ACC | Does Everyone HATE This Track? LFM GT3 @ COTA

[@rmack9226]

1) Wake up 2) See that Chris Rogers Style Thumbnail 3) Rush to make a coffee 4) Sit back and enjoy a finely edited video, complete with replays/highlights 5) Watch whole video imagining CR recording with his hands on his ears. 6) Wonder how in the hell F1, IMSA or WEC isn't ringing CR's phone off the hook to offer him a role as a commentator.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Ahh that’s very kind of you to say, thank you so much. And yes, I had a tight grip on my ears as usual 🤣

[@HalStargazer]

Been in hospital last 3 weeks so your fantastic videos are helping me fight the boredom. That's a track I've never driven and I think it's going to stay that way😅

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Sorry to hear that Hal, hope you’re on the mend now. Glad to hear my sim suffering at COTA has helped a little bit!

[@Hiroschima]

I finally got my LFM license on Sunday thanks in part to your videos giving me the motivation to get involved. We've had the same week this week, never even looked at COTA before and learning it has been brutal but I managed to get 2 races done on it this week. Great race and great video again Chris, keep it up!

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Excellent… and what a tough track to start your LFM career on! It can only get better from here (unless they put Paul Ricard on the calendar) 🤣 I’m really pleased to hear I motivated you to get involved… keep me posted with how you’re getting on!

[@Hiroschima]

@@chrisrogerssimracing Funny you should mention Paul Ricard...that was the license test track 🤪

[@jacksonbarinowski3966]

I feel you, Chris. There is something about this track that just rubs me the wrong way. I think it's the excess of weirdly slow, first gear corners. A bit of advice: you can use more curbs on the Esses towards the beginning of the lap.

[@adpr5278]

don't be too hard on yourself, that we really good for the first race. everyone struggles for grip and traction there. as you showed us, patience is the name of the game. 😁

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you! Yeah I was really happy with the result. I think it will take a lot of time to properly understand and master COTA though, very very tricky. Cheers 😃

[@Walt1119]

COTA is a real pistol!!! It is a very difficult track to master and you did an excellent job on that race!! Your gaining places and your driving is continually improving Chris! Congrats on a well run race and great finish!!!! Thanks for sharing with us!!

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thanks Walt, I do feel like I’ve turned a corner in ACC now, and it’s great fun fighting at the front for a change! I suspect things will get tougher now though, as my rating starts to creep up. Going a split higher will be a lot tougher!

[@KenKotsuNoGarp]

finding breaking spots in cota with everything so far away and the super wide track is a challenge, but some corners there are super satisfying to get right. Very complete and underrated circuit IMHO

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah, that’s the difficulty I found with the braking points… you have to look quite a long way away. I ended up using things like marshal tents and even colours in the crowd. That is one great point about tough tracks though… the tougher they are, the bigger feeling of satisfaction when you get it right.

[@Ben_LaBroca]

Mate the way you set this video up I was expecting doom and gloom, but what a great drive! COTA is an acquired taste for sure - so many medium speed corners and getting offline is punished big time. Awesome result, even if you didn't enjoy it! 😂😂

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha cheers, it was a very strange feeling after the race… it felt like a proper slog, and didn’t feel like a 6th place finish (which I was delighted with). Everything about the track was tough… fast long straights to tight and narrow turns, no chance to get into any rhythm. No grip, not many visible braking points, tricky apexes, killer kerbs. Other than that, it was great 🤣

[@firstjayjay]

When are we going to see you to in the same race. ???? 🙏

[@lewisgordon1490]

The best thing i can say about COTA is it's one of the most balanced tracks. It doesn't significantly favor top speed, handling, low or high speed turns. Also it's one of the best tracks for both cars and bikes. The way they did their yellow sausages is possibly the best of any track I've driven to discourage corner cutting while still providing an escape route w/o a strong probability of damage (I have a love-hate relationship w/ them). It's esses is one of the hardest series of corners IMO. If you make the slightest mistake on one, it throws you off all the others. I have NEVER, even once, in any car, nailed all of them when on a lap 🥴

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah, you’re spot on about top speeds. That BMW was visibly so much faster than me in a straight line, but had no handling in any of the corners. Having the ultra-long straights immediately followed by tricky tight corners really disrupted my rhythm. And as for those Esses… they reminded me of Maggots and Becketts at Silverstone, only twice as long and 10 times as difficult! With strict track limits to boot, as if it wasn’t already technical enough 🤣

[@stormforce9521]

What a great way to start my Tuesday, Sat watching you race with a cup of hot coffee. Lovely progress through the race on a track you're unfamiliar with and finishing in the top ten ,, I'd take that any day. Well done buddy 👏

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you Tony, yeah my thoughts exactly! I toyed with the idea of trying it again to maybe get a more action-packed video candidate, but it was such a slog out there, I decided to quit while I was ahead. More than happy with that finish.

