The Ruff Nürburgring Nordschleife 2013

You know how we love our racing competitions here at Ruff Gaming and I’m always thinking of new ideas to keep things fresh and exciting. So next on the cards is another track day….some might call it the RUFF ULTIMATE TRACK DAY!

Nürburgring Nordschleife, set south of Cologne and once dubbed ‘The Green Hell’ by Sir Jackie Stewart, the 12.93 mile circuit has held some of the most epic racing ever seen. According to Jeremy Clarkson it has been responsible for the deaths of over 200 people over the years. One of the more famous incidents ever to occur on this track is the 1976 F1 grand prix, which lead to the near fatal accident of Nikki Lauda, which incidentally was the last ever F1 race held on the Nordschleife, the German GP was moved to Hockenhiem before the introduction of the new GP circuit at Nürburgring.  But nothing can be compared to the event that is about to unfold…. 

On Wednesday 30th October 2013 up to 16 of the Ruff Gaming community will be racing round this track over 10 gruelling laps and a one shot qualifying lap, with only racer crossing the line as champion. Lights out is at 9pm (ish).

This competition is going to be run similar to the previous endurance races with the following settings enforced:

As mentioned above, the race will be set over 10 laps with a single shot qualifying lap to start. The qualifying lap will be run using the same settings as the previous championship, with the cars being changed to Ghost, a 5 second delay roll off between cars and the grid order set to Random. Once the single lap has been completed, the lobby’s starting order will be set to lobby points, which will arrange the drivers in the correct order. Now if I've done my maths right and the lap time is what I've estimated it as, then that should give us around 80 minutes for the main race and just under 10 minutes for qualifying, making the whole thing just over an hour and half.

Now for the car! To fit in with the German theme, the car that will be used is the Volkswagen Golf R (2010) upgraded to be an S class car. 

Although there are no Microsoft points on offer for the winner, they will take a place in the Ruff Gaming Hall of Fame as the ‘Ruff Ultimate Track Event -Nürburgring Nordschleife 2013 Champion’….Surely that’s something and its better than other titles I came up with…such as the Ruff Ring Master….

Please note that this competition is open to all memebers of the community, not just those who have raced with us in the past. No matter what your ability (Yo u should see myself and Ruffian Stew) there is also a space on the grid for a new face, however if the competition does get over subscribed then to be fair I will offer more experienced racers the places first (Usually have between 12-14 people sign up to championships, so still 2 places up for grabs). 

So if you are interested please sign up below, if you are not sure but have an interest just post below and I can put you on the maybe list

Feel free to use thread not only to sign up but ask questions about this event or general chat and banter!

Look forward to seeing you all on the track (or in the wall in my case!)

Yesterday saw host to the most challenging Ruff Forza 4 event, 10 laps on the ‘Green Hell’, also known as Nurburgring Nodschleife. 12 drivers took up the challenge, including some new faces, would all 12 finish (or more importantly finish in one piece)? So who in their right mind would voluntary sign up for such an event, well here is a quick low down of the drivers:

Iceman D18 – Host and sadist, came up with the event but has struggled in Forza of late.

Ruffian Stew – Leader of this infamous rabble, known for his Miss Daisy driving style, looking to carry on where he left off in the championship….AT THE BACK!

Raingod Zippo – The flying Scotsman, has a reputation for rolling Golf’s so could be an interesting race. One of the members of the ‘3 Amigos’ and has history with a certain other driver….(The other left!)

Darkestfrost – One of the quicker drivers, known for his dark (See what I did there) sense of humour but was the man in form at the end of the championship.

Womblemk3 – One of the new faces to the rabble, has a reputation of being quick on Forza so a real unknown.

Boosterdq26 – Still a relatively new face to the forum, but taking part in his 3rd Forza competition/race night, has always been quick and certainly a front runner.

T3RRAF0RM – A quieter member of the rabble, but certainly efficient driver. Always pushing the front runners hard and has had previous victories in Forza races.

Wackybar8 – Another member of the ‘3 Amigos’ known for the huge amount of practice he puts in before each race. Quietly efficient if he manages to avoid the other half of London….

