Race Talk

[vobler]

Hey guys,

As you can imagine, that was one helluva experience. I just got back after a very long weekend with very little sleep so I'm pretty sure I'm going to crash for about 15 hours here in a little bit.

There's so much in my head to write down that I can't wait to get down on paper (and hopefully talk about on the radio show this week). Anyway, for now, here's a quick race recap while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind, for those of you who were trying to figure out *** was going on from the live scoring:

I screwed the start up a bit, I hesitated a bit because a car in front of me didn't go, so I lost a spot (aka the only spot I could lose ) before turn 1. That put me behind a driver that I was a bit quicker than, and a combination of things kept me from ever getting by him. I was a bit too cautious on cold tires, as well I was too cautious around the multiple wrecks that were going on on the first lap, so I lost several seconds from that. I started trying to run him down and then we had a full course caution.

I then made the stupidest, rookiest mistake ever, and forgot to go on the restart... as in, full on, had no idea the green was coming out, not paying attention, spotting the field 4 seconds type of stupid rookie mistake. It was pretty embarrassing. Anyway, I ran him down again and I think I may have had a couple of looks to pass him (I don't quite remember), and then we had another caution when Devin Cates ended up on the tires in Canada.

I did a good job of staying on his bumper on the next restart but was being overly cautious on pass attempts. I had a couple of runs on him but without even having a nose along side of him, and not knowing how he was going to race me, I backed out. It turns out he probably would have given it to me, but at the time I wasn't 100% sure how aware he was and didn't want to take the chance. After spending most of the race under caution, the last thing I wanted to do was have to apologize to the field for ruining their brawl to the end because me and some other guest driver decided to mount each other for last place

A lap or two later, I managed to get a good run into Canada Corner, and was ready to make the pass, when I look up and see a yellow waving, as one of the cars was sitting in the gravel. So, completing the pass would have been illegal, and I backed out. I then compounded it by making bonehead mistake number 2. For whatever reason, I was trying to be really safe and forgot it was just a local caution, and I started coasting out of Canada Corner and into 13. About the time I got to 13 I realized the guy in front of me had just pulled 4 seconds on me and what I had done. So, I got back on it and caught up to him pretty quickly again.

I ended up with 2 laps to try and get by him at that point, I was much quicker in the carousel/kink, so I was able to get good runs down into Canada, but I was not able to make the pass happen. I tried to set him up out of the last corner but unfortunately that was one corner he was better than me in, so I wasn't able to get it done there.

The last lap, I knew my only chance was to get a run down the backstretch, and knew I had to nail the carousel and the kink to do it. About halfway through the carousel it was obvious I was about to get a big run on him and was going to have to go through the kink pretty close to his bumper to make it happen.

So, I spent the whole way from the center of the carousel until the kink talking myself into it. The little angel guy on one shoulder was like "dude, going through the kink on someone's bumper is going to be scary as hell, don't come all this way just to stuff it on the last lap" while the devil guy on the other shoulder (who looked like Richard Towler for some reason, not sure why) was yelling "you've done this a million times in a sim, it's the last lap, stop being a pansy and do it you toolshed". So I did, and it was a good feeling. Unfortunately he hit the kink better than he had all race and I wasn't able to get the run I needed. I pounded the last corner harder than I had all weekend trying to figure out a way to get him but it wasn't enough.

Even though it was disappointing because I was quicker than him and I honestly do believe I had something for at least a few of the cars in front of him, I had an absolute freaking blast those last few laps. Me and the other driver had the biggest smiles in the garage after the race. It was a great way to finish the weekend. That's what racing is all about, even if it's for 22nd.

Anyway, that's already an 11 paragraph essay and only about 5% of what I experienced this weekend, so I'll leave it there for now.

[vobler]

Wow! It has been over a year since I started driving iRacing. How do I feel, what do I think?

First, as many of you know there is limited possibilities to race with your friends in iRacing. Even if they will start doing leauges and hosted races next season this will not change much. What I have missed most is the good people on dMr and all the chats we had on Ventrilo. A few dMr's have tried to do practice sessions together in iRAcing but I think we where unable to get that good dMr community feel.

Beginning
A year ago iRacing was very young, many people even think it was released too early. And maybe it was, but in that year it has been updated lots of times and if you check the release notes for the last year you really see how much has been done. But the best thing with iRacing still remains the same. The superb feel for driving a car and the exceptional tracks.
When I started sim racing on the PC again I did not stop testing sims until I felt I had found the best one, LFS. As time went on I tried other sims as they came out. But no one could beat LFS in its simplicity, ease of use, and great feel. I have always stated that I judge by how a sim  feels instead of talking too much about physics, because I don't know much about car physics in the real world.
iRacing had that feel I was looking for. A better feel than LFS. Many of you tried iRacing at that time and some of you also acknowledged that the feel was better, but you where not prepared to get in to it either because of the cost involved or that you would not sacrifice the "dMr community feel".
One of the biggest problems for me regarding the dMr system is that nobody is on the servers until in the evening when I rather would spend time with my family. That was one of the big factors for me to step over to iRacing. Even if I often race in the evenings, I know when the race starts and stops so I can plan accordingly. dMr has this system only once a week, and last year I was not able to join in on the thursdays due to other commitments.

