Archive for August, 2019

CFR-Detroit 2019 Race #5: Michigan Grand Prix

Friday, August 9th, 2019

The Michigan Grand Prix took place on Saturday, July 13, 2019, at the Guild of Blades game store in Clawson, Michigan. Thirteen drivers participated, and at the end of the race it was found that Bill Worrel had won his third race of the season, edging out Mike Cook at the finish line. Completing the podium, in 3rd place, was Garry Kaluzny. There were three DNFs during the race, one crash and two brake failures.

The track was the downtown Detroit track that was raced by Formula 1 beginning in the early 1980s, and later raced by CART (IndyCars). We of the CFR-Detroit boardgame racing community have decided to annually alternate our races between the downtown Detroit and the Belle Isle tracks, so this year it was the turn to race on the downtown circuit.

Downtown Detroit track

Downtown Detroit track, used by F1 from 1983-1988. Used by CFR-Detroit in 2017 and 2019.

As a reminder, drivers bid for starting position by bidding some of their wear and/or skill chits, with each wear counting as 1.0 and each skill counting as 0.5 towards their qualifying bid.

Qualifying

Bill Worrel (1 wear + 24 skill) snatched the pole position with an astronomical bid of 13.0; however, he had to do it the hard way as Mike Cook (1 wear + 24 skill) also bid 13.0. In the resulting dice-off, Worrel prevailed with a roll of ’98’ to Cook’s ’58,’ hence Worrel was on the pole and Cook started 2nd. Jack Beckman (5 wear + 15 skill) bid 12.5; he started 3rd. Garry Kaluzny (4 wear + 10 skill) bid 9.0, earning him 4th spot on the starting grid. Kaluzny said that he thought a bid of 9.0 would have been enough for at least the front row, if not pole position! Mark Moellering (5 wear + 7 skill), after gaining the pole position in the last two races, had to settle for starting 5th at Detroit after bidding 8.5. Richard White (3 wear + 10 skill) bid 8.0 to start 6th. Greg Lim (0 wear + 12 skill) and Gary Sturgeon (0 wear + 12 skill) each bid 6.0. Lim won the dice-off by ’95’ to ’22’ and so Lim started 7th and Sturgeon started 8th.

Jim Robinson (2 wear + 6 skill) and Mike St. Peter (3 wear + 4 skill) each bid 5.0; Robinson won the dice toss ’44’ to ’22’ and so Robinson started 9th and St. Peter started 10th. Aric Parr (0 wear + 6 skill) started 11th after bidding 3.0. Mickey Akins (0 wear + 1 skill) and Jim Landis (0 wear + 1 skill) each bid only 0.5; Akins rolled ’85’ and Landis rolled ’81’ and so Akins started 12th and Landis was 13th on the grid.

Note: Jim Robinson won the pole at the downtown Detroit track in 2017 with a bid of 8.0 (2 wear + 12 skill). There were four other drivers who bid 6.0 that year. Bidding 8.0 in 2019 would have only been good enough to start 6th!

The starting grid for the 2019 Michigan Grand Prix with their car specs:

 # Driver (Car)                    Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
 1 Bill Worrel (Ferrari)            100   20    20   140  5x   5x   soft
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)          100   20    20   140  5x   5x   soft
 2 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)           100   20    20   140  5x   5x   soft
 8 Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 4 Mark Moellering (Tyrrell)         60   40    20   140  5x   5x   hard
 7 Richard White (Marlboro McLaren)  60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 0 Greg Lim (Williams)               60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
12 Gary Sturgeon (Camel Lotus)       60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 6 Jim Robinson (Williams)           60   40    40   140  5x   4x   hard
 9 Mike St. Peter (McLaren)          60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
10 Aric Parr (McLaren)               20   40    60   140  5x   4x   hard
27 Mickey Akins (Renault)            60   40    60   140  5x   3x   hard
20 Jim Landis (Benetton)             60   60    60   140  5x   2x   hard

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers (per lap); Skill = # of Skill markers (per lap); Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race.

Starting grid at Detroit

Starting grid at Detroit: 1st row: Worrel (red) & Cook (yellow); 2nd row: Beckman (red) & Kaluzny (white/orange); 3rd row: Moellering (blue/white) & White (white/orange); 4th row: Lim (white/yellow/blue) & Sturgeon (yellow); 5th row: Robinson (white/yellow/blue) & St. Peter (orange); 6th row: Parr (orange) & Akins (black/yellow); 7th row: Landis (green/yellow). All drivers will ignore the chicane in the middle of the grid until after all drivers have cleared that chicane on the start.

It should be noted that Mickey Akins switched from driving a Fiat Ferrari to driving a Renault for this race. He did keep his same number 27 on his new car.

It should also be noted that the first three starters all had 100 mph start speeds. Since such a high start speed would have been wasted on a track with only a 2-wide starting area if they started behind cars with slower starting speeds, those cars all bid high to ensure starting up front. In fact, both Worrel and Cook had bid all of their skill markers, including all of their -3 chits! The problem then becomes for the other drivers, how to worry those leaders into having to roll some dice. Another item of interest is that the three top qualifiers only had acceleration and deceleration values of 20 mph.

1st Lap

As expected, at the start of the race, the top three qualifiers (with their 100 mph start speeds) shot out of the gate like scared jackrabbits. Worrel & Cook, on the front row and on soft tires, each used a wear to boost their starting speed to 120 mph, moving 6 spaces and with both cars making it into the first corner on the track. In the 2nd row, Beckman also used a wear to go 120 mph, and Kaluzny used a wear to get to 80 mph (Kaluzny only had the “normal” start speed of 60 mph). In the 3rd row, Moellering, the inside car, rolled dice to increase his start speed since he had already spent 5 wear in qualifying. He used a -3 skill chit and rolled an ‘8’ and so was on his merry way at 80 mph. Next to Moellering, White also rolled dice, using two -1 skill chits and rolling an ‘8’ to get to 80 mph. From the 4th row, Lim used a wear to get to 80 mph, and Sturgeon was content to just start at his normal 60 mph. Sturgeon probably figured that there wouldn’t have been any room on the narrow track if cars in front of him wouldn’t have boosted their speed.

But even from the 5th row, St. Peter used a wear to get to 80 mph, so he pulled up next to Sturgeon. Robinson, however, merely went 60 mph. From the 6th row, Akins started off gracefully at 60 mph. Next to Akins, Parr rolled for an increase, but only used a single -1 skill marker; his resultant roll was a partial failure, meaning he mis-shifted and so started at only 40 mph, 20 mph slower than his nominal start speed. Jim Landis, from row 7, was content to roll away from the line at 60 mph.

Jackrabbits jump at the start

The three jackrabbits of Worrel, Cook, and Beckman jump away from the pack at the start of the Michigan Grand Prix. The rest of the pack is in the order Kaluzny, Moellering, White, Lim, Sturgeon, St. Peter, Robinson, Akins, Landis, and Parr.

After the first 180-degree left-hander, Moellering dived inside Kaluzny for the 90-degree right-hand turn onto St. Antoine St, thereby taking 4th place. Landis passed Akins in the 180-degree left-hander, and so Landis had moved up to 11th (from 13th on the grid). After the right turn onto East Jefferson Ave., Cook passed Worrel for the lead as they turned left onto East Congress St.

Cook takes the lead

Cook takes the lead from Worrel at the left turn onto East Congress, followed by Beckman, Moellering, Kaluzny, White, Lim, St. Peter, Sturgeon, Robinson, Landis, Parr, and Akins.

The field snaked left onto Beaubien, then right onto Larned (going against the natural direction of traffic on Larned, as Larned is a one-way street that goes west to east, instead of the east to west direction of racing). Then the pack turned left onto Woodward, and then right onto West Jefferson. Cook continued to lead from Worrel. Moellering dived inside Beckman just before the left turn onto Woodward to briefly take over 3rd place. Beckman regained 3rd at the sharp left turn onto Washington Boulevard. And Parr passed his teammate St. Peter for 10th place just before the left turn onto Washington Blvd.

At the left-hand turn onto Atwater and into the Goodyear Tunnel under Hart Plaza, Cook had stretched his lead over Worrel to 3 spaces, with Beckman another 2 spaces back. Then the rest of the pack was all bunched up behind.

Cook leads through the Goodyear Tunnel

Cook leads through the Goodyear Tunnel, followed by Worrel, Beckman, Moellering, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, White, Lim, Robinson, Parr, Landis, St. Peter, and Akins.

Coming out of the Goodyear Tunnel, Cook passed through the sharp right-left combo turn and then the chicane, then pulled into the pits a turn before Worrel could reach the pits. A little farther back, Kaluzny passed Moellering for 4th going through the Goodyear Tunnel, then Kaluzny passed Beckman for 3rd place just before the right-left combo turn. White pulled to the inside of Moellering for 5th place at that same combo turn.

Worrel managed to reach the pits a turn after Cook, but a turn before anyone else could pit. Since Worrel pitted just past the start/finish line, he led the 1st lap.

Worrel leads after one lap

Worrel, in the pits, leads after one lap.

