##Team Cignale
Day 1 Leg 2
Day 1 Leg 1
Day 0
Car & Team
-Still alive?
-Yes
-Now?
-I’m ok, but you will be dead in a minute if you continue!
-This hairpins scare me, i can’t look!
-Can you please slow down? This van lean too much, we are going to roll over! And we are ahead of schedule.
-Ok, ok… but please shut up.
#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post - Previous Post
The story so far: Three uni students in a somewhat battered saloon in the middle of nowhere driving as boisterously as they themselves are and playing loud music to the discontent of everyone else within a 5 mile radius.
“Oh will you put something else on guys, I don’t understand your damn music!” - Seb was not happy about James’s choice of Interpol for driving music, though the other two were loving it.
“Mate, if you think we’re putting any of your Spanish Europop shit on then you’re very wrong” said Martin in a cocky attitude, gunning the Berlose round another bend.
Seb sighed and went back to the map. “Take it easy” he instructed, “couple of really sharp bends coming up”. A stark left-handed turn with a very steep incline came up, and Martin managed took the corner hard. The car understeered badly. Martin slammed on the brakes.
“Jesus, dude!” cried James - his sunglasses had almost come off in how quickly they’d stopped.
There was silence in the car. “At least the brakes work” he said. The guys all looked around, and then burst out laughing.
.
The team made it to Canyon Rock and parked up. James leaned against the car while Seb sat on the bonnet, as the two of them watched the myriad of vehicles coming in off the descent. “They look seriously shaken” said James, chuckling to himself as a distinctive bright blue hatchback drove by. It was followed by the Galt Communitasia.
“I’m amazed they’ve brought that along” said Seb. “My grandma used to own one back when España was nationalist.”
Martin appeared from behind the car. “I think the exhaust managed to survive that beating. It’s still making that weird noise” he said, still confused by why it only appeared to be blowing on occasion and not constantly.
Still, the car was still here and working, meaning that problem was one for another time.
EDIT 27/3/17: Holy shitballs! My greatest apologies to any Spanish users here or anyone interested in Spanish history, I meant to refer to Francoist Spain which most certainly wasn’t communist…corrected now though!
Before Departing
Luke looked over to see Ram from Team Yokai approaching the car. He also heard the announcer call up Team Greasy Lightning, followed three minutes later by Team Arstotska.
“Sorry, but we’ve gotta run. We’re next! Maybe at the next checkpoint we can chat.” Luke called, firing up the V8 beast and sending it screaming across the parking lot.
Amy, Linda, and Scott looked confident going in as they lined up on the starting line, and the flag dropped.
The Stage
Luke floored it in first again, hoping to make the most of the brutal power and keep their score low, close to that mystic zero. Linda shouted rally-style driving instructions to Luke over the rising racket inside the car, and Amy helped keep a close eye on the car’s many gauges. Scott took the opportunity to vomit over the side of the car on a particularly sharp corner, using inertia to keep it away from the car.
“Can you drive, you know, like a normal person on this shit, please?” Scott said. “I just threw up my quick snack, and you’re still throwing me around the back seat like a rag doll given to a puppy.”
“I would, except, there’s a bit of a problem.” Luke said.
“Meaning?” Amy asked, looking worried.
Luke stepped on the brakes, and the car hissed angrily as the brakes engaged, though their speed still kept constant.
“We’ve got no brakes!?” Linda yelled. “Oh, we’re so fuckin’ dead!”
“Relax, I’ve got it covered. We’re still in control.” Luke said, grabbing the column shifter to override the automatic. “We’ve got 662 cubic inches of goes-damn-fast under the hood. If we drop it down a gear or two, then starve it of fuel…”
“It’s 662 cubic inches of mechanical brake.” Amy finished. “Simple physics.”
Luke dropped it down into third, hearing the revs climb dangerously close to redline, though they started slowing down as the revs dropped, the car getting no additional fuel from the higher rate of rotation. As the engine slowed enough to be safe, Luke pulled it down into second, again bringing the big beast of an engine up to 4300 RPM, slowing enough to be safe.
“We’ll just leave her in second, she’ll be fine.” Luke said.
