Messages

Thanks Mislav for your congratulations and your consideration about me and my progresses... 
Well, I know very well that my real ranking is not on the podium and my last results at Kalpen depend at least a bit from a not very high intentness from all top drivers... 
Anyway... I'm acclimating to get on Kalpen's podium (particularly the 2nd...) and sure in next race I'll try to climb one more step...   all top drivers permitting, sure.... 

SWR update after final result of CTRACKD (Kalpen). Some highlights:

- Mislav gains 2 positions and now he's 13th very near to CTG;
- Diesel Joe and JTK gains both 1 position;
- Total Points increase for AbuRaf70, Bonzai Joe, Chulk and Mark L. Rivers;
- Total Points decrease for Ayrton, CTG, Dottore, Gutix, Krys TOFF and Renato Biker;
- TOP10 - New entry: no one; Egressed: no one.
- TOP30 - New entry: no one; Egressed: no one.

http://digilander.libero.it/stunts.SDR/ISM/SWR.htm

Congratulations BJ! 
I had tried to improve my time in last days but, at the end of the bridge (20" of race), I had succeeded to improve about 0"10... After the bridge there was only the long (and difficult...) Powergear where I had done my best, and so I've thought that there I can't absolutely improve to catch first time... 
Anyway, another 2nd place makes me really very satisfied! 
Congratulations also to Mislav and Krys TOFF for their very fast times! 

4th update of SWR after final result of ZCT67 (ZAK). Some highlights:

- Ayrton lunges again on CTG, current gap over 1,5 points;
- Total Points increase for AbuRaf70, Ayrton, Bonzai Joe, CTG, Krys TOFF and Renato Biker;
- Total Points decrease for Chulk, Dottore, Gutix and Mark L. Rivers;
- TOP10 - New entry: no one; Egressed: no one.
- TOP30 - New entry: no one; Egressed: no one.

  http://digilander.libero.it/stunts.SDR/ISM/SWR.htm

Third update of SWR after final result of Traverso (WSC).
You can see some highlights and new rank clicking here http://digilander.libero.it/stunts.SDR/ISM/ISM_index.htm

We will finally see if his performances at noRH racing at good old IRC/ISA competitions were really true...

After his 2nd trial at NORH Control, it seems they were really true... 

Second update of SWR after final result of Acrobat (SDR).
You can see some highlights and new rank clicking here http://digilander.libero.it/stunts.SDR/ISM/ISM_index.htm

First update of SWR after final result of Mohacs (USC).
You can see some highlights and new rank clicking here http://digilander.libero.it/stunts.SDR/ISM/ISM_index.htm

Alright, but you don't have to do it for me

Sure, but I consider your thought, as any other thought that I'll know about SWR, important to evaluate if it's better to refine SWR criteria to make it more conformable to demands of Stunts World. And so... really thanks for your very clear and significative thoughts. 

I think to have understood what you say. Your argumentation is valid, I think so really. But I, at the moment, remain in a lightly different position. And, not to confute your reasoning, but only to argue again and to make more clear my thought, I try to explain it.

I think that what really makes a contest more difficult than other one, it's not the number of participants in absolute (in some contests, the number of participants is enlarged by some occasional driver which would occupy the same positions in every contest), and it's not the quality of the tracks (I really think that the level is high everywhere). This is the reason to lead me to say that a race is equal to other one, independently in which contest it's competed.

If to win in some contests is more difficult than other ones, the reason is only that top drivers mostly race in several contests than in others one. And this happens, as I say before, for historicity or other factors, but not for the difficult of the race (as it could be for Tour, Giro or Vuelta respecting single race or tours composed by a small number of stages) and not for other particularities of the contest (as it could be for Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Open U.S. and Open Australia, where players have to win 3 set to get the match, condition which highlights the athletic preparation).

I absolutely don't want to subvert the criterias wherewith every single driver considers more prestigious a contest than other one. The "pioneer contests", which have brought Stunts on the WEB, sure have a particular fascination, and sure nothing and no one can take away it to them! And I really hope that the things remain exactly as they are! 

Anyway, I think that it's not right to attribute more points to a victory in a single race of a specific contest, only because (for historicity or other factors) some occasional drivers mostly take part in it, or because (for the fascinating that some contests rightly have) an high number of top drivers takes part in it. And I think that there's not other technical factors (difficult of the tracks, lenght of the tracks or other ones) which can diversify the race of different contests so to justify a different scoring.

Finally, it's really difficult to choose or to establish which criteria should diversify the points to assign to a contest than to other one. I don't think, by aforesaid reasons, that the number of participants is the criteria. And I don't see, at the moment, other factors which could diversify the scoring of the contest in a rational way, not discriminatory or, anyway, arbitrary...

However, I will think about what you say and I try to refine current Stunts World Ranking criteria so to make it more precise and conformable to demands of Stunts World. 

One detail about establishment of this list : how to compare shortcuts-allowed and shortcuts-free races ? WSC is different from the other competitions due to this specific rule, like ISA/IRC and IMSA Cup were before too.

