AC Race #2 Championship Abarth/Mazda@Bremgarten, Wed 19th October 2022

[gearwhine]

I don't want to harp on about the incident but while i could feel my car being trashed and even before i found the driver responsible i just knew it was NONE of the drivers i have been racing against for the last eighteen months or so. Han does try hard to keep standards high but i guess with 30 drivers with maybe a hardcore of 20 regulars it has to happen maybe?

 

[gearwhine]

When you watch the replay, you can see more of the excellent details @Fat-Alfie has put into it. For example this small lake with boats of fishing men!
View attachment 610143

Well Han, that is because you spent so much time in the woods. Maybe take a picnic next race

 

[Medilloni]

My apologies for missing last night, hoped a migraine I had would go away, but as soon as I put the monitor on it made it worse. Hours of practice down the drain is a bummer.

Looks like I missed an 'interesting' one. Now, where's the Ban Hammer?

 

[Kek700]

Yes, I can understand what all the comments mean. I have had a few hissy fits and sulks in the past, and probably in the future too.
But you have to come to terms with the reality of life in simracing, we are mainly here for fun, and sometimes frustration is inevitable.

I particularly am very impressed with Fuvio, he manages on a regular basis to overtake the whole field and accepts the consequences. Yes, I know he has the pace, but he rarely comes a cropper, because he is not only quick but he has great race craft too.
( yes he has paid me handsomely to say this )

But so does everyone here relative to those they are competing against, I have quite often from the back of the field, after being punted, raced everyone I came across. Having a load of fun doing it too, maybe not at Fulvio pace, but mine.

Personally, I find very little fun in being in the front or winning, I much prefer a challenge.


I do not very often knock someone off, sometimes, but not often. There is no magic or skill, I have had a lot of practice in understanding the dynamics of racing.
That is just as important as lap times, every time I get into a situation I try and understand what I did wrong. And that can be as benign as taking too much care, often finding myself getting punted, being too cautious.

Suicide sid was a master class in frustration, he choose the 911 gt3 car, not only spinning it on numerous occasions. But being then demoralised by most of the field overtaking him.
He got so frustrated, he then decided to demolish all he came across. Ironically he was a fast driver, so instead of learning from the situation and returning to a better state of mind, got himself banned indefinitely.

25 cars travelling at a simulated 100 mph through a bend, at best for two cars, if you are lucky, what do you expect?

THE END.

 

[stigs2cousin]

I expected too long what we once had.

It's the natural progression (read entropie) of Sim Racing Communities.

In the beginning they are small and feel like family (Insert FF meme here).

Then their success makes them more known, more people join and marshalling doesn't take care of its self any more because some of the new drivers just don't give a **** as the old ones did.

So if not once in a while but every frigging time you climb out of your rig pissed and frustrated it's time to move on.

Technically I'm not there yet, but the distance can be measured with a ruler.

We are All thankfull for the time and effort Han invests into this community, but I think it's on the verge of having grown too big and achieve public servers condition.

MFG Carsten

 

[Kek700]

Cannot argue with that. Sometimes I go on an open server, if for nothing more than a reality check.
We are a long way from that.

 

[gearwhine]

I think and Han might back me up on this in that it all depends on the combination being raced. If you look at the classic championship as an example, on the same track the grid is only two thirds as big with the classic cars. In other words, if the car is hard to drive it attracts a different type of driver and maybe the popular cars bring popular problems with them. Bigger grids mean bigger crashes i guess. Anyway Carston, i think you have a long ruler because you always sound like you are having a lot of fun out there

 

[HF2000]

I'm with Ernie on this and I've done exactly the same, meaning that after a couple of frustrating races to start at the back and take some distance to avoid the rumble in the first lap. It made me more relaxed and when I got used to that mindset, I started qualifying again. Not that it went much better (see my post of this race) but it doesn't spoil my fun anymore.

I can't make incidents like Carsten and I had with Kimi disappear but if you all agree we can try a rolling start for the Thruxton race to avoid the first lap incidents.
That could solve part of the problems. But for the rest it is mindset, willing to learn from your mistakes and trying to avoid risky driving.
Not to point fingers but the way Carsten defended me could have easily gone wrong. It didn't because I backed down and waited for the straight. I don't mind this fierce defense because for me it's part of the fun but it would have been less risky for Carsten to leave more space for a driver who is clearly faster. Paul is a driver that seldom has incidents with other drivers. His defense isn't risky and therefore he has often a good race result by staying out of trouble.

Anyway, do you want a rolling start for next week?

 

[Kek700]

No, i like the fact that Mazda can get one over us at the start.

 

[HF2000]

No, i like the fact that Mazda can get one over us at the start.

With a rolling start you can make that happen also, Ernie.

 

[KDiesel]

Rolling starts are for ´muricans and kids, beside game don´t support it so big NO.

 

[Alfred Wayne]

I like what Ernie said and even though i'm American, I've never done a rolling start, so it would be a learning experience for me

I also just want to add that Wednesday races, while still multiclass, are a different multiclass than it was a year ago and with a field of 23 like yesterday, we have 23 cars coming off the (cobblestone) line that are closer in speed instead of something like 13 mx5s and 10 TT cups

"With great power more cars, comes great responsibility" - thats the saying right?

 

[davejevons]

I had fun last night. I managed to avoid the initial crashes but was then caught up in one of the later incidents then made several mistakes - they were mostly all my own fault and apologies to anyone who got caught up in them. While I was wiped out early on, I made enough of my own mistakes later that when I take a cold hard look at myself it did not determine the outcome or my enjoyment level.

While there appeared to be more incidents last night than usual, I'm not sure driving standards are necessarily lower. I have a hypothesis - still to be tested with data - that Fat Alfie tracks are harder to learn due to length and narrow which leads to more incidents. That's not to say they are not good for racing; they are excellent but there appear to be more incidents on them than more traditional circuits and maybe we should flag this in advance.

