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Indy Car Driver (Pro IV)
 
Posts: 140
Joined: 09 Sep 2014, 9:06 am

Post 09 Aug 2020, 1:45 pm

This is the story of how I got lucky at Yas Marina. I did enough things right, and avoided enough of the wrong stuff, that I was still there at the end, narrowly ahead of the rest of the field.

It starts of course with the car design. I marveled at the trio of 80 - 80 cars, and counted myself lucky that I was racing against them, because I thought that was a BIG expenditure of design points for stuff which was nice but not essential. Sure one would use the 80 accel on move 2 -- but afterward? Doubtful. Also that huge decel. Concentrating on the essential instead of the "nice" or "fun" left me with 60 - 40 - 160. Start speed I usually don't buy, and this time again I thought I could do without as long as I could clear the first corner on move 2. That left me with a full house of wear and skill. I was clearly going to roll a lot of dice (and pray).

My start bid of 3 was perfect (and lucky) for the circumstances, getting me into the second row. Actually I had guessed third row, which would have been sufficient.

Move 2 had me clear that first corner by two spaces. I felt I needed to keep up with the neighbors. I spent as necessary to stay halfway close to the second-pack leaders, figuring that the first pair would "come back to earth" at some point.

Turn 13 I rather nastily stuffed James, although I did warn him in advance, verbally on the open Zoom channel, "I'm going to drive quite aggressively here". I spent 2 wear in the process, not exactly optimal, but got within one move of the race leader, up to 4th overall, and closed out a couple of cars behind me. End lap 1 I was in 4th, had spent 7W on the track (and 3 in the bid), with 14 in hand. 3 dice rolls so far, the start, and two late-brakes.

Early Lap 2 I'm dueling with the 3rd place green car (Stephen, I think). Chris Long running clean air in the lead (but he started the lap with only 7W), and we'll behind 2nd place Chris K (started the lap with 11). Get through the hairpin just one space behind 2nd and 3rd, leader only 7 spaces ahead. With one slip, and test top (2 skill), stay in the fray, careful with skill & wear every move. Lose a place or two in the corner 6/7 complex, conserving wear... my race notes tell me I had a bad sequence. 5th commencing the start/finish straight.

Starting the last lap, Leader Chris Long only 1 W, 2nd place Stephen 5W, 3rd & 4th Chris K 3W James with 4, I have 6 and am poised to gain a slip.Dave is behind me in 6th but has to clear the final corner yet, he's got 6W, I'm looking ahead not back. it's turn 29, leader Chris L just crossed the start/finish and Stephen has his nose across it. I'm 10 spaces behind the leader.

The 140 Slip makes covers the straight in one move. 1W in corner 1 puts me into 4th. Aggression on the straight gets me into third, Chris K only plotting 120 against my 140 going the long way around. I'm 2 spaces behind 2nd, 3 behind 1st.

Time to GO FOR IT. I plot 100, ready to spend 4w and a chance, perhaps with a forced pass -- only to be thwarted by timid driving up front leaving me no way to clear the hairpin. Ack! Spend 3 wear anyway and LB to 80, thinking, "there goes my chance to win this thing."

Clear the hairpin the next move, but now the two leaders are nearly a full move ahead. However, leader Chris L blows his accel from (60 to 40). Going into the back straight chicane, I'm 5th with 2w, 2 spaces behind the lead. The very definition of tight racing!

We 5 clear the corner. Immediately after, Chris L blows his engine trying to over-accelerate, so suddenly I'm 4th.

Turn 39, approaching the left-right corner 5 at high speed, I think to myself "you didn't roll chance last time, you still have that -3 red chip to use -- go for it? Yeah!" So I go for it. 120 pus a slip plus my last wear and a chance (success!) puts me clear first -- by a nose ahead of Chris K and a space ahead of Stephen and James. This is great, I carry nice momentum onto the short straight -- only to get caught before the next corner. Ack!

<<Missing Photo of us piled up before corner 6!!>>

I had grabbed the inside in front of the corner, which is probably suboptimal when the car next to me also has no wear. If both go at safety speed, then I move second and have lost initiative. So I roll chance again, applying my last two skill -- and pass again. PHEW! That locks it for me, nobody can catch me. Phew!

So that's the story of "How I got lucky at Yas Marina". I survived 10 dice rolls. Each had skill applied. Two of them were chance rolls, one -3, the other -2. Not sure the overall odds, but I was lucky. The competition was tight, and intense.

Thanks Mike Polcen for running this, and thank you my fellow competitors for providing the fierce racing.
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Indy Car Driver (Pro IV)
 
Posts: 8
Joined: 05 Apr 2020, 2:21 pm

Post 13 Aug 2020, 2:44 pm

Nice write up Rando.

From what I remember it was a good race and I was more or less happy with how my race was panning out. I too thought the bad luck at the hairpin on lap 3 had reduced your chances somewhat. I thought I was in a good position to fight for the win once Chris L's engine blew, but your 2nd ballsy move paid off, which on balance after the 1st failed was probably a fair result.

Then in an last corner attempt to gain 2nd I lost 3rd, overall still a good result in a higher class of field than I'm used too!