Road Rally - 1952 Corso di Fruinia [FINAL RESULTS]

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…

Jack smiled, his courtesy slightly tainted by disdain. “Don’t mind if I do, Konstantin. What do we have today?”

“Well, you know the Fruinians. In love with their wine,” Konstantin replied. Jack grimaced slightly. Bogliq’s CEO waved dismissively and continued. “But I know you, Jack. Always a man for the hard stuff. So I think you might enjoy the grappa.”

Jack nodded and took a seat at the table inside the tent. He waited for a moment for Bogliq’s underlings to clear out. “See, that’s what I like about you. You know me, and I know you. Almost like we’re friends.”

Konstantin grinned as he poured a small glass of grappa and placed it in front of his rival. “See, you say that like we’re not, Jack. And that hurts me.”

Jack chuckled. He raised the pungent glass of grape-brandy to his nose and took in an intoxicating whiff. His host finished pouring himself a glass of Verdicchio, and raised in a toast.

“To our eternal friendship, Jack,” Konstantin grinned as they tapped glasses.

Jack took a hearty sip of grappa. It had a bold, complex taste, and went down with only a little less fire than his beloved bourbon. “Shall we cut to the chase, then, my friend? You’ve no doubt heard about the tragedy that has befallen the Townsend family.”

“I have. A shame. The brothers were true pioneers in motoring.”

“Oh, spare me the eulogy, Konstantin. We both know why you’re here. You’ve got your eyes on a bid for merger.”

Konstantin clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Are you so callous, Jack? That you can’t even listen to a few kind words about the Townsend family?” He sniffed, took a sip of wine, and leaned back slightly in the wooden folding chair. “Fine, what of it? A Bogliq-Townsend merger would be a fantastic thing for the automobile industry.”

“Well, I wouldn’t get too used to the idea. I’m sure you’ve put two and two together by now.”

“Yes, yes,” Konstantin again waved his hand dismissively. “Jack Chancellor is going to buy Townsend in an attempt to save his company’s failing reputation. Makes a charming story, doesn’t it? Only the only people who care are the residents of Ohio. Don’t forget, Jack, that Ohio isn’t the whole industry. Outside of your little state there, Ardent’s not as well loved. And you always have to worry about those pesky watchdogs in Washington. Oh how dreadful it would look if someone were trying to make a monopoly.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “See, this, right here is why we’re not friends. Trying to threaten me with what, a little bureaucratic red tape? It’s no wonder your company stays so small. You’re afraid of Senators. You should try buying one at some point. Does wonders for the soul.”

“You don’t have a soul, Jack. Not exactly sure when you sold it, but God knows you don’t have one.”

Jack downed the remainder of his grappa, placed his Stetson hat back on his head, and tossed a 10 down on the table, mocking his host’s graciousness. “Thanks for the drink, Konstantin. A pleasure to see you, as always.”

@HighOctaneLove - feel free to take it farther if you wish.

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EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT

"A Better Fruinian Love Story Than Tommeo and Fulia?"


Is Bogliq plnning a takeover bid for Townsend in the fringes of the Corso?
CEO's of both companies seen together with alcoholic drinks.
Specialists say all good deals ought to be marinated well.

A notice from our sponsors: smoke "Fuma", Fruinia's premium cigarette; for better business insights.

Notice to the general public: 

In a previous special edition, we printed that the CEOs of Bogliq and Townsend were in discussion.
This appears to have been incorrect information regarding the position of the people involved.
This newspaper does which to underline high level people who are thought to be related to
the two companies involved have indeed been meeting in Fruinia.
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Bogliq USA Corporate Tent

Fruinia

“A pleasure to see you as always…” And with that final jab, Jack Chancellor turned around and left the Bogliq corporate tent.

Konstantin grew mad. So mad that he felt cold, a chill that could only be warmed by the spilling of fresh blood. Konstantin’s right hand was moving of its own volition, the nickel plated peacemaker drawn, cocked and aimed for the centre of Jack’s back. Such a tiny pressure. A villain would die…

Sudden downwards pressure on Konstantin’s gun hand snapped him out of his reviere. James was gently disarming him while whispering “Now isn’t the time, or the place, let it go…”. Konstantin swiftly recovered his composure, holstered his pistol and thanked James for his quick thinking.

Konstantin sat down and poured himself a strong coffee; losing out to Ardent over Townsend was a real kick in the guts. But if Konstantin could make Bogliq USA powerful enough to buy out Ardent then Konstantin would have the last laugh!

