Salvete!
Today, I will present you with the quarters and tomorrow the semis of the ludi Romani! I will post the report of the finals on September 15.
QUARTERS
Group I (Damnator, Hannibal, Myrtilos)
Three veterans pitted against one another. Who will win? Myrtilos is eager to redeem the name of factio Veneta, Damnator has tasted victory once but wants more and Hannibal; well Hannibal wants to kill them all, in his own words. And so they go! In an incredible display of furiosity Damnator immediately eliminates Myrtilos in the first round! The Blue supporters that have come to the circus are deeply disappointed. They don't even hate Damnator. Now it appears to be between the White and the Green. However Hannibal is too slow to catch up with his opponent and even narrowly avoids the spina in whipping up his span to make more haste. A self-confident Damnator wins this quarter. Is this an omen?
1. Damnator
2. Hannibal
3. Myrtilos was eliminated by Damnator
Group II (PD Robur, Maximus, Juba Bane)
Ah, three non-violent racers. It's been a while since we've seen such a trio. Maximus of the Reds has allegedly upgraded his "Centaurus". No signs of improvements or changes for Robur of Aurata nor for Juba Bane of Veneta. I see very little blue in the circus. Their fans are now leaving the factio en masse and have converted to Purpurea or Albata. Tough times for Veneta. And the "Aenglish Wildfire" of Juba Bane is not going to turn the tide: after the second round already, the chariot is way behind the fast-moving spans of Robur and Maximus. And yes, Maximus' improvements are really showing! He passes his opponent after a few cordial bumps back and forth and crosses the finishing line at an incredible speed. Robur follows soon after. The circus is already half-empty as Juba Bane comes third.
1. Maximus
2. PD Robur
3. Juba Bane
Group III (Romulus, Caesar, Callidus, Indutiomarus)
Fans have been looking forward to this quarter as well. Even members of the other factiones are now talking about the persistently bad results of Veneta. Caesar holds the last chance to make it up, but the statistics aren't in his favour; he never collected a single point. And he's facing three absolute speed demons: the celebrated Romulus (Purpurea), the strong Indutiomarus (Aurata) and the vengeful Callidus (Russata). As they go Caesar tries to threaten Indutiomarus but the "Gallia Victrix" is unmoved and rockets past his Blue opponent. Now, if you thought the speed in the previous quarter was high… the three leading contenders would probably best the winner of the previous quarter with great ease! In the end, in an extremely exciting fast lap, it's Romulus who gains the small edge by rounding that spina so smoothly. Callidus comes second and much to the dismay and disappointment of the Aurata fans, Indutiomarus is undeservedly third.
1. Romulus
2. Callidus
3. Induitiomarus
4. Caesar
Group IV (Bibax, Victorinus, Morgareth, Phaethoon)
Okay, we're probably heading back to violence again. This quarter has three out of four racers using violence. Yay! Veneta has already been wiped out of these ludi. But the other factiones can always use a little extra, of course. Oh my. Well it certainly looks like the racers aren't terribly doing their best. Morgareth, erstwhile winner for the Golden Horde, gives it his best shot and avoids the lashes of Bibax and newcomer Phaethoon of the Reds, taking the lead with great distance. Factio Albata is now openly mocking their Bibax as he manages to slam himself into a wall. It's down between Phaethoon and Victorinus now. Victorinus, in his "Res Publica", is the coming man of factio Praesina. He once more fulfills the great expectations by passing an uninspired Phaethoon and coming second!
1. Morgareth
2. Victorinus
3. Phaethoon
4. Bibax crashed against the wall
*****
Valete!
Draco