What do you race?

rancer890 · Jan 25, 2016

As said in the question, what do you race (and why)? I'm pretty new to posting on RD (usually just dumping iRacing videos on RaceTube lol), so why not get some conversation going in the forum.

To answer my own question, I usually race IndyCars - actually that's all I race now because of the weekly commitment it has. If you haven't heard, there's the Winter Series going on and we're near the end of the season. We alternate between racing road and oval tracks (although it's all done under the road license and IR/SR) so it's a very unique challenge to master both disciplines. We just finished Mid-Ohio and we're onto Texas Motor Speedway for week 20 of the 25 week season. FYI, here's the rest of the season:

Week 20: Texas Motor Speedway
Week 21: COTA
Week 22: Twin Ring Motegi
Week 23: Indy Road
Week 24: Auto Club Speedway
Week 25: Barber

I also race NASCAR every now and then (Trucks and Xfinity) and maybe V8 SuperCars if I got time (which I usually don't these days..). Also used to run the Sprint Cars and GT3.

James Nance · Jan 25, 2016

Ive been running in the GT1 Championship and dabble a little in GT3. Its hard at times in GT3 because I feel sometimes the BMW is not competitive, specially in the splits I have to race in. I also race in two F1 fun leagues, which have been great fun and easy to hop in using fixed sets. Our Sunday GT3 meets on RD are nice too, need more people to join.

Fritz Anker · Jan 25, 2016

Have been focusing on the BSS this season. Love the cars (currently using the McLaren last season was the Z4), the variety of cars, and the participation rate is very very high. As is the competition. I do miss some of the series I started on, mainly the Spec Racer Ford and the Advanced MX-5 group as their community is very helpful and the races are typically really clean and close.

I would love to get more driving in, dabbled in the IMSA series but I just cannot find the time to really be able to focus on more than one series at a time.

I also join in on the Sunday RD meet - currently we're driving GT3 but looks like we'll be serving up some different cars in the near future.

rancer890 · Jan 25, 2016

James Nance said:
Ive been running in the GT1 Championship and dabble a little in GT3. Its hard at times in GT3 because I feel sometimes the BMW is not competitive, specially in the splits I have to race in. I also race in two F1 fun leagues, which have been great fun and easy to hop in using fixed sets. Our Sunday GT3 meets on RD are nice too, need more people to join.

I raced GT3 in the BMW too. It was fun for like a season (2015S2) then I think the next season the BOP for the car was terrible - and tbh the Z4 just isn't as fun as it used to be to me. I did one race in GT1 - it's just too different from the cars I usually race and I'm not bothered to learn it ha (somehow, I have both GT1 cars).

Fritz Anker said:
Have been focusing on the BSS this season. Love the cars (currently using the McLaren last season was the Z4), the variety of cars, and the participation rate is very very high. As is the competition. I do miss some of the series I started on, mainly the Spec Racer Ford and the Advanced MX-5 group as their community is very helpful and the races are typically really clean and close.

I would love to get more driving in, dabbled in the IMSA series but I just cannot find the time to really be able to focus on more than one series at a time.

I also join in on the Sunday RD meet - currently we're driving GT3 but looks like we'll be serving up some different cars in the near future.

I like the McLaren, but half of me is convinced that all the GT3 cars are going to be re-scanned. So I'm half waiting for the 650S. But given this is iRacing, it won't be on the service till 2018 at the earliest when it'll be outdated and a new McLaren will replace it. iRacing curse ftw!

IMSA looks like fun too, but half to 3/4 of the field are usually Corvette DPs, which I don't really like testing the car on R3E. I hope once the new Ford GT comes to iRacing (trust me, it's coming with the relationship iRacing has with Ford) it'll breathe some new life into the series that isn't a DP.

James Nance · Jan 25, 2016

rancer890 said:
I raced GT3 in the BMW too. It was fun for like a season (2015S2) then I think the next season the BOP for the car was terrible - and tbh the Z4 just isn't as fun as it used to be to me. I did one race in GT1 - it's just too different from the cars I usually race and I'm not bothered to learn it ha (somehow, I have both GT1 cars).

