rec.autos.simulators

The transition has not been without its difficulties and I'm still a
long way from the driving confidence that I had when using a joystick,
but me old laptimes have been tumbling nicely.

Braking is still an issue, but I'm just slightly more consistent over
the past couple of weeks, though catching the car is nowhere near the
certainty that it used to be from the past.  Plus I could really throw
the car into the corners whilst right on the edge when joystick racing
and still deal with whatever would happen, all the time keeping the car
on the road - 99% of the time :) - whereas I'm still tiptoeing through
the corners somewhat with the wheel, because if things start to go wrong
I haven't yet developed the wherewithalls to know how to best deal with
it and often spin out.

Mind you, I'm pretty pleased with that 8:23.58 at the ring which I just
did and, hopefully with continued practice can carry on in the right
direction.  I certainly don't feel I've reached peak yet.  Btw, all laps
done whilst speedshifting as I've not yet developed the technique or
consistency to do this properly yet, which is also keeping me offline
for now.  I know I won't last more than 5 laps at most circuits unless
they are at novice level with a strong possibility of many a crash or
blown engine or just taking some poor *** off the road.

Anyway, I'm there, a little earlier than I perhaps anticipated too.  I
could get used to this.  :)

One more thing, does anyone know how Wolfgang Woeger's transition from
joystick to wheel has gone?  I've not seen or heard anything from him
anywhere since doing so, and he doesn't appear to have a gplrank either.
He was always a target of mine when joystick racing and so I just can't
help but carry that on now that we're both using wheels.
--
Peter Ives
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If you know what's good for you, don't listen to me
GPLRank Joystick -50.63 Wheel -2.26    

Congratulations,

Tony Whitley
GPLRank -0.16
P.S. You might at least make it sound as though you had  s o m e  difficulty
going negative... Not "being able to catch the car 99% of the time" when
many of us are at about 50:50 doesn't make for exciting reading!

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.racesimcentral.net/~epickett
F1 hcp. +25.37...F2 +151.26...

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
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Yeah, but that was back in my heady days of using a joystick that I
could catch the car pretty much, no matter what.  Can't say the same
thing with using a wheel.   As I said, I'm still tiptoeing through
corners by comparison to how I used to drive.

For example, Parabolica with a joystick used to be a simple case of
brake as late and hard as possible and then throw the car into the
corner.  If I got it wrong by leaving it a bit too late the car would
perhaps drift a bit away from the apex, but that was about it.  With my
wheel it's more a case of brake earlier and hope that firstly the car
doesn't suddenly spin out under braking, then carefully steer in towards
the apex whilst going easy on the throttle until I'm ready to start
accelerating out.  If I go in too deep then there's a good chance that
I'll drift so wide as to be almost on the grass in a desperate attempt
to avoid spinning out.  I haven't as yet developed that instinctual
ability that I had with the joystick that allowed me to nearly always
react appropriately at any given time.  Still, it's early days. ;-)

PS: apologies for using YANGA without permission.  How much do I owe ya?
:)
--
Peter Ives
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If you know what's good for you, don't listen to me
GPLRank Joystick -50.63 Wheel -2.26

Only in comparison to how I used to drive when using a joystick.  I was
driving on the edge back then and knew it, but also knew how to cope
with it.  As things stand now with my wheel I doubt my approach to
driving is much different to yours Eldred, with every corner feeling
like a journey into the unknown.  If I push it any harder then it's
unlikely that I'm going to complete a lap, so I feel like I'm having to
go a lot more carefully than I personally know is possible when it all
starts to come together.

Believe me I'm well pleased to have been able to put in such a quick lap
at the Ring so soon.  It was actually my third and final lap before I
was going to call it quits.  The previous 2 had both resulted in 3 spins
each and were pretty abysmal driving affairs.  However, despite the 3
spins I still had managed an 8:47 in one of the laps and so I knew, if I
held it together and held my nerve that I was going to get something in
the 8:20s and so it prooved.

Look, I'll tell you how erratic I still am.  I've even managed to drive
into the hedge on the long straight at the Ring when trying to set
myself up for the fast lefthand sweep.  It's at times like that you
think to yourself, 'Why am I bothering!!'  And then it's times like that
8:23 and getting that target -ve rank so soon that I think 'Yeah, it was
worth sticking at it!!'
--
Peter Ives
Remove ALL_STRESS before replying
If you know what's good for you, don't listen to me
GPLRank Joystick -50.63 Wheel -2.26

I still tiptoe through any number of corners - including most of those at
the 'Ring.

Is there any other way to go round Parabolica? I thought it was supposed to
be like that :-)

I'll let you off. This time.

--
Tony Whitley
GPLRank -0.16
"On some laps I'd get as many as fif*** corners really right, but Moss, he
gets them all right on every lap" - Von Trips after the 1961 German Grand
Prix.

That sounds about like I feel about the driving, except I don't have the
personal experience of having been faster...  I'm on the edge, with no benefit.

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +25.37...F2 +151.26...

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
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Shh...  I'm trying to be nice...<g>

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +25.37...F2 +151.26...

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Why "even"? It is my favourite place to crash at the Ring. It usually
happen on a good lap when I am thinking whether I should push hard in
the last few corners to get few extra tenths or setlle for a safe
good time. Unfortunately, somebody put heages around that straight:<

Alex
(alexti)

Hey, perhaps that's the problem when you drive.  You're trying to drive
too nicely instead of beating those *** tracks into submission.  Mind
you, I think we've been there already with this one.  Just had a deja vu
moment.  Something about 'drive it like you bought it.'  Oh well, seemed
like a whimsical comment at the time. ;-)
--
Peter Ives
Remove ALL_STRESS before replying
If you know what's good for you, don't listen to me
GPLRank Joystick -50.63 Wheel -2.26