addictive additive

Signed up and ready to go for ABN Touring Masters Series. I'm a newcomer to this league so I won't know the pecking order until after the first race in Donington. Gonna run a Mazda 3; I think it is FWD and it's been a while since I raced with this drivetrain layout. I haven't checked if the cars in the mod have equal or balanced performance. I just chose the Mazda 3 because I like the brand and I drove the same car when I played NFS: Carbon.

And then there's the OEL Farewell Event in Motegi. One more race and then Oldschool Endurance League won't hold competitions anymore. We will return to where it all started, with the F40 GTE mod. It has been a great experience with OEL, more than 3 years now and with very different cars and tracks. I learned a lot running with this league and chasing the ET and I also won the Prototype Series. Nothing is over though, as the admins of OEL will be opening a new league next year.

copium addict

OEL Historic Touring Car Series - Postmortem

It could be the toughest series I ever raced. There was no taming these HET Cars. Up until the series finale I was tweaking the setup, but the car just didn't respond to the changes. Every corner, every bump or dip, every control input lap after lap... there was just this sense of dread that the car will snap or slide or even flip over. This series was a true endurance test; not of physical exertion, but the fear. 

For the first three rounds of the series I was stuck chasing the ET. I just couldn't match his pace and was P2 for three consecutive races. In the fourth round in Mid-Ohio, I went the wrong way with the setup and finished in 3rd place, one lap behind the leader. Then came the breakthrough at the fifth round in Spa, where the old track layout and my car's engine power advantage came together and propelled me to victory. For a moment there I thought I could win the remaining races in the series. I had good pace at the next race in Bathurst, but I got into a grievous incident after I misjudged the braking point by inches while trying to setup an overtake maneuver. After the collision I lost the rhythm and made a few subsequent errors to finish a distant 2nd. I was leading in Preluk when I threw away the race win. My car snap oversteered after an errant downshift, slid up a bank, and jumped over the wall. I landed in an area with no way to return to the track. With that DNF my fight for the championship was over and I lost the motivation for the series finale in Zandvoort.

Congrats to Elia Tartari, HET Series Champ and still the king of OEL. Thanks to all participating drivers and to our admins. I am just glad it's all over and I don't have to race these cars again.

zinc spark

OEL Historic Touring Car Series - Round 5 Old Spa

It's a Grand Slam in Old Spa! Pole position, fastest lap, and a lights-to-flag victory! I knew coming into this race that I had an engine power advantage and that with the track layout, domination of the event was possible. So I prepared seriously for this race, with hundreds of practice laps and a few test races with the AI. I found the pace, rehearsed my strategy, and tried to maximize the setup of the car. These Historic Touring Cars are a handful to drive, and to win a race in this series is an encouraging result.

For me, the biggest challenge was the brain fade. The old layout of Spa features some long flat-out stretches and high-speed sweeps. I felt like I was being lulled in these sections, and I would lose track of where I was. Suddenly a braking or turning point appears and it's too late to react because the car is going fast and very unpredictable at the limit. Going off even for a little bit is an instant spin or crash as there is no grip off the tarmac and there is no runoff on this vintage course. Keeping alert and anticipating the marks was the key.

Years ago, I won a race on this very same classic layout of Spa in the SRO Man vs Track series. I am very happy to add to my fond memories of this circuit with this latest triumph. 

the next bison wallaby

Just showing off what would have been my car for the Bobos E-Sports IndyCar 2026 (by A&M Modding) Series. The series has been cancelled because of lack of interest. Only 3 drivers signed up.

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.

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.

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.