08-06-2019, 01:28 PM
I started driving Sims in August last year, and started racing in December. The fact that I sit today at 706.5 rating points and I reached the 300th position is a reason for great joy - it's an achievement for which I worked hard, especially in the last three months, and I am very, very happy. Never ever, as months passed and the number of races grew, I believed I could make it.
I am also intensely puzzled, though. I got here without being fast, and without ever winning a single race.
Only a few months ago, on this very forum, I was venting my frustration for not being fast and - especially - for not understanding why I wasn't fast. Experienced people told me that, by sticking to it, things would improve. Yes, of course they have, but the distance in terms of performance with the aliens (easily 4 secs) and the very fast drivers (between 1 and 2.5) remains as incomprehensible as it was then. I spend hours editing side-by-side, me-and-him videos trying to understand what they do different, and I don't. I have more or less come to accept it, but it remains very frustrating.
What makes me happy is that I managed to capitalise on my strengths rather than trying to be something I will never be. I am good at putting in clean, consistent laps within a few tenths, somewhere 0.5 sec below my limit. I very rarely self-spin, and when I do I practically never crash. I do all I possibly can to avoid incidents (inc avg historically between 1.5 and 1.6, and I can confidently say that I had responsibility for perhaps 10% of them). I am also good at not being competitive: if I see somebody behind me who is either clearly faster, or clearly aggressive, I let them go right away. If I don't qualify within the top 10, I do not engage for the first lap (at the end of which, I find myself practically always in the top 10...). My avatar is a vulture, by the way. Many would look at this "accountant" attitude with contempt. I can easily see why, but I understood that clean driving is a much better determinant of rating than fast driving. Many buddies are considerably faster than me, they actually win races, and they sit 50 or 100 points below me in rating. I'm not winning material, I simply am not. Maybe one day, by sheer chance, I will end up winning one, but my strengths are elsewhere, and I must be content with those.
Thank you for reading this very personal reflection, and especially for the many hours of fun many of you have given me.
To the masses of imbeciles who come to our races thinking they are racing AI, or on a public server, and spoil the pleasure for everybody, I say - you a re a necessary evil. Necessary, perhaps. Evil, for sure.
See you on track.
P
I am also intensely puzzled, though. I got here without being fast, and without ever winning a single race.
Only a few months ago, on this very forum, I was venting my frustration for not being fast and - especially - for not understanding why I wasn't fast. Experienced people told me that, by sticking to it, things would improve. Yes, of course they have, but the distance in terms of performance with the aliens (easily 4 secs) and the very fast drivers (between 1 and 2.5) remains as incomprehensible as it was then. I spend hours editing side-by-side, me-and-him videos trying to understand what they do different, and I don't. I have more or less come to accept it, but it remains very frustrating.
What makes me happy is that I managed to capitalise on my strengths rather than trying to be something I will never be. I am good at putting in clean, consistent laps within a few tenths, somewhere 0.5 sec below my limit. I very rarely self-spin, and when I do I practically never crash. I do all I possibly can to avoid incidents (inc avg historically between 1.5 and 1.6, and I can confidently say that I had responsibility for perhaps 10% of them). I am also good at not being competitive: if I see somebody behind me who is either clearly faster, or clearly aggressive, I let them go right away. If I don't qualify within the top 10, I do not engage for the first lap (at the end of which, I find myself practically always in the top 10...). My avatar is a vulture, by the way. Many would look at this "accountant" attitude with contempt. I can easily see why, but I understood that clean driving is a much better determinant of rating than fast driving. Many buddies are considerably faster than me, they actually win races, and they sit 50 or 100 points below me in rating. I'm not winning material, I simply am not. Maybe one day, by sheer chance, I will end up winning one, but my strengths are elsewhere, and I must be content with those.
Thank you for reading this very personal reflection, and especially for the many hours of fun many of you have given me.
To the masses of imbeciles who come to our races thinking they are racing AI, or on a public server, and spoil the pleasure for everybody, I say - you a re a necessary evil. Necessary, perhaps. Evil, for sure.
See you on track.
P
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An Old Dog Learning New Tricks
An Old Dog Learning New Tricks