New Series [Race 1 of 20]

I worked out a new racing season and have just undergone the first race. Here were the rules:

3 minute solo heat
Manual-control racing
Restricted speed set via SCP-1 controller
5 point scoring system

Track: #1 Reverse

I decided that I didn't want to exclude my Carrera cars, so I've worked out two classes: Class A [no mag], Class B [mag]. Each Carrera car has only one magnet in it as opposed to two, both set in the middle position. This automatically separates brands by class, as there is just too much of a speed difference between Carrera and Slot.it to make it competitive straight across the board.
In order to make restricted speed work, I took the first Class A car and ran a few laps, setting the maximum speed to just allow the car to de-slot if I punched it. Once at that maximum power setting, all cars were required to race there. This would help put a limit on the Carrera cars, keeping them somewhat in line with overall lap times, and in theory competitive.
Manual-control was done by running a few laps with each car prior to starting the heat in order to familiarize myself with differences in car setups and responsiveness. Manual control also added the possibility of de-slotting during racing, which doesn't happen in a ghost-mode race.

Here are the results [3 minute heat]:

Order of finish.

Car             Laps      Offs

Alfa #2         61           1   saved itself on curve / nimble / the most pleasurable to drive

GT40 #11     60           1   traction improved with tire sanding / solid and quiet       

GT40 #8       58           3   smooth and fast / responding great to no mag / possibly fastest          

R18 eTron    56            0  not fast, but smooth / engine strength not enough      

Safety Car    50           1   hard braking created driving inconsistencies, slow lap times

First Race Class A Winner: #2 Alfa Romeo 

The Alfa is going to be hard to beat. It got out of the gate fast, and doesn't feel problematic at all in the way of handling with the magnets out. It's quick as can be, and always seems to have that extra bit of oomph when needed. Not only a fast car, but it hasn't even come close to its full potential yet. 

And just as I had suspected, it was much faster than the ghost mode race. It really has a lot to give and rarely comes off. The center of gravity on the Slot.it cars are so low that the cars will frequently save themselves is a tire comes off the track in the corners. That kind of move would send the Carrera cars spinning out. That's a bonus since I run without borders.

First Race Class A 3rd Place: #8 Shell Team Ford GT40

After the last race, I did extensive tuning and tweaking to the Shell #8 GT40. The axle was binding, causing a squeak. I cut a guide groove into each of the axle blocks to help stop the binding, and it did the trick. 

With the mags out, all of the Slot.it cars front wheels hover just over the track. This can only be fixed by replacing the axle blocks with grub screws, which I plan to do on each car. 

The #8 had sanded tires and body and pod float. I didn't add the pod float to the #11 as a team decision. The #8 was also the only car to have the improved axle blocks. While the #8 came off three times, it still was competitive, and likely would have won had it stayed on the track. It still made a respectable showing. All three offs were driver errors, but I wanted to stay true to the objectivity I'm trying to have with every car and not race favorites. 

First Race Class A 2nd Place: #11 Gulf Ford GT40

The #11 Gulf GT40 only got better with the improvements made to it. It hasn't given me any problems since taking it out of the box, and it responds to every tuning move. It's remarkably smooth, and now that the mags are out has an even better acceleration curve. It came off once, but otherwise handled very well. The #8, by comparison, is a bit wilder and more hyper. All three Slot.it cars are very competitive with each other. I suspect there won't be a clear winner, unless it's for reasons of car failure with one of the teams. 

The eTron R18 finished first in the B Class, blowing away the Safety Car by a large margin. I don't think the R18 could have done as well with the magnets out, as it's extremely butt-heavy. It could have used more power, however, since the one magnet held it on the track well enough for it not to be in any danger of de-slotting. Whether or not that still would have been enough to keep up with the Class A cars, I don't know, but I doubt it. The orange end bell motor in Slot.it cars is quite strong and more powerful than the generic Carrera motor. I don't expect the R18 to truly compete against them, but I'm going to try. 

I'm convinced the Safety Car is not running right. It's got such hard braking it almost feels like it's fighting against the motor. Like there's such a hard bind that it's locking up. But there isn't anything that's binding that I'm finding, so it must be the motor. Extraordinarily twitchy. But since I don't want the eTron to run away with the class championship, I'm going to try to get the Safety Car running better.

So, here are the team standings after one race:

Car               Pts           Total

Alfa               5                 5 [leader Class A]

Gulf #11        4                 4 

Shell #8         3                 3 

eTron             2                 2 [leader Class B]

Audi              1                 1

Each car will be checked, tuned and tested between races. Team orders will stand for each car to keep them separate. Team orders for each car are as follows:

Alfa            any setup
Shell #8      grooved axle blocks, pod and body float
Gulf #11     no axle block modification, no pod float, body float only
eTron          any setup
Audi           any setup

I think this racing plan is going to work. By splitting them into two classes, it makes the Carreras matter more, as they are a bigger threat with mags in against a no-mag car. It also makes me want to see if I can tune the Carreras to beat the Class A cars. Gives me something to push for with these cars as opposed to putting them in a drawer somewhere never to race again.
Team orders will work out well, and while there aren't many to start with, it's most there to keep a little separation in the two Fords. Just because I have two similar cars, it doesn't mean I have to tune them that way. In fact, it could be argued that I'd never get them truly even anyway.