anonymous clouds

The big race is on tomorrow night, the OEC 5 Hours of Le Mans. I will be driving solo against some really fast drivers and teams, some of which I haven't raced with before, as this has become a joint event with MRtI League. I'm in the lower midfield on the practice leaderboard, but I think I will be in a better position in the race as most if not all of the fast drivers won't be driving their car the whole time. I should be able to make up some time against the slower drivers of their respective teams.

I was able to complete a half-distance practice run and was planning to do the full 5 hours against the AI, but my left shoulder and my lower back are starting to hurt, so these last few days I have been doing just 1 hour runs. Anyway, I think the setup is good, not the fastest but predictable and easy to drive even as the fuel load goes down and the tires wear out.

What's crazy is I still have a chance to win the overall championship. I thought Dimitri had won it all, his lead in the points standings too big to overcome. He has dominated this season, winning every race he has entered except for Spa where he disco'ed. But I checked the rules recently and found out that this special event awards more points than the usual. If Dimitri doesn't score, and I win, I will get enough points to take the season championship. It is not impossible.

There's been talk that rFactor is dying and this event will be the last great race for the rFactor platform. It is hard to deny, as most of the serious competitors and leagues have upgraded to rFactor 2 and other more advanced simulation software years ago. It seems that the few good drivers still on rFactor nowadays are guys with low-end PCs or have no means to buy the latest software (like me). The others, they seem to be beginners or dabblers who are just trying out sim racing.

I've felt a change in the attitudes of the racers I encounter now on the grid. It's like they are just toying with their cars. They don't seem to appreciate the very idea of online sim racing, and how far it has come. I think it is ordinary to them, just like any other multiplayer computer game. I don't know, it could be just my perception. There are still many leagues running rFactor, but the competition seems to have been watered down. Maybe I am just looking in the wrong places.

And so, even if I have improved in my driving, I am still just a backmarker. A-last-er, always last. It seems the real competition has left me behind. I have no idea, no plan on how to acquire rFactor 2 or any other current sim racing software. I leave it to the Racing Gods for now. Anyway, I am thinking of taking a short break after this Le Mans race. I have withdrawn from the Formula One 1991 series, and I got some stuff to do in the outside world in the coming weeks.

overmorrow

Signed up for a newly opened league, FORMULA 1 rFactor 1991. I'm back in my favorite Minardi and it's all systems go. The car is great fun to drive and I think I won't be far behind the fast guys here. 24 drivers signed up so far, so there will be a huge grid in the opening races.

Races will only be 20 laps but Damage is set at 100%, so I expect a lot of action leading to dire consequences. Fuel and tires are at 3x so at least 1 pitstop is necessary, but Mechanical Failures are switched off.

There will be a preseason test at Interlagos in three days, and it will be a good chance to see where my place is in this grid. There will be 16 races total and the season champion will receive a Steam key as prize. Racing with a Minardi in Interlagos? I'm coming home.

FORMULA 1 rFactor 1991 Season Races

Update: They changed the schedule from Wednesdays to Mondays and Thursdays. Twice a week races with only 2-3 days practice in-between will be tough. There's also been talk of becoming a fixed setup series, but it has been open setup on the server so far. It is a new league and there have been plenty of changes in the last few days, like the damage setting and tyre wear. I'm thinking of withdrawing from this series.

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Of course, my mind is still really at the event of the year; the 5 hours Le Mans Race - OEC Season 1 Finale. It's on in less than two weeks and I am waiting patiently for the track download. I am fighting for 2nd place overall in the championship standings and I will train hard for this race.

Update: Been doing a lot of practice on the server so far, some long stints with heavy fuel, but mostly hotlaps with a light car. Just tweaking the setup and finding a few tenths here and there. I'm in the midfield on the leaderboard. A lot of the new guys are really fast.

Cryonic Canticle

SRO Sports 2000 Series - Final Standings

full results here

Congrats to Jim Giannopoulos, Series Champion. Miguel Santos was the only driver who had the speed to challenge, but he had some uneven performances. Fabio Lozio was the surprise winner of the final race.

6th place overall ain't the worst but I expected more. I had the speed for some podium finishes based on the lap times, but in the races I would often get stuck behind someone and just couldn't make the overtake. Going into the final race I was third in the standings by a slim margin of 2 points, but a bad case of brain fade resulted in a crash and I dropped down 3 places in the championship. I also crashed out in the fifth round, and you can't expect a good final result with two DNFs in a six race series.

Anyway, that series is over. Now I can focus on the final two rounds of OEC Season 1, including the 5 Hours Le Mans Race. The admin says this race will include entries from MRTI League, so I am expecting a big grid.