The Sand Marble Rally Tournament 2017 was the second edition of the Sand Marble Rally where 20 marbles competed on sand courses filled with lots of turns and obstacles, for the prize of being Sand Marble Rally champion.
A qualification stage consisting of 5 races with 7 marbles each was used to select the marbles for the final stage. 33 marbles entered the qualification stage in total, with the best 4 marbles of each race (20 in total) advancing to the main tournament. It is succeeded by Sand Marble Rally 2018.
Changes in 2017
Ghost
One of the new additions in the 2017 season is the Ghost marble (not to be confused with Ghost Plasma, a red marble). This is the frosted glass marble which releases the starting gate at each race, the Ghost will proceed through a small plinko track (next to the main track in front of the starting Gate) which ends on the main course. The ghost will run a few seconds back of the main competitors. The purpose of the ghost is to push up or release stranded marbles so they will still get a chance to get some points.
It is even possible that the Ghost marble can "win" a race by crossing the finish line in first. However the Ghost will not get any points so that the marble who pass the finish line after the ghost will win the race.
The Ghost will be shown on the results list when it crosses the finish line, but if the ghost doesn't finish, it won't be shown on the results at all.
New obstacles:
- Spinner
- Rotating Chevron Sign
- Drophole
- Pliko Board
- Dummy Balls (only in races 3 & 4 (2017))
- Teardrop
- Split
- Stairs (Sand Rally)
General Changes
- Unlike previous season the field consists out of 20 marbles right from the start.
- The points system changed were the winner now only gets 20 points compared to previous season's 30 points. Also different is how this time the top 15 marbles get points while previous season gave points to the top 20 placed marbles.
Qualified Marbles
- Comet
- El Capitan
- Nemo
- Wisp of Darkness
- Big Pearl
- Blizzard Blaster
- Fantasy
- Slimer
- Summer Sky
- Deep Ocean
- Glassy
- Pollo Loco
- Red Number 3
- Quicksilver
- Dragon's Egg
- H2 Blue
- Crazy Cat's Eye
- Lollipop
- Ghost Plasma
- Black Knight
Qualification
Qualifier 1
Pos. | Marble | Time | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Comet | 0:55.48 | Qualified |
2nd | El Capitan | 0:55.95 | Qualified |
3rd | Nemo | 0:56.66 | Qualified |
4th | Wisp of Darkness | 0:56.85 | Qualified |
DNF | Blue Moon | Did not finish | Not qualified |
DNF | Reflektor | Did not finish | Not qualified |
DNF | Cobra | Did not finish | Not qualified |
Qualifier 2
Pos. | Marble | Time | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Big Pearl | 0:54.00 | Qualified |
2nd | Blizzard Blaster | 0:54.93 | Qualified |
3rd | Fantasy | 0:55.23 | Qualified |
4th | Slimer | 0:55.88 | Qualified |
5th | Rastafarian | 0:56.04 | Not qualified |
6th | Silver Bolt | 0:57.16 | Not qualified |
7th | Starman | 0:59.62 | Not qualified |
Qualifier 3
Pos. | Marble | Time | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Summer Sky | 0:55.46 | Qualified |
2nd | Deep Ocean | 0:56.94 | Qualified |
3rd | Glassy | 0:57.07 | Qualified |
4th | Pollo Loco | 0:57.59 | Qualified |
5th | Blazing Fireball | 0:57.84 | Not qualified |
DNF | White Widow | Did not finish | Not qualified |
DNF | Tarantula | Did not finish | Not qualified |
Qualifier 4
Pos. | Marble | Time | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Red Number 3 | 0:51.04 | Qualified |
2nd | Quicksilver | 0:51.29 | Qualified |
3rd | Dragon's Egg | 0.52.72 | Qualified |
4th | H2 Blue | 0.53.30 | Qualified |
5th | The Flash | 0:55.24 | Not qualified |
DNF | Mocha Madness | Did not finish | Not qualified |
DNF | Blue Smoke | Did not finish | Not qualified |
Qualifier 5
Pos. | Marble | Time | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Crazy Cat's Eye | 0:52.38 | Qualified |
2nd | Lollipop | 0:52.71 | Qualified |
3rd | Ghost Plasma | 0:52.84 | Qualified |
4th | Black Knight | 0:53.03 | Qualified |
5th | Marbly McMarbleface | 0:53.58 | Not qualified |
6th | Snake's Tub | 0:53.86 | Not qualified |
7th | Super Turtle | 0:56.10 | Not qualified |
Venues
The Races are held on tall sand dunes or sand hills in the Netherlands.
