Meanwhile over at Team Slow.
Team Slow- Part 1- Race
John: Why did you choose this thing???
After nearly hitting the IP
Matt (Pits enginner): I thought it looked cool.
John:Whate- He gets cut off by M on the radio
M: No excuses. Its a reliable Japanese car. We’re on lap 255. Oh and no one will put a new pair of tyres on.
J: Yeah, with 135HP we got.
3 Likes
Some OOC info that may be interesting:
The writeups may be shorter this time than before, on the other hand, that may mean some freedom to use the imagination more in RP:ing.
I have decided to not mention every little skid or hiccup this time, because it meant that I had to write a wall of text which was the reason why it took so long last time. Also, with the same car getting the same small faults time after time after time, it became repetitive to both read and write.
So, if you find this new format better, it’s good because then it was a success for both of us. If you find it more boring, I apologize, but as I said, what’s not in my writing can always be made up with more imagination. And if you have suggestions about anything I can gladly take a discussion via PM or Discord to maybe improve future competitions. Even if I can sound a little bit harsh about rules etc. I am actually pretty eager for discussion and can be flexible.
Over and out!
/OOC
6 Likes
Team Racing Stripes
Part 1:
Rukari was the first driver up, and it was almost immediately obvious that the Valraadi was likely to be the most aggressive behind the wheel. Leaving the pit lane, Rukari wrenched the stick down into Low and planted his heavy, boot-clad foot down on the gas pedal. Six screaming cylinders bellowed a war cry as the Sinistra squealed across the starting line, hammering the rev limiter until Rukari stuffed the car up into Drive, the old slushbox straining to keep up. The car was built with the intent of lazily carrying people to and from their 9-to-5 job in comfort, occasionally stopping to pick up groceries, not with the intent of being tossed around a race track. The transmission shrieked and whined like a jet engine every time Rukari put his foot down, though it was clear that Rukari had no mechanical sympathy whatsoever.
This aggressive pace worked well for a while, with the worn-out old street tires squealing around every corner like an old TV show car chase, the engine bellowing like it had twice the power that it actually had. With a little more than 200 horses on tap, the 3.9 liter V6 was well out of its element on a track, especially connected to a sluggish 4 speed automatic. Rukari chucked the car into one of the many corners, only for the rear tires to let go out of spite for the Scandinavian flick that Rukari had used. The car, now unsettled, wailed and shrieked as it spun around, narrowly being dodged by the Chinese Xianfeng, and providing Rukari with a front-row seat to watch the Tempest and the Cabrera collide with each other. After an aggressive three-point turn, Rukari pointed the car the right way around and floored it, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.
Many more laps later, Rukari ‘encountered’ the Wells I6 of Team X, slamming on the brakes to avoid crashing into the slower car, only to crash straight into the back of the car anyway. Rukari clicked on the radio and bellowed at the driver, “Zaruki! Vi ahl hiri, di ahl kosari nevosa!” (Translation: “Idiot! I am hunting, you are riding slowly!” (Yes, I actually do have a Valraadii language mostly written up. I’ve been dabbling in writing sci-fi/fantasy for a while now.))
“Rukari!” Kaylie yelled over the radio, “No one here knows Valraad! Speak English!”
“Get out of my way!” Rukari snarled. He swerved around the Wells, belted the car around the corner, and promptly slammed into the guardrail, scraping up the Imperial Purple paint on the passenger side and knocking off the wire-wheel hub caps, leaving the car wearing the black steelies beneath on one side. Rukari’s response was simply to punish the car further, flooring it past the start/finish line, ignoring Kaylie on the radio who was trying to get him into the pits to check over the car.
“Kaylie, if you think it is broken,” Jaden said, “you’ll have to wait until Rukari gets past the blue mist he’s under. He’s focused, and he’ll only stop once the car makes him stop. Then we’ll put you in the hot seat and you’ll drive whatever’s left. Then Kayden, then me, and if we need to, Rukari will take the fifth bit of seat time.”
4 Likes
Prior to the race
Ollie and Steven were taking a break from gutting the interior and installing the cage into the Andromeda, enjoying a few slices of pizza.
“So, this race is going to be 24 hours long, right?” asked Steven between bites.