[@PeterMisch-px7xi]

I agree with you about COTA. Sunday-evening I at first thought we would this week be racing on Road America. Road america in ACC! But alas... Too many blind corners. Remember that we still have rF2. Just a couple of hours ago: GT3, Zandvoort. Twenty people had yet signed up. Perhaps you are still in rookies there. With your consistency you are out of rookies within a week. To get out of rookies I did a couple of Tatuus races. I also signed up to a couple of races where everyone had to drive the little Radical. While great fun, I felt the Tatuus got me faster out of rookies and so stuck with the Tatuus (that lovely level of grip!). Come, have another look in RFactor2 when you have the time!

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Funnily enough I fired up rF2 last week when the M2 Cup was at Lime Rock Park. Sadly though, there were only 3 signed up not long before the race start, so I didn’t go for it. That was daytime rather than peak evening time though. I’ve been wanting to do another rF2 race for a while, but I’m more of a daytime driver and can’t seem to find the full grids. I’ll keep looking though!

[@missedl3tha1.16]

Good race Chris, great result from 16th! I would agree that it is a tough track and I dont find it fun but there is something to be said for the challenge of racing it being a bit of a motivator.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yes, I was pleased I took the plunge and tried it. It was tough, and not particularly enjoyable at the time, but the result was definitely one of the most satisfying and rewarding I’ve had. It always feels sweeter if you’ve had to work harder for it!

[@jester3265]

Brilliant race Chris. Some great pressure applied to get past those guys, great driving!!! Love your intro and as always your commentary just makes the race nail biting!!! Fantastic!!!!!❤

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you Lee, as always, for the kind words and the support. Glad you enjoyed it 😃

[@ericjack3218]

I can't say I hate it... but it's a tough track to learn and drive. Not one of my favorites. But you did really well!!! Glad to see you make so many positions. I was worried at the beginning with all the bumping and contact going on. Figured it would be a typical public lobby demolition derby.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah I won’t say I hate it, because it treated me fairly well here with a very good result. But it’s certainly not among my favourites… I won’t be in a hurry to try this combo again!

[@davidontherailroad]

You looked to be enjoying it well enough by the end! Great race.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha yeah, finally getting past that BMW gave me a real lift, and from then on I started to feel like I was progressing positively. It was a real grind up to that point though!

[@brummiegaming8008]

i tried a few laps around here, i was all over the shop, looks very challenging, would be nice to master it. . but i think i may spend my time fine tuning my times on other tracks for the time being. Thanks for bringing us the race ✌ Most excellent as per usual 🍻

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

My pleasure. I really didn’t fancy learning it, but it’s been a couple of weeks since I last did an ACC race/video so I thought I better. Didn’t enjoy the track but very much enjoyed the result!

[@TheFlying-Scotsman]

Great racing. Patience definitely paying off there. As ever, the editing is excellent. Commentary's not bad either 😁

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha thanks mate!

[@jimijames95]

Fun track, nice drive on your part.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you mate!

[@MrMiniPilote]

Excellent drive. That was a job well done. I don't mind the circuit but it's certainly rough for overtaking and grip. Thanks for the content.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thanks mate, after qualifying I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere near the top 10, so I was well pleased with that end result! Cheers 😃

[@christiangd]

I just started LFM around last week and this is pretty much the only track I've raced on, I can see why people dislike this track but I've been enjoying it so far. Great racing on your end!

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Nice one, pleased to hear you’ve started on LFM. Great move to start on one of the most difficult tracks… they’ll all seem easy after this! Good luck, hope you enjoy your LFM journey 😃

[@christiangd]

@@chrisrogerssimracing thanks man! I'm looking forward to learning tracks like Kyalami now for this week and maybe try to improve on the Nordscheleife! I've been quite enjoying the LFM experience so far

[@studio9guy]

I kind of like that track - not that I do well on it, but I usually enjoy it. That said, I'm not doing much ACC these days - mostly AC. I managed to download a set-up for the MX-5 on AC - trying my luck today with a set-up for the first time (thanks to you). Wish me luck.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Oooh excellent, I’ll be interested to hear if you find it as big an improvement as I did. I’ve really been enjoying that Mazda series again lately, and I’d like to try Portimao myself if I can free up the time later this week.

