My Racing Updates

[RedPartyhat]

If you make big time and this thread becomes archived I want it to be known that I rekt you in Suzuki Swifts.

Don't forget who beat Spurgy at the SSRX quali race.

 

[Akmuq]

Don't forget who beat Spurgy at the SSRX quali race.

I think he has his own racing thread somewhere.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Question for you @Spurgy 777. I watched quite a bit of your last couple of videos and notice you are very good at hitting your marks. Do you find it easier/same/harder to hit your marks/apexes in the real car or in the game?

 

[Spurgy 777]

Question for you @Spurgy 777. I watched quite a bit of your last couple of videos and notice you are very good at hitting your marks. Do you find it easier/same/harder to hit your marks/apexes in the real car or in the game?

Thanks I find it easier on GT6, but that's probably because I get a lot more practice on it, and I'm still getting used to the Formula Ford and learning how it handles, etc, which plays a big part in how well I can hit my marks.

To hit your marks well, you need to know what the limits of the car are, and how it'll react to your inputs, as well as being completely comfortable with the basics, such a changing gear, which I'm still getting used to. If you know all of that very well, then you should be able to put the car wherever you want it every time, but that all simply comes down to practice, which, unless you're overflowing with money, is a bit of a luxury

 

[rono_thomas]

It looks like tight squeeze trying to change gear!

 

[Spurgy 777]

It looks like tight squeeze trying to change gear!

It can be a bit awkward sometimes yes, but once you've got your arm in a good position you don't have to move it too much

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

It can be a bit awkward sometimes yes, but once you've got your arm in a good position you don't have to move it too much

That's always been my motto...




I'll get my coat...

 

[Spurgy 777]

That's always been my motto...




I'll get my coat...

Damn you!

 

[Johnnypenso]

Damn you!

Project Cars has a Formula Rookie class car, basically a Formula Ford, and will have many British tracks including Cadwell Park, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Donington, Snetterton and Oulton Park in all their variations as well AFAIK. Are you planning to acquire the game and use it for practice?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=29&v=IrjpIxaigIU

 

[Spurgy 777]

Project Cars has a Formula Rookie class car, basically a Formula Ford, and will have many British tracks including Cadwell Park, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Donington, Snetterton and Oulton Park in all their variations as well AFAIK. Are you planning to acquire the game and use it for practice?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=29&v=IrjpIxaigIU

I've already pre-ordered it for those exact reasons think it should be coming out today, but I haven't had any post yet.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I've already pre-ordered it for those exact reasons think it should be coming out today, but I haven't had any post yet.

Ahhh...sorry to break the news to you but it was delayed until May...a couple of weeks ago..

 

[Spurgy 777]

Ahhh...sorry to break the news to you but it was delayed until May...a couple of weeks ago..

That's annoying, I wasn't going to be able to play it today anyway, heading up to Silverstone for the first race weekend

 

[Johnnypenso]

That's annoying, I wasn't going to be able to play it today anyway, heading up to Silverstone for the first race weekend

If the game ever releases, I'll be curious to hear your feedback on it:tup:👍 Even if the physics are off, it'll have to be of some use if only to learn the tracks. 💡

 

[Spurgy 777]

If the game ever releases, I'll be curious to hear your feedback on it:tup:👍 Even if the physics are off, it'll have to be of some use if only to learn the tracks. 💡

That was my thinking, although I'm hoping it will be fairly accurate so that I can have a useful comparison of times and braking points, etc.

 

[Doodle]

Are you getting Project CARS on PS4? I'll be there

 

[Spurgy 777]

Had the first round of the season last weekend on Silverstone International circuit and although I didn't quite get the results I'd hoped for, my pace was very encouraging considering who I was competing against.

Qualifying went well, I qualified 6th out of 11 drivers in my class (20 drivers overall) with a 1.12.1, only 3 tenths off 2nd place and 8 tenths off of first place Joey Foster (he raced at Le Mans in 2008 in LMP2 and has been racing in cars since 2000, so that's not too surprising ).

So onto the first race, I didn't get the best of starts, bit too much wheel spin, but managed to hold onto 6th into the first corner which I continued to hold for the or so until someone (an Irish driver who has been racing Formula Fords since 2009) made a move up the inside coming off of the link and onto the Hangar straight, and I got squeezed wide on exit, forcing me to back off and lose another 2 places along the straight, putting me into 9th. A few laps later I lost another place to the 2013 Formula Renault champion after I caught a back marker at an awkward spot going onto the Hangar straight. After that I just held onto the back of the group of 4 infront of me, trying to find a way past, and finally managed to get one going around the outside of Vale on the last lap, which meant I finished 9th.