As well as the incidents mentioned above, I saw a lot of the sporting behaviour the community is known for as well:

• lapping @maxilogan he tried to let me past and we tangled. He waited for me even though it was my fault and he was a lap down which was very much appreciated.
• @HF2000 had a frustrating race and had to pass me several times but didn't force his way through despite being much faster.
• @Dzul let me past when he got a bad exit out of that influential uphill right hander - he didn't need to.
• When Taj spun he made an effort to keep out of the way to let me past.
• I agree with Ernie that @eN1xes was particularly good at passing those of us at the back of the grid and did it patiently and carefully. Being able to work through the pack is a skill that not every fast person has.

When we had the Audi's the speed differential with the Mazda potentially made for less incidents but was perhaps less exciting. Having two cars of similar pace but different strengths and weaknesses is good for racing fun but perhaps generates more incidents? Again, it would be interesteing to see if this were born out in the data.

 

[Douglas Aird]

I'd prefer standing start but will go with the majority

 

[davejevons]

Anyway, do you want a rolling start for next week?

Personally, I'm not a fan as it opens up more avenues for arguing about whether someone jumped the start or not. Adherence to the Golden Rule and being on discord seem more important to me.

 

[stigs2cousin]

@gearwhine: sadly not, the last races "I was not amused"

@HF2000 : hell yeah, I put everything in it to anoy you ( you get my drift?)

And I will gladly concurre that the FatAlfie tracks pose a special kind of difficulty.
Still that doesn´t change the fact that racing is not enjoyable for me anymore.

And that is not a problem for you to solve.

So i´ll take a time out and do some nice, relaxing ETS2, we´ll see how this plays out.

See you Carsten

(Oh, and yes, I tried the the trick to underqualify severely and whatch the mayhem from the back. didn´t do me any good the last times I tried.)

 

[HF2000]

I have a hypothesis - still to be tested with data - that Fat Alfie tracks are harder to learn due to length and narrow which leads to more incidents.

Great post, David !

Yes, all Fat-Alfies tracks have some high-speed corners, but only on the racing line. A little off and you will hit something. Well, that's something to love or not.
But if it happens to a driver in front of you, chances are it will affect you too.

As you know I'm a big fan of the Fat-Alfie tracks (6 are in my top 7!) so I take those situations for granted. Actually, I like it that way.

I'm sorry Neal and Carsten feel this way, but there's nothing I can do about that. I sincerely hope that they find their joy in simracing somewhere else or in a different way because I wish that for everyone.

All of you taking part in this championship are the guys I love to race with, but I can understand that this isn't for everyone.
I'm old enough to have learned that you can't make everyone happy.

 

[Douglas Aird]

I was fully expecting to be looking out for (and avoiding being the cause of) incidents at T1, onwards on this track.

It was the fact that the first incident happened a few seconds from the start that was a shock and disappointment.

For the rest of the race my early pitstop gave me my best chance of making a recovery but meant less wheel to wheel racing. I wasn't bored, though, as I knew I had to push every lap and this track demands 100% concentration.

Generally this group tries to race fairly even though there are incidents. I have caused them myself often enough (although less recently as I have gained experience).

 

[HF2000]

I think and Han might back me up on this in that it all depends on the combination being raced. If you look at the classic championship as an example, on the same track the grid is only two thirds as big with the classic cars. In other words, if the car is hard to drive it attracts a different type of driver and maybe the popular cars bring popular problems with them. Bigger grids mean bigger crashes i guess. Anyway Carston, i think you have a long ruler because you always sound like you are having a lot of fun out there

I agree, Steve. One of my goals with this multiclass is to attract and retain newcomers in simracing and therefore I accept incidents being part of these events as they have to learn racing with humans (and Fulvio ).
The classic cars and Brian's GT events are more suited for experienced drivers although I will welcome newcomers in there also. But their first experience is often their last in these kinds of events. I contact them afterwards to try to persuade them to join the multiclass first with the MX5.

 

[Shed 17]

Paul is a driver that seldom has incidents with other drivers. His defense isn't risky and therefore he has often a good race result by staying out of trouble.

I think it's more to do with me being a slower driver Han, than those around me.
When I check my fastest laps at the end of the race I am usually much slower than others but as you said, by trying to keep out of trouble and picking my 'battles', I can usually grind out a result.
I think Ernie has covered this subject in previous posts, being consistent and not losing time by going off will bring results. For example, I can usually match Han in qualifying but he seems to have a much better race pace, can come from the back and I know he will usually get by, so with this in mind if a driver is closing the gap significantly then there is no point in aggressive defending, you will only slow yourself down if you are lucky enough to stay on track.
Fulvio is the perfect example, everyone ( those of us who live on planet Earth ) knows he is likely to go from last to first so why try and race him? Better to try and sit behind as long as you can and learn.
As for last nights incident. there is an couple of old sayings, ' you can't win the race on the first lap, but you can lose it' and ' to finish first, first you have to finish'!.
Being behind Ernie off the line recently has been educational. Ernie takes it very steady, waiting for the tyres/brakes to warm up and avoiding the temptation to take a lunge early on. In an hours race there will be opportunities.
As for rolling starts, I liked them when we did use them on occasions as it did take away the some of the risk, and I think there is a case on some tracks (Like Fat Alfie's that tend to narrow down after a fast start line) but likewise it does take away some of the excitement and skill in getting a car off the line, so I'm not bothered either way.
Incidents will always happen with so many cars so close, it's hard to judge distance but this is not life or death, it's only a hobby/pastime/game and I have enjoyed myself more recently by not taking it too seriously. End of ramble.