The rally community lost one of their most spectacular drivers to ever grace the rally tracks.

Colin McRae died on September 15 on a stupid helicopter crash, along with his 5 year old son, and two friends.

Born in 1968, he was the son of 5-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae, and was the older brother of WRC pilot Alister McRae.

He started his career in 1986, competing in various Scottish Rally Championship events, driving a Talbot Sunbeam, and acquired his first WRC victory in 1993 driving a Prodrive-built Subaru Legacy, and after that, driving a Subaru Impreza, he took Subaru to 3 consecutive constructors championships from 1995 to 1997, catapulting the Subaru Impreza to stardom.

1995 was also the prime of Colin McRae's career, winning the WRC Drivers championship after an emotional duel with team mate Carlos Sainz with the legendary "555" Subaru Impreza. This title was historic for the WRC for two reasons:

• He was the first English driver to win the Drivers Championship
• He's currently the youngest Drivers Champion, winning the title with just 27 years of age.

In 1996, he was appointed a Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

He continued rallying until 2006, even taking part on the X-Games, going against Travis Pastrana, and only lost due to a spectacular crash of his modified Subaru Impreza.

Besides being a great pilot, he was my childhood hero. I watched WRC back in 1992-1997 just because of Colin McRae.

Here are some videos of his awesomeness as a pilot:

2006 X-games against Travis Pastrana

Top Gear Special putting a Ford Cougar against a Focus WRC and a Stewart Ford F1 in Silverstone

McRae driving the legendary "555" Impreza in the Rally of Portugal

RIP Colin McRae

1968-2007

Here I am again! How are you doing? I know what you're thinking: another 200 A-Spec race. Yep, that's true!

This time, we went to mess with t3h 1337 tun3rzz, on the Tuning Car Grand Prix.

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Car used: Amuse S2000 R1 '04

Specs: All non-power/weight upgrades, R3 tires (Alternative: R2 Tires, NA1)

Against: TRIAL Celica SS-II (ZZT231) '03, Opera Performance S2000 '04, AMUSE S2000 Street Version '04, Mine's Lancer Evolution VI '00, NISMO Fairlady Z Z-Tune (Z33) '03.

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Tracks:

Apricot Hill Reverse: Since this was a championship, it was easy to spot the lineup, and store it for later use. The main threat on the whole lineup is the Opera S2000. This car is really good, and it's ready to own you if you don't apply to your fullest. Fortunately, Apricot Hill has a critical place where you can win BOATLOADS of time: the tight S-Section at the beginning of the track, after the first corner. This place can decide the outcome of your race. I overtook the Opera S2000 at the hairpin on the 2nd lap. After this, you may only need to worry about blocking him on the stretch, since he is much faster than you.

Fuji Speedway 90's: Ah... Fuji 90's! Shortcut ahoy! And it's definitely needed, since it's a very fast track, with a BIG stretch, and the Opera S2000 doesn't want to ease things up, so you better rely on cutting the chicane at least once. Another good place to win time is the first corner. Since you bought Racing Brakes, you should be able to out-brake the competition, braking much later, and doing the corner much faster. Overtook 1st place after cutting the chicane on the second lap.

Tokyo Route 246: A very fast track! This is definitely not good for me, but it is good for the Opera S2000. Fortunately, you're running in R3 tires, so you can make some very fast corners. At the beginning, try to use your opponents as cushions to gain a very early lead, and win lots of time for the lead. Then, capitalize on the following corners: the long right sweeper, the banked S-Section (they brake unnecessarily here), the quick left hander after the double apex corner (same as before, but they brake even harder), and the last corner (they brake on the approach, and INSIDE the corner, which is something very unusual). Overtook the leader on the last corner on the 1st lap. Don't forget to block the S2000 on the long stretch.

El Capitan Reverse: No matter how many races I do here, and it doesn't matter if it is the Normal version or the Reverse version, I ALWAYS find 200 point races in here EASY. Seriously, either I'm too good of a driver, or the AI simply sucks driving here, or both. You can win time almost anywhere in this track, but the most crucial point is the hill section. Overtook the leader on the right bender before the bridge. Just to give you an idea of how easy this was: I won by 8 seconds.

Tsukuba Circuit: This was also an easy race, thanks to the blocking that the TRIAL Celica did to avoid the Opera S2000 to take over the lead (the TRIAL Celica started in the lead, and the Opera in 2nd). If that didn't happen, I'm sure I would have a much tougher time, especially taking into account the HUGE straightaway of Tsukuba. You can win some time on both hairpins if you do them smoothly, and on the last corner. Overtook 1st place before the first hairpin on Lap 2.

