FALL 2005 - TOUR DE ILE DE FRANCE RD1: LIAMOPOLIS Pre Race Can you smell that? It’s the smell of burning rubber. Not a very pleasant smell by any means but it reminds us that the new FMR season is due to get underway. At 3 PM, local time, all the lights go green and we are racing. The million odd fans that have lined the racing circuits today are pumped and ready to race and so we think many at home are too. Today in Liamopolis, its 15° Cs (59 Fs), revealing a very chilling day ahead, one that is sure to favour the only Menzies team in the entire FMR, Naginii Racing Group, with some side benefits going to teams with Farrer T/AG gear. The wind has been rated at a breezy 7, favouring the Steel teams, certain to dominate the race today. Many of the teams that run with a Carbon chassis look to be out of luck today. The weather is otherwise sunny and should be the setting for a wonderful grand prix. The race will kick off on the 2 wheelers in Old Liamopolis, a section of western Liamopolis city where nearly all the buildings are over 300 years old, designed in traditional Liamist architecture. Drivers will head around a fairly circular track within the area of 4.5 km length. There are a few small chicanes and the road has been cleared of traffic and racers will probably need to try hard to avoid one another in the beginning in the narrow laneway of the starting straight. After the 28 laps of the Old Liamopolis circuit, drivers will then take short ride on the anti-gravity barges and will be taken to the Liam Raceway for the 4 wheeler leg. The same course as was used in last years Liamopolis GP, its a fairly simple, straight course with nearly a dozen sharp turns that will test the brakes and drivers ability to cope with sudden deceleration over the 56 laps. At the halfway mark, drivers will change to their 0 wheelers and race over the Rio Liamo, the river that forms the southern border of Liamopolis, south past Westbank, turning southwest around Port Liamopolis, between Bay Beaches and Liam Islington and north up onto the area known as The Beaches. Drivers will change over for the last time into the R wheelers and will race up the beach in the twilight to the finish line. Many are sure to get bogged down in this final stretch as the choice between wet and loose, dry sand becomes difficult. 2 Wheeler The leg just gone was totally dominated by Fish Goti of the Rhellis National Racing team. He was superfast off the mark and with the power of his Modeni engine behind him, he managed to establish quite a lead on Swiss Mix’s White, who was over 20 seconds behind. However, Goti was the only experienced racer in the top ten, with the rest consisting of rookies from all over. Oodgtastic Racing, El Equipo de Dulces and Swiss Mix are expected to be the dominant forces in the race today, due to the chassis, and in fourth and fifth, Frankie Nit-problem and Alejo Zaragoza went head to head. Nit-problem pulled away as the race wore on as his tyres rubbered in and managed to pull himself onto the back end of Phrank1, whose Forwarde engine gave him a slight edge over Frankie but come the 4 wheeler, Frankie should easily pull him back in Top ten at the conclusion of the 2x leg: 1. Fish Goti (Rhellis National Racing) 2. Charlotte White (Swiss Mix) 3. Phrank1 (Orynd Regional) 4. Frankie Nit-problem (Oodgtastic Racing) 5. Alejo Zaragoza (El Equipo de Dulces) 6. Alya Baisar (Strongbadian Fist Dragon) 7. Spia (St Heliers Sykers) 8. Fred (Salaxia International) 9. Buddha (8 Fold Path) 10. Pete (Salaxia International) 4 Wheeler Somewhat of a carnage filled sector, as two of the Wreno engines gave out. Not very reliable at the best of times, the engines of Viper (Snakes Coil Racing) and Spia (St Heliers Sykers) simply blew up. Viper came into trouble on the 1-2-3 chicane of the circuit as his tail-end began to give off smoke. Soon he was loosing power and eventually