“Look out! Shitbox!” Scott yelled, as they swerved wildly around the little blue broken-down hatchback.
Luke fiddled with the controls on the dash, still wrenching the wheel around with his left hand. He turned the lights on, the air conditioning on, the heat on full blast, the blower fan on high, the radio on, playing Iron Maiden’s Aces High at full volume as they screamed down the hills.
“The hell are you doing, Luke?!” Linda yelled over the racket.
Amy and Scott answered about the same time.
“Increasing the electrical load, so the engine has to work harder.” from Scott and “Increasing the physical load on the engine so it has more friction to work against.” from Amy.
“What?”
“I’m dragging the engine down with higher load, so we slow down faster.” Luke said.
They limped the Sinistra into the canyon, where Luke tried his best to make up time without exceeding the limited capability of the brakes. At the same time, they still had the lights on, the heater on, the air conditioning on, and the radio playing at full blast, so that when they had to slow down, Luke could lift off of the gas, step on the faded brakes, and at the same time, step on the emergency brake pedal.
They did make it to the end, however, and parked the car, knowing repairs would have to be done.
Day 1, Leg 2 Aftermath
Not long after they parked up, turned off all the noise from the radio, the various things Luke had turned on in a moment of hope and panic, and shut the engine down, the car was up on jack stands.
“Luke, you’ll have to do most of the work. Everything’s so hot that none of us can touch it.” Scott said.
“Not a problem. Get some food, some drink, maybe ask one of the other teams for some alcohol if your nerves are that far gone. I’ll do my best to prioritize the fixes for the car.” Luke said.
He worked quickly, removing the wheels and studying the brake rotors. “Warped, gacked, and trashed. Pads are shot, calipers might be okay, but I’ll have to bleed the brakes because I’m fairly sure our fluid was boiling at some point.” he said, more for his own notes than anything else. Luke pulled the caliper off, removed the dead brake pads, then dug through the trunk to find their brake spares.
“Enough to replace the rotors once, and this will put us down to 3 spare sets of pads. ‘Use the engine, not the brakes’, I think, is the lesson learned today.” Luke said, printing a label for the old brake rotor as he removed it.
“Caution: Hot. Warning: Do Not Use.”
It took him a while, but Luke did manage to repair and bleed the brakes. He checked the home-brew voltage regulator, replaced it with a fresh spare, and topped up all the fluids, being careful not to overlook anything.
He packed their supplies into the trunk, tossed the burned up rotors in the box labeled “Broken Shit” and then put the used brake pads in the garbage.
It was going to be a long two days. Luke looked at his team-mates sitting near the car, wondering why he’d chosen the old Sinistra Savage. It wasn’t like there weren’t other perfectly-good options on the market. But then again, he’d felt a connection to this car, like it was meant to be his.
Amy, Linda, and Scott sat near the car, having a couple of burgers while they waited for the next leg of the challenge. Scott had a bottle of beer he’d traded a spare burger for, seeming the most shaken of the four of them.
“I’ve never seen anyone so calm like that. We’ve lost the brakes, and he’s just sitting there like nothing’s wrong, it’s perfectly fine, everything’s under control.” Scott said.
“That’s Luke for ya. He’s built for combat, you know. Somewhere under that Twilight Blue paint and that Storm Automotive jacket, there’s a soldier, a warrior. Someone who keeps his cool when trouble starts. He knew what to do to save everyone.” Amy said.
“Yeah, but what if it didn’t work? What if dropping down a few gears wasn’t enough to slow the car down? We could’ve died.” Scott said.
“There’s a number of things I could have tried, should the brakes have failed completely and the car had become uncontrollable. I could have thrown the car in reverse, burned up the transmission to get the car slowed down enough for you three to make it to safety. I could have switched off the engine, turned the torque converter against the transmission as it’s now trying to spin an engine that refuses to move. I made sure not to burn up the emergency brake, because it could be the last brake we had in the event of trouble. However, we managed without needing to resort to these methods because the methods I chose worked.” Luke said, looking over the side of the car.
“See, he’s got backup plans for the backup plan. Relax, drink your beer, and just keep in mind that Luke’s got it under control.” Linda said. “Believe me, I was scared, too, but we couldn’t be in better hands right now.”
