05-04-2021, 01:59 PM
Hi fellow sim racers!
I am about 28 months around on SRS and I have to apologize that I haven’t introduced myself much earlier, as it should be. I discovered the thread kinda late and then I was pretty embarrassed to introduce myself with a record of 80 races 0 Top10. I am the guy who trails Captain Slow you know? So I beefed up my resume and here I am just shy of 210 races too late.
Name is obvious, country also, although i have recently moved to Limassol Cyprus. Now, age is of a veteran... a long retired veteran. Number is not important, I know there are fellow racers that are older than me. But I have gamed the first machines in black & white as a kid, ancient consoles, Atari ST and later the DOS PCs. i was there to play Microproses Grand Prix, the first game with real tracks, scanned in with the help of the brand new GPS technology. I ve got hooked in by Grand Prix legends, arguably the most iconic sim ever made. But through the years I never had the time to follow up. I gamed a bit Grid and NFS just for fun. Till I found AC and got hooked in for good.
Its the simulation aspect that always fascinated me. Imagination usually only needs a spark to lit up and, believe it or not, we were gaming this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLRY5bZKDac
and arguing if the Countach or the Testarossa has the best sound, not as kids but as students just before diploma.
AC and the cars included are just awesome. Sound is key, track details and car physics very important. I really wonder sometimes how Kunos mapped the 330 P4, only one really original still exists, as far as I know. I love vintage cars of the 60ies and through sim racing I got very much interested in automotive and racing history. It’s much more fun to know what and where you are driving: if you hit the curbs at the Watkins Glen Esses you realize what happened to Francois Cevert 48 years ago, if you know what I mean.
Coming to SRS I had to realize and accept that I am completely talent free. 15 seconds behind track best lap time was normal. I am not talking about something temporary here, I am talking about 15 secs behind and being unable to repeat the time and this on tracks like Spa which I knew and gamed for decades. Furthermore, age is an issue and I cannot really match the speed of the young guns: there is a reason why Esteban is faster than Fernando this year.
What to do? Give up and burry it? Or maybe hang on in there? For every race winner there are a dozen of racers that are behind him and fighting. So I took the long way of learning and improving. If I cannot be Ayrton I could at least try to be Riccardo Patrese, no? And since I lack the basic speed, I started to utilize everything that could help me to bring in decent results. Stay on track off course, be constant and consistent, train a lot before races, improve my driving style, manage my stress during a race, not tilt out and keep cool at all times (so hard to do!), pick the right races, scout the opponents as they sign in, be aware of their lap times during the race, learning to be smart, calm and cool, training and trying not only to concentrate but to really focus.
Here comes the simulation aspect back in: I am convinced that most teams in real life will give the seat to a solid Top 10 driver, that will bring the car back in one piece and some decent prize money, rather than to trust it to a young wild gun who will go like a firecracker for 2 laps and bring back just the steering wheel. The rating system at SRS is very helpful here. Results and progress are important because they keep me motivated.
I don’t race cars below 2.5kg/BHP, there are simply too fast for me. You will usually find me on track on the less crowded races, most likely in the morning hours. I don’t sign in "just for fun", I have trained, I ve put in some effort. If someone is legit faster I probably won’t put a fight and let him pass in the early stages of the race. I will defend tho at the end of the race, if it is for a position I want for my record. And again, it is something that I am training to do the right way. I try my very best to avoid incidences since the kill my points but I will not fold. I want to give everyone a clean and fair fight but also give a hard time to every opponent.
I am in love with vintage cars of the 60ies and 70ies and also historic circuits. Love them bumpy like Bidgehampton and in that context I like the US tracks because they are mostly worn out, dusty and neglected. It has happened that I woke up in the middle of the night just to race the fellow racers from overseas on their own turf. A podium in those races are like a championship for me.
Never the less my fav car is probably the Praga because it feels like a scalpel to me, needs precision and doesn’t likes to be punched around.
My hero is Gilles but he is out of contention. My GOAT is Jim Clark, thanks to the Great Sir copycat Jackie Steward who brought us Jimmys driving like Plato brought us Sokrates thoughts. To be fair, I believe that Lewis will be the legit goat, not because of his record but because he faced the toughest competition of all champions. Jimmy will still remain the most influential driver tho.
So, if you see in you mirror a car with lights on, it could be grandpa. He will not go anywhere, he will be right there, ready to snatch your position away at your next mistake.
