WEATHER REPORT: Hot hot heat. That's what is to be expected at the grand prix tomorrow in Mosmania. Temperatures are expected to climb up to 34 Cs (93 Fs). The sun is expected to shine down on Balmoral, the city in which the race is going to be held. Only a light breeze, nothing strong enough to throw off the downforce teams, will be the only relief in the heat. It is hoped that temperatures will stay low enough in the cockpit so that drivers aren't passing out left, right and centre. PERFECT SETUP: DBC with an aggressive driver WORST SETUP: SAT with a defensive driver No team runs a DBC setup but quite a number run the next best thing, DAC. Almost the same number of teams run an SAT setup, so a variety of bonuses can be expected. Good luck to all drivers with round 6 of the Ille de France Formula Marmaduke Championship. RACE REPORT 1: The roar of nearly fifty LandVac engines can be heard echoing up into the Mosmanian sky, up to fifty stories above street level, as nearly fifty of the finest Marmadukes drive their little hearts out in an attempt to win the race for themselves, their team and their country. Not only are points at stake today but so is a potential place in the prestigious MarmaCup. Many FMR pundits thought the Balmoral Tunnel between turns 7 and 8 would play havoc with the field. Surprisingly in the first fourteen laps, not one driver has failed to finish and only one driver, Ineta Mann from the Marma & Papa Duke Trust Fund, is even close to it. After a shatteringly poor last couple of races, the Mosmanian fans came out to play, hoping that their drivers, Antoine and Antoinette, would shine like the sun is. Many of them were sorely disappointed, as the drivers occupy 30th and 44th in a field of 48, with no signs of improving. It is possible that both drivers have cracked under the pressure of the enromous home crowd here today or both are just off their game from the unfortuante results of the last two grands prix. Either way, the chances of them scoring any points today are very slim indeed. There have been three teams that have debuted during the season and the third, Kingtown National Raceworks, took to the track today for the first time. Quig, a 15 year old French Marmaduke, is perhaps not surprisingly buried in 35th place. What is surprising, however, is his teammate, Ralphmy, who is currently in tenth place and driving hard for points. Mere fractions of a second separate eighth from twelth and so the situation could change at any time but it is certain that this train will provide some decent action today. In the lead, however, is Johnson 1, driver for Mentally Insane George's Racing Team and countryMarmaduke of Naginii GP winner, Nestle. He has a slim lead over Ahmed Dakis of the BRT. During the week, the BRT have been training non-stop in an effort to get back into the constructors and drivers championships and anything less than a top five finish will not only see the nation's fans unhappy but the nation's leader as well. Luis of the Wilkdonian Rancher Guild is a little on his own with clear air in front and behind him in third place. Not to be outdone by their Burtechian rivals, Rhellis National Racing, who share a country with the much detested by Burtechians Tastee Badger Treets Racing, have their Marmaduke, Dervin Striker, fighting off a determined Mariah from Team Wilkenstan. Things will no doubt change but this looks like shaping up for an exciting race. Top ten at the quarter-way mark (14 laps) of the Mosmania GP: 1. Johnson 1 (Mentally Insane George's Racing Team) 2. Ahmed Dakis (Burtech Racing Team) 3. Luis (Wilkdonian Rancher Guild) 4. Dervin Striker (Rhellis National Racing) 5. Mariah (Team Wilkenstan) 6. Heinz Spedston (LSE Technologies) 7. Royal Flush (Meadowbank Casino House Ltd) 8. Marley (Naginii FMR) 9. Princess Shirvine (Ardent Antagonists) 10. Ralphmy (Kingtown National Raceworks) By car number, positions 11 through 48: 49, 34, 47, 8, 38, 35, 36, 33, 30, 12, 40, 27, 50, 15, 19, 42, 22, 20, 14, 25, 2, 18, 1, 28, 52, 48, 5, 11, 29, 44, 4, 10, 13, 26, 32, 9, 39 and last 21. RACE REPORT 2: To see back to back sectors without a drop-out is a rare thing indeed. In fact you would have to go back to the first half of round 2 in the Wilkenstan GP to see it most recently repeated. The Mosmanian crowd had hoped that if their drivers couldn't succeed, which they aren't, even worse than before in 41st and 45th, they could at least see some spectacular crashes. Neither has eventuated and the crowd is becoming restless. At least there has been much overtaking action as some