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Yesterday saw the fifth edition of the Professional Racing Championships rev-up with an exciting start to the two-week competition. Rockem of Destructive Anomaly took home the first award after finishing 31st for "middle place" in the All Class Smash; but with the PRC Open Qualifiers starting at 6 pm today, attentions are now firmly fixed on the main event - and with it, the chance to win the coveted Bugatti Veyron.
The Open Qualifiers will be contested by the first 99 Class A drivers to join the custom race organised by BackAlleyBob, with no sponsorship or fees required at this stage of the competition. To determine the qualifiers, eight races of twenty laps each will take place between 5th and 8th of June, starting at either 6 am or 6 pm TCT each day. These qualifiers are scheduled to be run at the Speedway, Sewage, Two Islands and Parkland tracks, with later races taking in Meltdown, Mudpit and the Docks.
The top six from each qualifier will go through to the heats, with eight groups of six eventually whittled down to the final half-dozen via knockout races scheduled to begin on Saturday 10th June. Those who are lucky enough to reach this stage are required to have a sponsor company pay a $10million entry fee on their behalf, with said sponsors taking a cut of any prize money won by their chosen driver.
The final will take place on Sunday 18th June at a track voted for by the public, with the 1st place prize of the Bugatti Veyron augmented by a $240million cash jackpot to be split accordingly amongst the top three finishers. In recent weeks this prize fund has been swollen to $540million thanks to contributions from FLIPPA and the Torn City Times, making this competition the most lucrative racing event in Torn history.
The first PRC event took place in December 2015, with Hammer emerging victorious out of a field of 42 racers. This year's competition will see a record 99 drivers take to the tracks, with interest having swollen thanks to the donation of Torn's second-ever Bugatti Veyron by Chedburn (discounting the knock-off built by Scruffy in 2016). But organiser BackAlleyBob thinks the former champion remains favourite and will continue to stand out even with this expanded field of competitors:
"Hammer is certainly a favorite to win as he has done so 50% of the time and been in the top three every PRC. Trophy House"
As the founder and organiser of the PRC, BackAlleyBob should be commended for his efforts in putting on such an exciting competition consistently over the past two years. It isn't easy trying to start a new event as a rookie citizen, and this is something Bob found out for himself when he attempted to launch the PRC in December 2015 having only been here for a year.
"I wasn't certain how well it would go over since the concept was so different from anything anyone else had ever done in Torn Racing. At first there were a few people with negative things to say, thinking I was running some kind of scam. But to my surprise many loved the idea and the turnout was well above my expectations. Since that initial time, each PRC held after that seems to grow with anticipation and support from many."
Bob went on to tell me how many high-level players tore his initial ideas apart in the forums, with concepts like trophies and company sponsorship derided by the city's elite. They were adamant that no one would ever trust one single player to hold all the funds required for such an event to take place, but they were wrong. Some players did trust Bob, and they were rewarded with a well-organised, well-funded competition which grows from strength to strength with each passing edition.
This story should prove an inspiration to players like Bob who are ambitious, open-minded and determined to make Torn City a more exciting place. Radical ideas will always have their detractors, but persistent success silences even the most vocal opposition. Bob had a vision of how the PRC should be run, of how it should look and how it should feel, and he let nothing or no one stand in his way of achieving it.
In real life, Bob is no racer, but he has loved the sport ever since he was a child. Bob's family used to visit the local Speedway track, and as a ten-year-old, he won a drawing competition and got to ride five laps of the track with his favourite driver. Outside of Torn, Bob works as a bartender and does marketing projects on the side. But within Torn, he's turning into our very own Bernie Ecclestone. So what was it that inspired him to put so much effort into creating the PRC? What does his competition bring to Torn that the official racing formats do not?
"Like many others in the game, I find the racing part of Torn to be one of my favorite aspects. Once I reached class A, I was excited to get in on some custom races for money. Sadly, running a single race and losing my money or winning a little bit just wasn't enough for me. I saw others trying to put together competitions, but the way they worked was that every racer had to pay to get into a race and the top 3 in that race received the winnings."
