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2010 X Games 16: Rally Racing goes off course
I felt the roar and pop of mighty engines, vibrations rising up through the floor and settling deep in the pit of my gut. A great brown cloud rose from the track, specks stinging my eyes as I squinted to see the action, dirt covering my jeans and sweater. I could feel the grit between my teeth, which were exposed in a broad, jubilant grin. I was at X Games 16 and it was awesome.
A dozen yards in front of me, Super Rally competitor Tanner Foust was twisting his cranking his car through a series of victory donuts, celebrating having just won a gold medal. Maybe.
Actually, none of the spectators gathered in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum knew who had won and even the event's announcers were unsure whether to declare frontrunner Foust the winner.
Those at home watching the race on ESPN may have even been more confused. On-air commentators at first suspected the checkered flag had been waved a lap early, prematurely ending the race. ESPN.com chalks up the bewilderment to a technical error: "There was some on-air confusion when the lap count on television didn't match the live race."
[NOTE: A full day later, the ESPN iPhone app was incorrectly reporting that Brian Deegan had finished first, with Foust in third.]
Unfortunately, disarray prevailed over all of Saturday's (July 30) rally events.The motorsport, in which drivers race highly customized cars on combined dirt and paved tracks, combines elements of drifting, offroad racing and street racing in an X-worthy adrenaline-fueled clash. In Rally Car Racing, they compete two at a time -- driving the course in opposite directions -- with the best overall time taking the gold.
Super Rally Racing, making its U.S. debut at XG16, comprises a more conventional race, four cars circling the track for several laps (having to take a jump on the driver's choice of lap) before the finish line.
ESPN, which calls the shots for its X Games property, made two significant changes to Rally Racing that resulted in difficulties and frustration for drivers and fans alike. In previous years, drivers were accompanied by a navigator in the passenger seat, which is the practice in traditional rally races.
Instead, navigators were replaced by ESPN commentators in the cars. This wouldn't have made a difference on a simple track, but the second change was that the course was a preposterous series over overlapping, circuitous turns weaving in and out of the Coliseum.
Drivers and course officials had spent the morning finalizing the route, with hopes of keeping much of the action in the Coliseum for the live audience. This meant that by race time, none had practiced the course.
The drivers' confusion was apparent throughout the elimination heats and finals; many lost their way and were disqualified. The strange course was unusually taxing on the cars, all of which struggled with the tight turns and many inclines. Unfamiliarity also contributed to the day's carnage, as drivers wheeled into barriers or one another.
By the end of Rally Car Racing, only a couple drivers had actually correctly completed the course in their heats. In an anticlimactic finale, Foust won the gold only when his opposition, Brian Deegan, got turned around and lost his way.
Fan disappointment was understandable. It only grew when fan-favorite Travis Pastrana (who had already won Moto X Freestyle gold at XG16) was unable to return to compete in Super Rally due to irreparable -- even after a new engine -- damage to his car.
The X Games are as much about spectacle as competitive sporting event, though, and the drivers were committed to ratcheting up the action for Super Rally. Brushing aside any irritation with the previous event, the competitors took to the high speed, four-car dustup with renewed fervor, smashing and grinding their way to the finals.
Then there we were at the culmination of Super Rally, Foust's car spirographing patterns in the track as onlookers and audiences at home scratched their heads wondering what was happening.
The other drivers joined in, revving their engines, spinning out, whooping and pumping their fists in the air. They leapt out of their cars, joining in a manly group embrace. Foust had won -- or maybe he hadn't. They didn't seem to care.
At the X Games, sometimes it's more about the thrill of being there than who walks away with a medal.
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Photo credits: Getty Images, Eric Almendral
The drivers' confusion was apparent throughout the elimination heats and finals; many lost their way and were disqualified. The strange course was unusually taxing on the cars, all of which struggled with the tight turns and many inclines. Unfamiliarity also contributed to the day's carnage, as drivers wheeled into barriers or one another.
By the end of Rally Car Racing, only a couple drivers had actually correctly completed the course in their heats. In an anticlimactic finale, Foust won the gold only when his opposition, Brian Deegan, got turned around and lost his way.
Fan disappointment was understandable. It only grew when fan-favorite Travis Pastrana (who had already won Moto X Freestyle gold at XG16) was unable to return to compete in Super Rally due to irreparable -- even after a new engine -- damage to his car.
The X Games are as much about spectacle as competitive sporting event, though, and the drivers were committed to ratcheting up the action for Super Rally. Brushing aside any irritation with the previous event, the competitors took to the high speed, four-car dustup with renewed fervor, smashing and grinding their way to the finals.
Then there we were at the culmination of Super Rally, Foust's car spirographing patterns in the track as onlookers and audiences at home scratched their heads wondering what was happening. The other drivers joined in, revving their engines, spinning out, whooping and pumping their fists in the air. They leapt out of their cars, joining in a manly group embrace. Foust had won -- or maybe he hadn't. They didn't seem to care.
At the X Games, sometimes it's more about the thrill of being there than who walks away with a medal.
Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest movies, TV and celeb news.
Photo credits: Getty Images, Eric Almendral
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A well written article; as a European Rallycross fan I was really looking forward to seeing the debut of the sport in the US - "Super Rally" is not the introduction the sport needs to the US TV audience if they want it to succeed.
I agree, Steve. I'm a Rally America enthusiast and was pretty disappointed in ESPN's organization of the whole thing. Selfishly removing co-drivers just so they could stick their own reporters in the passenger seat (which was useless anyway) on top of making the route hard to navigate AND giving the drivers next to no practice time, what a cluster f***. Not to mention running the drivers in pairs for elimination instead of time trials (which I know was done to try to make it more exciting for new fans) made the action difficult for even the camera crews to follow, and was not a legitimate way to determine the best drivers to race in the final heat.
The Super Rally portion was not as much of a disappointment to me, but I agree with the statement that it wasn't the proper introduction for the US t.v. audience since it wasn't at all authentic. Unfortunately I think the standard American necessity for instant gratification is going to slow the progress of Rally being performed the right way in any large format like this.
I agree that the course was a mess, I too was there at XG16 with one of the rally teams. Co-Drivers would have helped tremendously. As far as the tv coverage I was able to watch the coverage thanks to DVR and yes camera angles were horrible and made it so much less dramatic than it was actually being there. With that being said though I think as far as XGames goes we are used to the coverage from the Home Depot center were camera angles covered the best action... I think what we are forgetting is that this is the first year at the LA Coliseum I sure they will learn from their mistakes and know where to have the cameras for next year.
On another note the commentators really need to go or pay attention ... they got so much wrong and when the in car commentators knew what was happening the two guys were talking too much nonsense to realize the girls wanted to speak...