Race 2 started well, managed to work my way up to 7th in the first half of the race, and was running within a second or two of 2nd place. But then again coming off the link and onto the Hangar straight, I locked the rears whilst downshifting and braking which brought the rear of the car right round of me, spinning me out and putting me back in 11th. I managed to catch 10th place up before the end, but I was too far back to get any more places than that.

So although it was a bit of a disappointing weekend result wise, it was definitely encouraging to be on pace with several UK champions with very little experience in comparison.

Some bad news though is that the driver manager we hired to help me get sponsorship (which we were relying on to do the season) says he is closing his company, so it's not looking likely that we will have the budget to do the second round in May

@Doodle Yes, I will be getting it on PS4

 

[Johnnypenso]

Had the first round of the season last weekend on Silverstone International circuit and although I didn't quite get the results I'd hoped for, my pace was very encouraging considering who I was competing against.

Qualifying went well, I qualified 6th out of 11 drivers in my class (20 drivers overall) with a 1.12.1, only 3 tenths off 2nd place and 8 tenths off of first place Joey Foster (he raced at Le Mans in 2008 in LMP2 and has been racing in cars since 2000, so that's not too surprising ).

So onto the first race, I didn't get the best of starts, bit too much wheel spin, but managed to hold onto 6th into the first corner which I continued to hold for the or so until someone (an Irish driver who has been racing Formula Fords since 2009) made a move up the inside coming off of the link and onto the Hangar straight, and I got squeezed wide on exit, forcing me to back off and lose another 2 places along the straight, putting me into 9th. A few laps later I lost another place to the 2013 Formula Renault champion after I caught a back marker at an awkward spot going onto the Hangar straight. After that I just held onto the back of the group of 4 infront of me, trying to find a way past, and finally managed to get one going around the outside of Vale on the last lap, which meant I finished 9th.

Race 2 started well, managed to work my way up to 7th in the first half of the race, and was running within a second or two of 2nd place. But then again coming off the link and onto the Hangar straight, I locked the rears whilst downshifting and braking which brought the rear of the car right round of me, spinning me out and putting me back in 11th. I managed to catch 10th place up before the end, but I was too far back to get any more places than that.

So although it was a bit of a disappointing weekend result wise, it was definitely encouraging to be on pace with several UK champions with very little experience in comparison.

Some bad news though is that the driver manager we hired to help me get sponsorship (which we were relying on to do the season) says he is closing his company, so it's not looking likely that we will have the budget to do the second round in May

@Doodle Yes, I will be getting it on PS4

Encouraging results, sorry to hear about your sponsorship, hopefully something will pop up soon.👍👍

 

[Spurgy 777]

Good news! It's looking hopeful that I will be able to do more rounds this season

Also, can anyone give me some advice on how to edit the videos from my races? Basically I've been told by Cliff Dempsey (the guy who's car I'm using) that he doesn't want full race replays going up on YouTube so that people from other teams won't be able to see it. But he is happy with me to do a highlights video, or something like that, so I would need to chop them up into lots of small clips, but I have no idea how to do that

 

[raceorama123432]

You can use video pad (google it) which is free to download. The demo only lasts a month, but the website isn't coded right and if you uninstall it you can reinstall the demo for free again

 

[max_rpm]

Really good thread.Your timing only 8 tenths off !! You are already on the money.

So what do you think the major differences between video game and the real one ? Do you think braking plays a major factor here? As you require to stomp on the brakes in formula ford cars as they are really hard.

 

[Spurgy 777]

Really good thread.Your timing only 8 tenths off !! You are already on the money.

So what do you think the major differences between video game and the real one ? Do you think braking plays a major factor here? As you require to stomp on the brakes in formula ford cars as they are really hard.

Thanks As far a braking is concerned, that's a tricky question to answer. In game it's not a case of hitting the brakes hard and lifting off gradually into the corner, like I do in real life, instead I have different techniques I use to help the car rotate as I approach the corner. However it's hard for me to tell whether that's a difference between real life and the game because I'm not yet confident enough in the real life car, especially with the brakes, to try the techniques I use in the game, and see if they work or not.

