Interview with Marc Beckhaus
Nikolay: Marc, you are definitely the ‘Driver of the Day”: your first Undie race, your first win, your podium in the second race. Tell us about yourself: what is your sim-racing background? Do you race anything in real life? Have you ever driven anything? (a random photo of you driving anything or just a cool photo is welcome, but absolutely optional ☺ )
Marc: At first thanks for the compliment Driver of the Day
I tried Simracing with GTR1 with an Microsoft Wheel form my brother in Law, and it don´t takes long until i became addicted. That must be around 2005-2006, in that time I found a small community with mostly American Guys and we stick to GTR till 2010 or so, was quite funny as GTR 2 and other Sims where already there.
But everything comes to an end…so i go for GTR2 with the Guys from Racingliga.de we had some great fun and we go for it till 2014. Was a great community also, but time has come for GTR2 and we tried Project Cars, Asseto Corsa etc. But Iracing was the best I think and since early 2016 I´m here.
In real life I Race R/C Car Races, sounds odd on the first sight but really helps you learn the racecraft, how to setup a car, to concentrate for an hour etc.
Nikolay: The first race was full of battles: first you had a little clash with Olivier, then in the later stages you slowed down a little bit and let Nikolay and Olivier get a bit too close. Talk us through the race, did you have any problems with tyres or a car?
Marc: From the Practice session´s I knew Olivier was really fast, and to be honest I didn´t think I could win the Pole. But luckily I got it. I knew I could win if I don’t make any mistakes, as it is hard to overtake on this track with this cars. It was a lot of pressure from Olivier until he made a mistake. As I had some “moments” I decided to take it easy maybe to easy as Nikolay and Olivier came closer, but I could nurse it to the finish.
Nikolay: You started last in the second race and climbed all the way up, almost catching Jake. How did you manage to survive all the crashes? What is your secret? ☺
Marc: In the second Race my goal was to cruise around and don’t crash in the first laps, after the field was settled I started to push a little bit more… The hotter track conditions in 2nd Race seems to suit me better and I could go 100% to the end. Even though I made 2 mistakes that could have ended my Race. So there is always some luck needed.
Nikolay: What are your thoughts about your championship chances?
Marc: Really don’t think about the Championship serious…Just go for it….
Nikolay: How do you feel about the next race at Phoenix? Do you like ovals in general and this speedway in particular? What are your thoughts about this track?
Marc: If you look to my career page, there’s is close to zero oval experience for me. I think there is much more luck needed as on track circuits as it is nearly impossible to avoid a crash when it happens in front of you.
Give us one advice on how to drive Dallara as good as you do ☺
So, if in doubt, flat out!! would be my Rule of thumb.
For the Dallara I found out that you have to hit the brakes really hard when your fast, and go off the brakes the slower you get, as the aero helps you a lot, needed some time to figure it out as it’s totally different to gt3 cars for example, where you have to be really smooth on brakes all the time. Out of the corner it is pretty much the same as you have really low traction an lateral grip when your slow out of corners but when the aero is there, the car is pretty stable. That’s all I can say so far as I didn’t have much track time with these cars.
Interview with Jake Conway
Nikolay: Jake, congratulations on a well-deserved win! You’re getting better and better every weekend. What comes next? A total domination?
Jake: Sadly I do not think that total domination is on the horizon, though I am hoping for another couple of podiums before the season is out.
Nikolay: Tell us a little bit more about your overtake on Kleber. How did you find his weakness?
As we were running a high downforce set-up I knew that the slip stream would be quite effective here. I therefore just had to work on the exit of the corner leading onto the straight and once I got that right, I was able to pull alongside and protect the inside line. I knew that Kleber was a very fair racer so I knew that I just had to give him enough room. It was great racing between us, and I am glad that “practising” with me meant that he held the rest of the grid behind him and away from me for most of the remaining laps.
Nikolay: Next race takes place at Phoenix. How do you feel about this track? What do you think about limited fuel capacity?
Jake: I am a big fan of the mix of circuits in this championships, though I am certainly not as strong on the ovals. Also, you have to be a little luckier on the ovals as it is easy to get involved in someone else’s accident. However I will do my best and know that I can run well at Phoenix. I think forcing fuel stops is a great situation…I just hate the marginal races. I always feel I have done the wrong thing…saved fuel when I should have stopped…or the other way round.
Nikolay: Tell us a bit more about your sim-racing and IRL-racing background! (a random photo of you driving anything or just a cool photo is welcome, but absolutely optional ☺ )
Jake: I have been working in motorsport for 20 years, and Sim racing for the last 10. Working at McLaren I often see Lando Norris in the canteen (Undiecar Season 1 contender and McLaren young driver) and previously when I worked for Pi Research, I actually led the design of the steering wheel display used on the Indycar that we are racing together. So I have always had a warm feeling about these Indycars and it is great to (virtually) drive them competitively. My McLaren work has been focussed on Formula E (pictured with Bruno Senna) and the F1 team…the MP4-30 (available in iRacing) is another car I have had a lot of involvement with…though something of a love/hate relationship 😉
Nikolay: You are currently going 3rd in the championship, being 22 points behind the 1st and 10 point behind the 2nd place. What is your plan on closing the gap? ☺
Jake: Afraid my plan is to keep others behind…I think the Championship is certainly out of my reach. We have some very strong new comers to the field, so “maintain the gap” will be my focus.
Nikolay: Can you give us one little advice on how to drive a car as good as you do?
Jake: Although I am clearly not the quickest driver in the field, I have always targeted consistency. When I know that I am driving the car with each laptime being within a couple of tenths of my optimal, I know that I can race competitively. If I am running my target laptimes and someone comes up a second faster, I will let them by and maximise my own race. However as with Kleber…if I feel I am a couple of tenths quicker, I will make the move knowing I can pull away.
Oh…and avoid first lap incidents if you can…that always helps!