keets
New Member
Posts: 20
|
Post by keets on Aug 27, 2020 14:58:52 GMT -5
So I started Aus today. Antony has only gone and posted a top 4 leaderboard time for the first stage!! 😲 I was 14 seconds back with what I thought was a good run, I was up on the first 2 splits as well, yet the 3rd sector he blew me away 2nd stage I got back 1.5 seconds, then lost them again on the 3rd. 4th stage was going well, slightly down on the first 2 sectors, then clipped the fence and burst a tyre. 🤬 2 mins down now. Loving the Group A’s in Aus though. The Integrale feels at home. Will finish up tomorrow, but thing it’s down to you again Roo
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Aug 27, 2020 20:57:03 GMT -5
Hmm, will see what I can come up with. At least I'll have some target to aim for this time around, but sounds like some practice may be in order.
Got my simpit configured back to flying temporarily. Will be switching back and forth quite a bit in the future, to keep up with the rally while also enjoying MSFS 2020, DCS, etc. Not super hard to reconfigure, but does take ~30 minutes each time. Really need a second pit...
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Aug 30, 2020 21:01:19 GMT -5
That Integrale really does go beautifully with Australia. I remember trying it out in Spain and New England a couple of times, and it just felt a little soft and mushy. The Evo just seemed to work better on smooth surfaces. With the bumpy nature of Australia though, the Lancia came into its own. I actually tried the Mitsubishi for a few hundred yards to see how it compared, but it was bouncing all over the place and barely drivable. I think the Integrale is about the only car that might be able to tame the Argentinian stages without breaking the human inside. I know you can soften up the suspension and probably tune just about any car to get some pliancy with the bumps, but typically the only thing I'm comfortable touching is the brake bias. Anything else and I worry I'll just make it undrivable. I generally know what most of the options do, just don't have the confidence to experiment with them yet. The Lancia does have some brutal power understeer though. Perhaps it was just a change from the tail happy Escort, but unless you really get the tail around with some trail braking, the Integrale will just understeer as soon as you put the power down. At that point only significant use of the handbrake can get it to rotate. It's definitely drivable, just not quite my ideal handling. I did manage to pip Antony this round, but it took a bit more practice and a lot more luck than I was hoping for. It's definitely pushing me and we're certainly up near the top of the leaderboards for these stages. Stage 1 was going well, about a second up into the second to last split, but just drifted wide over the fast tarmac section before the narrow bridge and got tangled and spun around in the signposts, which cost me 7 seconds. No real damage thankfully. Started chipping away at the lead, but Stage 5 I misjudged a 3 right after a high speed section and slammed into a fence. I'd hit that same place in the R5s I think, but just forgot about it. Burst a tire and lost 45 seconds manhandling the thing along, spinning quite a few times. Unfortunately I'd also damaged the radiator, engine, and turbo, so subsequent long Stage 6 without any repairs lost me another 30-odd seconds, even without any major mistakes. I'd had a look at Antony's times before practicing, so I knew that Stage 7 was my chance to bring back some time. He must have changed a tire from a puncture as I gained 1:47 back on him, so that was a huge lucky break. With the car back up to (mostly) full health, that run transformed a ~1:20 deficit into a 27 second advantage. Gained another couple of seconds in the next stage too. Stage 9 was a bit of a nightmare though. Got a puncture early on, in a place that I'd never got one before and really shouldn't have. Just misjudged the braking into a tight 1 right at the top of a hill and slammed into the dirt. Since it was early on, it dropped me back 35 seconds for a 2 second deficit with three stages to go. Stage 10 went pretty well until about 2/3 through, were I was about a second up. I misjudged a 4 right and went sliding over a berm, but thankfully the track turned back on itself immediately so I could basically just cut the corner through the ravine. I got to the bottom and was just starting back up, only about 30 feet from the track, when I got reset with a 8 second penalty. Really thought I'd thrown away the rally there, but Antony must have had another puncture as I was only 2 seconds down at the next split and managed to get a 11 second advantage at the end. After that I just cruised a little in the last two stages to finish 7 seconds ahead. Overall, not my best rally. After looking at the blistering times that were being set I put in a bit more practice for this one, so I had a lot more familiarity with the course. I've run Scotland a few extra times outside of the main rallies, so hopefully not as much practice needed there to keep up. That said, the margins on the H1s are pretty narrow, as the lack of power punishes any mistake. Will be interesting to see how that plays out.
|
|
|
Post by Mudcat on Sept 7, 2020 11:48:28 GMT -5
Damn it's Monday already, silly holiday's throwing me off
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Sept 7, 2020 19:26:08 GMT -5
Yeah, been a weird couple of weeks for me too. Should be able to run it tonight though.
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Sept 8, 2020 21:18:19 GMT -5
Ah Scotland, home of my favorite rally. The type of stages that are equal parts old Spa and Nurburgring, with a dash of Stelvio Pass and a garnish of dirt and gravel. They type of thing you wouldn't think should work, but as soon as you sink your teeth into it is the most delicious thing you could ever imagine. Only one thing could possibly dampen my spirits. . .
Rain. Torrential, pouring rain. The type of rain that makes you think that if there is a cosmic power, they must have forgotten the faucet on full blast when they popped down to the corner store to pick up some milk. Sadly, this was one of those occasions (we really need a cosmic plumber). After comparing my practice run times to Antony's, I had a feeling it might be wet, but I was still holding out hope for dryness (alas).
As for the cars, I think I may have given the H1s a bit more of a bad rap than they deserve. My only previous experience with them being in Australia, I thought they were just little metal boxes that tried to shake themselves to pieces, but it turns out it was the Aussie ruts, not the cars, that were the issue. I actually ended up back in the Mini because it seemed to have just a little bit more oomph in a straight line, plus extra agility in the corners. Power to weight is actually slightly higher than the Lancia at 67.7 vs. 65.2 (error, DS 21 boat power to weight not found), and an extra 1,000 rpm to play with (7k vs. 6k) does make it feel that much better.
