toin coss

 SRO Man vs Track Challenge - Final Standings

full results here

Congratulations to Fabio Lozio, Man vs Track Series Champion. Thanks to all participating drivers and thanks to our host Ken Jagger. I had a great run, winning both of the 60 mins races in Sebring and Spa. I was leading the championship standings during the first half of the series but I just couldn't hold on to it. This was the toughest series I ever run and learning and racing on these tracks was staggering but also quite rewarding. The car was practically fixed setup, with only a few parameters that could be changed and not much of range within those. Most of the tracks were narrow, bumpy, and with little to no runoff. One little mistake could be fatal or make you lose a lot of time. I had to dig deep and practice hard for this series and even if I didn't win the overall, I am very happy with my results.

And with that, another year of racing is concluded. I did 54 races this year and won a series championship for the first time. Certainly a milestone for me. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the short break then come back stronger next year.

so near so bad

Game crash right when the race is about to start. I know my system is reliable, so something unstable about the mod I guess. I wasn't the only driver who had problems. Well that's part of online racing. Just something outside my control. All those practice laps for naught. I hate this feeling. Time to prepare for the next race.

ulterior designer

 Racin Nexus GT1 Power Series Final Standings

Congrats to Djordje Kovacevic, Series Champion. He had a great season, finishing on the podium in 10 of the 12 races. A so-so season for myself, anywhere from 1 to 3 seconds behind the fast guys per lap, but I did finish all the races I entered and end up 4th overall. I missed one round because I joined the big 1000km race at Silverstone with CMH.

The Racin Nexus GTR car was a lot easier to drive than the other RN mods I have tried in the past. I just couldn't find the speed and wasn't at the limit. I was also more focused on SRO Man vs Track Challenge and did not like my preparation level for the races in the series. 

Only two more races to go this year, the CMH-SRW Bahrain Race (which has been shortened to 2 Hours) and the final round of Man vs Track, 1 Hour at Classic 60's Spa in Belgium.

how the turn tables

 [03:52] <Alaster> but my vanity is of the villain kind

[03:53] <Alaster> i bury the hatchet in a time capsule

[03:53] <Alaster> and we will be both be long dead

[03:54] <Alaster> when someone becomes the better person

mag dump

 

One more Endurance race before the year ends. We got the Bahrain 4 Hours, a one-off event from Classic Motorsport Hub and SimRacingWorld. There will be three classes; LMP1, LMP2/DPi, and GTE. I'm gonna run in GTE class with the Porsche 911 RSR in the famous Pink Pig livery. 

Of course I am excited for this race, even if my lower back is not. I've made some adjustments to my seat after the pain I experienced in the Silverstone 1000km. But I am also thinking of getting some sort of athletic back support. 

Otherwise preparation for this race is going well. The car is easy to drive and I have plenty of experience in the Bahrain circuit. The car has a bit of tendency to oversteer on corner entry, but I think I will be able to fix this with some setup changes and a more careful approach into the corners.

zoonotic transmission

 CMH 1983 Silverstone 1000km Results

Congratulations to Matthew Sibanyoni and Daniel Prieto, overall winner of the CMH 1983 Silverstone 1000km. Congrats also to Filippo Marazzi, third place overall and winner of Group C Junior division. And yes, a good result for me, 5th place overall and winner of Group B. 10 cars started the race and 6 finished, so another congrats to all the finishers of this grueling Endurance Race.

My lower back is still hurting a bit, but it is still a great feeling to compete in and complete another Endurace race doing a solo drive. The start was trouble free, and I was quickly pulling away from the other Group B car. He DNFed early on, so the Group B win was secure and all I had to do was finish the race. I was optimistic that I could fight with the Group C Junior cars, and towards the end I was gaining a lot of time on the Mazda 717C in the battle for 4th place overall. From 2 laps behind I was able to close the gap to within 20 seconds when my front left brake failed. From there I had to nurse it home in the final few laps and held on to 5th place overall. 

thermite infestation

 

Something I find strange with this BMW M1 car from Virtua_LM GTPC mod; the tires sound like they are constantly scrubbing even at low speeds. Even launching from a standstill the tires are already making some sort of scraping noise. Because of this constant sound it's a little hard to tell when the tires are going to lose grip and break away. It happens with the other cars I have tested (Porsche 930, Mazda 717C...) so I wonder if it is a quirk of the whole mod. 

