Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 51: The '52 Corso di Fruinia - A Retrospective
Now that one of the most intriguing forum challenges - the 1952 Corso Di Fruinia - has finally ended, I would like to reflect on this simulated open-road race featuring cars made in Automation whose trim years were set to 1952 or earlier. I'll start with the entry requirements first. Specifically, all of the cars which were entered were required to have a full working set of headlights, taillights and indicators. There were also five categories based on engine size: <800 cc, 800-1399 cc, 1400-2199 cc, 2200-3299 cc, and >3299 cc.
Any manufacturer could enter a car in at least one of these categories - or all five of them if they wanted to. However, a navigator was optional for each entry, although entries with one would take half as long to repair than those without, which could theoretically compensate for the extra weight of the second seat required. Finally, the points system would take into account the vehicle's price and the time it set during each stage - as such, there would not only be a prize for the fastest overall time, but for the most cost-effective car in the field, to avoid overuse of positive quality on the components' respective sliders.
After some hesitation, I chose to enter the rally with just one car - the 1952 Hanson Halberd Mk1, whose 3.25-liter straight-six engine placed it in the 2200-3299 cc category. This was a mildly modified road car, not a dedicated race car, but getting it set up properly for the rally was a challenge; for example, radial tires were not available in 1952, and so every entrant, myself included, had to use narrow cross-ply tires instead. To compensate, I set up its suspension to be as conducive to aggressive driving as the technology and rules of the era would allow.
Driven by the two Vincent brothers, Joshua and Kevin, the deep red Halberd bore the number 326 for this rally. Despite strong opposition from within and outside its class, I had high hopes for it, especially since the rally only consisted of three stages in all. But would I achieve the levels of success I was expecting? The only way to find out was to wait for the results of each stage.
At first, there was very little to indicate I was giving the leaders any reason to be worried about my pace, but I didn't encounter too much trouble either apart from minor engine issues, presumably stemming from the carburetors. Eventually the problem was fixed and the Halberd picked up the pace on the twisty roads feeding into some long straights near the end of the first stage, after which it lay 7th and 6th in the time and points standings, respectively, for its class.
The second stage, however, was where I encountered the greatest difficulties, for it was here that I came closest to dropping out of the rally altogether. Initially, things were going to plan, but the Halberd then entered a hairpin too fast and rolled over as its crew tried to avoid driving off a cliff to their doom. Thankfully, it suffered minimal damage and soon continued on its way. The rest of the stage, however, was uneventful, and the Vincents easily made up time on the fully paved road sections near the end of the stage.
Coming into the third and final stage, the #326 Halberd had dropped to 12th and 8th in class with regards to time and points, respectively, leaving the Vincents with a mountain to climb. Much to my relief, however, they did just that during the last stage: after fending off some stiff competition early on, they upped their pace and eventually won the stage, both in terms of points and total time. Thus, after over 12 hours of simulated racing on a mixture of paved and unpaved roads, the Halberd finished fifth in the class points standings - a great result considering that it had survived a rollover early in the second stage. It also finished 25th of 108 entrants in the overall points standings, and recorded the 19th fastest time of all the cars - well behind the leaders, but still better than my initial expectations.
So, overall, I consider my endeavor in this simulated road race to have been a success. It wasn't entirely plain sailing, as the rollover on the second stage proved, but it was still highly enjoyable. And what about the future? A new competition similar to this has just been announced, but I have yet to confirm as to whether or not I will actually enter it. What is certain is that the new rule set, despite being more restrictive than the previous one, is still very open to interpretation - so stay tuned while I ponder how, if ever, I will approach this latest challenge.
Any manufacturer could enter a car in at least one of these categories - or all five of them if they wanted to. However, a navigator was optional for each entry, although entries with one would take half as long to repair than those without, which could theoretically compensate for the extra weight of the second seat required. Finally, the points system would take into account the vehicle's price and the time it set during each stage - as such, there would not only be a prize for the fastest overall time, but for the most cost-effective car in the field, to avoid overuse of positive quality on the components' respective sliders.
After some hesitation, I chose to enter the rally with just one car - the 1952 Hanson Halberd Mk1, whose 3.25-liter straight-six engine placed it in the 2200-3299 cc category. This was a mildly modified road car, not a dedicated race car, but getting it set up properly for the rally was a challenge; for example, radial tires were not available in 1952, and so every entrant, myself included, had to use narrow cross-ply tires instead. To compensate, I set up its suspension to be as conducive to aggressive driving as the technology and rules of the era would allow.
This '52 Halberd may not look very different from a standard customer car, but it goes as fast as its sleek looks suggest.
Driven by the two Vincent brothers, Joshua and Kevin, the deep red Halberd bore the number 326 for this rally. Despite strong opposition from within and outside its class, I had high hopes for it, especially since the rally only consisted of three stages in all. But would I achieve the levels of success I was expecting? The only way to find out was to wait for the results of each stage.
At first, there was very little to indicate I was giving the leaders any reason to be worried about my pace, but I didn't encounter too much trouble either apart from minor engine issues, presumably stemming from the carburetors. Eventually the problem was fixed and the Halberd picked up the pace on the twisty roads feeding into some long straights near the end of the first stage, after which it lay 7th and 6th in the time and points standings, respectively, for its class.
An average start for #326 gave no indication as to what would happen to it in the next stage.
The second stage, however, was where I encountered the greatest difficulties, for it was here that I came closest to dropping out of the rally altogether. Initially, things were going to plan, but the Halberd then entered a hairpin too fast and rolled over as its crew tried to avoid driving off a cliff to their doom. Thankfully, it suffered minimal damage and soon continued on its way. The rest of the stage, however, was uneventful, and the Vincents easily made up time on the fully paved road sections near the end of the stage.
Despite a nasty-looking rollover, #326 managed to finish the second stage intact and under its own power. But can it move further up the order?
Coming into the third and final stage, the #326 Halberd had dropped to 12th and 8th in class with regards to time and points, respectively, leaving the Vincents with a mountain to climb. Much to my relief, however, they did just that during the last stage: after fending off some stiff competition early on, they upped their pace and eventually won the stage, both in terms of points and total time. Thus, after over 12 hours of simulated racing on a mixture of paved and unpaved roads, the Halberd finished fifth in the class points standings - a great result considering that it had survived a rollover early in the second stage. It also finished 25th of 108 entrants in the overall points standings, and recorded the 19th fastest time of all the cars - well behind the leaders, but still better than my initial expectations.
So, overall, I consider my endeavor in this simulated road race to have been a success. It wasn't entirely plain sailing, as the rollover on the second stage proved, but it was still highly enjoyable. And what about the future? A new competition similar to this has just been announced, but I have yet to confirm as to whether or not I will actually enter it. What is certain is that the new rule set, despite being more restrictive than the previous one, is still very open to interpretation - so stay tuned while I ponder how, if ever, I will approach this latest challenge.
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