it was a dark and stormy night

 

We did it! Racin Nexus Super GT Championship is ours! It was a small grid (4-7 drivers) and I think I had a car advantage (mid-engine configuration, possible setup exploit) but I practiced a lot and was confident coming into every race. Thanks to all participating drivers and to our admin Djuricic Dragan. More power Racin Nexus League!

I dedicate this series championship to Driver61 Sim Racing channel on Youtube. Sometime around 2019, I started watching Scott Mansell's instructional videos. I applied the lessons I learned from that and moved up the grid, from being a career backmarker to a legitimate podium threat. Now I have won another series and I hope to continue fighting at the front.

I was able to replace my videocard without any problems. My car is as good as it ever was and ready to race. I don't know if there is any series I can join before the year ends though. For now I will just enjoy the downtime. There is a little pain in my right foot (capsulitis symptoms) so it will be good to take a break.

dead sure

A few hours before the big event, OEL 4 Hours of Misano... I am doing some practice laps when suddenly my videocard fails. I hope that it is a one time thing, restart the pc, and load up the rFactor. A few laps in and the same failure occurs. Ok that is it, something has gone wrong. 

I try a few things; re-installing drivers, switching up cables, a quick cleaning of the internals. The problem persists. I cleanup my hard drive and free up some space. I disable some background apps. Didn't seem to help at all. Done all I can for now so I decide to just follow my sleep schedule and wake up fresh before the race.

I think it could be an overheating problem, so I open the case up and place a fan to direct air through it. I log on and enter the track and all seems to be going well. Until the videocard crashes again and I give it up. I send a message on the Discord saying that I am withdrawing from the race. It is not good to run in this condition.

I got two days or so to try and fix this or maybe replace the videocard, before the final round of Racin Nexus Super GT. I could still fail to win this series if I DNS or DNF in this last race. A shame to lose the overall victory after winning the first 4 rounds.

extant sextant

 

Round 5 Racin Nexus Super GT Series - The streak is over. I  have never been so disappointed with a 3rd place. Anyway, I still have a healthy points lead in the overall standings and can take the series victory in the final round at Hockenheim. It will be a wet race though, and I don't know if my setup advantage will translate in the rain. 

It was a tough race at Norisring. I was slower at the hairpins; I think it's because I am driving a mid-engine car and just couldn't swing the tail out and rotate as fast as the others. All the other drivers had front engine cars. It could also be why I have been faster at the sweeping high speed corners of the previous rounds. So maybe the advantage I had that got me 4 consecutive wins was a disadvantage here at this tight and short street track.

I also wasn't able to practice as much here compared to the previous rounds. I have had to divide my practice time here with preparations for the OEL 4 Hours of Misano big event. In racing there is a saying that you are only as good as your last race. I must continue working to improve my performance.

time idioms

 

I signed up for Oldschool Endurance League (OEL) 4 Hours of Misano event. As of this writing, eight cars have registered; we all will be using a Porsche 911GT for the race. I can already feel my back and shoulders hurting after doing some test laps to setup the car. Misano is an ok track, with some challenging compound corners with mutliple apexes. I just find the scenery a little boring and I don't know if we will have time slip and run in the dark. My best lap so far is not as good as the fast guys, but my focus for this endurance race is getting the pitstop strategy right. 

Of course, preparation for this big event has cut into my practice runs for Racin Nexus Super GT Series. I don't know if I can keep up my winning streak there. And the next track for this series is Norisring where there are no high speed sweepers where I gain most with my setup exploit. Anyway, there are only two rounds left for Super GT. I think I have enough of an overall points advantage to take the series championship even if the win streak ends.

pic from OEL Discord

Feargrin's knee

Round 4 Racin Nexus Super GT Series - Due to anemic attendance, the series has been shortened to 6 races. The race here at Hungaroring was shortened to 20 laps as well. I won the race, so that's 4 wins out ot 4 rounds so far with only 2 races remaining. It's looking good for the series victory.

Next up we are at Norisring, a very short and tight street track and a bit different from the previous venues. More than 15 drivers registered for this series but only 5-7 show up during race day. The lack of motivation has put a damper on the competition. I'll just keep on practicing as hard as I have been and try to keep the streak going, even if the tone of this series has changed.

overcast empyrean

Round 3 Racin Nexus Super GT Series - And it is a hat trick of victories with another win here in Okayama. Momentum is on my side and I have to keep on going now. I need to keep this up in the next round at Hungaroring. 

I wasn't able to practice as hard for this race this past week, as outside world duties got in the way. But it was enough and I got the victory. I also got pole position and fastest race lap. I have more stuff to do in the outside world again this coming week, so I will have to find the time to get ready for the next race. 

I must have found some setup trick to have this pace. I was clearly faster than the fast guys; drivers who were usually ahead of me in previous Racin Nexus events. But it is not just about speed. Consistency is also a key factor and I have made the least mistakes of the frontrunners. Maybe the fast guys aren't as motivated this time around, as they have been running in the front for so long. I don't know. I have never experienced this kind of dominance myself. Now I must work harder and not be complacent.

when the 2D perspective projections of parallel lines in 3D space appear to converge

Round 2 Racin Nexus Super GT Series - I win again! I also got pole position and led every lap from starting lights to checkered flag. I didn't get the fastest race lap though, so it is not a grand slam. But it's great that the intense preparation is paying off. I haven't practiced this hard since Man Vs Track Challenge at SRO. I am also able to focus as I am not racing in any other series right now. I kept it clean and consistent, stayed ahead of the fast guys, and pulled away from the rest of the grid. 

I'm starting to think I may have found a setup exploit. Maybe I am just driving better. But I remember I also did a lot of testing with this mod some two years ago. All those laps over different Japanese race tracks... I feel very connected to this car. Next up is Okayama, one of those Japanese race tracks where I did some extensive testing. So again I feel confident for the upcoming race. I just need to put in the practice laps. I hope to get the hat trick to start the season.