Notes

Race Report: Misty Mountain

Hey everybody, and welcome to an impromptu third-party race report. I'm coming to you from... uh, I don't know really. Mount Huaze is about 50 meters behind me, but my compass needle is spinning like a top. What's going on?
Well, let me tell you. For years, the Hazers have pulled a blindfold over the eyes of thousands of individuals, clouding their geographical origins in total mystery. I was amongst hundreds of fans who made a long trek up Mount Huaze for the second ever Hazy Hike. All of a sudden, it made more sense as to why this track was difficult - even if it was a straight oval, you can't see 4 steps in front of you at all. Luckily, someone behind me was carrying a small vacuum to rid some of the air. I think his name was Crullay or something? When we got to the top on Thursday, 14 Apr, I was met with the Hazers themselves. I was face to face with one of the best A-tier teams in the league. With a record of 6th, 3rd, 6th, and 4th, the team is the only team with multiple Marble Leagues to their name that has yet to rank in the bottom half of any of them. The team has stunned Marblearth by being a contender in almost every tournament they compete in. With podium finishes in the Marble League, Marbula One, and the Cranthym challenges, the team has earned a reputation of "always the bridesmaid, never the bride".
The Grand Prix hosted by them was not as revered as the team at all. Last year whilst I was conversing with the archivists behind the wiki, we were all baffled by the reality that befell us. 3 marbles failed to finish all 18 laps; 2 of which were by a DNF at the very same turn - and they didn't even stall on the same lap. Obviously, Sleet Street doubled this number just recently, but we weren't any less surprised. Turn 6 was panned by critics as an issue that needed to be fixed, with others simply desiring the track never return. Regardless of the outcry, the track came back, but not without several changes. First off, the race direction is clockwise, not counterclockwise. The long straightaway that hardly any marbles from the tower could see due to the fog was turned into the fastest sector in Marbula One history by duration, barely outranking Sectors 2 & 3 at Minty Mania. With 3 features in a single straightaway, having a good line was crucial, and sometimes decisive, in the battle to win. The track didn't want to give racers a break after the first sector, however. Immediately afterward, there is the combo of 4 helices and Turn 7. If you have a decent line and some good maneuvering with collisions, you'd be good. But if you didn't? Get ready to be passed by someone - maybe even multiple marbles. And if you were really poor at it, you'd end up like Mocha. Oh, and did I forget to mention how difficult it is to see a damn thing? Yeah, I did. Now imagine that whilst also moving up to 40 steps a second.
The qualifiers went on to set the tone for the race, with 8 of the 10 marbles that moved on to Q2 holding a position in the top 10 by the end of the race. The only two that snuck into the top 10 started in 11th and 13th. As some major analysts predicted, the features of the track scrambled the field significantly, as evidence by the standings after Lap 1, in comparison to the grid. Some marbles remained consistent (1st - 4th), some marbles swung up and down the order (5th - 10th), some marbles were all over the place (11th - 15th), and some just didn't get any momentum going.
Clutter was one of quite a few marbles to earn some much-needed redemption, going from pole to flag and leading at the end of all but 2 laps. This marks the second instance in just three races where a polesitter won the race with 28 points. Although they did not lead at the end of every lap, their time deltas (see below) were both below + 00.10s. Although they were given an early scare by Starry in the very first lap, Clutter's consistency through the helices were enough to hold off the competition. Minty Flav also excelled in the helices, making several overtakes in the first half of the race by using them in conjunction with Turn 7. However, these early flashes of brilliance were neutralized by some crucial falters during the first sector, thus sealing their fate: constant battles with Starry. Speaking of which, the Team Galactic marble snatched a bronze medal to bring their race finish average to 4.00. Sadly, their connotations with the number 5 have shown no signs of stopping. But don't worry, it's a good thing; Starry never left the top 5 at any point in the race, only slipping into 5th in the early stages of - you guessed it - Lap 5. Cerulean, after scoring no points and temporarily stopping at Tumult Turnpike, returned to a track they very well could have won by a considerable margin with a 5th place under their belt. They would go on to do one better, ranking 4th this time around after starting from P7. They wound up usurping nearly half the field in the Driver's Championship, jumping 27 positions to hold station at 12th, just behind Dash. In a similar form to their teammate from the last race, Orangin oscillated back and forth between the midfield and the frontrunners of the race. Another notable user of the helices to make up ground, they managed to overtake multiple marbles in the helices during Laps 1 and 11. However, there was a notable mishap in Lap 5, where the opposite happened. After rising all the way up to 7th, they lost position on Swax, Rapidly, and Dash in just a matter of seconds. This relegated Orangin's second half of the race to silently creeping up the standings, and finishing with a respectable 5th place.
