Pre-season: Buenos Aires

OH NOOOOOO!!!!!!

I was so much looking forward to this. I had a good car setup and have practiced a lot for the race.

And then my PC decides to crash a couple of laps into the race :-( This was my first PC crash in Rfactor ever. What a case of bad timing. Screen froze and my wheel went all the way to the right. I quickly pressed reset so I wouldn't mess up the race for anyone else.

I've just joined as a spectator and what a great race so far :-)

I'll be back at Interlagos and hopefully my PC will behave.

*rolls eyes*

My anti-virus program decided to update its database mid-way through the race. In the half-second freeze I managed to sustain suspension damage.

Taking that into consideration, I decided to pit in and sit it out until Roberto passed the finish line. Kind of cheap, but damn it... totally not my fault.

Wow, one of the most intense races I have ever been in. First, chickened out of the Shadow and took the Tyrrell- Not Willy or Ferry or Ligy material but not a total dog either. Nice car.
I have to be honest, I was totally depressed by missing pole-position at the very last second. I did only one flying lap in the whole session, as the second one I had a problem...oh well.
Race started well. I made three huge mistakes during the race,all in the early part of the race. That's what gets me mad, when I make mistakes. BUT, had some great battles. First with Christian while it lasted-- that bloody yellow tea kettle would come running up on me on that straight...lol we had some good side by side. Same with Allen. BIG SORRY to Allen, mid way through the race we were duking it out and I overstepped my confidence at the hairpin and hit his rear. I damaged my car, but I sure hope I did not damage yours Allen. Silly, amateurish mistake. Rest of the race was spent trying to last, keep my distance to fourth intact and not slowing down too much despite my front-end damage. I have to say that after 10 laps I started wondering how I could stay alive for 43 more laps!! Very interesting track. I am not sure I like it. It's got that fast right hander which is fun, and the first right-left is not bad, but rest of the track feels Mickey Mouse...And that hairpin....gosh, I don't think I hate a corner in ALL of sim racing more. Great job all. Fun, alot of fun. Roberto good job. Allen, I hope I did not ruin your race and sorry again.

That was a lot of fun for a while. Had some cars hot on my heels for the first half of the race. Enzo made a very nice pass around the outside in turn 4. Then I thought I'd try a tire stop, but when I came into the pits my crew wouldn't come out of the garage. I couldn't understand it so I just did a drive thru. At the end of the race I tried a couple stops to see if I could figure out what the problem was, but the pit crew worked perfectly both times. If anyone can explain this, let me know.

Francesco: it was good fun racing with you as long as it lasted :-) The Renault sure is good on the straights,but then I have to brake a lot earlier and you went by me again .

I hope everyone is pleased with how it turned out. I'm surprised that so many of you got through :-)

Congrats to the podium winners! Great job guyz!!! : )

Only 7 running out of 17 at the finish! I went out after spinning exiting T3 sweeper. Wasn't that hard of a hit to inner fence but my engine quit and that was that!!! : (
Great disappointment.
What's the chance of lowering damage so more can finish with these delicate cars. I know, I know, realism and all that! The problem is, most of us just aren't pro quality drivers and I think the more that can finish will make for better racing overall.
Trouble is, my problems are beyond the bounds of the game itself, It's my constant battle with this IBS condition I have that dominates my life. I probly wouldn't have been able to finish anyway as I was coming down with a full blown IBS attack! No fun guys, gad, to be 30 years old again!
Well, I love these cars and plan to make the next one come heck or high water! LoL

On the setups the fast boyz were using, how bout the top 3 finishers making your race setups available so us mere mortals can try them out? Pweezzz! : )

A very discouraged sloooowwwwww driver,

Dan

Oh, one more thing...

Were you boyz on hards or softs, I was on hard tires thinking softs wouldn't last the full distance.

Thanks,

Dan

Boy oh boy, just what i figured this race would be, a
true test of concentration. And I must say i think i failed some. Just to many mental mistakes.

But on the other side, a fun test of ability.

Some real fun battles i was in.

Grats to all that finished.

Kevin

ps next track is a mother :) will be fun.

Dan: To answer your question about damage..No,it won't be lowered :-)
And I was on softs. My testing showed practically no difference when looking at wear going to hard. The softs should be able to last a full race.

With regards to setups, just try out the default and go from there. Get the wings right and then the gears. This will gain a lot of time. Unfortunately we're in very different time zones,or I'd be happy to assist you with a setup.

You can try my setup for the Renault if you like. My PB in qual is 1.44.8 and race trim was around 1.47 something (during my testing) Not an easy car to drive though. It handles like a supertanker (and carries just as much fuel) ,but it's great fun :-)

This is just typical of the way my sim racing has been going lately.

I had no plans to actually race anybody in my N177. I was just going to have my own private race with an almost certain top-ten finish, considering the expected attrition. I could run very consistent laptimes. I knew I could make it easily on fuel and tires. I also knew I could run 53 laps without hitting anything. So what'd I do?

First lap, after picking my way through a few cars that had apparently minor offs, I was watching the two cars in front of me, as they struggled to enter the hairpin side-by-side, and forgot to brake! I slid gently off and touched the guardrail. That was all it took. I limped around to the pits, and my crew wasn't ready. Forgot to request a pitstop. So I rode slowly around another lap. The crew replaced my front wing, but the suspension damage was too much. My wheel was cocked a half-turn off and the car was skittering all over the place. I cruised around for a few laps till I went off and hit the guardrail again. Lost a wheel. So I watched and pulled for fellow Ensign driver Ray until he had his own problems.

Can't say I love the track, but I prepared well (I thought!) and was expecting a lot of fun and a respectable finish. Then I blew it before it even started.