Today’s race was much better than yesterday’s, although I didn’t finish as well. What was better was there was much less car-to-car contact today. It was a much cleaner race, and I feel like I drove a better race. Having said that, there was still some contact in turn one on the opening lap, as well as a big hit on lap eight coming onto the front straight. I guess it was my fault, but the Audi ahead of me suddenly slowed for no reason that I could see.
That’s one thing I’ve noticed about Forza Motorsports 7. For no reason, drivatars will suddenly slow, often in areas where you’d expect them to accelerate. I don’t understand why Forza is set up like that, but it is.
I qualified 18th for race two at Watkins Glen, and gained a few spots in turn one when traffic backed up. The race felt more calm than the previous race, and I was able to settle in early on. With the exception of the big hit on lap eight I mentioned previously, the race was clean, with lots of good racing. In the end, I finished 7th and, everything considered, I was happy with the finish.
After twenty of twenty-six races, the top five in points are:
There’s a scene in the movie, Days of Thunder, where crew chief Harry Hyde (played by Robert Duvall) gets on the radio and sarcastically tells his driver, Cole Trickle (played by Tom Cruise) to hit the pace car because it’s the only thing he hasn’t hit all day. I think my virtual crew chief was probably telling me the same thing today. In addition to hitting several other cars, I also hit the armco in turn three at least twice. If you’re a fan of car-to-car contact, then this race was for you.
I qualified 14th on the grid and gained a couple of positions in turn one when the other cars stacked up. I won’t do a post-mortem on each lap, other than to say there was a lot of bad driving on my part, including being overly aggressive, even when I didn’t need to. Because my Honda is underpowered compared to the cars I’m racing against, I sometimes have to push the issue and pass another car when I have the chance, even when the opportunity is optimal. Because of that, I sometimes find myself in a bad situation, resulting in an off-track excursion or car-to-car contact. It drives me nuts, but I guess it’s necessary, at least sometimes.
I finished 5th, which was probably better than I deserved. For race two, I really am going to try to keep the contact to a minimum. We’ll see if I am successful.
There are lots of reasons that Watkins Glen reminds me of Road America. They’re both located in summer resort areas, they’re both in communities that hosted races on public roads before they had tracks, they both have world-famous bars associated with their track (Road America has Siebken’s Resort and Watkins Glen has Seneca Lodge), and they are both very fast tracks that favor horsepower over handling, meaning my poor little Honda Civic Type R likely won’t do very well there.
I’ve only been to Watkins Glen once in real life, and sadly, that wasn’t to race. I was excited to be at the world-famous track, but I made a mistake while I was in town: I didn’t visit Seneca Lodge. I’d love to go back to the track, but this time, I’ll be staying at Seneca Lodge.
Watkins Glen has a rich history. They hosted the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix from 1961 to 1980. They’ve also hosted IMSA, NASCAR, Trans-Am, Can-Am, and IndyCar. The track is considered one of the best in North America, and is beloved by road racing drivers and fans alike.
There are few better places to spend the summer than upstate New York, and there are few better places to race than Watkins Glen. Combine the two and you have the ingredients for a great weekend. Next stop: Watkins Glen.
Race two at Maple Valley was another strange affair. I started 6th and moved my way up a bit on the first couple of laps, before having contact on lap three and spinning off course, hitting a barrier. I recovered fairly quickly, losing only two spots, and went on to challenge for the win on the final lap, but coming up just short to finish 2nd.
I like winning as much as the next guy (Unless the next guy is Michael Jordan), but my speed at Maple Valley just isn’t right. I’m significantly faster than the drivatars, which isn’t the case at other tracks. I’ve gotten a few fastest laps this year, but not by much. At Maple Valley, I’m one or two seconds faster than the other cars. I’m grateful for two good finishes, but it shouldn’t have happened, not after spinning in both races.
Regardless, the two races at Maple Valley are in the books. As I said after race one, I really enjoy driving Maple Valley. I’m going to miss it. But the season must move forward. Next stop: Watkins Glen.
