herpetroleum

ORL Le Mans 4 Hours - Only 5 cars showed up, 3 LMPs and 2 GTs, so in GT class it was a duel between me and the series champ Balint Borkovitz. Well it was hardly a duel, more like a beatdown. His quick lap was 4-6 seconds faster than mine so I knew I was going to fall behind in the race. I decided to go with heavy fuel load and Hard tires, maybe with the longer stint and less pitstops I could stay closer to him rather than try to keep up with the light fuel load and Soft tires. The strategy sort of worked for the first hour; when he went into the pits for his first stop I was able to catch him and even pass him when he made a mistake. But he quickly repassed and built up a gap as expected. Sometime after my first pitstop I got tangled up with an LMP and got punted into the wall at Porsche curves. The car was badly damaged and I lost the feeling for it. I went in for an extra stop to try and fix the damage. But I was badly shaken myself and when I rejoined the race I just couldn't find the rhythm. After the scheduled pitstop at the 2 hour mark I was already 1 lap behind the GT leader. My pace had dropped off completely and I felt like I was becoming a danger on the track. So after about another 30 minutes of agony I decided to park it. A terrible race for me and a DNF to end this year. 

failing forward

 

It should have been another back-to-back races weekend with ORL Bahrain 2 Hours and F1 CWC Round 2 in Brazil, but with no solution to the lag issues with F1 CWC server I've had to leave the F1 series. Gonna miss that Minardi, and I was starting to get comfortable with the car, too.

Meanwhile, the ORL Race was just another so-so event for me. Although I got the pole position in GT class, it was only because Balint Borkovitz made a mistake in Qualifying. He was clearly the fastest GT package throughout the whole event. I was able to stay within 3-5 seconds of him during the first hour, when we were on the Medium tire and heavy fuel load. But when I switched to Softs and lighter fuel load, I pushed too hard to make up the gap and made some mistakes that let him pull away. On the final stint I just got tired and couldn't push anymore, ending up more than 30 seconds behind by the checkered flag. I did get 2nd place in the race and that moves me up to 2nd in the Series Standings, however Balint's 3rd consecutive victory means he has sealed the GT championship. Even if the final round in Le Mans were double points, he can't be caught.

induced seismicity

F1 Classic World Championship 

F1 2000 Series - Round 1 Melbourne

The good news: Out of 10 drivers, I qualified 7th and finished 5th. Not bad considering the tough time I had learning the car. It reminded me a bit of those nightmare Racin Nexus mods, at least until I conceded and switched on the TC and the ABS. For a moment in the race, I even had a thought to finish higher, even get on the podium, as two drivers ahead of me made some big mistakes. But as soon as I caught up with them, they would pull away again. They were definitely faster, and I would make some small mistakes myself.

The bad news: I experienced some lag issues, including warping and blinking cars, particularly during the start, when the cars were bunched together. They're gonna give me another chance in the next race in Brazil, but if there is more lag it looks like I am out of this series. Too bad this league doesn't have a dedicated server. Classic F1 cars are a favorite of mine and the race schedule that mirrors an actual F1 season is just perfect. Reminds me of when I was running in FiHS league a long time ago. 

Deep time

Formula 1 - Classic World Championship League: F1 2000 Season Preview

After driving a Porsche 911RSR the past few months, across two different series / leagues, I am now having a difficult time adapting to the Minardi M02. There is just so much power! Acceleration, steering, braking... everything is just heightened compared to lesser cars. Control inputs require a deft touch or otherwise you will lock the brakes, swing the tail out, or go off the line. There are setup tricks that can mitigate this situation somewhat, but it slows down the car too much and it becomes useless for competition.

So, I give up and switch on the TC and the ABS. The car is helping me get through the laps now. But everything is so damn fast! I keep missing my reference points and I am unable to put in a consistent string of laps. I think back to the old rFR League, when F1 was the only thing that we raced. How did I do it back then? Well, I was a backmarker during those times. I just wanted to stay out of trouble and make it to the checkered flag. 

