We'll be on most of the day @Anson Bennette. We'll also be running League tonight at Bathurst with AI so you're welcome to join us in that as well.
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[Special Event] 2023 Bathurst 12h
- Thread starter Skid_Marc_
- Start date
Deb
Moderator
All, I hate to do this, but I think I am out for Bathurst. It is just stressing me out too bad and bringing back the feelings of frustration of why I stopped iracing last year. I keep trying to practice and can't even finish a full fuel stint in a practice session due to getting taken out by someone. It is something I just can't figure out, if its me, is it the change at iracing with all the additional drivers in the Pandemic. I was trying to figure this out and look back at endurance racing since 2016, even before racing with B2O, when I was racing with Reid, Tom and Bedo and I seldom had any crashes even though I was a total Newb. All of the VLN and Winter VLN and very few wrecks and all the other endurance races with you guys, few wrecks (except Daytona 
) But now it seems like every race I am in recently, multiple people take me out and it honestly makes me afraid of racing that I am stressed out most of the time when I am driving except when I'm clear of traffic. And that creates a vicious circle of driving to conservative. I know I probably am taking it too seriously but I can't seem to help myself from doing that. I'll definitely be on to race tonight. I really enjoy racing with you guys and just everyone else that sucks
) But now it seems like every race I am in recently, multiple people take me out and it honestly makes me afraid of racing that I am stressed out most of the time when I am driving except when I'm clear of traffic. And that creates a vicious circle of driving to conservative. I know I probably am taking it too seriously but I can't seem to help myself from doing that. I'll definitely be on to race tonight. I really enjoy racing with you guys and just everyone else that sucks
Anson Bennette
Core
Deb, I can't say I know how you feel, but I will say I can relate.
One of the reasons you guys haven't seen me for a while, was a culmination of my long-time frustration in endurance races, which came to a head on the last event I did with Marc (& Matt I think) @ Daytona. We were having a pretty decent race and were in line for a podium when I had a brain fade and hit the wall with only a few hours left....... and did it again a couple laps later. I tried to be cool about it, and the guys were very supportive, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I let the guys down. I felt like week-old dog shit.
The next day I was doing my customary self-post-mortem, when I realised that I've NEVER completed an endurance race without an incident of some kind. This realisation hit me pretty hard and I beat myself up for a while, thinking I wasn't good enough and eventually dropped off from iRacing altogether.
It took several months and dabbling in other sims and games before I renewed my subscription this month. And although I missed racing, I didn't come back because I loved Bathurst in particular (I don't. It actually scares the shit outa me), but because I missed racing with you guys and the ridiculous chat that goes along with it.
I've fully come to terms with the fact that I'll never be as good as Marc or Nejtun or Ken or Hans - or run as consistent times as you Deb (I mentioned this to Marc just the other night). And I'm fine with all of that. Make no mistake, I'm nervous as hell to get back in the seat. I'll just race as well as I can, and hope the myriad of things out of my control don't kill me. I think that's the best I can do. 1st or 21st, I plan to enjoy it either way.
If you think you need to sit out that's cool. If you wanna have your name on the car next to mine, that's cool too.
Like I said, I came for the shit talk and the challenge of a challenging track. Placing well is a bonus.
Apologies for all the chatter. You've kinda given me an excuse to vent and give a lame excuse for being away for so long
One of the reasons you guys haven't seen me for a while, was a culmination of my long-time frustration in endurance races, which came to a head on the last event I did with Marc (& Matt I think) @ Daytona. We were having a pretty decent race and were in line for a podium when I had a brain fade and hit the wall with only a few hours left....... and did it again a couple laps later. I tried to be cool about it, and the guys were very supportive, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I let the guys down. I felt like week-old dog shit.
The next day I was doing my customary self-post-mortem, when I realised that I've NEVER completed an endurance race without an incident of some kind. This realisation hit me pretty hard and I beat myself up for a while, thinking I wasn't good enough and eventually dropped off from iRacing altogether.