Qualification:
- Papenberg Castricum
- Located near the NS station of Castricum, with views over adjacent sports and football fields, but scattered with dog feces.
- Height difference: 18 meter (60 feet),
- Maximum race duration: 90 seconds
Main Tournament:
- Doornse Gat
- Located east of "Doorn", a village located in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, 15 km south of Amersfoort
- Race 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10
- Height difference: 25 meters
- Maximum race duration: 2 and a half minutes
- Klimduin Brechtdorp (Koningsweg)
- Located along the Oorsprongweg north of Schoorl, a small town north of Alkmaar, the Netherlands. This is an alternative more quite location compared with the "famous" and overcrowded klimduin located at Schoorl itself.
- Race 3, 4, 5, 6 and Final
- Height difference: 45 meters
- Maximum race duration is 5 minutes on wet sand or 2 minutes on dry sand.
- 't Peeske Montferland
- Located 22 km east southeast of Arnhem near the village "Beek Montferland"
- Race 11 and 12
- Height difference: 20 meters
- Maximum race duration: 2 minutes
Season Report
Qualification
Qualifier 1 saw Comet finish first ahead of El Capitan, debutant Nemo and Wisp of Darkness. Blue Moon got stuck just at the end as he was on the finish screen but he didn't qualify.
Race 1
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 1
The season opener saw a couple of new faces, but also some old favorites align at the start. Crazy's Cat's Eye won the first race of 2017 after starting from pole position. He led in the final part of the race and not losing it. The race saw a lot of the newcomers get themselves in the spotlight as both Nemo and Blizzard Blaster led the race early on. Nemo's first race ended in a DNF however after going off the track in the later stages of the race. Blizzard Blaster on the other hand finished in a strong third place after losing second to H2 Blue at the end. Black Knight tried to challenge for second place too, but had to eventually settle in fourth.
Race 2
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 2
The marbles stayed at the 'Doornse Gat' for the second race of the season. Rookie Lollipop took an early lead and had a little gap on Summer Sky and last year's runner-up Big Pearl. After taking the higher junction at a split while almost everyone took the lower one got Big Pearl into the lead. Big Pearl retained that lead over Lollipop to win the race. Summer Sky finished third with Red Number 3 finishing fourth a little way back. Despite winning the race, Big Pearl would only be third in the championship standings tied with previous race winner Crazy Cat's Eye as they both DNF'ed in the race they didn't win. Race 2 runner-up Lollipop was in the lead of the championship with 25 points beating Summer Sky in a tie breaker.
Race 3
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 3
After a spring break the marbles got ready for the third race which was held on a sprint course built in 'Klimduin Brechtdorp'. The race got aborted after a big crash where more than 10 marbles got stuck. The restart was not too long after this big pile-up. At the restart Dragon's Egg took the lead, he lost it out later on to Quicksilver while Nemo gained a lot of places to make his way up to third. Just when Nemo gets past Dragon's Egg race leader Quicksilver bumped off against a wall and fell back to third ahead of Fantasy. Going into the final big straight Fantasy overtook Dragon's Egg for second after getting past Quicksilver. Nemo bumped against a Rotating Chevron Sign this closed his lead and Quicksilver was able to get past Fantasy and Dragon's Egg as well to reclaim the lead and he claimed his maiden victory after a close finish. Fantasy finished second and Dragon's Egg third. Nemo slipped back to fifth behind Wisp of Darkness who came back. Championship leader Lollipop finished more than 10 seconds after winner Quicksilver did. Dragon's Egg became the new championship leader after a third place finish 1 point clear of Quicksilver.
