his past Saturday 30th the streets of Dalaran were filled with sound of engines, screams and cheers. But for me this experience started days before that, when I was hired as the photographer of the event, we usually see events from the outside, as any other person, but in this case, I had the chance to see part of the organization as well, and I think some of it is worth sharing. I will not make our readers fall asleep with the paperwork and permissions needed to organise a race in the main street of Dalaran, but some days before the race I attended the final organisation meeting. This is a great way for everyone involved to get to know each other, where people will be stationed and where to go if something is needed in case of an accident or problems. One important thing is that a race is a dangerous event, and crowds do not help, for this the organisation had security hired to make sure no one ran into the street, as well as a priestess of Elune as a healer, a decision that proved to be wise and useful. We do not always see the people behind the scenes, but I can assure they were there, and I hope this little insight was useful for readers as well, now let’s get to the action! After the team made sure everything was ready on the circuit, the racers were present and the crowd of cheering people was excited about who will get those amazing prices, the host started with a short speech: Modian Goldenfield: ”Ladies And gentlemen! Welcome to the first Grand Mechanical Race in Dalaran! First of all, let me give y´all a hand for showing up to this historic day of vroom vroom and madness! Give yaself a hand. (…) Now! Let´s get to the good stuff! We got a load of prizes today, all from customized bikes! A devilish amount of golds worth set of clothing ya can ask for from Khari and a darn well Teleporting bracelet from the hummingbirds! Now I welcome y´all to the race! Let´s get to it.“ Now this race was different than others because not everyone competed at the same time, it was instead a classificatory series of races, three people each time and only one passed to the final, with a chance of the second classified to make it to the final too and maybe even win. The first race was between Earl Michael van Rook, Osara Warren and Vimmy Cogilsprocket, all sponsored by the Fallowstag. Even if for a short moment Vimmy got the first position at the start it would be the last time he’ll held that position, since soon the Earl moved ahead and won. But even so it was a race with a lot of tension as many times it seemed Vimmy might reclaim the leading position, even if he had some problems that gave the second position to Osara for some short moments. The second race was filled with problems from the racers, especially for Vivian Skybreaker (sponsored by the Wold and Lamb) and Ixmort (who was self-sponsored), but not for the winner, Zunak (also self-sponsored) that seemed to have a very relaxed race while the other two fought for the second position, in the end Vivian got it, though this would not be her last incident during the race. The next race was between Sindovia Kaltris, known as “Dove” (sponsored by the Legerdemain Lounge), Hiru (sponsored by the Hummingbird Emporium) and Sarah Sandcog, who was sponsored by T-K Studio and took the place of Mardock Blackhammer after he suffered an accident during practice. We hope he recovers soon. During most of the race it looked like a clear victory for Sarah with a fight for the second place, however in the last moments Dove got the victory leaving Sarah in the second place. As said before in this competition those who came second had another chance to get into the final race, so Vimmy, Vivian and Sarah came back to the circuit. As if history was repeating itself Vimmy got the lead for a brief moment, only for Sarah to take the lead. The fight between the second and third position was intense, until Vivian started to have problems again, a chance Vimmy used to try to reclaim the first position, but he did not manage, actually Vivian made an impressive recovery and ended second behind Sarah. Although sadly she crashed against the well, but as mentioned there was a healer in place and nothing too bad happened. And at last, the final race between Earl Michael van Rook, Dove, Zunaj and Sarah Sandcog. This was obviously the most exciting race, but not just for being the last, but because of the fight between the second and first position was so hard. Even if Zunaj started really well and hard, he ended crashing, apparently repeating what happened the last year. Maybe better luck next time. After this the Earl took the lead position and this started a fight for three laps with Sarah trying to get the victory as well. Even if for a brief moment Sarah managed to get first in the end the victory went to the noble of House Valenbard. You might wonder what were the prices apart from the fame and glory? Well, for Sindovia Kaltris, who arrived third, a bracelet that allows portalling to all the capitals of his faction, made by the Hummingbird Emporium. And these were his words after the race about the experience and result: Sindovia Kaltris, Dove: ”Oh, it was very nerve-wrecking. I had not honestly even sat on one of these machines until like a month ago. Though I was given quite a bit of coaching ahead of the race. otherwise I would probably have just toppled over. Still was very nervous but somehow managed to make it through without crashing which was my goal. “ For Sarah Sandcog, in second place, an outfit in any material or magical design she wished from… the shop she works in, T-K Studios. And finally, for the winner, 600 gold worth of customized mechanical vehicle. The Earl also offered some words after the race: Earl Michael van Rook: ”The experience was at first... unwanted. It was my wife who chose to sign me up for this. Despite my protests I decided that this was an experience to be had and I can honestly say that this was one of the most intense and most exhilarating new experiences I have had in my later years. And I can only thank my wife and my trainer. As for the prize... Well, you can imagine it will not stay with me. I think I have a destination in mind that will really appreciate it. Someone who, over the last ten years, has spent naught on herself except for what she needed to. Everything went to her son, and it is high time she gets something for herself. A new bike is only appropriate. “ And who is that lucky person? Well, as he said himself, his sister-in-law, Nadeira, who made this victory possible by practicing with the Earl every morning and evening. To end the day, and the article, I asked Modian Goldenfield how he thought the race went and motivations for organising the race in the first place, as I remember seeing him rather excited with the idea during the meeting, as if it was a dream come true: Modian Goldenfield: ”Well it´s simple, I wanted to get the sport back into the spot light, I loved racing back in the day, but now they are all gone, so now, I´m simply running them to make sure that they can that experience as I have had. With the help of Mister Miller, who´s a massive sport fan, I got the finances for it and then I said "heck way not let´s get some oil in our blood!". Happy with the races, a bit annoying one didn’t show up, but beside that I think it went well! “ Seeing the race was a success we hope to see more next year, hopefully with less accidents, and more breath-taking racers.