rec.autos.simulators

Hey all,

Today I was looking through a 1994 Autosport magazine I found and came
across the "my greatest race" feature with Jean Alesi. And it got me
thinking about sim-racing: What's the best sim-race you've ever had?

For me it's a race I had on F1GP sometime in 1996. It was a 100%
distance race at Magny-Cours where I crashed into a backmarker at mid-
distance and after emerging from the pits with a new nosecone I was a
lap down. I fought back hard, the one time I have ever truly felt "in
the zone". I passed David Coulthard twice in 12 laps and caught up to
the leaders over the last 10 laps. I worked my way through them until,
at the hairpin on the last lap I passed Villeneuve for second. I tracked
down the leader - Barrichello in the Jordan - and to the end of the lap
I was right on his tail. I pushed right at the limit and at the very
last corner of the very last lap, I ducked past him and took the win by
one tenth of a second.
It took a while for me to recover; I was really tired!

I really enjoyed recollecting the race and if anyone has any great
memories, share 'em!

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

http://www.racesimcentral.net/
ICQ# 11257824

1998 Xoom GP2 League Champion

On Sun, 28 Feb 1999 20:00:31 +0000, Graeme Nash

Mine was an F1GP race in the F1SA league on CompuServe -- it was at
Silverstone and I'd spun and gotten behind early, but the AI cars were
slowing at the end and I was moving up fast.  Starting the last lap, I
was in fourth but passed two cars and caught up with Alesi in that
last sequence of turns.  I faked one way and the other but couldn't
get by.  Finally in that last right-hander, we tangled and both spun
off.  One of the cars behind us went on to win and I think I finished
5th or 6th with a damaged car, but that was the most exciting sim race
I ever ran...
               _ |\_      
               \` ..\     =======================================    

        ."        )         NASSCAR Miskatonic Chrysler 300M #77
  _    /   ,    \/\_            TPTCC TSR2 Honda Accord #77
 ((____|    )_-\ \_-`     =======================================
 `-----'`-----` `--`        USGP at Indianapolis -- Sept 2000!

A GP2 race the Dijon track i d/l'ed and a '76 season carset.  I sat on pole and
led the first 15 laps (of 45) but tangeled with a slow car i was lapping and
tore off my nose cone.so after doing 2 laps with no front wing (a bad idea) and
dropped to 10th a lap down after my pit stop for a new nose and decided to make
my regular pit stop at that time too.  I come out of the pits in 10th and just
sort of cruised for a few laps thinking that all the AI cars would have to stop
and id make up the time then (the laps were only 50-54 secs).  Now after
positions 4-9 stopped i had gotten back to 5th and was starting to make my
charge but still conserving tires.  The leader, Reggazoni, was only 35 secs
ahead with Lauda in 2nd, Hunt 3rd and my teammate in the other Tyrell in 4th.
With about 15 laps left Hunt lost a motor moving me to 4th.  I made it to 2nd
with 6 laps to go.  Finally Reggazoni had to pit and with the 10 sec gap to
Lauda behind me i went for broke and tried to set fast lap.  Bad idea in the
end.  With only 1 1/2 laps to go my LCD said "Engine Trouble".  I was still
under power though so i cooled it to try and last to the end.  Didnt work.
Coming out of the next to last turn it gave up and i became a passenger hoping
to roll it the remaining 1/2 mile to the Finish line.  But that was not to be.
I stopped dead about 100 yds short of the line and ended up in 4th (5th was a
lap down).

When it happened my first thought was Jim Clark at Monza in '67.  Even though i
didnt win that was my best race.

Chris

Mine was an NR1999 race recently for the NWST league. I was racing the
Bud-Shootout at Daytona for 26 laps. During qualifying, I scrubbed the first
lap off, and in the second lap, I crashed out. I started near the back of
the field. Throughout the race I fought near the front. The only incident
was when I came to the inside of someone (Bobby Labonte, I think) in turn 3.
My car got a little push and I ended up tapping him, sending him into the
wall. I managed to get the car under control. I lost a couple of positions
as my car was slow. However, my favorite moment was when I passed Mark
Martin in turn 1. He and I were side-by-side, bumped doors a bit, then I
went by him. I ended up finishing second behind Rusty Wallace. However, the
scary thing, I did this race at 1:00 A.M. and I was half-asleep. Almost hit
the wall a couple of times.

