Byron, Dave and Miro all began the race in Race Division. Byron is now Adventure Division and as of today - Day 3 so is Miro. What does that mean?
Here's Icarus Event Manager and Race Committee Member Katy who explains with Pizza.
Byron, an Adventure Division pilot, is travelling as fast as Dave and Miro, the Race Division pilots. He cannot 'beat' the Race Division winner as he is accepting outside support. So far this support has consisted of letting the mobile HQ make him a cup of tea or launching straight from his overnight lodgings instead of backtracking 500m to his landing zone. Marginal stuff perhaps, but it all adds up and this is why we have two trophies - one for the un-supported Race Division and one for the supported Adventure Division.
Here's how this works. Race Division cannot accept any outside assistance that would not be 'open access'. They can hitchhike and buy stuff or they can accept fortuitous offers of assistance or gifts. The key bit is they cannot have dedicated support. Either from the Icarus Crew, or the support crews and friends of the Adventure Division pilots (who can have as much support as they want.) The one exception to this rule is their fellow Pilots - Icarus pilots can accept help from other pilots, regardless of their division.
Here's an example. All of these statements are true:
- Race Division Pilot Dave can buy himself a pizza. He's race class, so self-supported.
- Adventure Division Pilot Byron can buy Dave a pizza. That's pilot to pilot assistance and therefore kosher.
- Icarus Race Chief Shane can buy Byron a pizza. Adventure Division Pilots can accept help (and pizza).
- Byron can give away some of his pizza (from Shane to Dave). That comes under the umbrella of 'pilot to pilot assistance.'
- Dave cannot accept a bite of any pizza from Shane. Nor can he accept Shane's leftovers, if Shane offers them. Dave can, if he wished, rootle through the trash and steal the leftovers of Shane or Byron's pizza becuase once it's in the trash, it's 'open access' as long as he can get to the pizza before the rats and freegans.
Race vs Adventure Division decisions are taken by the Race Committee. That's Katy Willings and Shane Denherder and Icarus crew Kester Haynes, Icarus founder Tom Morgan and The Adventurists MD Dan Wedgwood.
In the case of Miro's torn wing, Race Division pilots are allowed to give the mobile HQ a set of spares, which they can access during the race, as long as they travel to the van (the van can't travel to them) and then return to the landing zone to complete the whole course. No-one has ever called the Race Division easy.
Luckily for Miro, he was in the same place as the mobile HQ and spares supply. Unluckily for Miro, he didn't bring a spare wing. With his wing definitely a write-off, Miro was offered Nick's wing. Crucially, Nick is part of the Icarus crew. As a Race Division pilot Miro faced a choice: He could accept the assistance but be out of the running for the Race Division trophy or he could wave the other pilots off, and hope to beg/borrow/steal another wing from the middle of Idaho as they increased their lead. He chose the former.
In light of his assistance, Miro has now been downgraded to Adventure Division. We imagine he won't care too much about that right now, such will be the relief of getting back in the air:
Still in line for the Race Division Trophy, pilots David Wainwright and Scotty Duncan.
