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Regulations and Conditions
Updated 6/22/04
1) INTRODUCTION - A cash prize shall be offered by the
.deciMach Prize committe for the first human powered vehicle to reach or exceed 75 miles
per hour under the conditions described by the committee. Note: This .decimach
speed has been set at 82 MPH at the Battle Mountain, NV WHPSC events to
compensate for the 4000 foot altitude and 2/3 of 1 degree downhill slope.
2) GENERAL CONDITIONS - The prize will be known as
the .deciMach Human Powered Speed Dash or alternately the .deciMach.
The name is chosen to honor Dr. Mach and to denote the goal of one tenth the speed of
sound.
The .deciMach is offered for an open ended period of time. Annual
attempts at the prize will be held until the 75 mile per hour goal is attained.
If two or more vehicles attain the goal on the same day, the prize
will be awarded to the entrant with the highest speed of the day.
3) THE .deciMach PRIZE COMMITTEE - All rules,
administration of the rules, mediation, administration of prize attempts, and awarding of
the .deciMach and sub-prizes will be performed by the .deciMach Prize Committee
(henceforth to be referred to as the committee). The committee shall be made up of
shareholders who have donated to the prize money. Each shareholder shall receive one vote
per share. Each share shall be $1,000.00. In the event that a shareholder shall be made up
of a group of donors, said group shall designate one member as their representative to
vote their group shares and otherwise represent the group.
The current membership of the committee and shares voted are as follows:
Garrie L. Hill - 11 shares
Indiana Chapter IHPVA - 1 share, Don Barry designated representative
IHPVA - 5 shares, Gardener Martin designated representative
Easy Racers, Inc - 1 share, Gardner Martin designated representative
All decisions by the committee are final.
4) THE PRIZE - The prize initially is $18,000, plus
interest accrued from investment by the committee. Upon verification by the committee that
all requirements of the prize have been met, the prize will be awarded by the committee.
20% of the .deciMach Prize shall be awarded to the winning rider(s) with the balance
awarded to the winning team. Should the rider of the winning vehicle (single rider) or the
captain of the winning vehicle (multiple rider) be female, a premium of $500.00 will be
awarded to the rider.
At the conclusion of each annual running of the .deciMach,
cash prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place of that running of the
prize. Should the .deciMach be attained at that running, the first, second, and
third place prize will be evenly divided between the second and third place racers. All
decisions by the committee are final.
5) PRIZE ATTEMPT PROCEDURE
5.1 Entry Requirements
The .deciMach is open to individuals and teams from anywhere in the world. Vehicles may be
of either single or multiple rider design. Each vehicle shall require an individual
registration. .deciMach attempts shall be made once per year at a location and date
specified by the committee. Any attempts made at other locations or times than specified
by the committee shall not be valid for the prize in any way. Entry fees of $50.00 per
vehicle shall be paid before participating in the event. All decisions by the committee
are final.
5.2 Observers
All attempts at the prize must be witnessed by official observers provided by the
committee during the annual running of the prize. All decisions by the committee are
final.
5.3 Documentation
A written submittal for the prize must be submitted to the committee during the
time of each annual running of the prize attempt. This submittal shall include:
a) date, time, and location of the attempt
b) names of the builder, designer, and rider(s) of the vehicle, and the name of the
organization applying for the prize.
c) a photograph of the vehicle
d) a statement that all of the Rules have been complied with, signed by the applicant and
the committee.
e) evidence of timer calibration
f) evidence of course measurement
5.4 Validation
In order to validate a .deciMach Prize winning run, another run must be performed within
3% of the speed attained during the prize winning run. This validation run must be
performed at the time of the Annual Event during which the prize winning run was
performed. The Committee will exercise all possible procedures to grant the maximum
possible time for the validation run.
6) CONDITIONS
6.1 Safety
Safety is of of the utmost inportance in any attempt on the .deciMach Prize, and
is the responsibility of the entrant. Attempts will not be made under unsafe conditions of
the course or the vehicle or the rider(s). A vehicle crash during an attempt will
invalidate that run. All decisions by the committee are final.
6.2 Vehicles
6.2.1 Safety Features
Vehicles must have a safe means of stopping. Riders must have an effective
protection from injuries. All riders must wear a helmet with a nationally
(internationally) recognized testing lab sticker. All vehicles and riders shall pass a
safety inspection on the evening before the attempt at a prespecified time and location.
Permission for a prize attempt will be denied to any vehicle deemed to be unsafe due to
inadequate braking ability, lack of stability, poor visibility, lack of protection from
protrusions, or any other unsafe design features. Should a team have any questions about
safety features whatsoever, they may submit written or photographic information to the
committee, in advance of the annual running of the prize, for judgement. All such
submissions shall be held confidential from all other entrants. All decisions by the
committee are final.
6.2.2 Vision
All vision required for control of the vehicle shall be of a direct or fail safe
design. Electronic vision, such as electronic cameras, is not allowed without a fail
safe-back up design. Design questions may be submitted to the committe. All decisions
by the committee are final.
