RLB IndyCar Round Preview - Indianapolis

(Starting from today I will be posting all of my roleplays which I have written for the RLB. This first one is a preview at the upcoming race, the famous Indy 500)

So here we are. The big one, the grand daddy, the jewel in the IndyCar calendar. And now for the first time, it's a point-scoring event. The RLB IC convoy has arrived at its next scheduled stop in the championship and it couldn't get any more prestigious - The Indianapolis 500 at the legendary "Brickyard".


So what can we say about this historic mainstay of racing, the mecca of motorsport? Well it started live as an oval made of wooden boards constructed in 1909 and initially hosted motorcycle events before moving onto the first 500 two years later in 1911. Since then the surface has changed to bricks (1909) and then the tarmac we now have (1935). Whoever takes victory here joins will join greats such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, AJ Foyt, Al Unser Jr and Bobby Rahal. The circuit also features a road course configuration which has hosted Formula 1 and more recently MotoGP, while NASCAR have also made their mark on the oval alongside the open-wheelers. What still survives from its past is the sacred yard of bricks directly after the start/finish line. Winners are traditionally known to kiss them and also drink from the famous bottle of milk.

After a weekend of fantastic fortunes for the team, Andretti Green Racing are going to the 500 on a massive high. The speed shown throughout the sessions at Nazareth made a considerable impact on the rest of the IndyCar field with Scott Woodwiss coming back from a driver error which put him down to last place, due to a pitstop to repair damage, to take the 2nd place step on the podium by the end. Now with the team at their home circuit, Scott feels that they could the dark horses of the Brickyard this weekend.

Scott Woodwiss:
"You know, we're really psyched up about coming here. Everyone in the team is still buzzing from that 2nd place last time out in Nazareth and we were all laughing and joking when we came here started unloading the transporters. But seriously, I think we now know where we feel at home and it's on the ovals. The speed we were able to produce in the previous weekend brought us up to a new level which we need to try and stay at for as long as possible, hopefully the remainder of the season. Plus, we are literally racing on our doorstep! This place is just a few miles away from our team factory so the short journey made a nice change."

Scott also rate his own chances for the weekend ahead.

"I scored the pole last season in the all-star event when it wasn't part of the championship and that's still something I regard as one of the highlights of my career so far. Whether I can do it again remains to be seen but I'm pretty confident. We don't want to seem too optimistic though because anything can happen here at Indy. But I'm sure we'll have a trouble-free schedule. Whether we can get that illusive win here remains to be seen. Do I think we can? If everything goes according to plan, yes I think it's possible."

I am a Racing Driver (Sort Of)

As mentioned in my introductory post, I am a member of the Real Life BATracer community. It involves playing the browser-based racing simualtion game BATracer. But if you're wondering what it's all about, then wonder no more. Everything will be come clear as I open the doors to the RLB world.


Finding Your Feet
When you decide you want to be part of the fun, you first of all need to write an introductory roleplay. Roleplays, I hear you ask? Yes, you heard correctly. A roleplay is where you write a fantasy news story or personal account of an event such as a qualifying session, a race, a team launch, etc. The RLB is more centered on your RP capabilities than how you perform in the game itself. On-track results do obviously matter to an extent, but your ability to translate those results and happenings into words matters more, especially when it comes to finding a drive for the following season.

An introductory roleplay gives the other members of the community a chance to assess your potential as a top flight driver. Therefore it is recommended you put a lot of thought and effort into it to make the best initial impression possible. You'll get some comments about it and some friendly welcomes out of it too. The RLB community is an altogether friendly and supportive one, so don't be afraid to ask questions if you have any.

Moving up the Ladder
So, you've announced your arrival. Your next objective is to find a place on a team in the starter series we call Formula Trinity. The way to do this is to sign up for tests and roleplay on the results as best you can. Obviously the more work you put into it, the better your chances are of securing a drive for the upcoming season. Currently, RLB has 3 championships which all ascend in such a way that it's like climbing up the ladder to the top flight. Here is a typical RLB journey:

Formula Trinity --> IndyCar --> F1

You'd typically run one season in FT to begin with and gain experience. You'll start off with an Amatuer licence but if the Licence Commitee feel your RP quality over the season is good enough, they will upgrade it to a ProLicence (allowing competition up to IndyCar) and finally a SuperLicence to allow entry to Formula 1. But to maintain these licences, you have to keep your roleplay quantity and quality up. Let it slip too much and you'll find it being downgraded.

My Racing CV
So what's my history in the RLB? Well, I'll be honest - it's a turbulent one. That's certainly the best way to describe it. I started with Davidson-Rees Motorsport in the first ever FT championship and came joint 8th on 74 points. That season also saw me fill in at Toyota for the last 2 races and score a surprise 6th in Brazil. I started the 2nd season of FT before grabbing an opening at Spyker where my best finish was 9th twice. I only lasted until Monza where I lost my licence altogether over a fairly minor issue (which I won't go into detail about). I came back for FT Season 4 with Petronas Concept Racing and won my first RLB race at Mid-Ohio from 13th on the grid. This performance was good enough for 2 seasons at Force India, which sadly was a complete letdown. From a total of 36 races for the team, I scored no more than 3 points altogether.

Right now I am racing for Andretti Green Racing in the IndyCar series and so far I place 9th in the standings with a best qualifying of 5th and a 2nd place at Nazareth to my name. The next race coming up is the legendary Indy 500 and qualifying will advance in a couple of days time. I'm hopeful this season I can get back to F1 as I've drastically improved and strengthened my commitment to the RLB. Over the course of the rest of the season, I will post my thoughts on it all as well as my RPs for each session. I want to let you into this community and let you see what I do and how I do it. I hope you enjoy.