Momo's race was extremely resemblant of Team Momo's second Marbula One season performance: Be a solid contender in the early stages, only to slip back to 6th or so. Whilst the numbers are good, the fans still wish for more. Swax, despite notching the fastest lap time in Lap 5, was busy spending the race battling with Orangin, Rapidly, and Aryp, capitalizing on their slip-ups to move ahead. Despite climbing up to 5th place for 3 laps, a hit in the middle of the second helix allowed 3 marbles to pass in Turn 7, and from there, they were relegated to 7th. As a side note, this race marks the first in which the Bumblebees placed higher than the Crazy Cat's Eyes, with Yellow Eye trapped in 17th. Rapidly was lock-step with rival Orangin for most of the mid-race. Unfortunately for them, they were simply unable to mount a charge for higher positions, given the sizable lead that had been gathered by the top 4. Aryp looked promising after 4 laps had finished, but by the time another 5 laps had finished, they had fallen 6 spots to 9th. Being swarmed by the midfield left them no place to hide, and although the reserve was able to slowly creep back up to 5th, it all came undone in the first and third sector on Lap 16, losing 3 positions both times, separated by a single pass on Momo - who then shot through the helices to pass 3 marbles. Yellup qualified poorly with a 14th, but it was a breath of somewhat fresher air for Mellow Yellow fans, who had been handed back-to-back P20 qualifier finishes to start the season. Sadly, whilst the qualifying finishes went up, the finishing positions did not. Yellup earned the title of best overtaker for the second time, but this was mainly due to the chaos looming within the midfield of the race, and slowing to a crawl in just the second turn. Ultimately, the yellow marble finished 6th, just like their teammate the week prior.
Shimmer completely fell apart during lap 1, losing a whopping 13 positions in just a single lap. By the end of the next lap, they were last, and they were only racing to climb to the middle of the pack. And they finished 5 consecutive laps in 18th before climbing to 15th. A slip-up dropped them one position, but within 2 laps, they were up to 10th. The gray marble wound up finishing the final 5 laps in 11th, scoring another 5 points. As for Mocha, the team sitting in dead last in the standings were not granted any mercy during Q2, and their race was somewhat similar to Shimmer's. At the halfway point of the race, the self-proclaimed "Chocolate Champion" was busy in last place, something very familiar for the team in its own right. They jumped to 13th by the end of lap 15, but it was too little, too late. For the third consecutive race, the team dropped from their qualifying position. And for the second time, that position was within the top 10. And right next to them in the order was none other than Pinky Toe, who also was looking for their team's first points of the season. Similar to Mocha, they were relegated to the handful of marbles near the back, but managed to climb up to 10th in the 10th lap. There was still a problem: foundations erected on shifting sands are even more likely to crumble. Pinky Toe slipped 4 spots in the next 2 laps, and ended up settling for a 13th place. This may not seem too bad, but there was ample room for improvement, as evidence by the marbles that qualified directly above and below the Pinkies member. Alpine also managed to duplicate their teammate's finish, this time placing 14th. They were in no position to hustle for a high finish, having qualified 19th, but still took advantage of the mistakes of other marbles to bank... 2 points. Yes, I said that. The team has scored no more than 5 points in any race, and has made it to Q2 only once. Who's next? H- oh no...