Last year
So what did I do in iRacing in the last year? I have done 244 road races and 31 oval races. (The race lengths are much longer than normal LFS races, normally between 30-60 minutes). That has given me Class A license in road and Class B in oval (getting A next season). The racing generally has been superb, some races ruined by others, but mainly if I had to stop racing it was often my fault. I have learned much racecraft and to take my time. I seldom go off on my own account these days. Last season my iRating was in the 2500 range, but I felt that was too high so I "sandbagged" a while and dropped it to around 2000 where I feel more comfortable. My Oval rating is low but I haven't done much there. Even though my car speed also has increased I tend to run at maybe 80% in races. To me it is more fun to have a good close battle well within my limit, than to overtake and pull away from them.

Content
Not only the core sim have been updated the past year. There have also been added a lot of tracks and cars. More European tracks are coming, and of announced tracks I can mention Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Zandvoort. Of recent cars I can mention the VW Jetta TDI and of announced cars we have the Corvette C6, Ford Mustang FR500, the Ford GT and the IndyCars. Currently there is 9 road cars and 7 Oval cars (Legends counts in both categories). There are currently 34 tracks where 11 is road only (with many having more than one layout) and the rest is oval but a lot of them have road layouts. So for content there is alot to choose from. So much that many think there are too much content for the number of members, so a lot of people complain about that. This is for sure an issue but only in higher classes. iRacing now has around 10000 concurrent members, and they have had a growth of around 20% a season. Even if I expect this trend to flatten out, I still think they have a lot of people coming in the next year or so.

So what do I not like?
It is very difficult to get to know people in here. Even if you meet somebody in a practice session one day and get to know them it may take weeks before and if you meet them again. This is partly because the rating system, the times people race and the amount of people in the service.
The forums software is very poor compared to what we are used too. And they are full of kids screaming for stuff and complaining. (Kids used loosely, as in their behavior)
Very much of the car drivetrain and engine is not yet simulated. Ha, you may say, both NetKar, LFS has had this for years. Yes they have, but nobody but the developers know the level of simulation in this. Maybe iRacing will simulate this to a high degree once in place.

Money Money Money.
I have not mentioned cost anyhere above because I'm fed up discussing it. Every time it comes up people scream out how expensive it is.
If they want to race a good sim they cant because it is too expensive. And if they are finished as rookies, how much they have to spend to race next season. Yes it may be a lot of money for some, but expensive? No, don't agree. Some things cost what they cost. If you can't afford it, let it go. Thats what I have to do when I can't afford something. Another thing I see all the time is that people don't like the subscription service. But everyone has internet, phone, tv and all kind of subscriptions with just about the same conditions. I don't get the problem with this.
When that is said there are many ways to save money by signing up for a longer periods, buying content in bulk, and from next season just by racing. Yes, next season they will give you an amount of credit for every series you compete in.

So now what?
I will still be in here, maybe if the new LFS gets better I will try to get in some weekdays to get some of that "dMr community feeling". But my main sim will be iRacing for some time to come. I am proud to be a part of it and am looking forward to the next level they will take us too.

Vobler

[Doorman]

Hellava post! It's hard to reply to it because it's all been said many times, many places.
I'm glad you're still fervent about it although it would be nice if we saw more of you in the alternatives. For my part, I really did give it one more good go but despite the gloriousness of the tracks (I'm big on gloriousness ) I came to the conclusion it wasn't for me. Indy cars put to tin hat on it. :sad: So I've put my philosophical hat on and kissed my $500 goodbye. :byebye:

[Lameduck]

Well done Vobler, never let it be said that you lack passion for iRacing

You know my stance on the iRacing model, but I admire your evangelistic zeal.

Superb post, well done again.

[OldBloke]

I think it's great that you're enjoying the online gaming experience to the full. We miss you too ^_^

[Gnomie]

Good post Verner. Seems like you've really found the sim which fits you best!

I loved my three months of iRacing this spring. I had to cancel my subscription because I had too much to do in the university and because I was going on summer holidays, from which I returned a week ago. I don't plan on re-subscribing for a while yet, but there's no doubt that I'll return to iRacing at some point. Really looking forward to the Mustang + GT!

As far as combining iRacing and dMr, I think I found a pretty nice "formula" in the end: I started the evening with iRacing practice + one race, and then I moved on to rFactor with the dMr crowd. Very nice way to wind down in a friendly atmosphere among friends after a stressful, intense iRacing session!

[Romus]

Great post Vobler. Yes, the iRacing forum is really terrible. :lmfao: I've also subscribed for another year, otherwise I would feel I was missing something really interesting.

