Fun-run: Formula BMW

Great event. I love these cars, but while chatting with a girl, i ALMOST missed qualifying, DOH! So i went in, put on a setup from Silverstone (which will be posted here in a minute) and went for it. Luckly i knew the track well, but still wasnt able to push it to the limit. Qualified 6th. On the start i guess everyone slept, since i darted down the inside and moved up to the lead before we even thought about braking for turn one, WOW! Too bad i had a big blunder and almost spun in turn 3, thats what low wing and cold tires does to ya haha! After that i had a GREAT battle with whoever was in 2nd at the time, when i eventually got away from him, i set my sights on the leader. Tenth by tenth i caught him, sadly when i got on his gearbox, he himself had a bit of a blunder, sliding off in turn four. From there it was clear sailing.

also looks like i might have set track record in the process, sweet!

thanks for the race everyone, see you in a few hours in Brands Hatch!

err, nevermind about the setup, looks like there is a smokin fast setup up there already! haha.

Birmingham. Tricky track. :P

My first time in these cars, I wasn't very fast but podium anyway.

Qual was crap, only 2 laps and both I had to give way to slower cars so I qualed 7th.

On the start most everyone in front of me was sleeping so I took the right side and found myself in 2nd behind Nick who also got a great start. Nick quickly took himself to the wall and now I am gifted the lead :) Well that only lasted about a lap as Kevin was soon on my ass. I went a little wide in T2 and Kevin quickly took advantage. But I wasn't done yet, getting a better run out of 3 I got to his inside and totally blew my braking, sliding through the grass and into the side of Kevin :( Sorry

Well he got away and I stalled rejoining in 5th. I was now behind Owens and soon the 3rd and 4th place cars made mistakes letting me pass. Now I am 12 seconds back from Kevin in 2nd.

A few laps later Kevin blew the corkscrew and I got by, again this was short lived and I drifted onto the front straight and almost lost it. I backed off because with no mirrors there was now way I was going to take out Kevin again. Spent the rest of the race following Kevin to the finish.

Grats to Nick on the win.

Well, my best outing, and my worst, all in one.

First off, I LOVE these F-BMW's! What a ride!

Second... I *HATE* it's mirrors. I didn't realize until I saw the replay just how close a battle I was having for the first half of the race. I credit whoever it was I was fighting with (I think it was you Nick) for having better situational awareness than I did... pulling inside me to pass in a turn, and then having to back off as I came right back in again, totally blind. Good job making a pass I could see and concede finally. Funny... what you saw as a battle, I barely even knew about. Great racing though. Loved the replay moment by moment for sure.

I qualified 3rd... my first top 10 Q ever! Folks say the front was sleeping, but as far as I can remember, I jumped on the green. It looked on my end like the cars behind me were jumping faster. No matter, it all sorted itself out. And then I held on to that or thereabouts (through the bitter battle). Was on a beautiful pace for my first podium finish until I started making utterly stupid mistakes... concentration started to dip (as usual... my biggest hurdle in racing)... like spinning in the corkscrew and then kept stalling, losing position after position. Rejoined in like, 14th! Podium... goodbye! Had a nice fight with someone else for a while, but overshot and spun in places and kept slipping. Finally had another solo spin and smacked the wall on my last lap. Lost front wing, but was still drivable. I'm just glad there was a decent gap after me, so I didn't have to defend too hard... awful twitchy with no front wing.

Ended up 11th... a par finish for me (more on account of other drivers having worse luck than me... I certainly didn't win back any spots myself). So sad to see my beautiful first half of the race go so sour. Regardless, the most fun and enjoyable event for me yet. Even with the end result, I discovered a whole new level of racing for myself. Actual competition with the fast guys!

Man, I do love this car and this track combo.

I consider myself a touring car driver, but man, these cars are great! To me, the most fun-to-drive car in rFactor.

Qualified ninth, I had a jump at the start, but backed off trying to be careful. Mistake! I got pinched in the first turn (nobody's fault, just tight quarters and limited vision) and bumped off. Fortunately, I barely missed the guardrail and continued on in last place. Third lap, second turn, Bill Worrel spun and I nailed him, taking off his rear wing and my front. Sorry Bill, I just couldn't stop in time. I decided by the end of that lap that I would continue with the damage. It wasn't bad, just a push in the tighter turns, and a jerk in the steering wheel when I shifted, which got progressively worse. From there I just tried to maintain a decent pace and not cause any trouble. Though I didn't stick my nose in it because of the push, I had a ringside seat for some fantastic close-quarters racing by Tommy Christian, Rob Thaeler, Yuri Korn and others for most of the race. Some great close and clean racing!

Because of some other's bad luck, I managed to come home tenth, technically not a great race for me, but a lot of fun anyway. These cars are just a lot of fun to drive. I hope there will be a regular series for them.

Great race. these cars are a blast to drive. I agree that the mirrors do need some work or an adjust to the seat. First podium finish in my short career here at race2play. I don't understand what happened at the start. As soon as the green light came on I thought I shoved the gear into first. When I saw the 2nd and 3rd place car move ahead of me. My tranny was still in neutral. Luckily, Nick and Kent blew the second turn which allowed me to make up some positions. About 3/4 of the race I made two stooopid errors which cost me P1. If I had kept the car on the track it would have been a battle right to the end. Don't worry Kent it's racing sometimes we go over the limit of the car's handling. That's what happened to me twice :-)

I love these cars!!!

Fun race, made less so only through my own driving errors. I somehow managed to qualify in 5th (well above my talent level) and got a decent enough start to take 3rd halfway through the opening lap. That lasted for a straight and a corner, as I got crossed up exiting the corkscrew and let 2 cars by, in what would be the theme of my race! Turning fast laps, only to let an unforced error put me off and let a car or two by every few laps.

I eventually settled into a nice rhythm after the first few laps, trying my best to keep Pete Schlough behind, while trying to catch Gregg Mulgrew up ahead. Had good races with both...I think it's safe the say that we're all still coming to grips with these cars, and I'm looking forward to more of these races.

[hijack thread]
http://www.race2play.com/homepage/show_posts/1691
[/hijack thread] :-]

Great fun these cars, but my race went all wrong. Had a blast racing with everyone in the back. The mirrors are bad, which made me a bit apprehensive about cars behind me, sorry if I got in anyone's way. In any case, was chasing a good sized pack in 15th I think when I spun coming out of the last turn on lap 8. Next lap I looped it into the wall off the last turn, lost the right front wheel and swallowed my pride as I climbed the pit wall and back to my trailer.

One thing about Birmingham, what's up with the garages? I had to drive through the back of a tent to get out, and ran my crew guy over in the process!

Here's hoping for a Formula BMW series, and hopefully on a weeknight:))