Occasional Tales

Bye, Mexico. You were all right while you lasted. We start with that traditional fan favourite, the treasure hunt. I did a DS in the Abarth Esseesse to add 300FPs to the pointlessly ginormous fund that I already have. The weekly was in the Renault Clio Williams. I broke out my unused one for this. I one-shotted all of the PR stunts, even the intensely annoying dirt SZ outside Guanajuato. The rewards from the SWSs were one-third excellent, two-thirds good, and a bunch of rubbish. I took a photo and got a stupid gesture that I’ll never use. Also, you couldn’t pay me to use it. Eventlab (1). Nelipo Circuit . The layout was all right, but marks off for night and a poorly placed checkpoint that was placed ahead of the corner. Eventlab (2). Ram Jam . Good motorsport feel to this one, but the circuit takes practice, I think, and reminded me of Bathurst. Eventlab (3). Ausi-ish International Circuit . I liked the circuit, but the surface was rubbish and ruined the experience. The SWS was one-th...

I dealt with the weekly in the Lancia Stratos without any issues. Eventlab (1). Ramen Autodromo . Spaghetti-like layout, but not annoying, Not the best surface, and the final turn kept causing problems because it was indistinct. Eventlab (2), Jardín Día . Marks on for props, but marks off for the racing surface and the karting track layout. For the PR stunts, the Peugeot 205 T16 was an excellent choice. I one-shotted all three PR stunts, in a couple of cases by a resounding margin. Took a picture of the DS23. Can’t recall what the reward was. Probably a bag of grated cheese from 2016. The HW PR stunt was the ST after the loop, but the 2003 Audi RS6 took care of it first time. The RA PR stunt was the colossal pain that I expected it to be. Multiple attempts before miraculously completing the task. How? No idea. The best line seemed to be to run alongside the dirt road, go through the narrowest part of the ford, and then turn across the corner apex. I started with one version of the Lotu...

I sorted out the weekly in the 458 Italia without any issues. Four rivals events this week. It’s been some time, I think, since we last had EV rivals, which looked to be a regular thing and then disappeared. I must admit that I’d completely forgotten about the Pininfarina Battista. As for the VW, I assume that was marketing. I don’t think I’ve ever driven it outside of Rivals except to take a picture of it for Horizon Promo. Eventlab (1). Coast City Circuit . Night, points off. Props, points on. Layout, a lot of points off. If you thought turn one at Monza was awful, you should try this. Eventlab (2). Dancing Gopher . Too many checkpoints because they kept popping into existence. Also, repeated poor placement of checkpoints ahead of corners. Layout not bad, though. Eventlab (3). Power Plant Surge . Not a bad circuit, but awkward transitions between different types of surfaces. I one-shotted all the PR stunts this week. The ST was a matter of charging straight at it over the hill. Two o...