I turned up the engine volume to try and drown out this tire sound, but only a little bit because I need to hear when the tires are on the limit. It didn't help much. I also tried a different .sfx file and this scrubbing sound only got more prominent. The default car sound also features a lot of squeaks and rattles on top of that constant tire scrub. It's annoying me now when I am just doing short stints in order to setup the car. I wonder how it will be like over the whole 6 hours of the race. Maybe I will get used to it as my preparation for the big event continues.

pure fogbank

 

It's the CMH Season Ender and the final Gold Star Event of 2021; the 1983 Silverstone 1000 Km. It's gonna be a full-on multiclass Endurance Race. I signed up to race in a BMW M1. I wanted to run in a Group C monster, but those cars aren't available for solo drivers like me. The Group C Junior cars were all taken, so I picked the faster Group B car. I think I will be fast enough in the M1 to keep pace with the Group C Junior runners. It will be a six hour race and my main goal is to finish. The Group B division win is up for grabs. The longest events I finished recently were the OEC Le Mans 5 hours last year and the RSRA Le Mans 4 hours this year. So I will have to work on the fitness a bit. This will be the toughest race I've done in a while. I got about three weeks to prepare before Qualifying Day and then Race Day, but I still have SRO Man vs Track Challenge and RN GT1 Power Series. It will be hectic these next few days.

ENTRY LIST

an elevated drain

Brought back to darkness

I raise high another dead torch

For somewhere out there You exist 

So my strange vanity continues

While the stars hold their place

Every fantasy lasts a lifetime

Where we never together

And all this will be forgotten

Time Being

 

After almost 15 years of online simulation racing, at last, I am a series champion! I feel the vibration of achievement and success. I dedicate this championship to all the grid fillers and backmarkers like me. It has been a long and hard journey to get here. Lady Luck rode with me all the way. Thank you Racing Gods for saving my life.

Full Season results

Up next, I return to Racinnexus league with the GT1 Power series. This new mod is much easier to drive compared to the RN mods I have tried in the past. I'm gonna race with a Porsche 911GT1. Sixteen drivers registered so far for this 12 Round series. And of course, I will also run in the next SRO rF1 series, the highly anticipated Man vs Track Challenge with Ford GTs.

CMH | Gold Star Round 8: GP2 2005 - Bahrain Sprint and Feature Races

 

A good event for me; 2 races 2 podiums. This GP2 2005 car was tricky to drive, so I set it up to plant the rear end when under acceleration as much as possible. I sacrificed some top speed, but the car was safer and more predictable to drive. So, in the races a few guys were faster than me, but they were more erratic and eventually fell behind. I was patient and made less mistakes to come through to 2nd place in the Feature Race and 3rd in the Sprint. 

I don't know if it was a better setup, superior technique, or what, but there was no answer for Lorenzo Iturri. He was just way ahead of everyone else. Congratulations to him for 2 dominant victories. I didn't watch his laps but he had a high top speed yet could somehow control the rear end and was fast even in the twisty middle sector.

Big thanks to all participating drivers and to the admins of CMH. It was fun racing and it is not often I get to watch myself on a proper race broadcast. There was even a break for commercials. I should join more CMH events. Maybe next year.

Feature Race Results

Sprint Race Results

sticky uppy bits

 

Classic Motorsport Hub holds a series of one-off events that count towards an overall Gold Star award. I signed up for Round 8, which features GP2 2005 season cars at the Bahrain circuit. I miss driving F1 cars and GP2 cars are pretty close in performance so I thought I'd give it a try. I am a bit familiar with the Bahrain track, so it shouldn't be too hard to find my pace here.

It will be my first event at CMH, but most of the drivers and admins I've already met and raced with at the big RSRA events. CMH is also kind of a spiritual successor to the old HSO league, and I have been lurking in CMH's Discord channel for a while, so I don't feel so much of a newcomer here. Now it is time to practice and setup the car. I think I can get a good result in this race.

farce field

 

RSRA 2021 Indy 500 has been cancelled. Thousands of practice laps all for naught. I feel terrible for Pascal Mikula... all his effort, time, and money, wasted. But there was some good racing there throughout all the practice days. Anyway, these things happen with online simulation racing. Some drivers will be serious and apply themselves, others will be more nonchalant, and sometimes the outside world will get in the way. We are not professional drivers, after all. 

you travel in darkness when you go faster than light

 

Just signed up for SRO Man vs Track Challenge. In this series we will be racing Ford GTs on long tracks mostly from the 50's and 60's. I think each lap will be more than 10km distance. The vintage format will mean narrow, bumpy roads and little to no runoff areas. It will be tough learning these tracks, but at least the car seems easy enough to drive. It will take everything I got to be competitive here, but I am looking forward to the test. The schedule will take me to the end of the year, and with two week intervals between events, there is time enough to run in another series in another league. We'll see if a viable series opens up when the leagues return from summer break.