“Da, it’s the 24 hour clunker run, after all.”
“Do you plan on adding anyone else to our team? I mean, I know you and I enjoy long, spirited drives and all, but don’t you think it being the two of us would make the race a bit much? It would certainly be nice to have some others to help us, even if it was just for repairs and fueling and what not.”
“What about your wife, Christy? She’s always been willing to help us out with our automotive escapades. And she’s pretty good with logistics and stuff, da? I’m sure skills like that would help us stay on track.”
“Hmm…yeah, that might work. She has said it would be cool to drive a car on a racetrack. I’ll certainly run it by her when I get home. Know of anyone else?”
“Well,” Ollie replies after a swig of beer, “There’s my buddy Ben from the Dover Owners club. He’s mostly into drag racing, but racing is racing, da?. He’s always up for a good wrench session at any rate. And I think his brother John a pretty big petrol-head as well. We could invite them both.”
“Great! This sounds like it might just work out then”, Steven says, toasting his bottle to his friend before taking a sip.
Race Day
Ollie starts the day out for Team Yacht Rockers, showing a bit of difficulty getting familiar with the car and the track. Wheel spin seems to be the order of the day during acceleration, and the big beast requires a good bit of a stretch when it comes to braking. While struggling through a corner, the Team X Wells makes contact with them. The smaller car seems to take the blunt of the damage, but it still takes a while to pound out the dent on the rear quarter panel.
Steven takes the wheel after the car is repaired. His stint is rather hectic, as it seems he is constantly avoiding other cars spinning and crashing into each other. During this he notices how rapidly the fuel gauge is dropping and brings the Andromeda in for fuel. He remains in the car, but fighting with the boat is beginning to take it’s toll. He starts losing concentration and making mistakes, only by shear luck staying out of trouble. Exhausted, he brings the Dover in for a driver change at the four hour mark.
5 Likes
“That was gruelling”, Jurij said, exiting the Zvezda at the four hour mark after a 2-hour stint at the wheel to hand over to Jeff. “But at least I didn’t show the Winthorpes who is boss.” Jurij was of course referring to Marina’s mishap early in the race when the Winthorpe Badger wanted to pass her for good but she had closed the door one second too late.
“Yes, because we are a full lap behind them now”, Marina shot back. “But good job holding off the Xianfeng for 3rd - that was some nice duelling there!”
“Thanks! Let’s hope Jeff can avoid further trouble until we have to refuel. And let’s hope the two cars ahead of us are a bit more thirsty.”
“Da! And with other the positions now split apart by one or more laps, it now becomes a race of who has the least amount of trouble over the remaining 20 hours.”
“20 hours to go - this almost sounds insane. How things have been going, I’d be happy to take 3rd and leave it at that…”
“No way! Now it’s more like a game of chess. I like it!” Marina rubbed her hands together.
“Chess with surprise breakdowns and off-track excursions”, Jurij mutters. As if on cue, a loud clank sounds in the background. They look out on the track, but to their relief it is the Sinistra having hit the guardrail.
3 Likes
PART 2
10AM - 2PM
The race has been going on for four hours now and maybe a beginning driver fatigue is what causes the IP and the Puttzalong to touch each other. The Xianfeng manages to keep out of that mess while the Hakumai gets into a skid. The Tempest is going in for a refuelling, the Akira nudges the guard rail but without any more than cosmetical damage, the next car to do it in almost exactly the same place is the Winthorpe, but even that one can keep on racing.
Now, just a moment after that the Sinistra hits the guardrail with even higher speed. We hear reports from the pits that it seems to have a frozen brake caliper that has caused heat leading to the brakes fading. They are trying to make it move right now and will put in some fresh brake fluid that can cope better with the temperature. The Wells is going into the pits for a refuelling. While trying to avoid a skidding Reduit, the Cabrera nudges the guardrail instead but without any major damage.
The driver of the Hakumai seems to be a little too self confident, the drivers of the IP and the Xianfeng has to do some tricky maneuvering to avoid it, but the Hakumai ends up biting the guard rail, though it seems like the damage wasn’t too bad. The Winthorpe gets in close contact with the Wells, it first seems like the Winthorpe is out of the game, but despite getting ugly after the crash, it appears to keep on working as usual. To avoid getting into the crash, the Akira has to swerve, and before the Wintorphe have moved out of its position, the Mara is the next car to hit it, but not even that seems to have been enough to kill the Winthorpe, or the Mara for that matter.
