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I spent 90 minutes trying to complete one lap at Machwerk 1967, driving Alain Prost’s 1985 F1 Mclaren Tag Porsche, for rFactor, with a Logitech G25 steering wheel, but I didn’t succeed…

Machwerk’s twisty bumpy road surface, half regular asphalt, half granite cubes, with two railroad crossings (!), isn’t F1 friendly at all - more for rally cars –, but the 1000 horse power 1985 Mclaren Porsche, makes it extra hard, with a delicate response at low revs and a power explosion from them on.

I always drive with no aids, except for minimal traction control, so there is plenty of wheel spinning opportunities, which easily throw the car’s tail away. Regarding the turbo powered F1s from the 1980s, drivers described their handling as “point and shoot”…

A fast lap around Machwerk should take 6 minutes. All it takes is a proper setup. Will I ever do it?

These days I rarely sim race or play computer games at all… when I do it, I do it with FSONE 2006, a free mod for rFactor.

It is simply wonderful! I just love it! For those who can understand the physical side of sim racing, just try the Limerock track. This is a relatively short circuit, where the A.I. cars lap below 00:37 seconds. There are two types of tarmac and a famous up/downhill section that can make the car jump, if you approach the preceding corner with a knife stabbing the throttle foot to the pedal, and lots of fingers crossed…
Racing the computer here is fast and very furious. In order to keep pace with 100% strong adversaries, one needs to be in great shape.

Here are some screenshots:

Above, me driving (flying?) the 2006’s Renault F1, at Limerock, USA.

Above, a section from one track where real F1s will never race: Mount Panorama, Australia, where top speeds exceed 300 kph…

I improved my time @ SPA (2004), in GTR2, driving a Saleen. My personal best is now 02:12:799.

The replay is available: saleen_spa_2m12s799s.exe (1715 KB)

The Saleen isn’t the fastest car, but I love its handling!

For months, my virtual Porsche did nothing but collect dust.

Today, I took it out for many spins and one successful race, on the Porsche Cup championship, at rFactor’s Toban Short racetrack.

To win after all these months, without training (I race against opponents set to 100% strength), was very enjoyable, but the most interesting moment was a sequence of laps below 1 minute.

My personal best lap, set during the race, is now 59:789.

You can download a video of that lap (3230 KB).

arturmarques_dot_com_toban_short_59s789.avi

Above: yet another spin…