What a shock this return to Formula One has been. Apart from needing to level up in the skills and fitness departments, I need an attitude adjustment as well. I don't think I'll even sniff the podium at all in this series, with 12 drivers already signed up. It will be a mirror of the real F1 2000 season, with 17 races total which will take us into next year. There will be a few chances to get a good result. Anyway, practice is its own reward. 

F1 CWC - F12000 Series (the dates are wrong) (from F1CWC Discord)

Formula Action International League

Online Racing League WEC Series - Round 3 : 2 Hours of Monza - I was a bit better prepared for this race compared to the previous rounds. I started 3rd in GT class, got punted off by an LMP early and lost a lot of time, but recovered to finish 3rd in GT class. I was on a 2-stopper while the guys ahead did only 1 stop and were generally faster than me. It didn't get dark this time, but I did get tired towards the end of the race. 

Meanwhile, I just signed up for Formula 1 Classic World Championship - F1 2000 Season. I am back in the Minardi! Yes, nice! I was able to do some practice laps on the server and unfortunately, I am way off the pace. It's been a while since I drove an F1 car and I have to relearn some stuff. Everything is coming up faster and I have to concentrate more to hit my marks. The tail keeps swinging out and I have a lot of setup work to do. My throttle input is just terrible after driving a GT car all year. There's still some time before the opening race and I think I can get up to speed if I can just get the reps in.

seinfeld kramer sleep cycle

I just did a big back-to-back event; a Le Mans 3 Hours with OEL and a Spa 2 Hours with ORL, with less than 24 hours break in-between races. Both races were time scaled and we ran for a bit at night. My back, shoulders, and neck are still sore, and I am seeing dark spots or tiny bright flashes at random. I guess I just need to get a good sleep to recover. 

I did well at the OEL Le Mans Race, finishing 2nd (but a lap behind) to the superfast Elia Tartari. ET the alien, he was just untouchable. I had a race long battle against the VeeTeam car, they had two drivers and were faster, but they had a jumpstart penalty that got me ahead early. From there I just kept the pace and held onto the position. I got tired though, and if the race were any longer, I'm sure they would have caught and passed me. With the 2nd place at Le Mans, I finish 2nd overall in the final standings of the OEL series.

The Spa Race with ORL was not as good. I wasn't able to practice much and my pitstop strategy was not ideal. I was leading the GT class for a few laps but when it got dark and the temps went down, I couldn't maintain my pace. A little bit after the halfway point I just lost my energy and rhythm and couldn't push at all. I went into Limp Home mode and just scraped by to finish 3rd in GT class.

For sure, endurance races on consecutive nights isn't easy. But then again, I ain't no spring chicken and was never really into the healthy lifestyle thing. If I want to get better at sim racing, certain changes have to made with regards to my physical fitness.

MODERN ARTS IN FEAR BOOKS!

Signed up for Online Racing League WEC Series. We will be using the Bravo WEC 2018-2019 mod. There are two classes, LMP1 and GTE Pro, and I'll be running the Porsche 911RSR, pretty much the same car we are using in OEL and also the same car from OEC some years ago. So, at least I am very familiar with the car and don't need much practice to set it up. I know all the tracks on the calendar as well, and preparing for the races won't be difficult.

I did run into some problems with the RFE plugin, though. It would DQ me every time I entered the server, saying my plugin wasn't up to date. I did several re-installs of rFactor, the mod, and the plugin but still the same result. And then I remembered I had encountered this bug years ago in rFR League. The DQ happens upon entry to the server, but it will clear as long as you are on the server and any session is started/restarted. So, I was able to put in some practice laps online just before the first race in Sebring.

The race itself didn't go well. I qualified 3rd in GTE Pro class, only to get disco'ed on lap 2. DNF is just the worst ever result. Better luck next race. 

Random Harlot Table

OLDSCHOOL CLUB ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
ROUND 4 BELGIUM | 2 Hours of SPA

Another terrible start for me, lag was everywhere, a couple of cars were blinking, and I couldn't follow as closely as I could for fear of causing a collision. Somewhere in the middle sector there was a big stutter and I warped I think. I found myself in the gravel trap, sliding towards the wall. I couldn't save it, but at least I didn't hit the wall straight on and minimized the damage. The pack went off into the distance and I was back to my customary last position and a long way behind.

