SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - The Rules of Auto Racing, Wrecking, and Talking

I'm not an expert in this, but I know that brevity is good. Understanding racing language is good and responding promptly with clarity, is really good.

A few examples:

I know this one, because I get passed with amazing regularity. When a racer comes up behind me, he says "On your right, 20mm". Now, first, he knows who I am. Why? Because he has car labels on, and I'm a big fan of that. I respond to that with a short "Roger", and now he and I know what we're supposed to do. He's coming past on my right, and I in turn need to get the hell out of the way and stay on the left side of the track. Does it always work? No. On a tight course with a lot of twists and turns and other traffic coming up, this can be problematic for a driver like me. But I do my best, even if it means going off the track.

Another important one is a wreck call. Something along the lines of "Wreck, Turn 3 right!" That cues the people coming up from behind that something bad happened in Turn 3 right and to slow down, watch out. You may get the same call out on your program application, depending on what mods you have installed, but I really appreciate it from my fellow racers.

Along the lines of courtesy, and in spite of what I've said previously, there's a hell of a lot of courtesy in auto racing. A short "Nice pass!", or a "Thanks!", or a short "Where's your hood?" It takes 2 seconds to acknowledge another racer, or to crack wise in a brief but understood way. Sometimes, this takes some of the pressure off, and let's us all know that we're kindred spirits. I like that stuff. It's not chatty, no one is going on and on about anything, it's an insider kind of comment, one that everyone knows and appreciates. And again, it's takes no time at all to do.

Some of racing comms is based on the track. A tight, twisty track will probably not generate as much communications as a longer track, such as Le Mans. Same with the cars. Driving Formula 1 means you have much less time to communicate.

I know that when we did the SimHQ 2.4 Hours of Le Mans last June, it took me a while to get my heart rate back in the normal range, but then, I could comm on the straights with ease. And I did so, sometimes, just to stay awake and on top of things. When hours go by, your concentration can take a hit, so endurance racing is in a bit of a different category. As is the comms. In this arena, a little "hey, I saw a bicycle guy go by!" can work wonders. It's silly, but it helps keep people engaged. An hour with nothing but the sound of the track and the engine can be disastrous. I found this out with the onset of darkness in our race last year. All of a sudden, I realized I was on a totally different part of the track than I thought I was. I freaked. I managed to regain control and brake before the end, but it was close. Thereafter, I would call out something or another, and other people did the same, just to keep us focused. It worked pretty well. I guess I could have opened the side window and let the air rush in, or turn up the radio...

Conclusions

If I have it made sound like auto racing at SimHQ is some kind of a cutthroat affair, well, that's my literary license. Trust me, it's not. It's a bunch of friends who have a great time racing and talking with each other. Competitive at times, oh yeah. We wouldn't have it any other way. Fun at times, well, we hope so all the time. Drop in our Motorsports Forums and take a look and a read. You'll find some folks who are always willing to help you and who will welcome you at any online SimHQ race you might wish to join. I hope you do.

If you wonder, what's a race at SimHQ like, well, take a look at BeachAV8R's article entitled The SimHQ 2.4 Hours of Le Mans. It's an amazing article, and one I was very happy to be a small part of. And, it has a lot of the voice comms issues we've talked about.

Last, enjoy. this is about fun. First, second, and third place fun.

So keep the pedal to the metal, your earphones on your ears, and for goodness sakes, stop breathing.

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GTR2 ALMS mod at Sebring available from NoGripRacing. Thanks "Chunx" for the images!

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