So what even happened here? Last year, Hazy barely made it across the cutoff line in qualifiers, placing 16th. They then went on to make history by becoming the first marble to win a race at home. This time? Both of those flipped. Hazy turned in a P3 finish, which seems promising, until you realize they fell like a hailstone to 15th. The first mistake occurred at the start of the race, by taking the outer line heading into the second turn. This allowed a handful of marbles to usurp the defending winner and push them down to 9th. Next up, after Swax took a hit on the first helix and wound up riding the curbs, Hazy managed to collide with it as well. The end result? 4 marbles passing by the end of the 7th turn. By this point, they weren't even in the top half of the standings, and they only stuck around in the top half for a small amount of time. The final blunder was - once again, at Turn 7. After nearly completely stalling on the entrance to the turn, Mocha, Pinky Toe, and Alpine seized the opportunity. The bonus point that Hazy had picked up for qualifying in 3rd ended up amounting for 50% of their points during the weekend.
Moving on to those with no points, we have Bolt. Former teammate Shock didn't even qualify for this race 11 months ago. With a new racer and a new layout, fans held out optimism. They were repaid handsomely in the form of a 20th place qualification, and Bolt never leaving the bottom half of the standings at all, sans a temporary period in Lap 5. As Newton once said, every action carries an equal and opposite reaction. For Bolt, after the 2nd lap, every rise was nullified by a fall. I still can hear the sounds of people yelling out Blunderbolts at the tower; some of which were busy eating their words after critiquing Mocha for stalling in Q2. Next up, oh boy. Yellow Eye, Yellow Eye, Yellow Eye. What were you thinking? 2 disastrous qualifier runs, and, unlike Bolt, you didn't even leave the bottom half at all - even mid-lap. Thank your lucky paws that there aren't DNQs this year, because you would not be here if you would. Is it too early to question whether Yellow Eye is turning into the Snowflake to Red Eye's Snowy? Surprisingly, another strong marble is in the bottom 5 here. That's none other than Mallard. Usually the more consistent of the two, Captain Canard didn't really stand a chance to come away with more than 8 or so points. Did I forget to mention that Mallard was the defending silver medalist? Oh well, at least they weren't completely disastrous. Wuspy? Exact opposite. The new Midnight Wisps racer managed to hype up their team's fans by rising 8 positions to 10th on the very first lap. Too bad it was downhill from there. By the end of 6 laps, the team was last. They crossed the finish line last at the end of 8 out of 10 consecutive laps (6, 7, 10 - 15), and were granted the world's smallest consolation prize: finishing ahead of the team that nobody ever expected to be in this damn series. Oh, and what's happened to you, Dash? Still got the jitters from choking away a podium at Tumult Turnpike? Maybe you felt intimidated by racing right in between the two titans at the end of Lap 5. Whatever it was, Dash fell apart as the halfway point of the race approached. As other teams managed to make small, surprise comebacks throughout the middle of the race, the Shell Raiser ironically lowered their team's expectations back to around where they started. Yet another instance of both teammates finishing in the same position in a row. Back to back last places... ouch.
Shall we move on to the team standings?
KEY: Rank/Team Name (GP finish, total team points) (pos change)
20. Pinkies (13th, 3 pts) (1 down)
This team still wants to go back to their roots of being total basement dwellers, huh? After a victory in Marblocross, you had the Marblebase hyping you up. We're 1/4 of the way through the season, and you have not delivered. Nordique stated that alarms would be raised if you had another horrid performance. I don't know about you, but I see the panic button, and it looks like it will be pressed very soon.
19. Chocolatiers (12th, 4 pts) (1 up)
So, you're finally out of the basement, huh? Mocha DNFing after just a single lap in Q2 told me all I needed to know about this race for you - that it was going to be nothing new, and you'd just be losing positions again. Lo and behold, you managed to lose just 2 spots. Big whoop. Have you ever considered that you actually have to move up in the order, not down? Maybe the egging on your face is deserved. You can't just show up for 1-4 laps and call it a day.
18. Shining Swarm (11th, 7 pts) (no change)
Honestly, this team feels like the Chocolatiers, except they moved some stat points from the races to the qualifiers. While the fanbase wants to be proud of you for setting an overall best finish so far, it's still 11th. And you qualified in 5th? Look, I understand the helices are a tough roadblock. But when your best performance is arguably at the messiest track? Make it make sense.
