10-11-2017, 02:36 PM
Late report from me. Seems that the SR4L server is often not online when I try to log in. (Late at night in the USA, maybe the server is down for post midnight service in Europe.)
First I'd like to say I am not in favor of dropping Spa from competition races. That is, if we can eliminate the hay bales. There is a version we've raced before without them ("league friendly" version) and I thought I'd seen somewhere in the forums that that was the version we'd use. I don't think we should blame the track for over aggressive driving in Eau Rouge, Masta and elsewhere. And the race announcement thread pointed out that the pit lane ended at the end of the pit wall and gave all kinds of warning about pit entry and exit, etc. And yes Tobias, you must request a pit stop to serve a penalty. I've been burned before on that one myself. Cars stacking up in the pits was a problem for some but aren't there other tracks where we share pit stalls? I'm wondering if you're stall is occupied if you can't position yourself in the next stall and back up into the right one when it is vacated. I don't think you'd get a DQ for backing up twenty feet. Not sure but it could be tested. This would prevent one waiting car from blocking the guy behind him. That's mainly what I wanted to say but here's my report for what it's worth.
Race 1, Qualified 9th with a 13.9 which was a surprise. I thought there would be many more guys faster than that. Race went well. Got past Dan Bayford on lap 3 running through Burnenville to take 7th. It was a bit scary getting by just at the entry to the right hand curve (under the ArcTex banner) but it came out OK. Either we were lucky or Dan was cooperative with the pass. I think the latter. That was my only pass for position in both races as the field spread out. Ended the race in forth due to attrition. Very satisfying finish for me.
Race 2 was waaaay more eventful. Started 7th due to reverse grid. Held position and was just cruising along to my pit stop after lap 6 when hell broke loose. Clipped the barb wire fence on the exit of Malmady but damaged the car as if it was a cement wall. Severe damage and almost quit but decided to limp to the pits... that's a loooong limp. (Watching mirrors very closely) Almost quit again when I saw the pit stop was going to be 8 MINUTES! But I hung in there, feeding the cats, snacking, doing some channel checks on TV... etc. Was passed in the pits by numerous cars but my position only went down to P6! I guess those guys must have had their own multi-minute pit stops earlier. When I finally exited the pits there were still 2 laps left for me. But... I was too anxious in my haste and forget to hold off accelerating until the end of the wall and got a freaking stop-and-go penalty. Arrgh! Served it and still didn't lose 6th. And on the last lap someone must have crashed-out ahead of me because I ended up finishing 5th! Unbelievable.
P.S. I love the feel of this car on this track with all the road surface effects. I'm racing in VR now and the bounces along with the FF and the 3D look inside the cabin is VERY immersive! Actually I like this car in general except that it is very un-optimised and drags my FPS way down to the 90FPS threshold of VR.
First I'd like to say I am not in favor of dropping Spa from competition races. That is, if we can eliminate the hay bales. There is a version we've raced before without them ("league friendly" version) and I thought I'd seen somewhere in the forums that that was the version we'd use. I don't think we should blame the track for over aggressive driving in Eau Rouge, Masta and elsewhere. And the race announcement thread pointed out that the pit lane ended at the end of the pit wall and gave all kinds of warning about pit entry and exit, etc. And yes Tobias, you must request a pit stop to serve a penalty. I've been burned before on that one myself. Cars stacking up in the pits was a problem for some but aren't there other tracks where we share pit stalls? I'm wondering if you're stall is occupied if you can't position yourself in the next stall and back up into the right one when it is vacated. I don't think you'd get a DQ for backing up twenty feet. Not sure but it could be tested. This would prevent one waiting car from blocking the guy behind him. That's mainly what I wanted to say but here's my report for what it's worth.
Race 1, Qualified 9th with a 13.9 which was a surprise. I thought there would be many more guys faster than that. Race went well. Got past Dan Bayford on lap 3 running through Burnenville to take 7th. It was a bit scary getting by just at the entry to the right hand curve (under the ArcTex banner) but it came out OK. Either we were lucky or Dan was cooperative with the pass. I think the latter. That was my only pass for position in both races as the field spread out. Ended the race in forth due to attrition. Very satisfying finish for me.
Race 2 was waaaay more eventful. Started 7th due to reverse grid. Held position and was just cruising along to my pit stop after lap 6 when hell broke loose. Clipped the barb wire fence on the exit of Malmady but damaged the car as if it was a cement wall. Severe damage and almost quit but decided to limp to the pits... that's a loooong limp. (Watching mirrors very closely) Almost quit again when I saw the pit stop was going to be 8 MINUTES! But I hung in there, feeding the cats, snacking, doing some channel checks on TV... etc. Was passed in the pits by numerous cars but my position only went down to P6! I guess those guys must have had their own multi-minute pit stops earlier. When I finally exited the pits there were still 2 laps left for me. But... I was too anxious in my haste and forget to hold off accelerating until the end of the wall and got a freaking stop-and-go penalty. Arrgh! Served it and still didn't lose 6th. And on the last lap someone must have crashed-out ahead of me because I ended up finishing 5th! Unbelievable.
P.S. I love the feel of this car on this track with all the road surface effects. I'm racing in VR now and the bounces along with the FF and the 3D look inside the cabin is VERY immersive! Actually I like this car in general except that it is very un-optimised and drags my FPS way down to the 90FPS threshold of VR.