It's Here - Superstock category on the Board!

For everything Superstock related.
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Pete
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It's Here - Superstock category on the Board!

Post by Pete »

Yes! Top marks for spotting that within about 30 seconds of Martin creating it for us on the MMA Board!

Yes, here is a good location for all your Superstock needs!

We can add to this main heading in terms of sub-sections according to popularity and level of demand within the club.

Enjoy!!


:read2: :read2: :read2: :read2: :thumbright: :thumbright: :thumbright: :thumbright:
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

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MilesnMiles
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Post by MilesnMiles »

Nice idea, Pete. Any chance of just outlining the regs for bracket racing for newbies? Ie howzit work?
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Pete
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Post by Pete »

Ok, here goes, I will try to break this down into manageable bits:

Superstock racing centres around the principle of “Bracket Racing

Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, typically within the three standard distances (1/8 mile, 1,000 foot, or 1/4 mile) of drag racing.

The effect of the bracket racing rules is to place a premium on consistency of performance of the driver and car rather than on raw speed.

This in turn makes victory much less dependent on large amounts of money, and more dependent on mechanical and driving skill, such as reaction times, gear changing / shifting abilities, and ability to control the car.

This format allows for a wide variety of cars of different performance levels to race against each other.

While traditional drag racing separates cars into a wide variety of classes based on power and weight, bracket racing classes can be simpler, and can accommodate any vehicle with basic technical/safety inspection.

The competition is structured around basic qualifying, and then eliminations or "knock-out" rounds recorded on a "Ladder" until the final is reached.

By this method a 32 car field will eventually be reduced to the best two racers - and neither of them could have the fastest and most expensive cars > they have the most consistent cars and are the most consistent drivers!

It's about skill and knowing your car, and not wallet size.


Main components:

Dial-in

Each car chooses a “dial-in” time before the race, predicting the elapsed time the driver estimates it will take their car to cross the finish line. This is usually displayed on one or more windows so the starter can adjust the "christmas tree" starting lights accordingly.

The slower car in the race is given the green light before the faster car by a margin of the difference between their two dial-in times.
In principle, if both drivers have equal reaction times and their cars run exactly their posted dial-ins, both cars should cross the finish line at precisely the same time.
In reality, this is an extremely rare occurrence. Measuring devices both at the start and at the end of the track post times down to 1/100000 of a second (0.00001s precision), which makes tied races almost impossible.

This is what makes it challenging and fun!!


Reaction time

The "reaction time" is merely an indication of how fast a driver reacted compared to when the green light came on.
When a car leaves the starting line (after “Pre-Stage” and “Stage” lights have been set by both cars}, a timer is started for that car.
The difference between when the green light comes on and when the car actually leaves the starting line is called the “reaction time”.

If a driver leaves before the light turns green, he is automatically “red-lighted” and disqualified for that round unless the opponent commits a more serious violation (crossing a track boundary line, timing block, or touching the barrier).

In a drag race event, when the first driver commits a red light foul, the green light automatically turns on for the other driver.
If both drivers leave ahead of the green light, the first to leave is charged with the foul.

In a heads-up situation, the winner by default is the one who performed the lesser error > -0.003 wins over -0.009, for example.



Breaking out

“Breaking out” is when a racer manages to cross the finish line in less time than the one they dialed-in beforehand.

• If only one car "breaks out", it is disqualified and the other one wins by default.

• If both cars break out, the one closer to the dial-in time wins.

• A foul start, crossing the boundary line or wall, or failure to be at post-race inspection override any breaking out violations.


Red Light and other fouls

If a car leaves the starting line before the green light comes on, a foul is recorded (a “red-light” start), and that car is provisionally disqualified.

Only the first car to foul start is shown the red light; an automatic green light is shown in the other lane at the appropriate time.

Another form of foul is to cross the dividing line between the two lanes, or the line at the edge of the racing surface, both of which negates a red light foul.

A foul is worse than a break out; one car can break out but if the other car fouls, the car that breaks out advances to the next round.

If both cars foul, the lesser of the violations is the winner; a break-out is the least serious violation, then a red light, crossing the boundary line at the edge of the surface, crossing the dividing line between the lanes, and then leaving before the tree is started.


I hope that makes sense!
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

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Gas for GOSH
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Post by Gas for GOSH »

Thanks for the detail there Pete. Was there some point about Superstock entrants getting priority over RWYB? And do we know if that is just at Shakey, the Pod or elsewhere??

Is there anything more stringent required in terms of scrutinising or cost of entering?

Just trying to of questions and info people might want to know.
"Now some guys they just give up living - start dieing little by little, piece by piece. Some guys come home from work and wash up, then go racing in the streets...." Bruce Springsteen
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