Other News: the Bump'n'Grind judges have been locked in a closed meeting for several hours now, discussing the inherent dangers of this race. Apparently there aren't enough of them. Expect an exciting update to the rules later on today.
Following detailed analysis of race tactics thus far it's become apparent that, because of the short hyperspace distances involved in this race, the need to trade-off heavy modules against jump range has proved an unnecessary tactic. Consequently pilots are flying with a full complement of shields. Delia Grind (who, coincidentally, has recently entered into a lucrative business arrangement with local salvage contractors) has persuaded judges that an exciting new amendment be made to the Bump'n'Grind rules.
The Win It or Bin It joker card.
All pilots are now being issued with single use, Win It or Bin It joker cards (these can be found in Ziplok bags under the seat of your pre-assigned porta-loo marked "
not to be shown to local health and safety representatives").
Your Win It or Bin It joker can be played on any single race submission whose screenshots clearly indicate:
a) that you have no shields fitted to your ship
b) that you have not repaired your ship during the course of the run
c) that you do NOT have a docking computer fitted
In accordance with findings from previous Buckyball races which show that the removal of shields can often save an entire jump and thereby shave around a minute off the time, playing your Win It or Bin It joker will automatically remove one minute from your final time.
To play your joker simply include the phrase "WIN IT OR BIN IT" with your race submission. Specify your actual elapsed time as normal and the judges will subtract one minute from that time prior to recording it on the scoreboard. Times modified with a Win It or Bin It joker will be clearly marked with a "J".
Please note: only one Win It or Bin It joker is permitted per pilot per ship type. In other words, if you play your Win It or Bin It joker too soon and wish to use another one you will have to race with a different type of ship in order to qualify.