How will be your ISM tournament ? With or without shorctuts ?
I saw the word "checkpoint", so I think it will be shortcuts-allowed competition with specific checkpoints, like Alain and CTG did before on some tracks of their own competitions (and as I plan to do for special event Paris-Stunts-Dakar as part of forthcoming Stunts Career).

Well, I've carefully thought if WSC results should be included in Stunts World Ranking, and finally I choose to include it.
My thought is that almost all contests have some paricularities which diversify each from other. For example, in Kalpen Contest it's necessary to use Stunts 1.0 and this conditions guide style in some tracts of the tracks. In SDR, shortcuts are allowed, but drivers must pass through specific checkpoints (this rule has been introducted since 23th April 2006 as you can see in Old News to avoid that bugs could allow to finish a race without cover a large part of the track; in 2006 this was happened in "Choices", SDR, and in "Gyula", USC). Other competitions have sometimes special rules (I think to Goiania, USC, and its Knight Rider in December 2005). WSC rules say that almost one wheel must be over or on the track and tricks and shortcuts are not allowed. Sure these are very particular rules that have an higher impact on guide style than other contests, and sure driving with these rules necessitates more engagement. But these rules substantially don't alter the value of the single drivers, as current classification of WSC shows.
Anyway, in ISM 2007 there will be probably three races where shortcuts will be allowed. Three (short) races in 40 days maybe could be too many applying, even only to one of them, WSC rules. Moreover I never managed races with WSC rules and I'm not sure to manage very well. 

It looks like a great idea, and very thought through, but I don't get the rules at all. It will be a nice list to see who races a lot and in every competition, but the list won't show anything about who is the best driver.

Example: if you race only in USC and Zakstunts, but you end up 4th on average, you will be ranked equally with someone who races all competitions, but generally finishes about 15th on average. Are these two pipsqueaks equally good?

Secondly, it will be a great idea to race small competitions if you want to be on top of this list. It's not easy to get into the top-10 in a competition like Zakstunts, while other competitions hardly have 10 pipsqueaks, so you can just send a 10-minute replay and get a lot of SWR points.

This is why in tennis, you get more points for winning the Wimbledon than a random Challenger tournament, and why in cycling, you get more points for winning the Tour de France than for winning "Danmark Rundt", our local bike race.

Ideating Stunts World Ranking, I haven't wanted to create a classification that indicates who is the best driver in absolute. I don't think that it's possible to establish who really is the best driver in absolute. Stunts World Ranking only wants to rewards who, in current year, has glittered mostly for the good results and for the engagement showed in his participations to the official races. I think that summing 1) average race points (recalculated with a standard scoring) and 2) calculated coefficient (about rate of official races competed) we can obtain the right compromise to highlight this criteria.
Who participates to few races could get an high average race points, but he has dedicated all his time race to a restricted number of race (and this is valid for a top driver too). Who participates to many races could get more points, but dividing his time and energies for many competitions he could easily get an average race points more low. Anyway, I think that a driver with an average race points lightly inferior than other one, should be reward mostly if he has raced a more higher number of races, because it's reasonable to think that he has dedicated averagely less time than other driver for every single race.
And this concept makes difficult to compare Stunts Ranking with Tennis Ranking or Cycling Ranking. Because the tournaments or the races are not competed contemporaeausly.

I think that Stunts is a solar system where every planet, every contest, is populated and has a dignity not inferior than other ones, independently from the number of the habitants. Some contests are sure more prestigious and more frequented than other ones from historicity and other factors. But all the contests have specific rules, all the contests are administrated by these rule and all the contest are test-stand very hard for everyone try to win a single race. For example, WSC and SDR are the contests with lower number of participants. But if a top driver decides to compete in a single race of them, he know that it will be hard get the victory. Personally, I think that, independently from how a contest is prestigious, every single victory o placement in active contests, deserves the same appreciation.

Anyway, the idea is great, and with some alterations to the rules, we can have a really good ranking list shortly thanks to you.

I really will consider with great attention any thought about Stunts World Ranking Criteria. 

[Stunts World Ranking]

Hi all,

I'm glad to announce the creation of a new Stunts World Ranking based on the results of all active competition:

ZAK
USC
Kalpen
WSC
SDR

I'm glad to announce too the International Stunts Master 2007 a special Stunts event, planned for January 2007, which will see engaged the first 10 drivers of Stunts World Ranking at the end of 2006.

For all the informations check digilander.libero.it\stunts.SDR

Good racing to all!

If Mislav's replay is so dazzling, I'm really impatient to see it! 
Meanwhile, my first replay is not very bad too, at least for the time... 

Jaguar, mmmmmmmmmm.... fine choice! 

Yes. Fast cars are much better for NoRH than slow ones. Jaguar is a nice choice!

Well... I think it will be an engaging challenge... 
You can read a short description of next race in SRD News page... 

Finally I solved it! The problem was that it didn't accept three buttons in the same time - dunno why, it's also true in the gameplay. I changed it in the keymapper to a simple F5 and now it works.

I'm very happy to know this news! 
Well, I wait you in next SDR NORH contest which will start next Tuesday 1st Aug.
You're "lucky": designated car is Jaguar XJR9...