Yes, I had really nice time as well. 👍 Great racing and interesting conversation in the lobby between every round. My suggestions for the car were totally off the wall. I thought about cars which I normally never drove: The (1994) 512M (Evolution of the Testa Rosa), the 348 TB, and then in the opposite direction, the F50 GT and 599FX. I hadn't actually driven any of these cars for as long as I can remember. But since one of Arvore's choices was the F50 road car, I thought it was a good compromise. Had I known it was one of his 'favorite cars' I might have been more skeptical or suspicious.
The first race at Monza was really a throw away race for me. I nailed the first chicane and managed to pull out an immediate lead. The 2nd chicane was even for both of us. But I then braked much too early for the first Lesmo (losing nearly 1 full second of my lead) and then over compensated and braked much too late for the 2nd Lesmo, took to the grass and Arvore went sailing past. He also put in a good, solid race with a quick pace and free from any serious mistakes. So right there, one could argue that I lost the first race on the 4th corner. But in truth, I wasn't that far behind and what really killed it for me were horrible lag problems and random screen freezes (3-4 times on every lap).
There was simply no way I could drive like this, or at least not fast enough to catch up.
After the first round I rebooted the PS3 and to my relief the problem went away and then it was game on. Sort of. At least there was no more lag or screen tearing. But at the next round from Vallelunga, Arvore simply out drove me, plain and simple. About 1/2 way through the race, realizing that I was in serious trouble, I switched from my normal dash view (for which I found the strange dark blue tint from the F50 to be extremely distracting and inhibiting) and began to drive in bonnet view. The effect was like taking off a pair of sun glasses in a dark room and finally being able to see. And at this point, I suddenly found myself coming to grips with the car and was able to turn things around. But not enough. I managed to close the gap (at one point as high as 5-6 seconds) down to less than 0.5 at the finish line. But as an awful and overpaid actor once said, "It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winnings Winning!" And so it was 2-0.
Arvore graciously suggested we go to Montreal for the 3rd round and I knew it was do or die for me. I don't know what it is about this track. It's not really my favorite but I just seem to have a good rhythm there. And combined with a few penalties/errors from Arvore, I won this round by a mile, rather than an inch. OK, maybe not that much.
The next round was Silverstone and I was seriously worried. But I was quickly coming to grips with this car (I like it) and after the last F355 race, I found that I'm not quite as intimidated by the U.K.'s premiere track as I once was. The race was close and I had to really push but I managed to stay ahead and at the finish line the gap was about 3 seconds.
The final round from Spa was the showdown. Visions of my last failed challenge with Biggles from this track kept flashing through my head and as the count down clock was running I found myself twitching and convulsing.
(OK, not really but it makes for a more dramatic story). The truth is, by the time Spa rolled around, I found myself really dialed in to the F50. I really like the car, although I personally feel it's just much too grippy for a road car. It handles and performs like a racing car with MUCH better handling and brakes than cars like the McLaren or even the Enzo. And I think it's wrong. But it is fun to drive and extremely forgiving. By the 3rd lap, I had managed to pull out a gap of several seconds. But I knew on the previous lap I was dangerously close to getting a penalty through Eau Rouge. And sure enough, this time around, I got slammed and Arvore went sailing past me down the Kemmel. And I saw everything slip through my fingers. But he wasn't that far ahead and under pressure, he outbraked himself a bit into Fanges and I got around him. From there, I just tried to take it quickly but conservatively to the finish line.
Ironically, just seconds after we returned to the lobby, Arvore was booted. What a relief it happened after the race was over.
None-the-less, I'm afraid we're both down to 1 star status after twice having to quit after forgetting to make sure we had a default livery on the car. But it's a small price to pay for a very enjoyable evening.
Nice racing, very close, good fun! Thanks for the Challenge.
Biggles: I guess we're on next. But I'll have to get back to you as to when.
) but you were faster. So challenge accepted! I'm free to do it this evening from approx. 21h00GMT if that's ok for you.
👍
Jeff did,as expected,but actually things were more close than I'd thought...
*hides and runs for cover*