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There you have it! One more race done! And currently at 44380 points

Ratings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10
MR Challenge: 6.8/10
Lightweight K: 7.6/10
Spider and Roadster: 7.2/10
Sport Truck Race: 1.5/10
Clubman Cup: 7.3/10
Tuning Car GP: 6.5/10

There's nothing of too much difficulty here, only some blockage to do, and some driving skills

Next up: NA Sports

*looks at last post*

Wow. Been a while since I last updated this...

Anyway, I've recently decided to do another race for 200 A-Spec, since I was already missing these races!

I've turned my head to the Clubman Cup; let's see what's in store for me...

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Car used: 10km Special Toyota Supra SZ-R '97

Specs: All non-power / weight upgrades, S2 tires, 100 ballast, Nitrous at max, no driving aids, Gearbox auto-setup at 7

Against: Toyota MR2 GT-S '97, Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 '85, Opel Speedster Turbo '00, Honda Integra Type R (DC5) '03, Clio Renault Sport V6 Phase 2 '03

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Tracks:

Apricot Hill Raceway: Started pretty tough in here. Since this was a pretty fast track, I would have to resort to Nitrous to win here. It took a bit for me to adapt to the extra weight on the car, but it turned out that this car was really fun to drive. The AI can't say the same about the 205, since it looked like the 205 was being driven by someone who just came out of the distillery, and drunk every bottle of whisky in stock. Anyway, I overtook the leading MR2 on the second lap on the hairpin about halfway through the track. Good places to win time are the long left hand sweeper, since the AI tends to do almost half the corner on the outside a la Ayrton Senna (RIP), and the tight S-section before the last corner. Oh and use Nitrous whenever you have a patch of straight road. Block the MR2 on the stretch.

Twin Ring Motegi East: Another fast track, but surprisingly, I thought this one was a bit easier than the last one. Don't expect the AI having the same trouble driving the 205 as it did on the last race, because that's not going to happen. Use the whole width of the track to your advantage. Overtook 1st place on the first corner of the last lap... I guess...(did this yesterday, at high night hours, so I can't remember much >_>). The technical section after the first turn is good to win time. Use nitrous on the many straightwaways.

Seoul Central Reverse: Crap, another fast track. But with a lot of straights, you can use Nitrous to your advantage. I don't know why, but the AI does the 2nd 90º turn too much on the outside. So you can win some time by using other cars as a cushion for that curve. Another good place is the S-Section before the last turn, since you can do it pretty smmothly, gaining some time. But this isn't enough to guarrantee 1st place, so you need to wallride the last corner. That's where I overtook 1st place: last corner, 3rd lap.

Clubman Stage 5: This was a pretty easy race. In fact, I don't think you need nitrous for this one at all. This used to be one of my favourite tracks from GT1. And since the Supra has a rather good weight distribution, you can do some corners (like the corner after the tunnel) almost without braking winning A LOT of time. The quick section after the tight left hander is also good to win time. Overtook 1st place on the 3rd lap, on the second to last curve.

Deep Forest Raceway: Another easy race. I can't really explain why the AI drives so badly here. You can win a lot of time almost through all of the track, but the last corner gets the award for "Most time winning corner", since you can do that corner well into 4th gear, maybe into 5th. Overtook 1st place on the last corner on the 2nd lap.

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That's it! That's all he wrote! Another rather easy event, with the 2 last tracks being extremely easy. But you need to be careful with Apricot Hill, since the AI drives pretty well in here.

Ratings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10
MR Challenge: 6.8/10
Lightweight K: 7.6/10
Spider and Roadster: 7.2/10
Sport Truck Race: 1.5/10
Clubman Cup: 7.3/10

The tuning car cup is right next door. Pretty fitting, since there will be a tuned car meeting here in Portugal next week!

So I decided to go back to the 200 A-Spec points challenge, and finish the Beginner Events for good.

The last event means a lot for Americans, since they are the No. 1 producers of Pickup Trucks. This event is a good example of how raw the American power can be *cough* Toyota Tacoma *cough* .

Anyway, let's start:
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Car used: Dodge Ram 1500 LARAMIE Hemi Quad Cab (that's a long name...)