One of the wheels on the IP is wobbling. Reports from the pits says that the threads on the lug nuts seems to have been stripped completely, so they are trying to solve that problem at the moment. The Sinistra and Hakumai both spins around when trying to avoid some close contact with each other. The Akira eats the guardrail when trying to pass them, it seems like one wheel got slightly out of balance, but they decide to keep on driving instead of head for the pits. The Dover is going in for another refueling while the FM driver seems to be a little bit to excited in the corners sometimes.
All of a sudden the Sinistra seems to collapse on one side. Appearantly one of the front springs have broken into pieces, but the team was prepared enough to bring both spare springs and tools, even if it means a long time in the pits. The Reduit is going in for a fuel stop, as well as the Mara. The Winthorpe and the Tempest has some close contact but with no greater damage done.
The FM and the Wells is getting into some close contact, which seems to have bent a rim on the Wells. From the pits we hear a disappointed crew say that the spare they brought with them was empty and won’t keep the air, so they are back into trying hammering the stock wheel into a somewhat round shape. The Ardent touches the guardrail slightly, when trying to avoid a wildly skidding Cabrera. The Puttzalong is going in for a fuel stop.
Soon after the guardrail incident, the Ardent gets hit by the IP. The Ardent was heading for a fuel stop anyway so they are checking out the car in the pits, but it seems largely undamaged. The IP, however, seems to have an alignment problem with the front suspension afterwards, that they are trying to fix as good as they can in the pits. A cloud of blue smoke comes out of the hood of the Xianfeng, and we get a report that it is losing oil pressure. It appears like the oil cooler has a cracked hose, so they are trying to fix that in the pits. The Wells might have found some patch of oil on the track since the driver has a hard time keeping it under control. The FM is once again going into the pits to get its leaky tyre filled up again, while the Winthorpe is going in to fill up the tank.
For now, the last 30 minutes there has been no incidents at all in the race, and the most remarkable thing happening is the Sinistra visiting the pits for gas.
After 8 hours of racing, the standings are like this:
- @Jaimz - Team Jaimz / Franklin Marshall Street Sport - lap # 542
- @pcmoreno - Team Winthorpe / Winthorpe Badger - lap # 529
- @AndiD - Team White Star / Mara Zvezda - lap # 526
- @stm316 - Team Hang Ten / Puttzalong Shai Hulud - lap # 521
- @HighOctaneLove - Team Mountain Pass / Ardent Olympic - lap # 521
- @O.O - Team Whatever Goes / Tempest 154 - lap # 510
- @kobacrashi - Team Totally Not a Reduit Factory Team / Reduit Piti - lap # 508
- @Interior - Team Slow / Hakumai CS-2 - lap # 507
- @BannedByAndroid - Team Chinese Dragons / Xianfeng K2 - lap # 501
- @Serperior98 - Team Double Dip / Akira Metro - lap # 498
- @Petakabras - Team Collarada / Cabrera Fulgor - lap # 494
- @Maverick74 - Team Yacht Rockers / Dover Andromeda - lap # 488
- @Knugcab - Team Trafikjournalen / IP Urbana - lap # 474
- @Madrias - Team Racing Stripes / Sinistra Traville - lap # 452
- @DuceTheTruth100 - Team X / Wells i6 - lap # 405
10 Likes
(OOC: Someone who wants to act friendly and borrow me some lug nuts? I pick the first one that I see hitting the like button.)
7 Likes
The first 4 hours was already a stressful time for the Akira. The Metro was already experiencing issues with reliability with its fuel pump (Something Markus foresaw would happen, these Akiras were notorious for that issue). Luckily double dip had a spare, or else the race would be over very quickly. The laps took a hit there, but Markus and Lars were glad to not be in last place.
Later on
Lars was starting wear down after being in the car for hours and was beginning to get sloppy, and it wasn’t long until the next setback hit the Metro…
While trying to pass the Sinistra and Hakumai that spun out ahead, Lars understeers straight in to the gaurdrail (those cheap, thin tyres are such a let down)…
Markus: “Everything good Lars? That impact seemed quite harsh… Let me know if you’re hurt or if the car’s hurt.”
