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Post by zero7159 on Feb 4, 2013 11:26:14 GMT -8
Lets use this thread to bitch and moan about our official series races. I will start.
This past week was full of ups and downs. I will start with the downs. I did one official race in the Class B Fixed at Homestead. It was a nightmare, I just could not get the car to go fast on that track. I started fourth and finished 19th, with no significant incidents, I was just slow. I did dozens of practice laps and just could not figure it out.
On the other hand, I had a ball in the other official series I ran. I love the Class C Fixed truck at Kentucky, although it took me several races to finally dial in the force feedback. The new build has made the force feedback rougher and weaker. I had some incidents, including in a race on Saturday night that Jarhead and F1 did with me, but overall, I had a lot of fun with this. I got plenty of top 10 finishes, and even a couple top 5 finishes.
The Cadillac Cup at Mosport was also fun. Again, I did several races. In one race, I was doing a great job of chasing the leader of the lower split, but then I spun out and blew it. I still got a top 5 finish, but I did think of what could have been.
And, I did two new road race series, the GT Challenge at Spa, using the McLaren, and the Prototype Mixed Fixed Series at Watkins Glen. The Spa race was a little boring, not sure what it is about that track, but I love the McLaren and so I intend to stick with that series. The Prototype was an unexpected joy. I love that car, and I love that track. It was fun figuring out how to get around the slower GT traffic. I am definitely slower than most of the other HPD drivers, but I had fun nonetheless.
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Post by Jarhead on Feb 4, 2013 14:03:07 GMT -8
Ok, I will start with the downs too. The Star Mazda Championship. It is a great series and I'm having fun with it, but that car requires intense competition. My best finish is a 6th. I should have had some top 5s, but I managed to spin or run off the track somewhere and ruin my chances. I will stick with the series, I really like the car. Thanx to Helios for recommending it.
The other series are going ok. My best is the Late Models. These are open setup races and I have been learning a lot about tuning for ovals. I'm getting within a few tenths of the top times and able to run consistent laps. I was only able to run 3 races all top 10 with a best finish of 2nd.
The National Series is doing ok also. Again I only ran 3 races all top 10 with a best finish of 4th.
I've had the most fun running the Corvette in the GT Challenge Series at Spa. A lot of people don't like that car, but I really like it and it works for me. I ran 4 races all top 5, but there aren't a lot of people running the Corvette. Usually 75% of the field is McLarens. My first couple of races I took myself out. One time I had to wait over 20 minutes to get my car towed and fixed, but I still finished all the races. My last race I had a really good battle with another racer in a Corvette. I was slightly faster than him, but he got by me when I ran off the track. I caught and barely passed him only to run off the track again. I got by him again with just over a lap to go and barely held him off for the win. He was getting faster towards the end of the race.
The other series I ran had ups and downs. The IndyCar fixed Oval Series. This week was Richmond which those cars can run in the high 15s. It takes a lot of concentration and nerve though. My first race I hit the wall so hard, my car couldn't be fixed and had to quit. My second race I started 7th and finished 5th. It was a hard fought battle with some good clean drivers up front. My third race went ok as well. I started 3rd and finished 4th. My 4th race should have been my best. I started 4th in a 24 car field and was right up there with the leaders the whole race even running 2nd for a while. It was full of cautions though including one on turn one of lap one. Then on lap 72 of 75, some dipshit divebombed corner 3 to make it 3 wide and I got pushed into the wall, race over finished 16th.
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Post by zero7159 on Feb 4, 2013 14:08:20 GMT -8
Jarhead, the Formula rim for your Elite will make a big difference with that Indy car. It drives almost perfectly for me with my F1 rim for my T500.
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Post by Jarhead on Feb 4, 2013 14:47:57 GMT -8
Jarhead, the Formula rim for your Elite will make a big difference with that Indy car. It drives almost perfectly for me with my F1 rim for my T500. I believe it will, but I will have to wait until at least April to find out and am expecting it will probably be May or later. |
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Post by Kelly G on Feb 8, 2013 8:11:25 GMT -8
I will post a positive. I had a really good Spec Ford Challenge race last night at Mosport. After a few days of getting used to the car I felt confident I could run a race and not be a moving pylon out there.
Ran qualifying and the time was good for 4th on the grid of 16. My start was rough so I slowed up a bit and let the bulk of the field come through and once there was a gap I settled into 10th. Stayed like this for a couple of laps running basically tip to tail for the top 10.
After that the pack spread out a bit and I had a small gap ahead and a huge gap behind. Then it was like somebody flipped a switch because cars in front started diving into the pits and I made up some positions up to 6th over several laps. I had one car come through really quickly but gave plenty of room to pass.
I passed some back markers in the later stages but again, hose my spots and they gave me plenty of room and were aware enough to indicate which side to pass on.
Finished the race in 7th wih no incidents and more than enough SR for my promotion to C. At first I wasn't sure about the Spec Ford Racer but now that I have a handle on it, I enjoy driving it.
Cheers!
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Post by zedarchitect on Feb 8, 2013 8:24:11 GMT -8
I've been practicing this week's track. I am hoping to run a race this weekend. What was your qually time? Turn 2 can really bite you if you get it wrong. Good job and congrats.
