It finally arrived! I waited about six months to get my copy of this very popular board game.
Solo play
First play: USA, basic rules. Red 1st, me 2nd (by one space), White 3rd, Black 4th. A tight race! I led for most of the first lap, fell to last in the first half of the second lap with too much heat in my hand, and did well in the tight turns. I exited the last turn barely in the lead, but the Champions' high top speed passed me right at the end.
Second play: USA, basic rules. Blue 1st, Red 2nd, Green 3rd, me (a very distant) 4th. I actually spun out in the first lap and never could recover, went through the last two turns with basically no heat left in my engine.
3: Italia, basic rules. Me, Blue, Red Green. I hit a great hand coming out of the third turn on my second lap, and found heat management much easier on this track (or starting to get the hang of it). Won by a large margin!
4: France, basic rules. Red, Blue, Me, Green. I had a rough time at turn 5 on the first lap, and then on turns 2-3-4 in the second lap; spun out on turn 4 in the second lap. Ended with an engine in bad shape.