Eee by gum, it wasn't like this in the old days. Then you had to pay full whack for everything (and a few ration coupons). Now it's all on the cheap, but can you separate the wheat from the chaff? ZZAP!'s got a brand-new combine harvester...

'Hello, good afternoon, and welcome to the Super Cars spectacular! Mt name's Skid Lid...'

'And I'm Turbo Tyremarks, and together we'll be bringing you all the thrills and spills of this great budget event, right here on ZZAP! TV. The racers are just lining up for the first face of the season...'

'Nice track, isn't it? A bit grey and featureless perhaps, but very functional.' 'Certainly is, Skid, and the groundsmen have dome a good jon on the grass too. It's lovely and green.'

'Yes, it's very fetching but I can't help feeling they could've done more with it. There are one tracks in all, and you have to go through them all three times each to finish the season, but every one of them looks the same. And why aren't the public allowed in? There's not a grandstand in sight!'

'I think you're being a little unfair there, Turbo - they get progressively more complex, and that's what really matters. You can even pick and choose what order you race them too...'

'I can't help falling our boy's made a mistake starting at track one. At the start of the season you're only up against three other cars and they're not particularly quick, so it makes sense to save the easiest tracks for the trickier opponents. They get a lot tougher as the season progresses...'

'They certainly do. There's more of them, too! They all look the same though!' 'Yes, the pit crews could've made them a bit more colourful. What I really can't understand is why our lad (the blue car) always starts at the back. Why can't they run a practice lap against the clock, starting position depending on practice time?'

'And on that note, we'll go for a message from our sponsors!'

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'Welcome back to the Super Cars spectacular, and I think they're about to race - yes there goes the starters flag, and they're off!'

'Sound awful, don't they Skid? It's like being woken at 3am by roadworks outside your bedroom window.'

'Yeah, but they handle like a dream! The camera man's doing a good job too - we're getting a silky-smooth picture covering about a quarter of the track, with our lad right in the middle. It's pity we can't concentrate on more than one car at a time like the Supersprint races, but I suppose that's the price you pay for better, bigger tracks.'

'Sure is! For my money, Super Cars is by far the better event - although the cars use the same control method, they seem much more responsive and less likely to oversteer. The scrolling track allows for bigger sprites too!'

'And another thing Turbo,... Oh no! He's gone into a spin! He's all over the track, and losing ground at a tremendous rate.'

He'll be wishing he'd bought a Spin Assist now, Skid! The further down the rank he finishes, the less money he wins. The less he wins, the less he's got to spend on his car for the next race.'

'That's right, and if he doesn't earn some serious dosh he'll never be able to trade in his car for a better model. Lukily for him, he seems to have got right back into the race. His car's a little faster than the computer-controlled vehicles, but the opposition rarely oversteer and hit the walls.'

'Yes, and the more harm you do to your car the more you need to spend on repairs. Good job collisions with other cars aren't too damaging, in'it?'

'You know, Turbo, I think Super Cars is the kind of event that really grows on you. It's easy to get into, and great fun besides.'

'It certainly is Skid. The more you play, the better it gets. And... hey, our lad's on his last lap!'

'He'd better put his foot down then, 'coz he's still only in second place, and could really do with a win...'