of the more prominent drivers from the first fourteen laps dropped off the pace and others picked up the slack. Johnson 1 is sixth, still the best performance of his team this season. Mentally Insane George's Racing Team is the only team to have comepted in all six GPs so far and not collect any points. Ahmed Dakis couldn't handle the pace of the front and spun out. He managed to recover and slip back into the order in fourteenth. Previously fourth placed Dervin Striker is now thirteenth but taking his place in fifth is teammate Sleepy Justice who could look to wreak some justice on behalf of his team. So with much movement at the front, it may prompt you to ask who is in the lead? Well for the first time in Ille de France FMR history, a Liamopolisean driver is in the lead. Surprising when you consider its their sport. Heinz Spedston of LSE Technologies has put in a flier to gain a solid lead over also well-performing Luis from the Wilkdonian Rancher Guild. Sophie Superstar of Rio Racing, the team that hasn't really been seen since Wilkenstan, where they were at one point 1-2, is in third place with a bit of work to do to catch Luis and with a bit of a cushion over Mariah, Luis' countryMarmaduke, of Team Wilkenstan in fourth. Fifth, as stated earlier, is Sleepy Justice and sixth is occupied by Johnson 1. The sixth round of Ille de France has thrown up some changing fortunes. For the sake of the Liamopolis fans, we hope that no more come up. Top ten at the half way mark (28 laps) of the Mosmania GP: 1. Heinz Spedston (LSE Technologies) 2. Luis (Wilkdonian Rancher Guild) 3. Sophie Superstar (Rio Racing) 4. Mariah (Team Wilkenstan) 5. Sleepy Justice (Rhellis National Racing) 6. Johnson 1 (Mentally Insane George's Racing Team) 7. Drivery McDriver (Rio Racing) 8. Pon Proteus (Liam & Co Racing) 9. Ralphmy (Kingtown National Raceworks) 10. Princess Shrivine (Ardent Antagonists) By car number, positions 11 through 48: 12, 15, 7, 17, 38, 28, 20, 34, 2, 47, 49, 40, 18, 37, 14, 42, 9, 22, 30, 52, 27, 13, 31, 33, 19, 5, 4, 44, 50, 10, 26, 11, 29, 39, 25, 21, 48 and last 32. RACE REPORT 3: It was always going to happen and now it has. A crash finally occurred in the tunnel between turns 7 and 8. Its not surprising that Marmadukes can't see the dark and so can't avoid each other very well in an unlit tunnel. The unfortunate drivers who did come into contact was hometown racer Antoine, of the Flying Mosmaniacs, and Ahmed Dakis, of the Burtech Racing Team. Dakis was in hurry to make up for lost time and came to lap Antoine. Unfortunately, due to poor timing, they arrived at the tunnel together and Dakis took the riskiest possible option and tried to overtake Antoine then and there. Dakis was being guided by his hearing but must have misjudged with the echoes of the engines bouncing off the walls. When he went to overtake, he pulled over to his right, floored it and ploughed right into the back of the Mosmaniac. The Mosmaniac's lack of pace was later attributed to a leaky oil and fuel tank (which are one unit in FMR). The sparks from the collision of the two drivers ignited the leaked fuel and the whole mess erupted into a massive ball of fire. At least for a few seconds, the tunnel was fully illuminated, although drivers who came through during it were blinded, deafened and scorched. The safey car was deployed shortly after. The chopping and changing continued at the front. Spedston fell off the pace and Johnson 1 found his again. The two practically swapped with the Keetorian driver taking first and the Liamopolisean falling back to fifth. Luis also had an atrocious sector and fell out of the top ten from second. In his place was countryMarmaduke but on a rival team, Mariah, looking for her first points this season. Sophie Superstar is on track for another lot of points after Rio Racing disappeared off the FMR radar for a number of races, still in third, with Nordla Anasad in fourth, after appearing from nowhere. Joy Schickt is the last of the top six drivers, all of which have a decent chance of claiming first, although technically any driver in twenty-sixth or better could still claim the win but it is very unlikely. So where does this leave the championships? Well if Nordla Anasad maintains his position, or even falls back two places, he will still take the lead in the drivers standings and his team will go to the top of the constructors with a two point lead. Top ten at the three-quarter way mark (42 laps) of the Mosmania GP: 1. Johnson 1 (Mentally Insane George's Racing Team) 2. Mariah (Team Wilkenstan) 3. Sophie