On the next game-turn, pulling into the pits were the cars of Kaluzny, Beckman, White, and Sturgeon; Moellering stayed on the track, and Cook rejoined the traffic on the track. On the next game-turn, Lim and St. Peter pitted, and Worrel got back on the track. The cars of Parr, Robinson, Akins, and Landis did not pit. All of the cars that eschewed a pit stop were on hard tires. Moellering took the lead on the track while the other cars were in the pits.

The official order at the end of the 1st lap: Worrel (0); Kaluzny (+2); Moellering (+2); Cook (-2); Parr (+6); Lim (+1); Robinson (+2); Akins (+4); Landis (+4); Sturgeon (-2); White (-5); Beckman (-9); and St. Peter (-3). The numbers in parentheses indicate how many positions a driver either gained (+) or lost (-) from their starting position.

2nd Lap

After the pit stops were resolved, the running order on the track early in lap 2 was: Moellering; Cook; Worrel; Robinson; Akins; Parr; Kaluzny; Landis; White; Beckman; Sturgeon; Lim; and St. Peter.

Bird's eye view of the race

Bird’s eye view of the race: Early in the 2nd lap, Moellering (blue and white car at top-right) still leads. Following cars are: Cook; Worrel; Robinson; Parr; Kaluzny; Akins; Landis; Beckman; White; Sturgeon; Lim; and St. Peter.

Cook, seeing his opportunity, passed Moellering for the lead on East Congress. Parr passed Kaluzny for 5th in the left-hand corner leading onto East Congress. Through the left and right turns onto Beaubien and then Larned Streets, Moellering stuck right behind Cook. Moellering was still 5 spaces ahead of Worrel and Robinson, the 3rd and 4th place cars. Just before the left-hand turn onto Washington Blvd, Moellering ducked to the inside of Cook in a bid for the lead, but as Moellering did not have the benefit of using the cornering arrow, he had to go the long away around the corner, so Cook retained his lead. Kaluzny managed to pass the wear-starved Parr and Robinson on West Jefferson and then into the left-hand turn onto Washington Blvd. That move moved Kaluzny up into 3rd place.

Cook holds his lead at the Kodak Camera Corner

Cook holds his lead at the Kodak Camera Corner, followed by Moellering, Kaluzny, Robinson, Parr, Worrel, Landis, Akins, White, Beckman, Lim, Sturgeon, and St. Peter.

Kaluzny caught and passed Moellering at the right-left combo turn after the Goodyear Tunnel. Cook ducked into the pits for his 2nd pit stop of the race, one game-turn before anyone else. White was moving up through the field. Where he had been in 8th position on West Jefferson before making the turn onto Washington Blvd in front of Cobo Hall, when he emerged from the Goodyear Tunnel under Hart Plaza, White was in 6th.

On the game-turn after Cook pitted, Kaluzny, Moellering, and Robinson also pitted. Kaluzny was making his 2nd pit stop of the race, whilst Moellering and Robinson were making their first, and mandatory, stops. On the following game-turn, Parr made his 1st pit stop, as did Landis and Akins. Just as Cook made it back on the track, Worrel swooped by into the lead, followed closely by White. Both Worrel and White had decided to ride the rapids with their remaining wear instead of pitting.

Worrel takes the lead at the end of Lap 2

With the white flag showing there is only one lap remaining, Worrel takes the lead. White is immediately behind Worrel, and Cook is beside White. The cars of Parr, Kaluzny, Moellering, Robinson, Landis, and Akins all rest in the pits. Still on the track were Lim, Beckman, St. Peter, and Sturgeon.

As they came around, Lim joined the others in the pits, while Beckman, St. Peter, and Sturgeon decided to stay on the track.

The official order at the end of the 2nd lap: Worrel (0); Parr (+9); White (+3); Cook (-2); Lim (+2); Beckman (-3); Kaluzny (-3); Moellering (-3); Robinson (0); St. Peter (0); Landis (+2); Sturgeon (-4); and Akins (-1).

3rd Lap

As they began their 3rd laps, the drivers each had this many wear for the last lap: Worrel (11); Parr (15); White (6); Cook (15); Lim (15); Beckman (9); Kaluzny (15); Moellering (15); Robinson (15); St. Peter (13); Landis (15); Sturgeon (7); and Akins (15). Worrel had managed to spend only 6 wear (saving 9) on the 2nd lap, and he got 2 wear back as his hard tire bonus when he reached the start/finish line to begin the final lap.

Despite having 5 less fewer wear than Worrel, White briefly challenged Worrel for the lead at the start of lap 3. White ducked to the inside at the first corner to briefly take the lead, but Worrel regained the lead at the right-hand turn onto St. Antoine. Moellering, coming up to that same turn onto St. Antoine, attempted a -1 deceleration roll to slow down for the turn. He failed that roll, which meant his deceleration dropped from 20 mph to 0 mph for the rest of the race! That is one of the perils of starting out with 20 mph in deceleration (or acceleration, for that matter), for if you fail a dice roll, you are well and truly hosed, because you will have to always spend wear or roll dice every time you need to slow down (or speed up, if accel is busted).

After the pit stops were completed, the running order on the track early in lap 3 was: Worrel; White; Cook; Beckman; Kaluzny; Moellering; Robinson; Parr; St. Peter; Landis; Sturgeon; Akins; and Lim.

Kaluzny had been having a dice with Moellering, Beckman, and Robinson for 4th place, then after turning left off the Chrysler service drive onto East Congress, Kaluzny was able to get clear of all three of his closest competitors and move into 4th place. Kaluzny then caught his teammate White at Beaubien Street. In the meanwhile, Worrel and Cook were 4 spaces in front of everyone else with about a half of a lap remaining to race.

Worrel leads with half a lap remaining

With half a lap remaining, Worrel (red Ferrari in upper left) leads from Cook, White, Kaluzny, Moellering, Beckman, Robinson, Parr, Landis, Sturgeon, Akins, and Lim.

Kaluzny was now drag-racing White, both coveting 3rd place. They went side-by-side down Larned St at 140 mph, then both cars needed to slow to 80 mph for their next move through the slow left-turn onto Woodward. White attempted and failed an unmodified deceleration roll, which reduced his decel rating to 20 mph for the last half of the last lap (White also had to spend a precious wear to avoid spinning out then and there). Kaluzny was more fortunate; he successfully rolled a -1 deceleration attempt. Shortly after that, at that same series of corners on Woodward that connected Larned and West Jefferson, Parr made a forced pass (using a total of 5 wear to pay for the cornering costs) past Moellering. Moellering attempted to block, but Parr did make the pass and got into 6th place (Parr was 8th when he began that move — he also passed Beckman). But the action wasn’t done at that corner — Landis followed Parr through to also pass Moellering and Beckman, although Landis only paid 3 wear total.

The race is heating up

The race is heating up. Worrel still leads Cook, the Marlboro McLarens of Kaluzny (inside) and White (cornering arrow) are right behind Cook, and Robinson is right behind the McLarens. Parr (orange car) and Landis (green/yellow car) have both just forced-passed Moellering (blue/white car) and Beckman (red car). Behind trail Sturgeon, Akins, St. Peter, and Lim.

At that Washington Blvd. left-turn, Worrel had 2 wear remaining; Cook had 3 wear; Kaluzny had 6 wear; White had 3 wear; and Robinson had 5 wear left. It was shaping up to be an exciting finish.

It was then Beckman’s gamble to attempt a forced-pass of Parr at the Washington Boulevard turn. Beckman succeeded in making the pass despite Parr’s blocking attempt, but then Beckman was going fast enough to have to use 2 wear and roll a -2 chance through the actual corner. Unfortunately for the Ferrari flag-waving tifosi in attendance at the race, Beckman rolled an ’11’ and so he crashed, becoming the first DNF of the race.

Beckman crashes at Washington Blvd

Beckman (upside down Ferrari at top center) crashes at Washington Blvd. The yellow caution flag waves. Robinson’s Williams has taken 4th place from White’s Mclaren.

Worrel got through the left-hand turn to head through the Goodyear Tunnel for the last time without undue cause for alarm. Cook make a brilliant blocking move by ending his turn in the middle of that corner, thereby preventing any easy passes of him. Kaluzny pulled up short of the corner, trying to preserve his last few wear. Then Robinson took the inside of the corner and briefly 3rd place, although he was off the cornering arrow. (Afterwards, Kaluzny remarked that he might have been able to nip Cook for 2nd if Kaluzny had used all of his wear to go around the outside of that corner. With Cook’s car only having a 20 mph acceleration, Kaluzny may have been able to out-drag Cook to the line.)

Worrel held a 3-space lead over Cook at the right-left turn after the Goodyear Tunnel. Kaluzny had gone through the left-corner into the tunnel faster than Robinson, so Kaluzny was right behind Cook (with Robinson right behind Kaluzny). Then came White, Landis, Moellering, St. Peter (who had almost unnoticed passed his teammate Parr), Parr, Sturgeon, Akins, and Lim.

Finally, through the chicane for the final time, and it was Worrel just holding off Cook to win by 1 space. Kaluzny finished 2 spaces behind Cook. Robinson had to slow just before the chicane, but was out of wear and skill; he threw an unmodifed deceleration roll, failed the roll, and so spun just before the chicane. White tried another -1 deceleration roll before the chicane, failed the roll, and so became the 2nd retirement of the race with brake failure.