Can’t be bothered to get previous post here. I’ll do it later.
The team felt confident about the car performance. Despite high altitude and rough terrain. The Special Siskin was doing well enough. Jimmy gave the seat to Ivor, who is a much calmer driver.
“I must give it to you, Rory, putting Turbocharger on this car is genius. Even at this altitude the car doesn’t lost much power at all” Jimmy exclaims to Rory while Ivor is sawing away at the wheels to negotiate tight turns.
“But the next section is not about power now, is it? It’s clearly a downhill. Guys, are you ready? Do you have something to hold onto?” Ivor speak while looking at all the passenger.
“Go for it, Ivor. Use all that SCCA experience you ever had.” Trevor shout to give permission for Ivor to drive at 11/10th.
It was at this moment the steep descent arrived. Ivor move the floor mounted shifter into 2nd, and then Low. As to engine brake the car in order to save the brakes. This was the moment when the cabin suddenly filled with strong smell of transmission fluid.
“What in the god’s name is happening!” Trevor shouts while waving hands in front of his nose.
“That’s definitely ATF. Oh man the smell is terrible.” Rory said.
“Will the car make it?” Ivor ask with worrying look.
“How am I supposed to know? What I can tell you is that I have plenty of Dexron-III in the boot for the next time we park.” Rory replied with a look of annoyance in his face.
“Hang on, doesn’t this thing use Dexron-I?”
“Do you want to go whale hunting?. They don’t make them anymore! Dexron-III will do just fine!”
Unable to computer yesterday. Too many wives and children.
Previous Post ---- Next Post
-------- Leg 1---------
Bill: Are you sure that it’s not going to fall out? Maybe you should have fixed it before we started.
Toni: I know what I’m doing! I’m more worried about the dust in here. Maybe YOU should have covered those vents!
Bill: Toni, it’s not an out and out race! Plus, we are in a van. Anyway, weren’t those Enforcer things were used as police cars?
Toni: Feel free to tell me you think we’re the only ones driving like this, and I’ll let the rest of them pass us. This van’s got plenty left.
Wookiee: Slow down a little. The turn’s coming up.
GPS: Left turn in 100 metres.
The van vibrates as Toni brakes hard and turns onto the gravel surface
Toni: Now the fun begins. Hold on boys! Stones fly in all directions as Toni hits the juice
They arrive at the parking area and jump out. Bill runs to the back of the van to see not only is the licence plate missing, but the left tail light assembly is now without a… tail light assembly.
Bill: Yep, it’s gone. The lights themselves are still there, just no reflector or lens. That’s a new one. Time for some tape!
Wookiee: You do that. Who’s driving next?
Toni: Wookiee, you up for it?
Wookiee: I’ll give it a try.
Toni: Try not! Do, or do not. There is…
Bill: Please, stop it.
Toni: whispers no try.
Wookiee chuckles as he pulls out the map.
-------Leg 2------
5 minutes after leaving Blackjack parking area.
Wookie: I’m no rally driver, you’ll just have to accept that!
Bill: I’m with you. I’m sure that sound is getting worse.
Toni: I’ve told you, it’s fine. Are you sure there’s only the one way down?
The van shudders as it crosses the corrugations in the road surface… followed by a smashing sound
Bill: The back window! What the hell? Now you can complain about the dust!
Wookiee: We’re about half way down, so expect more of that.
A hard left and the back of the van slips around, narrowly missing a large rock
Bill: You said you aren’t a rally driver!
(Toni laughs)
#Team Cunning Stunts: Day 1, Leg 2
L: Lawrence
S: Stephanie
A: Alex
Start of Leg 2
S: Alex! Alex! Where are you?!
A: (stumbling) Oh hey sis…
S: For God’s sake are you drunk?
L: How? I didnt pack any alcohol.
A: Ughh… The Southend guys let me have some, they’re a fun bunch.
S: Thank god youre not driving today, you’re going to get us all killed.
L: Here, catch.
A: Huh? What’s this?
L: Map and GPS, youre navigating.
A: …ahh yeah I remember now. Everything packed?
