The sixth race of the 2018 CFR-Detroit racing season took place on Saturday, October 13, at Imperium Games in Wixom, Michigan. Jack Beckman skillfully drove his Ferrari to victory over 11 other competitors to join the ranks of winning drivers in 2018. Bill Worrel brought his 6-wheeled Tyrrell home in 2nd place for the 2nd consecutive race; it was also the 3rd time he finished 2nd in 2018’s campaign. Rounding out the podium, in 3rd place, was Mike St. Peter in the #44 Mercedes. It was St. Peter’s 2nd straight race finishing in 3rd place.
The race was on the Yas Marina track, a Doug Schulz design. (Doug Schulz is the designer of Championship Formula Racing.) It is the same track that was raced on in 2017 where Garry Kaluzny came home victorious over Richard White to close out the 2017 season.
Yas Marina CFR track
After the drivers set up their car’s specs, the drivers secretly bid for starting positions. Each wear chit counted as 1.0, and each skill chit counted as 0.5. Higher bids started in front of lower bids. Ties were resolved by rolling percentage dice, high rolls favored over low rolls.
Mike Cook (5 wear + 6 skill) got pole position for the 3rd straight time in 2018. Cook bid 8.0, but had to win a “dice-off” with 2nd place qualifier Bill Worrel (3 wear + 10 skill) who also bid 8.0. Cook rolled ’29’ on percentage dice, while Worrel rolled ’00.’ Jim Robinson (3 wear + 8 skill) grabbed the 3rd qualifying spot on the grid with a bid of 7.0. Gary Sturgeon (2 wear + 9 skill) started 4th with a bid of 6.5, and Richard White (3 wear + 5 skill) was 5th with a bid of 5.5. Mike St. Peter (4 wear + 0 skill), Jack Beckman (1 wear + 6 skill), and Garry Kaluzny (2 wear + 4 skill) all bid 4.0. St. Peter rolled ’58’ to start 6th, Beckman rolled ’47’ to start 7th, and Kaluzny rolled ’46’ to start 8th. Aric Parr (0 wear + 6 skill) bid 3.0 to start 9th on the grid. Tenth and 11th places on the grid were contested by Brian Robinson (0 wear + 5 skill) and Greg Lim (0 wear + 5 skill) who had identical bids of 2.5. Brian Robinson got 10th place with a roll of ’68’ while Lim started 11th after rolling ’60.’ Jim Landis (0 wear + 3 skill), with a bid of only 1.5, started in 12th place.
The starting grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with their car specs:
# Driver (Car) Start/Accel/Decel/Top/Wear/Skill/Tires 11 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus) 60 40 60 160 5x 2x soft 4 Bill Worrel (Tyrrell) 100 40 40 140 5x 3x hard 2 Jim Robinson (Williams) 60 40 40 160 5x 3x soft 22 Gary Sturgeon (McLaren) 60 40 40 140 5x 3x soft 1 Richard White (Brabham) 60 40 40 160 5x 3x soft 44 Mike St. Peter (Mercedes) 60 40 40 160 5x 3x hard 12 Jack Beckman (Ferrari) 60 40 40 160 5x 3x soft 8 Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren) 60 40 40 160 5x 3x soft 14 Aric Parr (Motul BRM) 20 60 60 140 4x 4x hard 5 Brian Robinson (Walker Racing) 20 60 60 160 4x 3x soft 13 Greg Lim (GoDaddy) 60 60 40 140 5x 3x hard 20 Jim Landis (Benetton) 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 for the Abu Dhabi GP. Mike Cook’s yellow car is on the pole; next to him is Bill Worrel’s blue Tyrrell. Then are Jim Robinson (white/blue/yellow), Gary Sturgeon (black/gold/red), Richard White (blue/white), Mike St. Peter (silver/teal), Jack Beckman (red), Garry Kaluzny (orange/white), Aric Parr (gray), Brian Robinson (white/blue), Greg Lim (green), and Jim Landis (green/red/blue). Thanks to the Grid Girls who once again help the cars line up in proper order.