Worrel wins at Detroit

Worrel wins at Detroit! It was his 3rd win in five races in 2019. Cook is 2nd, and Kaluzny is 3rd. Robinson (backwards-facing car at the barricades) spun in front of the chicane, and White has parked his brakeless McLaren to the side of the track.

But the carnage was not yet complete. Robinson only moved at 40 mph while recovering from his spin. That left him on the last space of the chicane, sitting right on top of the cornering arrow. (For those folks who don’t know the rules to Championship Formula Racing, the cornering arrows give a car a 20 mph bonus through the corners, so it is beneficial to use the arrows as much as you can.) St. Peter ended his move next to Robinson, and right behind were Landis, Parr, Akins, Sturgeon, and Lim. It was while trying to slow for the chicane that Moellering’s brakes gave out, making him the 3rd DNF of the race. He had failed an unmodified deceleration roll. (As Maxwell Smart would have said, “He came this close to finishing the race!”)

At the mad scramble to the line, Robinson was able to hold on to 4th place, and St. Peter was 5th. Landis finished 6th, and beside him Parr finished 7th. Sturgeon was able to out-drag Akins down the start/finish straight to finish 8th, relegating Akins to 9th. Lim came home in 10th.

The peloton finishes the race

The peloton finishes the race at Detroit.

The official finishing order at the 2019 Michigan Grand Prix: 1st-Bill Worrel (0); 2nd-Mike Cook (0); 3rd-Garry Kaluzny (+1); 4th-Jim Robinson (+5); 5th-Mike St. Peter (+5); 6th-Jim Landis (+7); 7th-Aric Parr (+4); 8th-Gary Sturgeon (0); 9th-Mickey Akins (+3); 10th-Greg Lim (-3). Three DNFs were classified: 11th-Mark Moellering, brakes (-6); 12th-Richard White, brakes (-6); and 13th-Jack Beckman, accident (-10).

Aftermath

Points awarded at the 2019 Michigan Grand Prix: Worrel 15; Cook 12; Kaluzny 10; Robinson 8; St. Peter 6; Landis 4; Parr 2; Sturgeon 1.

Team points awarded at the 2019 Michigan Grand Prix: Ferrari 15; Camel Lotus 13; Marlboro McLaren 10; Williams 8; McLaren 8; Benetton 4.

The points standings of the 2019 CFR-Detroit season (after 5 of 10 races):

Place Driver (Car)                    Points
  1   Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)           47
  2   Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  46
  3   Bill Worrel (Ferrari)             45
  4   Richard White (Marlboro McLaren)  36
  5T  Jim Robinson (Williams)           24
  5T  Aric Parr (McLaren)               24
  7   Mickey Akins (Fiat Ferrari)       15
  8   Mark Moellering (Tyrrell)         14
  9T  Greg Lim (Williams)                8
  9T  Mike St. Peter (McLaren)           8
  9T  Jim Landis (Benetton)              8
  9T  Gary Sturgeon (Camel Lotus)        8
 13   Joel Lauder (Tyrrell)              4
 14   Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             2
 15   Brian Robinson (Benetton)          1

Drivers can only count their 7 best finishes out of the 10 races.

The team championship standings of the 2019 CFR-Detroit season (after 5 of 10 races):

Place Team              Points
  1   Marlboro McLaren    82
  2   Camel Lotus         55
  3   Ferrari             47
  4T  McLaren             32
  4T  Williams            32
  6   Tyrrell             18
  7   Fiat Ferrari        15
  8   Benetton             5
  9   Renault              0

Teams can only count their 2 best finishing cars from each race.

The 6th race of the 2019 CFR-Detroit racing season is on Saturday, August 1o, at RIW Hobbies & Games in Livonia, Michigan. Qualifying begins promptly at 12:45 pm, so all drivers who wish to compete are asked to arrive no later than 12:15 pm so they may set up their car’s specifications. The race is the Italian Grand Prix, racing on the CFR design of the Monza track.

CFR-Detroit 2019 Race #4: British Grand Prix

Thursday, August 8th, 2019

In a (boardgame) race that was held on Friday, May 10, 2019, Mickey Akins came from 13th place on the starting grid to pass the other 12 drivers to win the British Grand Prix. Mark Moellering and Mike Cook were the other podium finishers, in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. The race was contested at Pandemonium Games & Hobbies in Garden City, Michigan. Eleven of the 13 cars finished the race. This was the 4th (of 10) races of the 2019 CFR-Detroit racing season.

The race was on the Brands Hatch track. Our track was based on the old Avalon Hill Brands Hatch track design, except we modified the 2nd corner on the track to make it more logical than was its Avalon Hill design.

The modified Brands Hatch track

The modified Brands Hatch track.

We had not used the Brands Hatch track since our old Advanced Speed Circuit days in the late 1980s/early 1990s, so it needed a good going over. The lane and space dividing lines were originally painted red, and they had faded over the years to be now almost impossible to see. So those lane and space lines were re-painted in yellow. We added the red-and-yellow stripes to mark which side of the track is the inside at any particular point on the track. We also added the orange stripes alongside the track to denote the pit stop spaces. We also went over the numbers in the corners, and re-drew the red cornering arrows.

As a reminder, drivers bid for starting position by bidding some of their wear and/or skill chits, with each wear counting as 1.0 and each skill counting as 0.5 towards their qualifying bid.

Qualifying

Mark Moellering (4 wear + 18 skill) took his 2nd consecutive pole position with a bid of 13.0. Bill Worrel (6 wear + 12 skill) and Garry Kaluzny (3 wear + 18 skill) each bid 12.0. Kaluzny then rolled ’95’ on the ensuing percentage dice roll to break the tie, but Worrel rolled ’98’ and thus Worrel started 2nd and Kaluzny was relegated to 3rd. Richard White (5 wear + 13 skill) and Mike Cook (6 wear + 11 skill) each bid 11.5, with White rolling ’38’ to start 4th, while Cook rolled ’02’ to start 5th. Jack Beckman (5 wear + 7 skill) bid 8.5 to start 6th. Gary Sturgeon (0 wear + 15 skill) bid 7.5 and so he started in 7th position.

Greg Lim (5 wear + 2 skill) slotted into the 8th spot with a bid of 6.0. There were two bids of 5.0: Joel Lauder (1 wear + 8 skill) and Mike St. Peter (4 wear + 2 skill). Lauder rolled ’78’ to start 9th, and St. Peter rolled ’26’ to start 10th. Jim Robinson (0 wear + 7 skill) bid only 3.5, so he began 11th. Aric Parr (0 wear + 5 skill) started 12th with a bid of 2.5. Mickey Akins (0 wear + 3 skill) bid 1.5, so he began in the 13th and final position on the grid.

The starting grid for the 2019 British Grand Prix with their car specs:

 # Driver (Car)                    Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
 4 Mark Moellering (Tyrrell)        100   20    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 1 Bill Worrel (Ferrari)            100   40    40   140  5x   3x   soft
 8 Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  60   40    20   140  5x   5x   soft
 7 Richard White (Marlboro McLaren)  60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)          100   40    40   140  5x   3x   soft
 2 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)            60   60    40   140  5x   3x   soft
12 Gary Sturgeon (Camel Lotus)      100   40    20   140  5x   4x   soft
 0 Greg Lim (Williams)               60   60    40   140  5x   3x   soft
 3 Joel Lauder (Tyrrell)             60   40    40   160  5x   3x   hard
 9 Mike St. Peter (McLaren)          60   40    40   140  5x   4x   hard
 6 Jim Robinson (Williams)           60   40    40   140  5x   4x   hard
10 Aric Parr (McLaren)               60   40    60   140  5x   3x   hard
27 Mickey Akins (Fiat Ferrari)       60   40    40   160  5x   3x   hard

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers (per lap); Skill = # of Skill markers (per lap); Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race.

The starting grid at Brands Hatch

The starting grid at Brands Hatch: 1st row: Mark Moellering (blue Tyrrell) and Bill Worrel (red Ferrari); 2nd row: Garry Kaluzny (inside, #8) and Richard White (outside, #7); 3rd row: Mike Cook (yellow Lotus) and Jack Beckman (red Ferrari); 4th row: Gary Sturgeon (yellow Lotus) and Greg Lim (white/yellow/blue Williams); 5th row: Joel lauder (blue/white Tyrrell) and Mike St. Peter (orange McLaren); 6th row: Jim Robinson (white/yellow/blue Williams) and Aric Parr (orange McLaren); 7th row: Mickey Akins (red/white Fiat Ferrari).