It took several months and dabbling in other sims and games before I renewed my subscription this month. And although I missed racing, I didn't come back because I loved Bathurst in particular (I don't. It actually scares the shit outa me), but because I missed racing with you guys and the ridiculous chat that goes along with it.
I've fully come to terms with the fact that I'll never be as good as Marc or Nejtun or Ken or Hans - or run as consistent times as you Deb (I mentioned this to Marc just the other night). And I'm fine with all of that. Make no mistake, I'm nervous as hell to get back in the seat. I'll just race as well as I can, and hope the myriad of things out of my control don't kill me. I think that's the best I can do. 1st or 21st, I plan to enjoy it either way.
If you think you need to sit out that's cool. If you wanna have your name on the car next to mine, that's cool too.
Like I said, I came for the shit talk and the challenge of a challenging track. Placing well is a bonus.
Apologies for all the chatter. You've kinda given me an excuse to vent and give a lame excuse for being away for so long
Deb
Moderator
Thanks Mr. Bennett I thought about this a lot and tried to focus on why I like iRacing and really it comes down to liking the challenge of driving the tracks and trying to improve and hanging out with all my friends at B2O. That is why I enjoyed league so much and was glad when @Kenadian and @Skid_Marc_ started it back up. It is the competition part with so many numpties that is stressing me out and ruining it for me. And it seems like it didn't use to be that way. Maybe VLN and Winter VLN were exceptions because everyone was there for the track and most knew the track very well and Winter VLN was monitored so the numpties got kicked. But I get in the car and get so nervous that I am just not driving the way I want to and I feel like I'm holding the team back by losing positions. It is like a psychological downward spiral and I need to figure out how to get past it.
I thought about this a lot and tried to focus on why I like iRacing and really it comes down to liking the challenge of driving the tracks and trying to improve and hanging out with all my friends at B2O. That is why I enjoyed league so much and was glad when @Kenadian and @Skid_Marc_ started it back up. It is the competition part with so many numpties that is stressing me out and ruining it for me. And it seems like it didn't use to be that way. Maybe VLN and Winter VLN were exceptions because everyone was there for the track and most knew the track very well and Winter VLN was monitored so the numpties got kicked. But I get in the car and get so nervous that I am just not driving the way I want to and I feel like I'm holding the team back by losing positions. It is like a psychological downward spiral and I need to figure out how to get past it.
Deb, I will never hold it against you (or anyone else) for getting taken out, or even just making a mistake, and damaging the car. If fact you're one of the last people I worry about making a mistake. We've all been there. I drove into the T1 wall this year in the prototype, I barrel-rolled the Audi into T1 at Sebring in the final hour, and at Nurburgring I was the one that nearly totalled our Mercedes in the first 14km of the race, while you were the reason the whole team didn't quit. This is racing. Some things will go our way, some things won't go our way, but I would rather have you on the team driving the car tomorrow, regardless of the outcome!
@Skid_Marc_, livery
@Deb, I totally understand where you're coming from. In our first Seasons of running Endurance I crashed our car in the exact same spot in Turn 1 at Daytona 2 years running.
I put so much effort into not making a mistake in the 3rd year and finally put that all behind me but it took 2 YEARS to do it!
..and because there's apparently a big bullseye on my forehead I got made fun of plenty of times for it around here. Not that I'm a victim, I prolly give more than I take.
Having said that, I took last year off due to a combination of work being shit and health issues but iRacing certainly played a large role in that decision as well. Over the course of a Season I lost close to 700 iRating in a handful of GT3 races. One mistake was mine but all else were either bad luck, bad timing or a combination thereof.
I'm still trying to work my way out of that funk and then I get taken out on the fucking pace lap in IMSA right before we're to grid for the 24hr.
So ya, I get where you're coming from.
