FH5, Series 33, Week 2

I had to drive my Zenvo TSR-S fast to win the treasure which was placed in the least accessible location for a hypercar. O Game, th’art such a wit.

The weekly in the 2017 Ford GT posed no issues at all.

Eventlab (1) was Red Bramble Raceway by YouTuber, HokiHoshi. A decent circuit, but made out of that pretend tarmac that’s just a bit too viscous. As others have noted, it’s all flat. A one-third good SWS.

I thought we’d already had a Circuit de Mulegé GP as an Eventlab event. I opted for my (RWD) AM V12 Vantage, but am not sure whether this was a bad choice or the circuit was awful. Probably a bit of both. I seemed to spend about 90% of the race in 2nd, wondering where the next ridiculously tight corner was. Better done in an AWD car after a lot of practice. The reward was a Zenvo TSR-S. My third, I think.

It was back in the CC8S for the Lodge Raceway for which I was rewarded with a 2002 Nissan Skyline. Not my favourite version of the car, and I need to see how many of them I have (aside: someone gave me a Porsche 968; discovery – I had four of them; it’s spring and some spring cleaning of the garage wouldn’t be amiss).

For the PR stunts I went with the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso. AWD, ridiculous amounts of power, and sketchy amounts of handling. The speed trap in Guanajuato got me a rubbish SWS. I botched the overly long run-up to the speed trap down Copper Canyon and restarted my approach just beyond the bridge (to the west). Job done and got a one-third excellent SWS. I one-shotted the speed zone as well and was awarded an absolutely rubbish SWS.

Time for a photo. More clothing. This is vexatious because I spend so much time trying to co-ordinate my outfit with my car. “Does my exhaust pipe look big in this?” Such are the crucial issues facing every simcade racer in the early 21st century.

Whatever set of cars could be used in A Hero Comes Along, it included the Renault 5 Turbo, an old favourite of mine from FH4, which made short work of the races to get me a Peugeot 207 (which thankfully no longer makes the same grating racket as it did in FH4).

It was back to the BMW M2 Coupé (the old one) for Vroom vroom saloon! The races had to include the loathsome Resevorio, which actually proved less annoying than I expected. The reward was a Ferrari P4 which I didn’t actually need for…

Making History. By the looks of it, most players chose the 1964 Ford GT40, but I went with the Ferrari P4 and managed to get round the Goliath in 14:48.408. I was rather pleased with that because as I neared the end of the race I started estimating my race time to be in excess of 15 minutes and then probably quite close to 16. The reward was another 2017 Ford GT. My third?

Time to head to the HW theme park and the PR stunt in the Hennessey Venom (the less outrageous one). A one-third excellent SWS.

I was forced to stick with the Venom for Poison Drive-y, but the races were all fast and comparatively painless. I got another 2013 Viper. No, no idea how many of those I have. Three?

A C600 Celica from the 90s for the RA PR stunt. I didn’t want to rebuild my A-class 1992 Celica (which I like), hence I went with the 1994 version. To my amazement, I one-shotted the speed zone and got a three-car SWS, including a McLaren 720S Spider, but I think I already have two.

As with the HW seasonal, the RA seasonal, Royalty with Rally, kept me in the same car as the PR stunt. I had to rebuild the Celica for road racing and rebuild it for a dirt race. It was a bit rubbish in the former, but on dirt, in spite of minimal upgrades, it was a superior car. The reward was a horn. Oh, parp or what, Game?

And lastly, the Trial. Yes, I chickened out and went with my AWD 2016 Cayman. Playa Azul started badly with mayhem between the seasonal puddle and the next corner, which sent me off the track and down the pecking order. I think the problem was partly the drivatars and partly humanity. I didn’t quit because the points were on our side, and I managed a 6th by the end. The team put in a solid performance and only one drivatar was among us. I came 2nd round Lookout Circuit and could possibly have taken the lead, but saw no point in being such a covetous nuisance. Again, the team I was with gave excellent support. The reward was the 1998 Porsche 911 GT1, a car which I ought to drive a little more often, but haven’t touched it in ages.

I had a bit of a play with the new Elantra. It’s a bit of an odd thing because the launch isn’t great, but the manoeuvrability is brilliant. It struggles to get past the drivatars, but once it does, it mostly leaves them behind because it takes corners about a gear higher than usual. All right, but a little frustrating. I did wonder whether it might be better as an AWD rally car.

However, I think this highlights the lack of distinctions in the game between (extreme) track toys (i.e., road cars for track days) on the one hand and GT4, GT3 and BTCC cars (i.e., proper racing cars) on the other. This shouldn’t really be in with the usual bunch of track toys or it ends up competing against cars that ought to walk all over it.