1st Lap

At the start, the front row cars of Moellering and Worrel both zoomed away at 120 mph (they both used a wear to increase their start speeds by 20 mph each as they were both on soft tires.)  The 2nd row Marlboro McLarens of Kaluzny and White also each used a wear to increase their start speeds to 80 mph. Mike Cook was then balked — he plotted 100 mph (his car’s normal start speed) but had to slow down to 80 mph due to the McLaren roadblock ahead of him. (Hey — it’s not like the McLarens were going slow — they both increased their start speeds!) Beckman used a wear to increase his Ferrari’s start speed to 80 mph, so he kept pace with Cook’s Lotus. From the outside of row 5, St. Peter made a successful dice roll to increase his starting speed to 80 mph. Lauder, on the inside of row 5, failed his -1 start speed roll, mis-shifting and so he started at only 40 mph, 20 mph below his basic starting speed. That allowed Parr to pass Lauder into 10th place when Parr successfully made his start speed dice roll. Jim Robinson rolled his start speed increase attempt using two -1 skill modifiers, but he rolled an ’11’ which became a ‘9’ and so he too mis-shifted and only started at 40 mph instead of the 80 mph he had hoped for. Akins, from the 7th row, was content to start at his normal start speed of 60 mph; that allowed him to come up on Robinson’s left side.

And away they go!

And away they go! At the start, Worrel and Moellering have opened up a 3-space lead, with Worrel taking the inside as Moellering chose to take the cornering arrow.

The cars roared around Paddock Hill Bend, Druids, and then Graham Hill Bend, with Moellering and Worrel racing wheel-to-wheel, each trying to wrest the lead from the other. When they got to the Surtees corner, Moellering had got in front of Worrel, and then two Marlboro McLarens of Kaluzny and White were right behind the leading duo. Then 3 spaces back came the rest of the pack.

Moellering leads at Surtees

Moellering leads at Surtees from Worrel, Kaluzny, and White; then came Beckman, Cook, St. Peter, Sturgeon, Parr, Lim, Akins, Robinson, and Lauder.

The cars raced down Pilgrim’s Drop, and then through Hawthorn’s. Halfway through the 1st lap, it was still Moellering leading from Worrel, then Kaluzny, White, Beckman, Cook, St. Peter, Sturgeon, Parr, Kim, Robinson, Akins, and Lauder.

Then at the Westfield corner, Worrel had to slow down. He had used all 9 of his -1 skill markers and also his only -3 skill marker in bidding for starting positions, so he had no skill chits remaining. He rolled an unmodifed deceleration roll to get down to 120 mph, and then he rolled an unmodifed chance roll for the corner. He crashed, becoming the first retirement from the race, and classified in 13th place.

Moellering leads at Westfield

Moellering leads at Westfield (blue car in upper-right corner; however, Worrel’s Ferrari crashed at that corner (upside-down car next to Moellering. White and Kaluzny and now 2nd and 3rd, Beckman 4th, Cook 5th, then came St. Peter, Parr, Sturgeon, Robinson, Lim, Akins, and Lauder.

When Parr got to the Dingle Dell corner, he failed a deceleration roll. Parr’s deceleration rating was reduced from 60 to 40 mph. Moellering pulled out a 5-space lead over Kaluzny just before Moellering went into the Clark corner. On his next move, Moellering pulled into the pits, but Kaluzny was able to move at 140 mph and was then able to pit on the same game-turn, although Kaluzny pitted 5 spaces behind Moellering. On the next game-turn, the cars of White, Sturgeon, Parr, Cook, and Beckman also pitted. Then on the next game-turn, the cars of St. Peter and Lim pitted just as Moellering and Kaluzny were leaving the pits. Not pitting were Robinson, Akins, and Lauder.

Pandemonium in the pits

Pandemonium in the pits (what did you expect at a place named Pandemonium Games?) Robinson has taken the lead on the track due to his not pitting, with Akins and Moellering right behind.

The official order at the end of the 1st lap was: Moellering (0); White (+2); Robinson (+8); Akins (+9); St. Peter (+5); Lauder (+3); Kaluzny (-4); Parr (+4); Sturgeon (-2); Cook (-5); Beckman (-5); and Lim (-4). Worrel (-11) was classified 13th due to his DNF because of the crash. The numbers in parentheses indicate how many positions a driver either gained (+) or lost (-) from their starting position.

When the pit stops were are resolved, the actual running order on the track was: Robinson; Akins; Moellering; Lauder; Kaluzny; White; Parr; Sturgeon; Cook; Beckman; St. Peter, and Lim.

2nd Lap

As the cars rounded the Surtees corner for the 2nd time, Robinson and Akins were sidepod-to-sidepod through Pilgrim’s Drop. Four spaces behind came Moellering, Kaluzny, Lauder, and White. Another 3 spaces back were Sturgeon, Cook, St. Peter, Beckman, and Parr, and Lim was another 2 spaces behind Parr.

At the halfway mark of the race

At the halfway mark of the race, Akins (red & white car at the upper left) has taken the lead from Robinson (white car on the red arrow over the 80 space). The rest of the pack is strung out behind.

Then at Pilgrim’s Drop, Parr forced an unblocked pass on his teammate St. Peter. Parr and Cook both successfully rolled unmodified to increase their top speed on that same straightaway. But then at Dingle Dell corner, Parr again failed an unmodified deceleration dice roll; his brakes had now failed and he retired from the race in 12th place. Then St. Peter spun at Stirling’s corner just as Akins and Robinson had pulled into the pits.

Akins leads the 2nd lap

Akins leads the 2nd lap as he pulls into the pits. Robinson has also pitted, and St. Peter (orange car) has spun (upper left of picture).

The only other cars that pitted at the end of the 2nd lap were those of Lauder and St. Peter; the other cars all stayed on the track.

The official order at the end of the 2nd lap was: Akins (+12); White (+2); Moellering (-2); Sturgeon (+3); Kaluzny (-2); Cook (-1); Beckman (-1); Lim (0); Robinson (+2); St. Peter (0); and Lauder (-2). Parr was classified 12th when his brakes failed.

When the 2nd round of pit stops was over, though, the running order on the track was: White; Moellering; Sturgeon; Kaluzny; Beckman; Cook; Akins; Lim; Robinson; Lauder, and St. Peter.

3rd Lap

As the pack reached Graham Hill Bend early in the 3rd lap, White spun his car. He had been leading at the time, but dropped to 4th after recovering from the spin.

Richard White spins at Graham Hill Bend

Richard White (backwards facing white & orange McLaren) spins at Graham Hill Bend. Note that Mickey Akins is currently 7th.

Moellering then found himself in the lead, and he pulled out a 3-space lead over the now 2nd-place Kaluzny coming out of the Surtees corner. As the pack passed through Hawthorn’s corner for the last time, there was but a half-lap left to race. Moellering still led by two spaces from the pack of Kaluzny, Sturgeon, Cook, White, Beckman, and Akins, then behind that pack came Robinson, Lim, and Lauder, and then another 13 spaces back came St. Peter.

Going into the Westfield corner, Akins was 7th; coming out of Westfield, he was in 4th place. The rest of the pack had now caught up with Moellering. While most of the leading cars were discovering they had very few remaining wear, Akins still had a comfortable amount of wear. At Dingle Dell, Akins moved into 3rd, alongside the 2nd-place Cook.

Akins moves into 3rd place

Akins moves into 3rd place. The running order is: Moellering, Cook, Akins, Kaluzny, Sturgeon, Beckman, White, Robinson, Lauder, Lim, and St. Peter (not in the picture).

At the next corner, Stirling’s, Akins pulled up next to the race leader Moellering, and then Akins passed Moellering for the lead whilst on Clearways. Coming through the final corner, the Clark Curve, Akins was 2-spaces clear from Moellering.

Akins takes the checkered flag

Akins (red & white Fiat Ferrari) takes the checkered flag to win the British Grand Prix.

At the checkered flag, it was Akins winning by 4 spaces from Moellering and Cook. The two team Marlboro McLarens of White and Kaluzny were drag-racing for 4th and 5th place. Kaluzny damaged his engine by over-revving it, and so White was 4th and Kaluzny had to settle for 5th. Jim Robinson came home in 6th, and Sturgeon was 7th. Greg Lim snagged 8th place, the final points paying position. Beckman was 9th, and Lauder was 10th. Lauder had tried a forced-pass on Robinson at the finish line, but was blocked. Lauder could not slow down, and so he spun right at the finish line. But Lauder kept his 10th place, because 11th place, St. Peter, was 8 spaces behind at that moment.

The official order at the finish of the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch: 1st-Mickey Akins (+12); 2nd-Mark Moellering (-1); 3rd-Mike Cook (+2); 4th-Richard White (0); 5th-Garry Kaluzny (-2); 6th-Jim Robinson (+5); 7th-Gary Sturgeon (0); 8th-Greg Lim (0); 9th-Jack Beckman (-3); 10th-Joel Lauder (-1); 11th-Mike St. Peter (). Two DNFs were classified: Aric Parr (0) was 12th (brakes); and Bill Worrel (-11) was 13th (accident).

Aftermath

Points awarded at the 2019 British Grand Prix: Akins 15; Moellering 12; Cook 10; White 8; Kaluzny 6; Robinson 4; Sturgeon 2, and Lim 1.

Team points awarded at the 2019 British Grand Prix: Fiat Ferrari 15; Marlboro McLaren 14; Tyrrell 12; Camel Lotus 12; Williams 5.