After doing a double take at the start because I was sure I saw Noah opening up the ark doors because even the ducks thought it was too wet, I set off on a surprisingly enjoyable and rapid run. I'm not sure if it was the car, stages, or combination of the two, but I could handily pull out a gap to Antony on every stage. Had a couple of incidents here and there like sliding off a ridge and having to reset back; cutting too far into a berm, rolling up to two wheels and smacking face first into a tree stump; and getting a rear puncture thankfully only a half split away from the end, but otherwise it was a pretty clean run.
Overall I think Scotland just makes any car really enjoyable. Sure the Mini isn't my precious 205 T16, but I still had a blast. The longer flowing sections let you get even the Mini up to a very respectable clip, and sashaying the tiny chassis between trees, rocks, and berms was just blissful. One of my most enjoyed rallies in a while.
|
|
|
Post by Mudcat on Sept 9, 2020 9:25:41 GMT -5
Well I had time to race, just didn't make it very far. I took the boat because the forecast was for rain I destroyed the car something fierce on stage 1, couldn't repair everything I needed to, so I choose radiator and engine over gearbox. Then I lost 3rd gear, then I ran into something and finished off said gearbox. Anyway, set up the next 4 races.
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Sept 9, 2020 17:22:56 GMT -5
Oof, tough luck with the early crash. It's really tempting to carry as much speed as possible in the corners with the H1s, but when you realize you've gone in too fast it's borderline impossible to slow it down without the use of a tree... Meanwhile, my reaction to seeing the next four rallies: I'd actually taken out the 205 T16 in Scotland to get used to it again, but even after a dozen tries couldn't get further than about halfway through the stage before whacking a rock. Turns out you can't just pin the throttle and steer your way out of things like in the H1s. Some re-calibration is necessary!
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Sept 12, 2020 0:03:58 GMT -5
Decided to run the rally a little early this week. Turns out it perhaps wasn't the best idea... The F2s actually go pretty well with Poland. They've got enough power to yank the nose around on throttle with enough steering lock, and in the higher speed stuff (of which there is a lot in Poland) it almost feels like a 4WD. Slow speed can get a bit awkward, but overall they're pretty good. Top speed is also generally low enough to not get into too much trouble, but there are some really fast yet very tight sections which are really on a knife's edge. First two stages went really well, very smooth and only a tiny tap and some subsequent minor body damage. Stage three went well until the last split when I got out of shape and sideswiped a tree which span me into another tree. In all honesty it wasn't that hard of an impact, more of a couple of glancing blows, but somehow I managed to get a triple puncture just leaving the front left inflated. Managed to get to the end without much fuss, but since I was only carrying one spare (and no repair stop) I had to drive the next stage with only the front two tires intact. Ended up feeling like Sebastian Vettel on the first lap of a 2019 grand prix and spinning anytime there was a hint of a corner. The car was pretty badly smashed up, but managed to fix up a few things and set off on the long stage 5. About halfway though I slid wide into a berm and got a front left puncture, but carried on until I got to a right entry chicane. Locked up the remaining front wheel and ended up sliding helplessly into the hay bale. Probably only impacted at 20 mph, but it was enough to terminally damage the already knackered gearbox that I didn't have time to repair. Argh! Sadly I haven't had much luck with the F2s, even though they're probably my favorite FWD cars. I crashed out similarly in Finland when we ran the cars in that rally. Perhaps it's just the high speed rallies that lead to my issues with the class. Regardless, will put me back quite a bit in the championship, unless we get a lot of DNS finishers like the last couple of rallies.
|
|
|
Post by Mudcat on Sept 12, 2020 12:57:32 GMT -5
Poland seems to be extra touchy with tires, like Finland but worse somehow. I'll have to get my time in, maybe even today! Early for once, well if my internet gets sorted that is. New equipment, but I'm not getting much slower speeds, grrr. Will have to wake keets up as well
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Sept 12, 2020 18:32:29 GMT -5
[...] I'll have to get my time in, maybe even today! [...] Will have to wake keets up as well Oh I see how it is! "Look everyone, Roo crashed, let's all get out there and beat him!"
|
|
|
Post by Mudcat on Sept 12, 2020 21:48:07 GMT -5
[...] I'll have to get my time in, maybe even today! [...] Will have to wake keets up as well Oh I see how it is! "Look everyone, Roo crashed, let's all get out there and beat him!" Well you know darn well I'm gonna goon it up and crash before you did anyway lol. I don't think i've finished a rally since we moved over here
|
|
|
Post by an70ny on Sept 13, 2020 17:04:46 GMT -5
All, I just realized there was a forum for this league. I wanted to say, I am enjoying racing with you guys. I like the crazy courses. Special mention for the epic battles with Roo. Tough luck in Poland, your pace was faster than mine until the crash. I find that Poland punishes me every time I feel I am in control and decide to push just a little harder. Keep the good work up!
|
|
|
Post by Mudcat on Sept 13, 2020 20:56:45 GMT -5
Glad you made it here an70ny Happy to have you here driving with us!
|
|
Roo
Junior Member
Posts: 64
|
Post by Roo on Sept 13, 2020 21:51:24 GMT -5
Welcome! Great to have you here.
Racing with you is awesome fun. You're an extremely quick driver and definitely pushing me to my absolute limits. As I'm sure you know, setting the initial times comes with a high degree of risk as you don't know whether you can back off or need to push harder. Didn't work out this time, but I'll be back next week!
|
|