Why Audi Is Right To Suspend Daniel Abt

Haha, Audi doesn't want to get linked to cheating or unsportsmanlike behaviour........

Well; they should have thought of that, and made some changes right at: "ShieB ihn raus Timo!!"

Beat that.

OR; the Formula- E season where Buemi and Di Grassi could both become champion in the last race.
You just KNEW the Audi was going to ram the Renault.......and he did.

Later on, Buemi could still become champion by setting the fastest lap; it worked but no thanks to the Audi of Di Grassi, waiting for him on the track, staying in front of him so he couldn't set the fastest lap.


Those are just examples of UNSPORTSMANLIKE behaviour of AUDI.......no matter if they were penalised or not.
 
It wouldn't be such a big deal if he was playing a casual race in a private lobby with friends and there was nothing at stake, but if it's an official event, with real teams represented, broadcast to thousands of people, involving money and sponsors, then it's not just game, it's a serious thing and people who do stupid things like cheating and crashing on purpose should be excluded from it.
 
The negative fallout from this is kind of ridiculous because Abt wasn't cheating. You cheat to gain some kind of profit or advantage, but he says it was all intended to be transparent - no VPN,

No simracer would ever use a VPN, no a single packet of information after another would arrive at the same time.
With a "secure" VPN your information goes trought many different locations before it arrives.
He would get massive pings.
He just been stupid and thought he could get away with it. Than some silly excuses.
Penelty might be a bit harsch, never the less he cheated.
 
It wouldn't be such a big deal if he was playing a casual race in a private lobby with friends and there was nothing at stake, but if it's an official event, with real teams represented, broadcast to thousands of people, involving money and sponsors, then it's not just game, it's a serious thing and people who do stupid things like cheating and crashing on purpose should be excluded from it.

Then why aren't all of the F1 drivers banned for their atrocious virtual GP series? It is official enough to be on official channels.
 
The negative fallout from this is kind of ridiculous because Abt wasn't cheating. You cheat to gain some kind of profit or advantage, but he says it was all intended to be transparent - no VPN, open and recorded conversations with people in on the 'joke' etc. and the intention to reveal what they had done afterwards. I can't see where there is any profit in that (there is none) and I see no reason to doubt what he says.

There is no question that it was an error of judgement, which includes a level of disrespect to his fellow competotors, but to treat him as a virtual (no pun intended) criminal is where my credulity puts the brakes on and I wonder why people are so eager to be offended and take an often invented higher moral ground so as to point the finger in disgust at something which in this case was apparently not intended. If you're into social media you'll see this kind of outraged behaviour all the time.

rFactor 2 is a game. As seriously as people like to take simulated racing it is still only gaming and not everyone feels it is deserving of the same sense of importance as real life racing. If this same thing had occurred in one of the big virtual events where prize money and respect within the virtual 'sport' (if you want to call it that) were at stake it would be a different matter. But to imply from what Abt has done that his credibility as a real life driver is tarnished is nonsense.
Could you explain what is so funny about hiring an e-sport veteran to drive for you incognito in a broadcast event? I don't get the joke.
 
Could you explain what is so funny about hiring an e-sport veteran to drive for you incognito in a broadcast event? I don't get the joke.

It's definitely worth going through his YouTube video or reading the transcript of it.

He explains they were filming a mini-documentary and going to show that a top level sim racer is on pace with real world drivers, and exhibits such similar racecraft to a professional, that if a sim racer raced under a real driver's name online you wouldn't actually be able to tell the difference.

Daniel should have probably cleared it with Audi first, yes, but the fact that they sacked him over what's essentially an indie doc to help promote sim racing is kind of absurd.

There was nothing malicious about this at all and the idea that this somehow hurts Audi's brand image is laughable. Nobody who buys a $250,000 USD sports car is concerned with a G-rated prank pulled in an rFactor 2 league race almost nobody outside of hardcore Formula E fans watched, but Audi thinks differently and is giving out a punishment on par with saying a racial slur.

In reality, this is probably a political move to free up a seat for Rene Rast in Formula E, but we'll have to wait for those dominoes to fall to confirm.
 
He explains they were filming a mini-documentary and going to show that a top level sim racer is on pace with real world drivers, and exhibits such similar racecraft to a professional, that if a sim racer raced under a real driver's name online you wouldn't actually be able to tell the difference.
He got caught, they noticed a difference due to arcade racecraft.
 
some people are even calling for Daniel ABT losing all his sponsors ... really ... than let me ask you this, since some of you are the self proclaimed justice apostle ... you have never ever cheating in your whole god damn life, you never made a mistake you regret afterwards, you never ever lied in your whole life ... so in other words you are prefect human being ... who is without sin should throw the 1st stone ... yeah I thought so, non of you is ... getting your whole Career destroyed over a damn PC Racing Simulation a Simulation that has nothing to do with real life, that's full of bugs, really ... so did Daniel ABT have anything gained from it, did he get money, did he get a prize, did he get a trophy ... wow 13 points for 3rd place (which were denied), he paid a 10.000 Euro fine to a Charity right away ... so what did he gain, exactly NOTHING, NADA! This whole event was/is for fun and for the fans ... another thing crashing the race cars willingly into each other won't get punished ... mmm! If there wasn't Corona this whole thing wouldn't have happened in the 1st place ... but since Corona everybody is acting hypersensitive ... nobody was harmed, PC Games, Simulations are for Fun and Entertainment and nothing else ... but of course the Media as always is blowing the whole thing out of proportion, cause they have nothing else to talk about in since Corona ...
 
