Top 10 iconic and amazing race tracks (V)

  And now, the last 2 tracks. I think that some of you might even know what tracks are going to win because both of them are tracks with immense history and reputation.

 

2. Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans)

Why did it make the list:
- exceptional history, with pilots ranging from the "Bentley Boys" to Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren.
- home of the 24h of Le Mans, the world's oldest endurance race
Why it didn't score higher:
- not that popularized in the past years.
- there aren't that many races held here.

It's hard to find a video to represent the amazing history of Le Mans, but this should at least scratch the surface.

Also, this is a very interesting blog post about the history of Le Mans.

1. Circuit de Monaco

Why did it make the list:
- best known circuit in the world
- most demanding track in Formula 1 racing
Why it didn't score higher:
- not up to current safety standards of Formula 1.

There aren't enough words to describe the circuits, so I'll let a video, of the great driver Ayrton Senna around this track, do the talking.

Also, you can see below the table with the scores for each track (click to enlarge).

Top 10 iconic and amazing race tracks (IV)

Sorry for the long gap, but I forgot to sync my infographic data with my home computer, so everything I had made for these posts was on my desktop, at work.

4. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Why did it make the list:
- great layout and skill based track + the "Corkscrew";
- my personal favorite track, all-time (this blog is not a Democracy, so it's a legitimate reason :D)
Why it didn't score higher:
- relatively new track;
- it mostly hosts minor world racing events.

Two videos are in order for this track, both of them featuring the best corner ever seen on a racing track.
The first one, from Moto GP, in a fight between Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, two of the best Moto GP riders of all time.

Sadly this video can only be watched on YouTube. Follow the link here.

Second video, from Alex Zanardi and Brian Herta, a maneuver that won Zanardi the third place in that year's Champ Car season.

 

 

3. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Why did it make the list:
- historic and respected race track that has an emphasis on the skill and courage of the competitors;
- "Masta" and "Eau Rouge" corners are known as some of the hardest corners to negotiate.
Why it didn't score higher:
- has lost a bit in importance in the past years due to poor relations with the F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone;
- there are still two more tracks that are a lot more famous than it.

A small video showing the speed of F1 cars in the Eau Rouge corner.

Top 10 iconic and amazing race tracks (III)

Part 3 is here with 2 more iconic tracks. From now on, the order of the tracks could've been either way, cause every single track left to announce here, is special. I'll be posting the leader-board with all the marks in the final post.

 

6.  Mount Panorama, Motor Racing Circuit Bathurst

Why did it make the list:
- uniquely laid out track, going around a mountain with a huge difference between it's highest and lowest point (174 meters)
- home of the historic "The Great Race", a fight between the 2 biggest car companies in Australia: GM and Ford.
- amazing cult following, with over 190.000 people that attended the 2006 Bathurst 1000.
Why it didn't score higher:
- impossibility of modifying it to the new safety standards, that would allow it to run more prestigious races, like F1.
- large number of people killed on the track and in the stands.

You can see how spectacular the race circuit is, even by watching a qualifying race. This one is from 1985, and it's made by Tom Walkinshaw (Rest In Peace), in a Jaguar XJS V12.

5.  Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Why did it make the list:
- historic track, being the first ever Speedway built in the USA(and in the world);
-ability to host the two most viewed motorsports in the world: Nascar and F1.
- enormous capacity, with 225.000 people present at the  2000 US Grand Prix
Why it didn't score higher:
- for most of the time since it's construction, it only held races that appeal to limited number of spectators
- not a very skill based track, with it being mostly based on endurance.

With this being said, the track still generates the highest amount of passion from all the race tracks, as you can see from the small tribute video below.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Eye candy

As you may have notices until now I am a big fan of rallying and especially of the Group B era. It's hard not to be taken aback by the passion and the speed generated by this short era, so why resist it? Here's an amazing video from the Pirelli P7 Corsa Classic demonstration/race/launch, in the Italian Alps.

 I'm willing to bet that the engineers at Pirelli made this tires (the P7 Corsa Classic, special tires for historic rally cars) just to get to have some fun with some of the most amazing rally cars ever:
- Fiat 131 Abarth;
- Lancia Stratos;
- Lancia 037;
- Lancia Delta S4;
- Lancia Delta HF Integrale;
- Lancia ECV (amazing one-off prototype, an evolution of the Delta HF model);
+ a late '90s Subaru and a Peugeot 207 IRC.