S: We packed everything an hour ago, You’ll be setting it all up on your own when we get the next camp
A: Ahh crap…
End of Leg 2
L: Exactly how did we get lost?
A: Look I don’t have a degree in Geography.
L: All you had to do was read the bloody map! How hard is that?
S: Alright, alright, enough bickering. We made it in one piece…Holy shit! Do you see that car?
L: What happened to it?
A: Looks like the suspension’s broke. Probably shattered due to the terrain.
S: Alex, check the car now. We can’t have any failures on the suspension now. Give it a thorough check.
A: Sure thing, will do.
Car Condition: Leg 2
Alex
So after one of the cars were forced to retire after the shock towers on their car broke, I’ve been giving the ‘Lucky Lady’ a good search. Fortunately, our suspensions seem to be holding out with little rust in sight. The tyres also seem to be holding out well. However, the engine isn’t doing so well. It was boiling today, so we’ve used a lot of the water on hydrating ourselves and the car. Fortunately the weather forecast says it’s getting colder later today. But my feeling is that we’ll need to run the car a bit slower and possibly take more stops so ensure we actually make it to the end.
Team Hobo
Day One Leg 2
Taking advantage of the engine’s temperature, Hobo warmed some canned food. Hobo dog woke up with the smell of bean stew…and started do go nuts!!
Hobo: Shut up annoying dog!! Here…drink some liquor… get some sleep.
After eating that precious meal, was time to do down the hill… Hobo was nervous, all that weight, all that booze, hitting those drum brakes… He choose to go slow and very careful not to break any precious bottle, the van was going nice and steady…
Hobo: Man, so many potholes… potholes everywhere…pot… pot… so many pot… i have to…now!!
He lighted a joint, and things went much better… 
Hobo Girl: You pothead bastard…gimme some of that…
The hobo dog, was wasted and high with all that smoke… he dreamt about pink fields, and digging golden bones, and chasing cats that danced around him…how happy that dog was!!
They managed to arrive in one piece, all very happy… 
Things are not good at team DSD. Romeo officially wants to kill DS5. The small portable stereo blared Arch Enemy all the way down the desent with DS5 screamin down the hill at full throttle. The supercharger screamed the offroad suspension and tyres made this leg alot easier for team DSD than the other teams and the Frenchman and Aussie completed the journey as fast as possible. We can see that there may be issues and stops in the near future and the decision was made (by DS5 not Romeo) to go fast where we can ao we can go slow when we need.
Status report. Another supercharger belt chewed, air filter has a hole (fixed with a womans stocking from team greasy lightning) team greasy offered to jump in team DSD’s ute tray for the next leg…Remeo is salty as a cartoon of beer fell off the back thanks to DS5’s exuberent driving
Day 1 Leg 2
Aaron “This road is even worse than the one before”
Paul " Happens"
Aaron “You know that the ladder chassis is hold by Rust and Ducttape”
Paul “Duct Tape is strong. Everything will be finnnneeee”
Paul continues to drive the van through the hill-ish paths until a loud sound from the van struck them like lightning
“The Fuck was that” Both said
Immediately the van came to a stop.
Paul “Damage Report now!”
Aaron is lying on the floor and looks at the chassis
Aaron “We should put more Ducttape on it.”
Paul “Is it bad?”
Aaron " Let me put it this way. We are getting lighter and lighter by the minute. Just be careful"
Paul “Well…shit. But we have to keep going before anyone passes us”
As both of them start to open the doors to get in Aaron notices something.
Aaron " Was this side of the van always this low ?"
Status report:
Car : Needs more Ducttape and prayers
Crew : Nervous
(( Quick question. Is it possible to repair part at some point in the future ?"
Even though I did not enter this competition, the story for it has me on the edge of my seat because it’s even more unpredictable than I thought it would be, especially now that one of the entrants has been eliminated!
Quick repairs are possible mid- or end-leg (brake adjustments, tire replacements, fluid top offs, etc.)