RSRA 2021 Indianapolis 500 - Qualifying

 

What an event! 30+ drivers, live marshalls and stewards, livestream and commentary on YouTube, over 5 hours of sim racing competition. I was on a low level FoF state throughout the session and was really feeling intense during my qualifying run. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking and it wasn't the force feedback.

Well I'm on the second row for the start of the RSRA Indy 500 with the 6th fastest lap time. The commentators said it was an amazing performance. It's good to have the pace and be able to keep up somehow with the leaders. I was expecting to be outside the top 10 but some fast guys ran into problems and a few drivers didn't even show up. 

Now I have to setup the car and practice for the big race which will be 200 laps. Despite the good qualifying run, I'm still not confident for the race. I am having trouble concentrating and keeping focused and haven't gone more than 30 laps without crashing. At least, there is some time to prepare and I can skip Bump Day.

Next up for me is Carburetion Day, where we will practice formation laps, yellow flags, restarts, etc. I think we will have a live Pace Car driver and not an AI, something I've never done before. I've also never done three wide rolling starts. There's a few situations I have to be prepared for. I just don't have a lot of experience with speed oval racing.

time fades the reason

 

With the demise of Racin Nexus Group C series my schedule has opened up, so I decided to signup for SRO's Fabcar Restyle Challenge. After the torment of those Racin Nexus mods, driving this car is so much fun and a huge relief. It's predictable, forgiving, and it responds well to setup changes. 

Only 9 drivers have registered and I have no idea what laptimes the fast guys will be doing. But I feel confident that I can find my own maximum in this car. 5 of the 6 tracks on the calendar are F1 tracks I am very familiar with; the final race will be at a famous fantasy track called OldRing. 

And so here I am again, feeling upbeat and excited for the coming series. I hope to convert all this positivity into good racing results.  

resistance desistance

And with that the Group C misery series is over. Racin Nexus league goes by the motto "go big or go home" which is manifested in their hardcore mods. I guess the drivers decided to go home this time.

Atmosforming Venus

 

pic from RSRA Discord

I'm signed up and my car is ready for the RSRA Indianapolis 500 this coming July. Now for the hard part, practice and setting up the car and all that. I have very little experience with oval racing, and the few times I tried it many years ago I was scared out of my mind. Seems easy at first, as it is mostly flatout through the banked turns. But these cars are fastest when they are turning left, so it feels strange when you are going straight. The speed is so high that one mistake will put you in the wall and the damage is almost always fatal. And that is just when you are testing on your own. Imagine how it is when you are racing against a crowd. It is like some constant overtaking maneuver on a perpetual highway. I get nervous just thinking about it.

More than 50 drivers have registered so far, but only the fastest 33 will qualify for the big race. So, I am not certain I will even make the race. But there is time to learn and get ready for the time trials. My testing has been going well, but I still need to find maybe 1 second per lap. 

Meanwhile, I have resurrected my old G25 steering wheel. My G29 had developed the infamous rattling and notchiness, particularly when turning it right. Something about the gear driven motors that power the force feedback. I put up with it for a long time, but it progressively got worse, and I decided to put the G29 to rest. The G25 still turns as smooth as when I first got it, and the good thing is the G29 pedals work with it. I also like the feel of the thinner steering wheel and its uncomplicated 2 paddles+2 buttons setup. The H-shifter is still dead though, but I don't use that for racing.

assault shaker

 SRO F1 1978 LE Series Rewind

Congrats to Fabio Lozio, series champion, and thanks to Ken Jagger, series admin. It was a down then up series for me, I opened with 2 consecutive DNFs with an engine fail and a disconnect. But I made up for it with 2 second places and a victory in the next 4 races. The result, 3rd place in the final standings. For sure, I had the speed to take the series overall, and my laptimes definitely improved from when we ran this mod previously. So, all in all I am happy with my performance in this series.

Meanwhile, the Racin Nexus Group C torture continues. Like all the other RN mods I have raced, I still don't understand this car. I also had two consecutive DNFs here (due to disconnect) and am currently 5th in the standings as we move toward the series halfway point. The good news is that with the conclusion of the SRO F1 1978 series, I can now fully focus on this bizarre RN Group C car. There are a few more races left, so maybe I can still improve my relationship with this car and move up the standings.

The Sickening

And here is the schedule for Racin Nexus Group C series. All F1 tracks I have raced at before, with another wet-dry race at Nurburgring and a night race at Imola (classic layout). With the Group C cars, I had hoped the races would be at tracks like Le Mans, Nordschleife, Sebring, Daytona Road Course and the like. Or other Endurance and night race venues like Bathurst, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc. A very uninspired selection, I think. Maybe Dragan is in a hurry to get things underway after the failure of the GTE mod.