Specs: Stock on S2

Against: Chevrolet SSR, Chevrolet Silverado SST Concept, Dodge Ram 1500 LARAMIE Hemi Quad Cab, Toyota Tacoma X-Runner, Ford F-150 Lightning. (The cars are always the same, the only thing that is different is the positions in which they start)

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Tracks:

Fuji Speedway 90's: This race was very easy. If you get used to the stiff handling, that is vintage of the pickups, you'll get around this course pretty easily, even if you don't cut the chicane. Gained 1st place on the S-section at about 1/3 of the track. Word of advice: be very careful on the stretch, since the Silverado is much faster than the Ram. Block him.

Laguna Seca: Another very easy race. Although you need to be careful in some corners, since you can't do them too fast, or the Ram will understeer your ass into outside the track. Special attention on the downhill corner after the "corkscrew",because the car can tailgate a lot on that one. I even drifted my way on that corner on the second lap! I'll upload the pic as soon as I have time. Overtook first place on the corner before the quick lefthand corner.

Seattle Circuit Reverse: I guess I won't be able to find an event as easy as this one. Not a lot of things to point out, other than the fact that you need to be careful while doing the chicane, due to the size of the Ram. Overtook first place on the corner after crossing the railroad tracks.

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So that's it! Beginner events are all done for 200 A-Spec points. Now we will enter the Professional events.

Current A-Spec: Around 42612 points, I think

Ratings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10
MR Challenge: 6.8/10
Lightweight K: 7.6/10
Spider and Roadster: 7.2/10
Sport Truck Race: 1.5/10

Very, very easy challenge. 0.5 points are there because of the roadblocking you need to do in Fuji

Off to the next one!

It's been a long time since I last updated this. But now, with some much needed vacations, I felt this was the perfect time to do a 200 A-Spec point race!

So without further ado, let's do this.

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Car used: Lotus Elise Type 72 (told you I would use this car in the future )

Specs: S1 Tires, all non-power upgrades (except weight reduction), 120 Ballast, Nitrous at max (for Twin Ring East). Reads 122 Hp at the Parts Change/Settings menu

Lineup: Vauxhall VX220, Toyota MR2 GT-S, Opel Speedster, Nissan 350Z Roadster, MG TF160 (an easy way to get this lineup: Instead of entering the race, preview it, then enter. You'll get this lineup)

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Tracks:

Twin Ring Motegi East: I was in a really bad mood when I decided to do this race. And when I am in a bad mood, this can only mean one thing: the AI better be careful, or they might find themselves eating some dirt after I ram them into oblivion. Anyway, I already knew this was going to be a tough one, since it was a track that had very few technical corners, and a lot of high speed straights. But the race was pretty fun, since I almost used everyone as a cushion to overtake them. But I had to use Nitrous on the second lap, otherwise I would lose. I overtook 1st place on the second lap after ramming it on the tight corner before the bridge overpass. The technical section after the first corner is a good place to win some time.

Trial Mountain Reverse: Nothing like a good technical circuit for an easy race. The AI brakes too much on this track, and you can use it to your advantage, if you know what you're doing. But be careful on the stretch before the tunnel. The competition is fast enough to overtake you here (you'll overtake them on the next corner, anyways...). I overtook 1st place on the last corner of the first lap. The whole downhill section after the second tunnel is a great place to win a lot of time, since you can make those curves pretty much without braking.

Infineon Raceway Sports: Another technical circuit, but much faster than Trial Mountain, so you'll have a bit more trouble here. Good places to win time are: the quick corner before the uphill S section in the beginning of the track, the long downhill corner at about halfway, and the two S-sections after the double-apex turn. Overtook 1st place after ramming it on the double apex turn, on lap 2.

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That's another one! My current A-Spec lies in 42042. Funny number, eh? Didn't add much points this time, since I did these races before for about 170 points (with the Chevrolet Bathtub..... I mean, the Chevrolet Corvette Convertible).

Rankings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10
MR Challenge: 6.8/10
Lightweight K: 7.6/10
Spider and Roadster: 7.2/10

The only really tough one is Twin Ring, and it's made easy with the Nitrous equipped.

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There's only one race for me to complete the beginner events: The Pickup Truck race. So let's save this game.....

Uh Oh... this isn't good...

As soon as the game finishes saving, the controller turned itself off. And now, I can't do anything with it! . Even after opening the controller, I can't seem to find anything wrong!

Well... it looks like my controller is dead... It held on its own for more than 5 years...

Luckily, I have a spare one, since I bought my slim PS2! Time to give some work to that DS2!

