What is it that makes club racing special
I know what it is for me and why i have come to love my Tuesday and Thursday night in GTL
will come to think of it you will find me on a server in RD most night during the week whether it be in GTL or another club.
For me its the great banter I can have on t/speak before a race or in the nights before a race , you build up a rapour with the drivers, Hell there are a few of us even have a picture by our names.
It really helps to know somebody when you can put a face to a name, It breaks the ice makes it allot more formal you feel less of a outsider also, you building up a friendship of sorts, virtual or not you get to know the driver behind the car.
It makes it more friendly when you communicate, it can take away the cold feeling and the server.
You realise it a human being that is driving the car, or a alien in some cases lets face we here to have fun that why we do it.
We can pass on tips, setups and all help each other out, We all need it at some point. I was so grateful when i first started with the help i received made to feel welcome. It didn't matter how fast or slow you were even if you were faster than the owner of the setup we still exchanged them we all helped each other and still do.
By following the guys round on track learning some lines from them or letting the slower guys follow me for a number of laps. This is the community spirit i heard and dreamed of but never really experienced it until i found GTL.
I really look forward to the 2 hours on race day from the time i get on the server until I've read the last post on the forum.
Its 2 hours of escapism for my normal world, I don't really care what position i start or finish in a race its the racing that matters with friends,
But don't get me wrong its a great feeling to win a race or be placed on a podium but once i did it I soon realised it was the taking part the build up the racing with other drivers that was more special.
Once id won it was 2 minutes of WOW, YER, WOW, but then I was alone in my celebration, whereas to finish mid pack the celebration seemed to last longer. All the talk about how close it was or I was so close to getting past you. the feeling of what could of been seemed to last longer, when we race now the guys that finish mid pack talk more about the race than the winners.
I would not have thought this but it is true. It can often be lonely or dare i say it boring out front but the driving in mid pack is always more intense or exciting..
There has been the odd race where I've made a mistake leaving myself way at the rear , this is kind of the same feeling as being out in the lead .. now I will gladly race mid pack its one hell of a rush to have a car in front and a car behind pushing hard all driving but within your limit not wanting to crash but driving hard.. Yes I have crashed out before trying to hard,
I've even had a driver wait round the corner for me to catch up, even though it was my fault I crashed, later when we finished i asked why did you wait.. the answer was so simple, "its no fun racing on your own"..
This is the club /community spirit. it can sometime be lost in the win or bin attitude of drivers.
I remember a few times when trying to hard spinning on the start line crashing at the first corner and sitting there with only myself to blame for this, missing out on 10 more laps of fun.. i soon learnt that by taking it a bit easier in the first few laps i was actually having a better race in the end and having way more fun..
I am quite happy to sit behind a car for a couple of corners before trying to find a way past , I've made some mistakes in overtaking, we all have,once again i had that feeling of,
"Now that was silly wasn't it."
Not only did i spoil my race but the poor driver that i hit,,
once again a change in attitude was needed
Is it that important in gaining a position and maybe spoiling the race for the guy's in front me.
Yes i may be faster but has the car in front left a big enough gap for me to get through. 9 /10 the gap would close as he hits his apex leaving with no were to go apart from into the side of his car.
I was wrong id tried to get through a gap that was going to close not only had i got it wrong but i also spoilt his race, yes ii stopped and waited for the driver, i followed the golden rules but i had got it wrong.
I should not of tried in the first place. yes after the race i said sorry and this was accepted from the driver. But looking back i still had made a silly move i had not looked at the bigger picture, just seen a gap that i thought i could get through .. how wrong i was. This was not driving in a club spirit at all.
Now i treat my car like its real the last thing a i want to do is dint or scratch it, when i make a pass i want it to be clean with no contact, hold my line no need to push the driver wide.
If a driver has a run on my i don't close the door on him i let the overtake happen and try to gain back the position clean and fair,
I will lift off the gas if i cut a corner to much or run wide no need the cheat , I like to race, but race clean and fair in the club spirit. And i expect other drivers to do the same , after all we do it for fun
I have good days and bad days but do enjoy racing the position i finish is irrelevant as long as i do my best and enjoy it. I drive with respect for other drivers , if they hold there line in the corners and i cant get through then so be it. To me this is club racing, I try to find another way to pass, maybe back off a bit and try to use my speed through the corner to pass on the straight.
very few times can i outbreak a driver cleanly and make a pass without contact.. but by getting a run on them get my car along side before we go into a corner the pass is so much easier. and cleaner.
