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| BayA1 | |
|---|---|
| Game | TrackMania United Forever |
| Author(s) | Nadeo |
| World record | 00:16.900 by ZappZ |
| Author medal | 00:17.220 |
| Gold medal | 00:18.430 |
| Silver medal | 00:20.770 |
| Bronze medal | 00:26.300 |
| Uploaded | 2008-04-16 23:06:13 UTC |
| Last updated | 2008-04-18 23:06:13 UTC |
| Activity | 2026-01-27 3:50:15 UTC |
| Awards / Comments | 2 / 3 |
| Link | TrackMania Exchange |
BayA1 is a track in TrackMania United Forever, set in the Bay environment. The track is structurally simple, consisting of a downhill drop, a jump back uphill, and a tight U-turn. Despite its short length, BayA1 has seen multiple phases of optimization over time, with improvements coming primarily from advanced airtime reduction and start optimization.
World Record History[edit]
For a long period, BayA1 was driven as a largely execution-focused track, where improvement came mainly from tighter lines and more precise driving. This changed on 16 October 2021, when the player FWO Phil discovered a major optimization by intentionally hitting a lamp at the peak of the uphill section. This lamp hit reduced airtime during the jump, allowing Phil to set a time of 16.93, which marked the first significant technical breakthrough on the track.
After several years with no major new discoveries, another optimization was found in early 2025. The player BananaKing discovered a Bay-environment-specific start trick that is exclusive to the Red Bridge Start Block. This trick saves a few hundredths over the initial straight by improving acceleration and exit speed from the start.
By combining BananaKing's start trick with Phil’s earlier lamp-hit technique, the player Zappz achieved a new world record of 16.90 on 1 February 2025.
The track has also been tool-assisted speedruned (TASed) multiple times; however, these runs only marginally improve upon the real-time world record and do not introduce fundamentally new strategies beyond those already used in RTA runs.[1]
List of World Records[edit]
16.93 by FWO Phil (2021-10-16)
16.90 (Current WR) by Zappz (2025-02-01)
Strategies[edit]
Start[edit]
BayA1 uses a Red Bridge Start Block, which allows for a Bay-specific start trick discovered by BananaKing. By precisely managing steering and acceleration during the opening straight, players can gain a small but meaningful time advantage before the first drop. While the time save is only a few hundredths, it is mandatory for competitive runs.
Downhill[edit]
The downhill section is driven aggressively, with players aiming to minimize airtime while maintaining stability. A clean trajectory into the jump is critical to setting up the later lamp hit.
Uphill Lamp Hit[edit]
At the peak of the uphill jump, players intentionally clip a lamp. This collision reduces airtime and allows the car to land earlier and with more speed. The timing and angle of the hit are extremely precise; missing the lamp or hitting it too hard results in a slower run.
U-Turn[edit]
The final U-turn is driven conservatively compared to the rest of the track. Maintaining grip and avoiding over-sliding is more important than raw entry speed, as mistakes here negate any gains from earlier optimizations.