Messages

Confess, you were following Wirtual's Trackmania live stream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI5TBNqGqQUwhen) when you came up with the idea

I used to be a big fan in my teens, watching Giro and Tour while doing my high school homework was a nice way to spend the May/June months. I am now following cycling only occasionally, though I am happy to have seen Remco Evenepoel winning the gold medal under the Eiffel Tower, in my opinion one of the greatest scenes of the latest Olympics.

I am not informed enough to predict the podium unfortunately. I hear Pogačar has GOAT status but apart for him I'd need to update my database.

A new team is good news since all the active ones are already full. For this year I will stay a freelance but in case I'm playing next year (probably, but also probably not with the same intensity) it's good to see that I will be able to enter a team without necessarily displacing someone.

Also, I love the passion in the announcement!

Don't forget the Position Time Bonus. They're not shown in the season standing but they also count.

By the way, something added a couple days ago that I hadn't gotten around to announcing yet: the provisional PTB page now has a summary of the points (and carryover hours) awarded so far!

Thanks @Duplode, the table is really useful. I actually thought it was always there and I had simply missed it till now.

It seems to me that even with PTB my considerations are valid. For Argammon it is still impossible to become Champion in August despite the +2,5 extra points he has on Duplode, and my candidacy for 6th place is marginally better as I have some fraction of point more than Spoonboy and Frieshansen. And I am eagerly working to collect more PTB hours

I don't think Argammon can mathematically win in August, even with a 12-0, 12-0 on Duplode in this and the next race. A win in September is instead highly likely since the three worst results are discarded.

As for me, I am 8th and I aim to end 6th, with the help of the discard rule to ignore the low scores from season start. I aim to leave the Amateur league at the end of the season, and for this goal it will probably be necessary to cash in the 3 XPs for the global top 6.

I understand that my good results are also related to the relaxed attitude of some of my rivals, so much will depend on their dedication and on how many other PG tracks I'll have to suffer. But in every track I will aim to end 5th - 7th, depending on how many rivals will put in the time to create good laps.

That said, my predictions:

1. Argammon
2. Duplode
3. MiDiaN
4. KyLiE
5. Alan Rotoi
6. HerrNove
7. Frieshansen
8. Spoonboy
9. Overdrijf
10.Zapper
11.Mortimer McMire
12.dreadnaut

Hi, guys. I've already uploaded the track for next month. It'll automatically become active when July starts (UTC), but you can already take a look at the track. We'll be featuring the Baronetti Hexa this time  It's the first time we have it in an official R4K race! Hope to see you guys there!

Love the Hexa ( except when it crashed my SuperSight mod ), so I'll be happy to use it in a race. I cannot promise the same level of dedication I have for ZakStunts, but I guess this is true for most pipsqueaks. Repeating my 4th place would be nice

Tried some cars. My opinions:

* Race cars seem to do well here. The banked corners make it easy to reach 180+ mph, and the low quantity of jumps emphasizes the flatland speed.
* Despite the author bonuses the Oxia still seems the best deal among IMSA-class cars. Its raw acceleration and top speed more than balance the Merc's and P962's superior grip. It's a tight margin though and it might also depend on one's individual driving strengths.
* Among the road cars the Countach is by far the best. High bonus and decent engine performance, while the anti-power gear is not particularly damaging. I am not able to run it as fast as the Oxia, but I can totally see Argammon winning with it. The other road cars don't have enough bonus, and offroad cars can stay in the garage this month.
* I am not really qualified to speak about PG, but I had this nightmare about someone driving an Indy, switching to power gear at the entrance of the first banked corner, running below the elevated section despite the amount of scenario and finding a way to negotiate the final river run. I really hope it stays a fantasy.

I am not following football as much as other times, but honestly I cannot think of any Dutch star right now. Anyway, you guys did not win the Cup when you were the strongest, so maybe you are going to win it when you aren't

> And they have Italy from the first seed in the qualifying group, that helps a lot.

Italy - Norway in the 1994 WC was possibly the first national game I ever watched. We were a team with excellent players in almost every role, even featuring some all-time greats (Maldini, Baggio), while Norway was a bunch of unknowns. The Italian team declared they feared Norway and were not the favourites, but everyone knew they were just being diplomatic.

Thirty-one years later the Italians still say the same things, except this time they are objectively true. The Azzurri are a collection of mediocre guys except for the goalkeeper, while Norway managed to go from Alf-Inge Håland to Erling Håland. And it showed on the field.

The increase to 48 teams is another step towards the transformation of football from a sport into show business. At least it's less horrible than the present "club world cup".

As an Italian, not qualifying for a 48-team competition would be an unprecedented humiliation, but since the downfall of our football movement has been matched by our incredible rise in a ton of other sports, I don't particularly mind. I hope my wife's team, Indonesia, manages to qualify, but it will be very hard.

Since you are at that, @Duplode : I can see nowhere in the rules that a team's score is only determined by its best two drivers. Am I missing something?

Btw congrats for your lap, you managed to calm down the competitors for a whole day

> it was removed due to concerns about the balance between the cars in competition

It also makes the track title very fit. A loop that exists or not according to the point of view and the actions of the observer? A delight for any quantum physicist!

By the way, removing the loop would not be same, as the annoying thing is happy to capture and destroy any car swaying too much on the right when trying to jump from the crossroad.

Very nice idea, I like this sort of "Made in Brazil" label

Seems nobody managed to find the easter egg. @Erik Barros , any hints for us?

If you don't have already done so, I suggest also asking in vogons.org, one of the biggest retrogaming forums.