Travis Kallner

One that sticks out was with World Circuit (GP1).  Running at Canada, I
screwed up when running 3rd with about 10 laps to go, got back to about 7th.
Worked my way up a position every few laps, until with about 3 to go I'm
chasing Berger, who had inherited 3rd from me.  Can't get around him, great
battle.  Get to the last lap, draft him coming down the long straight, dive
around him coming out of the kink onto the finishing straight.  Almost
cleared him, but we banged wheels and we both were spinning toward the
finsish line.  I cross the finish line backwards, beating him for 3rd by
about 5 pixels.  Watched that replay over and over - too bad you couldn't
save 'em in GP1.  Remember something about Berger and someone wrecking at a
finish not too far removed from my race, so it seemed quite realistic.

More recently, when GPL had been out for a month or so, got into my first
big race online at Monza, 18 cars or so with the usual wreckfest at the
start.  I managed to avoid most of it, stayed on the track and kept picking
up positions as people spun.  Got down to the last lap, my Eagle was in 3rd,
pretty well back.  I see two cars go into Parabolica pretty hot, figured it
was 2nd and a lapped car.  I get in there and narrowly avoid being clipped
by an Eagle spinning there, and have a Ferrari straightening out and trying
to accelerate out of the corner a bit in front.  We come out side by side
and drag race to the checkers, again I get it by a few pixels.  Surprise
was, this was 1st and 2nd who wrecked, so this was for the win - I was
shaking after that one :-)  One plus for not knowing the exact standings at
any given time in GPL.

--
Ken

"If I went 'round claiming I was Emperor because some
 moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away" - anonymous
peasant

Go #43 and #44!

volksy (at) geocities (dot) com
volksy (at) yahoo (dot) com

Well, I had a hell of a race on Grand Prix Legends yesterday.  It wasn't
necessarily my best race, but it is the only one that comes to mind right now,
heh.  I was racing against Clark, Hill, Brabham, Hulme, and Gurney at Monza in
a 6 lap race.  I started in third with my second fastest lap ever, 1:30.88
(I've only had the sim for two months, give me a break!)
Anyway, on the start, I was horribly slow and was in last by the time I got to
Curva Grande, but I picked up a position right through there.  I held position
until the corner before Parabolica, where I edged around Gurney on the outside.
 For the next two laps I held in third.  With three laps to go, I slid under
Hill into Parabolica pulling a spectacular slide job like you would see in a
midget race.  I slid behind Clark and drafted on him with two laps to go,
sliding by him just barely into Curva Grande, around the outside, but I
couldn't get enough momentum out of the corner and had to slip into his draft
again.  I get a great run towards Parabolica, topping out at 198 mph in my
Lotus and went underneath Clark and braked late.  I made my turn in while going
90 mph, well too fast to get through the corner.  I turned in hard, trying to
get sideways to slow down.  I fought the wheel as my tires bobbled into the
grass, all four of them got off road.  I slid back out onto the track, bouncing
over the curbing and sliding way high on the track.  I regained control and
took my car lower as Clark looked inside, so I pinched him onto the curb and
caused him to slow.  I batteled onto the front stretch, taking the lead.
Towards Curva Grand, Clark once again looked inside with one lap to go.  I
decided that I had nothing to lose since it was the final lap, so I drove my
car to its limits and slid through the turn, holding off Clark and getting an
excellent run onto the straightaway.  I slid my car through the Lesmos
extremely well and got a great run into Parabolica and a great run out, causing
me to beat Jim Clark to the checkers by .43 seconds, gaining my first ever GPL
victory.  I should've turned some donuts like Zanardi, but I was too e***d to
do anything!  LOL

