“This is part 6 of the fictionalized Essendarium replay. I hope you are all enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it.”  -Jeff

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While the Gelato Division’s madcap and charismatic drivers entertained the media, the real crowd favorites rolled into the gate. The Baguette Bakers from San Francisco, with their unmistakable golden gate orange color-scheme, rolled into the garage area and settled in next to the Gelato Division. If the Gelato Division is the media favorite and the most widely sought after soundbite, the Baguette Bakers are the real fan favorite. Not only are they great drivers, but they travel with a mobile bakery and in the days leading up to the race Toque and his drivers and crew all bake for the locals and give away their treats to the fans.

While the bakery aspect does draw the fans, it’s the drivers that make that baking relevant. Torl and Moxer Murdock are siblings that both drive with incredible nerve and a slight disregard for the danger inherent in the sport. Sean P. Tompkins is one of the best ‘rabbits’ on the circuit and Clementine Kinney is a former Olympic shooter. In fact, if they weren’t so darn nice, they would probably be the most hated and envied team in the event. It’s remarkable what a bit of kindness can overcome.

I would like to once again take this moment to discuss the whole naming convention and why we are more than thrilled with the way it has gone so far. Carla & I are fairly creative people and while we think we could have named every track, team and driver in what is now three games spanning 21 tracks, 28 teams and 144 drivers; the breadth and depth of the names that you have come up with has been remarkable. We have memorial tracks, family tracks, tracks based on location and tracks named for love. There are teams with fandom appropriations, teams with family history, actual company sponsors and teams based on alter-egos. Drivers run the gamut from the mundane to the exotic to the outlandish. The pure variety of the drivers alone makes the game unique. Racing is one of the few topics that can be covered in a game where sponsorships not only make sense, but where the game seems incomplete without them. No, allowing fans and players to have some possession of the naming conventions seems quite right in a way that it may not be so in any other theme.

So enjoy the game and revel in the uniqueness that is the Thunderverse.

Carla and I would like to thank those below that sponsored the Baguette Bakers.

Baguette Bakers

Rich “Toque” Pardon-moi – San Francisco, CA (Rich Pardoe)

Sean P. Tompkins (SPT)                         Sean Tompkins

Torl Murdock (TOR)                               James Williams

Moxie “MOXER” Murdock (MOX)           James Williams

Mangle Williams (H23)                          Available

Oil Can Charlie (01L)                              Available

Carley “Clementine” Kinney (44z)         Franky Geldof

Scrappy Kent (808)                                 Available

Chrissy Mae (BFE)                                 Available

There are four available driver spots remaining on the Baguette Bakers. If you are interested, for $20 you receive the following benefit.

• Driver Naming Rights allowing you to name one driver and assign that driver a 1 to 3 digit ID.

If this interests you, please contact Jeff Horger at jagrcz68@aol.com and we can get the ball rolling. There are still also drivers available on the Green, Yellow, Black, Light Blue, White, Pink and Light Green teams. Carla & I are happy to help all of you that want to be a part of the Thunderverse to get on to a team.

If you just want to play the game, we need your votes with your wallet on the GMT P500 right now. We’ve made the cut but there is absolutely no reason to not get your game reserved early. If you back it now the discount is pretty substantial ($72 down to $49) so now is the time to get in on the deal. https://www.gmtgames.com/p-623-apocalypse-road.aspx

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