ADVR-CLASH Oulton Park Invitational

[ClashCityRocker73]

On Friday May 19th at 10:30pm GMT, there was a one-off open-wheel event at Oulton Park. The format was as follows:

Sim-mode; No setups.

Race 1: Formula Ford - 2 lap qualify - 10 lap race
Race 2: Formula 1000 - 2 lap qualify - 15 lap race
Race 3: Formula 3 - 2 lap qualify - 20 lap race

Points were distributed as 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 with a bonus point for pole position, a bonus point for fastest lap and a further bonus point up for grabs if and driver swept any single event with pole, fastest lap and victory.

The Oulton Park Invitational Trophy went a long way towards illustrating why open-wheel cars do not always provide the kind of quality racing that one can usually find when racing the tin-tops. Nonetheless, it was an experiment worth indulging.

The starting line up for the event was as follows:

Hitman-Jehuty2001 (ADVR)
m1ka~T3m
ADVR-CLASH
Siesta~T3m
QUADBOBBLE (Independent)
ORL-GONZO
advr[Lotus]
ADVR-MICKNEIL

The first race, in the Formula Fords, was a mixed bag for the drivers involved. Qualifying was a closely contested affair with the top 6 covered by two thirds of a second promising a closely fought race ahead. Unfortunately, the dangers of open wheel racing were evident from the off with various drivers starting towards the back of the pack suffering contact related incidents while Clash and Gonzo stretched out an early lead having qualified 1-2. While Clash and Gonzo battled hard, exchanging the lead on multiple occasions, m1ka slowly reeled them in and though he was able to sneak the fastest race lap, he was unable to improve upon his third place and so rounded out the podium.

Podium: ADVR-CLASH (1st), ORL-GONZO (2nd), m1ka~T3m (3rd)

Race Two again showed the quality of the racers involved in the Oulton Park Invitational Trophy as the qualifying times were all within 1.05 seconds of each other. With much bumping and thumping going on throughout the field, m1ka showed his open wheel prowess by blitzing the field and winning by a margin of more than 27 seconds over second placed Clash. Again, the dangers of open wheel racing were evident as various competitors were forced into pitstops to repair damage resulting from contact with other racers.

Podium: m1ka~T3m (1st), ADVR-CLASH (2nd), Siesta~T3m (3rd)

Race Three was a lesson in F3 for all but the two T3m entrants who took the rest of the competitors to school and handed out a serious beating. Qualifying alone was a wake up call as the T3m'ers put in lap times three and more seconds clear of the 3rd placed qualifier. As the race got underway, an unlucky Jehuty suffered major damage and was forced to watch the rest of the race unfold from the sidelines. Siesta and m1ka went at one another hammer and tongs in the early laps until a mistake by Siesta handed an unassailable lead to m1ka. Six more laps in and Neilly was forced to retire his heavily damaged car as well. Twenty laps later and only Siesta and m1ka were on the lead lap. It was a fantastic display on both their parts while the carnage suffered up and down the field testifies to the extreme difficulty of racing in these super-fast open wheel cars.

Note: advr[Lotus] was unable to compete in the third and final race.

Podium: m1ka~T3m (1st), Siesta~T3m (2nd), ADVR-CLASH (3rd)

Congratulations go out to m1ka~T3m on his securing of the Oulton Park Invitational Trophy with his complete domination of the final race of the event!

Final Standings:

m1ka~T3m - 31 pts.
ADVR-CLASH - 25 pts.
ORL-GONZO - 18 pts.
Siesta~T3m - 17 pts.
Hitman-Jehuty2001 - 10 pts.
ADVR-MICKNEIL - 9 pts.
QUADBOBBLE - 9 pts.
advr[Lotus] - 4 pts.



Full Results:

[:$peeed:]

hi,
m1ka was lucky if i was there just think of the out come.

[ADVR-Lotus]

Originally Posted by Simon~T3m

hi,
m1ka was lucky if i was there just think of the out come.

The only reason you werent there is because it was past your bedtime

[:$peeed:]

Very true chris. But i can kick your ass any time any day!!!! :P

[jonboy1066]

Oh Dear. And imagine what would have happened if it was in Pro Sim instead of that Girly Arcade Mode.

[Siesta]

That girly arcade mode that no one would deviate from in TRD2 you mean Jon! Although Pro-Sim is a hell of a lot better in this game.

[ADVR-Lotus]

yeh, pro sim is sweet on TRD3

[:$peeed:]

hi,
pro-sim is ok in a few cars but nothing beats old fun and games.

[ClashCityRocker73]

Originally Posted by jonboy1066

Oh Dear. And imagine what would have happened if it was in Pro Sim instead of that Girly Arcade Mode.

Jonboy, you seem to miss the point of this event my friend. Pro-sim may very well have its time and place, but this elitist, "pro-sim is the only way" attitude too often gets in way of the "fun factor" that was so evident in TRD2.

This event could have been run as pro-sim, but the only way to do pro-sim properly is to use setups and that kills the possibility of a good, close, pick-up-and-play racing event. We could all have practiced furiously all week for a serious pro-sim event, or we could just show up to race and allow for the possibility of a guy like Gonzo joining at the last minute and being competitive (and having some of that "fun").

I love a good pro-sim, hardcore enduro event as much as the next guy, but the pro-sim mafia who seem to have infiltrated most of the PS2 clans as of late have forgotten the "good old days" when we used to bomb around at 110%, flat-out for the whole race in a swarm of Supercopas or DTMs or V8s or whatever. Now with pro-sim, it's "Oh sh*t, I made a mistake, got buried in this damn pro-sim gravel and damaged my suspension" or "I couldn't fight for more than 7th because I got my gears wrong" or some other reason why the racing wasn't close and enjoyable.

I wanted to have an event where we could get back to the old-school way of doing things, have some hard, door-to-door racing and have some of that fun we used to have playing ToCA. Mission accomplished if you ask me.

[jonboy1066]

You're absolutely right on most counts Clash and I apologise if I offended anyone. What I made was a (slighly drunken) off handed, jokey remark. If you guys enjoy sim mode and it seems a lot of people do then more power to you.
I had one of the best races of my life tonight in pro sim (setups off) and you were in it . However, like I said tonight you can wait for weeks or even months for a race as good, clean, fun and unpredictable as You, Me, Deepsetep,Meylan, Villety and the other 3 guys (sorry some names have escaped me, 2 Americans and another Canadian) had.
What you are doing is very admirable and it's bringing loads of guys together who would otherwise not necessarily race together. Keep up the good work.
Just 'cos I personally don't like Sim mode I didn't mean to cast aspursions upon those who do and if it gets more people into online racing then that's great.
Having looked at your leader board I can see 3 names that I recognise and have raced against all good guys in Pro and obviously pretty handy in Sim as well.
Good luck to all of you, have a good series and I promise to keep my nose out of a championship that does not concern me. Mision Definately Accomplished.
p.s If you feel the urge to do a Pro Sim invitational I'd be well up for it.
p.p.s I don't regard myself or any of the other people I race with as part of a pro sim Mafia or anything of the sort. We're just a different bunch of guys who enjoy the game in a different way and a lot of us get a real sense of acheivement out of mastering the way those cars handle.
Enjoy