"Then these winners were listed in a forum thread and another race was set up to which they again had to pay to enter, etc etc. This concept just wasn't working for me. I wanted to create a Championship in which only after a series of races, the real winners would receive a sizable pay-out and trophy."
Like any venture in Torn City, money is the key to achieving long-term success. Bob's bold strategy of using companies as sponsors may have seemed suspicious to some at the outset, but this sustainable funding strategy enables the competition to grow organically if and when its entrants increase in number.
"Indeed it [money] is very much the key, yes. The idea of having company sponsors means a racer can enter this event with $0 out of pocket and potentially drive away with over $100 million. The company sponsors enjoy this as a form of gambling, since they are allowed to sponsor up to 3 racers each. If one of them wins, they well over triple their investment."
"Furthermore, individual drivers are less likely to bet on themselves that they can win a competition that costs $10 million to enter. It is also because of this that the only money coming out of my pocket to run this event is whatever I choose to put into advertising the event. This year I have begun accepting event sponsors as well that are happy to donate towards the advertising and receive a sponsorship banner at the Track and Betting House."
The Betting House Bob mentions is another interesting element of the competition, as it offers Torn citizens their only opportunity to gamble on racing events outside of private wagers. Bob's third party betting scheme is backed entirely by funds from his own considerable pocket, and for this reason, he hopes he's covered his bases when it comes to spotting fraud.
"I alone have been the house when it comes to backing bets. Some events I have won some in the end, and some events I have lost as well. I have taken many precautions and designed the rules to make sure this [fraud] does not happen. Since I am the House when it comes to betting, I am free to accept or deny the bets I can and can't handle."
Bob is taking a slight risk with the running of the Betting House, as with a huge competition to run he could fall victim to the tactics which prevent official bets on in-game events taking place - because Torn's citizens can't be trusted. Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way. Scamming and subterfuge are part and parcel of Torn life, but one can easily envisage a driver placing a large bet on his or her opponent via a third party, and then proceeding to lose the race on purpose.
However, having run this event several times previously, Bob will almost certainly have a well thought out plan to identify such activity. And anyway, with such a large amount of money and a Bugatti Veyron offered to the winner, the rewards for genuine victory far outweigh the potential earnings from scandalous race-rigging. As do the prospects of real, tangible glory, with the chance to be the 2017 PRC Champion surely more appealing than the opportunity of earning a few measly million.
Because despite the riches on offer, it's clear that this event is about more than mere money. With the format, the graphics, and the careful staging of races over a two-week event, this feels like a proper, meaningful competition. Bob was not the first to organise a large-scale racing event, but his certainly seems the most professional. It has clearly been a labour of love for BackAlleyBob, and his attention to detail plays a key role in helping people buy in to what the Professional Racing Championships are trying to achieve.
"Unlike any other racing competitions out there the PRC is also the only one that uses graphics in the forum. This is everything from the racers individual profile pics and their company sponsors profile pics, to screenshots of the races themselves. I believe that alone sets the PRC apart from others as people like to visualize they are truly at the track. Plus their friends, being racers or not can watch on as well and place bets."
Bob's enthusiasm and commitment are what prompted the Torn City Times to back this event over many worthwhile others. Bob came to Torn City from a war game just two and a half years ago, and when he did so, he brought along a number of his friends - many of whom are now well established in our not-so-fair city. Eventually, he introduced his real-life wife (now his Torn wife) to Torn, and now he's seen fit to bring us this fine competition too.
Such a positive story makes for a refreshing change. Usually, we only hear about those who seek to detract from the experiences of others, with tales of scams, bounty bullies and the like often drawing the most attention. But Bob offers us something more. Not only has he brought us more citizens, he has shared his passion in a way that brings excitement to the city for strangers too. And he's done so in the face of both copycats and critics, with each assault on his idea making him determined to push ahead and make the PRC ever more successful.
His combination of entrepreneurship and community spirit is something many people could learn from. These publically organised events play a huge role in making Torn City a fun place to live. So on behalf of all those taking part, and also those who are looking to win and lose money by betting on its outcome, I would like to say thanks, BackAlleyBob, and good luck with the competition.
