Jan, you have good points and you are right in that there is no
real-life equivalent for hotlapping, but I have no problems with
that. This is a sim after all, not the real thing: no computer
imitation can be (until the Matrix, of course :).
Hotlapping is just a very natural way to compete with
a sim, because it is the simplest way to rank a huge number
of drivers from around the world. I think hotlapping is a different
sport from normal sim-racing, where different rules apply and
partly different people take part in.
I do agree with you also that the fastest drivers in the world
are not necessarily the ones on top of the hotlap charts, but
at the moment it sure seems so! ;)
But I wasn't going to start defending hotlapping as a valid
sport or anything, I was originally just trying to say that
the image of a constantly crashing, unreliable hotlapper is
wrong.
Happy racing,
Jussi