- 2,843
- Massachusetts
- GBO-Possum
Dear Bobs
In the short time we have had together since the formation of Scuderia Possum, we have seen many magnificent successes. Thousands of miles of victorious racing and we have shared in a lot of prize money and experience points.
However, without mentioning names, there are some areas where I think there is room for improvement. You are all well-seasoned drivers and I’m looking for a slightly more cerebral approach to driving. In other words, I’d actually like you to think. With your brain, not the other thing.
For example, if you are on the Indy Oval, traveling at over 250 mph and there is a car in front traveling at say 180 mph, do you think you should:-
a) pass it on the left or right even if it requires a slight lift off of the throttle to do it safely, or
b) keep your right foot on the floor and if the victim doesn’t hop out of your way, then it’s TOUGH LUCK!
Yes, you think (b) is driving’s best practice and that’s where we disagree.
And about that 9 hour endurance race on Tsukuba. The reason I supplied you with the X2011 was to ensure victory. In our pre-race meetings I have repeatedly explained my preference for bringing a gun to a knife fight and not vice versa. During this race, it was obvious that any of you could use this awesome car to lap the entire field every two minutes or thereabouts. So, again, without naming names, why did you decide to repeatedly slam into the backs of the Subarus (or whatever) rather than overtake neatly? And remember that white car you slammed off the track? When you got yourself back on the roadway, why was it necessary to collide with the poor peasant yet again? Is this some sort of vendetta?
And what’s with this business of getting in behind some poor sucker and just pushing him along? Go around, NOT THROUGH!
Now I realize that such collisions don’t actually harm any cars or their drivers, and don’t involve extra expense for the team, but it just looks bad. It’s not doing our brand any good to see what appears to be a bullying tactic.
At the end of nine hours of racing the team had put the X2011 about 300 laps ahead of the nearest competitor. Don’t you think that’s just a little bit excessive? Don’t you think that you could have eased off for the final 8.5 hours of the race and conserved my fuel and tires? I expect that I’ll be up for an overhaul bill since you treated this endurance race as a sort of sprint.
Clearly, you all have an excess of adrenaline and testosterone. It doesn’t matter how often I call you on the radio and say “Pace Down”, because if you get some underpowered sedan in your sights, your emotion meter goes right up into the red zone and you can’t hear me any more. I’m looking at the replay and at 8½ hours, there’s the X2011 spinning in a cloud of dirt having crashed into some Nissan coupe. WTF? All we need to do is win. We don’t need a margin of THREE HUNDRED laps!
I was thinking of putting some of you bozos online so you could help out other racing teams, but now I’m too embarrassed to do this.
Here’s a friendly warning. There is a “Retire” button in GT5. I have never used it, but I’m sorely tempted. Think about it.
In the short time we have had together since the formation of Scuderia Possum, we have seen many magnificent successes. Thousands of miles of victorious racing and we have shared in a lot of prize money and experience points.
However, without mentioning names, there are some areas where I think there is room for improvement. You are all well-seasoned drivers and I’m looking for a slightly more cerebral approach to driving. In other words, I’d actually like you to think. With your brain, not the other thing.
For example, if you are on the Indy Oval, traveling at over 250 mph and there is a car in front traveling at say 180 mph, do you think you should:-
a) pass it on the left or right even if it requires a slight lift off of the throttle to do it safely, or
b) keep your right foot on the floor and if the victim doesn’t hop out of your way, then it’s TOUGH LUCK!
Yes, you think (b) is driving’s best practice and that’s where we disagree.
And about that 9 hour endurance race on Tsukuba. The reason I supplied you with the X2011 was to ensure victory. In our pre-race meetings I have repeatedly explained my preference for bringing a gun to a knife fight and not vice versa. During this race, it was obvious that any of you could use this awesome car to lap the entire field every two minutes or thereabouts. So, again, without naming names, why did you decide to repeatedly slam into the backs of the Subarus (or whatever) rather than overtake neatly? And remember that white car you slammed off the track? When you got yourself back on the roadway, why was it necessary to collide with the poor peasant yet again? Is this some sort of vendetta?
And what’s with this business of getting in behind some poor sucker and just pushing him along? Go around, NOT THROUGH!
Now I realize that such collisions don’t actually harm any cars or their drivers, and don’t involve extra expense for the team, but it just looks bad. It’s not doing our brand any good to see what appears to be a bullying tactic.
At the end of nine hours of racing the team had put the X2011 about 300 laps ahead of the nearest competitor. Don’t you think that’s just a little bit excessive? Don’t you think that you could have eased off for the final 8.5 hours of the race and conserved my fuel and tires? I expect that I’ll be up for an overhaul bill since you treated this endurance race as a sort of sprint.
Clearly, you all have an excess of adrenaline and testosterone. It doesn’t matter how often I call you on the radio and say “Pace Down”, because if you get some underpowered sedan in your sights, your emotion meter goes right up into the red zone and you can’t hear me any more. I’m looking at the replay and at 8½ hours, there’s the X2011 spinning in a cloud of dirt having crashed into some Nissan coupe. WTF? All we need to do is win. We don’t need a margin of THREE HUNDRED laps!
I was thinking of putting some of you bozos online so you could help out other racing teams, but now I’m too embarrassed to do this.
Here’s a friendly warning. There is a “Retire” button in GT5. I have never used it, but I’m sorely tempted. Think about it.