The points standings of the 2019 CFR-Detroit season (after 4 of 10 races):

Place Driver (Car)                    Points
  1T  Richard White (Marlboro McLaren)  36
  1T  Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  36
  3   Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)           35
  4   Bill Worrel (Ferrari)             30
  5   Aric Parr (McLaren)               22
  6   Jim Robinson (Williams)           16
  7   Mickey Akins (Fiat Ferrari)       15
  8   Mark Moellering (Tyrrell)         14
  9   Greg Lim (Williams)                8
 10   Gary Sturgeon (Camel Lotus)        7
 11T  Joel Lauder (Tyrrell)              4
 11T  Jim Landis (Benetton)              4
 13T  Mike St. Peter (McLaren)           2
 13T  Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             2
 15   Brian Robinson (Benetton)          1

Drivers can only count their 7 best finishes out of the 10 races.

The team championship standings of the 2019 CFR-Detroit season (after 4 of 10 races):

Place Team              Points
  1   Marlboro McLaren    72
  2   Camel Lotus         42
  3   Ferrari             32
  4T  McLaren             24
  4T  Williams            24
  6   Tyrrell             18
  7   Fiat Ferrari        15
  8   Benetton             5

Teams can only count their 2 best finishing cars from each race.

Another Thought

It seems at most of our CFR-Detroit races, there is wild bidding to ensure starting up front. Most cars also start on soft tires to then can spend a wear to automatically increase their starting speed without having to roll dice (which could result in a stall!) Then it is a race on the first lap to get into the pits before anyone else, switch to hard tires, and try to eke out two laps on your remaining wear. It was refreshing to see Mickey Akins reverse that strategy. He bid only 3 skill, and started last on hard tires. He carefully nursed his wear through the first two laps, then pitted at the end of the 2nd lap. He emerged on soft tires, and while he had to pick his way through several cars that had got in front on him during his pit stop, has was able to use his extra wear on the final lap to guide his car to victory.

Akins set the CFR-Detroit record for winning from the lowest starting position (13th place). The previous record was winning from 7th place, by Jack Beckman at Abu Dhabi in 2018.

The next (5th) race of the 2019 CFR-Detroit racing season was on Saturday, July 13, at Guild of Blades in Clawson, Michigan. It was the Michigan Grand Prix, raced on the downtown Detroit track.

Traveller — the Adventure Begins

Thursday, August 8th, 2019

This is the first adventure of the metro Detroit Classic Traveller group. The players in this first adventure are (the UPP lists the players main six characteristics in order as: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing):

• Captain James T. Dunstal (played by Aric Parr), UPP: 777977, Age 22, Army, 1 term. Skills: Auto Pistol-1, Electronics-1, Mechanical-1, Rifle-1, SMG-1. Cr20,000.

• Dr. Adam Millerton (played by Mark Moellering), UPP: 766788, Age 30, Scientist, 3 terms. Skills: Carousing-1, Computer-2, Gravitics-1, Laser Carbine-1. Received a Type L Lab Ship as a mustering out benefit. Cr7,000.

• Gomer Pile (played by Mike St. Peter), UPP: 3572A9, Age 34, Army (Lt. Colonel), 4 terms. Skills: Brawling-1, Dagger-1, Gambling-1, Mechanical-2, Medical-1, Rifle-1, SMG-1, Tactics-1. Received a Middle Passage and a shotgun as mustering out benefits. Cr35,000.

• Dr. Simon Tamm (played by Bill Worrel), UPP: 2758A9, Age 46, Doctor, 7 terms. Skills: Computer-1, Electronics-1, Medical-2, Streetwise-3. Received a Low Passage as a mustering out benefit, and will receive an annual pension of Cr8,000. Mustered out with Cr80,000, total money after receiving pension: Cr88,000.

Before the characters began adventuring, they purchased some extra equipment:

• Capt. James T. Dunstal purchased: Reflec armor (Cr1,500, TL 10, 0kg); Auto Pistol (Cr200, TL 5, 0.75kg empty, 1kg loaded); 5 magazines 9mm SMG ammo for auto pistol (Cr50, TL 5, 1.25kg) (75 rounds); SMG (Cr500, TL 5, 2.5kg empty, 3kg loaded); 5 magazines 9mm SMG ammo for SMG (Cr100, TL 5, 2.5kg) (150 rounds); Holster, magazine carriers, cleaning kits for weapons (Cr20); Short range communicator (Cr100, TL 7, 0.3kg); Inertial locator (Cr1,200, TL 9, 1.5kg); Hand computer (Cr1,000, TL 11, 0.5kg); Light intensifier goggles (Cr500, TL 7, 1kg). Now has Cr14,780.

• Dr. Adam Millerton purchased: Hand computer (Cr1,000, TL 11, 0.5kg). Now has Cr6,000.

• Gomer Pile purchased: 3 magazines shotgun ammo (Cr30, TL 5, 2.25kg) (30 rounds); Dagger (Cr10, TL 1, 0.25kg (0kg when worn)); Binoculars (Cr75, TL 3, 1kg); IR goggles (Cr500, TL 6, 1kg). Now has Cr34,385.

• Dr. Simon Tamm purchased: Reflec armor (Cr1,500, TL 10, 0kg); Auto Pistol (Cr200, TL 5, 0.75kg empty, 1kg loaded); Silencer (Cr200, TL 6, 0.5kg); 10 magazines 9mm SMG ammo (for auto pistol) (Cr100, TL 5, 2.5kg) (150 rounds); Combination filter-respirator (Cr150, TL 5, 1kg); Artificial gill (Cr4,000, TL 8, 4kg); Swimming equipment (Cr200, TL 3, 1kg); Heavy protective suit (Cr1,400, TL 5, 7kg) (as cloth armor); Medium range communicator (Cr200, TL 7, 1.5kg); Inertial locator (Cr1,200, TL 9, 1.5kg); Radiation counter (Cr250, TL 5, 1kg); Hand computer (Cr1,000, TL 11, 0.5kg); IR goggles (Cr500, TL 6, 1kg); Medical kit (Cr1,000, TL 7, 10kg); Electronic tool set (Cr2,000, TL 7, 5kg); Lock pick set (Cr1,000, TL 4, 0.1kg, illegal on Regina!); Disguise set (Cr1,000, TL 7, 5kg); 5 days dehydrated food (Cr125, 1kg). Now has Cr71,975.

Day 002-1105 (Wonday)

The Quilted Giraffe cafe was busy on day 002 of the new year, the year being 1105 as reckoned by the Third Imperium. The cafe itself was on the planet Regina, the capital world of the Regina subsector, in the Spinward Marches, a part of the Third Imperium. Four rough-looking characters had each just mustered out or retired from their particular service or occupation, and had been forced to share a table for supper in the crowded cafe in Startown, just outside of the Downport starport on the planet’s surface. These characters were Simon Tamm, who referred to himself as “doctor,” in spite of the fact that he never finished his medical degree; Dr. Adam Millerton, a research scientist who had especially made a study of gravitics; and two ex-soldiers from the Army, Lt. Colonel Gomer Pile and Capt. James T. Dunstal. They were all recovering from the the day previous, which was New Year’s Day and an all-day party.

Twenty-two year old Finn Diaz was dining at a nearby table, and saw his old high school friend Captain Dunstal across the room. Diaz got up from his table and walked over to Dunstal. “Hey! Long time no see! What are you up to? Who are your friends?”

Dunstal replied, “I just got out of the Army. I don’t really know these gentlemen.” With that, the characters at the table all introduced themselves to each other and to Diaz, also mentioning that they were all out of work. Then Dunstal asked Diaz, “Hey, how’s that gal doing that you were dating?”

Diaz replied, “She ditched me years ago. I just got out of the Imperial Scout Service after four years. I just didn’t like the isolation all of the time. It was cool at first, but it got old really quickly.”

Dunstal commisserated with Diaz. “Too bad about that gal.”

“Nah. It was nothing. She just had a preference for jocks, that’s all.” Diaz then looked at everyone at the table and asked, “So, what are you guys doing for jobs these days?”

It seems none of the respondents had anything lined up. Millerton mentioned that he had inherited an old lab ship from his employer, but he also said he needed to hire a crew and find money to stock provisions and equipment.

Diaz said, “If you guys are looking to make a few credits, at least, I’d like to introduce Mr. Lee to you. I’ll be right back.” Diaz then walked back to his former table in the cafe. After conversing with a gentleman at his former table, Diaz returned with Mr. Lee. “Gentlemen, this is Mr. Barton Lee. He may have a business proposal for you.”

Mr. Lee was slim of build, but moved with the agility of a cat. He didn’t appear to be all that strong, but he looked like he might be good at martial arts. He was very neatly dressed. He remained standing, and bowed to the four men sitting at the table. “Good evening, gentlemen. Mr. Diaz says you gentlemen might be interested in making some money. It just so happens that I have a little business problem right now.” Lee then took a piece of paper out of his inside coat pocket, unfolded it, and placed it on the middle of the table. It was a flyer announcing a boxing match for the coming Sixday (no, that’s not a typo! The Imperial days of the week are Wonday, Tuday, Thirday, Forday, Fiday, Sixday, and Sonday).

Boxing flyer

The boxing flyer that Mr. Lee presented to the group.