At the start of the race, Worrel took advantage of the fact that he had the only car with a 100 mph start speed, although he also rolled dice (since his car was on hard tires) to increase his start speed to 120 mph, burning 2 wear to get through the 1st corner before Cook. Cook used a wear to increase his start speed to 80 mph, thereby ending his move in the inside lane of the 1st corner. Both J. Robinson and Sturgeon used wear (both of their cars were on soft tires) to increase their start speed to 80 mph, as did White. Mike St. Peter had to roll dice to increase his start speed as his car was wearing hard tires. Then, immediately following the other cars, Beckman and Kaluzny each used a wear to boost their start speed to 80 mph. Then came a 2-space gap, as both Brian Robinson’s and Aric Parr’s cars only had 20 mph start speeds. Parr rolled dice to increase to 40 mph (as he was on hard tires), while B. Robinson (on soft tires) used a wear to achieve 40 mph. Lim, starting in the row behind them with a 60 mph start speed, only went 60 mph and pulled up alongside Parr and B. Robinson. Landis, starting last, drove at a rate of only 40 mph, fearing that the track ahead would be clogged with slow cars.
Bill Worrel takes the lead at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The cars pretty much stayed in order from their starting positions as they came ’round the hairpin that led onto the long straightaway. Worrel continued to lead, but White had taken over 2nd place from Cook. Jim Robinson had fallen to 4th, and St. Peter had moved up to 5th. Sturgeon was now 6th, and Beckman and Kaluzny were still 7th and 8th. And then a little way behind came the group of Parr, B. Robinson, Lim, and Landis.
Worrel leads onto the long straight.
Down the long straight, Worrel, White, and Cook remained 1-2-3. Kaluzny and Beckman made their way up to 4th and 5th. Jim Robinson had fallen to 6th, after starting 3rd, and Sturgeon had fallen to 8th, after starting 4th.
Worrel still leads through the chicane, then come White, Cook, Kaluzny, Beckman, J. Robinson, St. Peter, Sturgeon, B. Robinson, Lim, Parr, and Landis.
At the sharp left-hand corner at the end of the 2nd half of the long straight, Cook took the lead from Worrel, and White dove to the inside of the racing line to take over 2nd place. Beckman had got back in front of Kaluzny, and B. Robinson and Lim had caught up with Sturgeon.
Cook takes the lead; White takes 2nd place, Worrel is 3rd.
Traveling through the curvy part of the Yas Marina track, Worrel regained the lead from Cook and White. Beckman and Kaluzny were now breathing the exhaust fumes from the leading trio’s tailpipes, and St. Peter, J. Robinson, and Sturgeon were not far behind.
Worrel retakes the lead, then are Cook, White, Beckman, Kaluzny, St. Peter, J. Robinson, Sturgeon, then a gap to B. Robinson and Lim, then another gap to Landis and Parr.
As the lead group of cars came around the last right-hand bend that led onto the start/finish straight, the cars of Worrel, Cook, Beckman, Kaluzny, and White pulled into the pits to replace their worn-out tires. White had spun on the 60 mph corner leading onto that straight, so he would be relegated to starting at 40 mph when he left the pits.
The lead cars make their pit stops. Note that White’s Brabham is facing the wrong way (next to the orange and red cars in the pits), as he has just spun coming into the pits.
Joining the leaders in the pits after the next move on the track were the cars of St. Peter, J. Robinson, Sturgeon, Lim, and B. Robinson. The only cars that did not pit on the 1st lap were the cars of Landis and Parr. They stayed on the track as they were on hard tires. Mike St. Peter managed to lead the 1st lap, by virtue of his pitting in the last space that abutted the start/finish line, thus allowing his car’s nose to touch the start/finish line before all others on that lap.
It’s getting crowed in the pits! Ten of the 12 cars in the race are now in the pits.