Here am I again. School has started... t3h suck500rzzzz . Even worse, I fell that one of my disciplines is going to take all my free time in about a month...

Oh well, let's do another race for 200 A-Spec points, this time... with micro cars...

Here's a bit of logic: micro cars -> micro size -> micro engines ->micro power -> 00ber boredom...

Anyway...

Car used: Daihatsu Midget II D-Type

Specs: All non-power upgrades, N3 Tires, no driving aids, body refreshment, Nitrous at 100, used oil (56730 Km/35456.25 Mi). Reads 31 Hp at the Parts Change/ Settings menu (whoopee Why do the Japanese LOVE this kind of cars?)

Against: Suzuki Kei Works '02, Suzuki Cappuccino (EA21R)'95, Daihatsu Copen Active Top '02, Honda Beat Version Z '93, Nissan PAO '89

Tracks:

Motorland: Nitrous all around. Otherwise, you'll keep riding at that slower-than-**** speed that this car has (and so does the opposition) and never overtake anyone, unless you cut some corners. Fun moment happened at Lap 1: the Copen ate some dirt on the double apex turn next to the long sweepers, and clobbered the Beat, reducing its speed. Advantage me! Overtook 1st place on the sharp corner, before the small stretch close to the S section, on Lap 3. Medium to hard race. You can win time on the technical section of this track, since the opposition unnecessarily tends to make the corners out-in-out, and you can capitalize this by putting yourself in front of them, and receive a bump from behind to boost your speed.

Tsukuba: Oh boy... My first real challenge. I need to adjust the gearbox, because the car tops out at 119 KPH (an ass-whooping 74 MPH), and if the Cappuccino overtakes 1st place... goodbye my little race. Again, nitrous all around. Even so, raising the auto setup made the Midget a much better car. Even overtook the 1st place Cappuccino on the first corner of Lap 3 (with a little bump), but this race was very hard. You can do the long sweeper almost without decelerating.

Beginner's Course: Holy ****!! 7 Laps?? I know the course is short but damn... 7 laps on a Micro Machine is BAD! Nitrous all around.The quick Bus-Stop-like chicane is a great place to win time, and that's what makes this one much easier than the last two. Overtook 1st place on the stretch just before the start of lap 4.

Phew! This one's done. Remind me that I still need this car for its one make race... Otherwise, he's going to the garbage.

Rankings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10
MR Challenge: 6.8/10
Lightweight K: 7.6/10

The enourmous difficulty of Tsukuba made the difficulty skyrocket. But it can be compensated by stretching the gears a bit (auto setup 6 is good enough).

Another one done! The next one will make me drive a REAL car. In fact... I already used it...

See you!

Since the blog is the perfect place to share thoughts and opinions, I think I should talk about something that bothers me for quite some time: price differences between different countries that go too high... because of excessive taxes.

Let's take an example: my favourite car, the Viper SRT-10 (not the coupé version). An 8.3 V10 510 Hp beast.

I've searched some sites that could contain the car's price in USD (dollars). I found one... it costs 74952$. At the current exchange rate (USD/EUR = 0.762), it would cost 57113.42 EUR. 

Then I went to search one that could contain the price in GBP (pounds). Found one for 69787 GBP. That would be 103982.63 EUR (GBP/EUR = 1.49). Well... that's a bit more.

A few months ago, I got a magazine with the Viper SRT-10 being tested... Price: 194000 EUR. More than half of this price: taxes

So let's recap:

America: 57113.42 EUR
UK: 103982.63
Portugal: 194000 EUR

Self-explanatory. I guess it's better to import it from America...

Nothing like a good 200 A-spec race to start the weekend! Of all the drivetrain specific races, this was the only one missing. So let's do this!

Car used: Lotus Elise Type 72

Specs: S1 Tires, No driving aids, Nitrous (for New York). Reads 122 Hp at the Parts Change/Settings menu.

Against: NSX Type S Zero '97, Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87, NSX Type R '02, ASL Garaiya '02, Toyota MR2 GT-S '97

Tracks:

Beginner's Course: This course is narrow as hell, and the opposition has the alarming problem of being FAT. So in order to overtake the opposition, you have to resort to a bit of grass cutting, and bumping the opposition out of the way. If you can do this, it's an easy race. Overtook 1st place on the turn right before the finish line, on lap 3. The Chicane is a good point to win time. Just be careful with the S1 Tires.