No more problems for me after that and I went on the chase again to recover some positions. I got past the slower drivers and some drivers up front ran into trouble and I was in 3rd place by the checkered flag. Could I have done better without the incident at the start? Maybe, but the two drivers who finished ahead of me were faster than me anyway. I'm lucky to get the podium here.

Next up, the final round of this series, a big 3 hour race at Le Mans!

professor of mayhematics

OLDSCHOOL CLUB ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
ROUND 3 ITALY | 2 Hours of MONZA

I qualified 4th out of 9 runners. I gained 2 positions immediately after an excellent start, but threw it all away when I missed the braking point into the first chicane. A trip down the escape road and I end up in 7th. I stayed with the pack only until lap 3, when I hit the anti-cut bollard in the second chicane. There was substantial damage to the car but I was able to limp back into the pits for repairs. I rejoined the race in last position and with everyone else far ahead. In the clean air, I drove in some consistent lap times. Eventually I overtook some slower cars and with some front-runners running into trouble I recovered and finished 4th. Right back where I started albeit 1 lap behind the leader. Overall, a forgettable race for me.

quicksilver dismount

 

OLDSCHOOL CLUB ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
ROUND 2 HUNGARY | 2 Hours of HUNGARORING

I got punted off at lap 2 and fell to last place. I worked my way up back to 4th where I started. At just over half distance, I made my 1 scheduled pitstop. After the outlap, I hit my fastest race lap. And then I got disco'ed.

Paracosm Crackerjack

 

OLDSCHOOL CLUB ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
ROUND 1 UNITED STATES | 3 Hours of AUSTIN

A good race for me; I started 4th and finished 4th but I did lead a couple of laps sometime around the middle of the race during the pitstop cycle. I ran a 2 stopper while the top two did only 1 stop. The car that finished 3rd also did a 2 stopper but had two drivers and they were generally faster than me. 

It got really dark during the final stages of the race. There was no track lighting in this version of COTA. The temperatures dropped and we lost much of the grip. It was supposed to be twilight conditions for the duration but the timescale computation got botched. 

So there I was, driving in the cold night, I couldn't catch the car in front of me but I could keep ahead of the car behind me. For a few laps there was no Outside World. I felt condensed into an action. A purpose personified. Vainglory racing towards the Vanishing Point.

another trip down pointless creek

 

I signed up for Oldschool Endurance League Season 2. We will race with the Porsche 911 GTESC we used for the 4 Hours Misano Event last year. I've been doing some preliminary testing at Portimao. This is a great place to setup a baseline for any car, with its variety of corners and big elevation changes. You really get a clear idea of how the car manages the weight transfer. If you can take it flat out exiting the last hairpin to the final uphill sweep towards the start / finish line, the car will do well on any track. 

buddhist monetary

 

Rebellion Vintage Series 2 Hours of Le Mans was a bust. Only 5 drivers showed up on Race Day, so the host decided to shorten the race to 30 minutes and asked all of us to drive BMW M1s. After hundreds of laps practicing with the 956 I couldn't make the adjustment instantly to the lesser car. My braking, throttle, and turning points, my apex speeds... it was just all wrong. I parked it after 3 laps.

detestable remembrance

Review : Oldschool Endurance League - F40 GT Endurance Series

The series started well with some decent sized grids, but eventually most of the drivers lost interest and only 3-5 cars would show up in the latter half. Maybe they couldn't come to terms with the hotmodded F40 GT car, with its prodigious power, anemic brakes, and terrible tires. Too bad, as there was a good selection of tracks, the fast guys were excellent competition and we had a competent host/admin.

I did well in Rounds 1 and 2, finishing on the podium on both occasions. At that early point I was thinking the overall series win was possible. Then came Round 3 where my Internet connection went down and I couldn't even participate. The next two rounds I got disco'ed during the race after only 3-4 laps; not good at all in an endurance series. After 3 consecutive reliability issues I fell away from the leaders in the overall standings.

