GPL - Jean Alesi driving?

Forgive my na?vet - I am new to GPL (well - I guess everyone is except the beta testers :) and have just begun to regularly read this newsgroup again. Last night I was on-line with someone using the name Jean Alesi. Any chance it is the real F1 driver? We exchanged a few words in French and he seemed to know that Alesi's only win was in Canada in 1995... common knowledge for an Alesi fan. It could be a fan just using the name; it could be someone with the same name and therefore has become a fan; or, (the least likely, but not impossible) it could be M. Alesi himself. :) I know Jacques Villeneuve used to play GP2, but he is a confessed computer dork like the rest of us. I remember being surprised when in an interview in his first season Villeneuve mentioned learning the layout of new tracks that he had never been to by playing a computer game. If the F1 driver Jean Alesi *was* playing does anyone think he would be using his real name? I was playing at 11:00 or so EST (-5 GMT); if he was in Europe this would be very doubtful... however, if he was in Japan for next week's GP then it could be possible. Well, let me know your thoughts and the probability. Go ahead - destroy my fantasy (just because I was ahead of him for a lap or two at Mosport before disconnecting!). Any way you slice it, it was fun to race with him! Cheers all, Gian. (remove "*no-spam*" from address to reply)

>Forgive my na?vet - I am new to GPL (well - I guess everyone is except >the beta testers :) and have just begun to regularly read this newsgroup >again. Most of us had GPL before the release... even if we weren't beta testers ;-) (in legal and illegal ways heh). But welcome, still ;-) 1 chance on 300000. You need to remember that Formula 1 drivers have a really tight schedule and sleep really early in the night. The only real-life racecar driver I know that is involved in online racing is Dale Earnheardt Jr (BGN driver and upcoming WC superstar) on the NROS (Nascar online racing series, check out http://www.nros.com/ for news about it). The thing is that even if we all know many real life racecar drivers use racing simulators for practice and to keep up with the technique, it is probably really impossible that they have time to log on the net, actually know where to find online racing, etc.. Not saying it's impossible, but about every of them uses it "offline". When I met Patrick Carpentier (CART driver) last year I started to talk about him of online racing and also the differences in Icr2/C:PR and he was surprised to see that racing against 20 humans (on the NROS) at the same time existed, and that about every CART driver who had those racing simulators did that just for offline "fun". Of course, it's up to you to think if he was or not. Anybody could bring up the name "J.Alesi" while racing GPL ;-) Yes, he used Gp2 (we had a 30min interview here in Quebec (it's his home country) about his involvment with racing simulators. He also said he liked F1'97 by Psygnosis, so that took all credibility out of him (hehe joking). From what I remember... Sauber is testing with Ferrari at Fiorano presently in Europe... Sorry to spoil your dream ;-) . Maybe in the next years we will see online racing grow soo much that actual real-life racers will do it, but Im also too much utopian sometimes ! - Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard> Good race at the Brickyard! - Official Mentally retarded guy of r.a.s. - Excuse me for my English (I'm French speaking) - Sponsored by http://www.awpss.com/ on the NROS - "People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."--

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> It could be a fan just using the name; it could be someone with the same > name and therefore has become a fan; or, (the least likely, but not > impossible) it could be M. Alesi himself. :) I know Jacques Villeneuve > used to play GP2, but he is a confessed computer dork like the rest of > us. I remember being surprised when in an interview in his first season > Villeneuve mentioned learning the layout of new tracks that he had never > been to by playing a computer game.

WHile not likely, it isn't impossible. On TEN/NROS I have raced with a couple real Busch/WC drivers and crew. Bill / Amish on TEN

> On TEN/NROS I have raced with a couple real Busch/WC drivers and crew. Of course this is pure speculation. For months D_Jarrett and B_Labonte had some of us fooled for a while, yet they turned out to be liars. Then you have the countless others claiming to be "mr big" in this and that. DaleJr is the only real McCoy, he said so in an online interview in RealAudio. Then again, he could let anyone else "borrow" his TEN account anytime. The point is, you really, really never know who you are driving against. Regards, Rick "... our bank will have written response in 2 weeks..." --Bill Bollinger

> The point is, you really, really never know who you are driving against. Yah, you could be racing with a guy that wrecks every 14 laps LOL - Like you Rick. P.S. --- I asked BEFORE, where you want me to send the info. Mr. Y2000 Freak Bill / Amish on TEN

>that. DaleJr is the only real McCoy, he said so in an online interview >in RealAudio. yep - saw in interview with him on, I think, RPM Tonight, where he talked about it. -moggy -- gary cooper (not the dead one) Kesmai Studios Air Warrior Product Support http://www.cris.com/~cooper

ROTFL...nice on again Bill.

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>> The point is, you really, really never know who you are driving against. >Yah, you could be racing with a guy that wrecks every 14 laps LOL - Like >you Rick. >P.S. --- I asked BEFORE, where you want me to send the info. Mr. Y2000 >Freak >Bill / Amish on TEN

> Yes, he used Gp2 (we had a 30min interview here in Quebec (it's his home > country) about his involvment with racing simulators. He also said he liked > F1'97 by Psygnosis, so that took all credibility out of him (hehe joking). Unbelieveably, Jordan use F1'97 to familiarise their crew with the circuits and particulary turn names. One would hope that it's because of Martin Brundell's commentary and not because of the physics, cartoon graphics and just about every other feature of the game. Otherwise it's back to the drawing board for all of us. Paul

Yeah, and I think I remember reading that the whole Villeneuve thing about his using PC games was based around Power F1! I've also seen Barrichello playing ICR2.... Wonder if any of them have heard of GP2? Cheers! -- Graeme Nash You know what to do with "don't_spam_me"... http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk/ ICQ# 11257824 "My car appeared to disagree with my preference for living"

I think Jacques Villeneuve learned Spa by driving GP2 before he set pole position there during his first F1 year... Villeneuve is one of the drivers who has claimed computers and games/sims as one of his interests... I think it was GP2 and not Power F1... Jordan could easily use F1RS to familiarise their crew, F1RS has quite superior accuracy for the current day tracks... And while I am it, they could be given GPL as well so that their drivers could work on their racing tecniques. A couple of weeks with GPL would enable them to cut down on the downforce and get higher top speeds... ---Asgeir---

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> >Unbelieveably, Jordan use F1'97 to familiarise their crew with the circuits and > >particulary turn names. One would hope that it's because of Martin Brundell's > >commentary and not because of the physics, cartoon graphics and just about every > >other feature of the game. Otherwise it's back to the drawing board for all of > >us. > Yeah, and I think I remember reading that the whole Villeneuve thing > about his using PC games was based around Power F1! I've also seen > Barrichello playing ICR2.... Wonder if any of them have heard of GP2? > Cheers! > -- > Graeme Nash > You know what to do with "don't_spam_me"... > http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk/ > ICQ# 11257824 > "My car appeared to disagree with my preference for living"