The time you were most "in the zone" and pulled something out of the bag that was unbeatable by normal human standards. Your Senna at Monaco moment. Or Montoya at Detroit in 1999.
My ultimate sim racing moment was probably in the Star Mazda at Spa in iRacing a few years ago. I was up there in one of the highest splits battling an alien driver for the lead of the race, pushing the tyre model to its absolute limit. There was no way I could beat him unless he made a mistake but I could match him for a few laps. I remember drifting through the apex of Pouhon and the following S-bend on full throttle with the steering wheel completely straight as it four wheel drifted its way around the turns. It was magic.
Another lap I'm proud of is beating the GPLRank at Silverstone with a keyboard 11 years ago.
My ultimate hotlap though was probably this one in qualifying for the Indy race at Road America. It took an hour and a half of sweat and tears stringing it together
Back in my GPL days I once set a lap time around Spa-Francorchamps that put me to chassis top-10 in GPLRank. Granted, it was only with Honda, but still, one of my greatest achievements from the days of active sim racing...
I can't remember exactly the events, but iirc there was a small group in front 4 or 5 cars and i was behind them with 2 or 3 other cars. And i used a pit stop to get exactly at a spot where another group could take me back to the front group. Just by using the "more cars are quicker than a few" idea.
Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
I once held that world record lap at Mosport with the Cadillac in iRacing. Or maybe not, it was done in a hosted event, so not sure it counted. But it was faster than the official record at least.
But the best laps are always done in the races. A while ago I did a stunning pass on the outside of turn 5 on Road America for 2nd, on the last lap of a 70 minute race. Was pretty proud of that.
***Some say you should live each day like it was your last... but who wants to live each day in wild panic and extreme death anxiety?
The universe, look at the hugeness of it... it is a dizzying thought that little ol' me is the centre of it all!***
I currently hold the world record with the Lotus 79 in both Industriefahrten (Nordschleife) and Touristenfahrten (Bridge to Gantry, calculated using Nick Thissen's RingLaps software) configurations. I'll see if I can be bothered to capture one (or both) of those later. I also have a bit faster of a lap up in my YT channel, but that's done in overcast weather and is quite old.
But, enough bragging. I'm sure you've had enough by now. So... my most alien lap ever?
Lotus 79. Donington Park. 2016 Season 1.
First season with the car, week 3. Sunday hot split, so it featured prominent names like Antti Lepistö, a 6k+ iRating driver and a Lotus veteran, as well as past champion Tapani Linnaluoto and of course the king of L79, Mr. Gernot Fritsche himself. 10 championships to his name and 8000+ iRating. I remember he was well within the top 5 of the whole iRacing community going by iR. Not sure if he still is, but at the time he at least was. Anyway, the dude's a legend.
I spent the whole week fiddling with my setup, even asked Tapani (as he drives for Glacier, too) if he could analyze some telemetry for me. Turns out I turned the wheel too much at the hairpins, and had quite a lot of wheel spin on some exits. Problems were mainly in the Melbourne hairpin and the last corner. Nailing the balance on the chicane was a real challenge, too - the Lotus really doesn't like kerbs!
I finally managed to get it going approximately the way I like. And when I say approximately, I mean it's still my favorite setup out of the ones I've made. Just suits the track really well. It's quite surprising, too, since at that point I was really a noob at making Lotus sets. Still no pro, but slowly getting there.
First Sunday race was in reasonably normal weather. Clear skies, but the temps weren't that high. I lost two tenths to Gernot, who did a 1:17.908 in qualifying, starting in P4 and finishing P3. Quite pleased with that, but I knew I could go a little faster.
Second Sunday race, skies were partly cloudy and temps around the same. Means the track was - roughly - .3 or .5 of a second faster, there or thereabouts. Gernot improved his earlier race qualifying by two tenths, but only enough for a 3rd - a 1:17.793. Tapani was second with a 1:17.748. It was close, as it usually is in Donington, and P2 to P10 were separated only by a second.
I did a decent first lap, which in hindsight would've put me on pole. But the second lap, to end a long story, is what I'm really proud of.
As to how the race went? Well, I managed to get myself 1.5 seconds clear in the first lap thanks to Gernot & Tapani battling, and then promptly spun in T1 to start the second one. Clawed my way back, went a bit too brave into the hairpin a few laps later & damaged my car a little, dropped to 10th and finished 3rd, 6 seconds shy of Gernot who won it after a good battle with Tapani. Race recap for those interested:
"When you put the car into the wall, you have made some mistake before it's in the wall."
-Tapani Linnaluoto, my commentary partner during a Classic Lotus Grand Prix race at Watkins Glen.
Three stick out for me, a 1:24.8 at Silverstone in Revs, a 1:18.009 at Monaco in the first Grand Prix game, and a 37.03 at Indy in the Papyrus Indy 500 game. Arie who?
It's been a long time... but I think it was a lap @ Spa in GPL. 3:14.766 from 2004
I remember that one, hitting all the apexes right and four wheel drifting through Burnenville, flicking it left-right @ Masta. It was a good sensation. I know the time isn't _that_ fast but it was for me.
"It’s a Mickey Mouse circuit. To have a race at a track like this is an insult to Grand Prix racing."
-Graham Hill commenting the Le Mans Bugatti track - 2021 Guess The Pole champion! -
Mawerick wrote:It's been a long time... but I think it was a lap @ Spa in GPL. 3:14.766 from 2004
I remember that one, hitting all the apexes right and four wheel drifting through Burnenville, flicking it left-right @ Masta. It was a good sensation. I know the time isn't _that_ fast but it was for me.
I always enjoyed when you're tense, feel like you nail a perfect lap, get a PB, cheer, feel good, etc. Then you do some other laps, perhaps another time later, and you're just cruising along, and totally thump your old, 'perfect' PB.
Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.
Mawerick wrote:It's been a long time... but I think it was a lap @ Spa in GPL. 3:14.766 from 2004
I remember that one, hitting all the apexes right and four wheel drifting through Burnenville, flicking it left-right @ Masta. It was a good sensation. I know the time isn't _that_ fast but it was for me.
I always enjoyed when you're tense, feel like you nail a perfect lap, get a PB, cheer, feel good, etc. Then you do some other laps, perhaps another time later, and you're just cruising along, and totally thump your old, 'perfect' PB.
You just unlocked the key to driving fast Tense = jerky movements. Smoothness wins the day!
According to my GPL Rank, that 3:14 at Spa totally blitzes my 3:17.
Mawerick wrote:It's been a long time... but I think it was a lap @ Spa in GPL. 3:14.766 from 2004
I remember that one, hitting all the apexes right and four wheel drifting through Burnenville, flicking it left-right @ Masta. It was a good sensation. I know the time isn't _that_ fast but it was for me.
I always enjoyed when you're tense, feel like you nail a perfect lap, get a PB, cheer, feel good, etc. Then you do some other laps, perhaps another time later, and you're just cruising along, and totally thump your old, 'perfect' PB.
You just unlocked the key to driving fast Tense = jerky movements. Smoothness wins the day!
According to my GPL Rank, that 3:14 at Spa totally blitzes my 3:17.
Oh, GPLRank. I don't have my log-in details anymore. Is it possible to dig out my rank somehow?