BUT, to you, @Anson Bennette and whomever may happen upon this response, NEVER, EVER, worry about "letting the Team down".
Yes it sucks when things happen but this is Endurance Racing with a bunch of weekend warrior hopped up caffeine junkies, many trying to win the race in the first turn or the first hour.
I like to think Band of Others Endurance Program isn't all about the actual event, it's about everything leading up to and having fun the entire time.
We're gonna get crashed out, we're gonna have brain farts and take ourselves out. There's no way around this, only acceptance of these certainties helps take the edge off.
Nobody here will ever feel disappointed in any one Driver for being involved in an issue and/or causing one. Anyone like that doesn't fit in around here and usually finds the exit of their own volition or is escorted.
People matter, the rest is largely insignificant.
Racing means critical decisions are made in microseconds and no amount of armchair quarterbacking or hindsight is gonna chance the fact it happened; it's in the past, let's move on together and in support of one another.
That's what we're about.
If you're uncomfortable with something, do what's right for you. We're your friends and will always be, this means we'll always support you in any decision.
...and in case I wasn't clear somehow, that goes for all of you lot of knuckle-dragging lunatics!
l0ve d00key
I put so much effort into not making a mistake in the 3rd year and finally put that all behind me but it took 2 YEARS to do it!
..and because there's apparently a big bullseye on my forehead I got made fun of plenty of times for it around here. Not that I'm a victim, I prolly give more than I take.
Having said that, I took last year off due to a combination of work being shit and health issues but iRacing certainly played a large role in that decision as well. Over the course of a Season I lost close to 700 iRating in a handful of GT3 races. One mistake was mine but all else were either bad luck, bad timing or a combination thereof.
I'm still trying to work my way out of that funk and then I get taken out on the fucking pace lap in IMSA right before we're to grid for the 24hr.
So ya, I get where you're coming from.
BUT, to you, @Anson Bennette and whomever may happen upon this response, NEVER, EVER, worry about "letting the Team down".
Yes it sucks when things happen but this is Endurance Racing with a bunch of weekend warrior hopped up caffeine junkies, many trying to win the race in the first turn or the first hour.
I like to think Band of Others Endurance Program isn't all about the actual event, it's about everything leading up to and having fun the entire time.
We're gonna get crashed out, we're gonna have brain farts and take ourselves out. There's no way around this, only acceptance of these certainties helps take the edge off.
Nobody here will ever feel disappointed in any one Driver for being involved in an issue and/or causing one. Anyone like that doesn't fit in around here and usually finds the exit of their own volition or is escorted.
People matter, the rest is largely insignificant.
Racing means critical decisions are made in microseconds and no amount of armchair quarterbacking or hindsight is gonna chance the fact it happened; it's in the past, let's move on together and in support of one another.
That's what we're about.
If you're uncomfortable with something, do what's right for you. We're your friends and will always be, this means we'll always support you in any decision.
...and in case I wasn't clear somehow, that goes for all of you lot of knuckle-dragging lunatics!
l0ve d00key
Nejtun
Moderator
Well that event was a wild ride from start to finish! From Ken's computer doing crazy things at "just" the right moment to poor Hans having to deal with a lit stick of dynamite!
It all turned out right in the end and was actually quite fun!
Thanks again to @Kenadian and @ShadniX for their efforts on our team yesterday and securing a (well earned) Podium!
Paint looked awesome and Ken ended it with not only the fastest lap on the last couple of laps (lol Hans) but a pristine jump! (yes we did put in extra fuel to do that)
I hope it was as 'exciting' for the Audi team of Anson, Marc & Deb as it was for us!
It all turned out right in the end and was actually quite fun!
Thanks again to @Kenadian and @ShadniX for their efforts on our team yesterday and securing a (well earned) Podium!
Paint looked awesome and Ken ended it with not only the fastest lap on the last couple of laps (lol Hans
) but a pristine jump! (yes we did put in extra fuel to do that) I hope it was as 'exciting' for the Audi team of Anson, Marc & Deb as it was for us!
