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.