Autumn Ring Reverse: This one needs a bit of practice, since the NSX Type S Zero in the lead can give you some headaches. If you can't overtake 2nd place quickly, either you have nitrous, or it's a lost race. The Bus Stop chicane can be done without braking, winning some valuable time. The series of quick turns at the start, the loop-like corner, and the hairpin at about halfway of the track are great points to win time. Overtook 1st place in that hairpin at halfway of the second lap.

New York Reverse: You have to use Nitrous for this one to compensate the inferior top speed of the Elise, when comparing them to the NSX. The opposition loses a lot of time in the 90º turns, so if you do them nicely, you can win a lot of time. Use the Nitrous on both stretches, and this one's done.

Fuji Speedway 90's: This is an easy one, due to the fact that it's Fuji 90's, so you can cut that chicane for lots of time (around 10 seconds). And keep looking to the rear of your car, and block the NSX on the end of the first lap, otherwise, he'll blow past you like none of his business.

El Capitan: This car was MADE for this track. I can't believe the serious ownage I did to both NSXs on this track. The hill section after the tunnel, and the technical section near the end of the track are excellent to win loads of time. I overtook 1st place on the first lap on that hairpin after the downhill stretch, and went to win the race by more than 6.5 seconds...

Another one bites the dust!.

Current A-Spec: 41356 Points

Ratings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10
MR Challenge: 6.8/10

Very close, difficulty wise to the first 2 drivetrain challenges. The real pain is Autumn Ring, and New York is made easy due to the use of Nitrous.

Next up: Lightweight K-Car Cup!

After some absence from this, due to the championships, I've returned to the 200 A-Spec Challenge.

The next one was up: 4WD Challenge.

Car Used: Mitsubishi 3000 GT SR (J) '96

Specs: Burned oil (425xx Km), Semi-Racing Exhaust, Racing Chip, VCD at 10,  all non-power upgrades... except Racing Suspension. Reads 220 Hp at Parts Change/Setting menu, no Driving Aids

Against: Audi Quattro, Audi RS6, Hyundai Clix, Ford RS200, Impreza WRX STi. (2nd Lineup)

Tracks:

Grand Valley East: I removed the Racing Suspension because the car was getting too stiff for me. And I kind of did a good choice. The track was much easier this way, although the car still understeers. On the first lap, I played some bumper cars with a lot of the opponents, and a really bad curve gave me a one way ticket to the wall. However, I was able to recover, and overtake 1st place on the sharp corner before the tunnel. Good points to win time are: the sharp corner before the tunnel, and both S sections (after the hairpin and after the tunnel)

Autumn Ring Mini Reverse: Very short course, that's why it has 4 laps. But even if it had two, it would be a cake walk. Had to overtake 5th place on the outside, otherwise I would bump into it. Bus stop chicane is a key place, and so is the hairpin, since they decelerate too much on these two corners. Overtook 1st place on the hairpin, before entering 3rd Lap.

Suzuka East: Remember when I did the FF Challenge? I told you that I was midway through the S-Bends, and I was almost in first place? It happened the same thing, here. But this time I overtook 1st place here. This course's S-Bends are great to win time, but be alert on the last corner, as it tightens halfway. This was so easy, I already had a 2.7 second advantage to the first place on the beginning of the second lap. Then I did the first turn too fast and ate some sand, but I avoided a 360 spin, and returned to the track, with the 2nd place well behind me.

El Capitan Reverse: This race was made easy because of the technical section at the beginning of this track. At the end of it, I was second. I was able to overtake 1st place on the hairpin before that uphill road, just before the long curve. Another important spot is the hill that you go up and down. If you climb it too fast, your car will fly, and you'll hit the wall, but the downhill section can be done almost with no deceleration, due to the fact that it increases the downforce of the car. And for some reason, I couldn't complete the chicane after the tunnel cleanly on both laps, which made me lose the lead on the last lap. Eventually won it again on the second to last curve, and forcing the opponent to the wall.

Fuji Speedway 90's: w00t! Fuji 90's! I can cut the chicane to win over 10 seconds!!! Easy put: Easy win. At first, those SOBs didn't want me to overtake them, since I wanted to overtake 5th place, but 5th place wanted to overtake 4th place, and I bumped 5th place on the rear. The chicane was cut, overtook 1st place there (second lap only, since I didn't want to do on the first one), but got off too confident and exited to the outside. I had to block 2nd place from overtaking me on the stretch.

Ratings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10
4WD Challenge: 5/10

This one was easier than the others I did (mainly because of Fuji). All courses are relatively easy-to-medium, and there isn't any track with a unforgivingly hard difficulty.