Ferrari would like to know your address for... no particular reason...
Deb
Moderator
Well, I didn't race much, but I did race one stint and one lap so the team wouldn't get DQ'd. Thanks to all of you for all the support trying to get me past the frustrations of iRacing. I really didn't practice much in the Audi, so I was glad I could keep the "Audi" on the track. It's great to be part of a group that supports everyone, all of y'all's encouragement has really meant a lot
It's great to be part of a group that supports everyone, all of y'all's encouragement has really meant a lot 
ShadniX
Core
You must understand: We had cars with identity crisis in our split. This Scania for example:
That must've been the cause of the confusion. If that is what a Scania looks like, who knows what an Audi look like?
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Anson Bennette
Core
What a roller-coaster of a race! From starting in the pits, then Marc gaining places; then having the whole field pass by while waiting for the track to clear; to fighting back to top ten; to getting literally pushed down the straight; to a dozen near misses and scrapes; to Marc slicing through the field up to the podium places; to me gracefully smooching the wall on a 51 degree track (so that Deb could be convinced to race ); to a super-consistent stint-and-a-smidge from Deb to restore order and sensibility; to a solid finish in P16.
Finishing that race in one piece (mostly) felt like an achievement. Thanks to Marc and Deb for sharing the car with me and for the rest of you miscreants for making my return to iRacing enjoyable.
P.S..... super super job Ken, Nejtun and Hans on that podium.
); to a super-consistent stint-and-a-smidge from Deb to restore order and sensibility; to a solid finish in P16.Finishing that race in one piece (mostly) felt like an achievement. Thanks to Marc and Deb for sharing the car with me and for the rest of you miscreants for making my return to iRacing enjoyable.
P.S..... super super job Ken, Nejtun and Hans on that podium.
Not too surprising. Nascar has a Ford sponsored by a Damler-Chrysler powered semi-truck manufactuerer...
Some clips from the race this weekend:
The all-important Steven Donely
Ferrari gets wheel damage and almost veers into us. Fortunately he counters and sends it into the wall instead.
Anson doesn't know his own speed.
Pit Out is Hard and another angle.
#08 Makes our Watch List for the first time.
Less then a lap later, the #08 shows WHY we put people on watch lists.
Another lap, another spin from the #08.
A spin from 9th place, right behind Anson. #JustTowPlz
The end of Anson's stint from hell.
Our #08 Friend Out of the Pits
Ford Problems
I was trying to be really patient with this Mercedes because he had just passed the car behind us, and I couldn't get him before the mountain without screwing him back out of the spot, so I waited...
The all-important Steven Donely
Ferrari gets wheel damage and almost veers into us. Fortunately he counters and sends it into the wall instead.
Anson doesn't know his own speed.
Pit Out is Hard and another angle.
#08 Makes our Watch List for the first time.
Less then a lap later, the #08 shows WHY we put people on watch lists.
Another lap, another spin from the #08.
A spin from 9th place, right behind Anson. #JustTowPlz
The end of Anson's stint from hell.
Our #08 Friend Out of the Pits
Ford Problems
I was trying to be really patient with this Mercedes because he had just passed the car behind us, and I couldn't get him before the mountain without screwing him back out of the spot, so I waited...
Wow, what an event.
As much as I enjoyed everything about the lead up to and the Race itself, the 11th hour uncertainty of what Team and what car made the stress level nearly unbearable.
I felt as if I'd forced myself upon Team @Nejtun and @ShadniX then flaked out on them throughout the Race as I'd not slept more than 3 hours a night since that Tuesday.
All this in a car that I'm not fond of and have not been able to FFS or turn more than 10 clean laps.
So ya, I was rather unsettled going in.
...and I think that this is what makes Band of Others special as all that quickly evaporated in Discord at that unholy hour in the morn.
