Bahrain Grand Prix

Bahrain International Circuit 2004-

Weather
The weather here is always hot and dry—so dry that the weather never changes. Ignore the
weather-change icon on the race cards.

Checks
When you make a check, always make it against the card you have on your display (your
“dashboard”). Target check numbers are not printed on the track. The numbers you see printed in
diamonds on the track (late brakes, extreme trajectories, and off-track checks) are modifiers to
your dashboard check number. After you make a check, replace your current dashboard card with
the card you just drew or played for the check.
Suppose the card on your dashboard has a 57 check number, and you want to late-brake at
“Curva 3” at Estoril. The late-brake number in a white diamond is “+10,” so you will make a late-
brake attempt at 57 + 10 = 67. Note that you may need to add for weather and your skill.
Reflexes – This +20 skill does not apply to ET checks. (It's too powerful.)
A robot's dashboard check number is always 70 (50 in rain). This is the same as their leader-lap-
check number.
These are the regular trajectories, which have colors and shapes.

All late-brake (LB) checks look like this. Add the number to your dashboard card check
number. Numbers range from -20 to +20. Negatives ones have a red border. LB checks
are blind draws from the race card deck.
This is a sample ET—a colored diamond (left)—and its check number
modifier (right). The modifier is always printed off-track and near the ET
symbol. The shape behind the modifier tells you it is a green ET. Add the
check modifier to your dashboard card check number before resolving the
check. Modifiers range from -20 to +20. Negatives ones have a red border. ET checks are blind
draws from the race card deck.
This is an off-track check modifier. Add the modifier to your dashboard card check
number before resolving the check. Modifiers range from -20 to +20. Negatives ones
have a red border. When you resolve an off-track check, you may—and should—play a
card from your hand to satisfy it. If you must, you can play like the robots and make a blind draw to
resolve one, but you should never do that unless you have no choice.

Fast Corners and Slow Straights

Sometimes you may see this symbol on either a corner or straight section. For example,
Estoril has one in the straight between corners 1 and 2. The symbol means that it costs a
car 2 movement points to lap or overtake another car in that section. All other effects,
such as blue flags, are handled normally.
If it is in a corner, then it is a “fast corner”--almost a straight. Typically, this is a corner a car takes
at high speed, and it's possible to overtake here but with extra difficulty.
If it is in a straight, it's almost always in a short straight section between two corners. A car can
pass here, but it is more difficult because it's a short straight between two corners.

Wild Cards
There are 3 or 4 wildcards in the track decks. All are speed 1. Use them as you would
any other track card, but unlike other track cards, you may use them in any corner on
the track. Each has (at least) these 3 icons:
Free ET: You may pass any ET check on the track.
Free LB: You may pass any LB check on the track.
-1 Overtake: When played for movement, you may overtake/lap cars for only 1
movement point anywhere and everywhere on the track (corners, braking sections,
straights).

Printing Track Cards

I suggest you print the track cards in color, and then cut them out. They do not have which circuit
they come from on them, so I suggest lightly writing the track name in pencil on the back of each
card cutout in case you mix them up. Then get some card sleeves (each card is 80 mm tall) and a
bunch of old cards you don't have a use for. (Or buy a deck of cards.) Insert a card in each sleeve
for stiffening and put a cutout in front of each card. I don't have fancy card backs (maybe someone
else can invent some), so either use opaque sleeve backs or love the card backs you used to
stiffen your track cards.

Comments
A night race, you will find the heat and the track attack your car and tires more than usual.
SCH 2/2019.