WHAT IS AN X-1 CAR

X-1 is a high performance racing series for prototype, single user ground vehicles.

X-1 is in the category of Wheel driven motorsport that would be considered the most popular among the people of the Galactic Union. Where as anti-gravity and Space based motorsport is popular, it does not have the same draw as wheeled vehicles.

Wheels have the appeal of being unpredictable, adding a layer of strategy to the sport, (in terms of tyres) and the appeal of being the most commonly available and most accessible form of private mobility. Whereas anti gravity vehicles are available, they are still out of reach financially for many of the people of the galactic union; so naturally a wheels and tyres motorsport is appealing.

Performance

Each team makes its own cars to enter the championship and both cars made by that team must be more or less identical, allowing for some changes to the cockpit shape to allow for the different species’ body shapes. Each team has to work to a set of technical specifications to make sure the cars are legal and no team has any significant advantage.

Each X-1 car has the performance on the straights and through the corners to pull a significant level of G-force, so much so that it requires a high level of fitness to drive one of these cars for a full race distance. This performance is not created by any sort of electromagnetism or gyrostabalisation, just simple aerodynamic downforce and high performance racing tyres keeping them stuck to the road.

One of the key draws of X-1 is the diversity of the machines. There is the super sleek and slim Voss racing car that has been designed to go as fast as possible down the straights and there is the bizarre eight wheeled creation that has been made by the super Gipulli team. This diversity of cars had no doubt arisen from the diversity of the locations the cars have to race in, from super tight street tracks including a track that covers three floors of an interior location. and some long tracks that test a car’s outright top speed, Such as the Navras Speedway where one would seldom have to press the brakes at all. If a team creates an all rounder in terms of performance, it may be difficult to fight for wins at the top level, but if the car is made focussed on a more specific area of performance there is a chance they can fight for wins on a few occasions. It’s generally a question of what the teams budget will allow them to develop and the requirements of sponsors.

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Safety

An X-1 car is incredibly safe. It is said that the safest place to be at an X-1 race, is in an X-1 car. Each car is built with a driver safety cell complete with canopy. Each car will need to pass a series of crash tests before they are allowed to enter the car into any races. Safety is the biggest concern for the race directors and on occasion a car will not be allowed to compete after qualifying if their performance is deemed to be too poor and the closing speeds between them and the leading cars would be too great. Despite all the precautions that are in place, due to the massive speeds involved, injuries and even fatalities can be unavoidable in some circumstances.

Budget and transportation

So how does a team manage to afford to develop a car and do all of this racing around the galaxy? Well the truth is, it’s very expensive very few companies can afford to fit an X-1 budget into their business plan. The teams that are involved are either run by incredibly rich business owners as passion project like Boscer Yent or Super Gipulli or are tied to a large car auto company like K.M.F. or Ultracar. Even with the wealthy backing of the team owners, these cars will need sponsorship in order to afford to race.

The process of going to each race is a very large operation and each team has a large space ship that is fully equipped to house and facilitate the entire team. Each team’s ship has the facilities to work on the cars, house the personnelle and train the personnelle; both with simulations and full gymnasium and sports facilities. The largest of these ships is ofcourse the K.M.F. ship, however this is due to the fact that they transport the personnelle for two racing teams.

The extreme budget required by X-1 does mean that while some teams flourish, some teams are fighting to survive. Some teams have taken to hiring drivers based on their lucrative sponsorship ties rather than their performance on track. This can be seen most evidently with the team, Boscer Yent. Boscer Yent relies on sponsorship to keep racing and it sees moments like their home race on Niith as the best opportunity to attract sponsorship.