Apologies for the wall of text. this has taken longer to write than some of my race event OPs.
TLDR: Ravenov is very fast indeed and lots of Cmdrs have found time to make A* Runs during the pandemic.
UPDATE - JUNE 3306 - LittleFool Bests Dr. Chives in Phantom Head-to-Head.
June was looking relatively quiet early on, with just a single run by Cmdr @Iceangel in his Dolphin Tea and Medals. This was the first ever unlimited class run in a Dolphin, and so Iceangel not only sets a nice baseline time for the Dolphin of 03:19:36, but also manages to snatch a vacant class record before @crotalus gets it - a notable achievement in itself.
But June livened up on the 11th with an epic head-to-head between Beagle Point record holder Cmdr @Dr_Chives and his friend Cmdr @LittleFool flying as a wing in identical Krait Phantoms aptly named Chasing the Fool and Chasing the Chives. Things were neck-and-neck for most of the race, until 20 jumps from Sadge Dr. Chives hit an area of galactic instability. When he rebooted his navigation computer he discovered that he'd been dumped out of hyperspace 140,000ls from his targeted Neutron Star. Dr. Chives eventually made it to A* with a great time of 02:33:44, but was quarter of an hour behind LittleFool who won the duel with a run of 02:17:00 - setting a new class record for the Krait Phantom.
The following day Cmdr Crotalus added to his huge personal haul of class records, arriving at Sadge in his Alliance Challenger Pearl in a great time of 04:04:16.
UPDATE - JULY 3306 - There's a new Sheriff in Town and the Sagittarius Sprint.
Back in April Cmdr @goosefraba19 made a series of runs that culminated in him claiming the A* Record. At the same time, the reigning Asp-X record holder Cmdr @Ravenov improved on her own record by making the first sub-2hr run in a non-conda, and also made a great run in her Anaconda Wake Turbulence that was just a few minutes slower than Goosefraba and Alot's times.
Well that third placed run turned out to be just a warning shot, 'cus Cmdr Ravenov is back and she means business. Beginning on 19th July Ravenov broke the A* Star-to-shining-Star record with a time of 01:37:12, the first of an unprecedented 4 record runs in 4 days, and she wasn't finished there - the record fell twice more before the end of July.
Even during the Original Buckyball Run A*, the record didn't tumble so fast. Mind you, back in the classic days it took 9 hours or so to make a run, so nobody was crazy enough to make runs back-to-back...
Well nobody expect Cmdr Alot (@Esvandiary)
But this time, so far even Alot can't match Ravenov's pace, he arrived at Sadge midday on 20-JUL after an outstanding run in Rhonda with a time of 01:36:50, better than the record from the 19th, but Ravenov had arrived earlier with a new run of 01:36:43.
By the end of the July, Ravenov had brought the record down to 01:31:59, tantalisingly close to breaking the 90 minute barrier.
Earlier in the month rookie racer Cmdr Golden-Knight (@The Golden Knight) had arrived at The Center in his classic Cobra mkIII Freedom's Beginning 18h21m00s after launching from Sol. After that epic run Golden-Knight had the cool idea to launch a new event called the Sagittarius Sprint where Cmdrs raced their classic ships from Sol to Sag A* in real time, only to be surprised to find that a Texan Space Cowboy and a Kangeroo had beaten him to the idea 5 over years ago, and that the BRC had carried on hosting the event after Bucky decided to call it a day back in July 3301
However, since we all know that it really is a great idea, I've arranged with @ElectricZ for a special video message from the architect of the original Sol-Sag A* speedrun challenge, none other than Bucky himself.
Damn! Now that was emotional for all us old-timers, hopefully Bucky will be back here one day to announce Buckyball Run XI.
Joking aside Golden-Knight has been a great sport on the forums and on Discord, and not discouraged he returned to the challenge in August in an even more epic adventure...
Also making runs in July were A* Challenge newcomer Cmdr @Ryphon, arriving at Sadge in an excellent time of 2h35m18s in the Anaconda Wet Paper Bag, and Cmdr Crotalus who claimed the Fer-de-Lance unlimited record with a run of 04:57:48 in Nausicaa.
UPDATE - AUGUST 3306 - Ravenov Domination Continues, Golden Knight's Classic 65k and new Neutron Class record.
And so my wall of text reaches "this month" and August 3306 begins how July ended, with Cmdr Ravenov dominating all-comers. On the 2nd she made a new Conda run in Wake Turbulence, becoming the first to break 90 minutes with a time of 1:28:45. This was perfectly timed once again, as a little later that day Cmdr @goosefraba19 arrived at Sadge in Phoenix after a run of 1:31:50, which would have been fast enough to reclaim his record had Ravenov not already posted her new time. That was Ravenov's 7th record breaking run in 2 weeks.