Right now I broke the 40000 A-Spec barrier. I'm at 40382 A-Spec right now.

Next up: MR Challenge

I've hit 200 profile views today! I take this as a milestone to reach 1000 views in the future!

As for the Tournaments:

• GT1 finished "1st". I'll explain this later
• GT2 finished 1st.
• GT3 finished 4th.

I was indeed surprised by my GT3 time, since both Kitty and sinmaru broke the 1:09 barrier, and Aunini was able to beat my time (I did 1:09:3xx, he/she 1:09:1xx). That'll teach me not to underestimate my opponents! I better get ready for the next one!

As for GT1, I kind of feel sad for Vitg. Really, we did the EXACT same time (1:27:442)! The only reason I won was because I made the time first. It's kind of unfair for somebody that did the same time gets second place points, instead of same place points...

Oh well, those were the rules, and they had to be followed, right?

Onwards... did I already said that this race of GT3 surprised me? I think I did... I'd better unleash my full skills and kill this lazyness that's bothering me...

Let's rock this game! 8)

When I decided to do the FR challenge, I didn't want to drive a MX-5. Believe me, it was ready to take from the garage and do those races for 200 A-Spec(450 Km used oil, port polish, engine balancing, S1 Tires).

So I had an and decided to come across a car with the same power range and weight range.

I came across this relic:

Car used: BMW 2002 Turbo '73

Specs: S2, no driving aids

Against: Skyline Coupe 350 GT, RX-7 Infini III, Chrysler Crossfire, Mercedes SL500 (R230), BMW Z4.

Tracks:

Seattle Reverse: The first turn can be done only by decelerating on the first lap. And I needed to block the bloodthirsy RX-7 from overtaking me. This is a nice technical circuit that favours a lot the underpowered 2002 Turbo. Reached first place on the double-apex turn (last turn) on the first lap. You can also win a lot of time in the Bus Stop Chicane.Easy race.

Tsukuba: The only track with 3 laps, and you have to use them to your full advantage if you want to win this. I had to use the opponents as cushions to do some curves, and drafting on the stretch, because otherwise I wouldn't win this one. I overtook first place on the last hairpin before the stretch, and then proceeded to block his path to secure victory

Special Stage Route 5: This was the first race I tried with the Bimmer (or is it Beamer?) to see if it could hang the competition. And it did! I had a lot of fighting with the opposition, since the track is too narrow, and we kept following the racing lines. I reached first place on that tight S-bend before the last turn. The stretch was a nightmare, since I was blocking both the Skyline, and the Crossfire. Then, all of a sudden, a speeding, burnt ass, bloodthirsty RX-7 blew past me like it was none of his business. Luckily, the first turn was just ahead of me, and I overtook him.

Laguna Seca: This is a pretty fast track, that can make you suffer for some time. I only overtook somebody on the "corkscrew", and this curve is crucial to success. Another corner that is very important is the last turn, since they decelerate too much. I know better: I overtook first place right in this corner, in the last lap.

Motorland Reverse: Ah. Nothing like a good technical circuit for an easy 200 point race! But this isn't your ordinary technical circuit. It's the most misleading circuit in GT4 IMO. There are quite some curves that tighten halfway through, and you'll eat some dirt if you don't brake on time. Bigger problem is the long sweeper. Why? If you do it too fast, chances are you'll pay a visit to the pit crew! But it's an easy race, since I overtook first place about halfway of the 1st lap.

That's a wrap! I believe next one in line will be the 4WD challenge!

Since this one is a bit tougher than the FF Challenge, I'll modify some of my ratings:

Sunday Cup: 5.8/10
FF Challenge: 6.6/10
FR Challenge: 7.1/10

See you guys soon!

Comments more than welcome!

Ah yes! Finally I have some time to do 200 A-Spec Races again! I'm trying to do these in between championships, so it's going to be very tough, if the competition starts to be rough as well!

