Rally - "The Ashes 2" - Mon 3rd & Tues 4th January 2011

[Robb Kulcsar]

robbkul-r27kul - Punto - eu TZ

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

You're killing the rallying part of the Rally Club, you!

You are mistaken Lukasz, i only try to level the playing field by having a rough idea how the stages may look like:tongue:.

It is impossible to get to know the stages very well ( like i know many road circuits ) after a few runs or even after many runs. Still going to take me many months to get to really know every corner of every stage like the back of my hand. Then i can sack my co-pilot lol.

 

[Senad Subasic]

It is impossible to get to know the stages very well

That is the rally idea

 

[Łukasz Demolin]

I'd say that around 10 runs of the stage give you a very good idea of some critical places, which might just be enough to determine the success or failure on that stage. However pacenotes in RBR tend to be awful in RBR sometimes, so I don't really blame anyone "getting a rough idea" of the stages. Also we have a limited amount of roads to practice on, so it's inevitable to become increasingly familiar with some of the stages. Just as I start to remember more and more GB stages, them being my favorite stuff to practice on .

BTW: just completed Mineshaft ONCE (OK, ran the first sector a couple times before managing to NOT destroy the car ) and just bested my recorded PB (ok, it might've been a bit outdated) by a whopping 20s... I guess I am a bit faster in WRC cars than ages ago . But I still drove it carefully, messing it badly once and going totally unelegant in one section. This stage scares the living hell out of me...

 

[Ben Buitendijk]

In my first run of Mineshaft I didn't know the jump, so I landed in a tree :/

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

Mineshaft is a good example how hard its going to be to know the stages very well. Yesterday at my ''copy'' RD rally i did it in 05:02..., later in a day when i had another 4-5 runs on it in succession i managed only 04:48.... ( all in N4 S2000 ). Even so it felt pretty good and on edge, looking at the replay i can still see i have lots and lots of room to improve. Only time and many many more runs later can get my time still futher down significantly .

 

[Senad Subasic]

You're kinda ruining the fun for yourself, but ok, hotlap away :tongue:

 

[Ryan Callan]

Many people get the fun from going fast

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

You're kinda ruining the fun for yourself, but ok, hotlap away :tongue:

What is more fun: driving like a drunk monkey without rhythm or pushing on a limit of going off every corner?

I think the 2nd option is much much more enjoyable( and dangerous ) but only available when one knows a stage:tongue:

 

[Gregory Degreef]

i set a server for 21.15GMT with some track from the event... (name: TBR)
if someone will kik my a*s, is nooooow looool

 

[Senad Subasic]

edit: nvm

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

I predict more stages with inclement weather and heavy fog as the result of this debate.

I suspect the top guys in the rallyesim championships memorize. I don't try to do it, but I have the various Pribram stages memorized at this point, it is easy to do since it is full of landmarks. I also think the more experienced WRC drivers memorize since a lot of the stages are repeated year to year. I heard an interview with Hirvonen I think it was, he was saying how he went thru the stage in his head the night before and timed his visualization. His actual stage time was within a second of that, so he definitely had the stage memorized.

This is why I like the cumulative damage and full DNF rules. The harder the top guys push, the more likely it is they will crash out, giving me a free position up the ladder. I know I can't compete in outright speed, so I try to use a consistent moderate pace, stay clean and use other drivers trouble to gain position.

 

[Robb Kulcsar]

I'm thinking just like you Aaron ! My first goal right now is to fininsh all stages and the rally (but not in the last place)! Right now I'm dooing better times with a FWD car like N3 or N2 than a WRC, but it's possible to have in a Public Session cumulative damage and full DNF rules this year?

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

I'm thinking just like you Aaron ! My first goal right now is to fininsh all stages and the rally (but not in the last place)! Right now I'm dooing better times with a FWD car like N3 or N2 than a WRC, but it's possible to have in a Public Session cumulative damage and full DNF rules this year?

In both the public championship mode sessions and in the rallyesim championships if you DNF, you can continue rallying and post "unofficial" stage times. However in the rallyesim championships when the times are calculated, any stage after your DNF your times do not count and you are given the standard times for those stages.

In the RDRC S2 it is a mix, there is cumulative damage, but if you retire from a stage you can continue to run stages and post times. Only the retired stage is given a standard time, and the times you post after this count.

The club rallies like this one remain the same, service after each stage.

 

[Łukasz Demolin]

I predict more stages with inclement weather and heavy fog as the result of this debate.

Noooooooooooooo! Fog favors the memorizers, as you must go slower driving "on the notes" and depending on what you see.

@Dariusz - sure, the "on edge" driving is more fun, but in rallying you're supposed to know your limits and depend on the notes to work in very unpredictable conditions. Of course in RBR you have to now the stages to some degree, but just blasting away from memory is non-rally like at some point.

Real drivers now some "legendary" stages. I'd bet that Hirvonen was talking about Ouninpohja, the best known stage in Finland. Yeah, all the top WRC drivers and many top Finnish drivers know every rock here. It's said to be so treacherous, that you simply can't win it if you don't know it . But you can't know ALL the stages in 100% every year, as they are changed around every year (and it's 3 000 kilometers of competing each year, mind you). To me level of RBR knowledge simulating that is remembering the general flow of the stage and some more recognizable sections of it. I think there are maybe 2 or 3 stages that I know 100%. I tend to be a bit surprised even by rally school from time to time

 

[Warren Dawes]

Guys, lets not get too carried away with the "practicing" debate. This is only a game, and a fun Rally Club, so everybody has a different approach. To each his own hey.

I can somewhat understand Dariusz and the newer guys doing lots of practicing to get more familiar with the Stages, some of us regulars have driven them for a year now, so we are pretty familiar with them now. I have crashed out at most of the critical spots, so, at least I know when to back off a bit more.
Personally though, I find that if I practice before a rally, I usually do worse because I start to ignore the pacenotes and go by memory. I also find that excess practice results in burn-out boredom after a while. It also loses that unique Rally atmosphere.

I'm also sure that the top drivers in the RDRC probably practice excessively, in addition to running regular external Championships with other leagues, so they probably know stages totally by memory.

So, to each his own, but I hope that the Rally Club doesn't lose it's fun and casual element, which is what most of us join for.
BTW, that's also why we try to have as much variation in weather and cars as possible, to keep it "interesting".

 

[Ryan Callan]

There's really not much debating it - as no-one has any influence on how anyone chooses to play the game. All you can do is state your preference, no need to criticise others. We all have fun either way.

 

[Łukasz Demolin]

Yep, we're just exchanging different points of view, no harm in that. Just figuring out the best way to have fun .

So, to each his own, but I hope that the Rally Club doesn't lose it's fun and casual element, which is what most of us join for.

+1 to that.

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

So, to each his own, but I hope that the Rally Club doesn't lose it's fun and casual element, which is what most of us join for.
BTW, that's also why we try to have as much variation in weather and cars as possible, to keep it "interesting".

Totally agree, I love casualness of the club rallies and the change in pace with different cars and the BTB tracks every week.

 

[Łukasz Demolin]

Not to mention the great atmosphere followed by the stunning movies done by Senad . </vaseline>