I can however say that at least one major difference is gear shifts, it requires far better timing, precision and feel to change gear in real life than in the game, at least with the Ford, with it being a very stiff H-pattern gear box with a clutch, which adds a whole new dimension to driving that you don't have to deal with on the game.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Good news! It's looking hopeful that I will be able to do more rounds this season

Also, can anyone give me some advice on how to edit the videos from my races? Basically I've been told by Cliff Dempsey (the guy who's car I'm using) that he doesn't want full race replays going up on YouTube so that people from other teams won't be able to see it. But he is happy with me to do a highlights video, or something like that, so I would need to chop them up into lots of small clips, but I have no idea how to do that

If you're on PC, Windows Movie Maker is free and simple to use and you can add subtitles, music, pictures, edit easily etc. I've made a couple of videos using it like this one, amateur at best and the video quality sucks because I recorded with a phone, but you can see the editing, music, pictures and other effects. You can also directly upload to YT from the editing software or save it as a movie and upload through YT directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=34&v=LYMlk-TeWnI

 

[Spurgy 777]

Sounds good, Ill probably have a go at editing some things together after my exams this month as it'll probably take a while.

Also, Donnington Park this weekend!

 

[Johnnypenso]

Sounds good, Ill probably have a go at editing some things together after my exams this month as it'll probably take a while.

Also, Donington Park this weekend!

Is the it the full GP circuit or the National layout? Maybe I'll run a few laps in PCars in your honour this weekend Good luck:tup:👍

 

[Spurgy 777]

Is the it the full GP circuit or the National layout? Maybe I'll run a few laps in PCars in your honour this weekend Good luck:tup:👍

Was the GP circuit, haven't got PCars yet, pre-ordered it on Amazon in Febuary but I forgot my card expired in March and I hadn't updated the details, should come today or tomorrow now though

Now as for how the weekend went, I got some great results! This weekend was the first weekend of the triple crown championship, which is a championship based off of 3 of the rounds for the national championship, so a sort of sub-championship. That meant the field was up from about 11 drivers in the faster cars at Silverstone to 27. And to make life harder, I haven't been round Donnington in 3 years and the only practice session we had was Friday evening when it was raining, with red flags every 5 minutes. So I went into 20 minute qualifying session with no idea where the braking points were in the dry. Which meant I ended up 2.3 seconds off the pace on a 1.44.4, but in 12th place on the grid.

Then in the race I had a decent start, holding onto 12th and after a chaotic end of lap one, running 4 wide out of the loop, I managed to work my way up to 9th inbetween a group of 4 a little way ahead and a large group behind. Over the next few laps I closed the gap to the guys infront, quickly passing the first one of the group and then gaining another two places, one through a mistake from someone just infront at the Old Hairpin which meant he ran wide, and another from an engine failure from the lead group, putting me in 6th. For the rest of the race I tried every which way I could to find a way past the guy in 5th, but he blocked every attempt I made at getting the inside line and in the end I was caught by the group behind and lost one place, dropping me to 7th on the last lap.

Race 2 I started where I finished in R1, 7th, and got a pretty good start, gaining a place to put me in 6th. Unfortunately this race everyone thought it would be a great idea to cut corners, consistently running 4 wheels off track, which meant I couldn't keep pace with the leaders as well as I could last race, and that a couple of guys behind managed to gradually catch me and get past putting me down into 8th by the end of the race. However the stewards penalised the top 4 drivers by 15 seconds for the corner cutting, and I was promoted to 7th, annoyingly only 3.6 seconds off the winner.

So all in all a great weekend for me, started 2.3 seconds off the pace, finished about 1 second off. Next race is at Oulton in 2 weeks where I should be able to get some more practice in, and be closer to the pace come race day.

 

[Stotty]

Good read and great driving 👍

Donny is such a nice track

 

[Johnnypenso]

Excellent. Sounds like a really great weekend of racing. Oulton must be a tough track in those cars, hopefully PCars turns out to be somewhat close to the real thing and the practice helps:tup:

 

[Spurgy 777]

Some more good news, just checked the results and it looks like they increase the penalties of the people who were corner cutting, now I finished 4th!

Good read and great driving 👍

Donny is such a nice track

I really enjoyed racing round it, lots of places to overtake.

Excellent. Sounds like a really great weekend of racing. Oulton must be a tough track in those cars, hopefully PCars turns out to be somewhat close to the real thing and the practice helps:tup:

I'm hoping so too, should be really good practice if it is!