Buoyed by these thoughts, Konstantin headed back to the Leeroy tents, determined to find out what was needed to make Bogliq USA the #1 carmaker in the United States…

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OOC: If I recall, Konstantin got the last laugh in outliving Jack anyway. I mean, that chain-smoking, bourbon-pounding, bacon eating jackass had a massive coronary about a decade later…

Edit: Yup. RIP Jack Chancellor, Friday May 3, 1963.

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Hanson Motorsports Research - Stage 2 Report

In contrast with the previous stage, this one was started off on the wrong foot as the Vincents misjudged a hairpin towards the end of the sector, causing their #326 Halberd to flip over and land on its roof. Fortunately the damage was not terminal and they continued on the stage as if nothing had happened; by the end of the stage they were 8th in class.

Josh was quick to blame himself for the mishap: “I was, quite frankly, over-enthusiastic entering the hairpin, and entered it a bit too fast. Not even my skills could stop me from flipping #326 onto its roof, but at least we avoided falling off a cliff - literally, in fact. Otherwise, we and the car would have been history.”

Kev continued: “That said, you did an excellent job recovering from that crash; you drove like a man possessed for the rest of the stage and made up plenty of time. The fact that the Halberd is so well-suited to such enthusiastic driving only makes it worse for our rivals. Speaking of which, we’ve lost one place in the class standings and are now only 22nd overall, but it’s not the end of the world; there is just one stage left to run after this one, so we must make every second count.”

Josh concluded: “But another small-engined car managed to take the overall lead, and this time it was a Tannberg Gladius 1.3. Those little buggers may well end up running rings around the bigger-engined beasts which were supposed to dominate this rally. If one of them wins outright, we might want to enter something with a smaller engine for next season, either alongside or in place of the Halberd we’re campaigning right now. Until then, we’ll just give it our best shot.”

Thus ended an eventful day for HMR. At least the #326 Halberd reached the end of the stage intact and under its own power, leaving the teams mechanics relieved as they started their repair job in preparation for the next stage.

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It’s a breaking issue with some cars that I cannot get my head around. The brakes don’t get overheated, but when slowing down from high speed, it does seem they lose efficiency by the time the car is down to ~80 km/h. And that is still too fast to take a hairpin. I crashed/rolled more than one car there, luckily none went out of the race there.

Only 1, and it’s a short sprint / race stage along the Coma harbour.

It’s in the spirit of the time. Small and agile won the race. The larger engined beasts were mostly only good for straight lines. I actually also enjoy driving the smallest 2 classes the most on these roads.

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Corzetti-Stampatti Motori: The Accursed Geese

Somewhere between Fienna and Orta…

Bolognese: Well, pace isn’t great, but we’re managing just fine. This engine tune helps with saving fuel, so we can avoid constant shifting to keep the car chugging along.

W.N.: Yeah, and at least it hasn’t given us much grief. Perhaps we can bank on that to… (wing flapping noises) What was that?

A goose lands on the back of the car, then quickly flies over to the hood of the Familyman CS. Needless to say, Bolognese slams the brakes due to sudden surprise, while the goose just flaps about on the hood.

Bolognese: What the hell!?

W.N.: Woah! Is that a goose? What’s it doing here? Is it a stray…?

Bolognese: Don’t know, don’t care. Imma get this stupid bird off the car to get go…

Suddendly, this theme song plays! #sorrynotsorry Ok, there is no theme song. But there is a Double Repukken ton of geese, flying around the car and its two distraught drivers.

Bolognese: Ow! Hey, get away, you dammed dumb chickens! If I had my gun at hand… I’d make a roast for the entire family! W.N., do something here!

W.N.: I can’t, there’s too many geese! It’s like they’re hunting us down or something…

??? (whistling): Calm down, calm down my dear geese! Let the drivers be…

The geese settle down, mostly on top of the car. A farmer comes along, breathing heavily and carrying three empty boxes on his hands.

Donaldo: My most sincere apologies, sirs. My geese, they’re… they’re awfully fond of moving around in the open, see? I am Maccaro Donaldo, geese farmer. And…

His train of kind thought is suddendly interrupted when he sees Bolognese. The look on his face doesn’t change, but skin color gets more white with time…

W.N.: Sir, don’t tire yourself out. We have water, we can…

Bolognese: Kid, do you mind if I talk to Mr. Donaldo for a sec?

W.N.: But he’s…

Bolognese: I said get.

W.N. slowly turns around and gets back to the car, all whilst turning back to see Bolognese.

B (placing his hand over Donaldo’s shoulder): Well, “Mr. Donaldo”. Fancy meeting you here after you forgot to pay your due. You wouldn’t be trying to jump ship to a nearby town just to avoid me, now would you…?