Race 4
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 4
The marble competitors stayed at the quick sprint course in 'Klimduin Brechtdorp'. This time it was Red Number 3 who won after battling with Lollipop throughout the race. Lollipop fell back and finished fourth after bumping against the Rotating Chevron Sign at the end of the course. Black Knight jumped to second and H2 Blue rounded out the podium. In the standings there was a 3-way tie for first between race winner Red Number 3, runner-up Black Knight and Lollipop who finished fourth in the race. They were all tied with 41 points with Red Number 3 winning the tie breaker. Dragon's Egg and Quicksilver both fell to fourth and fifth in the championship standings respectively.
Race 5
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 5
Race 5 was held in 'Klimduin Brechtdorp' for the third time in a row, this time on a different lay-out. After a close and tight race at the front of the field with Deep Ocean, Nemo and Dragon's Egg each taking the lead. But after a big jump to second and then for the lead, it was Quicksilver who won his second race of the season. He held off a charging Nemo by 0.01 seconds. El Capitan finished third and Slimer fourth. Dragon's Egg, Fantasy and Black Knight finished close behind in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Reigning champion Ghost Plasma DNF'ed for the fourth time in a row. With his second victory of the season, Quicksilver got into the lead of the championship with 57 points, 6 points ahead of Dragon's Egg. Black Knight droppen one spot to third with 50 points. Previous leader Red Number 3 was in fourth and Fantasy in fifth with both 43 points.
Race 6
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 6
Race 6 was held at the same place as race 5 on the same lay-out. It was a two-horse race between Pollo Loco and Red Number 3. As Pollo Loco led early on, Red Number 3 was the only one to challenge him, but despite Red Number 3's efforts Pollo Loco never lost his lead and won the race. Red Number 3 finished second. Championship leader Quicksilver was able to finish third after a close battle with Crazy Cat's Eye and Blizzard Blaster. His second place finish saw Red Number 3 climb up to second in the standings 11 points behind leader Quicksilver who has 71 points. Two points behind Red Number 3, Black Knight was in third tied with Dragon's Egg. Fantasy remained fifth in the standings.
Race 7
Main article: 2017 Sand Marble Rally/Race 7
After a summer break for the MarbleLympics, the marbles went to 'Doornse Gat' for race 7. Dragon's Egg came off strongest after the break. He led most of the race and won the race. Pollo Loco finished second after running in second for pretty much the whole race. Glassy finished third ahead of Comet and El Capitan. Red Number 3 finished sixth. After the race Dragon's Egg also led the championship with 78 points, 3 points clear of Quicksilver and a further 5 of Red Number 3. Black Knight and Lollipop were both in fourth with 59 points each.