As promised, the next race was the FF Challenge:

P.S. I'm introducing a rating system. I will rate A-Spec races out of 10 based on the difficulty of the races, and the car used 

Car used: Mini Cooper '02

Specs: S3, all non-power/weight upgrades, 15 ballast, no driving aids

Against: Renault Mégane IDE Coupé, Alfa Romeo GTV, Opel Vectra, Mini Cooper S and Peugeot 206 S16

Midfield Reverse: Easy race, due to some "dirty tactics" I've used accidentally. On the hairpin, I overtook 3 opponents, thanks to the brakes and the Soft tires, then overtook the 206 on the long sweep on the outside to win second place. All I had left was the Mégane, who was 1.8 seconds ahead of me. Thankfully, the corners ahead were not hard to do, thanks to the sports tires.And then there's that double apex turn, which was the Mégane's DOOM. Why? On the second apex, I was going to use the Mégane as a cushion for the corner, but I hit the car too hard, and the Mégane flew to the outside, making him not only lose first place, but also second place. If that wouldn't happne I would be forced to overtake him on the Hairpin bend on the second lap. Taking full advantage of the Soft tires is crucial to win here.

Suzuka East: I can hardly believe that this race was even easier than the first one. I was only midway through those S bends and I was already kissing the Mégane's ass... Anyway, those S bends can be done pretty much without braking. Decelerating is enough. First turn is tricky: if you do it too fast, you'll fly to the outside and you'll lose lots of time. And the last turn is also deceiving, so be careful when doing this one.

Hong Kong Reverse: That was a very close victory... The track is unforgiving, and doing this track in a FF car is painful. All those 90º turns need to be made smoothly to win some precious (LOTR FTW) time. But, I got too confident, and slammed the inside apex of a fast turn, and thought I was going to lose this one. Somehow, I recovered, and I did the second lap smoothly and fast, and when I got to THAT curve, I did it perfectly, and I went bumper-to-bumper with the Mégane. Mégane lost first place on the last corner, because of early braking. Pointers: the tightest hairpin (the one before the long stretch) must be completed in 2nd gear. You must not go to 1st gear, otherwise, the car may lose some times due to shift lag.

Grand Valley East: This one made me laugh for a bit in the beginning. All my opponents were battling against each other for a place in the racing line (Dumb AI FTL) like a pack of piranhas attacking a cow in a river... The climax of this battle reached when two opponents tried to force the 206 to spin out; making the car sideways at one point. Anyway... I had to resort to "blocking" my opponent's path on the second lap (mainly on the stretch, and the fast section after the hairpin), since they are much faster than my Cooper. Other than that, let the Soft tires do the rest smoothly to win an easy race.

Twin Ring East: I HATED this race. Long stretches, some fast curves, and I'm driving a FF piece of ****!! I had to fully apply in this one, since that S bend at about midway through the track is misleading, and can end your race if you do it too fast. I used the Mégane as a cushion on the second-to-last corner, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to win this one. 

This one was indeed hard just because of Twin Ring and hong Kong.

Nemesis_Lion's rating: 7.6/10

Sunday Cup's rating: 6.4/10. Only Clubman Stage 5 was tough, and the i's handicap was partially supressed with the help of the CVT transmission

Next up: FR Challenge

My friend fastesttruck did this, and I believe it's a good idea!

So go ahead and ask me any question, and I'll answer it!

Anything at all!

I'm very happy, since I've got a new emblem: Neighborly (means that I have more than 10 friends on GS!).

Ah. Nothing better to commemorate my last test than a new blog post!

This whole GT3 tournament has awoke me to an old reality that I had for a long time: my free run records! So I decided to do a little "Scavenge", and here are my times:

(Note: all times were done with the Polyphony 001 with Racing Medium, except rally courses, which were done with a stock Escudo Pikes Peak)

Super Speedway: 0:25:193

Midfield: 0:53:246

Smokey Mountain: 0:53:580

Swiss Alps: 1:04:407

Trial Mountain: 1:00:936

Midfield Reverse: 0:52:825

Smokey Mountain Reverse: 0:55:280

Tokyo 246: 1:10:518

Grand Valley: 1:22:151

Laguna Seca: 0:58:609

Rome Circuit: 1:00:567

Tahiti Dirt: 1:13:721

Swiss Alps Reverse: 1:04:637

Trial Mountain Reverse: 1:02:611

Deep Forest: 0:53:440

SS Route 5: 1:01:457

Seattle: 1:11:195

Tokyo 246 Reverse: 1:11:588

Grand Valley Reverse: 1:24:050

Rome Circuit Reverse: 1:03:848

Tahiti Dirt Reverse: 1:15:845

Tahiti Maze: 1:46:089

Apricot Hill: 0:58:286

SS Route 11: 1:28:519

Deep Forest Reverse: 0:54:233

SS Route 5 Reverse: 1:01:267

Seattle Reverse: 1:11:388

Côte D'Azur: 1:14:11

Complex String: 3:15:854

Route 5 Wet: 1: 1:06:140

Apricot Hill Reverse: 0:57:950

SS Route 11 Reverse: 1:28:965

Tahiti Maze Reverse: Never done any time in here... Weird... I'll do one when I get to tame the Escudo

Route 5 Wet Reverse: 1:08:889

Complex String Reverse: 3:21:249

Comments are welcome!