I would have to say, that my best/and most remerable race was a Head-to-Head
race at Phoenix (N2).  Qualified on the outside pole.  My buddy got the
pole.  He lead a few laps.  He pushed out going through the turn just before
the short back straight.  I saw the slip and took advantage.  Never looked
back!  I ended up even lapping hum later. But, it wasn't ment to be, him
staying a lap down.  Shortly after lapping him,  I pushed into a car in the
same place I past my firend in the begining of the race!  My friend had
gotten his lap back and a the benifit of a yellow flag!  Oh was I p***** at
myself! But, I was in the front and he was in the back.  Just a few more
laps! He would never catch me.  After a few more laps, another caution came
out.  I look in my rearview mirror and with 10 laps to go, guess who! To
make matters worse, my car was leaving me and it was going quickly!  Green
flag! One lap and my worse fears where confirmed!  He had much more car left

laps, 7 laps, 6 laps, 5 laps... He's pulling away! I can't believe this! 4
laps, What's this? Lapped traffic? Maybe!.... Lap3.... He's catching them!
And still pulling away from me.  5-7 sec. lead! I push again into the first
of the lap traffic, we bump, no caution, and I lose more time! Spotter says,
"There is a spin in Turn 3". Wait, that's ahead of me! Car spinning in front
of me!  Can't back off!  Got-a go through!  Whats this! That's him! And he's
coming back up the track! TAP! Oh! I feel bad now!  I took him out!....  I
lead the lap that was the most critical...The last one!  Replay showed that
he was off pace and coming up into the racing groove.  I was at speed and
coming down the track!  I rubbed the left rear corner of his car. Sent him
spinning again.

One more! Talladega (101% AI, ace setup, LAN connection)....
We started in the back, and we were tag team drafting up to the front.  He
had gotten stuck out the outside lane come out of turn 3 and I had a run, so
I stuck low, and started telling him what I was doing(our computers were
across from each other).  I had told him , keep in it, I will pass on the
inside. I pulled up along the side of him.  After a few quick glances at
each other to confirm the plan, I look down to see my car literaly,
threading-the-needle between two cars sliding sideways down the track!  I
got through!  He didn't!

Can't beat that for close racing!

    My best race ever happened last Sunday at Melbourne in F1RS.  As ac challenge
to myself I decided to drive the underpowered Prost.  After setting the third
fastest time in Friday Practice I was a little disappointed when I only qualified
8th on the grid, but then again Panis qualified 19th.  I was in the zone the minute
that the lights went out; I got a great start( granted both Benetton's and a
Williams got together) and at the exit of right left combo I was second right on
Schumi's gearbox.  Probably my best move of the race happened at the last turn when
I passed Schumi on the outside then cut of his chance to pass me back going into
the first corner.  But, I only led for 7 laps when I spun in the sweeping right
hander before the pit entrance.  Now I was in 4th place trying to catch Hakkinen,
but this wasn't working so I decided to wait until the pit stops.  But, then two
laps from my pit stop and in position to pass Hakk I got a short-cut penatly for
taking the left hander at the pit entrance to wide.  I served my penatly and then I
made my pit stop and at this point I was way back in 14th place.  The next 15 laps
were fairly un eventful except that I made up 9 position because the one stoppers
all pitted.  Then three laps before my second pit-stop I went really long into the
2nd gear right hander before the Coca-Cola Bridge and I lost 6 seconds to Hakk who
by now was 25 seconds a head of me.  As I came in for my 2nd stop Hakk was leaving
so I knew I would have to go hard.  And that's exactly what i did cutting into
Hakk's lap times by up to 1.5 seconds a lap.  Then with ten laps he ran into lap
traffic and I was now only 6 seconds back.  I made it through the traffic with no
trouble and caught up with Hakk who had been blocked for a Stewart for about 2
laps.  With six laps left I passed Hakk on the turn 4 left hander
(the inside the big parking lot?) and then passed the Stewart about 3 or 4 turns
latter.  I couldn't believe it that I was in 3rd place!  Then looking at the lap
times as the final laps went by I was taking 3 to 4 seconds a lap off Schumi some
25 seconds ahead of me.  But it was too late and I was more than happy with
finishing 3rd after the bogus pentalty.  I just wish that their was 10 more laps,
then I would have won the race.  I would have spun some donuts but the game takes
control of the car.
-Adam