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Post by zero7159 on Feb 8, 2013 9:46:46 GMT -8
I had an epic race last night in the Cadillac Cup. I joined a 20 lap official race at Laguna Seca with a 10 car field, which is big for this series. I got the pole, probably because I was the only one who qualified. I started well and got a pretty nice lead. Around lap 4, however, I started to be chased by two guys who obviously knew what they were doing. For the next 15 1/2 laps, these guys took turns chasing me. It was harrowing, but clean racing. On lap 17, both guys got stuck in the Laguna dirt and I figured I was good to go. But, one of them recovered quickly and got back on my bumper at the beginning of lap 20. He got me on the second to last turn and took the win. I was dripping with sweat and although I was deprived of the win, even after leading the race for 19 1/2 laps, I had a blast. It was one of the best races I have ever participated in!!!!
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Post by Kelly G on Feb 8, 2013 10:43:44 GMT -8
I watched the last couple of laps of your Caddy race as we finished before you. I was going to send you a message congratulating you but you immediately jumped into another race! Talk about hardcore!
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Post by zero7159 on Feb 8, 2013 12:25:52 GMT -8
I watched the last couple of laps of your Caddy race as we finished before you. I was going to send you a message congratulating you but you immediately jumped into another race! Talk about hardcore! Thanks Dark. What is funny about last night is that I was not able to get on until pretty late. I worked late and when I got home, I helped my daughter with her homework. I put her and my son to bed and got on GT5 at about 8:15pm. I got bored with that quickly and decided to jump into the Cadillac Cup at 8:45pm. I had a problem with the USB connection for the USB switch I installed yesterday. I kept hearing noises from my computer which were identical to the noise you hear when you disconnect a controller or other peripheral. I kept hearing that during the Cadillac Cup race. I finished that race at around 9:25pm, and immediately signed up for the Class B Fixed. But, I worked on the USB switch issue and almost missed the Class B race entirely. LOL! I got the problem solved by moving around USB connections.  Anyway, we probably should make more of an effort to use the iRacing chat room in Teamspeak so that we can coordinate among GBR guys and pat each other on the back (or, give one another a hard time if we blow it in a race). I keep forgetting to log into there before I go into an iRacing official event. We can do simultaneous chat in Teamspeak and iRacing. |
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Post by Jarhead on Feb 8, 2013 13:17:44 GMT -8
I had a good race in the Star Mazda last night. I had been practicing all week and finally felt I was ready for a race. I had qualified which would have put me 6th on the grid of 19, but after seeing everyone's warmup laps which were faster than my qualify time, I decided to start from the pits. I didn't want to be a road hazard at the start of the race.
It really paid off because there were plenty of early lap incidents and I was in the top 10 in less than 10 laps. I had someone chasing me who started in the pits right behind me, but I was a little faster and was able to hold him off. I got lapped late in the race, but still finished 7th with zero incidents which wasn't easy on Okayama short with all those cars.
I had a few close calls when cars spun in front of me, but I always managed to avoid them and stay on the track. I made a few passes for position and a few more of lapped cars. Most were on their headsets communicating which made for a very good race. The only cars who passed me were the top 3 when they lapped me.
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Post by Kelly G on Feb 8, 2013 14:44:35 GMT -8
Nice Jarhead!
I am bad for not logging into TS before racing in general but I will make more of an effort for sure.
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Post by Jarhead on Feb 8, 2013 14:59:21 GMT -8
I'm going to start logging into the TS server when I get on iRacing and if I see any of you are online, I'm going to send you a message in iRacing telling you to get your butt on the TS server. A lot of us are on at the same times, would be nice to do some races together.
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Post by zero7159 on Feb 8, 2013 15:12:47 GMT -8
I'm going to start logging into the TS server when I get on iRacing and if I see any of you are online, I'm going to send you a message in iRacing telling you to get your butt on the TS server. A lot of us are on at the same times, would be nice to do some races together. Me too. I will work on this as well. That being said, I am still afraid of running those Indy Cars, particularly around smaller tracks like Richmond, and so talking me into that torture will be difficult.  |
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Post by Jarhead on Feb 8, 2013 15:19:17 GMT -8
I am still afraid of running those Indy Cars, particularly around smaller tracks like Richmond, and so talking me into that torture will be difficult. The IndyCars are at Pocono this week. Tons of fun especially going 2 or 3 wide into turn 1 at 200+ MPH. I don't think it matters what track those cars are on, it is always going to be white knuckle racing since they are so fast and can turn on a dime. An amazing thing happened the other night, I had a 0X contact with another car and it didn't throw me into the air or even mess up my car. I was able to keep running and maintain the same lap times. |
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Post by Knight of Redemption on Feb 9, 2013 9:24:44 GMT -8
I tried the Caddy Cup for the first time...a car I don't exactly love, on a track (Laguna) I actively dislike. Started in the pits and made the stupid mistake of speeding so back in one lap later. That meant the leaders were soon on my tail so most the race was spent pulling over to let folk by. But made up about 7 places I think and finished with a positive SR so all things considered good enough.
Seemed to have been robbed of a third at another oval I did today, I was showing third on my screen on the last two laps but the results showed fourth.
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