I'm realizing that I have a lot to do, but I have little time to do.

Here's what I have to do in the near future:

1) A test tommorow... it sucks

2) 2 more tests to study... t3h suckzorzzzzz

3) Taking part on 3 championships on GTU

4) 200 A-Spec challenge

The championships are cool, competitive and entertaining, just like I like them!

As for the test tommorow... Financial Markets. What do you study here? Financial analysis of a company, evaluation of its financial stock, etc..

The other 2 tests are a bit easier IMO, but still, that doesn't mean I don't have to study for them.

So I guess I'll take a bit of time off to study on this week, until the tests are gone.

Let's hope I have good marks!

I've turned my heads into doing the Sunday Cup for 200 A-Spec, and after spending almost 30 minutes trying to find a lineup and a setup, I finally came up with this:

Car used: Mitsubishi i, N2, 60 Ballast, No driving aids ( along with every non-power/weight upgrade )

Against: Peugeot 206 S16, Mazda MX-5, Mini Cooper, Alfa 147 Twin Spark, VW Polo GTI

Autumn Ring Mini Reverse: The race was alright, but sometimes I used the opponents as "cushions" to make the corners. The hairpin at the end needs to be done out-in-out to win some valuable seconds.

Beginner's Course: The beginning of this race, as well as the first corner were TRAUMATIC, because the course is too narrow to hold those 6 cars at once. And I deaccelerated too much for the first corner, due to crashing to the back of the 147. The good news is that the opponents deaccelerate too much on the corners. The long last corner can be done with the throttle fully open.

High Speed Ring: When I started this race, I thought it was going to be tough... But as soon as I did the first real corner, I realized to my delight that it was going to be an easy one. Although I had to block the 147 on the stretch by the end of the 1st lap, and almost mowing the lawn on the "S" section of the track on lap 2 due to a crash, the race was easy.

Clubman Stage 5 Reverse: This is one of my favourites from GT1, so I know the track pretty well. Problem is... so does the game. However, I had the brilliant idea of removing the Racing Gearbox, for this one since the car is CVT, and being one means: no power loss for switching gears! Even so, it was a very tight race. I had to nail the 206 when he was doing that tight corner before the tunnel, otherwise I would ceratinly lose. Hardest race so far.

Twin Ring West Short: This track has everything that can make me hate this race: rolling start, long stretches, and few corners. I went with CVT again. Luckily enough, the technical section of this course is a bit tight, so that's where I would nail the curves to win those sought-after seconds. I tried to overtake 5th place on that section, but he closed the curve, and made me eat some dirt, but that turned out to be profitable, because I gained enough speed to overtake him, once I hit the road again. By the end of lap 2 I was leader, but I made the first corner too wide, and lost the lead; but regained it at the technical section to win the race.

After all of this, I now have 37702 A-Spec points, and plan to hit the FF Challenge next.

So I've been searching around in my game, and these are the races that I have done to 200 points until now:

GTWC (against 787B, Sauber C9, Ford GT LM Race Car, Minolta and Audi R8 )

Car Used: Chaparral 2J, Stock; except Super Speedway

Super Speedway: Black 787B, used oil, 110 Ballast, Nitrous at 50, wallride.

Like The wind (1st lineup)

Car used: RUF CTR2, Fully tuned, N1, Gearbox at 22

Speedster Trophy(against speedsters and speedsters turbo)

Car used: Speedster Turbo? fully tuned, nitrous at max (didn't needed it anyhow)

Premium Sports Lounge (against 2nd lineup)

Car used: M3 GTR road car, stock, nitrous at max ( I think I only needed it for New York)

Tsukuba Wet Hard (against Audi R8 )

Car used: Chaparral 2J, stock

Real Circuit Tours (against a lineup I can't remember)

Car used: Chaparral 2J, stock, except Nürburgring

Nürburgring: Nissan Fairlady Z Concept LM Race Car, stage 3 Turbo, nitrous at max, R3, max downforce

Corvette Festival (against any lineup)

Car used: Corvette Convertible (C1), Racing Muffler, Racing Chip, NA Stage 1, S3.