[Special Event] 2018 iRacing Bathurst 12 Hours

[Kelley G]

@Skid_Marc_ this is good news. Was a little nervous about the 3 hour stint as I didn’t practice for it. Really happy with how practice went last night. Feel comfortable with track and car. Taking today off and see you all on track in the morning.

@Slider glad your comfortable with car. Your times are pretty much exactly the pace I’m at which will make a good pairing. I put down a 2:05.007 last night in quaili for us. Car was bone dry on fresh tires however.

 

[Kenadian]

Lucas Biron spent the evening in Practice/TS with us and has jumped on board with @Slider and @Kelley G BMW Band of Others Endurance 2 #095 to cover three stints, so hopefully that will take the pressure off Kelley and Dino; No more triple stints required!

Thanks for starting on the paints @Duke! Both B2O Endurance - Lake House and B2O Endurance - #065 have been uploaded to Trading Paints!

I should be home a little early tonight so I'll try to button up the paints then.

 

[Kelley G]

Gah internet took a shit this morning. All resolved but doesn’t leave me with a real good feeling for tomorrow.

 

[John Navara]

@Skid_Marc_ Great news for the BMW team. I am not comfortable in the car at all at Bathurst.

John

 

[Slider]

What's bothering you? I personally (re)found that the car likes to over rotate a little if hard on brakes on downhill. But with engine on front, it's expected.

 

[Slider]

I am so sorry guys....don't know what else to say...I've spend about 3-4 hours yesterday in solo practice just to get comfortable with running off the line and to see what the car can do if I push it or do silly maneuvers, and just to get in the rhythm, but today....I don't know....first collision was my fault, I expected to follow the leading car when he comes back on the line, which didn't happen, but that 2nd stint was just bad. Not even 2 laps and I hit the wall on my own, in part of the track I actually like the most....sorry for disappointing you, we had a top 10 car for sure.

 

[Kelley G]

@Slider don't worry about it. Its racing and shit happens. We powered through until hour 10 or so. Luc got loose coming out of skyline and nosed into the wall damaging the engine. 15 minutes later we were back out on track (just for laughs at this point). The car was down 15 seconds a lap but we were all having a good laugh... He finished his stint and I went to take over the remaining time. Turns out shifting in to sixth was saving the engine because I blew it on my second lap. 45 min of repairs to go. Hoping I can jump in and drive it across the line just to say we did.

I think I can speak for us all and say it was an awesome event! I sure enjoyed it more then I ever thought possible. Thank you to everyone for the organization and planning and hard work that went in to making this possible.

I plan on making Sebring my bitch!

 

[Noodleguitar]

My legs hurt.

 

[Skid_Marc_]

@Kelley G I'd be curious to know if it was actually shifting into 6th that saved the engine, or if it was a result of sitting stationary in the pits for a minute for service. These engines at idle produce a lot of heat that isn't getting disapated (hence why they all blow on pit road eventually). I wonder if you had turned the engine off during service if that still would have happened? Or maybe it was a combination of both things? In the end, it was probably for the best, as you got a new engine out of the deal!

@Slider it is incredibly tough when you're not in a rythem, or when you have been knocked out of a rythem, to get it back. Totally understand needing to walk away. Sometimes it just isn't there, and it sucks to hear you had that kind of day. Hope that you're back for Sebring, and that things go better!

@Duke @Jes_971 @Brainling What a job! Great pace across all three of you! Kept the car clean (mostly) and on track (also mostly)!
You can't do it much better than this...

Congrats on the well-earned top-4!!
Nice call on the SOF, though, Matt... got a good laugh at this! It was almost our race over before the green flag even dropped...

@Anson Bennette Thanks for running this with me, this was maybe one of my favorite endurance events, ever! Awesome job! Turning 143 laps with only 3 incidents is incredible. Don't beat yourself up over the spin; Its not your fault someone put that wall in your way! I can't believe, after all of the abuse, the Audi just kept powering through. It shouldn't have survived plowing through two Merc's, or slamming head-on into the wall either, but some how it just did!

@Sam Roselaar gutted you couldn't be part of this event, but I wanted your name on the car because I wanted to say thanks for the laps that you turned with us! You were spot on when it came to my setup being too tight. Compromising the low ride heights with making the car turn a lot better really made a difference. It took a lot of laps to adjust, but thanks for forcing me to relearn it, because I think it really resulted in an improvement in our pace.