17. Gliding Glaciers (11th, 9 pts) (1 down)
I want to say I'm disappointed in this team. Sadly, I cannot. The two marbles that you sent for this season were the individual medalists from Marble League 2021. And how has that worked out for you? Your average finishing position has been 13.00 flat. The crux of the problem, however, is in qualifying. In a season where there are bonus points at stake in Q2, and with 20 marbles racing, a salvageable qualifying position can and will mean the difference between triumph and terrible performances. We know that this team incentivizes their fans not to give up; let's just hope this isn't a letdown.
16. Green Ducks (11th, 12 pts) (4 down)
Where even has this team gone this season? Just like in the Marble League, this team is hoping to prove their early successes weren't a fluke. So far, it is not working. Billy usually has 1 win a season mired by some bad performances, but Mallard has always been very consistent. So to see this team qualify poorly and finish even worse, it's not an easy sight to behold. Finishes of 7th, 13th, and 18th just tell me Mallard's back as a performer about as unreliably inconsistent as Clementin, and Billy's race victory this season may never emerge at all. Finishes of 6th and 3rd overall should've meant a light was shining upon you. Instead, your assigned status as "discount Speeders" seems more like dollar-store value.
15. Bumblebees (7th, 14 pts) (2 up)
Well, at least you've got 2 marbles that are good at this track. The Bumblebees really haven't been much of a factor in... anything, for the past year and a half or so. I would not be surprised if one day I left them off this list entirely. Anyway, Swax was actually somewhat impressive today. A net gain of 4 spots from qualifying in P11, plus the fastest lap bonus, all sums to a 10 point gain. I will still hold out faith for this team, but they need to pick up the pace, and fast. Being "okay" does not win you Marbula One championships. All it does is ensure you a 7th place finish, just behind the team that choked away title contention.
14. Mellow Yellow (10th, 15 pts) (1 up)
Just like I said about the Gliding Glaciers, this team absolutely needs to improve at qualifying. Okay, we get it; it's possible to overtake more than half the field from a low starting position. Stop it. You're not the Minty Maniacs. The Minty Maniacs have constantly delivered, and you have not. Go into Q1 as if it's a qualifier back in Season 1 and run the lap like it's the final lap; because for you, it may never amass to a single Q2 appearance.
13. Turtle Sliders (20th, 16 pts) (3 down)
I want this team to do well. I really do. But sometimes, the fanbase seems to want it more than the team themselves. Dash were in prime position to shut the nay-sayers up in the very first race of the season. Then, they replicated the actions of their teammate and captain Crush from the Sand Rally, managing to choke in the last corner. Their 2021 resemblance doesn't end there. They had a shining moment when they needed it most, only to slip back into the basement 2 races later. Sound familiar? It should. After 5 events in SD21, the team was 3rd. 2 events later, they were 8th. If you don't step it up, you'll be the Hornets of the season. And need I remind you what happened to them?
12. Thunderbolts (16th, 18 pts) (4 down)
Let's be honest; nobody had high expectations for Bolt at this race. A new year at this track, a new layout, a new entrant, and yet you still can't stop placing 20th in qualifiers. It's a good thing that there aren't DNQs, because you would not even be here if there were. Bolt's race honestly seemed like a mixture of Yellup and Hazy today - start near the back of the pack, climb up to the middle, then completely fall out for no reason whatsoever. They lost time at a steady pace. Time is still ample in this season, but the less you capitalize on it, the quicker I will consider counting you out early. At least Thunder's good at qualifying, so you have that to your advantage coming into the next race. Too bad you didn't bother sending Bolt out there, instead of here. Maybe another good qualifier could've worked very well for you, hmm?
11. Savage Speeders (8th, 19 pts) (2 up)
I could talk about the classic trope of never counting this team out all day. But in all honesty, the entire fanbase is bracing for the moment you strike. Maybe it's next race? Either way, Rapidly simply could not mount a consistent charge today. Their lap by lap placements look like a sinusoidal wave. While the team has constantly qualified well so far, the bar for this team is, as expected, higher than that. Take some notes from your rivals, and start charging through the field instead of just staying put.