Also challenging the record on the 2nd was Cmdr Dr. Chives in his conda Racing Rodent - a fantastic run of 01:39:36 was good enough to place Dr. Chives 4th on the leaderboard.
Not content with the A* record, Cmdr Ravenov then turned her attention to the Colonia Speedrun Record, and claimed that with a run of 1:18:08 dock-to-dock.
Dr. Chives then took the opportunity to claim the non-conda Sol-Sag A* record while Ravenov was busy flying the big-snake - his run of 01:57:06 in his renamed Krait Phantom Technical Difficulties was fast enough to get revenge on Cmdr LittleFool and to beat Ravenov's Asp-X record, making him the fastest non-conda pilot in the Galaxy.
However it turned out that Cmdr Ravenov also had a brand new Asp-X route ready...
After first breaking her Anaconda record yet again with the current Sol-Sag A* record time of 1:26:57, Ravenov swapped to her Asp Explorer Redshift Revolution and retook the non-conda record with a great time of 01:45:44. Then 3 days later returned again with a new Asp-X record of 01:43:26.
After taking a few days to recover from first trip to and from Sadge, Cmdr Golden-Knight embarked upon a new adventure. Arriving at Sadge in his classic DBX Lonely Bachelor in an excellent time of 09:32:19, he then continued all the way to Beagle Point, joining the 65k Club and completing the 48 hour challenge in 38h30m49s a damned fine achievement in a non-engineered ship (without the use of either jumponium or neutron boosting). o7 Cmdr!
A* Challenge regular Cmdr Crotalus claimed another class record, this time the unlimited Hauler record, with a run of 03:43:46 in Helena.
Buckyball newcomer Cmdr Bob Dubrovnik (my old friend from SEPP @Coslany) made the first Neutron Class run in over two years, setting a new record in his classic Orca Night Riviera with a time of 5:19:24. This was slightly embarrassing as I announced that I was planning to retire Neutron Class on the BRC Discord while Cmdr Dubrovnik was half way through his run! Of all the days!
Anyway Neutron Class will remain a thing until the end of September - more on that later - so if you fancy making a run in that Class, then get it in now.
And last, but most definitely not least another newcomer Cmdr @markyp4334 made an unlimited run to Sadge in his conda TFS lifeline in a great time of 02:37:38. As far as I am aware, this is the first ever A* Challenge entry on the PS4, so welcome to the Buckyball Racing Club Cmdr! o7
CURRENT LEADERBOARDS
TLDR: Ravenov is very fast indeed and lots of Cmdrs have found time to make A* Runs during the pandemic.
UPDATE - JUNE 3306 - LittleFool Bests Dr. Chives in Phantom Head-to-Head.
June was looking relatively quiet early on, with just a single run by Cmdr @Iceangel in his Dolphin Tea and Medals. This was the first ever unlimited class run in a Dolphin, and so Iceangel not only sets a nice baseline time for the Dolphin of 03:19:36, but also manages to snatch a vacant class record before @crotalus gets it - a notable achievement in itself.
But June livened up on the 11th with an epic head-to-head between Beagle Point record holder Cmdr @Dr_Chives and his friend Cmdr @LittleFool flying as a wing in identical Krait Phantoms aptly named Chasing the Fool and Chasing the Chives. Things were neck-and-neck for most of the race, until 20 jumps from Sadge Dr. Chives hit an area of galactic instability. When he rebooted his navigation computer he discovered that he'd been dumped out of hyperspace 140,000ls from his targeted Neutron Star. Dr. Chives eventually made it to A* with a great time of 02:33:44, but was quarter of an hour behind LittleFool who won the duel with a run of 02:17:00 - setting a new class record for the Krait Phantom.
The following day Cmdr Crotalus added to his huge personal haul of class records, arriving at Sadge in his Alliance Challenger Pearl in a great time of 04:04:16.
UPDATE - JULY 3306 - There's a new Sheriff in Town and the Sagittarius Sprint.
Back in April Cmdr @goosefraba19 made a series of runs that culminated in him claiming the A* Record. At the same time, the reigning Asp-X record holder Cmdr @Ravenov improved on her own record by making the first sub-2hr run in a non-conda, and also made a great run in her Anaconda Wake Turbulence that was just a few minutes slower than Goosefraba and Alot's times.
Well that third placed run turned out to be just a warning shot, 'cus Cmdr Ravenov is back and she means business. Beginning on 19th July Ravenov broke the A* Star-to-shining-Star record with a time of 01:37:12, the first of an unprecedented 4 record runs in 4 days, and she wasn't finished there - the record fell twice more before the end of July.