I like the McLaren, but half of me is convinced that all the GT3 cars are going to be re-scanned. So I'm half waiting for the 650S. But given this is iRacing, it won't be on the service till 2018 at the earliest when it'll be outdated and a new McLaren will replace it. iRacing curse ftw!

IMSA looks like fun too, but half to 3/4 of the field are usually Corvette DPs, which I don't really like testing the car on R3E. I hope once the new Ford GT comes to iRacing (trust me, it's coming with the relationship iRacing has with Ford) it'll breathe some new life into the series that isn't a DP.

I know, they take a long time to add cars, but think about whats coming next, the new Audi, Mercedes, and Renault+new track+DX11(hopefully). The GT1's are well balanced and remind me of the hayday of GT1 racing of the mid 2000's, I miss that.

Eckhart von Glan · Jan 25, 2016

i run on a strict diet of three races each week with about 20 mins of training before each race. i like the new system of doing your practice on a server while you are already registered for the race, suits me perfectly. my 3 races are divided evenly among:
skip barber (sth. like my 12th season or so),
kia cup (did several seasons at the back of grid in the bsrtc league, so when they gave the kia a standalone series, it was a deal) and
trucks fixed on the oval side.
i am a slow chap and lack both talent and time to get any faster, but the iR system makes sure i have hugely enjoyable races with chaps i can be competitive with 90% of the time, which is all i ask of this hobby.
it is actually amazing how playing against AI feels shallow and boring after online racing, haven't really done any of that for more than seven years, except for some dirt rally. but even there, doing codemasters daily/weekly/monthly challenge online or running in a league is more fun than playing against a field of AI in the career mode.

Fritz Anker · Jan 25, 2016

rancer890 said:
...
I like the McLaren, but half of me is convinced that all the GT3 cars are going to be re-scanned. So I'm half waiting for the 650S. But given this is iRacing, it won't be on the service till 2018 at the earliest when it'll be outdated and a new McLaren will replace it. iRacing curse ftw!

IMSA looks like fun too, but half to 3/4 of the field are usually Corvette DPs, which I don't really like testing the car on R3E. I hope once the new Ford GT comes to iRacing (trust me, it's coming with the relationship iRacing has with Ford) it'll breathe some new life into the series that isn't a DP.

Soon(tm) is their hallmark - but it is typically well worth the wait. IMSA was great fun - I ran the lowly Pors-- Ruf which was quite a challenge looking forward and backward while trying not to spin the car. There were quite a few of those Vettes which I'm not too interested in; it wouldn't have been a big deal but the fields weren't big either so the diversity of classes and cars didn't really shine much. Maybe I'll give it a go again. You know, soon(tm).

But James has me thinking GT1 series. ...just need to figure out how to downshift the Aston and I'm golden.

Fritz Anker · Jan 25, 2016

According to FB, soon(tm) is March for the new Audi. Looks awesome!

James Nance · Jan 25, 2016

Fritz Anker said:
But James has me thinking GT1 series. ...just need to figure out how to downshift the Aston and I'm golden.

Blip throttle at the same time when you downshift, easy.

rancer890 · Jan 25, 2016

Fritz Anker said:
According to FB, soon(tm) is March for the new Audi. Looks awesome!

Mercedes should be coming too soon! Better race the RUF/Ford GT before it's gone!

Fritz Anker · Jan 25, 2016

James Nance said:
Blip throttle at the same time when you downshift, easy.

I'm going to try with the Clubsport shifter instead of the paddles. For some reason blipping with my right foot while shifting with my left hand just isn't too coordinated. Getting old is fun.

...on a similar thought: since I've been running the FGT in our RD meetups, I don't manually blip that throttle and I downshift without issue. Are the GT1 cars fitted with more aggressive boxes? I read recently the FGT needs to be manually blipped unlike the other GT3 cars.