 

[Nejtun]

Well done everybody Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

I uploaded the replay for anyone that needs it, be warned it is 17 gig !! its HERE anyway

 

[LoucMachine]

Hey boys ! I just pop here to say it was a blast yesterday doing my first endurance race with you guys ! As Kelley said, I also enjoyed it way more than I thought possible. We had some issues, and bathurst does not pardon (I am sorry again for my fatal mistake ), but the race itself felt like an experience not to be missed and it was just so much fun to hang out with a really good bunch of people, trying to power through this event. Looking back at it, I see that its fun to try to get a good finish (or simply finish... fml), but the time and energy invested in it was totally worth it no matter the outcome.

I'd like to thanks my teammates! Dino had a bad day but its all fine, it happens to everybody (I am certainely no better as I crashed it later on D. I just wish he'd stayed a bit longer as he looked like a nice guy and would have been nice to know him better and chill with him a bit more . Regardless, I had a blast with Kelley, a very nice guy too !!, and I really liked chilling on the TS with the other teams while racing !

I'd also like to thanks the organization. It was sick. I was impressed with the preparation, the spread sheets and everything.

So yeah ! Thanks Band of others for inviting me and I really look forward to participate in practice buddies things, the league (when possible) and of course future endurance events !

 

[Kelley G]

@LoucMachine @Slider Just a little bit of an update. I jumped back into the car with 1.5 hours remaining. Miraculously the steering was straight and the engine was new (which is more then I can say for the mangled piece of metal these people call a hood lmao). I pushed it across the line consistently at 2:08 a lap. We finished the race and came 23rd. I’ll call that a success no matter what!

 

[LoucMachine]

@Kelley G oh whaaat ?? haha I left the sim open while I was preparing the jam space to look at you on the side then heard a big ''bang''. Went to watch the replay then saw the engine blow off. I thought : Oh well.. its over now

This is very good news
I find it pretty funny that they changed the whole engine but refused to give us a decent hood haha, but the engine is still the most important !

Good finish man ! Good race ! I would also call that a success !

 

[Deb]

Had a great race considering we got wiped out in the 3rd lap and came out of the pit at 48th or 45th or something like that after an 11 minute repair. @afroducks, great driving, what a consistently great pace! Bedo got us back to about 23rd and Mike and I got us up to 12th. We were in position 11 at one point but my wheel refused to shift at the beginning of my second stint so I had to pullover and reboot my wheel. We lost almost 2 minutes on that endeavor Ended up 13th I did not imagine the race would go as well as it did over all, we were able to keep the car reasonably clean after the initial crash! And the damaged Mercs helped us out on the straights with their aero loss Don't know what happened with the paint, TP kind of sucks, wish it was more seamless.

Thanks to Marc, Ken, Nate and Noel for all the work in pulling this together! You guys are awesome What a great race day for B2O, lots of great racing and great fun and everyone finished!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Brainling]

What a race by the #95 Ferrari! Jes and Ken killed it and I was able to keep the car going in the right direction most of the time. Only had a few minor brushes with the wall and the car stayed drivable and quick enough the whole race. I know my last stint I backed it way, way down knowing I was putting time on 6th even driving at 95%. To have 4th gifted to us was a nice treat, but I was more than proud of the top 5. Bathurst takes no prisoners and it's a crazy challenge to complete 12 hours of driving there, in a race full of other weekend warriors, with a car mostly intact. Super proud of the effort everyone put in, not just on race day, but the two weeks leading up to it when all of us put a ridiculous amount of practice hours in. I'd say it paid off. For me that was redemption for Sebring last year. The luck fell our way after a monster effort from everyone.

Outside of our team it was absolutely amazing to have other B2O cars in the race. That was such incredible fun. It's basically impossible to do when we're spread out across a bunch of classes...but when we have a couple groups of us clustered in one class I'd love to see that become the way we register. There's something to be said for getting in the highest split possible, especially if we're all over the place...but I'm willing to drive around slightly less than stellar drivers if it means there are other B2O cars on track.

 

[SavreticD]

Good job guys and girl,especially good job Noel

 

[Kenadian]

I just don't know how to explain it.

Every single one of these events are amazing and after each and every one I leave with a mixed sense of pride, accomplishment and truly heartwarming memories of the time spent with you folk leading up to and competing.

Yet another event with all cars making it home. This in itself is an incredible feat and many fall well short of even this goal.

You should all be extremely proud, I know I am!

As hard as it is to believe, this event was the best I've ever had. It feels surreal saying this after how Daytona just happened and it was the single most amazing event I'd experienced. Every iteration is amazing and they only continue to get better, how is this possible?

