News From the Front: Gravitywerx Mail-in Race Results
Having got that tedious scientific stuff outa the way, it's time to get back to the business at hand. Round 6:
A Race: Having led every lap of the round 5 B race, the steel ballasted Model3 car moved to A and sat in the second spot. It quickly jumped into the lead and resumed where it left off last week. But it only lasted for 2 laps, before the Gool3 car took over for the next 5. The model3 car does hold the record in this series so far with most consequetive laps led at 12. The JDC1 car led laps 8 and 9 but couldn't get it done as the Gool3 retook the lead on lap 10 requiring extra laps. That's when the Vari2 car arrived on the scene and wrapped it up on the 12 lap. It is now one point ahead of RDL2. Gspeed1 struggled finishing 8th as did Iowa1 finishing last.
B race: RDL1, demoted to B and well back on the grid, capitalized on a Gravitywerx rule that does not penalize a car that flies off the track and lands on another part of it, which is always closer to the finish. It doesn't gain much if it is flipped (which it always is) but in this case it was pushed across the finish in first place! It led for 6 laps but fell to the Band2 car which eventually won.
C race: The bottom 5 cars were replaced with some yard sale cars I bought recently. Plus I added the summer race 11th-place finisher to last place (Seat3). It and one of the yard sale cars (Band1) had a tremendous battle (they sat at the front at the start) which was finally won by Band1. These 2 should scream up through the rankings.
This series has been like the Republican nomination process...lots of contenders with no clear front runner. But instead of the media trashing anyone who noses ahead it is the Gravitywerx inverted start order!
A race: Because of struggling the last few weeks the 2 RDL cars in the A race were able to start closer to the front where they ran 1-2 the whole race. RDL3 won followed by RDL2. Vari1, Gspeed1, and Iowa1 struggled juggling the points order: RDL2 is in first, followed by Var1 4 points back, then RDL3, one point back.
B Race: Model1 car sent from Maine, USA, sat at top of B standings but that meant starting 10th. A decent finish could have put it in A with the 2 Model loaner cars. It was running well but crashed a coupe times including this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4NdjeKaaG8. The race was between a couple of cars that have bounced back and forth between A and B. It was won by Worp3.
C Race: Last week 5 cars were repaced at the bottom of the rankings. 3 of them finished 1-2-3 but the other 2 finished last. They were replaced by 2 Italias this week. but the show was stolen by the Seat3 car, which was the car that finished just out of the top ten in the Gravitywerx summer race and has never won. It led for 3 laps before flying off the track and falling 5 feet to the concrete. By lap 9 it was back in the lead, plowing under the upside-down Ferrari sitting in the finish chicane. It had to have passed at least 12 cars total in this race. It led the final lap and moves up to B along with the 2nd place finisher Iowa2, another replacement car. The 2 Italias finished 3rd and 5th and remain in C.
Points Lead Opens up in Round 8: As chaotic as things are in these races, Hot Wheels cars are what they are and will find their level. It just won't be as precise as in straight line racing. But it can be assured that the champion will come from this group currently in the top class.
A Race: The Band2 car, joining A in round 7, led for the 1st half without much challenge. I noticed that the RDL3 car had moved to 2nd from it's 8th starting spot by the 3rd lap. I said to myself, "There is the series champion". But I didn't notice that the Vari2 car had followed it from it's 9th position. The Vari2 car took the lead from Band2 on the 6th lap and led the rest of the way for the win. It has a commanding 5-point lead over RDL3 and RDL2 tied for 2nd.
B Race: Model1 needed another chance to get into A after it's sketchy performance last week. But it would have to contend with the ultra-fast Seat3 replacement car that moved up from C last week. But Seat3 was a no-show, struggling the entire race and finishing 5th. The Model1 Woodie led the last 3 laps for the win. It will be in A for round 9.
C Race: The Band1 replacement car was running strong midway in the race but crashed on lap 8. The race was won by Band3. The 2 Italias got 2nd and 3rd.
Points lead evaporates in Round 9: Only at the top and bottom of the standings can a point spread occur...any gaps in the pack are always filled. But a large points lead can disappear in one race in this game. The possibility of the top entry completely self-destructing is higher in this game than any other. Something to do with complete lack of human control once the race starts.
A race: The Vari2 car held a fat 5-point lead over 2nd coming into this race. It could have stayed within a couple positions of the competition and held on for 2 more rounds. It was in the top 5 briefly but crashed several times in the 2nd half. When the 10th lap was over it lay upside-down in last. An overtime lap moved it up to 7th. It holds a 1-point lead. The Worp3 car must be running around 10th because it keeps cycling back and forth between A and B. It has led more A laps than anyone. It led the first 6 laps and also lap 8. Model 40 sent 3 cars after round 3 but I only used one because the other 2 loaners were running well. The one I used was a Woodie which is now in A with the 2 loaners. It led lap 7 but crashed on the next one but didn't lose too many spots. It finished 2nd and is 5th overall! The eventual winner in overtime was seat2.
B Race: The Seat3 car ran like it is capable of and led every lap. It does not have enough points to advance to A. Gspeed2 got 2nd and will be in A for round 10.
C Race: Vari3 ran a great race leading nearly every lap but flew off the track on the last one finishing last! It was won by the Band1 car in overtime. The 2 Italias do not like this track and were upside down every lap, sometimes crossing the finish, sometimes not. They remain in C.
Gspeed cars win A and B Finale! There are several reasons why I prefer this type of racing over straight-line eliminations: 1, It tests all the characteristics of this product that I care about...speed, handling, and durability. 2, The likelyhood of the fastest car having a horrible race. 3, the sound of 40 wheels on metal, and 4, the possibility that a car that was presumed dead will rise again.
A Race: In the pre-race primer I said that the points-leading Vari2 car had to beat the 2nd place RDL3 car but didn't think it was likely. Well it happened on the first lap as the RDL3 car struggled for most of the race finishing 5th. The Vari2 car had troubles of it's own crashing on lap 5. It finished 9th. Meanwhile the 3rd in points and 8th starting Seat2 car was in 5th by the first lap and in 1st by the second. But it crashed and went to last giving the lead to Gspeed2. On the next lap (4) the RDL2 (4th in points) car took the lead for 3 laps. It dropped to 2nd for 2 laps as the Model1 Woodie took the lead. The top-heavy woodie toppled over on the 9th lap but was pushed across in 6th. It finished 4th. Meanwhile screaming through the pack was the Seat2 car, passing a car every lap, up to 4th by the 10th lap. An extra lap was run because there was a lead change on the 10th lap. At that point the RDL2 car was running 3rd in championship position. But on the 11th lap the RDL2 car crashed finishing last. The Seat2 finished 2nd for the championship. The race was won by Gspeed2.
B Race: The last chance to break into the top-ten saw 6 leaders in 8 laps. The explosive Seat3 car had another off-day finishing 4th and out of the top-ten. The race was won the the Gspeed1 Batmobile that will be in the top-ten photoshoot. 3 of the 4 cars that were mailed made it.
C race was not run.
Round 5 Halfway point: Whole writeup erased for some reason toward end. A race winner: RDL2, B: Model3 C: Gspeed2