Standings
Rank | Marble | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | F | Score |
1st: | Dragon's Egg | 10 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 34 | 135 |
2nd: | Red Number 3 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 20 | Ret | 5 | 3 | 14 | 22 | 134 |
3rd: | Slimer | 6 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 9 | 20 | 17 | 28 | 130 |
4th: | Quicksilver | 4 | 9 | 20 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 2 | Ret | 125 |
5th: | El Capitan | 5 | Ret | 9 | 11 | 14 | Ret | 11 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 20 | 12 | 111 |
6th: | H2 Blue | 17 | Ret | 0 | 14 | Ret | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 40 | 100 |
7th: | Glassy | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 95 |
8th: | Crazy Cat's Eye | 20 | Ret | 5 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 94 |
9th: | Black Knight | 12 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 10t | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 93 |
10th: | Lollipop | 8 | 17 | 4 | 12 | Ret | 9 | 9 | 1 | 7 | Ret | 0 | 1 | 24 | 92 |
11th: | Pollo Loco | 0 | 7 | 0 | Ret | 5 | 20 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 3 | 16 | 87 |
12th: | Fantasy | 0 | 8 | 17 | 8 | 10 | 10 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 7 | 10 | Ret | 10 | 86 |
13th: | Blizzard Blaster | 14 | Ret | 8 | 10 | 0 | 11 | Ret | 5 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 85 |
14th: | Nemo | Ret | 11 | 11 | 2 | 17 | Ret | 2 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 10 | 9 | 83 |
15th: | Summer Sky | 11 | 14 | 1 | Ret | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 11 | Ret | 80 |
16th: | Deep Ocean | 9 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | Ret | 10t | 6 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 68 |
17th: | Wisp of Darkness | 0 | 3 | 12 | Ret | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 67 |
18th: | Big Pearl | Ret | 20 | 3 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 8 | 14 | Ret | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 55 |
18th: | Comet | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 0 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 6 | 20 | 55 |
20th: | Ghost Plasma | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 54 |
Ret.: Did not finish and 0 points awarded
0: finished outside the points and 0 points awarded
Point System
- 1st: 20pts
- 2nd: 17pts
- 3rd: 14pts
- 4th: 12pts
- 5th: 11pts
- 6th: 10pts
- 7th: 9pts
- 8th: 8pts
- 9th: 7pts
- 10th: 6pts
- 11th: 5pts
- 12th: 4pts
- 13th: 3pts
- 14th: 2pts
- 15th: 1pts
Winners
Race | Winner | Time | Margin | Starting position |
---|---|---|---|---|
R1 | Crazy Cat's Eye | 2:03.06 | +0.40 | P1 |
R2 | Big Pearl | 2:03.08 | +0.08 | P10 |
R3 | Quicksilver | 1:06.21 | +0.06 | P3 |
R4 | Red Number 3 | 1:04.81 | +0.67 | P6 |
R5 | Quicksilver | 1:18.52 | +0.01 | P10 |
R6 | Pollo Loco | 1:12.72 | +0.97 | P5 |
R7 | Dragon's Egg | 1:45.10 | +0.77 | P4 |
R8 | Red Number 3 | 1:43.64 | +2.77 | P7 |
R9 | Slimer | 2:10.88 | +0.52 | P2 |
R10 | Wisp of Darkness | 2:12.75 | +0.15 | P19 |
R11 | Slimer | 1:48.01 | +0.18 | P20 |
R12 | El Capitan | 1:45.34 | +1.11 | P7 |
F | H2 Blue | 2:21.26 | +0.25 | P15 |
- Note:
- P1–P7 is on the front row
- P8–P13 is on the second row
- P14–P20 is on the back row
Trivia
- The first attempt of Race 3 was aborted after a huge pile up at the start. Before the start of second attempt there was a dog who was invading the track. Finally the race got away and in the end it was Quicksilver who won.
- The double points for the final race was announced only in race 12 (the second last race) and it caused a little bit of controversy because it affected the end results with Dragon's Egg (135pts) becoming champion infront of Red Number 3 (134pts), Slimer (130pts) and Quicksilver (125pts), while without double points the results would've been: Quicksilver champion with 125pts, Red Number 3 second (123pts), Dragon's Egg third (118pts) and Slimer fourth (116pts).
See Also
All Marble Rally races | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
2016: Q · R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6 · R7 · R8 · R9 · R10 · R11 · R12 | ||||
2017: Q · R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6 · R7 · R8 · R9 · R10 · R11 · R12 · F | ||||
2018: Q · R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6 · R7 · R8 | ||||
2019: Q · R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6 · R7 · R8 | ||||
S5: R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6 · R7 · R8 · R9 · R10 · R11 · R12 | ||||
S6: Q · R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6 · R7 · R8 · R9 · R10 | ||||
Miscellaneous: 750-Foot Race · 500-Foot Race · Extra Race · Giant Funnel Race · Patreon Marble Rally · MR22 Practice Round |