The official order at the end of the 1st lap: St. Peter (+5), Worrel (0), Landis (+9), Cook (-3), Kaluzny (+3), Beckman (+1), J. Robinson (-4), Parr (+1), Sturgeon (-5), White (-5), Lim (0), and B. Robinson (-2). The numbers in parentheses indicate how many places a driver either gained (+) or lost (-) from their starting position. But as the cars came up to speed after emerging from the pits, their running order on the track was: Worrel; Cook; Landis; Kaluzny; Beckman; St. Peter; J. Robinson; Parr; Sturgeon; White; Lim; and B. Robinson.
Worrel enjoys a healthy lead after the pit stops.
Worrel continued to increase his lead, while Beckman was making his way through the pack, passing Kaluzny, Landis, and Cook to take over 2nd place. Beckman then went 60 mph over the speed limit in the hairpin curve leading onto the long straightaway. Since he was on hard tires, he couldn’t use 3 wear, but instead had to use 2 wear and take a chance dice roll. Beckman figured it would be a good idea to use his only -3 skill chit. It was a good choice, as Beckman successfully made the chance roll and so kept pace with Worrel. Mike St. Peter moved up into 4th place after returning to the track in 6th place after his pit stop.
Worrel and Beckman lead by a hefty margin. Richard White (middle of the outside lane in the corner) has just forced pass Parr (gray car) in the hairpin.
Worrel and Beckman continued running 1-2 down the two long straights and the chicane that joined those straights, but by the end of the 2nd long straight, St. Peter was right up with them in 3rd. Through the curvy part of the track, the leading trio was about 4 spaces ahead of the 4-5-6 cars of Cook, J. Robinson, and Kaluzny. Then a few more spaces back came Sturgeon, White, and Lim, and then finally Landis, Parr, and B. Robinson.
Finally, Beckman was able to reach the last corner leading onto the start/finish straightaway before his two closest competitors, and Beckman pulled off the track for his 2nd pit stop.
Beckman takes the lead and pulls into the pits.
A turn after Beckman made his 2nd pit stop, Worrel and St. Peter did likewise. Then, on following turns, the cars of Kaluzny, J. Robinson, Sturgeon, White, and Lim pitted, followed by Landis and Parr. Landis and Parr were making their 1st, mandatory, pit stops, while the others were making their 2nd stops. All cars leaving the pits came out on soft tires, except for Jim Robinson. Mr. Robinson had his pit crew put on a new set of soft tires to replace his original soft tires during his 1st pit stop, so at his 2nd pit stop he had to make the mandatory switch to hard tires as all cars must use both tire compounds in a race. Mike Cook, who had been in 4th place, decided to “ride the rapids” and stay on the track on his hard tires instead of pitting. Brian Robinson also stayed on the track on his car’s hard tires.
Cook did officially lead the 2nd lap, but Beckman, who had just come out of the pits with new tires, was right behind Cook in 2nd place.
Cook leads the 2nd lap; Beckman is 2nd after just leaving the pits. Worrel and St. Peter have just returned to the track, while other cars are still in the pits.
The official order after two laps: Cook (0); Beckman (+5); Worrel (-1); St. Peter (+2); Kaluzny (+3); J. Robinson (-3); B. Robinson (+3); Sturgeon (-4); White (-4); Lim (+1); Landis (+1); and Parr (-3). After the cars had all cycled through their pit stops, the running order on the track was: Beckman; Cook; Worrel; St. Peter; Kaluzny; J. Robinson; B. Robinson; Sturgeon; White; Lim; Landis; and Parr.
Beckman has retaken the lead over Cook, and Beckman has a clear path down the long straightaway.
Coming out of the hairpin onto the long straight, Worrel pulled alongside Cook. Although Cook’s car was geared for a superior top speed in the race, 160 mph to Worrel’s 140 mph, Worrel successfully made an unmodified top speed roll to move at 160 mph and stay alongside Cook. But Kaluzny and St. Peter had more momentum while exiting the hairpin, and so caught right up with Cook and Worrel down the long straight. At the chicane, Kaluzny got by Cook to take 3rd place. St. Peter also got by Cook to take over 4th place. Beckman still led by 6 spaces over the others.
Beckman continues leading with about 1/3 lap to go. Worrel and Kaluzny are 2nd & 3rd; St. Peter and Cook are 4th & 5th.
