consensus was that the league management at Autobahn is sorely lacking.
It sounded like everyone had a ton of fun this season and is looking forward to getting back on track with each other. The group is so closely matched that it makes for a great challenge, and everyone has a really positive attitude. Hopefully we can still get out for some racing even without the scheduled league nights.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Time Trial League Suggestions
It was a fun season in the Autobahn Tuesday Night League, but I have a few suggestions in mind for how to make it even better, should Autobahn decide to do another season:
1. Three heats per night instead of two. We were all so closely matched this year that sometimes it just came down to which kart you were in, and some of the karts were real duds. In order to reduce the effect of the different karts, it would be great to average the best laps over three heats. Plus, if we're going to take the time out to be at the track anyway, why not get out there for three races?
2. Two drops per season instead of one. People are busy. Sometimes you can't make it to every race. Giving two drops would let more people earn full points for the season.
3. More track variety. This season we did Monaco six times and Le Mans twice. Not only should that be better distributed, but if we ran each track in reverse that would add even more options.
4. Ignore non-participants. We had several people only show up for one night all season. Giving those people 3rd-place points for the evening (for example) disrupts the points race for the people who are actually participating in the league. Recommend only giving points each night to the people who end up participating in, say, half of the league nights.
5. Start on time. The league this year was advertised as starting at 6:30, but we frequently weren't on track for the first heat until 7:00 or 7:15. I'm not sure what they'd need to change to get us on track quicker, but that should be a priority. If it means moving the advertised start time for the league earlier or later to fit better into the other track sessions, so be it. Or, maybe they need to give a cutoff time where they won't put any more racers on track so they can prepare for the league.
6. Lower cost. At its core, the league nights are really just arrive-and-drive sessions. We're just racing for fastest lap, just like we would be with arrive-and-drive. The cost is $35 for two sessions ($17.50/ea) when you can get three sessions for $40 ($13.33/ea) or eight for $100 ($12.50/ea). Granted, they do more to ensure the karts are evenly matched (some nights more successfully than others). And, if we could do tracks in reverse then that's something they won't just do for arrive-and-driver racers. Also, the league has the advantage of actually getting fast people out to the track to race together. But, we're paying a big premium for all these league advantages.
7. Online Standings. Part of the fun of being in a league is seeing where you rank in the overall standings throughout the season. Autobahn doesn't post the standings anywhere, so the racers are left to tally points themselves and hope they match Autobahn's records. The standings for the leagues should be posted somewhere online for everyone to see each week.
As far as altering the way points are done, if we had used suggestions #2 and #4 above this season, these would have been the standings going into the last week of the season:
Bob: 498
Peter: 498
Taylor: 492
Paul: 492
Greg: 484
Andre: 482
So many positions up for grabs! With the way Week 8 played out, we would have finished with:
Bob: 597
Peter: 596
Paul: 592
Taylor: 589
Greg: 580
Andre: 577
The only difference in finishing order from the actual results is Peter jumping up to 2nd since he wouldn't have lost out by missing two weeks. Still, going into the last week with the standings so close would have been awesome.
Of course, even with all these suggestions and all the fun I had this season, I'm not totally sure I'm up for another 8 weeks of Autobahn evenings. It's such a big time commitment, especially with a toddler at home. I could see doing more arrive-and-drive racing every two or three weeks, with the odd Monday night race-for-position league night mixed in. But, we'll see what info we get about the next seasons for the leagues and go from there.
1. Three heats per night instead of two. We were all so closely matched this year that sometimes it just came down to which kart you were in, and some of the karts were real duds. In order to reduce the effect of the different karts, it would be great to average the best laps over three heats. Plus, if we're going to take the time out to be at the track anyway, why not get out there for three races?
2. Two drops per season instead of one. People are busy. Sometimes you can't make it to every race. Giving two drops would let more people earn full points for the season.
3. More track variety. This season we did Monaco six times and Le Mans twice. Not only should that be better distributed, but if we ran each track in reverse that would add even more options.
4. Ignore non-participants. We had several people only show up for one night all season. Giving those people 3rd-place points for the evening (for example) disrupts the points race for the people who are actually participating in the league. Recommend only giving points each night to the people who end up participating in, say, half of the league nights.
5. Start on time. The league this year was advertised as starting at 6:30, but we frequently weren't on track for the first heat until 7:00 or 7:15. I'm not sure what they'd need to change to get us on track quicker, but that should be a priority. If it means moving the advertised start time for the league earlier or later to fit better into the other track sessions, so be it. Or, maybe they need to give a cutoff time where they won't put any more racers on track so they can prepare for the league.
6. Lower cost. At its core, the league nights are really just arrive-and-drive sessions. We're just racing for fastest lap, just like we would be with arrive-and-drive. The cost is $35 for two sessions ($17.50/ea) when you can get three sessions for $40 ($13.33/ea) or eight for $100 ($12.50/ea). Granted, they do more to ensure the karts are evenly matched (some nights more successfully than others). And, if we could do tracks in reverse then that's something they won't just do for arrive-and-driver racers. Also, the league has the advantage of actually getting fast people out to the track to race together. But, we're paying a big premium for all these league advantages.