In the final round, my strategy of running light on fuel and making quicker pitstops finally came into play. I was the fastest car on the track and could make up the deficit of having extra pitstops. On the penultimate lap I had a chance to overtake for the race win but I choked and went wide. Looking back at it now, I should have kept my cool and waited for the long straight to make my move. I felt very nervous during the final laps as I was closing in on the leader. I held on to 2nd place in the race despite the mistake.

Congrats to Fabio Lozio F40 GT Endurance Series Champion. Elia Tartari (ET the alien) was definitely the fastest over 1 lap in these cars and finished 2nd in the overall standings. I got 3rd overall mainly because of my attendance, but I did have the speed to keep up with the fast guys.  

Next up, the Rebellion Vintage Series 2 Hours of Le Mans. There will be two classes available in this event; the monster Porsche 956's and the outstanding BMW M1's. The race will be run on time slip, so there will be more or less a full 24 hour cycle for the duration. I have done some preliminary testing and I will race in the prototype class. Now it is time to practice, learn the car, figure out the strategy, and get familiar with track conditions in the dark.

grime of passion

 

OEL F40 GT Endurance Series - Round 2 - 250 Miles of Barber Motorpark

A good race for me, I finished a lap behind in 3rd place out of 8 cars. Congrats to Elia Tartari, race win and pole position, a great performance. Fabio Lozio takes 2nd place and stays in the lead of the points standings.  Thanks to all participating drivers and admins. 

I still can't extract the tire life like the guys ahead. I had to make 1 more pitstop than the leaders and fell a lap behind by the finish. I couldn't keep the leaders pace but at least I did not make any big mistakes and kept it consistent. 

mission failed successfully

Blancpain GT Series is cancelled due to lack of attendance. And with that, there will be no more rFactor 1 series on Racin Nexus. Too bad. Could rFactor 1 really be dead? Well, the matchmaker has been out for more than a week now. Anyway, I can focus on OEL Championship for the moment. Still waiting for the leagues to come back from winter break. There will be a new series that I can join that will be opening soon.

a touch of existential flu

Racin Nexus Blancpain GT Series - Round 4 at Portimao

Another race, a different series, and I finish 2nd again behind Fabio Lozio. I was leading during the first half of the race but then I pitted and he didn't. So I had the faster car but he had the track position and he had a big enough gap to finish ahead. It was a bit like the big endurance race in Fuji just a few days ago. And it reminded me of the race at Hockenheim where I finished 2nd behind Marino Brozinic who also went the full distance without pitting. 

In this series, I have been getting poles and usually lead the practice sessions. So the speed is there without a doubt. But in the race I fall behind. I have to work on getting good lap times when the car is heavy with fuel and making the most of the tires after they wear out and the performance goes off. I feel like I've become the hare and second is the first loser and all that.

Only four drivers showed up for this race, and now the series is in danger of being cut short just like Japan Super GT last year. The new drivers who showed up for the first three rounds didn't return after the holiday break. And the rFactor Matchmaker has been down a few days, too. Anyway, I am 2nd in the points standings now behind Fabio, but there might not be any more races to make up the gap. I guess it will all depend on how many drivers attend the next race at Brands Hatch.

rabbit is good rabbit is wise

 

OEL F40 GT Endurance Series - Round 1 - 3 Hours of Fuji 

A few hours after checkered flag and my lower back still feels a little bit sore. I finished 2nd place out of 10 starters, applying a short stint / quick stop strategy that had me pitting in 6 times total compared to the "normal" 3-4 times. I did this because the tires performance would drop considerably after a dozen laps or so and refuelling also took a lot of time. I thought that limiting tire usage, lower fuel loads, and spending less time in the pits was the way to success. The strategy worked for the most part. Early in the race I dropped back but I was able to overtake those ahead eventually.

But I could not keep up with Fabio Lozio, the race winner who was 2 laps ahead by the end. He was just faster overall and seemed to do fine when the tires went off. He did longer stints and stopped just 3 times. He also avoided trouble at the start of the race when everyone was still close to each other. Congrats Maestro, you were in a class of your own in this race.

Next round will be the 250 Miles of Barber Motorpark. I don't recall ever having raced there so I will have to do some track learning along with figuring out how to maximize the ephemeral tires. But before this big event we return to the Blancpain GT Series over at Racin Nexus.