spocking their fivers

 

OEL Blancpain Series Round 4 - Silverstone 2 Hours

For the first 10 laps or so, I was able to stay within 1 second of the ET. I was on my limit, using all my energy, and killing the tires. For a moment I thought I had a chance to win, but it became clear ET was just pacing himself and had speed in hand. 

I began to fall behind, I had used up the tires and was getting tired. I was first into the pits and ET sped away into the distance. In the clear air I was able to put in some good laps, and at about halfway through the race I took the lead when ET went in for his pitstop. It was only a matter of time though until ET retook first place.

After my second pitstop I did my fastest laps of the race. But it was all for naught. ET was too far ahead, and I just spent all my energy. ET did a splash and dash and promptly showed how much speed he really had. He was more than 2 seconds faster in qualifying and it was the same when comparing our fastest laps in the race. I felt thoroughly beaten and just cruised to the checkered flag.

Beyond the Emotion

 

HRL Super Formula 2022 Series - Round 3 Sportsland SUGO

It was a wild start, with some cars blinking and warping because of lag. Then there was an incident early on in the race and the Safety Car was sent out. The slow laps behind the safety car were a bit dangerous as I was following a lagging car. And then during the restart I got tagged into a spin and fell into my customary last place. After that it was a bit of a lonely recovery drive back up to 7th place yet again.

This race was postponed to 1 week later and so I was able to put in some practice sessions. I did hundreds of laps testing different setups and I was happy to find a stable platform that wouldn't punish me so hard if I made a mistake. The result: my Qualifying lap was more than 3 seconds slower than the pole lap. Looks like the fast guys are going with a looser setup, getting quicker rotation and carrying a higher speed through the apex. If I try to drive like that, I'll crash. I think I'll stick with my safe and forgiving setup.

HRL Super Formula 2022 Series - Round 2 Fuji

Off the pace again, about 2-3 seconds slower per lap than the fast guys. I finished 7th again, but this time I got lapped. Otherwise, it was a trouble-free race, just a few little mistakes. There is something weird about the Super Formula car, something the fast guys are exploiting. Time to go for a deep dive in testing and find some speed. 

eye laws dug aim

 

OEL Blancpain Series Round 3 - Birmingham (250 miles)

Only 4 drivers showed up for the race. Due to the small grid, it was decided to go just half-distance. I got disco'ed on lap 32. As per league rules, I get the points for third place anyway.

continuous lapse

HRL Super Formula 2022 Series - Round 1 Suzuka

pic from Iker Vera / HRL Discord

I qualified 5th out of 12 runners, more than 1.5 seconds slower than the fast guys. My top speed was slower by more than 10 kph compared to the fast guys as well, so I must have been using too much wing. It was a terrible start, I immediately lost 2 or 3 positions off the line, and then I got nudged wide coming into the first corner. And so, I found myself in my customary last place going into the famous esses.

There were some erratic drivers ahead, so I made some positions back as the race went on. There was even a safety car period because of a crash or two, which bunched up the field. I was the last driver to come in for a pitstop and by that time I got up all the way to 2nd place. But the field was still pretty close to each other and when I came out of the pits, I was back again as the last runner.

I had a clear track ahead and I was able to put in a string of good laps. With some drivers ahead making mistakes and / or coming into the pits, I was able to climb up to 6th place. The field had settled in and with a few laps to go I ran wide again at the first corner, just plain driver error. I bounced over the kerb and spun into the wall. I recovered and kept my 6th place somehow, but the car got bent and I lost my rhythm. 

I was in limp home mode, and I couldn't stay ahead of the guys coming up from behind. There was a scary moment in 130R where we were three wide and I got overtaken. At the checkered flag I was in 7th place; regrettable.

tornado outbreak

 

Joined the HRL Super Formula Series preseason test race at Okayama and it was terrible. I experienced stuttering, lag warps, blinking cars... and I even got the dreaded RFE plugin DQ bug. But the worst of all, I was slow, around 4-6 seconds slower per lap compared to the fast guys. With more testing I think I can go maybe 2 seconds per lap faster, but that won't be enough.

So I am thinking of withdrawing from this series, but the admins are looking into the problems (I wasn't the only driver who had issues) and might release a patch in the coming days. But this league doesn't have a dedicated server, and I wonder how I'll be able to test the changes before raceday. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things work out. Anyway, the next round of OEL Blancpain Series is coming and I will focus on that for now.

fever coat

 

Signed up for HRL Season 5 - Super Formula Japan. Gonna be the second driver for Action Express Lotus. The lead driver and team owner is Balint Borkovitz. I finished 2nd to him in OEL WEC series - GT class last year. He is a fast guy and I hope to support him in winning the team championship.

I have started testing with the car and it hasn't been easy. More than a hundred laps just to get a good baseline setup. Now it is time for the little tweaks and find a good pace. I think it is somewhere in between an F1 and an F2 in terms of its capability. There is also a push-to-pass system that gives a power boost for a total of 100 seconds. We can use this anytime, so I still have to figure out how to optimize this during the race.