7. Online Standings. Part of the fun of being in a league is seeing where you rank in the overall standings throughout the season. Autobahn doesn't post the standings anywhere, so the racers are left to tally points themselves and hope they match Autobahn's records. The standings for the leagues should be posted somewhere online for everyone to see each week.
As far as altering the way points are done, if we had used suggestions #2 and #4 above this season, these would have been the standings going into the last week of the season:
Bob: 498
Peter: 498
Taylor: 492
Paul: 492
Greg: 484
Andre: 482
So many positions up for grabs! With the way Week 8 played out, we would have finished with:
Bob: 597
Peter: 596
Paul: 592
Taylor: 589
Greg: 580
Andre: 577
The only difference in finishing order from the actual results is Peter jumping up to 2nd since he wouldn't have lost out by missing two weeks. Still, going into the last week with the standings so close would have been awesome.
Of course, even with all these suggestions and all the fun I had this season, I'm not totally sure I'm up for another 8 weeks of Autobahn evenings. It's such a big time commitment, especially with a toddler at home. I could see doing more arrive-and-drive racing every two or three weeks, with the odd Monday night race-for-position league night mixed in. But, we'll see what info we get about the next seasons for the leagues and go from there.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Tuesday Night League - Week 8
For the final night of the Tuesday Night League, we raced on Le Mans for only the second time all season. Between all the work they did on the track surface last week and the new tire setup, the karts were unbelievably understeery. There was absolutely no way to get the kart rotated without using the brakes. The result was a point-and-shoot style of driving that required you to pitch your kart into each corner, getting all of your turning done before you could even think about getting on the gas. On the bright side, the karts seemed to have plenty of power all the way through each session.
Going into tonight, I had just a 1-point lead over Taylor for 2nd place in the league. Taylor made it tough by posting the fastest time in the 2nd heat, but luckily my 1st-heat lap, the fastest of the night, was enough to give me the overall win for the night and 2nd place overall for the season. I was very excited to get a win tonight, especially on a track where I did so poorly in Week 4. Great way to finish off the season!
The final league standings after all 8 weeks:
1. Bob: 693 points
2. Paul: 685
3. Taylor: 681
4: Greg: 669
5. Peter: 593
6. Andre: 574
7. Juli: 189
8. Melissa: 188
9. Corey: 100
10T: Kevin: 99
10T: Mark: 99
10T: Adam: 99
10T: Lloyd: 99
14: Joseph: 97
15: Tim: 96
16: Owen: 93
I had a ton of fun with the league. It was a great group of guys and it was awesome being out on track competing with such a fast crowd.
In the next few days, I'll post my suggestions for changes I think could make for an even better time-trial league. Stay tuned!
Going into tonight, I had just a 1-point lead over Taylor for 2nd place in the league. Taylor made it tough by posting the fastest time in the 2nd heat, but luckily my 1st-heat lap, the fastest of the night, was enough to give me the overall win for the night and 2nd place overall for the season. I was very excited to get a win tonight, especially on a track where I did so poorly in Week 4. Great way to finish off the season!
The final league standings after all 8 weeks:
1. Bob: 693 points
2. Paul: 685
3. Taylor: 681
4: Greg: 669
5. Peter: 593
6. Andre: 574
7. Juli: 189
8. Melissa: 188
9. Corey: 100
10T: Kevin: 99
10T: Mark: 99
10T: Adam: 99
10T: Lloyd: 99
14: Joseph: 97
15: Tim: 96
16: Owen: 93
I had a ton of fun with the league. It was a great group of guys and it was awesome being out on track competing with such a fast crowd.
In the next few days, I'll post my suggestions for changes I think could make for an even better time-trial league. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Tuesday Night League - Week 7
Fun week this week. Taylor and I traded fast laps with the awesome #11 kart. He was a little bit faster with it, and a lot faster in the other kart, so he earned top spot overall and I got 2nd place (my best showing!).
No Peter this week, so Taylor and I jumped up to the 2nd and 3rd in the overall standings. Looking like Bob is a lock for first place, but the race for 2nd is now down to just one point with one week left!
Standings after 7 weeks:
Bob: 594
Paul: 585
Taylor: 584
Greg: 573
Peter: 495
Andre: 479
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Tuesday Night League - Week 6
Another fun night at the track. Kart was kind of a dud the first heat, but I had the fastest lap in the 2nd heat! My first fastest lap of a heat this season.
Peter won for the 2nd week in a row and is now just one point behind Bob for the championship. My lead over 4th is now down to two points. Pressure's on!
Standings after 6 weeks:
Bob: 496
Peter: 495
Paul: 486
Taylor: 484
Greg: 476
Andre: 383
Peter won for the 2nd week in a row and is now just one point behind Bob for the championship. My lead over 4th is now down to two points. Pressure's on!
Standings after 6 weeks:
Bob: 496
Peter: 495
Paul: 486
Taylor: 484
Greg: 476
Andre: 383
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