There were three undercard bouts, but Mr. Lee pointed to the main bout. “Gentlemen, Rocco Bronkovic is fighting Arum ‘Kid’ King, but something is very strange. Nobody is betting money on Mr. Bronkovic. It is very strange as Mr. Bronkovic is the champion, and the Kid is merely an upstart. I believe that someone has bribed the champion to deliberately lose the fight. I would like for you four to try to find out why.”

“Gentlemen, I am what you would call an odds-maker. I do not take bets, but I provide odds for various events for those who do take bets. My clients are ready to stop taking all bets for the championship fight, as almost all of the money bet is going for the challenger. If the challenger were to win, which ordinarily does not seem possible, it would bankrupt the bookmakers. I must also alert you to the fact that wagering on things such as prize-fights is strictly illegal on this planet, but the authorities do not usually bother ordinary people who make wagers with bookmakers.”

The four characters discussed the situation a couple of minutes while Mr. Lee stood at attention by their table. Mr. Lee then continued, “Gentlemen, I suggest you spend some time tonight checking out my reputation, and I will do some checking on each of you. With that, Mr. Lee pulled a thick wad of cash from his side coat pocket, and peeled off some individual bills. He seemed totally at ease with flashing a great amount of cash in public. “Gentlemen, here are 100 credits for each of you, to perhaps interest you in assisting me in this matter.” Mr. Lee then also gave each of the characters a business card that just said “Barton Lee — Consultant” with his communicator number on the reverse side of the card. “I suggest we meet here again tomorrow at lunch time, if you are truly interested in this proposition.”

With that, Mr. Lee bowed again, then returned to his own table in the cafe. After saying a few more words with Dunstal, Finn Diaz also returned to Mr. Lee’s table. After several more minutes, Lee and Diaz left the cafe together.

Tamm, Millerton, Pile, and Dunstal all started talking at once. Eventually, they all took turns talking. “What should we do?” “Who should we talk to?” Etc, etc, etc. The four agreed to split up, talk to folks on the street to find out what might be up with the fight and the strange betting pattern, and also to check out facts about the mysterious Mr. Lee.

The four first spoke with their waiter at the cafe. The waiter admitted that Mr. Lee was a regular at the cafe, was always very neatly dressed, and was a good tipper. The waiter didn’t know anything of Mr. Lee’s business dealings, though. The matire’d gave the same information.

Out on the street, the four split up. They individually spoke with street people, and that gave a couple of the characters a way to meet up with a couple of bookies. But no matter who they spoke with, nobody knew anything about the fight being fixed even though they were aware of the strange betting pattern. But, everyone they spoke with not only knew of Mr. Lee, but also knew him personally. Everyone had a good word for Mr. Lee. The characters also got a sense that some of the random “street people” were always watching out for Mr. Lee’s welfare, which explained why Lee wasn’t afraid to flash a big wad of cash in the cafe.

Dr. Millerton dropped into a poker parlor, hoping to hear some juicy info about the fixed fight, but he dropped 200 credits before deciding to cut his losses, especially as he hadn’t found out anything of any use.

Eventually, it got late, and the characters all retired for the evening to their own lodging.

Day 003-1105 (Tuday)

Early the next morning, Captain Dunstal met Dr. Tamm, and they both went to the “Big Hits Gym” where Rocco Bronkovic trained for his fight. The information was gleaned from their conversations with the street people the previous evening. Dunstal and Tamm walked in separately.

First, Tamm walked into the gym. A very rough looking man came over to “greet” Tamm. “What d’ya want?”

Tamm asked politely, “I’m looking to get into the fight business as a doctor.”

“What makes you think yer qualified to be a ring doctor?” was the rude question in response.

“I’ve had medical training, and I’ve spent close to 30 years attending to people.”

The rough-looking man from the club (who needed a shave, by the way) said, “Now, that’s just great! I’ll tell ya what, pal, maybe you should come back next week. We’re sort of busy this week making preparations for the fight in a few days. That’s the champ training right over der!” And the man jerked his thumb towards one of the practice rings where the champ was sparring with another boxer.

The champ, hearing what was said, took a short break from his sparring to look at the newcomer in the gym. He had a pure poker face as he sized up Dr. Tamm. Then, when it became evident to Tamm that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with any more questions, he thanked the man for his time, nodded to the champ, then turned and left the gym.

That was Dunstal’s cue to enter the gym. He had a gym bag with some workout clothes with him. The same rough man approached Dunstal. “Whad’d’ya want?”

Dunstal said, “I just got out of the army. I’m looking for a place to work out, and maybe learn to be a boxer. I figure you guys must be the best gym in town, what with you’re being the home to the champion!”

The rough man actually grinned at what Dunstal said. But that still didn’t help Dunstal, as the man said, “Well, maybe you can come back next week. Ya see, we ain’t got no time for any newcomers right now, we’re getting ready for a big championship fight.” Once again the man pointed to the champ.

Dunstal nodded to the champ, and said “good luck, champ!” Then he left the gym.

During that same morning, Pile was out and about, speaking with more folks on the street. He thought it strange that he didn’t find a single person who admitted to betting on the champ. Pile did bet Cr100 on the champ Rocco Broncovic with one bookie, who told Pile that “you’re the first sap, er, customer, who bet on the champ in about a week!”

And meanwhile, Millerton used his hand computer to log into a larger computer system and find out more about the champion and challenger. It seems that Rocco Bronkovic was nicknamed “The Battling Belter” as he grew up in the Bowman planetoid system, and found he had a real talent for brawling. Then he found that if he got into boxing in the ring, he could make enough money where he didn’t have to perform any dangerous mining while wearing a vacuum suit on an asteroid. The computer also mentioned that Bronkovic was a heavyweight, had moved to Regina when he was 21 years old, and was now 30 years old, and was undefeated in his last 45 fights over the past nine years. But there wasn’t much info about Arum ‘Kid’ King. About the only info on the Kid was that he was 26 years old, and had a 6 and 3 record. Millerton thought that was strange, to say the least.

Millerton also found out that the fight would pay Cr250,000 to the winner, and Cr50,000 to the loser. He also found that Bronkovic made Cr625,000 in his last fight. Additionally, he saw that originally the odds to bet on the champ were even money, they were now offered at 9-1, but still nobody wanted any of that action. And bets for the Kid were now at 1-2 in an attempt to get people to stop betting on the Kid.

Lunchtime at the Quilted Giraffe

At noon, local time, Dunstal, Millerton, Pile, and Tamm met at the Quilted Giraffe cafe. They found Barton Lee and Finn Diaz were already there to meet them. They were all seated, then Mr. Lee asked, “Gentlemen, have you checked into my background, and have you found that I am who I say I am?” The other four did agree that they had met many people who had only good things to say about Mr. Lee. Barton Lee then continued, “Excellent, gentlemen. Have you found anything from anyone on the street about why no one will make a bet on Mr. Bronkovic?”

Gomer Pile then spoke up, “I bet 100 credits on the champ!”

Mr. Lee said, “Most excellent. But did you find anyone else who bet on the champ?” Pile answered that he had not found any other bets for the champ.

Dunstal and Tamm then told Lee about their separate visits to the Big Hits Gym, and how they were rebuffed in their attempts to gain any information there.

Mr. Lee continued, “Gentlemen, today is Tuday. If we do not uncover the reason the betting is so skewed by Forday, we will have to have all bookmakers return all bets on the championship fight. I suggest you try to contact Mr. Bronkovic outside of the gym, and mention these three things to him.” Lee then unfolded a small piece of paper and placed it on the table in front of the others. The paper had three items listed: “Giacomo DePeyster,” “Edam Neckties,” and “extradition.” Lee said, “I suggest you use these words with Mr. Bronkovic. Perhaps he will believe you know more than you really do about him, and perhaps he will come clean and tell you if he has been approached to throw the fight.” Lee then produced another piece of paper that had the addresses of: the rooming house where the champ lives; the gym where he trains (but the characters already had discovered that); a diner where the champ likes to eat his meals; and a cabaret that the champ frequents to amuse himself.

Finally, lunch was over, and Mr. Lee, after paying for everyone’s meals, said, “Good luck, gentlemen. I know you will all practice due diligence on this matter. And here are four tickets to Sixday’s fight. I am sorry, they are only in the second row, but they are directly behind the champ’s corner of the ring.” With that, Mr. Lee and Finn Diaz left after saying goodbye.

Dunstal, Millerton, Pile, and Tamm then all moseyed over to the vicinity of the Big Hits Gym, where they loitered in the area after about 2:00 pm. Dunstal briefly poked his head inside the gym, trying to be as inobtrusive as possible. He did verify that the champ was inside training, then came outside and told the others that the champ was present. They decided to keep watch and to approach the champ as he left the gym. Pile went around the back to the alley to keep an eye on the back door of the gym.