Let’s talk about Maple Valley Raceway. It’s a blast to drive. It’s fast, technical, and it never gives you an opportunity to relax. There’s always something happening. This is the first time I’ve ever driven Maple Valley, and it’s already become one of my favorite tracks.
But things at Maple Valley are not perfect. For one, the AI drivers in Forza Motorsport 7 are much more aggressive at Maple Valley that at any other track I have run so far. While running practices races, I had to restart one race eight times because other drivers either door slammed me or hit me from behind at the start. During those eight aborted races, I never made it past turn 3.
The other problem I have at Maple Valley is that I am significantly faster than the AI cars there. At first blush, that doesn’t seem like a problem, but I don’t want to be handed race wins. I want to work for them. I want to have to get better to do well in the races. For whatever reason, I’m anywhere from 1.5 to 2 seconds a lap faster than the AI drivers. That hasn’t happened at any of the other tracks I’ve visited.
The most glaring example of this “problem” came during race #1. In the middle of the race, I spun the car and went off track. I thought I was done for, hoping, at that point, to just finish in the top 10. Instead, I went on to win the race. That shouldn’t be possible in a 10 lap sprint race.
As long as I’m complaining, let me add that there are at least two problems with Forza that don’t make sense. First, it doesn’t make sense that we are racing on cold tires on the first lap of the race. We’re doing a rolling start, which pre-supposes that we’ve already run at least one warm-up lap. The tires should come up to temp by then.
The second problem is that the physics on crashes is all wrong. I can’t tell you the number of times I have had contact with another car, and bounced off that car at an impossible angle, ending up off track. At the same time, the car I had contact with barely goes off-line. Maybe my expectations are too high for a video game, but it seems like if you’re going to put in so much time and effort into creating the game, you’d put a little effort into getting it right.
Okay, enough complaining. Let’s talk about the race. I qualified 9th and drove fairly well. I mentioned that the AI drivers are more aggressive at Maple Valley, so I’ve gotten into the habit of being more aggressive there. If I’m not mistaken, I think all of the car-to-car contact in this race was caused by me. At any other track, I’d be concerned about that. After getting knocked around by AI drivers during practice races, I’m not as concerned here.
As I mentioned, I spun the car in the middle of the race. It was my own fault. I thought my race was over, but I got back after it and ended up winning the race. I’ll take it, but it shouldn’t be possible.
Race #2 at Indianapolis was a lot of fun. That’s not just because I qualified 5th and ended up winning the race and running the fastest lap (although that helped), but because I drove a good race and there was very little contact. In fact, I think the two races at Indianapolis were my two best races of the year. Contact was kept to a minimum, and my race craft, which has never been my strong suit, was at it’s best.
I mentioned in my recap to race #1 at Indy that I spent a lot of time practicing on the Grand Prix course. I think it really paid off. Although the Grand Prix course was new to me, because of the practice, I felt very comfortable there. I’ve always heard that the road course, which was first used for F1, wasn’t a particularly good layout. I disagree. I really liked the track, although the long straights made it tough on my underpowered Honda.
I’ve never been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit. The last time I was at Indy, the Grand Prix course didn’t even exist. So, to make up for my lack of real life experience at the track, I did a lot of practice laps in preparation for my two races there.
I qualified 13th in race one. Like most Forza 7 races, things stacked up in turn one, and I was able to move up a few spots. I was surprised that the field (at least me) got through turn one without any major collisions. Going through turn three, I got into the back of another car, but nothing major, and the the rest of the race was fairly clean.
This is something I’ve been working on. The way Forza Motorsports 7 works, it rewards aggressive driving, encouraging car-to-car contact. I’m trying to avoid that while also being competitive in the races. I consider today’s race a success. I finished fourth and kept the contact to a minimum. I’ll take it.
I think anyone who’s ever raced has dreamed of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The place is iconic.
When I was growing up, I used to always look forward to watching the Indy 500. In those days, the race was shown on tape delay. It wasn’t even broadcast live.