I'm not excited for the car either, another Racin Nexus style torture device. There seems to be a torque spike from 3000rpm to 5000rpm, and in low gear on full throttle the car will just snap and spin itself around. I have tried different setup changes to try and cure this condition, but maybe the best solution is to discipline my right foot. 

I will attempt to compete in this series, but after this I will take a break from Racin Nexus league. Time to try out another league where just driving the car itself is not a stressful activity and I can enjoy the racing.

malevolent mercy

Racin Nexus IMSA GTE series has been cancelled. The mod was causing mismatches or something. I suggested we race with Sport Prototypes League Edition 2.2 mod (Group C cars). I had some good races with this mod back when we ran it in SRO. I guess Dragan liked it so now this is the next series up. A whole schedule has been drawn up, with a wet race and a night race to boot. I was really excited for this series. 

However, Dragan made some changes to the cars, and it has become another Racin Nexus style mod. After DTM and F1 in RN style (and the failed GTE mod, too), I have just about had it trying to figure out how to drive an RN mod. It is just too tough for a talentless hack like me. The car doesn't respond to setup changes the way I am accustomed to. The tires heat up and cool down a lot faster compared to what I have experienced in other mods. It all seems too extreme and hardcore. I will continue testing, but I might withdraw from this series. I like a challenge but I am no masochist.

immortal wallflower

 

We now have Racin Nexus GTE Series Calendar. I have raced on all of these tracks before, except for Autopolis (a converted NFS track). With the SRO F1 1978 series ongoing, it will be a merry month of May with 8 races scheduled including 3 back-to-backs. As for the grid, it is a typical Racin Nexus series with many signups, but I expect less than a dozen will show up on race night. Why? Because the car is damned hard to drive. I thought the DTM car was tough, but then we had F1 2004 next. And now this, I can't even change the weight distribution and the differential goes down to only 30%. I should test before I signup for the next series. Racin Nexus mods are so tough even the AI become bad drivers.

chronostatic waypoint

 

Doing shakedown runs for the upcoming Racin Nexus IMSA GTE Series. Gonna drive another Lambo, the Huracan this time. Practice server is now open, and there is a bit of time to find a good base setup for the car. But I also have some races with SRO F1 1978 series.

Meanwhile, Racin Nexus F1 2004 series has recently concluded, and Djuricic Dragan is the champion. Myself, I finished 5th in the final standings, just as I had hoped. I was way off the pace here, and I only finished on the lead lap once, in Barcelona. I missed one race and disco'ed at another, but I also got two podiums. 

jocular ocular

Just signed up for SRO F1 1978 series. It is a repeat of the series I participated in back in 2019, with the same cars and tracks. I finished 4th in the final standings in that series, and it will be interesting to see if I can improve on my previous results. It will be a different grid of drivers and I didn't keep any setups from the last time.

 

A beam of light with you

 

It's been a few hours since the completion of RSRA Le Mans 4 Hours, said to be the biggest rFactor event of the year. Even after a short nap, I'm still feeling the muscle soreness. I started 25th of 28 cars, and by checkered flag was up to 9th overall and 3rd place in GT1 class. 

However, I'm still waiting for the official results, as the race was ruined by some sort of griefer attack. Seemed like spectators began flooding the server or something, inducing lag warps and game freezes that subsequently caused crashes and incidents. One car was supposedly even taken over by AI, something about a glitch in the driver swapping feature of rFactor. I think the raid started about halfway through the race and just escalated from there.

There were problems getting the race started, too. The stewards wanted to do a parade lap for Murray Walker and Sabine Schmitz, motorsport luminaries who had passed way recently, but there was a lack of preparation for this activity and you know how some racing drivers just want to get on with it.

When it finally got underway though, it was a blast. I was able to practice a bit and setup the Lambo to my liking and was putting in the lap times I had projected. Even if the cars in my class were pulling ahead, I knew I had the pitstop strategy to keep up with them overall. I was managing the traffic well and avoided any incidents. It got dark before the first hour was over but I managed to more or less keep my pace in the changing conditions. Through the night, I gained positions as cars ahead dropped out for various reasons, and by dawn was looking at a possible top ten finish. 

And then the troll assault came to a head and we had to return to the pits and wait as the stewards tried to figure things out. It was decided to just finish the final 20 minutes with a flat out sprint, but I just took it easy to the end. It was a photo finish and I think the gap between 1st and 2nd place was just .088 seconds.

