press X to doubt

Virtual Speed Masters F1 2011 WCP Series Round 1 Melbourne

I knew coming into this race that I was going to be running at the back because I didn't have the KERS/DRS plugin working. Indeed, I was the slowest guy out there. With tire wear rate at 3X, the conventional strategy was to do 2 pitstops. I planned to do just the 1 pitstop (by running hard compound tires in the second stint) because with my lack of pace there was no chance if I did the same thing as everyone else. It was all moot when I went wide and hit the wall on the opening lap, and I had to immediately take an extra pitstop for repairs. 

I fell way behind, and I didn't have the pace to catch up with the pack. That's when the scanner and the timer started glitching. It seemed a disco was imminent, and I was losing time due to the lag warp. It wasn't crucial when I was a distance away from the other drivers. But when the fast guys caught me up to put me a lap behind it became very dangerous as the cars were blinking in and out.

So, I made the decision to just park and DNF it, but the brakes blew up anyway. I neglected to check that Mechanical Failures were set to Time Scaled, and I did not setup the car for the race distance. Just a lack of preparation and a terrible performance overall. Sucks to be a backmarker again.  

don't judge by the book

I have withdrawn from the AMF GP3 Series. It was fun racing against such a big grid and being seen on a YouTube livestream, but it was also frustrating getting punted off every race. It just wasn't worth all the practice laps to just get crashed by inexperienced and casual drivers.

So instead, I have signed up for Virtual Speed Masters F1 2011 Season. I return to the HRT team that I raced with many years ago. I've done a few shakedown laps and it's been good; except I can't figure out how to make the KERS/DRS plugin work. I'll just make do without it, even though I will be running at a disadvantage. I don't think I'll be at the sharp end in this series. Anyway, it is a long 19-race schedule and there will be plenty of chances to do well against a better grid.

robots and these guys

OEL IMSA GTS1 Series - Round 1 Miller Motorsports Park 

I was way off the pace, almost 3 seconds per lap behind the fast guys. This is the most frustrated I have ever felt trying to setup a car. I just don't feel connected to my car at all. It behaves so unpredictably, particularly over bumps and kerbs. It feels so volatile at the limit. The tail wants to snap and when it does there is little chance to recover. It punishes me for every error. And even when I get it right there is no reward; I'm still slower than my rivals. It doesn't help that the setup parameters have so little range. Minmaxing the values don't seem to affect the car much. I just can't figure it out. Looks like it is going to be a tough series.