Moderate repairs are possible mid-leg (will cause significant time loss) or at day end. This include things like alternator replacements, removing mangled body pieces, suspension component replacements (assuming replacement parts are available - I randomize this. Obviously you can’t carry a whole car’s worth of spare parts)
Severe repairs MAY be possible at day end, but chances of carrying spares/tools for these is very low (I will notate if repair is possible). While it is possible to continue, they will hamper your ability to do so.
Critical failures cannot be repaired. They signify the end of your journey.
I should clarify something else at this point:
While failures have been rolled for for the past 2 legs, I pre-determined that no teams would suffer a critical failure before the Kaminari, and that it would die in leg 2.
Everything from this point on is literally a roll of the dice.
There are 2 teams with moderate repairs needed, that I will PM separately about it.
Quick question, how many days will there be in total?
2 days. 11 legs day 1, 13 legs day 2. 24 total legs.
NOTE:My speech is in bold
Rams’s is in italic
– Day 1, 9:54 AM –
I yawned. Ram noticed I had awoken proceeding the briefing for Leg 2. Guh? Oh, hey. I said wearily, scratching my eyes. Rise and shine. I’m still kinda salty about before. The GPS was programmed perfectly. If only that stupid wheel thing hadn’t happened… He began to drift away. I replied well, we live and learn I guess in hope that would comfort him. I looked around at the other cars, and came to the realization that we might’ve been the last one. We’re one of the last ones, aren’t we? Ram looks at me with a distant face and shrugs. Throw me a snack. I’m gonna talk to that Luke guy. I wondered aloud, Luke who? as I grab a pack of trail mix (composed mostly of candy) from the back. I hear Ram say something like twin turbo and lunatics, so I decided to leave him be.
– Day 1, 9:59 AM –
Before the briefing began, I started to look around. Hey, where’s the Suzume? Ram shrugged. Beats me. Suddenly, the briefing began. “Alright everyone. Now marks the beginning of Leg 2. Before we start, we’d like to point out all who’ve dropped out of the running so far.” Ram and I look at each other for a second in amazement, as if to say “somebody already dropped out?” A board was rolled out with a picture of the Kaminari crossed out. “Due to the rear shock towers rusting out, the Suzume dropped out of the competition.”
For a second, I was almost disgusted. If they can drop out so soon, couldn’t we?.. Ram had a different POV. I mean, it really does suck for them, but now we have one less competitor, right? I perked up. Yeah… You’re right! My confidence was easily regained, only to dwindle again when I heard the course we’d be running.
“Your course for leg 2 will be on the far side of Blackjack Pass. It is not as heavily traveled, and thus difficult to maintain. The initial descent is very steep and heavily switchbacked, rutted, washboarded, with random rocks. Once it descends into the canyon it levels out for a bit, before turning to a steady, moderate descent. Potholes and washboarding pock the entire section.”
The other teams whisper to each other. I looked back, along with a few others, at our own car. I thought to myself about what could possibly happen, but I decided to instead think about the positive outcome; our car is strong. It’s got all the credentials. I was really rooting for it at this moment.
“Before we let you guys head off, we’ll give you your results and our field notes. You should get a notice on your phones, but we’ll also hand out hard copies.”
I signaled a “no thank you” when they passed out the hard copies, instead looking at the field notes provided. Under “Team Yokai” were 5 words: “Not bad, for two kids!” I grinned. Ram, too, saw around the same time I did. We were definitely going to keep going, no matter what it takes.
– Day 1, Leg 2 - 10:24 AM –
Are you ready?
Yep.
Okay, then we’re ready to set off!
I press in the clutch, shift into first, and then set off away from the first destination. The smooth whirring of the Arctos began to raise in pitch with the car going down the decline. I suddenly realize my mistake of not scanning the horizon. Oh, craaaaaap! The Arctos begins to barrel down towards a boulder. Shit, shit, shit, shit Ram exclaimed, starting out whispering and then transitioning into a louder, more frenzied yell. I slam on the brakes only for the back end to become weightless. Thankfully, the Arctos’ brakes do a dandy job at, well, what it’s supposed to do. The Kimura comes to a halt. Ram, as usual, begins to laugh. I pretend to ignore this and then proceed to tread carefully, still full of adrenaline.