I wonder why anyone would disrupt and destroy an online simulation race, or any sporting event for that matter. Maybe it is something personal with the one of the organizers or the drivers. Maybe they are just psycho or aggro. Anyway, I hope this doesn't discourage the alliance or its admins. I am an rFactor refugee and I need events like this.

For the moment, it's back to F1 with Racin Nexus league. After a week of driving a GT endurance car, that F1 2004 car now feels so violent at speed. It's like there is no weight at all and I am just gonna fly off the apex. I got a few hours to prepare for the next race at Spa and it will be brutal.

pity stop

RSRA Le Mans 4 Hours - Qualifying Day

A terrible session for me. I lost my nerve and couldn't hit my fast lap. I had two big crashes but it wasn't shown in the broadcast. After that it was just cowardly driving well inside the limit. The result; 26th out of 29 runners, and my laptime was even slower than Marco Capacci's who was driving a GT2 car. 

Now there's just a week left to practice. The plan is still the same, find the safe balance, even if it is slower than most, survive the night, and finish the race. Maybe I should just skip the F1 Race at Spa over at Racin Nexus. Otherwise it will be a back-to-back race weekend for me, with Le Mans on Saturday, and F1 at Spa on Sunday.

Lag Rider : Ereyesterday

pics by mohini 

bill in the flanks

Another endurance race at Le Mans! Yes nice! This event is hosted by rFactor Sim Racing Alliance and will use the Enduracers mod. My entry has been approved and I am gonna run a Murcielago R-GT in the GT1 class. I was thinking of joining the LMP1 category and trying for the overall win, but I just couldn't resist driving the Lambo. Anyway, I don't think I would have been a frontrunner whatever category I chose to participate in. I just want to survive the night and finish the race.

pics from Pascal Mikula

Meanwhile, we are now halfway through the Racin Nexus F1 2004 season and I am currently at 5th place in the standings. I could have been as high as 2nd, but my internet connection conked out for a week and I missed Round 5, and I disco'ed on the last lap and lost a podium finish in Round 6. But even if I could have been in 2nd place in the standings, I am nowhere near the fast guys. In fact, I haven't finished a race in the lead lap at all in this series. 

As it is, my motivation for this series has waned, and with the big race at Le Mans coming up my interest has shifted. But I will keep on fighting and we will see where we end up at season's end. I'm still confident I can move up the standings, and I can still try to get better in terms of lap times and close the gap to the fast guys.

Phosphenes

 

At last, we have the season schedule for Racin Nexus F1 2004 Series. 12 races total, on pretty much standard F1 tracks. Season opener is at India, a Tilke-drome that I don't have much experience with. The wet-dry race in Nurburgring and the night race in Singapore will be the toughest rounds. Should do well at Red Bull Ring and Barcelona, I have done a lot of racing and testing there. Looking forward to my favorites; Suzuka, Spa, and of course, Interlagos. 

I think I did well in the preseason tests. Looks like I'm in the midfield in terms of overall pace, but my car setup seems more stable and less prone to error than the fast guys. We'll see where we really are when the full grid shows up. I should be at the fringes of the top ten and podium finishes are not impossible. Attendance usually tapers off as the season goes forward, so I think 5th place in the overall standings by season's end is a reasonable target.

zeptoseconds

 

Can't seem to figure out them grooved tires. They gain and lose temperature so quickly and with such a wide range; they just don't hold their temperature at all. Worse, my pedals have started to flicker a bit more and the paddles are acting up again. It's become that much harder to put in consistent laptimes. 

Would my performance improve with a new or better controller set? Certainly, but I am not blaming the equipment. Just have to apply myself and attain a higher level. I have been here before when my G25 started dying after a few years of constant use. Looks like this G29's death spiral has begun. I have fiddled around with the deadzone and sensitivity settings but it is not enough. 

Still no info about this F1 series' calendar. I've just been practicing everyday, but still not able to put in long stints because of the aforementioned problems. I know that if I just put in the reps I can have a decent season. I'm not so far behind the fast guys in terms of lap time. 

I just find this car so hard to drive fast consistently. You have to be on a razor's edge to hit the fast lap. You lose a lot of time when you drive inside the limit, and the car will just snap and bite you if you go over. It is not unpredictable, but the window of max performance is just so narrow, and with the damage at 80% a small mistake can lead to dire consequences.

And so, once again, like so many times before, my optimism has waned. I'll just have to see how I'll do when the first test races are held. There hasn't been much talk about the mod in the Discord channels. I guess not much drivers are excited about this difficult car. It's a compromise, I guess. If the car was easy to drive you would get a big grid of not-so-serious drivers and a series of wacky races. With a difficult car, it is a smaller grid but with proper racing.

the fine-structure constant