So this is what makes it special for me how about you
I know what it is for me and why i have come to love my Tuesday and Thursday night in GTL
will come to think of it you will find me on a server in RD most night during the week whether it be in GTL or another club.
For me its the great banter I can have on t/speak before a race or in the nights before a race , you build up a rapour with the drivers, Hell there are a few of us even have a picture by our names.
It really helps to know somebody when you can put a face to a name, It breaks the ice makes it allot more formal you feel less of a outsider also, you building up a friendship of sorts, virtual or not you get to know the driver behind the car.
It makes it more friendly when you communicate, it can take away the cold feeling and the server.
You realise it a human being that is driving the car, or a alien in some cases lets face we here to have fun that why we do it.
We can pass on tips, setups and all help each other out, We all need it at some point. I was so grateful when i first started with the help i received made to feel welcome. It didn't matter how fast or slow you were even if you were faster than the owner of the setup we still exchanged them we all helped each other and still do.
By following the guys round on track learning some lines from them or letting the slower guys follow me for a number of laps. This is the community spirit i heard and dreamed of but never really experienced it until i found GTL.
I really look forward to the 2 hours on race day from the time i get on the server until I've read the last post on the forum.
Its 2 hours of escapism for my normal world, I don't really care what position i start or finish in a race its the racing that matters with friends,
But don't get me wrong its a great feeling to win a race or be placed on a podium but once i did it I soon realised it was the taking part the build up the racing with other drivers that was more special.
Once id won it was 2 minutes of WOW, YER, WOW, but then I was alone in my celebration, whereas to finish mid pack the celebration seemed to last longer. All the talk about how close it was or I was so close to getting past you. the feeling of what could of been seemed to last longer, when we race now the guys that finish mid pack talk more about the race than the winners.
I would not have thought this but it is true. It can often be lonely or dare i say it boring out front but the driving in mid pack is always more intense or exciting..
There has been the odd race where I've made a mistake leaving myself way at the rear , this is kind of the same feeling as being out in the lead .. now I will gladly race mid pack its one hell of a rush to have a car in front and a car behind pushing hard all driving but within your limit not wanting to crash but driving hard.. Yes I have crashed out before trying to hard,
I've even had a driver wait round the corner for me to catch up, even though it was my fault I crashed, later when we finished i asked why did you wait.. the answer was so simple, "its no fun racing on your own"..
This is the club /community spirit. it can sometime be lost in the win or bin attitude of drivers.
I remember a few times when trying to hard spinning on the start line crashing at the first corner and sitting there with only myself to blame for this, missing out on 10 more laps of fun.. i soon learnt that by taking it a bit easier in the first few laps i was actually having a better race in the end and having way more fun..
I am quite happy to sit behind a car for a couple of corners before trying to find a way past , I've made some mistakes in overtaking, we all have,once again i had that feeling of,
"Now that was silly wasn't it."
Not only did i spoil my race but the poor driver that i hit,,
once again a change in attitude was needed
Is it that important in gaining a position and maybe spoiling the race for the guy's in front me.
Yes i may be faster but has the car in front left a big enough gap for me to get through. 9 /10 the gap would close as he hits his apex leaving with no were to go apart from into the side of his car.
I was wrong id tried to get through a gap that was going to close not only had i got it wrong but i also spoilt his race, yes ii stopped and waited for the driver, i followed the golden rules but i had got it wrong.
I should not of tried in the first place. yes after the race i said sorry and this was accepted from the driver. But looking back i still had made a silly move i had not looked at the bigger picture, just seen a gap that i thought i could get through .. how wrong i was. This was not driving in a club spirit at all.
Now i treat my car like its real the last thing a i want to do is dint or scratch it, when i make a pass i want it to be clean with no contact, hold my line no need to push the driver wide.
If a driver has a run on my i don't close the door on him i let the overtake happen and try to gain back the position clean and fair,
I will lift off the gas if i cut a corner to much or run wide no need the cheat , I like to race, but race clean and fair in the club spirit. And i expect other drivers to do the same , after all we do it for fun
I have good days and bad days but do enjoy racing the position i finish is irrelevant as long as i do my best and enjoy it. I drive with respect for other drivers , if they hold there line in the corners and i cant get through then so be it. To me this is club racing, I try to find another way to pass, maybe back off a bit and try to use my speed through the corner to pass on the straight.
very few times can i outbreak a driver cleanly and make a pass without contact.. but by getting a run on them get my car along side before we go into a corner the pass is so much easier. and cleaner.
So this is what makes it special for me how about you
