In my group I ran a swoop bike race using modified chase rules, which caused a question of how the Shortcut talent would work in a race that is in a defined path. The Racer talent gets short cut which mention they work in a chase which a race isn't necessarily a chase, on a race track there are no real shortcuts (NASCAR or Indy) so how would you let them use these talent in a define race course.

On a the Order 66 podcast they mentioned you could use the boost dice from shortcut if you fall behind in the race.

So I was wondering how other were allowing these talents to work in a race track?

Thanks for any suggestions or sharing your processes.

I seem to recall swoop bike races including obstacles, if you fell behind then I'd narrate shortcut as creative use of them to gain a boost.

I always advise my players not to get caught up on the names of talents (same with careers and specializations). Just apply the mechanical benefit and fluff the narrative in whatever manner seems appropriate.

I think of it like the pod race in Episode I. Set track, pilots can't really deviate from it. Then Anakin gets knocked onto a maintenance ramp by Sebulba and gets a huge short cut, but at the risk of nearly destroying his podracer.

I would assume that Shortcut might not be viable in the most formal races, but the more freestyle things get (dodge into oncoming traffic, use more difficult but faster routes, use obstacles as ramps,...), the more likely it is that the talent is useable. Even just using drafting or depriving pursuers of it might be an example of the talent.

In the Racer spec, the talent Improved Shortcut specifically states it can be used during a race. As Shortcut predated the racing rules, I took this to mean any use of Shortcut was appropriate for racing, especially given that the talent appears on the Racer spec three times, all in the top two rows.