Pgtips77 – The final member of the ‘3 Amigos’ and usually leading the pack. When he is on his game he is one of the quickest drivers, but has also been known to struggle on certain tracks.

The Mehwarrior - Winner of the previous championship, perhaps not as comfortable as he may of liked but no one can question his outright pace.

Faceinthecrowd – Another new face to the Forza fold, has put a lot of time into the game so is again another unknown.

Webby317 – The final new face to the fold, host of a rather well known Podcast but as for his driving….who knows?

Before the main event there was a quick qualifying event where only 5 drivers managed clean laps with Mehwarrior taking pole, closely followed by T3RRAF0RM, Boosterdq and Darkestfrost. I apologise I didn’t manage to get a picture of the final standings so I can’t really share much more detail about it 

So on with the main race…

The grid looked packed because of the lack of width in the track and when the lights went out everyone nervously put their foot to the floor, tyres squealed in agony and clutches began to burn, all heading towards the same bit of track in the distance. Webby sprung an early and daring move from the back to nip through the line off traffic as T3RRAF0RM jumped into the lead, with Boosterdq and The Mehwarrior breathing down his neck. Lap 1 was a disaster for Webby, who rolled his car about half way into the lap, causing massive damage, which eventually ended his first Ruffgaming Forza race prematurely. Another early casualty was Darkestfrost who rolled his car around lap 4, again causing maximum (well apart from his right front suspension) damage and thus ending his race. Everyone soon began to struggle with tyre wear, with the Golf becoming much more erratic. About half way through the race the biggest incident I’ve ever been witness to occurred. I’m not sure of the exact details but from what I saw, faceinthecrowd lost his car as he went up a hill about 2/3 of the way round the track, which Womble was unable to avoid. Subsequently Pgtips ended up joining the chaos with, heading skyward but luckily managed to carry on the race. This allowed Raingod and myself to push up to 4th and 5th respectively, which would prove very important at the end of the race. Both Womble and faceinthecrowd began what can only be described as one of the slowest laps of the Nurburgring ever, with a little help from Ruffian Stew’s recovery service managed to crawl all the way back to the pits. T3RRAF0RM was still leading the back with Boosterdq applying as much pressure as possible, as both battled with ruined tyres but had a bit of breathing space from The Mehwarrior who had also rolled his car. The last 2 laps provided the ending this race deserved, with drama, humour and above all else, an end to painful 1hr and half race. First of all The Mehwarrior once again rolled his car from 3rd position and ended up stuck on his roof (also started complaining about the lack of detail in the grass) once again with Raingod and myself gaining a position. In a moment of pure humiliation for Mehwarrior, who not only had to have Ruffian Stew pass him, but to have him do doughnuts round him is quite possible the low point of The Mehwarrior’s Forza career. The final lap was full of drama, with Boosterdq and T3RRAF0RM constantly changing positions for the lead, unfortunately for Booster he clipped the smallest kerb on the track and ended up on his side. I feel nothing but sorry for him because he was really pushing for the win and I think T3RRAF0RM exhaled when he saw the chaos behind him. Ruffian Stew decided to try and ‘Help’ booster, but made the situation worse!

So there you have it, The Ruff Gaming Master of the Ring….(Stop sniggering at the back:suspect: !) is T3RRAF0RM, who showed pure grit and determination from start to finish of what I can honestly say is the hardest ever race I’ve done. A huge congratulations to him, who will get his place in the Ruff Gaming Hall of Fame, with the less embarrassing title of ‘Ruff Ultimate Track Event – Nurburgring Nordschleife 2013 Champion’.  On the podium with T3RRAF0RM were the Flying Scotsman, Raingod Zippo and myself, both achieving our personal best finishes in a Forza event.

The final standings are as follows:

1. T3RRAF0RM
2. Raingod Zippo
3. Iceman D18
4. Pgtips77
5. Wackybar8
6. Boosterdq26
7. Ruffian Stew
8. The Mehwarrior
9. FaceintheCrowd
10. Womblemk3
11. Darkestfrost
12. Webby317

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that took part, making one of the most enjoyable, yet painful, races I’ve done. I look forward to racing with you all again in the future!!!

Over and Out

Iceman