Finally, around 4:00 pm, the champ left the gym. Surprisingly, he was alone. He came out of the building and turned right and paced briskly along the sidewalk. The other four signaled to each other, then they started walking after the champ. Pile approached the champ first, about a block north of the gym. Pile jogged past the champ from behind, saying quickly, “Giacomo DePeyster” and “don’t throw the fight!” Bronkovic stopped walking for several seconds and just glared at the retreating Pile. Then when Bronkovic got about a block farther along, Tamm approached from behind. Tamm wanted to say “Don’t throw the fight!” and then keep walking, but before Tamm could utter every word of that phrase, Bronkovic lashed out, quick as a snake, and grabbed Tamm by the collar.

Bronkovic roared “Who the Hell are you!?” at the surprised Tamm. Then Dunstal hastened by and shouted “extradition!” Bronkovic just glared at Dunstal as he did not release his grip on Tamm. Bronkovic said to Tamm, “Are you hungry? I’m going to dinner, and you’re going to be my guest!” Then Bronkovic led Tamm along the sidewalk, with Rocco’s left hand holding a firm grip on Tamm’s right-side collar. Tamm tried to surreptitiously slip his right hand inside his jacket, but Bronkovic, spying the move, said, “I wouldn’t reach for that, pal! Just keep your hands at your sides!” Tamm had no option but to obey for fear of getting punched by the Champ’s massive hands.

After a walk of another couple of blocks, Bronkovic and Tamm arrived at a greasy-spoon diner. Bronkovic led Tamm inside, and was greeted by the staff leading him to a very familiar corner booth. Bronkovic shoved Tamm into the booth first, then sat himself down so that Tamm would have had to slide a long way around to try to exit the booth from the other side. Rocco shouted out to one of the waiters, “Hey! Bring a menu for my friend here!” The waiter answered, “Right away, Champ!”

Just about the time the menu arrived at the table, Tamm’s other three compatriots walked into the diner. Just as Dunstal, Middleton, and Pile were scanning the inside of the diner and saw Tamm seated with Bronkovic in the corner booth, two of the waitstaff came up behind them. One of the waitstaff, looking a bit surly, sarcastically said, “Can we be of any assistance to you fine gentlemen?” Dunstal answered, “No, we were just looking for a friend. We’ll be going now.” But just as the three were turning to leave, Bronkovic motioned to the waiters to bring the three to his booth. So the same waiter said, “Gentlemen, you all look hungry. I think you better join the champ and his friend in that corner booth.” As he said that, he gave them a shove towards that corner booth….

—- to be continued —-

CFR-Detroit 2019 Race #3: Hungarian Grand Prix

Wednesday, August 7th, 2019

The 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix was held on Saturday, April 13, 2019, at RIW Hobbies & Games in Livonia, Michigan. Fourteen drivers contested the race, and at the end it was Bill Worrel taking the victory at the checkered flag. It was Worrel’s 2nd victory of the three CFR-Detroit races so far in 2019. Other podium finishers were Garry Kaluzny in 2nd place, and Mike Cook in 3rd place. Twelve of the 14 cars that started the race crossed the finish line.

The race was held on the Hungaroring track of a Garry Kaluzny design from the mid-1980s. The old Detroit Advanced Speed Circuit group used to race on the Formula 1 tracks a year after the tracks were raced in real life, and as Avalon Hill had not yet published the Hungaroring track, it was designed locally.

Hungaroring track

The Hungaroring track as used by the Detroit Championship Formula Racing players. Note that Bill Worrel also won on this track in 1987. This track was originally designed as only “2-wide,” but a 3rd lance was recently added on the start/finish straight.

As a reminder, drivers bid for starting position by bidding some of their wear and/or skill chits, with each wear counting as 1.0 and each skill counting as 0.5 towards their qualifying bid.

Qualifying

Mark Moellering (7 wear + 8 skill) earned his 1st pole position of the 2019 season, with a high bid of 11.0. Bill Worrel (0 wear + 20 skill) started 2nd with a bid of 10.0. Garry Kaluzny (3 wear + 13 skill) started 3rd with a bid of 9.5. Richard White (4 wear + 10 skill) bid 9.0 to start 4th. Jim Robinson (2 wear + 12 skill) and Mike Cook (2 wear + 12 skill) each bid 8.0. Jim Robinson rolled a percentage dice roll of ‘100’ to Cook’s roll of ’84,’ and so J. Robinson started 5th, and Cook started 6th. Gary Sturgeon (3 wear + 8 skill) started 7th with a bid of 7.0.

Greg Lim (5 wear + 0 skill) bid 5.0 to start 8th. Ninth on the grid was Brian Robinson (0 wear + 5 skill) with a bid of 2.5. Aric Parr (2 wear + 0 skill) and Jack Beckman (0 wear + 4 skill) each bid 2.0, with Parr starting 10th after rolling ’86’ to Beckman’s roll of ’35,’ thus relegating Beckman to 11th on the grid. Jim Landis and Mike St. Peter each bid nothing. Landis started 12th with a roll of ’43,’ and St. Peter started 13th after rolling ’08.’ Mickey Akins arrived just as the bidding for qualifying was finishing, so he was added to the field in 14th position as a provisional starter. This was Akins’ return to boardgame racing competition. Although it was Akins’ first official race using the Championship Formula Racing rules, he is a past champion of the old Detroit area Advanced Speed Circuit races.

The starting grid for the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix with their car specs:

 # Driver (Car)                    Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires
 3 Mark Moellering (Tyrrell)         60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 1 Bill Worrel (Ferrari)            100   20    20   140  5x   5x   hard
 8 Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 7 Richard White (Marlboro McLaren)  60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
 6 Jim Robinson (Williams)           60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft
11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)          100   40    40   140  5x   3x   soft
12 Gary Sturgeon (Camel Lotus)      100   40    40   140  5x   3x   soft
 0 Greg Lim (Williams)               60   60    40   160  5x   2x   soft
 5 Brian Robinson (Benetton)         20   60    60   140  5x   3x   soft
10 Aric Parr (McLaren)               60   60    60   140  5x   2x   hard
 2 Jack Beckman (Ferrari)            60   60    40   140  5x   3x   soft
20 Jim Landis (Benetton)             60   60    60   140  5x   2x   hard
 9 Mike St. Peter (McLaren)          20   40    40   140  5x   5x   hard
27 Mickey Akins (Fiat Ferrari)       60   40    40   140  5x   4x   soft

Start = Start Speed (in miles/hour); Accel = Acceleration (in mph); Decel = Deceleration (in mph); Top = Top Speed (in mph); Wear = # of Wear markers (per lap); Skill = # of Skill markers (per lap); Tires = hard or soft tires to begin the race.

Starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix

Starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix: 1st row: Mark Moellering (left) and Bill Worrel (right); 2nd row: Garry Kaluzny (#8) and Richard White (#7); 3rd row: Jim Robinson and Mike Cook; 4th row: Gary Sturgeon and Greg Lim; 5th row: Brian Robinson and Aric Parr; 6th row: Jack Beckman and Jim Landis; 7th row: Mike St. Peter and Mickey Akins. Note the temporary track section used to extend the straight for the start.

1st Lap

At the start, Worrel wasn’t content to move at his 100 mph start speed; he wanted to try to move faster. But since he was on hard tires, he couldn’t use a wear to increase his start speed; instead, he used two -1 skill modifiers and rolled the dice. He rolled an ’11’ which was modified to a ‘9,’ but that meant he mis-shifted and so he started at 80 mph, 20 mph slower than his normal start speed. Pole-sitter Mark Moellering, on soft tires, used a -3 skill marker and rolled a ‘7’ to increase his start speed to 80 mph. That meant that Moellering moved before Worrel (since both cars plotted the same speed and Moellering was to the inside), and both cars moved 4 spaces down the track. The two Marlboro McLarens of Kaluzny and White each paid a wear to start at 80 mph, keeping pace with the front-row cars with a move of 4 spaces each. Cook moved at his start speed of 100 mph, so he pulled up next to the McLarens of Kaluzny and White. Jim Robinson spent a wear to start at 80 mph, moving directly behind Kaluzny. Then Sturgeon, from the next row back, started at 100 mph to move up next to J. Robinson. Lim used a wear to start at 80 mph, moving behind his teammate J. Robinson.

Brian Robinson used a wear to increase his car’s start speed from 20 to 40 mph, but he was passed by the cars of Parr (started at 80 mph after making a -1 start speed dice roll) and Beckman (used a wear to start at 80 mph). Moving up alongside of B. Robinson were the cars of Landis (started at 60 mph) and Akins (started at 80 mph after making a -1 start speed dice roll). St. Peter was content to start at his car’s 20 mph start speed.

The start at the Hungarian GP

The start at the Hungarian GP: The running order is Moellering, Worrel, Kaluzny, White, Cook, J. Robinson, Sturgeon, Lim, Parr, Beckman, B. Robinson, Landis, Akins, and St. Peter (the orange blur in the background).

The pack charged toward the 1st corner, with the lead 10 cars all bunched up.

The pack bunches up at the first corner

The pack bunches up at the first corner; Moellering still leads, and the McLarens of Kaluzny and White have made a Ferrari sandwich with Worrel in the middle.