rolled to a stop on the straight leading into turn 4. Spia had a similar incident on the other side of the track. Pushing too hard to catch up, Spia lost it all as her engine blew, leaving her stranded and out of the race. Kingtown National Raceworks, Hans also christened the new season providing its first crash. A simple loss of concentration on the pit straight meant that he tweaked his car too far to the left at 250 km/h. He lost control and slammed hard into the concrete barrier. Hans was successfully removed alive from the sardine can sized wreck and is keen to get his teeth into Meadowbank, next week. At the front, Charlotte White took over the lead, as the Steel team continued to fly in the rocky weather, while Goti slipped back to eleventh, no longer buoyed by his Modeni. Teammates Paul Herbert and Jane Card were also fast and climbed up the rankings into fifth and sixth respectively, putting all three drivers in points paying positions. Zaragoza from EED has put in some flying laps to pull back from fifth into second. And last seasons Ile de France champion Fluffy has pushed his machine hard and gotten into eighth, ready to show who’s boss here. Top ten at the conclusion of the 4x leg: 1. Charlotte White (Swiss Mix) 2. Alejo Zaragoza (El Equipo de Dulces) 3. Misamoto Kanapono (Oodgtastic Racing) 4. Phrank1 (Orynd Regional) 5. Paul Herbert (Swiss Mix) 6. Jane Card (Swiss Mix) 7. Atilla Snitvanburg (Negamegendonites) 8. Fluffy (Naginii Racing Group) 9. Fred (Salaxia International) 10. Buddha (8 Fold Path) 0 Wheeler The only time the Rio Liamo is ever cleared of traffic is for this race. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell certain rich yachtspeople to stay off the water for the day. Particularly unfortunate for the other Hans, Hans Furenheimer from Meadowbank Boy Racers. Cruising at a solid 500 km/h, he took the time to give his mind a rest. When he realised he was heading for some idiot’s yacht, it was too late. He collided with the mast, sheared it off along with his nose wing. From there it was a 20 degree decline into the water at 100 km/h. Furenheimer survived, as did the yachtspeople, but he, and most of the crowd on the riverbank, is very wet and his 0 wheeler is useless. This part of the race is pretty much the pleasure cruise section. Drivers take a mental break and look at the beautiful blue water open up a brilliant cerulean raceway before them. If they look to their right, they see a huge crowd lining the stands and cheering their brains out. It’s reportedly the most pleasing leg for drivers, if a little easy. But it’s not all play. The Steel teams have been solidifying their positions, with six of the top ten from Steel teams, including Alejo Zaragoza who has wrenched the lead in a sneaky move on Charlotte White. Just sliding underneath Charlotte’s racer, Zaragoza managed not to be spotted, until it was too late for him to be caught. A risky tactic (a freak wave could have easily sent him flying in a fate similar to Furenheimer) but it paid dividends and unless Zaragoza is stupid, he should be able to take the win from here and keep White at bay on the rally leg. Top ten at the conclusion of the 0x leg: 1. Alejo Zaragoza (El Equipo de Dulces) 2. Charlotte White (Swiss Mix) 3. Misamoto Kanapono (Oodgtastic Racing) 4. Frankie Nit-problem (Oodgtastic Racing) 5. Gyjrk (Orynd Regional) 6. Atilla Snitvanburg (Negamegendonites) 7. Fred (Salaxia International) 8. Paul Herbert (Swiss Mix) 9. Jane Card (Swiss Mix) 10. Fluffy (Naginii Racing Group) R Wheeler As evening descends on Liamopolis, after an arduous 3 hours of racing, the drivers finally hit The Beaches. With bamboo pole torches to guide their way, drivers must follow the relatively straight 75km sand course up the coast of Liamopolis. Zaragoza managed to hold his lead on this very course and won his, and his teams, very first FMR grand