A dream come true

[Mark L. Rivers]

Stunts. Default. Indy.
There're not many words to describe what this three terms mean for a Stunts driver. The most exciting and neverending game he played ever... The first track where he felt the emotion to race, the track onto all the Stunts drivers in the world have raced more than whatever other track, the default (yes, with the lower case) track... The absolute fastest original car he drove, with its magic grip, its boost, its wonderful powergear...
Stunts – Default – Indy: it's the Origin, where all has begun for all of us. How many races, how many trials... Impossible counting them! 
So, how many Stunts drivers wouldn't be, at least for a moment, the fastest man on the world on Default with Indy? I think a very low number...
Well, when I discovered the Stunts community on the web, and especially ZakStunts' site, I didn't knew neither what Replay Handling was. And I didn't knew exactly how dual way switching worked too. So... it's easy to imagine my surprise when I saw the scoreboard of Default track on Permanent Tracks' page! About 35 seconds, if I'm not wrong. "How can approach it starting from my 1:07,xx ?? ", I said. But then I started to learn, improving gradually, until a decent 42", lowered to a quite good 39". And then, in December 2007, the great kermesse on ZCT79 and a sane agonistical atmosphere permitted me to improve again until 32"85. Anyway, I finished that race "only" 4th... I chose a known way, turning left at the first switch in 5th gear, without leaving the gas, reaching the Powergear jumping down the hill and rejoining the conventional track in its final part, just after the bridge. Duplode (2nd) choose instead a very innovative and suggestive path reaching the finish in apparently absurd way, but really a great way! But Ayrton (1st) and his teammate Chulk (3rd) made the best choice: 360° before the start, Powergear reached at the first hill and then the same known way I had chosen. So, Ayrton, with his 31,25, became the new leader of the most filled Stunts scoreboard ever!
But, very recently, after my retirement from the offical races, I read what BJ said about to keep alive the permanent competition and this, jointly to reading my profile on WikiStunts (as someone wrote it seems I have an "extensive Indycar racing skills"... ) I try to give my contribute to lower the permanent track records. So after having concentrated my efforts on Skids closed reaching the new record, an "insane" old thought re-started to circle in my head: "Why not Default?". Moreover, I saw that BJ had realized a new personal best: 31,55 only 0,30 seconds from the absolute record.
So this week I tried to attack the most aspired record. And this morning I've reached my target.
I've just sent my "precious" .rpl file to Zak. You'll see soon my 30,90 on the official scoreboard.
Maybe I'll be on top for a long time, maybe only for few hours. Anyway, let me say that there's really a special feeling realizing to be, even if only for a moment, the fastest man in the world on Stunts Default track!

As it happens sometimes, a dream come true. 

[Overdrijf]

Well, congratulations then. On to the 30.00.

[zaqrack]

and it was uploaded... congratulations Mark!

[Chulk]

Congrats man! If someone could do it, it was you!

[BonzaiJoe]

Wow! Well done Mark. I would hardly have thought that was possible! And you are also the first person in the world to beat an Ayrton winning replay. You are a true Indy legend!

You may have inspired me to try and do 30.85 But last time I tried to beat Ayrton, it seemed like a strong record.

[Duplode]

Remarkable feat, indeed! Congratulations - I think this will stay for a long time...

(PS.: Do we have the means to trace the evolution of the Default record time along the eons? It would make for interesting Wiki material.)

[Krys TOFF]

Hey, Mark's retirement was to break all permanent records.
Well done Mark, this one will be hard to catch !