– Day 1, Leg 2 - 10:41 AM –
The slope remained steep for a little while, but I’ve gotten used to it; there are a few patches where I’ve had to weave around and a few small scares, but overall the van is handling duty very well. Ram, on the other hand, seems to have gotten bored reclined in the passenger seat; he’d fallen asleep. Regardless, the path ahead was beginning to level out; no more did I have to worry about the van crashing into the Earth, but the road was still one less traveled. Potholes and ditches tested the suspension of the Arctos, but the Kimura had dealt with it well. We soldiered on with confidence and excitement towards our next destination.
#Team Clockwork Orange
The consensus for round 1 was to take it carefully and go slowly. And the results were just that, they missed the average time by being too slow. This mistake wouldn’t repeat itself in leg two.
The downhill descent, full of loose pebbles, was catching out lots of cars, however the 38 year old suspension managed to soak bumps really well, while the light body and vented disks meant the car had no problems of brake fade, or needing to overstop for corners. Maybe they got themselves a bit too excited.
Points for the car for not getting stuck yet.
The guys were happy with progress, however, some slight tension was starting to develop, as the driver was being too inconsistent.
TEAM OUTRIDERS
Marc: We should not have eaten before this part.
Blake: The road is a bit rough isn’t it? Thank God the suspension is holding out.
Marc: Shit, sharp curve!
(Blake hits the brakes and turns the wheel over then stamps on the gas pedal. The ass end of the Enforcer swings flawlessly around the bend before straightening up on the next downhill section)
Blake: Told you I could drive.
Marc: Well please don’t do that any more!
Blake: This coming from the fastest cop in Tatum Heights?
Marc: One who’s three years away from retirement you ass!
Blake: Okay, okay, we’re almost through the switchbacks anyway.
(rumble, rumble, THUD!)
Blake: Uh oh.
Marc: Don’t give me any bad news.
Blake: Check engine light came on.
Marc: I said don’t give me any bad news!
Blake: I’m pulling over once we hit the flats.
(After a rough run through the switchbacks, the two men pull over. Worden hooks the XGV scanner to the Enforcers OBDII port and this time pulls two codes)
Blake: P0202 and P0208, injector circuit failure cylinders two and eight.
Marc: Bloody hell! So what now? We have a V6?
Blake: Let’s continue on, you drive, I want to call Luigi and see if he has any advice.
(As the Enforcer chugs along at a slower speed, Blake Worden gives a call to Luigi, his old associate who was most familiar with Enforcer Police cars.)
Blake: Hey Luigi, it’s Blake… Yeah, she’s fine… Jim’s getting married next Spring… That’s wonderful… That’s what, number five? What the hell? Are you starting another race or something? Anyway, I’ve got a bit of a problem. You still familiar with the old Enforcers? We’ve got a check engine light, the two codes are P0202, and P0208… That’s right, injector failures… I thought those damn things were good for at least 300,000 miles… Uh huh… Okay, we’ll take a shot… Yup…
Marc: Tell that prick I said “Hi”
Blake: Marc says “Hi”… No, I’m not calling him that… Because he’s driving and he also carries a gun… Anyway, thanks, we’ll check it out… And if it’s not that, then it’s likely the other? Okay, If we find a junkyard we should be square… Thanks again… See you soon, bye.
Marc: What did he say?
Blake: He says we should try swapping around the injectors and see if any new codes pop up. If they do, then it’s faulty injectors, if not, then we likely need an ECM.
Marc: An ECM? Where the hell would we find one of those?
Blake: About any junkyard should carry some. They made so many of these cars, finding spare parts should not be an issue.
Marc: All right, let’s pray that nothing gets worse before we hit our checkpoint.
(Later when the Enforcer reaches the end of the second leg, Blake Worden gets to work pulling out the injectors from the number one and number two cylinders and swapping them. He then does the same to numbers seven and eight.)
Blake: Okay, that should do it.
Marc: We’ll keep the scanner hooked up and see if any more pop up.
Canyon Rock to Fox Lake via FR 2725A
This side-spur climbs steeply at first, leveling out as it rises above the canyon via a notch created by Fox Creek. The road is fairly well maintained, though recently removed deadfalls and occasional exposed rocks create a bit of a hazard.