If the whole thing was really supposed to be a joke, why not attend the post race interview and let everyone know what was going on? He could then praise the skills of the hired sim racer and admit he was not up to the task. His video sounded like a big excuse by someone caught on the act.

To me it does not matter how this is “just a game”. At the end this showed his personality and Audi has the right to decide who will represent the brand. If he was playing an online poker tournament with an Audi t-shirt and caugh cheating, I bet the consequence would be the same. This social media World we live in have no mercy!
Shows that you haven't listen to Daniel ABT statement or paid any attention ... they were talking about it in one of the races before ... to pull this maybe off ... he even shows it in his statement, so almost everybody knew ... but hey you made up your mind already anyway ... oh yes and crashing their race cars into each other willingly is cool, right ... shows how serious those Race Drivers are, really professional, they surely wouldn't do it in reality, cause that would get really expensive for those RaceTeams... they all know they gain nothing from these eSport events ...
 
To cheat is just not in the spirit of what was being done. it was meant to be a bit of fun for the fans. look at jamie Whincup in Austrailian supercars e series, a driver with numerous championships to his name that when you put him in a sim cant even come in the top 10.

it is a different skill we get that but if the fans are tuning in to watch there idols race in a game that they themselves can drive in then they should be trying there best and should definitely not be cheating or as he says maying a joke.

just need to remember that yes this is a game but they are still being paid a considerable amount of money to represent there teams, and they are not taking any risk so they should be able to suffer through. most of them are not even paying for the fancy sim rigs they are racing in.

this is a follow on from the nascar bad sportsmanship in the last round, just racing drivers showing their true colours when there is no life consequences. when the helmets are off you can see them for the spoilt brats they are. (only talking about the bad sportsmanship drivers they are not all this bad.)

poor show from Abt i am affraid and should be ashamed
 
This whole sim racing eSports push during the bioweapon outbreak has been nothing short of cringey and embarrassing. It's easily the worst thing to happen to the hobby, period.

Because honestly, what has it actually accomplished?
  • Instead of pro drivers praising the games, they've all trashed them and said how horrible/unrealistic they are.
  • As much as I dislike them for unrelated reasons, the actual eSports competitors who put in genuine effort to build their respective eSports championships over a period of several years, were basically ignored.
  • Every "pro" race featuring real life drivers was an unwatchable wreckfest in which the pro's obviously don't care.
  • Wheel prices have skyrocketed due to the supply not meeting the demand.
  • iRacing in particular has had an influx of noobs join, who have tangibly lowered the quality of ranked racing.
  • Multiple drivers across multiple series have lost sponsors, been suspended, or outright fired, for daring to goof around in a video game.
  • Sponsors/Brands don't quite understand video game culture, and expect drivers to uphold a professional level of conduct when streaming on typically relaxed platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.
  • There is literally a scandal every week involving a pro driver.
Absolutely fantastic times for our hobby.

it shows natural talent shines over having daddies wallet making you fast for once.
 
you have never ever cheating in your whole god damn life, you never made a mistake you regret afterwards, you never ever lied in your whole life ...
it's not even about the fact of cheating, it's just team/company policy. You as a company is serious about something, investing some money in it and wanting to things go in a professional way, it's not "just a game" for them. If the employee doesnt see it this way and refuse to take the employer's decisions seriously - it's not really matter does he take game/sim seriously or not. It's fully emplyer-employee relationship and decision, that blew out of proportion.
 
Shows that you haven't listen to Daniel ABT statement or paid any attention ... they were talking about it in one of the races before ... to pull this maybe off ... he even shows it in his statement, so almost everybody knew ... but hey you made up your mind already anyway ... oh yes and crashing their race cars into each other willingly is cool, right ... shows how serious those Race Drivers are, really professional, they surely wouldn't do it in reality, cause that would get really expensive for those RaceTeams... they all know they gain nothing from these eSport events ...
Yes I did. Unfortunately it does sound like an afterthought. Like a big excuse. Other than his words, where is the video he was planning to get out and was “editing” to show all the behind the scene of the hoax/joke?

I do feel bad for the guy. It sucks getting your career destroyed by social media. He should have learned. Not too long ago someone was banned from Nascar/iRacing and lost his real life sponsors, right? I am not comparing the racist remark to the “so called” joke, but it did show the power of social media/ streaming and how serious real companies/sponsors are dealing with “on line” misconduct.

Pointing fingers to others on line misbehaviours does not make his any better. One does not kill because some get away with murder.

I agree that most don’t gain anything from those events. Not as far as we know. Large social media audience does render some money and brand exposure (I see a lot of the guys racing these days wearing sponsorship t-shirts or having a banner in the background). I am not naive, they are making some, even if just gaining popularity (which in turn will turn into money) .
 
BTW, take a look at the Virtual 24h of Le Mans driver’s line up. I think people are taking this a bit more serious than “it’s just a game”.
 
One needs to put this in its proper context. This event has never been taken officially seriously. Each one has gone his own way to assess. From seriously to not at all, real world drivers were clearly divided in this by the lack of a clear definition of how they were expected to behave in this event. By this fact, the event looks, for an observer, as an entertainment rather than a serious competition. In this context it's no way speaking of cheating, I mean as a real cheating. And I found the decision of Audi, regardless of what's behind, is overreacted. Thus, I join the opinion of JEV, AFDC, James Calado and others.
 
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