Open qualifiers start at 6 pm TCT tonight and end on 8th June. Interested parties should head on over to the PRC Custom race at the Race Track ASAP, or contact BackAlleyBob for further details.
The Open Qualifiers will be contested by the first 99 Class A drivers to join the custom race organised by BackAlleyBob, with no sponsorship or fees required at this stage of the competition. To determine the qualifiers, eight races of twenty laps each will take place between 5th and 8th of June, starting at either 6 am or 6 pm TCT each day. These qualifiers are scheduled to be run at the Speedway, Sewage, Two Islands and Parkland tracks, with later races taking in Meltdown, Mudpit and the Docks.
The top six from each qualifier will go through to the heats, with eight groups of six eventually whittled down to the final half-dozen via knockout races scheduled to begin on Saturday 10th June. Those who are lucky enough to reach this stage are required to have a sponsor company pay a $10million entry fee on their behalf, with said sponsors taking a cut of any prize money won by their chosen driver.
The final will take place on Sunday 18th June at a track voted for by the public, with the 1st place prize of the Bugatti Veyron augmented by a $240million cash jackpot to be split accordingly amongst the top three finishers. In recent weeks this prize fund has been swollen to $540million thanks to contributions from FLIPPA and the Torn City Times, making this competition the most lucrative racing event in Torn history.
The first PRC event took place in December 2015, with Hammer emerging victorious out of a field of 42 racers. This year's competition will see a record 99 drivers take to the tracks, with interest having swollen thanks to the donation of Torn's second-ever Bugatti Veyron by Chedburn (discounting the knock-off built by Scruffy in 2016). But organiser BackAlleyBob thinks the former champion remains favourite and will continue to stand out even with this expanded field of competitors:
"Hammer is certainly a favorite to win as he has done so 50% of the time and been in the top three every PRC. Trophy House"
As the founder and organiser of the PRC, BackAlleyBob should be commended for his efforts in putting on such an exciting competition consistently over the past two years. It isn't easy trying to start a new event as a rookie citizen, and this is something Bob found out for himself when he attempted to launch the PRC in December 2015 having only been here for a year.
"I wasn't certain how well it would go over since the concept was so different from anything anyone else had ever done in Torn Racing. At first there were a few people with negative things to say, thinking I was running some kind of scam. But to my surprise many loved the idea and the turnout was well above my expectations. Since that initial time, each PRC held after that seems to grow with anticipation and support from many."
Bob went on to tell me how many high-level players tore his initial ideas apart in the forums, with concepts like trophies and company sponsorship derided by the city's elite. They were adamant that no one would ever trust one single player to hold all the funds required for such an event to take place, but they were wrong. Some players did trust Bob, and they were rewarded with a well-organised, well-funded competition which grows from strength to strength with each passing edition.
This story should prove an inspiration to players like Bob who are ambitious, open-minded and determined to make Torn City a more exciting place. Radical ideas will always have their detractors, but persistent success silences even the most vocal opposition. Bob had a vision of how the PRC should be run, of how it should look and how it should feel, and he let nothing or no one stand in his way of achieving it.
In real life, Bob is no racer, but he has loved the sport ever since he was a child. Bob's family used to visit the local Speedway track, and as a ten-year-old, he won a drawing competition and got to ride five laps of the track with his favourite driver. Outside of Torn, Bob works as a bartender and does marketing projects on the side. But within Torn, he's turning into our very own Bernie Ecclestone. So what was it that inspired him to put so much effort into creating the PRC? What does his competition bring to Torn that the official racing formats do not?
"Like many others in the game, I find the racing part of Torn to be one of my favorite aspects. Once I reached class A, I was excited to get in on some custom races for money. Sadly, running a single race and losing my money or winning a little bit just wasn't enough for me. I saw others trying to put together competitions, but the way they worked was that every racer had to pay to get into a race and the top 3 in that race received the winnings."
"Then these winners were listed in a forum thread and another race was set up to which they again had to pay to enter, etc etc. This concept just wasn't working for me. I wanted to create a Championship in which only after a series of races, the real winners would receive a sizable pay-out and trophy."