What you wrote about improving your racecraft... I feel the same, though I've not done so many races. Good formula would be to do some iRacing races each month to raise the race craft and then have more relaxed driving with dMr.

Also when friends come around it's nice to let them try iRacing. Last week a friend was helping me fitting the new kitchen (still not ready), and we had a two hour session with Jetta, Skippy, and some other cars on Summit Point. My friend is a Warbirds player (Flight sim), but he said the iRacing was the best game he had ever tried. It's quite a common comment what I hear, so the feel it has appeals to many.

[vobler]

A week ago I posted a link to the recent free trials at iRacing.

The free trials has proved to be a disaster and has now been closed. The reason is because it was abused both with false ID's and a lot of people where wrecking like we have seen in other sims.

The Chief Steward is now going through the many hundred new drivers to find the false ID's and suspending the wreckers.

This just proves a point that there has to be some sort of ID check and payment involved to filter out the idiots.

That said, I had a superb race in the Jetta last night at Sebring. Lots of door to door racing and paint swapping as this is the series with a real life racing sponsorship on the line. Nothing is given away. If you want a position, you have to steal it. I'm still high on the adrenaline :yahoo:

[Doorman]

A week ago I posted a link to the recent free trials at iRacing.
The free trials has proved to be a disaster and has now been closed. The reason is because it was abused both with false ID's and a lot of people where wrecking like we have seen in other sims.

A case of 'demo racers' will be demo racers. Nothing paid, nothing to lose.

The Chief Steward is now going through the many hundred new drivers to find the false ID's and suspending the wreckers.

This just proves a point that there has to be some sort of ID check and payment involved to filter out the idiots.

Or servers with harsh but fair admins on board. I wonder when was the last time dMr had to kick or ban someone

That said, I had a superb race in the Jetta last night at Sebring. Lots of door to door racing and paint swapping as this is the series with a real life racing sponsorship on the line. Nothing is given away. If you want a position, you have to steal it. I'm still high on the adrenaline :yahoo:

That's great!

[vobler]

Or servers with harsh but fair admins on board. I wonder when was the last time dMr had to kick or ban someone

Yes, thats a good option, but there are issues with this too. No admin can be on an server 24/7.

I wish NKP would allow kicking and banning too.

BTW. I have been locking for you on Finnglish (NKP) two nights now. Didn't see any known names. I reverted to iRacing because there where more familiar names there.... :g:
I have gotten the new NKP patch to work good on my PC now an have been trying to adapt the standard setups more to my liking. Looking good!

[Gnomie]

Vobler, which series are you competing in this season? Jetta + Mazda?

BTW I was browsing westeurope-racing.org just for fun the other day, and I noticed that I'm currently A licenced..! How did that happen? Before the whole Pro thing I was C licenced. So when I lost my Pro licence (because I didn't resubscribe within the time limit) I expected to be demoted back to C licence. Seems like they gave me two "free" licence promotions! Can you check which licence I have now on the official site, please?

[Doorman]

Yes, thats a good option, but there are issues with this too. No admin can be on an server 24/7.

True, but if I'm not there they can do what they like. :sideways:

I wish NKP would allow kicking and banning too.

You and me both. Hopefully it will come.

BTW. I have been looking for you on Finnglish (NKP) two nights now. Didn't see any known names. I reverted to iRacing because there where more familiar names there.... :g:

To be honest I've been having a couple of days angst so my racing has suffered a bit. Back to normal now.

I have gotten the new NKP patch to work good on my PC now an have been trying to adapt the standard setups more to my liking. Looking good!

Brilliant! Pass 'em on! :woot2:

Lazy method of multi-quoting :norty:

[vobler]

Vobler, which series are you competing in this season? Jetta + Mazda?

 Can you check which licence I have now on the official site, please?

You are Class A 3.52 iR is 4042

I'm running Jetta only on road. But I have done a few oval races as well.

[Gnomie]

Heh, so they did in fact give me two "free" promotions. Can't complain about that. So then I won't have to worry about not being able to race the Ford GT when it's released.

BTW Inside Sim Racing did an interview with Dave Kaemmer in their latest episode (#46). Here's a direct link to the interview part.

[vobler]

Season 3 is over and finally I can breathe again.

As some of you know I have been racing this series lately. And I mean racing. This series has been the scariest sim racing I have seen. People are fighting extremely hard. Mostly due to the fact that the winner is going to be part of the selection process for the real series, and if he gets a ride, he gets it for free. A $45000 value. Young people was fighting for their racing career. It was awesome. I heard about people racing side by side laps at a time. Nothing was given for free, and the racing was clean but hard.

Anyway, the series does not have divisions as most iRacing series have. We all was in the same div. 1164 people raced during the season, many just a few races, but the competition was very hard all season. I ended at 50'th place, and I think that is a good result. For me anyway.

Next season I will most likely drive (yes not race) the Corvette. I need to just trundle around a few months. And maybe join a leauge or two.