James Nance · Jan 26, 2016

Fritz Anker said:
I'm going to try with the Clubsport shifter instead of the paddles. For some reason blipping with my right foot while shifting with my left hand just isn't too coordinated. Getting old is fun.

...on a similar thought: since I've been running the FGT in our RD meetups, I don't manually blip that throttle and I downshift without issue. Are the GT1 cars fitted with more aggressive boxes? I read recently the FGT needs to be manually blipped unlike the other GT3 cars.

Yeah the clubsport might work better, which is why I would like to get one. Its all muscle memory and exercising it, like brushing your teeth with your left hand instead of your right(me) With the Vette and Aston, the cars wont downshift unless you blip or clutch in, I find it pretty straight forward and rarely miss shift. The other GT3 cars besides the Ford are semi automatic paddle shift, with autoblip.

Heres a video on the Aston Martin, showing a little bit on how its shifted.

At the 38 sec mark, you can see my Aston going by

Fritz Anker · Jan 26, 2016

Thanks for the video - looks like the clutch and gas are connected for the blip? I do need to practice it - a lot. Just took your Aston out with your Q setup around Spa. I was all thumbs for the first few laps (not to mention the brakes seem far better than I'm used to - kept locking up), and just as I was getting into a rhythm my son snuck around my chair and spooked me into a crash. I never quite got the sound of that shift, perhaps more blip. Will also just need a ton of time to get used to the car but I am enamored with the sound of it.

The shifter helped and once I get that down I'm sure it won't be too hard to get the paddle to work if I want to. Not sure I will though.

James Nance · Jan 26, 2016

In that variation of the Aston yes. For me, its best to get the speed down before making the shifts, lower rpm's mean smaller blips, high rpm mean bigger blips, gotta match wheel speed. synchronize the shift with the blip and its pretty smooth, but depending on the differential dropping into lower gears can be tricky. Using paddles can allow for quicker shifts in a way but with a SQ shifter its easier to sync together.

I did enter a GT1 league, so ill be getting more seat time with the Aston, looking forward to it.

William Levesque · Jan 26, 2016

The Ford GT3 also has paddles and auto-blip. Oh, and the BMW is competitive, just not as much in sprint races which tend to favor the Mclaren a bit more... With the fuel limit it doesn't have to carry relatively as much fuel with a full tank vs the other cars (8L more or so with the limit vs 15-30L more with a full tank). So it helps it a lot. It's also very fast in qualifying, so already being at the front is a big help in sprint races. With that said, the RUF is just as competitive, but people stopped driving it because it's getting sacked, and the BoP update, even tho it didn't change anything significant on the car, placebo'ed people into thinking it became crap. It's still the best car overall, without any real weaknesses, unlike the BMW (straightline and corner exit) and Mclaren (downforce tracks).

As for what I drive. GT3 mainly. We might have won top split in the Daytona 24H if not for a guy who shouldn't be there in the first place wrecking us on the oval, damaging the car and rendering it basically undriveable.

Other than that, waiting for the Blancpain World Championship to start, we finished 3rd in the qualifications last season, best BMW (behind two RUF's, thanks Monza, lol).

whaletail · Jan 26, 2016

I've been racing the MX-5 since I started in April, and really enjoy it. Eventually, I'd like to race the GT3's, but I'd like to really master the Mazda first, so it might be awhile before I get to those.

Steve O'Malley · Jan 27, 2016

For close and fair racing and a friendly bunch of people, you cant beat the Spec Racer Ford. Lots of people give this funny little car a wide berth but the series is growing and people like me who own nearly every car keep coming back to this one.

rancer890 · Jan 29, 2016

Damn, no one here races ovals!

Since posting this thread, I've gone back to racing Sprint Cars. Fun times. When I started I wanted to race road exclusively (that Eurosnob mentality about circle racing hehe), but I've grown to appreciate oval racing because it taught me an awful lot about racecraft - even those short tracks I used to never like.