See you on the track folks!
I am about 28 months around on SRS and I have to apologize that I haven’t introduced myself much earlier, as it should be. I discovered the thread kinda late and then I was pretty embarrassed to introduce myself with a record of 80 races 0 Top10. I am the guy who trails Captain Slow you know? So I beefed up my resume and here I am just shy of 210 races too late.
Name is obvious, country also, although i have recently moved to Limassol Cyprus. Now, age is of a veteran... a long retired veteran. Number is not important, I know there are fellow racers that are older than me. But I have gamed the first machines in black & white as a kid, ancient consoles, Atari ST and later the DOS PCs. i was there to play Microproses Grand Prix, the first game with real tracks, scanned in with the help of the brand new GPS technology. I ve got hooked in by Grand Prix legends, arguably the most iconic sim ever made. But through the years I never had the time to follow up. I gamed a bit Grid and NFS just for fun. Till I found AC and got hooked in for good.
Its the simulation aspect that always fascinated me. Imagination usually only needs a spark to lit up and, believe it or not, we were gaming this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLRY5bZKDac
and arguing if the Countach or the Testarossa has the best sound, not as kids but as students just before diploma.
AC and the cars included are just awesome. Sound is key, track details and car physics very important. I really wonder sometimes how Kunos mapped the 330 P4, only one really original still exists, as far as I know. I love vintage cars of the 60ies and through sim racing I got very much interested in automotive and racing history. It’s much more fun to know what and where you are driving: if you hit the curbs at the Watkins Glen Esses you realize what happened to Francois Cevert 48 years ago, if you know what I mean.
Coming to SRS I had to realize and accept that I am completely talent free. 15 seconds behind track best lap time was normal. I am not talking about something temporary here, I am talking about 15 secs behind and being unable to repeat the time and this on tracks like Spa which I knew and gamed for decades. Furthermore, age is an issue and I cannot really match the speed of the young guns: there is a reason why Esteban is faster than Fernando this year.
What to do? Give up and burry it? Or maybe hang on in there? For every race winner there are a dozen of racers that are behind him and fighting. So I took the long way of learning and improving. If I cannot be Ayrton I could at least try to be Riccardo Patrese, no? And since I lack the basic speed, I started to utilize everything that could help me to bring in decent results. Stay on track off course, be constant and consistent, train a lot before races, improve my driving style, manage my stress during a race, not tilt out and keep cool at all times (so hard to do!), pick the right races, scout the opponents as they sign in, be aware of their lap times during the race, learning to be smart, calm and cool, training and trying not only to concentrate but to really focus.
Here comes the simulation aspect back in: I am convinced that most teams in real life will give the seat to a solid Top 10 driver, that will bring the car back in one piece and some decent prize money, rather than to trust it to a young wild gun who will go like a firecracker for 2 laps and bring back just the steering wheel. The rating system at SRS is very helpful here. Results and progress are important because they keep me motivated.
I don’t race cars below 2.5kg/BHP, there are simply too fast for me. You will usually find me on track on the less crowded races, most likely in the morning hours. I don’t sign in "just for fun", I have trained, I ve put in some effort. If someone is legit faster I probably won’t put a fight and let him pass in the early stages of the race. I will defend tho at the end of the race, if it is for a position I want for my record. And again, it is something that I am training to do the right way. I try my very best to avoid incidences since the kill my points but I will not fold. I want to give everyone a clean and fair fight but also give a hard time to every opponent.
I am in love with vintage cars of the 60ies and 70ies and also historic circuits. Love them bumpy like Bidgehampton and in that context I like the US tracks because they are mostly worn out, dusty and neglected. It has happened that I woke up in the middle of the night just to race the fellow racers from overseas on their own turf. A podium in those races are like a championship for me.
Never the less my fav car is probably the Praga because it feels like a scalpel to me, needs precision and doesn’t likes to be punched around.
My hero is Gilles but he is out of contention. My GOAT is Jim Clark, thanks to the Great Sir copycat Jackie Steward who brought us Jimmys driving like Plato brought us Sokrates thoughts. To be fair, I believe that Lewis will be the legit goat, not because of his record but because he faced the toughest competition of all champions. Jimmy will still remain the most influential driver tho.
So, if you see in you mirror a car with lights on, it could be grandpa. He will not go anywhere, he will be right there, ready to snatch your position away at your next mistake.
See you on the track folks!