[@PETER01510]

...a great tip about Cota coming from one of the hot shoes in sim racing was make sure your doing something else when it comes up...😅

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha! I will be following this advice in future 🤣

[@Drew-Peacock]

Bottom line is.. you made yet another great entertaining video. Nice work. I appreciate the effort you put in

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Ahh thank you mate, I really appreciate you saying. Making the video definitely takes A LOT longer than doing the racing 🤣 cheers for watching

[@firstjayjay]

The BMW had sacrificed downforce for speed. it was unstable in many turns. Good run tho Chris

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yep, had to have been that. Thank you, I didn’t get many opportunities but I made the most of them when I did. Well happy with the result!

[@daviddavies3637]

Jesus. That was a hell of a drive. I HAVE driven it before and absolutely hate it. I nearly quit my race last night before I even started it but time ran out. That's how much I hate this track. Think I limped home around P18 at the end of it. So, to get make up that many places, especially on your first run, is very impressive. I'll be sticking to Zolder this week, I think. Not that fast around there but I quite like the teack and I'll be praying for rain 😉 #wetweatherspecialist

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah, I’ve always resisted trying it, because it just looked like a complete pain to learn. However, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done an ACC race/video, and I’m away next week, so thought I better make the effort. In an ideal world, I’d have chosen Zolder but I only did that combo a couple of weeks ago, so thought my channel would benefit from a bit of variety. I won’t be in a hurry to race COTA again though, that’s for sure!

[@daviddavies3637]

@chrisrogerssimracing Shows how much people hate it when there was just the one split at the evening peak times last night. But I'm pretty sure that Rory Alexander loves it. Needs his head examined. 😉

[@Daniel_Born_Races]

I was also on last night and was surprised at how few entries there were. Only 2 splits when usually there are 5 or 6. It's not the worst course, but terrible for one's safety rating.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah, this one just stretched over into two splits, where usually I’d expect to see 3-5 full splits easily. I guessed that a lot of people don’t like the track and aren’t in a hurry to race it 🤣

[@BOTRacing]

Great race mate! and I agree with Mack, why are you not a professional yet! Maybe us fans can turn up the wick on these stations! Think about it, we have sim racers become real racers, why not youtubers becoming broadcasters?

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Ahh thanks Adam. I’m honestly not sure I could do it properly… a 15 minute YT video is one thing, but doing a live race from start to finish, I think I might struggle!

[@BOTRacing]

@@chrisrogerssimracing Don't underestimate yourself. You would be great, one, you would have someone else to talk also. Two, the excitement you bring to your events is contagious.

[@raggiezockt]

What a race. Good that you was patient enough, it payed out really well.I don't like the track. Keep up your good work and race speed

[@bomtaras1192]

Great effort and performance 👍 well done 💪 !

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you! I was well pleased to get that result in the end.

[@woodcote7617]

It did take me a while to get my head around it but I now like COTA...not one of my 'favorites, sure but still a dam sight better than Valencia and Indy why these two were added to ACC i will never understand when classics like Hockenheim and Portamao are missing

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

You’ve just named the two other ACC tracks I’ve never even attempted! They just seem like they’d be a right chore to learn. I’d always put COTA in that category too, however I’ve gone a couple of weeks without doing an ACC race/video so thought I’d make the effort to learn it. Not the most enjoyable race, but a very satisfying result. Cheers!

[@TheLastFraudster]

I learnt this track recently. Very challenging but enjoyed it a lot.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Nice one! As much as I grumbled about it being difficult, it does make it all the more rewarding when you get it right. So I can definitely see how it can be enjoyable. Keep up the good work!

[@AshBhang2010]

Bravo ! 🏁 🏎 🏎 🏁

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you! Cheers for watching 😃

[@PitViper_1]

drove it once on f1 2020, will never put my tires on that circuit ever again lol

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha! Scarred for life 🤣

[@ryandaniels3258]

What a good race! Nicely done.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you Ryan, I really wasn’t feeling the track so to come away with such a decent finish was a real bonus! Cheers

[@therevjt85]

10 positions gained, I'd call that a positive result!

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Definitely! And on a track I didn’t like too. Certainly not in a hurry to try the combo again 🤣

[@TNSAOD]

Great race, well played.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you! 🍻

[@grahamdennis2810]

Nice race Chris 👍👍

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you Graham! I didn’t find the track enjoyable, but the result more than made up for it! Cheers

[@cloosat]

Sausage curb the real mvp

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha yeah. They were a nightmare!