Moving through the 1st corner, Worrel used 2 wear and rolled a -1 chance. He made the roll, so he took the lead by pulling inside Moellering going into the 2nd corner. Going into the 4th corner, only Worrel and Moellering’s cars were able to accelerate out of that corner, so they were able to open a little lead on the following cars. But Moellering also took the lead back from Worrel, as Worrel’s car only had a 20 mph acceleration rating. At that 4th corner, White made a -3 chance roll, and that allowed him to pass his teammate Kaluzny to take over 3rd place. In that 4th corner, Beckman attempted a forced pass of Cook, but Cook slammed the door. Beckman had to use a wear and took a -2 deceleration roll to slow from 100 to 60 mph.

Half a lap into the race

Half a lap into the race, and Moellering and Worrel lead wheel-to-wheel. Then follow White, Kaluzny, J. Robinson, Cook, Sturgeon, Beckman, Parr, Lim, Akins, Landis, St. Peter, and B. Robinson.

Worrel then moved ahead of Moellering, whose car was very low on wear. Moving in the last half of the 1st lap, Kaluzny managed to re-pass his teammate White, and Sturgeon got around his teammate Cook. By the 2nd to last corner of the 1st lap, Worrel led over Moellering and Kaluzny by 5 spaces. Then when Worrel ducked into the pits he had a lead of 7 spaces.

Worrel pits at the end of Lap 1

Worrel pits at the end of Lap 1 with a 7-space lead over Kaluzny, Moellering, Parr, Cook (who had re-passed his teammate), White, Sturgeon, J. Robinson, Beckman, Lim, Landis, Akins, B. Robinson, and St. Peter.

As Kaluzny, Sturgeon, Cook, Moellering, Parr, and White all came into the pits, Worrel was returning to the track with a fresh set of soft tires. Then as Worrel sped away, the cars of J. Robinson and Beckman also pulled into the pits. Akins retired his car just before the 2nd to last corner of the 1st lap, thereby being classified in 14th place with a DNF.

The pits are very busy

At the end of the 1st lap, the pits are very busy indeed. Worrel speeds away while the cars of Kaluzny, J. Robinson, Beckman, Sturgeon, Cook, Moellering, Parr, and White all renew their rubber.

Lim and B. Robinson did pit as they came through the final corner, but Landis and St. Peter stayed on the track on their hard tires. But B. Robinson retired from the race while his car was in the pits, so he was classified 13th with a DNF.

The official order at the end of the 1st lap was: Worrel (+1) (with a huge lead of 10 spaces); Landis (+10); Kaluzny (0); Sturgeon (+3); Cook (+1); Parr (+4); White (-3); St. Peter (+5); Moellering (-8); Beckman (+1); J. Robinson (-6); and Lim (-4). Brian Robinson (-4) was classified 13th, and Akins (0) was classified 14th. The numbers in parentheses indicate how many positions a driver either gained (+) or lost (-) from their starting position.

2nd Lap

In the early part of the 2nd lap, Kaluzny (on fresh hard tires) was having a battle with Landis (on worn hard tires) for 2nd place. Then Kaluzny moved at 100 mph through turns 3 and 4, using 2 wears at the turn 3, and then using another 2 wears and making a -3 chance at turn 4. That allowed Kaluzny to get ahead of the pack into a clear 2nd place. Moellering made a forced pass of Sturgeon at turn 3, but their cars bumped and each car had to lose a wear. Parr then failed a deceleration roll (rolling a ’12’) and so had to use a wear to avoid spinning out, and his deceleration was now down to 40 mph for the balance of the race. Halfway through the 2nd lap, and Worrel was one full move ahead of Kaluzny, and Kaluzny was one full move ahead of Landis and everyone else.

Halfway through the race

Halfway through the race, and Mike Cook (baseball cap) and Mike St. Peter (hatless) look on. The running order is: Worrel (red car near the #11 sign); Kaluzny (approaching the corner at the upper left of the picture); Landis; Cook; Moellering; Parr; Sturgeon; White; St. Peter; J. Robinson; Beckman; and Lim.

 

Jim Landis and Jim Robinson

Jim Landis (cap) and Jim Robinson (no cap) plot their next moves near the end of the 2nd lap.

Between the 2nd & 3rd final corners of the 2nd lap, Beckman made a successful uncontested forced pass of J. Robinson. As at the end of the 1st lap, Worrel pulled into the pits, this time with a lead of 8 spaces over Kaluzny. Kaluzny led Parr and Cook by 6 spaces, then came the bunch of Landis, White, Moellering, Sturgeon, St. Peter, J. Robinson, Beckman, and Lim.

Other cars making pit stops at the end of the 2nd lap were Cook, Parr, Landis, White, Moellering, Beckman, J. Robinson, St. Peter, and Lim. Kaluzny stayed on the track, calculating that was his best chance of hanging on to 2nd place. Sturgeon also did not pit the 2nd time around. When Worrel came back onto the track, he was wheel-to-wheel with Kaluzny, but Worrel had a full complement of 15 wear (a fresh set of soft tires) while Kaluzny had only 5 wear remaining (although he would regain 2 wear when he crossed the start/finish line).

The official order at the end of Lap 2: Kaluzny (+2); Worrel (+1); Beckman (+8); Cook (+2); Sturgeon (+2); Parr (+4); Landis (+5); White (-4); Moellering (-8); Lim (-2); J. Robinson (-6); St. Peter (+1).

3rd Lap

Beginning the 3rd lap, Kaluzny briefly battled Worrel for the lead, but then tried to just conserve his wear to try to stay in 2nd place. Halfway through the last lap, 2nd-place Kaluzny had a 7 space lead over 3rd-place Cook. Then came Sturgeon, Parr, Landis, White, Moellering, Beckman, J. Robinson, Lim, and St. Peter. Coming out of turn 4, J. Robinson unsuccessfully tried to force pass his way past Moellering. Moellering made the block, but had to lose a precious wear in the process. Jim Robinson had to spend 2 wear to slow down from 100 to 60 mph. Then St. Peter spun in turn 4.

St. Peter spins in turn 4

St. Peter spins in turn 4; Jim Robinson (white and yellow car) has just been blocked by Moellering (blue car). Worrel leads Kaluzny by 9 spaces, who now leads Cook by only 5 spaces.

At the end of the final lap, Bill Worrel (+1) easily took the checkered flag, winning by a whopping 14 spaces over Kaluzny. At the time Worrel crossed the finish line, Cook had been gaining on Kaluzny in 2nd place, and Cook was only 3 spaces behind Kaluzny.

Worrel wins at Hungary

Worrel wins at Hungary.

Going into the final corner, Kaluzny’s lead over Cook was down to 2 spaces, but Cook didn’t have enough wear left to floor it through that final corner, so Kaluzny (+1) held on to 2nd (by two spaces), and Cook (+3) was 3rd. White (0) took 4th place, 6 spaces behind Cook, and then Parr (+5) was 5th, three spaces behind White. Now came a dogfight for the final points-paying positions. Two spaces behind Parr, Landis (+6) finished in 6th, and he was closely followed in 7th by Beckman (+4) and 8th by Sturgeon (-1). Beckman had stressed his Ferrari’s engine just as he was crossing the finish line. Moellering (-8) was 9th, Lim (-2) was 10th, St. Peter (-2) was 11th, and Jim Robinson (-7) was 12th after spinning in the final corner after rolling an unmodified chance roll of ‘8.’ As noted earlier, Brian Robinson (-4)  and Mickey Akins (0) were 13th and 14th, respectively (both DNFs).

Aftermath

Points awarded at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix: Worrel 15; Kaluzny 12; Cook 10; White 8; Parr 6; Landis 4; Beckman 2; and Sturgeon 1.

Team points awarded at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix: Marlboro McLaren 20; Ferrari 17; Camel Lotus 11; McLaren 6; Benetton 4.

The points standings of the 2019 CFR-Detroit season (after 3 of 10 races):

Place Driver (Car)                    Points
  1T  Bill Worrel (Ferrari)             30
  1T  Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren)  30
  3   Richard White (Marlboro McLaren)  28 
  4   Mike Cook (Camel Lotus)           25
  5   Aric Parr (McLaren)               22
  6   Jim Robinson (Williams)           12
  7   Greg Lim (Williams)                7
  8   Gary Sturgeon (Camel Lotus)        5
  9T  Joel Lauder (Tyrrell)              4
  9T  Jim Landis (Benetton)              4
 11T  Mark Moellering (Tyrrell)          2
 11T  Mike St. Peter (McLaren)           2
 11T  Jack Beckman (Ferrari)             2
 14   Brian Robinson (Benetton)          1
 15   Mickey Akins (Fiat Ferrari)        0

Drivers can only count their 7 best finishes out of the 10 races.

The team championship standings of the 2019 CFR-Detroit season (after 3 of 10 races):

Place Team              Points
  1   Marlboro McLaren    58
  2   Ferrari             32
  3   Camel Lotus         30
  4   McLaren             24
  5   Williams            19
  6   Tyrrell              6
  7   Benetton             5
  8   Fiat Ferrari         0

Teams can only count their 2 best finishing cars from each race.

The 4th race of the 2019 CFR-Detroit racing season was the British Grand Prix, racing on the Brands Hatch track. That race was on Friday, May 10, at Pandemonium Games & Hobbies in Garden City, Michigan.