My Sim Racing attempt : 2020/2021 Edition...

[Dinosaurs]

That's a bummer on missing the cut, but not by that much at all!. Do they offer just soft / hard or is there a medium tyre?

[Reg]

That's a bummer on missing the cut, but not by that much at all!. Do they offer just soft / hard or is there a medium tyre?

I really wish there was a "Medium" tire!! We could do so much with it!
Unfortunately, there are only soft (R2) and hard (R3) tires that are useful.
There is technically a "super hard" R4 tire too ... but the thing is basically a cold, hard, hockey puck for our series.
If you run fast, unrestricted "GT1" rules, I think it can be somewhat useful for races, but with more tame, restricted GT2 rules, the tires are just too hard and brick-like for us to get any temperature in them (we run engine intake restrictions similar to NASCAR "plate" tracks like Talladega and Daytona)

[Reg]

For those interested, Round 2 is at the only real-life track on the calendar .... another "Roval" , this time at Rockingham Motor Speedway in England!

This track is bumpy as hell, narrow, and full of twists and turns. With 38 cars on race day it'll be very crowded. It's all about the grip and car stability and balance.

A long list of drivers will try and qualify once the "Pre-Qualifying" session opens on Thursday ... with the top 28 making the field, joined automatically by the Top 10 in points.
However, until then, here is my best lap of Rockingham.
Note : I fully expect to qualify for this round. I'm hell-bent on it. This weird bumpy basketcase suits my driving style perfectly!

[Reg]

I made it into the race!!!

The race is held tomorrow, Sunday Jan 24
Streamed live, starting at 1pm Eastern Time, at SimBroadcasts.TV!!!
Feel free to tune in, if you want to watch

[Borealis]

Whoo Hooo!! Go Speed Reg, Go!!

[Reg]

After starting the race in 29th place (out of 38) , I finished 23rd!!!

The whole event was a hell of a lot of fun!!

[Borealis]

Great Job, Reg!!!

[Reg]

With the Trendsetters season over and way out of contention, the Trendies general manager continues his dabble into motor racing.


Round 3 of the NDR GT2 Challenge is held at the tight, bumpy South City street course this weekend!




MY ORDEAL IN PRE-QUALIFYING

The first hurdle to clear was the 48-hour, open 'Pre-Qualifying' session, to get into the race.
Top 10 in points automatically qualify .... then the 28 fastest in the session also make the cut.

I normally get my practice started about a week ahead of the race, but this week, work and life got in the way, so I found myself dusting off the rust and debugging the car setup DURING the session.
(Thank goodness for unlimited laps)
At first, it really wasn't looking good, as I was lapping around 1'36, which was MILES slower than my team-mate Jared (1'34 ... with fastest likely 1'33), and nowhere near the pace to make the cut.

My main issue was handling the huge bumps on the track, as it would throw the rear end of the car out from under me, and I was ping-ponging my way off the guardrails and around the track.
The best I could do after day one was a 1'35.7 .... still likely 3/4 of a second too slow to qualify.

With the clock ticking down, I got desperate. Jared and I logged in during the final stages of Pre-Qualifying, and started reworking the car. We softened the rear end of the car, fixed the gearing, I re-worked my racing lines, and gradually my laptimes improved.

1'35.5
1'35.4
1'35.2

If I could get into the upper 1'34.xx range, I would stand a chance.

We even attempted to run in formation around the track, with him leading and me following, to try and get extra speed on the straights by him cutting through the air infront of me .... and the best I could do was an agonizingly-close 1'35.06 .... at the time just 0.01 seconds away from the cut.

FINALLY .... with minutes left in the session, I went back out by myself, put in my perfect lap, nailed every turn just the right way, and put up a time.

1'34.74

Thank the racing gods, that got me in!
As Jared said, they were "last-minute heroics", but I made the show!!!







The race is held tomorrow (Sunday Feb 7th) at 1pm Eastern Time, on SimBroadcasts.TV!!!
Feel free to tune in, if you want to watch

[Reg]

The lap that got me in the race :

[Reg]

In the race, both my team-mate Jared and I were punted off the track, nearly at the same time on Lap 9.
This essentially ruined our race.

However, we eventually caught each other up in the lower positions, but at least we got a bit of TV time on the broadcast , as we worked together to hunt down and pass the #67 car

I am in the lead car, in green.
My team-mate Jared was behind me.



Eventually, Jared finished 25th, and I got 30th (of 38)
Not our best race, but what can ya do

[Reg]

Welp, I thought that missing round 1 was painful ...
But here in Round 4, on admittedly my worst track of the season, I missed the main event by [wait for it] ...... 0.01 seconds.

Take a look at how Pre-Qualifying ended up :







Here is the eventual starting grid for the event :

[Sandgnats]

[Borealis]

Welp, I thought that missing round 1 was painful ...
But here in Round 4, on admittedly my worst track of the season, I missed the main event by [wait for it] ...... 0.01 seconds.

Yikes!! That sucks!!

[KenH]

Thanks for posting about this reg! Very fascinating to watch.

[Sandgnats]

Thanks for posting about this reg! Very fascinating to watch.

I feel bad saying this but I generally get bored by this stuff, but I agree! This was very cool!