10. Midnight Wisps (19th, 20 pts) (5 down)
Nordique might have trouble figuring you out, but I think I've got this. The Midnight Wisps are a team that usually has no more than 2 standout performances each season, and the rest slips your mind instantly. I remember Mario predicting you were going to roll over and die. You didn't. Your performance level at this race can be modelled by the firing of a cannonball. You got hopes up very quickly, then slowly, but surely, you fell back to where it all started, and then a bit worse. Just like in their last outing, Wuspy knocked on the door of the top 10. Too bad their own mediocrity did not let them in. Not by the hair on their chinny chin chin.
09. Kobalts (4th, 25 pts) (5 up)
The gun jumpers have already written off Tumult Turnpike as a fluke. I'm less convinced, but this is Cerulean we're talking about here. Although they were not able to take the podium that they were long overdue for at this track, moving up from 7th to 4th is a good improvement. It puts the Kobalts in an interesting position, where they seem somewhat like the O'rangers, except with a 20th place finish as opposed to a race win. Other than that, this team has an average placement of 05.00. Will it hold? You better hope the element of surprise is on your side.
08. Team Primary (9th, 25 pts) (1 down)
Let's just recap. In Season 1, we had Prim singlehandedly carry this team. Seems like they broke their back from those races, since things have never been the same afterward. And now, Prim knows what it's like to be the other one. Aryp, on the other hand, is doing decently well for their M1 debut. An average finish of 06.00 isn't perfect by any means, but it may well be the role reversal this team has been going through. Aryp's main weakness is being unable to hold higher positions. If they can steal the lead and keep it, they might be the Prim to, well, Prim's Mary. In the meantime, we'll all realize that Prim's nickname of Hard Carry sounds about as sarcastic as the name of the Oceanics.
07. Team Momo (6th, 27 pts) (2 up)
When is this team going to stop settling for just "good" and go for "gold"? Seriously. This team has made it to Q2 every single qualifier. They've also never been able to finish higher than their qualifying position. What's up with that? Only difference is that this team is doing very well in qualifiers. Do you need to qualify poorly to finish strongly? The only time you've not lost positions was in Q2 back at Sleet Street - and even then, it was just a net gain of 0 place from your 6th place starting. End of the day, you're good, but the fans want more. They want you to stop discovering a pot of gold only to accidentally spill half its contents. Until then, you won't be poised to win.
06. Hazers (15th, 27 pts) (2 down)
This team may be frustrating to lose to, but from the looks of it, it looks even more frustrating to root for them. The last time someone blew a lead like this without an incident, Rima had fallen from 1st to 14th all the way back at Raceforest. Congratulations, you've basically done the same thing. If there were still 16 marbles in the field, you would've score just 1 point. Yes it's the bonus point for P3. And Hazy's managed to choke like this twice now. At Tumult Turnpike, they lost 10 positions over the entire race (P6 to 16th). Now, they managed to outdo themselves by falling 12 spots. Oh, and did I forget to mention this was the marble who won from P16 last year at Misty Mountain? The biggest joke of all, however, is that out of the 7 marbles currently ranked lower than Hazy in the Driver's Championship, only Prim has competed here prior to this season. Everyone else is a rookie. You may not be the Smokebomb, but you've got to stop bombing every race. Your team probably moves up in the standings after this race, though, if Smoggy's experience at the O'raceway is anything to go off of.
05. Crazy Cat's Eyes (17th, 30 pts) (3 down)
Seems like Yellow Eye might be imploding in slow motion this season. There were obviously predictions that the Crazy Cat's Eyes' dominance from Season 2 would not return, but Yellow Eye really dropped the ball here. With their first bottom 4 finish in a qualifier, it seemed like the defending bronze medalist would be resigned to a 10th place finish at best. Things didn't fare that way, though; they went way worse. The highest position in which they finished a lap was 12th. They seemed to be poised for a slow and steady climb. But a certain phenomenon decided to return unexpectedly from hiatus - the second-half choke. And this time, 777 isn't lucky. If you're confused what that means, let me tell you. After 7 laps, Yellow Eye was sitting in 12th place. 7 laps later, in Lap 14, they were 19th - 7 spots lower. Now, it is true that no marble is perfect, so I won't fully raise an eyebrow yet. But with 2 poor qualification rounds, there is a bumpy road ahead for this Flashy Feline.
