Sunday, March 29, 2026

tempest in a test tube

OEL Historic Touring Car Series - Round 3 Sachsenring

The original Sachsenring circuit was laid out on public roads and ran through a village in Saxony, Germany. In rFactor, it is a long and punishing course, with little to no runoff in sections, plenty of deadly trackside objects, and some crests and dips that will unsettle these OEL Historic Touring cars. I had raced here before, years ago in the SRO Man vs. Track Challenge. One of the toughest rFactor tracks in my experience. A bit like the Nurburgring, at least in terms of the intimidation aspect, although the scenery kinda reminds me of some tracks featured in NFS: High Stakes.

It was another race chasing the ET; I was 7 seconds away at the checkered flag this time around, the closest I've been in this series. I kept him within visual range until about half distance. Again, I had a slightly faster car overall; we were pretty much even in Sector 1, and I could creep up on him in the flat out stretch of Sector 2, but he would just pull away at the killer crests of Sector 3. I think I would have been closer if I didn't make any mistakes, but I doubt that I could have made an overtake, let alone hold the lead and take the win.

The race lasted just under 1 hour, but I was so tired at the end that I felt like I had been driving for 3 hours or something. I used up so much energy just trying to keep my car on the track and control my fear. When your car is so unpredictable and there is no feeling for it or connection to it, it takes a lot more effort to race with it.

Sunday, January 25, 2026

it will be forgotten in the news cycle

OEL Historic Touring Car Series - Round 1 - Rouen

No surprise, the ET was fastest again. I was about 1 second behind in Qualifying and it was about the same gap per lap in the Race. I had a bit of top speed advantage and could creep up on him in the straights, but he would just pull away in the slow corners. I think I setup my car with too much understeer. It's just these classic touring cars are so tail happy. I just wanted to keep the back planted and prevent spinning out. Gotta dial in a bit more turn-in for the next race and maybe I can fight for the win.

Sunday, January 18, 2026

with just a shadow for a friend


Here we go, it's OEL Historic Endurance Touring Series. Well, it's not really endurance anymore; the races have been shortened from 2 hours to around 45 mins because of the small grid. Fine by me, because I've been having a tough time driving these classic cars. I've done thousands of laps across the different tracks on the schedule, and I still haven't found a good baseline setup. Consequently, I have been struggling with the motivation as well. I just don't feel connected to my car at all. Just dreading every corner, every braking point... not certain how the car will react or behave.