[@WildlandsFF]

I live 1 Hour from COTA, and have legacy tickets for all races.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Nice! I’ve always loved the look of the track, and MotoGP is great there. I just won’t be in a hurry to race it on ACC again 🤣

[@marcorodrigues8968]

Would love to see some more Le Mans Ultimate! Cheers

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Hey, yes I’ve been meaning to give LMU a try since the update. It’s very likely that’ll be my next race this week, so stay tuned 😃

[@Sebastian-vz2qj]

wow that BMW really had power on the straights and I'm sure it was not because of the aero damage you took, it has happened to me lately against BMW and Porsches without taking any damage at all, nice fighting btw! Do you think the BMW is too strong right now?

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

It’s difficult to say. It had a HUGE speed advantage in a straight line, but I guess it could have been due to a setup - and given how unsteady it was in the corners, they could well have gone for top speed at the expense of downforce/grip. It was demoralising though… on a track like this, the straights are the only clear places to launch an overtake, and I just couldn’t stay close.

[@BrandonPeters]

Great drive

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you mate! Cheers for watching

[@TheNightFluo]

I certainly do hate COTA aswell :D have you considered using CrewChief? I find the program to be superb, especially informing about your sector pace compared to race leader, sectortimes and even damage, fuel and tyres - and that with voice control. If you record then probably dont use Nvidia but OBS where you can tell the program to not record your mic and not the sound of CrewChief. Anyways: Another great race and well deserved 6th place. I suppose the BMW had less wing and/or rake compared to you. That's why it was faster on the straights but had traction issues in fast turns. In the end, being a clean, consistent and patient driver like you are is better than being a fast hotlapper always on the cusp of losing control. You raced 12 laps, if someone is half a second faster/lap that's 6 seconds. One spin, two bad turns into the green/gravel or three powerslides and thats all gone. All of which can happen really fast if you are pushing too hard. Love the content, as always a joy to watch your ACC content.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah, great point about the BMW setup, that sounds like a sensible explanation. As for Crew Chief, I’ve never really fancied it because I really struggle with concentration if I hear voices 🤣 I fear that Jim’s updates would do more harm than good for me, I think I’d start listening to his message and end up missing a braking point or something!

[@TheNightFluo]

​@@chrisrogerssimracing That is a fair point xD I get distracted every now and then too and take a closer look at the pebbles in the gravel trap, but I think there was a setting to make him shut up in corners etc. And you can tell him to shut up and he will only talk to you when you ask IIRC. Also I tried to learn COTA yesterday and I decided to skip this whole ordeal and rather learn Red Bull Ring for next week lol

[@SimRacingCol]

at what hour do you race ? Would love to join you in a couple ones !

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Usually, it will either be lunchtime or late afternoon… so UK time, the 12.15 or 5.15pm races are often the ones I’ll enter. Keep an eye out for me on the entry lists!

[@matthewbyrd398]

I love COTA! But, it’s my home track, so…

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Oh wow, didn’t realise you were in that part of the world. I’ve always wanted to visit it, it looks spectacular on tv when I watch MotoGP there, and I’ve heard Austin is a good city to visit for a trip. May well end up doing it sometime.

[@matthewbyrd398]

@@chrisrogerssimracing born and raised in Texas! Careful if you go to Austin. It’s nothing but liberals, DemocRATS, and old dirty hippies.

[@leighalbrigt4668]

Not the best track for racing, well done buddy, took your chances and used good race craft....patience is a virtue

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you mate. Definitely wasn’t easy, but well happy to get that result. Cheers!

[@javicampello]

A track with 6 hairpins can't be funny at least with gts. You use more 1st gear than 5th 😂. I even prefer that parking lot called Paul Ricard so...

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha yeah! Paul Ricard is another of the ACC tracks I’ve always avoided, for that exact reason!

[@pryere]

I am one of the haters of this track. You did very well.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Haha it sounds like there are plenty of us 🤣 thank you, yeah I was delighted with the result, but I’m not in a hurry to try it again!

[@1976Cordoba]

COTA is pretty much a hard pass every time for me lol. It just has no soul.

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Yeah, it definitely didn’t give me any kind of buzz while driving it. But I did start to warm to it in the later stages.

[@firstjayjay]

❤️👍😊🙏🤲😁😘😍🥰🤗🤗👀

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

🥇

[@mdahlis]

Hate is a strong word, but don´t like it.

[@EhPlusSimRacing]

I've always felt that COTA is kinda awkward. Great drive Chris, P6 from 16 🦾!!!

[@chrisrogerssimracing]

Thank you. Awkward is a perfect word to describe it. You seem to spend most of the time in either 1st, 5th or 6th gear. Not much need for any of the others!