Stage 6:
Nehmenweld National Park to Sundale
Temperature at mid-day: 16°C
Night-time Low: 8°C
Weather Conditions: Again, weather conditions are stable, with little changes. Few clouds and mild winds make for a pleasant day to most people. Later on, more clouds appear in the sky, turning it into a thin overcast by the evening.
Camp Challenge: Police Authorized Top Speed Run.
After all the praise given to the highway system yesterday for being scenic, today, Highway Route 7 earns itself a bit of hatred. We’re cutting across the Plains of Nehmenweld at this point, and that means the road is very straight and very flat.
Police cars exist, but are willingly turning a blind eye for today. Some of them might even enjoy the otherworldly cars blasting by, given that there is little in the way of local motor traffic.
Fortunately, the view along the highway is still interesting, with a great view of some of the smaller villages, towns, and smaller cities along the way, and several occasions where the train tracks either run parallel to the road, or we’re driving over bridges above the tracks.
When, after 550 miles of highway, we exit and drive the last of our 561 mile trip into the small city of Sundale, we arrive in a suitably large campground just outside the city. About two miles further up the road is the train station and freight handling yard, complete with a turntable and a somewhat-hastily-constructed wood-and-dirt ramp from the tracks down to the gravel service road.
Next Stage Expected Conditions:
Road Speed: very high
Road Condition: good
Traffic: very low
Police: very low
Results Here: SR2023 Stage 6 - Google Drive
Team Shift Happens
Today was a comedy of errors for the Shift Happens crew. First, Malavera managed to get bad directions to the highway, courtesy of managing to lose the Stage 6 road map and Rukari having tossed the backup copy of all the stages back on Stage 4 to prevent Kasiya from finding an alternate route away from the twisty road of doom. Then Kasiya lost the air connection between the first and second trailer, slamming on the rear trailer’s brakes at 90 miles per hour. After reconnecting the hose and realizing they were going the wrong way, the two rigs made it onto the proper side of the highway and accelerated up to 90 miles per hour again… Only for Takaraya to request a pit-stop because he wasn’t sure whether the rattle was his engine or something else. After removing the rocks from inside the Home Unit’s maintenance bay, they tried again to get up to speed, only to end up pulled over by a curious Department of Transportation officer, who was surprised to learn that, yes, their trucks did have enough power to haul double trailers. Then, after being given multiple setbacks already, the crew had to wait for the road to be cleared leading into camp after a train broke down and blocked up the road crossing. The end result? They rolled into camp around 3 Sun the next day to a camp of people who weren’t sure whether to leave, or whether they’d stay an extra day.
VS Mobil Generator AB
With permission granted to give it everything, Val and his crew put the train on the tracks and sent it hard. After a bit under 6 hours, the quartet of cars rolls into the camp, having once again set a railroad speed record.
Team M.A.D.
The Walkenhorst is forced to stop after a bit of debris slashes the sidewall of one of the tires. A slow pit-stop on the side of the road gets it going again… A bit over an hour later. Meanwhile, the Sakura just buzzes along like an angry bee.
Team Sinesian Rejects
Despite the cops looking the other way today, Ianis doesn’t quite floor the Itan, though it is quite quick. Meanwhile, the trio in the Imbe are just hoping that no one hits them while speeding.
Team Not-So-Slow
It turns out that when you blow a tire, the right course of action is to pull over and change it. You guys, instead, drove on the flat tire until the rubber disintegrated and the rim was ruined. It took a wizard 20 hours to return your wheel and tire to usable condition again… And a surprisingly large amount of money as well.
The Ambassadors
Despite traveling separately, the Mayland just tucked in behind the IVERA and stayed in the draft provided by the Toppola on it.
The Knockouts
Camp Challenge Winner: 1325 Facelift - 171 MPH
(While other cars could physically go faster, they’re the only ones who blew through the speed-trap at the end actually actively sending it.)
Kate started up the 1325 Facelift with her usual plan in mind - floor it, don’t stop for cop cars, hope not to break down. This time, she was surprised to hear the absence of sirens behind her, and noticed the roads look quite different when not illuminated by red-and-blue flashing lights. Emboldened by the lack of response, she put the pedal into the firewall and shot past a pair of police officers who were timing cars with stop-watches, while a third did the math to find out the speed of each flying car.
Octavia, on the other hand, just did her usual Sunday cruise, enjoying the drive and watching as everyone blew past her.