prix. Charlotte White would have come in second if she could have held off Misamoto Kanapono from Oodgtastic Racing. With an edge in the tyre department, Kanapono breezed past White who struggled for grip in the cool weather. Fish Goti managed to pull himself back into the top ten, being the only non-rookie to do so. Frankie Nit-problem finished fourth and Miss Piggy finished in tenth spot, giving the team a trifecta of points. Top ten at the conclusion of the Rx leg and the grand prix: 1. Alejo Zaragoza (El Equipo de Dulces) – 30 points 2. Misamoto Kanapono (Oodgtastic Racing) – 25 points 3. Charlotte White (Swiss Mix) – 20 points 4. Frankie Nitproblem (Oodgtastic Racing) – 15 points 5. Gyjrk (Orynd Regional) – 10 points 6. Atilla Snitvanburg (Negamegendonites) – 7 points 7. Jane Card (Swiss Mix) – 5 points 8. Fred (Salaxia International) – 3 points 9. Fish Goti (Rhellis National Racing) – 2 points 10. Miss Piggy (Oodgtastic Racing) – 1 point Post Race The sun finally sets on the Beaches and MarmaCup winner Marsie comes in last to round out the finishers. Oodgtastic Racing has taken an early lead in the Constructors Championship with 41 points to their credit. El Equipo fall in second with Swiss Mix in third. Drivers, with only one race run and won, follows the top ten of the race ordering. For now, we bid farewell to Liamopolis, until we come back again for the Athletion, and next week we head to Meadowbank for the second GP there and a continuation of the tour de Ile de France. We hope to see you there. SPLIT TIMES 1 60.058 116.638 177.706 236.954 2 62.725 118.584 180.360 240.145 3 62.822 121.091 180.725 244.182 4 64.327 123.594 180.569 237.924 5 59.010 120.251 181.028 239.197 6 59.315 123.296 184.452 242.903 7 58.675 123.370 184.637 249.323 8 60.818 121.055 183.282 248.544 9 62.988 121.877 180.691 242.896 10 63.624 126.348 186.079 245.031 11 64.586 128.145 189.853 249.648 12 60.293 120.220 180.138 237.782 13 55.603 117.794 178.132 235.878 14 59.971 122.429 186.291 246.429 15 59.526 120.870 180.640 242.387 16 57.965 118.867 179.057 236.910 17 61.454 122.081 180.612 240.061 18 60.761 119.963 DNF 19 59.317 120.049 181.837 244.606 20 59.434 122.614 179.946 241.340 21 63.601 124.443 183.224 242.445 22 63.849 125.418 190.782 251.080 23 65.663 124.605 184.018 241.770 24 66.133 132.079 191.379 254.230 25 62.536 124.173 186.077 246.086 26 65.219 124.400 183.847 247.143 27 59.488 120.780 181.959 242.104 28 65.002 128.298 190.241 254.399 29 62.019 123.202 187.040 248.439 30 63.988 123.051 184.148 245.672 31 62.896 123.015 185.688 250.677 32 62.734 126.534 187.739 250.408 33 60.332 DNF 34 65.538 126.119 188.181 251.115 35 64.419 122.673 181.725 239.134 36 58.105 116.476 176.050 234.379 37 59.873 DNF 38 60.460 123.058 186.511 246.965 39 57.952 118.483 180.029 244.316 40 56.646 115.326 177.986 242.596 41 60.491 118.665 175.535 232.919 42 62.723 125.380 184.799 246.697 43 60.840 122.959 179.988 239.610 44 57.294 114.369 170.719 228.836 45 62.359 123.422 182.102 242.778 46 61.021 122.400 184.664 245.421 47 62.696 125.772 189.357 252.790 48 64.830 DNF 49 60.665 124.906 188.778 246.640 50 60.869 125.418 188.753 246.898 51 59.792 121.152 183.666 241.830 52 56.651 117.820 174.765 230.340 53 58.758 119.427 180.687 236.204 54 57.434 114.785 171.675 229.370 55 60.368 121.577 185.398 249.250 56 65.725 129.568 190.283 251.597 57 64.889 124.402 186.409 248.152 58 62.688 122.701 182.518 243.865 59 60.747 123.945 187.590 246.974 60 60.797 118.205 183.658 243.907 61 59.629 115.493 176.508 237.078 62 55.977 113.810 171.235 230.023 63 58.317 115.690 177.395 234.949 64 57.885 117.245 180.597 239.310 65 60.563 122.019 182.391 241.805 66 60.491 123.818 185.068 246.539 67 59.573 123.455 187.774 246.469 68 57.309 122.288 184.208 249.194 69 62.239 124.126 186.649 250.398 70 57.944 120.613 183.925 247.367 71 57.565 116.747 176.150 235.535 72 60.286 119.263 182.213 240.715