So, I've been busy with one race over the last several days...
Ferrari 812 Superfast One-Make: Mission 1 Minute
My car
The Goal: Put all the AI opponents down by 1 minute.
I surprised myself for driving a modern, front-engine Ferrari a lot this week. And around a modern F1 track as well! What was more surprising [disturbing] was that I began to
like it.
The rear weight bias, four wheel steering and the deleted chicane definitely helped.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE CAR
- The 812 Superfast is modern car quick, has near racecar braking / cornering, but does it all with smoothness and much less fuss than Gr.3 cars
- Any gear lower than 3rd is purely for rotating the car / turning rubber into smoke
- Nearly 1000 naturally aspirated horsepower feels absolutely luxurious
- Accelerating out of low speed corners can be tricky, because despite future tech and rear weight bias, the 812 is still an FR with nearly 1000hp
- No ability to set the Final Drive gear ratio, even with the Fully Customizable Racing Transmission
Why?!
OBSERVATIONS ON THE AI
- Interestingly, how close I got to my goal depended on where certain AI started on the grid - the same as the low PP / stock challenges
- As usual, when I found myself caught between two AI, the one behind me dive bombs while the one in front brakes early and phases in between the middle of the track and the apex
- Chua in the black 812 is likely the quickest, but Bumgarner in the white 812 has upgraded aero and at least a little more power with the racing exhaust. A faster AI putting on pressure can make him go faster
- Carli in the blue 812 is also quick
- Generally the AI runs 1:47s with fast laps in the 1:44s
THOUGHTS ON THE TRACK
To me, this felt like a track of almosts. Something great lies in the bones of this place, but many corners are more awkward than I am in social settings. And a bunch of those drag on and on. Still, this track was much easier to find some semblence of flow than Fuji. This track felt more like solving a pecular, awkward problem, rather than fighting something designed specificially to frustrate me.
That was an overly complex way of me saying that I like this track. Maybe?
DID I REACH MY GOAL
I got very, very close...
Victory by 59 seconds
The AI could find around an extra 3 seconds overall when it wanted to. I believe that's the best they can do. My absolute fastest lap was 1:31.8. If I could do very low 1:32s consistently, I may get 7:39-7:40 total time, negating the AI's intermitent extra 3 seocnds, Bringing me to the magical 1 minute margin of victory.
Here's my tune
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Whoops, I forgot always about that. Noted
