FH5, Series 40, Week 1

 I started with the photo since the daily was to go to the stadium anyway. I drove onto the H, took my picture, and got some cap which only an American could wear. Like a plaid shirt. Me in plaid shirt – a complete ass. (Ditto one of those ridiculous caps.) American in plaid shirt – immediately identifiable as an American.

The weekly was in the 1993 Mazda MX-5 Miata. Hang on, is it last week again? 1990s? I did Marigold as the road race. I ended up sliding a lot because the surface was wet and the tyres were thinner than a 90s supermodel. It needed aero (I had such a suspicion), which would probably have helped a little.

Yesterday I practised the PR stunts in the 2015 Audi TTS. I one-shotted the speed zone for a rubbish SWS. I one-shotted the trailblazer for a one-third good and one-third very good. And in the same vein, I one-shotted the drift zone more competently than when I practised it yesterday. Two-thirds good SWS.

I liked the new 9121 GT3 RS in Rivals. Very drivable. The 911 Rallye/Dakar had too much power and too little handling to be good on dirt.

I did Horizon Tour in A800 Fords, doing the three races in the SVT Cobra. I was on the front of the human grid for Bola Ocho and came 1st because a couple of players were in that really chunky Ford Bronco (the No. 2096) and the rest were rubbish at cornering. Los Jardines. I start from last. I win because no one can take corners. There was a Ford Focus ahead of me which botched every corner. All I had to do was wait till it botched one too many. Playa Azul. I started in the middle of the human pack and won again. My car didn’t have the greatest handling, but I was more competent at cornering than the rest of my team.

Eventlab. Warthog Rally. This was a weird combination of road racing, dirt racing, and off-road racing in a vehicle that’s really only designed for the last of these. The props are all right, but might be better used on Eventlab Island as I can’t say they looked especially convincing. There was some visual glitch in the tunnel.

I managed to one-shot the HW PR stunt in the Czinger for an SWS that was one-third good.

The Taycan CT immediately stood out as the overpowered barge in which to do the RA PR stunt. One-shotted it and got another one-third good SWS.

I did some testing for the Trial yesterday and found that my only two workable choices were the Audi R8 V10 Plus or the 2014 911 Turbo S. I tried the 911 Sport Classic at the top of S1 class, but the handling was iffy, and my attempt at a PWR build wasn’t much better. I went with the Audi R8, which seemed to be a popular choice. I started Copper Canyon at the front of the human half of the grid and led the race for a time until another player in another R8 passed me a few curves before the hairpin. There was no point in me getting in the way as he was faster than I was. Team win. We were one-two round Chihuahua (where I started from the front of the human grid again) until the player in 1st missed a checkpoint and I won the race. Team win. There was an odd incident round the first turn when the player in 3rd tried to pass me (and possibly shove me aside), but bounced off me instead. The drivatars or another player might’ve had something to do with that, but it was the wrong moment to attempt a pass. I got a very good wheel spin after the race.

I did the races from Cutting Corners in the 2013 Subaru BRZ. Round the circuits, Bola Ocho and Plaza, I had a decent lead by the end of five laps, but up the Volcán Sprint, I was only a second ahead by the end.

I also had a go with the 2023 911 GT3 RS, which gets top marks for scoring 8/9 for tuning. The only thing that can’t be tuned is the stock gears and they don’t need it. I tried the car in a few races both stock and tuned from stock. As I said above, the 911’s very drivable. It has the 200% perk, but not a vast range of upgrades apart from engine swaps. I’m glad to see that there’s no aero upgrade since replacing the aero on the 2021 GT3 (or is it the Cayman GT4 RS; or both?) improves the performance, a fact which I find somewhat galling. I’ve seen some whining about the car already, but that seems to be coming from the unappreciative try-hards.

I gave the car a spin round the Goliath with a couple of unexpected incidents. Twice I watched a drivatar in a Lotus 340R casually pass me with all the speed and grip in the world before I’d catch it and overtake it even though the lead it had was seconds ahead of me.

So, no, the new 911 GT3 RS isn’t the fastest thing, but it is damned nice to drive.