Even during the Original Buckyball Run A*, the record didn't tumble so fast. Mind you, back in the classic days it took 9 hours or so to make a run, so nobody was crazy enough to make runs back-to-back...
Well nobody expect Cmdr Alot (@Esvandiary)
But this time, so far even Alot can't match Ravenov's pace, he arrived at Sadge midday on 20-JUL after an outstanding run in Rhonda with a time of 01:36:50, better than the record from the 19th, but Ravenov had arrived earlier with a new run of 01:36:43.
By the end of the July, Ravenov had brought the record down to 01:31:59, tantalisingly close to breaking the 90 minute barrier.
Earlier in the month rookie racer Cmdr Golden-Knight (@The Golden Knight) had arrived at The Center in his classic Cobra mkIII Freedom's Beginning 18h21m00s after launching from Sol. After that epic run Golden-Knight had the cool idea to launch a new event called the Sagittarius Sprint where Cmdrs raced their classic ships from Sol to Sag A* in real time, only to be surprised to find that a Texan Space Cowboy and a Kangeroo had beaten him to the idea 5 over years ago, and that the BRC had carried on hosting the event after Bucky decided to call it a day back in July 3301
However, since we all know that it really is a great idea, I've arranged with @ElectricZ for a special video message from the architect of the original Sol-Sag A* speedrun challenge, none other than Bucky himself.
Damn! Now that was emotional for all us old-timers, hopefully Bucky will be back here one day to announce Buckyball Run XI.
Joking aside Golden-Knight has been a great sport on the forums and on Discord, and not discouraged he returned to the challenge in August in an even more epic adventure...
Also making runs in July were A* Challenge newcomer Cmdr @Ryphon, arriving at Sadge in an excellent time of 2h35m18s in the Anaconda Wet Paper Bag, and Cmdr Crotalus who claimed the Fer-de-Lance unlimited record with a run of 04:57:48 in Nausicaa.
UPDATE - AUGUST 3306 - Ravenov Domination Continues, Golden Knight's Classic 65k and new Neutron Class record.
Also challenging the record on the 2nd was Cmdr Dr. Chives in his conda Racing Rodent - a fantastic run of 01:39:36 was good enough to place Dr. Chives 4th on the leaderboard.
Not content with the A* record, Cmdr Ravenov then turned her attention to the Colonia Speedrun Record, and claimed that with a run of 1:18:08 dock-to-dock.
Dr. Chives then took the opportunity to claim the non-conda Sol-Sag A* record while Ravenov was busy flying the big-snake - his run of 01:57:06 in his renamed Krait Phantom Technical Difficulties was fast enough to get revenge on Cmdr LittleFool and to beat Ravenov's Asp-X record, making him the fastest non-conda pilot in the Galaxy.
However it turned out that Cmdr Ravenov also had a brand new Asp-X route ready...
After first breaking her Anaconda record yet again with the current Sol-Sag A* record time of 1:26:57, Ravenov swapped to her Asp Explorer Redshift Revolution and retook the non-conda record with a great time of 01:45:44. Then 3 days later returned again with a new Asp-X record of 01:43:26.
After taking a few days to recover from first trip to and from Sadge, Cmdr Golden-Knight embarked upon a new adventure. Arriving at Sadge in his classic DBX Lonely Bachelor in an excellent time of 09:32:19, he then continued all the way to Beagle Point, joining the 65k Club and completing the 48 hour challenge in 38h30m49s a damned fine achievement in a non-engineered ship (without the use of either jumponium or neutron boosting). o7 Cmdr!
A* Challenge regular Cmdr Crotalus claimed another class record, this time the unlimited Hauler record, with a run of 03:43:46 in Helena.
Buckyball newcomer Cmdr Bob Dubrovnik (my old friend from SEPP @Coslany) made the first Neutron Class run in over two years, setting a new record in his classic Orca Night Riviera with a time of 5:19:24. This was slightly embarrassing as I announced that I was planning to retire Neutron Class on the BRC Discord while Cmdr Dubrovnik was half way through his run! Of all the days!
Anyway Neutron Class will remain a thing until the end of September - more on that later - so if you fancy making a run in that Class, then get it in now.
And last, but most definitely not least another newcomer Cmdr @markyp4334 made an unlimited run to Sadge in his conda TFS lifeline in a great time of 02:37:38. As far as I am aware, this is the first ever A* Challenge entry on the PS4, so welcome to the Buckyball Racing Club Cmdr! o7
CURRENT LEADERBOARDS
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