D: I… I…

B: Wow, the kid was right, you are getting tired. You must’ve been trying to do this with every numbnuts racing here thus far. Now we could give you a ride… But I’m having so much doubts right now. Perhaps you can offer some bills to clear my mind of doubt?

D: …ok, it’s true. I was trying to avoid you. Curse my luck, running into your team’s car of all places!

B: But your luck could change, don’t curse it now! What if I said you can make it to Orta for a small fee? All you have to do is purchase one bottle of a precious red fluid I’m carrying in the car. A bottle part of a collection belonging to the Milano household…

D: But that’s illegal! The Milano’s wine is one of the finest in the country, but…

B: Shh, shhh. Speak more loudly and I’ll have to perform on-road dental surgery. How much money do you have with you?

D: 1500 lira, but…

B: Then it’s settled. 1500 lira for a bottle and you’re on your merry way to Orta. We can arrange this… “business transaction” later.

D: But these are my life’s savings…!

B: Well, I tried to be a samaritan. W.N.! We’re heading out!

D: Ok, ok, I’m going with you! (takes money out and hands it to Bolognese) Please don’t leave me here, me and my birds can’t take more of this heat… Please…

B: Now isn’t that nice? You helped someone out, that person will help you. I have no idea why you didn’t pay before… Let’s get going.

Bolognese and a dejected Donaldo get inside the car after bringing all the geese together inside the boxes, with W.N. already sitting in the passenger’s seat.

W.N.: Feels good helping someone out, but… we lost a lot of time, Mr. Bolognese.

B (starting up the car): It’s fine, kid. So as long as we finish we have a chance. Besides, this will… pay off when I get to Heaven. :wink:

To Be Continued!

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Stage 3 - Intro

Stage 3 (“Industrial Course 2” on East Coast, USA) is a short sprint stage from the industrial area of Coma to the harbour of Coma in Fostina.

Concept

Slightly different from the previous stages, all cars within the same class will leave at the same time. Racing will be close, but it’s still a stage over an hour long, so expect the “close racing” to be a matter of minutes away, or at best some langourous exchanging of positions, and not bumper-to-bumper action.

Route

Four small sectors, starting from the main road towards the industrial district, over the run down Squarelli slums, then down to San Giulia, a village next to PMI Polloi factory, finishing up in the harbour town of Fostina.

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-“GEORGE!!!”

George steps in to the company owners office, The owner seems furious

-“So I have heard some news about our cars on second stage.”

-“Sir…”

-“Shut up, I’m in a rush so I just conclude what I have heard, you tell your opinion about it, or any intel you have about that subject.”

George just nods

-"Runabout did reasonably well on in the downhill of first sector, but on the end of the second sector which is highway, a HIGHWAY where our cars should have excelled, they had to stop 3 times. It’s not even perticularly long stretch of highway as some cars mange it just over an hour.

-“Well sir. Apparently the rough road which was between the downhill and the highway had shaken the car so hard that the gear lincage was damaged, only slightly though, but enough that the car popped out of the gear on occasionally, the they had to stop andfix the gear linkage every tiem it popped off. They didnt have proper spare on the road, but they have spares on the end of the stage.”

-“The Familyman did well, they had some issue but it was swiftly fixed so we skip that one, Hurja wasnt quite as fast as we expected and went off the road once, but apparently nothing serious happened.”

-“Well the driver likes to slide his cars, but hurja is slightly understeery, as it’s safer to crash head on thanslide sideways in to what ever you are going to hit. That is a minor conflict between safety and driver preference. The off was apparently driver overconfidence, that the car wouldn’t oversteer and then it suddenly did. How ever no damge was sustained.”

-“Kulkuri wasnt particularly fast on downhill, and then overheated on highway, again our car fails on the highway, how can that happen.”

-“Well it’s partially gearing and partially cooling issue. The car can achieve slightly higher speed on 3rd gear, as the 4th is practicly just an overdrive gearfor fuel conservation. The driver apparently got greedy and tried to gain couple minute by using the third gear on every slightest opportunity, which eventually overheated the engine. We had used the smaller radiator as we tried to make the car lighter, if he would have just taken the small hit on time by using 4th gear all the time it would have been faster.”

-“Kulkuri Special failed to start.”

-"Apparetnly the damage they suffered when they went off gave a severe jolt to the rear axle, this was carried to the transmission trough the driveline, and it damaged the bearings of the transmission. While the transmission could deliver power initially, the bearings got overheated, and when the driving eventually ended at the end of first stage, and the movement stopped. the transmission bearing were so hot that they essentially got welded together. We didn’t get a new transmission to them in time.

