rec.autos.simulators

Brian Fox
http://www.racesimcentral.net/~foxman
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

Chris

Although I'm guilty of driving what seems to be the second most popular car
in online GPL - the Ferrari (down to the sound and Alison's setups I guess) -
 I'm tempted to start with the Eagle for two reasons - I'm sick of seeing red
and green online, and I love how it looks... I was at Monza last night and it
was like the Lotus owners club.  On the bright side I did crack 1:30 at last
(3 times in the race, no less). I'm with you - I'd like to see more varied
grids.

Appologies for straying from the original thread ;-)

Cheers,

Mark
Reading, UK

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Good racing can be found mid-field, or even at the back.

Fighting in 10th position with a Cooper can be as rewarding as fighting in 2nd in
a Lotus. First of all, it's lonely up front, very lonely. And what is the point
of on-line racing then? By using a slightly slower car, we can have fun over the
entire time span of the  race, instead of ONE single opportunity to overtake the
super-fast wonder boy in front for the lead.

After all, the different car makes are all within 2-3 seconds on most of the
tracks (except Nrburgring), and with proper driving, it gets awfully difficult
to pass someone with that little speed advantage. I have myself struggled for 5
minutes trying to pass someone at the ring despite having 30 secs faster lap
times.

Fierce, intense racing can be the result of picking a slightly slower car...

---Asgeir---

Although it might make sense to learn to drive a faster car which you don't
really like in real life I think there's no valid reason to do so in GPL.
Even online, if you don't race the really fast guys, you've got a shot in
just about any car. It all boils down to not falling off the track. I
recently went from 15th to 6th at the Glen without having to pass anyone and
running early 1m07's in the Cooper.

Jan.
----

yep, I am totally with you! but 2nd important thing: don't get hit by
some stupid in that first turn ;-)

Lio

The Brabham is not as good on tracks with a lot of long straights like
Spa or Monza because it doesn't have the top speed to match the other
cars (Lotus, Eagle, Ferrari). However, the more *technically* challenging
a track is, the more the Brabham comes into its own.  The lighter
weight, sturdier suspension, shorter wheelbase and narrower track make
the Brabham a superior choice for almost all of the other tracks.  It's
also one of the most durable cars available to you.

It's outstanding off the line, and you can throw it around turns with
almost complete abandon.  I won the IPGS/2 championship with a Brabham,
and the Brabham won the 1967 championship.  I placed 2nd in IGPS/1
driving an Eagle.  Here's my best times in both the Eagle and the Brabham
- they're not the fastest (by a long shot), but they're damn respectable
(an asterisk indicates the faster of the two lap times between the two
cars):

                Brabham Eagle
Kyalami 1:22.01*        1:22.24
Mexico          1:50.29*        1:50.85
Monaco          1:29.69*        1:30.19
Monza           1:30.29 1:29.71*
Mosport 1:23.78 1:23.50*
Nurburgring     8:33.90*        8:37.14
Rouen           1:59.49*        2:00.05
Silverstone     1:30.29*        1:30.96
Spa             3:21.82 3:20.81*
Watkins Glen    1:07.25 1:06.66*
Zandvoort       1:27.96 1:27.25*

For what it's worth, I drove the Eagle *first* through an entire season.

One thing you should be aware of - despite how tough the car really is,
you can blow the motor if you overrev it too much.

In my opionion, the Brabham (like all of the other cars) is a great
choice and shines at tracks that allow you to exploit its features.  
Don't overlook it, and don't ever underestimate one on the track.

--
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Brian,

     All I can say is that if you don't like the Brabham,don't drive it.

Joel Willstein