In my late teens or early twenties, I started going to the race. A friend worked at a newspaper and got free tickets every year. We’d get up early on race day and drive to Indy from our homes outside of Chicago. When we first started going to the race, we’d watch it live, then get home in time to watch it on tape-delay at night.
The famous “spin to win” by Danny Sullivan happened right in front of us in 1985. It was exciting, but it was the only exciting thing that happened in the race that year. If I remember right, we went one more year after that. In 1986, ABC started carrying the race live, so we didn’t have the same desire to be at the track.
IMS was famous, partly because it was exclusive. The Indy 500 was held there, and nothing else. When NASCAR started running at Indy in 1994, the exclusivity went away, but the profile of the track grew because NASCAR was so popular back in the mid-90s. Formula 1 began racing on the road course (Grand Prix course) in 2000, which gave the facility an even higher profile.
Today, the track—both the oval and the road course—are used much more frequently, and by a wide range of racers. I had the opportunity to run a race on the road course in 2019, but decided against it. Ever since I stopped racing a few years ago, I’ve had trouble staying away. For a couple of years, I’d do a race here or there, but finally decided I was done. I’ve been tempted a few times since then, but, so far, have stayed “retired.”
Of course, sim racing doesn’t completely satisfy the racing bug, but it helps. And sim racing at Indy isn’t the same thing as being there, but for now, it’s going to have to do.
I didn’t deserve to do well today. I drove like a jackass, and actually probably finished higher than I should have. I qualified 11th and finished 15th. However, on the first lap, I crashed and fell to 24th position. I fought my way back to 16th, before overshooting turn 5 and falling back to 17th, only to work my way back up to 15th on the final corner of the final lap.
It just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t complain about the game. As I’ve said before, I do not understand why I am the only car on the track that spins as a result of contact. The drivatars don’t spin unless you absolutely force them to spin, and even then, it isn’t easy. I’m not saying I don’t deserve to spin in many of these shunts, but the drivatars should also spin under similar circumstances.
Also, when I do spin or go off course, the car becomes nearly undrivable for a few corners afterwards. I’m guessing the drivability of the car is supposed to imitate having debris (grass, marbles, etc.) on the tires, but it’s really a bit too much. Real race cars continue to be drivable after an altercation or off-course excursion. They may not drive as well, but they can accelerate, brake, and to a certain extent, corner. Not so in Forza Motorsports 7.
I started this sim racing journey thinking it could be just like real racing, or at least really close. Sim racing on Forza is not like real racing. But that doesn’t make it bad. It’s just different. And to enjoy it and succeed at it, the player needs to accept and adjust to the differences. I really haven’t done that up until now. I’m trying to be less aggressive, trying to avoid shunts, but the game demands aggressiveness and a willingness to bang wheels. It requires doing things in the game that you wouldn’t normally do in a real race.
I’m going to try to complain less and adjust more. If you didn’t know better, you’d like I’m not having a good time. I’ve been frustrated with Forza 7, but I’ve also really enjoyed it. My expectations may not have been realistic when I started, but I’m learning what to expect the more I play the game.
I didn’t expect to do well at Road America. The Honda Civic Type R is not cut out for Road America’s long straights and high speed corners. Even so, it’s hard not to be disappointed with my results today’s race.
I qualified 18th on the grid and ran into trouble on the very first corner. Traffic backed up, I had contact, and I dropped further down the field. In the end, I finished in 21st position.
I still don’t understand why, when I have contact with another car, I’m the only one who ever spins. The drivitar’s never spin due to contact with me. I see them go off road when involved in shunts with other drivatars, but not when they have contact with me.
Starting so far back on the grid makes it almost impossible to finish in the top ten on this particular track in the Honda. That’s going to happen from time to time. The Honda just isn’t optimized for Road America. I’ll do my best in Race #2, but I’m not holding out much hope for a top ten finish, let alone a podium finish.
After thirteen races, here are the top five in points:
