View from the Front
GM Winston Forrest could not be reached for this report so
we have substituted an account from the winning driver.
I entered the second of four heats of the Formula De
tournament. Our group picked the Monaco track and I placed a
strong second after two competitive laps. Although that did not
get me to the Final, it did give me another chance. The GM, Winston
Forrest, announced that all runnerups qualified for a time trial
event preceding the final. Those with the best times in the time
trails would advance to the final. The number of finalists that
showed up to play in the final would determine how many runnerups
advanced. I wanted to play in an additional heat, in order to
try to secure an outright win and a guaranteed spot, but was
unable due to scheduling conflicts with other games.
The number of first and second-place finishers that appeared
allowed all but one entrant in the time trials to advance. The
final consisted of sixteen cars. All runnerups were to start
behind the preliminary winners. I placed third in the time trials,
which placed me in the tenth starting position. The final was
a three-lap race on two combined tracks with all advanced rules
in play. Racers were allowed to build their own cars by deciding
where up to 24 total wear points would be allocated.
There were three options racers could choose to construct
their vehicle which did not cost extra wear points. These were
experimental engines, wing settings and tire type. Two finalists
opted for experimental engines which allowed them to move up
to an extra five spaces on certain die rolls. The down side to
this option was that the racers were required to roll two dice
for all
engine checks, which meant they would be taking a lot of engine
damage. Another option was a high wing setting which allowed
racers to move one less space in corners. While this option acted
like a free brake, the down side was that maximum move spaces
were reduced in fourth, fifth and sixth gears. Several racers,
including myself, chose the high wing setting. Racers could also
choose between hard, soft or rain tires. I chose soft tires,
which allow you to move an extra space, while costing more wear
points when you overshoot a corner. In the construction of their
vehicles, most players placed extra wear points for their tires,
while the other five areas of wear varied.
The race got under way under sunny skies. Within the first
half lap of the race, I was rolling well and moved up to fourth
place. The two cars with experimental engines were more than
one third of a lap ahead of the rest of the field, but both had
already started taking some engine damage. Then the weather changed
to rain. This slowed the race down considerably, as all the racers
had to slow down due to the wet track conditions. The rain continued
until the start of the second lap, when the weather became party
cloudy. My position deteriorated and I was now somewhere in the
middle of the field. Most of the racers chose to take their first
pit stop due to extreme tire wear. To most racers' surprise,
one of the two players with the experimental engines chose not
to pit. This was a very risky decision, but he had only taken
minimal engine and tire wear during the first lap.
The weather changed briefly back to rain during the second
lap, but to everyone's relief the weather cleared shortly thereafter
for the duration. The two cars with experimental engines were
now almost half a lap in front of their closest competitor. My
position had worsened and I was now in the back of the field.
Two-thirds of the way through the second lap, one of the experimental
engines blew up. The other experimental engine car, driven by
Matt Muir, just barely made it into the pits at the end of the
second lap. Most of the field cued the leaders and stopped to
pit after the second lap. Others gained some ground on the leader.
I had fought my way back to the middle of the field and was rolling
well when halfway through the third lap the proverbal black cloud
descended over the race. Many cars had taken a lot of engine
damage and within three turns it started taking its toll. The
second and third place cars were among five whose engines gave
out. After all the smoke cleared, the lone
experimental engine racer was still doing well and way ahead
of the field.
Attrition helped me advance into third place. Matt, the leader,
made a major error in the third to the last corner. He did not
stop twice as was required and he spun out. He had to restart
in first gear. This allowed myself and the car in front of me
to close the gap. My dice rolling went from good to great. I
surpassed the second place racer in the third to the last corner.
Matt, who was still the leader, was approaching the final corner
in sixth gear, coming out of the penultimate turn and he came
up short on making it through the last turn. I rolled perfectly
into the penultimate corner and was set up to roll into the last
corner in sixth gear no matter what my roll was. I was now in
position to win. The leader had to slow down to fourth gear to
go in to the last turn and I was going to go into it turn in
sixth gear. Matt got the worst roll possible, a '12', which overshot
him three spaces past the corner. He had only one tire point
and no brakes left to use so he spun out and had to restart in
first gear. I made it into the final turn and was able to continue
in sixth gear on the next roll - blowing by Matt, who was now
only in second gear. I crossed the finish line on the next turn.
Matt made it across the finish line two turns later, in fifth
gear, coming in second place.
|