You all have your special way of warming, welcoming and soothing the savage beast inside.
What's past is lost and all that remains is the task at hand, stressful as it can be, never alone.
I simply cannot remember a time in my life where I've felt Team spirit as I have with you all. We can be the most sarcastic, insulting and sometimes rude group at times, flip a switch and it's group therapy that you WANT to be a part of.
@ShadniX, @Nejtun, thank you for allowing me to be a part of the Team, deeply appreciated! I wish I could have been lucid the entire event but I was honestly bone tired at that point and trying to scrape together Z's between stints.
You guys were great to drive with and I'm very proud of our result. My only regret is my PC crapping out costing us what I'm sure would have been second place.
We have a long weekend coming up and I'll be disassembling, cleaning and servicing my PC as well as performing a fresh Windows 10 install.
@Skid_Marc_, I know you'd never say but I appreciate your schedule fluidity in turning laps and providing insight into brake bias. It is your insight that allowed me to run clean in the race, without it I'm sure I'd have crashed out at least once or twice.
@Deb, I'm very proud of you facing your demons head on and driving, that's awesome! It's not bad enough to feel the trepidation, when combined with lack of enjoyment it's daunting at best to get back in the saddle. You conquered it like a champion, great job!
...and finally, @Anson Bennette...
Just kidding, it's great to have you back Anson and I sincerely hope this isn't the last we see of you.!
Great work all, looking forward to seeing you at Sebring.
As much as I enjoyed everything about the lead up to and the Race itself, the 11th hour uncertainty of what Team and what car made the stress level nearly unbearable.
I felt as if I'd forced myself upon Team @Nejtun and @ShadniX then flaked out on them throughout the Race as I'd not slept more than 3 hours a night since that Tuesday.
All this in a car that I'm not fond of and have not been able to FFS or turn more than 10 clean laps.
So ya, I was rather unsettled going in.
...and I think that this is what makes Band of Others special as all that quickly evaporated in Discord at that unholy hour in the morn.
You all have your special way of warming, welcoming and soothing the savage beast inside.
What's past is lost and all that remains is the task at hand, stressful as it can be, never alone.
I simply cannot remember a time in my life where I've felt Team spirit as I have with you all. We can be the most sarcastic, insulting and sometimes rude group at times, flip a switch and it's group therapy that you WANT to be a part of.
@ShadniX, @Nejtun, thank you for allowing me to be a part of the Team, deeply appreciated! I wish I could have been lucid the entire event but I was honestly bone tired at that point and trying to scrape together Z's between stints.
You guys were great to drive with and I'm very proud of our result. My only regret is my PC crapping out costing us what I'm sure would have been second place.
We have a long weekend coming up and I'll be disassembling, cleaning and servicing my PC as well as performing a fresh Windows 10 install.
@Skid_Marc_, I know you'd never say but I appreciate your schedule fluidity in turning laps and providing insight into brake bias. It is your insight that allowed me to run clean in the race, without it I'm sure I'd have crashed out at least once or twice.
@Deb, I'm very proud of you facing your demons head on and driving, that's awesome! It's not bad enough to feel the trepidation, when combined with lack of enjoyment it's daunting at best to get back in the saddle. You conquered it like a champion, great job!
...and finally, @Anson Bennette...
Just kidding, it's great to have you back Anson and I sincerely hope this isn't the last we see of you.!
Great work all, looking forward to seeing you at Sebring.
Nejtun
Moderator
A quick Heads up for everyone ESPDSS is at Sebring next week (1 hour races GTP, LMP2 and GTE) and then IMSA is there the week after (45 min races GTP, LMP2 and GTD)
Could be some nice traffic practice for Sebring 12 Hour which is a 5 weeks away yet, but this means we can get some extra laps in with traffic without being the week before.
Could be some nice traffic practice for Sebring 12 Hour which is a 5 weeks away yet, but this means we can get some extra laps in with traffic without being the week before.
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