Like any venture in Torn City, money is the key to achieving long-term success. Bob's bold strategy of using companies as sponsors may have seemed suspicious to some at the outset, but this sustainable funding strategy enables the competition to grow organically if and when its entrants increase in number.
"Indeed it [money] is very much the key, yes. The idea of having company sponsors means a racer can enter this event with $0 out of pocket and potentially drive away with over $100 million. The company sponsors enjoy this as a form of gambling, since they are allowed to sponsor up to 3 racers each. If one of them wins, they well over triple their investment."
"Furthermore, individual drivers are less likely to bet on themselves that they can win a competition that costs $10 million to enter. It is also because of this that the only money coming out of my pocket to run this event is whatever I choose to put into advertising the event. This year I have begun accepting event sponsors as well that are happy to donate towards the advertising and receive a sponsorship banner at the Track and Betting House."
The Betting House Bob mentions is another interesting element of the competition, as it offers Torn citizens their only opportunity to gamble on racing events outside of private wagers. Bob's third party betting scheme is backed entirely by funds from his own considerable pocket, and for this reason, he hopes he's covered his bases when it comes to spotting fraud.
"I alone have been the house when it comes to backing bets. Some events I have won some in the end, and some events I have lost as well. I have taken many precautions and designed the rules to make sure this [fraud] does not happen. Since I am the House when it comes to betting, I am free to accept or deny the bets I can and can't handle."
Bob is taking a slight risk with the running of the Betting House, as with a huge competition to run he could fall victim to the tactics which prevent official bets on in-game events taking place - because Torn's citizens can't be trusted. Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way. Scamming and subterfuge are part and parcel of Torn life, but one can easily envisage a driver placing a large bet on his or her opponent via a third party, and then proceeding to lose the race on purpose.
However, having run this event several times previously, Bob will almost certainly have a well thought out plan to identify such activity. And anyway, with such a large amount of money and a Bugatti Veyron offered to the winner, the rewards for genuine victory far outweigh the potential earnings from scandalous race-rigging. As do the prospects of real, tangible glory, with the chance to be the 2017 PRC Champion surely more appealing than the opportunity of earning a few measly million.
Because despite the riches on offer, it's clear that this event is about more than mere money. With the format, the graphics, and the careful staging of races over a two-week event, this feels like a proper, meaningful competition. Bob was not the first to organise a large-scale racing event, but his certainly seems the most professional. It has clearly been a labour of love for BackAlleyBob, and his attention to detail plays a key role in helping people buy in to what the Professional Racing Championships are trying to achieve.
"Unlike any other racing competitions out there the PRC is also the only one that uses graphics in the forum. This is everything from the racers individual profile pics and their company sponsors profile pics, to screenshots of the races themselves. I believe that alone sets the PRC apart from others as people like to visualize they are truly at the track. Plus their friends, being racers or not can watch on as well and place bets."
Bob's enthusiasm and commitment are what prompted the Torn City Times to back this event over many worthwhile others. Bob came to Torn City from a war game just two and a half years ago, and when he did so, he brought along a number of his friends - many of whom are now well established in our not-so-fair city. Eventually, he introduced his real-life wife (now his Torn wife) to Torn, and now he's seen fit to bring us this fine competition too.
Such a positive story makes for a refreshing change. Usually, we only hear about those who seek to detract from the experiences of others, with tales of scams, bounty bullies and the like often drawing the most attention. But Bob offers us something more. Not only has he brought us more citizens, he has shared his passion in a way that brings excitement to the city for strangers too. And he's done so in the face of both copycats and critics, with each assault on his idea making him determined to push ahead and make the PRC ever more successful.
His combination of entrepreneurship and community spirit is something many people could learn from. These publically organised events play a huge role in making Torn City a fun place to live. So on behalf of all those taking part, and also those who are looking to win and lose money by betting on its outcome, I would like to say thanks, BackAlleyBob, and good luck with the competition.
Open qualifiers start at 6 pm TCT tonight and end on 8th June. Interested parties should head on over to the PRC Custom race at the Race Track ASAP, or contact BackAlleyBob for further details.
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