Through the curvy section of the Yas Marina track, the order pretty much held, then Beckman came around the final corner and cruised to his first victory of the season.
Jack Beckman (the invisible driver) wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix! The flagman presents the checkered flag in the old fashioned way, by running onto the track.
After Beckman’s easy victory, there was a 3-way Donnybrook for 2nd place between Worrel, Kaluzny, and St. Peter.
Worrel, Kaluzny, and St. Peter battle for 2nd place!
On the 2nd to last move of the race, Worrel made an unmodified chance roll to get through the last corner and to take the inside position on the track. On the last turn of the race, both Worrel and Kaluzny plotted to move at 140 mph. Worrel moved first, as he was on the inside of the track, and he took the outside lane of the corner, moving through the two 140 mph spaces. Kaluzny had to make an unmodified acceleration roll to get up to 140 mph (he had only moved at 80 mph the previous turn, and his car’s acceleration rating was only 40 mph), and then he made an unmodified deceleration roll to slow to 120 mph and took the space right behind Worrel. St. Peter plotted only 120 mph, so he moved 3rd of the trio, and he took the middle lane of the corner. St. Peter then had to successfully make an unmodified chance roll to avoid spinning or crashing, and he did make the roll to nip Kaluzny for 3rd place. Note: When cars enter a corner after the finish line in CFR races, the cars must pay for the corner, using either wear or taking a chance by rolling the dice. If a car spins in that corner past the finish line, it will finish behind all other cars that crossed the finish line during that same move. If a car crashes in that corner, even though the corner is past the finish line, that car is considered to have never crossed the line, and is a DNF instead. This is to keep cars from becoming kamikazes in that corner!
Worrel (blue car) is 2nd, St. Peter (silver car) 3rd, and Kaluzny (orange/white car) 4th. Jim Robinson is 5th, Cook is 6th, and Lim is 7th.
There was still action in the back of the pack. White had spun in the 3rd to last corner of the race, and as White got up to speed, he was forced-passed by Lim. It was White’s 2nd spin of the race.
The official finishing order of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 1st-Jack Beckman (+6); 2nd-Bill Worrel (0); 3rd-Mike St. Peter (+3); 4th-Garry Kaluzny (+4); 5th-Jim Robinson (-2); 6th-Mike Cook (-5); 7th-Greg Lim (+4); 8th-Gary Sturgeon (-4); 9th-Richard White (-4); 10th-Aric Parr (-1); 11th-Brian Robinson (-1); 12th-Jim Landis (0).
Mike Cook’s failure to make his 2nd pit stop cost him a number of positions. The Yas Marina track has now demonstrated in two official races, and in one demo race, the necessity of making two pit stops on this track. Cars need to burn through their full allotment of wear in order to turn fast laps. Cars that have to ration their wear over two laps will get passed on the track.
Points awarded at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Beckman 10; Worrel 6; St. Peter 4; Kaluzny 3; J. Robinson 2; Cook 1.
The points standings of the 2018 CFR-Detroit season after six of eight races:
Place Driver (Car) Points 1 Mike Cook (Camel Lotus) 28 2 Richard White (Brabham) 23 3 Bill Worrel (Tyrrell) 22 4 Jim Robinson (Williams) 18 5T Jack Beckman (Ferrari) 17 5T Garry Kaluzny (Marlboro McLaren) 17 7 Gary Sturgeon (McLaren) 10 8 Mike St. Peter (Mercedes) 9 9T Brian Robinson (Walker Racing) 4 9T Aric Parr (Motul BRM) 4 11T Joel Lauder (HSBC Jaguar) 2 11T Greg Lim (GoDaddy) 2 13T Jim Landis (Benetton) 0 13T Mark Moellering (McLaren) 0 13T Gary Kempen (Williams) 0 13T Chuck Modzinski (Arrows) 0 13T Jim Lauder (Shadow) 0
The next race of the 2018 CFR-Detroit racing campaign is the German Grand Prix, racing on the Hockenheimring track (of CFR design). It will be held on Saturday, November 17, at the Guild of Blades game store in Clawson, Michigan.