High clouds have moved in, making the skies generally overcast. However, a dark tendril extends over Blackjack Pass behind. The winds begin to pick up slightly, and the air cools by about 5 degrees.
Length 5; Avg Grade 8; Max Grade 17
@cpufreak101
LAE Exact; MRL +2; Notes: None
@Madrias
LAE Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None
@Fayeding_Spray
LAE Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None
@F17Francesco
LAE High (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None
@HighOctaneLove
LAE High (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None
@conan
LAE Low (fast); MRL 0; Notes: Car continues to smell of burning trans fluid. Fluid topped off at checkpoint.
@DeusExMackia
LAE High (slow); MRL +1; Notes: None
@szafirowy01
LAE Low (fast); MRL +0; Notes: White smoke billows out from under the hood just before pulling in at checkpoint. Quick inspection shows that the overflow tank probably released some coolant directly on the exhaust manifold.
@Mikonp7
LAE Extremely low (slow); MRL -1; Notes: Found a broken suspension mount at the K-member. Spent time jury-rigging with a wood block and duct tape. Doesn’t sound or feel terribly great, but doesn’t seem to have too much excess play either.
@JohnWaldock
LAE Medium (slow); MRL +1; Notes: None
@8bs
LAE High (slow); MRL +0; Notes: Vehicle seems slightly down on power at extreme grades.
@DoctorNarfy
LAE High (slow); MRL +1; Notes: None
@BobLoblaw
LAE Extremely low (slow); MRL -2; Though testing has revealed that swapping injectors side to side changes which bank shows the errors, the trouble has not gone away. Vehicle has made the climb, but it was extremely rough and disconcerting. . WARNING — TEAM MORALE LOW
@stm316
LAE High (slow); MRL +1; Notes: None
@Dorifto_Dorito
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL +1; Notes: None
@Leonardo9613
LAE - High (slow); MRL +1; Notes: Braking power seems a bit down.
@Darkshine5
LAE - Exact; MRL +2; Notes; The Elk seemed more like a mountain goat on this leg.
@Rk38
LAE Low (slow); MRL 0; Notes: Slowed down on this section due to tire compound. Scraped rear passenger door on a deadfall.
@EnryGT5
LAE Low (slow); MRL 0; Notes: Transmission kept popping out of gear.
@titleguy1 / @ramthecowy
LAE Medium (slow); MRL +1; Notes: Van performing well, team has high confidence.
For whatever reason. Even when trying to nurse the car without too many rigorous driving. Team POD still arrive at every end of of the leg waaaaay too fast. And the car still smell of burning transmission fluid, which aggravate everyone in the car.
At the end of the leg. Rory the engineer decided the best way to fix this is to top off the fluid. Burning smell can indicate that the ATF is overheating. Which in turns is cause by either low or terrible fluid condition. As the fluid was replaced before the race. He decided that it was the former that is causing the issue. That’s all they can do for now. So hopes and pray that the transmission is not going to explode on them.
This type of transmission. Bork-Warwick BW5 3 Speed was not known for terrible reliability, even if it’s not bulletproof. It was use in many British, American and even German cars. But 50 years later and in a car this terrible. It seems to be the only weak link on this Platts Special Siskin. Because somehow, there is no other issue to report.
This came to be a bit of a surprise to Rory the engineer. As he expected the car’s infamous British electronic to shorted circuit, smoking wires, and engulfed in flame by day end. But that doesn’t seem to be happening at all.