Team Mravolinski-Chitco
The crew in the Kontir avoided the bit of road debris, but failed to warn the crew in the Saguaro of the unknown road object. This resulted in two flat tires on the passenger side of the car, and a long search for supplies to patch one and replace the other.
Team HETS
Some bad directions led to an 11 hour detour, but in the end, the crew got to camp safe and sound.
Team Flaming Gallahs
Slow is smooth and smooth is, well, still not fast. But at least the party bus looks damn good while cruising down the highway with their music playing.
Team Friendship! 
Today, the cars avoided having any lengthy stops to talk in the gas station, instead cruising into the camp without any problems.
Team Hillbilly Rollers
Some people are bound to have problems. At some point, something or someone must have bent one of the rear fenders on the IP Rugger. With Eddie Meduza playing on the radio, the rubbing went unnoticed until the tire exploded. Said tire proceeded to take out the brake line to the rear axle, which is really where most of the time was spent during this repair.
Team Sane Insanity
“But the fastest car in the world is a rental!”
“NO! We can’t afford to break it!”
“Fine.”
It’s a steady (but slow) trip in a sportscar and a rented minivan, but no damage is done.
Faolan Industries
This is where the pair of Aethers shine. A long, comfortable highway cruise, no worries about the speed limit, just get comfortable and let the engines growl.
Team Taciturn
It’s a fairly normal highway stage for the two cloaked aliens. Nothing breaks, and the cops aren’t caring about the little bit of speeding going on.
Team ReUnity
Today, the “Just f-ing send it” strategy works in your favor, as the cops don’t care, at least for this stage. Second place isn’t so bad.
Team Spy Kids
Both cars send it, but only the Mocabey pulls off a podium finish. The Reekayns is just not fast enough.
Team J3
We’re not sure whether the driver of the Tiharris was trying to send it, or just driving normally when the engine seized up. Luckily, it was easily “fixed” with a bit of magic to just “loosen everything up until it runs again.” Granted, it may have been quicker to actually solve the problem.
Team Aeromad
The Torrento had a torrential downpour… Of transmission oil. Turns out, aviation V12s and factory automotive transmissions don’t mix too well. Luckily, there was another spare onboard the Juggernaut, and so the problem was fixed, even though it meant that their lack of top speed was more self-preservation than sanity.
@Tzuyu_main & @FallingComet
Team Black Rabbit Disavowed
Neither half of the team decided to truly send it on this stage, but perhaps given the size of the Seikatsu, that was a good thing. A trouble free stage for the two vehicles.
Sheriff Scott’s Posse
No breakdowns, but also a deliberate choice to not speed today, means that the time they pulled off is only “average” instead of “good.”
Team “486”
It’s no surprise that both cars were sent on this stage - they’ve been sent like this on every stage so far. A joint 4th place isn’t a bad finish as a result.
Team Magdelena
Another team who chose not to just floor it, whether from sanity, self preservation, or just general distrust that the cops really were turning a blind eye to speeders today.
Team Machinas Con Passione
While the Faenza disappeared into the distance, the Blue Wonder was left at the side of the road, trying to figure out why their engine wasn’t running right. After firing the parts cannon at the entire ignition system, the problem is solved. What was it? “I dunno, something in that pile is bad.”
Cunning Stunts
A slow and steady run held back by the Contra UTE blowing all four tires. After fighting with lug nuts that were corroded in place and last tightened down with a rattle-gun, it was an easy process. It helped that Team Till D End kept you company while dealing with the same problem.
Team Till D End
Turns out that the tires on the Linx were just a bit more bald than you expected. When all four tires exploded, you rolled to a stop behind the Contra UTE of Team Cunning Stunts. They helped keep you company while you chased all the angels away trying to remove rusty lug nuts that some 800-pound-gorilla had tightened down last time.
Basedworks
A trouble-free run for two of the most recognizable cars on the field.
Team Gunship
The “fun” thing about street-legal race cars that have been prepped for road rallies is that sometimes it’s a pain in the ass to access the engine when something goes wrong. That’s how a simple decision to cut open an oil filter and check for shinies after hearing a funny rattle turned into a 7 hour debacle. Turns out, the engine’s mostly fine. That rattle? There’s a bad belt tensioner. It’s fixed… Well, “fixed,” with three zip ties, some duct tape, a piece of chewed bubble gum, and a clicky-pen.
4 Dicks in a Truck
Hammer down and haul ass! While not quite sending it, it’s still respectably fast for a big truck.