First off, a shout out to my amazing Teammates @Brainling and @Jes_971. Guys I'd love to say something insightful, inspirational or just plain clever but there are no words big enough to encapsulate the honor it was to drive with you.

Also, 11th hour upon us and in need of another Driver and the heavens bring us @LoucMachine who fits as if he's been here for ages. It was great having you jump in after so little prep and no time to familiarize yourself with the crazies you were about to donate your valuable time to.

Just know we're glad to have you so if you ever want to compete again there's always a spot for you.

@Kelley G, I believe you stated this was your first Endurance event, hopefully it won't be your last with us, amazing work sir! Incredible you returned to bring that tin can (sorry lol) home after all you'd been through. The car was battered true but your resolve was amazing and very, very inspiring to be around.

...and of course the organization and hard work put forth by @Noodleguitar, @Skid_Marc_, and @Nejtun who somehow manage to keep us on focused both on and off the track. The scheduling, the fuel charts, just the sheer amount of planning alone is mind boggling.

Most of all, thanks to each of you for helping us weave a rich and continually evolving tapestry of comradery, humor, talent and support.

You are all amazing people and it's a true honor rubbing shoulders (and sometimes paint) with you.

I do want to apologize to those of you in Teamspeak with me when I nearly ended our race coming down the mountain.

I was so target fixated on a competitive car I'd passed a few times to this point I was unaware of our closure rate on a much slower Mercedes. I yanked the wheel so as not to ruin anyone's race but emotionally it took several laps to stop shaking after said event:

https://clips.twitch.tv/EnjoyableConcernedToothRalpherZ

 

[Sam Roselaar]

First off, congratulations to all that finished! What an amazing performance by the #95 ferrari!

Indeed a shame i couldn't join i have not driven iracing in 3 days and i already miss it... too bad i have to wait another month...

I'm glad i could contribute even a little bit to the race @Skid_Marc_ and i'm truly honoured to have my name on a B2O car.

I'm already looking forward to the Nurburgring 24h

 

[Anson Bennette]

If someone had told me before this race that I could put in 143 laps with only 3x, I would have kicked them in the face. Racing with you guys has definitely added another element to my racing. I have a lot to learn, but I can feel the value of concentrating for long periods. The amazingly encouraging, funny and outright ridiculous TS chat was a real joy - I can't remember when last I had so much fun in a racing event; maybe never!

Thanks to Marc for letting me drive with you; it was truly an honor to share a cockpit with someone of your skill. I hope some of it rubs off on me . Special thanks to you and the others who helped organize what turned out to be a great Saturday. To Sam, sorry you couldnt make the race, although your contribution to setting up the car was invaluable. Thanks a bunch.

And thanks to EVERYONE. It's a great achievement to get 4 teams in the same split , and for all teams to finish 12 hrs in that mountainous hell.

Finally, I can't leave without giving a shoutout to that beaten and battered BMW that refused to quit. Made my day

 

[Noodleguitar]

Good job to all of you guys! Next to Nürburgring this could well have been the most difficult race of the year. Really good to see that our mix of seasoned and new-to-endurance drivers worked out well together. It wouldn't surprise me if from this moment on teams will ask themselves at the start of a race: "Are we in the Band of Others split?"

I enjoyed sitting in TeamSpeak with you all. Sorry for the stretch of silence from my side but I had just messed up my own car and annoyed some other people for no good reason so I didn't have anything positive to say for a while

I'm glad I kept driving. My main challenge was to complete the entire race, which I did. Altogether I had about 10 minutes worth of time for breaks (during pit stops). Secondly, I wanted to avoid big mistakes, which I failed to do. Still, 330 laps without any trouble at all would be somewhat unrealistic.

@Skid_Marc_ Great clip. That is precisely what happens if you start fantasizing about the competence of the drivers around you out loud.

@Duke Nice reaction! Some would say you could have seen the car in front earlier on but that's hard to keep track of when you're looking at the Merc directly in front of you (and the walls). I'm amazed you managed not to clip him and/or crash horribly. I do still remember the "oh shit, a slow car in my face!" feeling from our Le Mans race in the Aston Martin.

@SavreticD Did you guys drop out? We suspected you had an issue but I'm not sure how/when/what. They linked the timestamp you were talking about on the iRacing forums:

. That's really bad, I hope he gets banned for that, there are no excuses for being a raging child in such a race (and the dumbass didn't even manage it, he spun himself out).

Off-tracks graphs etc. coming soon.