Lars: “The sh*tbox understeered straight in to the rails, nothing I could do to stop it… I’m not hurt but there’s a wheel out of balance.”
M: "Do we need to pull over?’
L: “I can keep going, it’s fighting me a little but I have it under control, I don’t want to lose more laps.”
Lars pushed on, and despite the wobbly wheel, Lars perservered and kept going, being double dip in to the top 10 in the standings.
“I’m glad that Lars has it under control, but it’s going to get dark soon, and one more hit on that wheel and it’s going to rolling away on its own…” Markus worryinglt admitted to his team.
Edited due to updated writeup.
2 Likes
IN CAR:
Filip (thinking): “I think that I am starting to get a hold on t…WHERE THE F**K DID THAT PUTTZALONG COME FROM?!?”
CRUNCH!
F: “Crap. Well, I’m OK, car seems to be OK, Puttzalong keeps driving, can’t be that bad.”
IN THE PITS:
Erik: Well, now mr. Jackass have hit the Puttzalong too.
Mats: We are going to get so much shit for this race…
LATER, IN CAR:
F: “Oh, right, I could avoid that Hakumai now, I think that I am starting to gain some experience now…”
(A while later)
FFFDDDDDBBBBDDRRRRRRRRR!
F: “Crap, I HAVE to go into the pits for that.”
IN THE PITS:
E: Do you think that this is like driving bumper cars in a theme park.
F: Yes of course, Mr. Wise guy. Something is wrong with the right front wheel, I think that it is coming loose.
M: Well, the lug nuts seems to have been winding up…OH, HOLY THREAD STRIP, BATMAN! Seems like this is cheap aftermarket junk that is about as soft as boiled carrots. Did we bring any lug nuts?
E: No!
F: No!
M: Ohhhhhh CRAP! Well, IP and Akira does share the same thread, I think that I will ask if Team Double dip brought any extra lug nuts.
(VISITING TEAM DOUBLE DIP IN THE PITS)
M: Excuse me for kind of a stupid question…you don’t have, by any chance, any spare lug nuts to borrow us?
TO BE CONTINUED
@stm316
@Serperior98
6 Likes
OH, GREAT, I see now that I have left out a part of the writing for the race. Clumsy of me, so it might be better to leave the RPing for a while until I have corrected that. 
EDIT: Fixed now, the writeup is complete.
2 Likes
In the pits
Sean: I take back what I said earlier. Maybe this car was a good idea! We haven’t run into any problems in a while.
Carl: Well ever since we switched around we’ve gone up almost half the leaderboard, so don’t act like the car is doing all the work.
Sean: Should I leave you in charge of driving for a little longer then?
Carl: I think that would be a good decision.
3 Likes
Team Racing Stripes
Part 2:
Kaylie watched with a borrowed pair of binoculars as a bunch of chaos happened in one particular corner, with the IP and Puttzalong playing bumper tag, the Xianfeng again narrowly dodging imminent doom, and the Hakumai sliding wildly, just before the Akira and the Winthorpe committed to the guard-rail bump.
Then she watched Rukari slingshot the car across the full distance of the track, tires screaming, brakes shrieking, rotors glowing red behind black steel and cheap aluminum, and promptly slam into the guard rail hard enough to lift the driver’s side tires off of the ground, jostle Rukari hard enough that his head hit the driver’s side window and shattered the glass, and limp sluggishly into the grass.
“He’s coming in on a damn tow truck,” Kaylie snarled. “Get him out of that seat before he wrecks the car. Jaden! Get your med-kit ready, Rukari busted the window.”
Once the car arrived in the pits, Rukari was rushed out of the car with a very superficial, already-healed scratch on his left ear, while Kaylie and Kayden took turns hitting the driver’s side brake rotor until it broke free and started to spin. With the caliper now unstuck, the brake fluid replaced with some meant for a heavy-duty pickup truck, and Kaylie now behind the wheel, the Sinistra rejoined the track.
Kaylie grimaced at the wind roaring into the cabin from the now-missing window. She quickly got a feel for the car, and soon, she started pushing the limits. She dodged and weaved around debris on the track caused by the incident between the Hakumai and the guardrail, the Winthorpe and the Wells, and the Mara against the Winthorpe.
Several laps later, Kayden yelled, “Too fast! Too fast!” as Kaylie swerved to avoid the fish-tailing Hakumai, unsettling the already-poorly Sinistra and sending it into a matching spin. The sun hit Kaylie’s chrome left arm and flashed the driver of the Akira, just as they understeered straight into the guardrail. Kaylie hit the radio switch and apologized to the driver of the Akira for the accidental flash-blinding, straightened the Sinistra out, and continued on the way.
Not that long after, the driver’s side front spring exploded, sending the bumper into the ground as the Sinistra’s wounded front suspension gave out. Kaylie gave a startled and pained grunt as the airbag detonated, knocking her back in the seat.
“And now our dear sister is bringing it in on a tow truck,” Jaden said as Kaylie and the car were dropped off in the pits.
“He trashed it, now I’m driving the wreck,” Kaylie grumbled. “Help me replace this spring with a new one, both of you. No, not you, Rukari. You’ve done enough damage.”
It took a very long time, but they got the new spring compressed, stuffed into the spring perch, and the shock absorber back in place, bolted everything up, ripped out the remains of the now-expended airbag, and swapped drivers yet again, this time to Kayden, who had, perhaps, the most experience driving old Sinistra Travilles at high speed.
Kayden hit the track and started turning good laps, not spinning out the FWD V6 meteor, not crashing into other cars, and most importantly, not trashing what was left of their old sedan. This continued until the engine quit while heading up the pit lane for fuel, as Kayden had extended his fuel window one lap too far, and ended up pushing the car into the pit stall, refusing to take Rukari’s “advice” to just “Stick a claw in the neutral safety switch and use the starter motor to get here.”
With more fuel onboard, Kayden went back out on track, trying to salvage their chances with the faster car, even though Rukari had, quite effectively, torn it up.
4 Likes
Team Slow
Part 2- Race
It’s lap 507 now. The driver should be exhausted by now. He’s too self confident. Ends up biting the guardrail. We and the Sinistra drivers, which oddly enough aren’t human spins around. The Hakumai fishtails to avoid crashing.
This would have been remedied if the driver did not choose a mid-engine car. After biting the guardrail. The Hakumai loses its bumper as the tires mounted right now are degrading from the vehicle. The engine and drivetrain are still intact, but there’s a lot of fishtailing going on. Shinier than a Bogliq. Maybe a Bogliq is a bit more shiny than this car. Oh well, Hakumai sold a rebadged Bogliq SUV in 2013? God knows
Dialogue
John: I see the car fishtailing
Matt: Oh, it’s no proble- He gets cut short as he bites the guardrail, losing the rear bumper.
John: This is why i told you to get a hatchback
M: DIDN’T WE ALREADY TRY BUYING ONE BUT THE GEARBOX WAS SHOT? he says, a bit frustrated at
John’s BS.
J: Ugh, Why did he force upon a mid engined car with barely any power yet spins out
M: Don’t say shit unless you know what it is. At the end of the day it’s very reliable, cheap to fix, easy to repair bla bla bla.
Matt then slurps down a cup of coffee to not pass out. Its about time they switch drivers someday.
J: Are you sure, oh well we have a tyre at top. Could replace it quickly. Only one though
M: Are you kidding me? We can ask the teams for some.
4 Likes
Lars was getting too worn out, and as the evening approaches, rotating drivers would probably be a good idea.
Markus: “I’m not gonna lie, I’m both excited and nervous about this… It’s going to start getting dark… I need to be alert of where I’m going just in case that Hakumai decides to do a pirouette in front of us again…”
Lars: “Don’t be so dramatic, the driver got unlucky, and not to mention that the Hakumai is notorious for being a handful. It’s clearly the driver of that car knows what they’re doing, they are still ahead of us on the leaderboard, even with that setback. Respect”
Eva, Lars’ wife remained concerned about the wobbly wheel.
Eva: “I’m not too happy about that wobble, and not to mention all the other little issues that the metro could suffer from, we already lost a fuel pump in the first few hours.”
Markus: “The car is still pretty controllable, even with that wobble. As for the reliability… Well lightning can’t strike the same place twice… Right?”
But you could hear the anxiety in his voice. The metro was a fantastic little car, and so far she’s behaving much better than expected, but she’s also a fickle beast, and at any moment, she could change her attitude, and Markus knew this.
Markus, addressing the car as he sets off: “I promise, if you keep behaving, I will buy you a fresh set of Michelin pilot sports, and a shiny new set of BBS wheels to go along with it…”
Eva: "Only Markus would think bribing his car would actually work.*
3 Likes
(Ooc: Does anyone have a spare set of steelies)
1 Like
Clunkers 21 - Holjes Run
Session One
Please like
Pierre Mountbatten
Preparation for Clunker 21 was uneventful. Unlike the logistical nightmare that is Bogliq modification, the Ardent was easy to source parts, easy to modify and it’s stereo wasn’t a potential deathtrap.
I was concerned that we’d brung a knife to a gunfight, since there were plenty of power sedans, hot hatches and 2nd tier sportscars at the race but the Olympic seemed almost eager to compete as I drove it to the start line; we stripped a couple hundred kilos so it’s kinda unsurprising the softroader felt more badass than usual!
My session proved relatively benign, with only a few incidents marring an otherwise pleasant outing. In the initial hour’s inevitable shenanigans I had to make some very abrupt departures from the racing line in order to avoid A Mara and a Winthorpe spin duet. They tangled together but I was able to avoid them and the Dover who was shadowing me at the time.
The next hour or so was uneventful; that is until Team Trafikjournalen decided to greet us with a kiss on our ass! Taking corners like an extra from Speedy & Stressed Out, the IP driver literally drifted into the rear of the Olympic! the drift saw the IP go wide and he literally had nowhere to go. Luckily the Ardent has bump resistant fenders so, other than scratches, no harm was done… But that driver is now immortalised on the internet as we had a Go-Pro set up to take rear footage. We included it because that drift was really spectacular and our footage up to that point was kida boring, to be honest!
Finally I’m pretty sure there was some black ice on the track. I was taking a different line at about three hours in and I nearly flipped the Ardent over! There was something on the track that was really slippery and most of the field near me were also effected. The fellows at Team White Star had the worst of it though, their Mara actually left the track entirely, but they chucked up a couple of dirt rooster-tails and rejoined the fun, hahaha!
So, at the end of my stint, I was able to complete 265 laps of the track, which was only 13 laps behind Team Jaimz. We were doing so well compared to when we’ve used Bogliq’s; maybe we should change our magazine name to Interstates Monthly, HAHAHAHA!!!
Session Two
And subscribe!
Andrew Morgan
Having personally tuned and tweaked our Ardent Olympic, I was chomping at the bit to get out there and go racing. These clunker runs are always entertaining and I enjoy the variety of metal that turns up to these events; even if most of them are rusty, worn out or maybe even stolen, hahaha!
I was a machine out there, punching out perfect lap after perfect lap, which was only possible because I was in the lull between packs. After three hours of relative calm, I caught up to a knot of competitors, which resulted in me kissing the guardrail. I was forced to go wide thanks to a super slidey effort from the driver of the Cabrera. My luck held, with only scratches on the bodywork to commemorate the occassion.
I was then victim to the Swedish Drift Mafia! the IP driver, perhaps jealous of his teammates skills, proceeded to overcook the corner and slide into the Olympic’s rear end. Again. As before, the bumper took the hit like a champ, which I confirmed when I had to stop for fuel. As before, we caught the whole incident on camera, so I think I’ll be making a “Who did it better?” video using the footage; I’m going to let the Internet decide which driver wins, hahaha!
So, after eight hours of racing, we’ve completed 521 laps. While we lag behind the leaders, Team Jaimz, by 21 laps, we’re still close enough to win so long as we keep consistant and out of the wars, hahaha!
TO BE CONTINUED
3 Likes
(OOC: Team Racing Stripes was prepared, there’s probably a few different sizes of steelies that they brought, all with kinda crap, worn out old road tires on them. They might have some in your size and bolt pattern. If they don’t have them available, well, Jaden or Kayden will make a call and some will be delivered.)
3 Likes
The calm before the storm?
“So much for chess”, Marina grumbled as she exited the Zvezda, took off her helmet, and helped her friends refuelling the almost dry tank. “The Winthorpe is ahead of us in 2nd and still out there. So they are faster and less thirsty. Impressive.”
“And still going, after that double crash earlier on”, Jurij noted. “We were saved by all those plastic on our front, and they were saved by the lucky angle that we hit them with.”
“And we were lucky not to lose the entire front bumper. Now it’s more like chess but with a die”, Jeff suggested. “Like what happened to the Xianfeng. One breakdown, and you go from being on our tail to being 20 laps behind.”
“I promise to take care”, Jurij said, before he donned the helmet and started his stint behind the wheel.
'Now I would happily take 3rd place and leave it at that, too", Marina thought. ‘But, still, two thirds of the event still to go!’
“Coffee or nap?”, Jeff asked.
“Coffee!”, Marina shouted. “Naps will be taken only as the last resort!”
For this, she earned puzzled glances from those in the pits next to theirs, but her eyes were too focused on the coffeepot to notice.
4 Likes
PART 3
2.00 PM - 6.00 PM
The race has been going on for eight hours and the recently refuelled Sinistra does a less than stellar comeback on the track with a skid. The Hakumai and Tempest both goes in for refuelling. The Reduit is the next spinning car that the Xianfeng barely manages to dodge. The Puttzalong goes into the pits for a strange sound in the rear suspension that appearantly just was a shock absorber bolt that was coming loose.
The Sinistra is once again spinning around wildly on the track. The Hakumai goes into the pits for a leaky radiator that the team is doing their best to solder. A spinning Tempest is forcing the Ardent into the guardrail but the damage is minor. The Cabrera is a little bit low on air in one tyre, going into the pits for a refill. The Dover, on the other hand, is going in for refuelling.
The IP has been going quite well since the driver change but maybe Carlén is getting a bit too confident, spinning around the little runabout on the track, coming in the way for the Hakumai but without any contact. On the other hand, also the FM, Dover and Wells have their fair share of troubles keeping on the track now. Speaking about the Wells, it is going in for a refuelling. The Reduit crashes into the Ardent and the team is somewhat nervous that the Reduit radiator is shot now, but it seems to work, so both cars keep driving. The crash seems to have happened from a sudden gain of power after a power loss, so the Reduit is going into the pits anyway to clean out the fuel system. On the other hand, the Ardent was drifting around quite wide at the track at the moment of impact. The Cabrera is going in for a fuel stop.
Now the race has been going on without major incidents for a while, but the Wells and Puttzalong is close to get into contact, resulting in both cars spinning around. The Reduit seems to have a damaged fitting for one of the radiator hoses anyway and is going into the pits, with the team trying to solder on a new one.
Both the Sinistra, Xianfeng and Wells gets scraped against the guardrail in almost the same spot, the Hakumai is close to drifting off the track too, but manages to stay on track, barely. The IP is going in for refuelling.
The Tempest is the next car to come into a skid. There is a smell of gasoline reported from the FM that is going into the pits for that, but it was appearantly only a hose that needed better clamping. The Puttzalong and the Reduit crashes into each other, the Puttzalong can keep on racing but the crash seems to have caused some electrical short in the mashed taillights of the Reduit that has to be solved in the pits.
The Dover does a kind of ugly overtake of the Sinistra, forcing the Sinistra to eat the guardrail but without any major damage. However, soon after that there is reports of a heavy smell of gasoline inside the Dover. It barely makes it into the pits until there is a heavy fire inside the engine compartment. The team manages to put out the fire, but the Dover is damaged beyond repair. The Xianfeng goes into the pits for refuelling. For some reason, both the Ardent, Winthorpe and Cabrera nudges the guardrail after each other, though without any major damage. The Akira is going in for refuelling.
There is some strange sounds from the Sinistra front suspension, so the team is checking out the car in the pits, they might have forgotten to tension some bolt when they did the spring change. The Tempest has very low oil pressure at the moment, but the team is at least going to try to solve it with an oil and filter change. The Wells is so hard to drive with its damaged wheel now, that the team will try to put the current tyre on one of the spare rims they had, which might take some time with only hand tools though. The Mara crashes into the Carbera but none of the cars suffer any extensive damage.