-“So in the end we had fatal flaws on only one car, we did learn that Kulkuri needs better cooling so start working on larger radiator for it.”

-“Was that all sir?”

-“Yes that was all.”

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I hope that at least you appreciated the reference in the text for the Kulkuri Special.

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The spirit at Tannberg Motorsport was very euphoric when the news spread that the overall time standings were being led by the Gladius.
Expectations for the car were high, the company put a lot of money and effort into this, but technical troubles and handling issues kept the project on the edge up to the last days before the start.
Seeing it performing so well, even under these circumstances, makes up for a great relief at the whole Motorsport department.
Stakes are high for the Gladius. With the prototype being presented to the public last year, it would be more than welcome for it to gain some racing successes before the roadgoing version of the car is
launched. There is no better marketing for a sports car than an actual racing history.

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The Corso di Fruina is not only the deput for the Gladius, but aswell for its newly developed racing engine, which is planned to be used in different setups and displacements over the coming years.

Despite the euphoria, there is not a minute of rest and celebration before the race is over. The car is well taken care of, expendable parts, fluids and tires are replaced, minor damages repaired.
A breakdown would be fatal so no chances are taken. Hausmann and Schmied are advised to drive carefully and bring the car over the finish line, not pushing it unnecessarily hard and risking an accident since
overall time victory can be achieved with a solid run.

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The Apollon performs quite as expected. Of course it cannot compete with any performance and handlingwise superior sports and race cars, but for a stock, cheap family car it does perform reasonable.
However on the last stage it took some serious beating. The mechanics currently discuss if a body swap would be worth wile. There is a donor body available and the ladderframe makes this a not too difficult piece of work.
We shall see about that…

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Stage 3 - …-799cc Class - Report

S1

As the class starts, quick to near the front, and noticed by everyone is the CMW Bergmann, undoubtably the loudest car here. It’s in a second group, together with the Condo Sprint, who made a very quick start, and the likes of the Barato Motors.

The Birmingham Snake Van briefly loses control early on, but manages to recover. Still they tail early on and join other disappointing starters, such as the PMI Polloi, Giusseppe, Juggernaut and Epoch.

All the way at the back, unsurprisingly, the little one in the form of the Suzume Kei and the Marcello Tipo.

At the front, the Znopresk, the LSV Mark and the beautiful Cisalpina, in that order.

S2

Somewhere in the climb up to Squarelli the WM RatonAereo has taken the lead. And actually with some time to spare. The Cisalpina is second.

Further back, a loss of control from the PMI Polloi results in a further loss of time. The car is trailing with the Barato Motors and Birmingham, among the actual slow cars, all the results of dodgy handling.

In the mid-pack it’s especially close between the Ceder, Condo Sprint and CMW Bergmann; with the Giusseppe and Juggernaut also jumping inside of the top ten from behind.

S3

The LSV Mark is starting to peek at the top three after passing the Aeros Shrew. Further back, the Condo Sprint and CMW Bergmann are joined by the Barato Sport, who made a hugh recovery from that early kerfuffle.

Closer to the rear, nothing much changes, although some waving left and right on a faster section towards San Giulia causes the KMC to lose some time. This allows the likes of the Epoch and Juggernaut to run away from it.

All the way in the front, the WM RatonAereo holds on to the lead.

S4

And a crash out over the Ponte Timero when a car hits the guard rails. The PMI Polloi needs some minor repairs before it can continue, and this allows the Suzume and Marcello to sneak by.

Up at the front, the Cisalpina needs to let go of the top two, who are neck-to-neck.

In the middle of the pack, not many changes, but the Epoch in particular seems to have issues nearing Fostina and falls back in the order, with KMC and even the Merciel reaching the finish before.

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Final results…

After the other classes :wink:

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Team 53140, running the Meyers powered Aeromouse, scratches their heads. Despite a stronger finish last round for their car, their Coff. ranking has dropped considerably compared to the previous round. Ray Lagerfelter shakes his fist at the sky, bellowing “M A T H S ! !”

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Stage 3 - 800cc-1399cc Class - Report

S1

Slow start from the TMW Frieden, with only the Wentworth behind it.

Almost uncontrollable shaking from the Epoch causes the car to lose time en route to the Squarelli slums. Regardless, together with the Bramble, it is leading the main group of cars.

At the front, two distinct groups; one about a minute away, including the Znopresk and the BAF Romulus; the other 2 and a half minutes in the lead with the likes of the Tannberg, Suzume and Corsa.