6.2.3 Power
Vehicles must be driven solely by human power from one or more persons aboard the vehicle
during the time of the run. Non-human powered sources are permitted only for powering
sensors, displays, communication equipment, or lights. Control devices, cooling fans,
powered aerodynamic devices, or other devices may not be powered from a non-human source.
6.2.4 Energy Storage
No device which stores energy over more than one input power cycle, or which
releases energy under control of the operator is permitted. All decisions by the
committee are final.
6.2.5 Control
No vehicle may be controlled by persons other than the rider(s).
6.2.6 Integrity
No vehicle may discard any part after beginning motion on a prize run. The rider must ride
on or in the vehicle.
6.2.7 Launch and Recovery
All vehicles must demonstrate the ability to self start and stop without
assistance. However, during actual prize runs, launch and recovery crews will be permitted
if said crews can demonstrate that safety is promoted or speed in running the event is
enhanced. All decisions by the committee are final.
6.3 Rider(s) The vehicle shall be powered by one or
more persons. The rider(s) will be subject to tests for drugs or other substances designed
to enhance athletic performance that may be defined as illegal by the IOC at the time of
the attempt. Detection of illegal substances will invalidate the attempt.
6.4 Course
6.4.1 Layout
The course shall be defined as the path the vehicle follows during its run, from the start
of motion to the end of the timing area. The speed measurement shall be made by measuring
the elapsed time over a 200 meter distance known as the timing trap. The vehicle will
accelerate from a stop at the starting gate, through some distance designated by the
committee, to and through the timed portion of the course. The total course may be either
straight line or circular in nature. If circular, one total circuit must be made before
the traps are entered, unless an optional starting point is declared by the race director.
A run shall be considered as the progress of the vehicle from the starting gate to the end
of the timing trap one time and one direction only.
6.4.2 Flatness
The course shall be flat to within 2/3 of 1 percent. That is, if a line is drawn from
either end of the traps, back to where the vehicle begins its motion at an upward slope of
2/3 of 1 percent, at no point may the course pass above this line. In addition, the total
elevation difference between the start of the course and any other point on the course
shall not exceed 30 meters. A curved course may be used for the attempt provided the same
flatness requirement is met around the course. The course will be measured and certified
by a registered civil engineer, land surveyor, or equivalent.
6.4.3 Weather Conditions
Tailwind speed during a run shall not exceed 1.67 meters/second, as measured by a device
located at the end of the trap and at a height of 1 meter off the ground.
Tailwind is explained by the graphic to the right. Headwinds in excess of
1.67 m/sec are legal if they are not in a direction obviated by the above
rule. If there is
reason to believe that a significantly higher wind speed is present at another location on
the course, the measuring device shall be located at that that location 1 meter above the
ground. |
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6.4.4 Elevation
All attempt locations shall be limited to 700 meters above sea level, or less. This number
approximates the mean elevation of the earth. The exception to this rule is
the Battle Mountain, NV course, where the winning speed has been increased
to 82 MPH to compensate for the 4000 foot altitude.
6.4.5 Timing
All timing shall be provided by the committee and shall be automatic start and
stop actuation with automatic recording.
6.4.6 Start
The vehicle may be assisted in starting by a push start from one or two
assistants on foot only if section 6.2.7 has been met.
6.4.7 Order of Que
On the evening before the first day of runs, all vehicle numbers will be entered
into a lottery to determine their order of start. Only those vehicles present on the
evening before the first day of runs, and having passed the safety inspection will be
entered in the lottery. On the day of the runs, the race director will call vehicles to
the line ten minutes before opening of the course. When the race director announces that
the course is open, the first vehicle in the cue will have three (3) minutes to launch. If
the vehicle is not able to launch within the three minute window, that vehicle will be
removed to the end of the que. The next vehicle in the que will then move forward to the
starting line. Upon the race director announcing the course open for the next attempt,
that vehicle will also have a three minute window to launch. The racers will continue in
the above fashion for as many runs as they desire or until the course is closed. All
decisions by the committee are final.
6.4.8 Drafting
The vehicle may not be aerodynamically assisted by the presence of any other
vehicle or device.
7) INTERPRETATION
7.1 Protests
All protests must be filed in writing on the day of the protested attempt with the
committee. Protests will only be accepted from .decimach participants. The committee will rule on the protest within 24 hours of receipt of the
protest. All decisions by the committee are final.
7.2 Application
The above defined committee is solely responsible for interpretation and
application of the rules. All determinations shall be voted based upon membership shares.
The committee reserves the right to disallow any attempt deemed to be outside the spirit
of the .deciMach prize. All decisions by the committee are final. Any potential entrant
unwilling to totally submit to these conditions should go play in somebody else’s
yard!
7.3 Revision of the Rules
These rules may be amended by the committee with published notice of at least six months.
8) RIGHTS OF THE COMMITTEE - The committee reserves the
right to terminate the prize upon six months published notice. In that case a final
running of the prize will be announced and the prize will be awarded to the entrant whose
vehicle has achieved the highest speed after the final running of the prize. The committee
and its’ assignees may use the name and likeness of any entrant or vehicle in favor
of the committee or its’ assignees.
9) Correspondence - All correspondence
regarding the .deciMach Prize should be addressed to:
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