So I managed to finish it. All I had to do was verify the integrity of the game and I could play. Even had a green sector on the seventh track but of course I messed it up after that.
4 Likes
So Scotland sucks. For some at least. Okay, for me. Terminal Damage on Stage 5 put paid to my rally even before I had a chance to challenge myself with those three long, wet stages.
No such trouble for the aliens amongs usā¦ despite the challenge of three back-to-back wet stages. @Boogey and @Aldyr in another super tight battle at the top of the board. At the end, Boogeyās six stage wins over Aldyrās three were enough to separate the pair by just under 30 seconds.
So 
@Boogey claims the win in Scotland, with 
@Aldyr on the second step. Then, sneaking his run in during the last few hours of the event, 
@SlinX drops in to remind everyone that he too can like to drive a rally car.
Another great battle between the Midfield Four drivers for Top 5 placings saw @Dragonic edge out @LazyDemoni by just 40-odd seconds. They were followed closely by @DeadlyPineCone and @DarthMol who claim the next two spots on the Results Table. At the end of the nine stages, these four drivers were separated by less than 1:20, and I can see the rest of the season is going to be a tightly fought affair between them.
The rest of the points finishers saw @The9Avenger9 in P8, @CZC managing to get his game verified and running again in time to crusade his way to P9, and the Canadian Disco Bear @murfle shuffling his way to a commendable P10. @Beo makes his MEW Dirt Rally 2.0 debut a memorable one by being the last of the drivers to actually reach the end of Stage 9 with a still functioning car and takes a fine P11 finish. Classified as DNFs after meeting logs at high speed were myself and @Entity, so a point each and some firewood for us, but no champagne.
After 2 of 8 Rounds then, hereās the Championship standings:
With both @Boogey and @Aldyr now having a win and a P2 each, they are joint championship leads with 22 points each. Boogey slips into the overall championship lead as there was one more driver who competed in Round 2, so his win is technically the better of the two. Still, with 6 more events to go, a lot can still change. @Lazydemoni does enough to hold onto his Championship P3, but only just. The 3Ds of Deadly, Dragonic and Darth are all eyeing that slot, and it can (and will) easily change.
Round 3 - The Argy Bargy (Catamarca, Argentina)
From the rain soaked pine forests of Scotland, we head over the Atlantic and south to Argentina where the (mostly) drier tracks of the Catamarca Mountains wait. Tight, twisty, narrow, and rocks every where are what you can look forward to. Oh, and the occasional unmarked, no barrier, cliff dive to oblivion. 
We switch back to the Up to 2000cc 4WD class for this round. Choose your wheels from the Citroen C4 Rally, the Ford Focus RS Rally 2001 or 2007, the Peugeot 206 Rally, the Skoda Fabia Rally 2005, or any one of the three Subaru Imprezas. And remember that thereās is no obligation on using the same car you used in Round 1 - change every rally, or stick with what you like, itās entirely up to you.
Stages are a little more forgiving than the final three in Scotland, with a just two short wet stages for you to contend with this time. Stage 7 in the dark with maximum surface degradation may also prove interesting. Assuming you havenāt driven off the side of the mountain by that stage of course 
Ā”Conduzca sobre gauchos!
7 Likes
Hmmm. I think I may just do some practicing for this one just so I can make especially sure that I avoid that gap that has claimed my run in Argentina multiple timesā¦
1 Like
Hahaha my word I was finally going to get 3rd place and Mr @SlinX decides no, I donāt think I will allow that.
3 Likes
I love this write up bud, thanks for the efforts, truely commendable. I even went and read it out to my Mrs.
3 Likes
ah glorious Argentinaā¦ where rally cars come to die.
5 Likes
Itās nice easy to manage 2000 class cars.
1 Like
Yeah, the cars are great. Not so much the courses/stages. Damn theyāre narrow and winedy. I tried out a few of the cars and tuning setups yesterday in free-play and while I can get my car set up nicely, to a point where I like/love the handling, the stages are very challenging.
1 Like
For those who donāt tune, but maybe want to try. Tuning makes all the difference.
Argentina: Very bumpy, narrow, extreme hairpins, barrier-less cliffs, many walls, rocks and bridges.
What does this mean? Very bumpy You want to maintain your wheels contact with the road, as it rides the bumps. Narrow/walls Short cars like hatchbacks do better than sedans. Itās more forgiving when itās less of a boat. Extreme hairpins To keep the revās up in the hairpins, you need to shorten 1st and maybe 2nd gear. barrier-less cliffs/rocks/bridge Easy slower corner entries are everything when surviving. Throttle AFTER mid corner, else you die.
What do i change for suspension: You want high to very high ride height, soft springs, very soft slow bump, increase bump stop a little, rebound a little firm. That should allow you to ride the bumps reasonably well, keep the wheels in contact with the road, but also, not bounce the cockpit around like kid on a jumping castle.
If youāre handbrake happy, remember to do it quick. You arenāt in a drift league. Itās literally yank wheel and handbrake for a quarter to half a second. You flick it before or as you enter the corner.
Always focus on your corner entry. Listen for keywords and do it slower: tightens, caution, into, **1, 2 and even 3 ** Beware the last half of every stageā¦ thatās when your concentration drops to toddler levels.
Drive it like you own it, not like you stole it. Good luck yāall
FYI: Sliders I break down to: max, very high, high, a little, middle, -little, low, very low, min. Or softest, very soft, soft, little, middle, -little, firm, very firm, firmest
FYI2: soft tyres 22km, medium 35km, hard 45km+. Worn tyres mostly affect your ability to hit apexes, because you slide wide. It has minimal affect on straight line speed in this sim. So as the tyres become more worn, you turn in earlier, but use throttle to go wide (or pull the nose away from the corner). Either way, take it easy when youāve driven close to the max distance of the tyre type.
FYI3: This aināt the only way to do this, itās just my way
6 Likes
oh hey! That was me yesterday 
This man speaks truth!
2 Likes
Wait until you have a toddler running around. Maintaining focus is a struggle on its own.
1 Like
Past three nights I have been practicing on a time trial in the first stage only, to a point where I think Iām happy with my setup and possibly ready for the actual event. Got my fastest time of 2:44.
3 Likes
I spent all of last night, just on setups. Still not happy. In fact, I was so upset that I made the most indulgent pasta and cheese sauce at midnight. Driven to comfort food 
[edit]
2 right over narrow bridgeā¦ haha 
Thatās Argentina done for me. Terminal damage in stage 2. If I thought I needed comfort food yesterdayā¦
4 Likes
6 Likes
The first stage is a 6.5min stage 
1 Like
oh, then I must have misread, it was the 2.8km stage that I was using a benchmark. Apologies.
Oh you mean like this?
I frequent this ditch quite often
Good times
6 Likes
That stage 3 tho
I donāt think I ever got past 3rd gear. Bonked a couple bridge posts, but thankfully was never going fast enough to do much damage.
Just donāt look at my car.
1 Like
How do you guys know what the others are doing if itās asynchronous?