04. Team Galactic (3rd, 34 pts) (7 up)
Well, at least you're not a position lower. With another medal in an extremely noteworthy career, Starry has once again proved that they are an extremely reliable marble for lap racing. At the halfway point, Ursa Superior was sitting pretty in 4th place, and for a second, back-to-back 5th place finishes for them seemed plausible. Alas, they had other plans, and decided immediately to unseat Minty Flav and a slightly declining Momo. In a regular setting, this could have been enough for a race victory. Unfortunately, not only was Clutter immovable from the lead, but a slow Sector 3 during Lap 16 left them 2 seconds behind Minty Flav, and they settled for a 3rd place finish. Either way, an average of 04.00 is very good. Now let's just hope Cosmo is better at the O'raceway than at Sleet Street - and better than Pulsar, who raced there twice and left with 0 points.
03. Minty Maniacs (2nd, 40 pts) (3 up)
It seems like keeping this team was justified, huh? Newcomer Minty Flav didn't have too much to write home about back at Tumult Turnpike, but an 8th place start and finish was still a respectable debut for the newcomer. Little did we know that they wanted more. After moving forward a row in the starting grid, they went on to challenge Clutter during Lap 3. It wasn't on the same level as, say, Red Eye and Speedy at Raceforest, but there was definitely a possibility that Minty Flav could have won the race had there been 3 or so more laps. For the first time since 2020, this team is in serious championship contention. But will they keep it that way? There's only 1 way to find out.
02. Balls of Chaos (2nd, 55 pts) (3 up)
Clutter was back with a vengeance. After an almost completely perfect set of qualifiers at Misty Mountain, they were looking to not repeat tragedy. And just like their first win all the way back in the Season 1 Momotorway, they were near the front the entire time. Although it wasn't a repeat of Orangin leading at the end of every lap, It was the second 28-point weekend in Marbula One History. However, Tumult doesn't seem to be reliable right now. If they can pick it up, there's a very good chance that the stewards of disarray may be out for blood this season.
"HELLO BANDWAGONERS, HAPPY TO HAVE YOU!" - Someone sitting in the Balls of Chaos section of the grandstands.
01. O'rangers (5th, 56 pts) (no change)
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. And teams within striking distance are more dangerous than they seem. With another top 5 finish, the O'rangers have an average finishing position of 03.33. And this is with an 8 position climb at this race!. So how did it happen? Well, Orangin made sure to take advantage of 90% of the opportunities they were presented. Most overtakes for them occurred in the final sector. That being said, I'm going to ask that you hold your O's for now. Consistency is great, but unfortunately, there's a significant amount of weight on podium finishes. While I won't expect the O'rangers to match the dominance of last season's victors, I still believe they will need a minimum of 2 more podium finishes to keep their momentum strong throughout the season. With Clementin going up next week, we could lean either way - a podium, or a midfield placement. For the team's sake, let's hope it's door number one.
Shall we move on to the fantasy standings? We've got a slightly new visual upgrade!
The most ubiquitous tripler is our bronze medalists: Team Galactic. There is also a good amount of Minty Maniacs picks, and some Balls of Chaos picks. We'll get to the elephant in the room later, don't worry. And of course, there's a lot of Kobalts and O'rangers picks. However, only Formerball6499 has them closest to the perfect lineup (BOC tripler, MNT doubler, GAL/KOB/ORA regular).
A lot of gains in the midfield, but what about near the top?
Whilst the top 2 in the standings hold station thanks to the O'rangers, TheBigF takes a large jump as they picked the Balls of Chaos. In the meantime, Orioles' teams, aside from the tripler, did not do so hot. The more important thing to note is that the meme man himself, Decumos, has snatched 3rd place from the hands of Yayapug, since he was the only person to place the Balls of Chaos in the tripler position. Despite this, he's somehow not the biggest gainer of the Grand Prix - that honour belongs to Azura, who nets 109 points! The full standings can be found here.
That's all for this impromptu takeover. Thank you so much for reading the inaugural race report to be hosted by yours truly, and I'll see you tomorrow for the return to a track that can never stay the same - the O'raceway! Until then, see you all in Orlango.