Starting this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix, all of the Formula One teams will have to conform to yet more radical new regulations.

The Lotus team was spied testing their new chassis configuration in response to the rule changes today:



...Gotcha.

I've just stumbled upon this gem of a video. Peter Brock (Australian Touring Car Driver, now deceased) talks the commentators through a lap of the incredibly difficult Mount Panorama circuit in Australia, in the middle of the race.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SE5fk4vXYU

You wonder how the heck he does it... keep in mind that this was in 1986, when motor racing was even more dangerous than it is today. He's driving a race car that is controlled by a straight stick-shift and clutch, none of that fancy semi-automatic stuff you see in most race cars today, and the circuit has earth and rock walls on either side. And yet he stays perfectly relaxed, even waving through the camera to his family in the pits.

Mindblowing.

Hello, and Welcome to Season 2 of Forum Racing on the Gang Of Five!

Forum Racing, at its core, is a very simple game. The basic rule is, the first person to post wins!
Here is how it works: At the beginning of a round – which is at a random time, in order to equalise the competition – I will post a message in this thread saying that the “race” has started. All competitors registered with the game must then get to this thread as soon as they notice it and post “Finish”. According to who posted “Finish” when, positions are then awarded to the participants. For example, if Person A was the first to post “Finish” after the event start was announced, Person A would be awarded the race win. Likewise, if Person B was the second to post “Finish”, he/she would be awarded second position, and so on and so forth down the field. As the championship continues on, a points table will be constructed based on the finishing positions of the participants, so that everyone can see where they stand in the overall championship. The competitor with the most points after the season's end is crowned Champion!

Speaking of points, here is a description of the points system I am going to use.
I feel that the points system I used in Season 1 (the same that F1 used last year) would have been a little unfair if the field went beyond 8 entrants, so I have constructed my own points system that allows for 20 entrants; points are awarded to everyone. If the field is below 20 participants, the system still applies – just with the empty slots not included. For these reasons, I am imposing a participant limit of 20, but for the game to be interesting and exciting, we are going to need at least 10.
This is the points system:

1st:35 points
2nd: 32 points
3rd: 29 points
4th: 26 points
5th: 23 points
6th: 20 points
7th: 18 points
8th: 16 points
9th: 14 points
10th: 12 points
11th: 10 points
12th: 9 points
13th: 8 points
14th: 7 points
15th: 6 points
16th: 5 points
17th: 4 points
18th: 3 points
19th: 2 points
20th: 1 point

As an example of how this works, Person C finished 3rd in a particular race, and Person D finished 4th. C would then receive 29 points and D would receive 26. If C finished 6th and D won in the race after that, C would get 20 points added to his tally and D would get 35 points added. C would then have 49 championship points and D would have 61 points.

If you're interested in this game, please declare your interest in this thread, then I will publish a calendar of the races once we get 10 or more entrants. Remember that this is a game of chance – races will be started at random times, so don't feel bad if you finish badly in a race. It's the same for everyone!

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask!
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PRELIMINARY ENTRY LIST

1. Noname
2. Nick22
3. LettuceBacon&Tomato
4. Stitch
5. The Chronicler
6. lbt/cty_lover
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Well, we've got the possibilty of 25 cars on the grid, the first car launches a couple of weeks away, the possibility of an American F1 team, and the return of Michael Schumacher. Bring on the Bahrain Grand Prix, I can't wait!

If you want to talk about F1 in 2010, discuss it here.

My first non-LBT fanfic to be posted anywhere! Also my first real attempt at a romance story.

The story behind the story (ie. how I came up with it) is revealed in the author's note at the beginning. It's a good idea to have seen the most recent Wallace and Gromit short, "A Matter of Loaf and Death", for this story to make the most sense.

Here's the basic summary, from my ff.net profile:

A month or so after the events of A Matter of Loaf and Death, Gromit decides to watch a sunset. But when Fluffles joins him, their relationship is realised and tested at the same time...

Here it is...

Enjoy y'all, and don't be afraid to leave a review and send feedback, either here on the GOF, or on ff.net (sorry, but to eliminate spam I only accept signed reviews for my stories).
Pretty please?

I'm just gauging interest at the moment for this forum game, I really need around 10 or so people for it to work.

This idea originated from one of my simming forums, where we play this game all the time in the offtopic section. If you're wondering what the term "Forum Racing" means, it's just that: racing using a forum... first person to post wins.

Here's how it works:
If enough people declare their interest for this, I will become the "ringmaster" or "grand marshall" of the game - basically the guy in control. I will devise a schedule for a 10-race season. Dates will be set for  "races" to take place, and on that date, at any random time, I will post in this thread declaring that the race has started.
To race and win, all you need to do is be online. If you see this thread and my "start" post, all you need to do is post "finish" in the thread as soon as you can. If you're the first person to post "finish" you win the race; if you're the second person to post "finish" you finish second, and so on down the field until the last position for which points are available.
Speaking of points, the points system I will use is that which is used by Formula One: points are awarded down to 8th position in the following way:
1st: 10 points
2nd: 8 points
3rd: 6 points
4th: 5 points
5th: 4 points
6th: 3 points
7th: 2 points
8th: 1 point
So, if you are the 6th person to post "finish" you finish 6th and thus get 3 points added to your tally.

So, if you like the sound of this, declare your interest in this thread. If 10 people or more are interested, I will compile an entry list, that will be closed at a to-be-determined date. After the entry list is closed, entries will not be accepted until the start of the second season (this is the first). If you are not on this entry list, you cannot compete. If you do post "finish" in the thread when you are not entered, your finish will not count for points.

Well, after that... Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines...

---

Interested List:
1. LettuceBacon&Tomato
2. 2007excalibur2007
3. Stitch
4. Noname
5. Rat_lady7

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Entry List:
1. LettuceBacon&Tomato
2. 2007excalibur2007
3. Stitch
4. Noname
5. Rat_lady7
6. raga

Yep, I do simracing. Almost religiously.

If you're not familiar with these games, they're basically PC games that provide quite possibly the most accurate commercially-available simulation of how cars drive. They aren't fully realistic but they're almost too close for comfort.
These games - mainly rFactor - live through their mods. There are huge communities everywhere dedicated to creating addon cars and tracks for these games, and hosting online events using them.

My current sim games that I own are:

Image Space Incoporated's rFactor, loaded to the brim with mods

SimBin's RACE 07 - The Official WTCC Game, the official game of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and its expansion packs (also loaded with mods )

...And that's about it.

I race in many leagues (online championships) using these games. Some of the leagues make video recaps of the races, some of which you can see me in. They weren't my best races, but they were the only ones that featured me in any length. These two are from the RaceDepartment Super Touring League, which uses fictional, but no less challenging, cars.
They are located here: Clicky (Look for "Gardiner"... I spin, thus losing a good position )

And here: Clicky (I appear near the end of the video; again, look for "Gardiner")

Well, that's it for now. I may post some of my reviewing work for simracing sites later on.

Yep, this is one of the main reasons I joined.

I had had the idea for this story for ages before I sat down to write it. I first got the idea from an old PC game I used to have, Primal Prey. It was a hunting simulation in which you go back in time and hunt dinos for cash. In hindsight it wasn't that good a game , but the core themes of hunting and time travel were great food for thought.

I was sitting around one day and suddenly said to myself "Hey... this situation could be applied to LBT...!" And, as strange as it sounds, the premise was the base for this - my first fan fic to be shown to the world. Chapters 1 and 2 are here:
Clicky
And Clicky again

And Chapter 3 is in the works. Enjoy...