Superstar (Rio Racing) 4. Nordla Anasad (Tastee Badger Treets Racing) 5. Heinz Spedston (LSE Technologies) 6. Joy Schickt (Marmadukes of Hazard) 7. Quiet Quinella (Sport Francais de Moteur) 8. Airborne (Airborne's Aerial Racing) 9. Heinz (Keetorama) 10. Armen Garner (Symira National) By car number, positions 11 through 46: 7, 8, 6, 37, 2, 52, 15, 35, 51, 38, 28, 30, 1, 33, 31, 13, 19, 41, 4, 18, 27, 39, 34, 29, 5, 50, 9, 26, 48, 42, 44, 22, 21, 32, 10 and last 11. OUT: 25, 17 [crashed, then exploded] RACE REPORT 4: Tragedy has struck Liamopolis driver Heinz Spedston. The Australian Marmaduke was rolling along at quite a pace, in a position to collect points and then this. There was a tiny fragment of carbon left on the track from the Dakis-Antoine shunt and Spedston's vehicle picked up while passing through the tunnel. It ripped a huge tear in his front left tyre and flicked back to tear a massive gash on the underside of the vehicle, severing wires, fuel lines and brake cables. The Marmaduke had to pull out of the race or face death at every corner. Fans of LSE Technologies are weeping across Ille de France after what's been a tough season since the success of the Liamopolis GP. In a race that's had the most ever drivers and possibly the lowest casualty rate, Kingtown National Raceworks are doing well for themselves on their debut. While earlier on Ralphmy was in the top ten, both drivers are now out of points range. But signs are good at the team and if Symira's performance is anything to go off today, this week's debutants should be back next week, well prepared to be fighting out the GP. At the front, Mentally Insane George's Racing Team has picked up their first points of the season. Unfortunately, after leading for half the race, Mariah from Team Wilkenstan snatched victory after steadily improving and slowly mowing down opponents. Keetorian fans are still said to be delighted with second place, especially after last week's victory by Nestle of Keetorama. Third was Sophie Superstar, perhaps signalling a resurgence from Rio Racing, from which much was expected this season. Airborne from Airborne's Aerial Racing has picked up fourth after some determined driving, slingshotting his team up into the midfield of the constructors standings. There are many embittered Burtechians tonight as Rhellis National Racing driver, Dervin Striker, recovered from an earlier setback to come in fifth. He flipped off the cameras as he crossed the line, further enraging Burtechian rivals, already pissed off after Brother Ulrik finished 18th and Ahmed Dakis didn't even make it into this sector. Striker was later fined for the action but didn't seem to care. No doubt this rivalry between Burtech and Rhellis will develop still further. Completing a fine day for Team Wilkenstan, Charlemagne came in sixth picking up seven points to add to Mariah's thirty, shooting their team into fifth in the constructors championship. Top at the conclusion (56 laps) of the Mosmania GP: 1. Mariah (Team Wilkenstan) - 30 points 2. Johnson 1 (Mentally Insane George's Racing Team) - 20 points 3. Sophie Superstar (Rio Racing) - 15 points 4. Airborne (Airborne's Aerial Racing) - 12 points 5. Dervin Striker (Rhellis National Racing) - 9 points 6. Charlemagne (Team Wilkenstan) - 7 points 7. Joy Schickt (Marmadukes of Hazard) - 5 points 8. Armen Garner (Symira National) - 3 points 9. Nordla Anasad (Tastee Badger Treets Racing) - 2 points 10. Pooder (Naginii Racing Group) - 1 point By car number, positions 11 through 45: 37, 35, 30, 52, 2, 27, 19, 18, 40, 6, 38, 13, 1, 51, 14, 31, 4, 42, 21, 29, 8, 9, 33, 41, 26, 32, 5, 34, 44, 39, 48, 50, 22, 10 and last 11. OUT: 25, 17 [crashed, then exploded], 3 [chunk of carbon] With six races down and four to go and Mariah joining the list of top notch drivers in the MarmaCup, let's look at the standings in each championship. Fluffy (Naginii Racing Group) still heads the drivers standings with a three point lead over Midnight Shadow's Arch Rival and Tastee Badger Treets Racing's Nordla Anasad. Fourth is still Brother Ulrik of the BRT, extremely frustrated that the lead in the championship is slipping from his grasp. Constructors now, and the Ardent Antagonists have a three point lead on the Tastee Badger Treets Racing team and the Naginii Racing Group. BRT is again fourth, matching their drivers' performances. Next week is Rhellis on the fine Costa tek Pellios track. We'll all be avidly watching to see if Tastee Badger Treets Racing and the Burtech Racing Team come to blows. Should be exciting. See you next week.