Singapore Qualifying Round

A single engine could be heard at wailing through Singapore Marina Bay street circuit as the qualification laps in Singapore came to a close.  Geoff’s new driver – Chumbawamba – was finally revealed.  Arguably one of the best in the world – the other drivers were eager to see him in action for the first time.

The mood was somber just before the first qualifying laps, as all drivers pondered the importance of gaining a positional advantage in the first race.  Who would be first?  How good were the other drivers?  All would be revealed soon.

Team Yellow was up first with The Stig behind the wheel.  He roared off the line, and dashed through the first several corners with ease.  Into the first straight it was apparent that The Stig was determined to have the shortest lap time, as the car geared higher and higher.  Moving dangerously fast just before the two quick turns at the end of the straight, The Stig managed to skid through them both, costing precious time.  Thereafter, it was apparent the car's tires had lost much of their rubber, and the The Stig had to slow down or risk not making it back to the finish line.

Next up was the new driver Chumbawamba from Team White.  Would he live up to his reputation?  He’d been knocked down out of the league 2 years ago, but he’s back up again now!  Soon after Chumba’s qualifying start, you could see a different style than The Stig’s.  A more relaxed driving approach was seen, and Chumba was hitting the lines in all of the corners, albeit at a much slower speed.  Incredibly, after all was said and done, Chuba’s time was the one to beat!

Rhodes Rashburne had an excellent lap, marred by a bit of what looked like indecisiveness entering some of the turns.  In the end though, the normally excellent lap was not even close to Chumba’s.  For now, Rhodes would have to settle for 2^nd position.

Fahim’s driver “Quickie” was indeed quick off the mark.  Seeing the laps of the other qualifying drivers paid dividends as Quickie navigated the circuit well.  A few turns were precarious, but Fahim’s driver saw it through.  Another great lap, putting him just behind Rhodes and ahead of The Stig.

Nicole Tickle, the rookie driver was last up.  She managed to maneuver the course quickly and without incident (except for the banana peel on turn 7).  Her time wasn’t good enough to beat Chumbawamba’s, but it was close enough to Rhodes Rashburne’s that the timing official had to be called over.  After the lap was reviewed, Nicole would claim the 2^nd grid position.

 

Though Chumba was the winner in qualifying, all cameras were on the Stig.  When asked why he had blazed through the first straight without slowing down, he responded with silence.  Later in the day, a news release from Team Yellow's manager stated that the lead mechanic had been fired.  As we approached the mechanic for an interview to find out what happened, he stormed away, mumbling what sounded like "shifter upside down".

 

Here are the official grid positions and times.

Position	Driver	Rolls and Penalties	Time	Qualifying Total
1	Chumbawamba	27	05:12.8	32
2	Nicole Tickle	30	06:40.9	36
3	Rhodes Rashburne	28	08:04.0	36
4	Quickie	33	05:37.0	38
5	The Stig	42	06:30.0	48

Qualifying for Start Positions in the First Race

Hello Race Managers!

Since the outcome of our first race was inconclusive, we will use the qualifying procedure in the rulebook to determine start positions.

Here is the procedure:

Qualfying Lap with Stopwatch

All players drive a qualifying lap consecutively to set their starting positions. WP are not taken into account.

One player is the referee. The player whose turn it is places his car in the middle lane in front of the starting line. The referee starts a stopwatch before the player rolls for 1st gear, and stops it as soon as the car crosses the finish line. He also records the number of die throws the player needed to finish the lap.

The referee then adds one throw of the die for every full minute the player took to complete the lap, and one throw of the die per space that the car overshot any corner.

The lap is over if the player does not stop at all in corners where 2 or 3 stops are required (he then starts the race from the last position).  The same occurs if a player only stops once in a corner where 3 stops are required.

The car that completed the lap with the fewest die throws takes first position, followed by the other cars in decreasing order. If 2 players tie, the order is decided by the fastest stopwatch time.

Certified Insanity Season 1 Pre-season Race Recap

The first CI pre-season race at Monte Carlo was a dashing success.  Four drivers took to the circuit in attempt to show each other who is boss when the season officially starts in a few weeks.

 

The pole position was taken by Team Green’s Nicole Tickle.  A rookie driver hired only days before by her Manager, Matt.

Next was Manager Justin’s driver Rhode Rashburne of Team Blue.

In third position was the exciting Team Red under Fahim.  It was yet to be seen if his driver, “Quickie” could live up to his/(her?) name!

Last but not least was Team Yellow’s mysterious driver known only as “The Stig”, who is reputably the driver with the most experience.  It has also been said he can shift gears ambidextrously.

Unfortunately, Team White’s manager Geoff was not represented at the race.  It is rumored that Team White is hiring one of the best Formula 1 drivers in the world for this racing season, and that the contract negotiations are very detailed and taking longer than expected.

 

The race started off fairly evenly.  No major mishaps occurred into the first turn.

 

Nicole Tickle maintained the lead, as all drivers moved cautiously through the first several turns.  But all of that was to change at the Monaco Loews hairpin.  Exiting the turn, things got rough when the two race leaders, Nicole and Quickie both skidded aggressively out of the hairpin.  Rubber wasn’t the only thing that shred as they bumped aggressively against each other coming out into the straight.  This left an opening, and Rashburne took advantage, blazing through to take the lead.  Not far behind, The Stig took up the rear, executing precision out of each and every turn – a model of racing form.

 

Rashburne’s lead was not to last, however, as Nicole once again took the lead past the chicane and into the “S” de la Piscine.  Nicole boldly shifted up into the turn, blazing through it recklessly with dangerously worn tires.  She took the lead, but at what cost?  Her car hit the rail and flew off into the Mediterranean.  She would surely have perished had it not been for a Norwegian cruise liner in port.  Luckily she landed on the cruise ship's wavemaster and her car surfed itself to safety.

 

Quickie was not to be outdone, however.  Perhaps not knowing the circuit, or the treachery of the S bend, he/she mimic'd Nicole and dangerously shifted up, barely making it through the turn and landing into deep trouble.

 

It was at this point that a mysterious summer Blizzard swept Monte Carlo and halted the race.  All cars were miraculously slowed as they plowed through snowbanks.  If this had not happened, who would have known whether Quickie would have survived, or gone on to the top of the podium? 

 

The unusual snow did not let up, and the cars were unable to move.  As a result, the race organizers had to call off the race.  The result – inconclusive.

 

Overall, it looks to be an exciting start of the first CI Formula D season. 

 

Some of the circuits for the season have been revised, as follows:

 

Tracks For Season 1

Preliminary Race – Monte Carlo (Monaco)  (1 Laps)

Qualifying for Position - Singapore

Race 1 – Singapore (1 Lap)

Race 2 – New Jersey (USA) (1 Lap)

Race 3 - Sotchi (Russia) (1 Lap)

Race 4 – Buddh (India) (1 Lap)

Race 5 – TBD