S2

The Barricada is dangerously fishtailing all over the place, yet it keeps up its speed. That cannot be said of the BAF Romulus: unable to keep the rear in check at all times, it loses significant time and positions.

Two-wheeled moment from the Aeros S Van after hitting a curbstone. But fast reactions from the driver keep the van in check.

The LSV Mark loses control in the Squarelli slums. It’s not the best place to break down. And in the few mintutes it takes to get the car going again, the local throw angry looks at the little roadster.

A number of cars have seriously improved their position, including the Cisalpina, the FAO Lollypop (which even gained 10 places in this sector), and the LMC Spectre.

S3

The Barricada and Cisalpina and locked in a close fight over third place. The LMC Spectre is also moving up closer to the leading groups. The BAF Romulus likewise is climbing up to order, back to solid mid-pack.

Horrible crash from the East-Toramanians near San Giulia. Lahm and Huth are shaken, but the TW Frieden can continue eventually.

Crash as well from the FAO Lollypop as the car suddenly loses grip in a long sweeping high speed turn, losing the places they had gained near Squarelli.

It’s all looking a bit forced and awkward in the Suzume, but it is going fast.

Tense moment as we almost see a crash from the Tannberg Gladius. A bit squiggly on the breaking and almost turning into a small wall, that would have been a shock for the current leader in terms of time.

S4

Almost a crash from the Barricada nearing Fostina, but the driver manages to slow down and correct just in time. This leaves the Cisalpina an open entry into the top 3, unless the Suzume, which is a little while back, can surprise it still.

So excruciatingly slow and still it misses a corner. The Wentworth Womble is simply a bad car, but it held up to nearly the of the Corso. Now though, stuck between a lamp post and the front of a shipping company, Smith and Brewer are out.

Unfortunate bump into a sidewalk from the Birmingham Rumor, which shreds the tyre. This is time lost in the last few kilometres.

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As neither of the Juggernauts racing inthi class are mentioned I should probably think that things arent exactly great, but not bad for either.

In other words, things could be whole lot worse.

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Well… That was unexpected! I could’ve sworn I installed a reverse gear on the Womble :thinking:

The Womble is definitely a bad car though. I hope I didn’t send you the two speed car (I don’t remember, :laughing:) but the three speed isn’t much better! I have a lot of learning and work to do to make Wentworth a viable concept as I massively mis-imagined what would be suitable for cars in that era… :nerd_face:

Hopefully I’ll get 2 of 3 of my entrants to finish the race! :face_with_monocle:

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As I’ve expected for a bit sharp handling may have the drawback of being tricky to control.
But getting back solid in mid pack is nice.

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Definition of a bad car can vary. Ferrari F40 is very bad car if you are looking for family hauler, and BMW X5 is bad car if you are looking for sportscar.

How ever when we are talking late 40’s and early 50’s cars things get quite tricky.

At that time Japan didn’t have too large of car industry, I mean it was there, but it would take 10 more years to really come up. They did have road network, but they were mostly just mountain paths outside of the cities.

Europeans had mostly small cars with small engines, massive and expensive luxury cars, and conciderable amount of small and midsize sports cars. some nations having allready build considerable highway (Autobahn) network and others relying on what now would be called “small backroads”

Americans who at the time were building their highway network, cars were rapidly getting larger and more powerful. Australia being bit of an “in between” between Europe and America

So Americans, Europeans, and Japanese manufacturers had very different idea of what’s ideal car, and at the time they mostly stayed in their respective regions.
In this race I knew that more “european” desing would most likely be the winner, how ever as “my company” is more or less “American company.”
Therefore I was quite willing to take a hig on handling and go for bigger power, despite my cars had slightly “off era” real life comparison point on them,

Both Runabout and Familyman, are based off on Morris Minor, (1948-1971) Otyher slightly smaller FWD, other slightly larger RWD. and both are built to be rather basic family cars, Familyman having bit more luxury and comfort.
Hurja is based on Jaguar E-type (1961-1974) althuogh with notably smaller engine
Kulkuri and Kulkuri Special are essentially built to compete with 49-51 Ford and Mercury, which are few of the classic “Hot Rod / Custom” cars, First time introducing V8 and Automatic transmission on passenger cars… which happened with Chevrolet couple years later.

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It was austin powered between a building and a lamp post, and I couldn’t node grab it out.

That said, both first and reverse you had to be lucky to not stall the engine when trying to use them.

Well, that particular car was hard to get going at all, and even if you managed, it never really got going either… And then once past 70 km/h (which basically needs gravity assistance) it starts getting unstable.

It also wants to be a sporty roadster.

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