Intro to Racing

Beware, I am a bit wordy.

I have to say this race was a blast. I downloaded the game after watching InsideSimRacing by SRT on Tuesday, with the race being late Wednesday. I knew I would be cutting it close, having to learn the sim, track, and car all in just over 24 hours.

I didn't get much seat time in on Tuesday evening. Too many things happening around the house. But I managed to sneak in a couple laps just to get a sense of what I was up against. I think that the first lap I completed after learning the basic layout of the track was a 1:59. I scanned some previous race results and determined that I would need to get down into the 1:42 range to be competitive.

I got in some good seat time pre-race, but I wasn't sure I could cut 17 seconds off my time. But before hitting the track I went to the M3-Challenge website and read some of the forum posts. On describe how to setup the car for better times. Another described where the braking points for each turn. Both of these were very helpful. I did open practice to get a better feel for the track and the car, trying to keep in my the things I had read.

Traction Control, off, check. No Traction control would mean I would need to be light on the throttle to avoid spins. Bilstein suspension, selected, check. I couldn't tell the difference between Standard and Bilstein, but I took the suggestion anyways. I started to get better times, but nowhere near where I wanted to be. My goal was just to stay up with the pack. I started to play around with the steering, throttle, and brake sensitivity settings. I think I ended up with steering 75%, throttle 90%, and brake 80%. Again my times started to drop a bit. Time to switch over to Time Trial mode.

I ran a few laps in time trail, but I was freaked out and found myself trying to out race my own "ghost" car, which in the end hurt my lap times. So onto Race Weekend. I had done enough practice and did not feel the need to qualify. I wanted to be at the back of the pack so I could see the lines that the AIs were taking. Thinking that they would know something that I didn't. Started with 7 AIs with 5 laps races. Man, did this help out. Seeing where they braked and how they took turn 1 and setup for turn 2 was incredibly helpful. Then they taught me the faster line thru turn 6.

Race time finally came. I was nervous. I had no idea what type of time the other racers were laying down. I there some way to see that without having to go into the pits? Also during the races I lost track of what lap I was on, can I see that info somewhere? I don't know if I got on the pole because of practice times or 'cause I joined the server first. Anyways I found myself on the pole, added pressure. My previous experience with online racing taught me that getting thru turn 1 clean is key, so I had an advantage being on the pole, assuming I got off to a decent start. I made it thru turns 1 and 2 clean can could seen a gap between myself and second place already starting to build. I settled in a just trying to keep it on the track being consistent and keeping the throttle in check. Each time I tried to slow up for the field to catch up, I would make a mistake and come close going off the track. I did not want to get stuck in the sand. I was surprised to get my fastest time, 1:40.9, when I was just taking it easy without over driving the corners. Slow in fast out really does work, something else to store for later use.

I am grateful for the win, and for the chance to compete. Thanks Race2Play and the Race Marshal. I am sure I'll be back. I love the nothing to gain, nothing to loose philosophy of the Intro Series.