Half of the race is done and here is the current standings:
- @Jaimz - Team Jaimz / Franklin Marshall Street Sport - lap # 815
- @pcmoreno - Team Winthorpe / Winthorpe Badger - lap # 802
- @AndiD - Team White Star / Mara Zvezda - lap # 799
- @HighOctaneLove - Team Mountain Pass / Ardent Olympic - lap # 777
- @stm316 - Team Hang Ten / Puttzalong Shai Hulud - lap # 775
- @Serperior98 - Team Double Dip / Akira Metro - lap # 764
- @BannedByAndroid - Team Chinese Dragons / Xianfeng K2 - lap # 760
- @O.O - Team Whatever Goes / Tempest 154 - lap # 752
- @Petakabras - Team Collarada / Cabrera Fulgor - lap # 738
- @Interior - Team Slow / Hakumai CS-2 - lap # 730
- @Knugcab - Team Trafikjournalen / IP Urbana - lap # 726
- @kobacrashi - Team Totally Not a Reduit Factory Team / Reduit Piti - lap # 709
- @Madrias - Team Racing Stripes / Sinistra Traville - lap # 695
- @DuceTheTruth100 - Team X / Wells i6 - lap # 607
- @Maverick74 - Team Yacht Rockers / Dover Andromeda - lap # 700 (DNF)
(OOC info: Due to the shifts I will be working this week, there will probably not be any updates until at least friday, so this is a perfect opportunity for a little longer RP, or to write up missing parts if you are a little bit behind, just so you know.)
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IN THE PITS
Erik: Did you get any lug nuts from Team Double dip?
Mats: Yup. Great that some teams don’t take this like if their life depended on a win, I think that sometimes the fun is taken out of this competition unfortunately. It’s not like it was 10 or 20 years ago anymore.
E: Now you sound like Arvid Åkerlund *
M: True.
(The wheel is put back securely in place)
E: Now, try not to hit absolutely everything on the track, this is not a demo derby!
Filip: Stop being so elitist, I know what I’m doing!
E: Sometimes I actually wonder if you do…
IN CAR
F: “I really hate Erik and Mats sometimes, they are behaving like they know everything and is always trying to put me d…WHAT THE F… THERE IS THE GODDAMNED ARDENT AGAIN!”
CRUNCH!
F: “Oh, crap, I hit Team Mountain pass AGAIN, I am going to be the clown in their next youtube special, I swear. And great, the car feels like it is completely out of alignment too!”
IN THE PITS
E: I told you not to hit everything on track, and what did you do?
F: Like if you never do mistakes. I think that the front suspension is shot.
E: Shot? That’s the least thing to say!
M: Well, this is probably the last ride for this Urbana anyway, so let’s bring in my favourite tool, the B.F.H! **
BANG! CLANG CRASH BANG BOOM! BANG!
M: Good as new, at the cost at only some pride and soul. Now, get back on track and try to drive like a professional driver and not like if you learned it at Ray Charles driving school!
IN THE PITS:
F: OK, it’s time for a driver change now, I think. Maybe mr. Erik Schumacher could take place behind the wheel and show me how it should be done!
E: I’ll gladly take place there before you wreck the car completely! Bye.
(After driving for a while)
M: Well, you see there, now after the driver change, there has been no major incidents at all. Will you admit that you still need lots of training, Mr. I-learned-to-drive-race-cars-on-my-playstation?
F: Oh, you say so, but what is happening there?
M: …
M: Well, it’s an 80s turbo car with short wheelbase, things like this can happen.
F: So, when he fails, it’s only natural but when I fail, I need to learn how to drive.
M: Stop that crap now, if we compared the two of you side by side, the difference would be laughable.
(Later, at the refuelling)
E: You know, I haven’t driven an Urbana GTT for maybe 20 years but I start to get used to this one now, actually liking it a bit. Just cross my fingers that it will keep on going as great for the rest of my stint!
M: Good luck, you’ll need it.
- = Ex chief editor for trafikjournalen
** = Big Fu***ng hammer
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