End of Line

rFactor Racers - Grand Prix Series - Season 11 - Final Standings

 

Congratulations to Arek, rFR Season 11 Drivers Champion. Congratulations to Arek and Sven,  rFR Season 11 Team Champions with Ferrari. A good season for me, I was able to run in all 17 races with no DNF, and with the generous scoring system I got points every round. Enough for 13th place overall.

This season may be over, but there is no break from racing for me, as the first round of HSO's 1982 World Endurance Championship is coming up.

Path to Cromulence

Just signed up for Historic Simracing Organization 1982 World Endurance Championship. Seven rounds of 1000km or 6 hours races, it is going to be tenacious. First race is at 80's era Monza and I will run solo in a Porsche 935, a machine very different from the F1 car I've been driving the past few seasons over at rFactor Racers League.

This car is bigger and heavier, and consequently more difficult to drive. Acceleration comes like an on/off switch, with the engine lugging around from 1000-4000rpm, then suddenly bursting into power from 5000rpm all the way to the 8000rpm redline. With most of the weight at the back, it is unstable under braking and it is harder to keep it balanced through the corner. The braking distance is a lot longer, too. In the garage, most of the setup values are locked, so it really is me who has to adapt to the car, instead of the car being adjusted to my liking.

But the biggest change I must cope with is the race length. After some years of just driving 45 minute sprints, this series will feature 5-6 hour events. I can barely contain my excitement. I'm flooded with confabulations. Endurance racing again! Soon, I will be home.

to do something dangerous requires a certain absence of imagination

Pretty much used up my seed money to get a Logitech G29 and Playseat Evolution set. I feel wistfully renewed. After years of racing with a rundown G25, now all the buttons and switches work, the axes don't flicker, and I can't blame the equipment anymore for my slow lap times. 

I imagine myself a bit like the fairy tale Jack, trading away the old cow for some magic beans. I wonder if these will grow into a beanstalk that I can climb, to find a castle in the sky where a fearsome giant lives. He keeps magnificent treasures; a sack of gold coins, a harp that plays itself, and a goose that lays golden eggs.

Could there be a grand prize for this online simulation racing that I choose to do? To be able to race at all, against drivers from around the world, in the privacy and safety of my room, this is some great reward in itself. Thank you Racing Gods for this opportunity that has been conceived and developed in my lifetime.