All day I sit at home, I am not allowed outside

Another season with Minardi, yes nice. I just have to adjust the cockpit view file and tweak the in-car sounds and it will be ready to go for rFR Season 12. I feel very comfortable and confident in this car now, and I know I will do well in the coming races. For this season we will only have 1 tire compound, but refueling will be allowed, so the races will have a different dynamic compared to the previous series. Several new drivers have signed up and in the preseason test races I have finished ahead of them, probably due to my experience with the mod and how to setup my car. Of course, the fast guys and other returning drivers are also familiar with their rides, so I am anticipating a good season running in the midfield.

The Teams

1988 McLaren (Marlboro)
#11 - Gustavo Montenegro
#27 - Antonio Hreljanovic

1994 Williams (Rothmans)
#43 - Igor G
#66 - Alex Hill

1995 Benetton
#14 - Tanasic Dragan
#99 - Igor M

1998 McLaren (West)
#74 - Ste Mitch
#78 - Kimmo Savolainen

1999 Jordan 
#30 - Peter Mobsy
#79 - Gatis Stalsans

2000 Minardi
#42 - Alaster Langsom
#xx - FREE SEAT

2001 Williams (BMW)
#77 - Markos Zervos
#95 - Giorgos Kostopoulos

2009 Brawn
#4 - Jakub Rostkowski
#22 - Lukas Enge

2015 Force India
#10 - Gabriel Marcos
#xx - FREE SEAT

2016 Ferrari
#19 - Arek Kulak
#68 - Andreas Fischer

2016 Mercedes
#7 - Sven Dirks
#69 - Joe McLaggen

2016 RedBull
#31 - Edijs Batars
#87 - Juris B

Arek Kulak is the defending champion, and he stays with Ferrari with new teammate Andreas Fischer. They have been strong during the preseason testing. Another team to watch is Sven Dirks and Joe Mclaggen in the Mercedes. They will mount a good challenge for the championship. But I think it will be the Marlboro Mclaren team of Antonio Hreljanovic and Gustavo "Sexy" Montenegro who will win it all this Season 12.

Calendar

Meanwhile, over at Historic Simracing Organization, I have switched to the Mooncraft RX-7 for the next round of the 1982 World Endurance Championship to be held at Silverstone (1975 layout). It looks like it is the slowest car in the field, and I expect the Prototypes to fly around me during the 6-Hours event. I don't mind, my goal is to finish the race and make up for my error in the previous round at Monza. Rotary power! You Wankel!

HSO 1982 World Endurance Championship

Schedule

#	Map	Date	Event	Circuit	Race length
1		Feb 12th	1000 Km di Monza	Monza	1000km (173 laps)
2		Mar 12th	Pace Petroleum 6 Hours	Silverstone	6 Hours
3		Apr 9th	Rudolf Caracciola Wanderpreis 1000 Kilometres	Nurburgring	1000km (44 laps)
4		Jun 18th	Trophee Diners Club 1000 Kilometres	Spa-Francorchamps	1000km (144 Laps)
5		Sep 10th	Trofeo Banca Toscana 1000 Kilometres	Mugello	1000km (191 Laps)
6		Oct 29th	WEC in Japan	Mt. Fuji	6 hours
7		Dec 17th	Shell Oils 1000 Kilometres	Brands Hatch	1000km (211 laps)

Unfortunately, with the schedule conflict I will miss two races in rFR Season 12, Round 2 in Interlagos and Round 5 in Bahrain. Too bad, because I have had good performances in both tracks. I consider Interlagos my home track, it is where I learned simracing with Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 2. I am not so far behind the fast guys over there. And in Bahrain I even won a race, back when I was running in Hammerdown Racing League.

Still, it looks to be a good year, I am even thinking of joining another series somewhere, maybe a Stock Car or Indycar series so I can try oval racing again. Or maybe some Rallycross or Touring Car, I don't know. I have more options now that I have upgraded my controls set.