So far, ten teams have registered for this all-Japan series. With two drivers per team, it will be a big grid. It's my first time racing with HRL so I am not familiar with the pecking order. But most of the drivers who have signed up I have raced with in other leagues, and I have done testing or racing on all of the tracks in the schedule, so I think I can get some good results. 

blunted affect

OEL Blancpain Endurance Series Round 2 : Portimao 2 Hours

I practiced hard for this race, hundreds of laps to get the car dialed in and improve my race pace. The result: almost 2 seconds behind per lap compared to Elia Tartari. Once again faster than everybody else except the ET. What do I gotta do to catch the alien? At least I had a good run, consistent lap times, and no big mistakes. I did get lapped during the final pitstop cycle, but I was on the lead lap with a clean car at the finish. And even for a few laps I was faster than ET when I had new tires and he had old tires because he hadn't pitted yet. I just need to find that extra push. 

massless particles

 ORL x VeeRace - Daytona 2.4 Hours Event

pics from ORL Discord / Bence Deak 

This was a tough event and I'm glad it's over. The mod we used was rough and seemed unfinished. During the practice week I had problems with stuttering and crash-to-desktops. The best solution was to turn the eye candy down a bit. Visually it all looked like a game from 30 years ago or something, but at least I was able to race with a grid of 11 cars without any problems.

Well, there were problems. The main one was that I chose a slow car. Either that or I've suddenly forgotten how to drive. I was anywhere from 4-8 seconds slower per lap compared to the fast guys and 4 laps behind the leader by the end of the race. What a shame. 

It didn't help that I had problems with the automated rolling start. During the parade lap I kept getting messages to speed up or to slow down, then I was told to go back to the end of the line, and then line up behind a specific car... the result was a stop-and-go penalty for being in the wrong grid spot for the start of the race. I served it right away at the end of lap 1, and when I came out of the pits to rejoin the race, I found myself in my customary last place. 

There was a big incident sometime during the middle of the race. I was fighting for position with a GT car when the leader started coming up to lap us as we approached the chicane. Maybe I messed up my braking point in deference to the blue flag being flashed at me, I don't know. But I got tapped from behind by the GT car and we both went into spins. We both recovered though and continued on. 

Yeah, it got a little tricky during the night phase. With the graphics turned down there wasn't much to see already, let alone when it got dark. I never expected to race in such stark conditions. Anyway, it is now time for a short break and then it's off to Portimao for OEL Blancpain Endurance Series Round 2.

occult ganglions

 

OEL Blancpain Endurance Series Round 1 : Vallelunga 320km

No surprise, Elia Tartari wins the first round of OEL Blancpain Endurance Series at Vallelunga. He was comfortably fastest in Qualifying and in the Race. As for me, I finished in 2nd place, more than 1 lap behind. I was about 1.5 seconds slower per lap in general compared to ET, but I was about 1 second or more faster per lap than everybody else. I need to practice a lot for the next round in Portimao and make up the deficit.

I had a so-so race; I led the opening 10 laps after ET was punted off in the Bowling Incident at the first braking point. But ET recovered soon enough, and I conceded P1 easily. I just couldn't keep up with him, but I was also pulling away from the rest of the field. For a few laps my right paddle was glitching, causing me to miss some upshifts. But the gremlins went away, and I was able to regain my rhythm. Just past halfway point I had a spin, but I was able to keep it away from the barriers and had enough of a gap to keep my position. Near the end, with less than 10 laps to go, I spun again at the same spot and this time I hit the wall. I had to do 1 unscheduled pitstop to repair the damage, but again was far enough ahead of the car behind me so I held 2nd place until checkered flag. 

Now it's off to Daytona for the big ORL x VeeRace event. I gotta practice and learn the Mazda RT-24 DPi, but at least Daytona Road Course is a relatively easy track layout. It's gonna be a long race and the pitstops are gonna take time, so I need to figure out the optimum tires and fuel strategy. It will be a bit tricky because I am not familiar with the car, and the engine boost (which affects fuel consumption) can be adjusted in the cockpit during the race.

benevolent invasion

 

I signed up for ORL x VeeRace Daytona 2.4 Hours Event. It will be a multiclass race, with various Prototypes and GTs available. I chose to run in the DPi class with Mazda RT24. With this car I think I can fight for the overall win. I did some initial testing of the car and also a quick custom livery; so far so good.

Meanwhile, OEL Blancpain Endurance Series Race 1 at Vallelunga is coming up and I have to focus on that for now. I got the pole positon and the race win at the preseason test in Norisring, but only 3 cars showed up, so it is insignificant really. But hey, I'll take a victory and the positive vibe anytime anywhere.

robotic spy monkey

[05:23] <Alaster> i;ve been holding this fart for so long

[05:24] <Alaster> finally i can let it go

[05:24] <Alaster> it makes a sound i've never heard before

[05:24] <Alaster> i guess we all must guard against the new

[05:25] <Alaster> so they ask why

[05:25] <Alaster> i wear shades all the time even when i sleep

[05:25] <Alaster> and i tell them that it is

[05:26] <Alaster> because i lack character and personality

[05:26] <Alaster> i am compensating for my failure

[05:26] <Alaster> sullenly i become lucid

[05:27] <Alaster> and all my constructs shut up

[05:29] <Alaster> how can you destroy your own confabulation?

emergent properties

All systems go for OEL Blancpain Endurance Series, gonna run a Lambo Gallardo FL2 GT3. 6 cars registered so far but I expect more drivers to sign-up as the preseason test race draws near. I have driven this GT3 car before and setting it up was not a problem. I just have to get familiar with the five different tire compounds available and come up with a baseline strategy for the races. Only 5 events total for this series with plenty of time in-between, so I am waiting for another series from other leagues to open up.

And so it begins; another year of sim racing, to purify my character and drive away the evil thoughts the plague my mind. I need to work on my fitness and my focus, so I plan to reduce my excursions to the outside world and cut down on my smoking and drinking. Maybe even improve my diet and exercise some, too. I feel excited and I think I can win some races this year.