Randomly Mine: S🅱️innala

While I'm a Racing Fan, I hadn't willed myself into an Endurance Race for Years; not since I was a Child who consumed Gran Turismo almost exclusively. It's not that I'm opposed to long gaming sessions (I did play 6000+ matches of Halo 2) it simply came to exhausting that particular series.

Gran Turismo (and I say this with love) doesn't hold up in various areas, mainly in the dynamics of races. AI's not sophisticated, Tire management's simplistic, as is fuel, and obviously, damage didn't exist. There wasn't any chaos or challenges to these endurance races, no twists, playing one track against six opponents for an Hour+ without falling asleep was the test.

Though I've learned to revisit things, even things one's not particular fond of. Because the 12 Year Old who swore off Endurance Races after finally getting that Mazda Z8ZB in Gran Turismo 4, isn't the 25 Year Old that's beaten games in one-sitting, and I'm glad I took that lesson to heart, because I've been doing full-length races on F1 2019, and it's been a riot.

Which is strange to say, because at this time of writing, I didn't finish my most recent race. One that saw me pitting for new parts after the first-lap, losing all the progress I made in qualifying, but due to another player wrecking, was able to fight up the pack, all the way to 4th place, chasing a podium, only for me to follow the example of 2019 Charles Leclerc...

But... that's part of the fun. Knowing all that work can be undone by one mistake I'm entirely responsible for, is what gives these full-length races the tension they do in real-life, and because you're behind the wheel, you fully appreciate that crushing defeat and fist-pumping success. While I've yet to earn a Victory in this Online Season, coming back from the... well, back, to fighting in the front, is a victory in itself.

And when the game breaks, you get to laugh at it with friends.