On Feb. 3, 2023, the first race of Jelle’s Marble Sand Rally Season 6 commenced. The course was in a more stable condition than what occurred during the qualifiers; Race 1 brought with it a sand condition of 4/5 and weather conditions of 5/5, with no wind in sight.
The marbles were clearly ready to bring their A-game. The lineup, from 1-16, consisted of Wisp of Darkness (WOD), Reflektor (REF), Superball (SUP), Ghost Plasma (GHO), Ducktape (DUC), Crazy Cat’s Eye (CCE), Blizzard Blaster (BBL), Amethyst (AME), Cobra (COB), Pollo Loco (POL), Slimer (SLI), Grasshopper (GRA), Lollipop (LOP), Red Number 3 (RN3), Cool Moody (CMO) and Silver Bolt (SBO). Unlike previous sand rally seasons with 20 competitors, there are only 16 competing marbles. No official reason has been provided as to why, as of the publication of this piece.
CCE provided a strong starting push at the beginning of the race, streaking ahead of the other marbles, with WOD on CCE’s heels. However, in a shocking upset, CCE careened off the course shortly after, resulting in disqualification. This was truly a nightmare scenario for CCE, with so many previous wins under the marble’s belt. The competition for first was then between WOD and GHO. After choosing a different route than WOD during the split section of the course, GHO moved into first place. WOD and GHO continued to battle it out, neck and neck, for the duration of the race.
Newcomer AME also started strong, pushing to the front of the pack in seventh place early on and moving upward to fourth place by the first third of the race. AME has truly shown that any marble, even a rookie, has a place in Jelle’s Sand Rally. By 1:16.60, AME had moved to third place, just behind GHO. By 1:41.54, AME just squeaked ahead of GHO, moving to first place, and was able to maintain first place through the end of the course. A first-timer has never won the first race of the season before, making sand marble rally history. AME has shown some precise technical abilities in maneuvering around sand course obstacles—clearly, the marble has put the time in to practice sand techniques.
After Race 1 finished, AME placed first, GHO second and WOD third. WOD has not been in the main league since 2017, so for the marble to place third in this race is no small feat. A marvelous display of marble racing talent by all of the competitors and perhaps an upset for fans of more well-established marbles. With many new obstacles this season, more experienced marbles are seeing them for the course for the very first time, just as AME is seeing the entire course for the very first time. This could be helping to even the playing field. Regardless, a fantastic showing of marble racing and in only Race 1. You can watch Race 1 here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKDJF3cB438).