Day One: Leg 3
Pierre
Leg three saw me again at the wheel of the Kitten and I was rearing to go! Having been embarrassed by Andrew’s excellent Leg 2 run, I decided to throw caution to the wind. The uphill section felt glacial, since the Kitten is NA and FWD so I was surprised when we caught air at the top of the hill! Thankfully nothing broke but I was hammering along, way over the pace, which resulted in our time being too quick. At least we arrived in one piece and, I’m glad to report, so did everyone else, although a couple of entrants limped home rather than arrive in style…
Andrew
Having taken up the navigators baton for leg three, I was concerned that ol’ Pierre would hold us back as despite the relatively decent road conditions, the initial part of the run was a steep ascent followed by a relatively flat section of road. To make matters worse it looked like we were going to have rain! I shouldn’t have concerned myself, however, as Pierre shot out of the gate like a bat out of hell, then proceeded to redline the Kitten all the way to the finish! I admired Pierre’s enthusiasm but if we went too fast then we’d fall outside of our target time. Oh, the one thing that wasn’t fun was the yump. We crested that rise and my stomach did a somersault as we were airborne! Pierre must have freaked himself out because he failed to slow down; at all! I’ve never been happier that the Kitten isn’t super fast as we didn’t lose too much time by being early…
Summary
Day 1.3
Car: No damage yet, car’s still blue, needs to be registered with the FAA! 
Crew: So glad we found a NA, FWD rallycar instead of an AWD turbo one! MRL +1 (+5 in total!)
#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post - Previous Post
The story so far: Three uni students in an Erin Berlose going where no Berlose has gone before. So far, the running has been good, though they’re beginning to feel that they might have been a bit cocky to begin with. Still, after the scare on the last leg with the whole ‘almost understeering into a tree’ thing, they’re taking it a little more carefully now.
“COME ON YOU OLD GIT” said James, his teeth gritted and his face visibly frustrated. The 2.7l i6 was giving all it had to get up this slope, but it wasn’t quite enough for him it seemed.
“Easy James” said Seb in his reassuring Spanish accent, “she’s not indestructable you know!”. He seemed to be growing in concern.
“Trust me mate, this ain’t no female car. I don’t call women gits” James responding, slamming the car down into 2nd gear.
“Ha, James, we all know how you treat your women” said Seb, feeling satisfied with his jibe. All this time, Martin stared straight ahead in a slight sense of fear, having been elected not to drive after what happened on the last leg. Nonetheless, he was surprised at James’s ‘enthusiasm’ behind the wheel.
“Oh, don’t start me now Seb” replied James, a hint of anger in his voice. He yanked the wheel to the left to get round a bend. “Just because you can pull by swishing your hair”
Seb cracked up laughing, falling back into his seat. “Don’t get too jealous, I know you find me attractive anyway”
“Seb, everyone finds you attractive, and yes, I am jealous” said James sarcastically.
“Especially after New Years a few years ago” - Seb was loving every minute of pissing James off, who now seemed to be translating his anger into his driving.
“GUYS” - Martin suddenly broke through. “Shut the f*ck up, for gods sake”. Silence rang through the car. “We’re at the top of the climb”. A sense of relief descened on the team, and James even slowed down a bit.
.
Having gone too fast earlier on, the team took a quick break by the side of the track.
“I’ve got Daim bars, Milka, uh” - Martin rummaged through the snacks they’d brought, his head in the boot of the car - “Oh, and some Yorkies. There’s a Boost bar too if anyone wants it”
“I’ll have the Yorkie” shouted James, having calmed down a lot. He was admiring the view, with the stunning mountain scenery reflecting off of his sunglasses.
The black Vole GTi of Team Cunning Stunts ran by. “How much beer did you give them again?” he said, turning to Seb.
Seb chuckled. “Only one. But I spiked it with some Anís”
“Wait, you’ve got a bottle of that stuff with you?” replied James, with a mix of surprise and joy.
“Yeah!” said Seb
“Dude! Why didn’t you say?” said James.
“I was saving it for the camp tonight.”
Seb had introduced Martin and James to Anís at the house party they all met at back in their first year at university. It’s an aniseed liquor, sometimes called anise or anisette, that is often used in cocktails. Of course, being students, they don’t really have the money to afford the other mixers for said cocktails, so the three of them ended up drinking it neat and getting shitfaced. And they’ve been best friends ever since.
.
Martin watched the darkening skies with intrepidation. “Storm’s comin’” said James.
“Jesus christ James, if I hear you say that in your poxy American accent one more goddman time I will duct tape you head to the front of this car and we’ll see how you like it when we’re doing 50 mph down a dirt track” - evidently, Martin had been waiting to let loose for a little while. And he had reason to do so; James had been saying that damn phrase for the past hour, after all…