You can see all of them driven, in this video, by world class drivers: Markku Alen, Juha Kankkunen and Paolo Andreucci.

Enjoy the footage!
PS: just two small hints:
- superb outside shots from 7:21 to 7:44;
- very nicely taken corner at 9:04.

This was a small intermezzo, the Top 10 Race Tracks series will continue after this.

Top 10 iconic and amazing race tracks (II)

Like I promised you, here is part 2 of the Top 10 Tracks.

8.  Autodromo Nazionale Monza

Why did it make the list:
- very high speed circuit, that tests the pilots and the engineers;
- it's one of the oldest racecourses in Europe with enormous heritage and history.
Why it didn't score higher:
- the huge number of fatal accidents;
- it's a rather dated race circuit with a large number of safety problems.

This video describes Monza perfectly: very harsh on the engines and a very fast track(Curva Grande is a great example).

 

7.  Suzuka International Race Circuit

Why did it make the list:
- high skill required to be competitive on this circuit;
- one of the oldest remaining F1 circuits;
- a large number of F1 titles have been decided on this circuit
Why it didn't score higher:
- large number of fatal accidents;
- it's Japan Grand Prix hosting days seem to be over.

Top 10 iconic and amazing race tracks (I)

I've been thinking of writing this article for a long time and I finally got some time to think properly about it and make it interesting. The ranking is based on personal preference, track history and heritage, the passion is stirs in other people and driving skill required to be successful there.
I'll be starting the countdown from the 10th place to the first:

10.  Circuit Paul Ricard

Why did it make the list:
- it was one of the most advanced race tracks at the time of it's opening and it's still hi-tech now;
- the Mistral straight, where in 1987, F1 cars achieved speeds in excess of 320km/h;
Why it didn't score higher:
- it hasn't been used for important races in a while, but it's set to be the French Grand Prix organizer for 2013.

 

9.  Ebisu Circuit

Why did it make the list:
- it a premier circuit for a rather new and spectacular form of motorsport: drifting;
- one of the most entertaining and challenging corners in drifting:

Why it didn't score higher:
- relatively new circuit with almost no history;
- besides Drifting competitions it's only used for minor and local cart and motorcycle races.

This will be continued tomorrow and in the following days.
You'll also be able to find the links for the next parts, below.

The Secret World - or how to make money by screwing your fans

I've been playing during the past weekend, the amazing new game The Secret World. Although it was only the second beta weekend it still offers a polished feel, that you rarely get from unfinished games.
The story is amazing and captivating, from the start, and it's a fresh breath of air with all those fantasy-based MMOs.
It's set in the near dystopian future, where 3 "societies" fight for the power to decide the future of humanity. This, if they can actually manage to fight away the dark forces that threaten the Earth.
The societies are:
- the "reborn" Templars:

- the greedy Illuminati:

- the secretous Dragon:

The beta only offered the Templars, as your faction, but the story felt tied together, with proper narrative and I didn't actually feel any regret that I couldn't try the other factions.
The game is a mixture of Silent Hill, Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil, taking the best in these games, adding an amazing plotline to the atmosphere, gameplay and progression of the game.  You're less troubled about grinding and leveling up, because you want to follow the story and see where it gets you.
Now, my biggest problem with the game:

IT'S A FREAKING MMO. WHY?

It doesn't make any sense from a creative point of view  to make this a MMO. It would make a perfectly fine single-player game franchise, with all the possibilities it you have to expand the story in other regions (you only visit 3 major locations in the game: New England, Egypt and Transylvania). By making it a MMO you lose the crowd that would play the game sporadically and you also miss the console owners. Sure it may get you more money in the short to medium term, but as a MMO it would be too hard to expand it after the first installment and there are lower chances of the sequel to be successful
But, apparently this is the way EA wants to go, having also published another game that would be a lot better as a single player game: Star Wars: The Old Republic. I know a lot of people that bought it just to play through the quest line, and then left. So, game developers and publishers, stop making so many mediocre MMOs when you can fit the same storyline in a great Single-Player game. Or at least take the path of Diablo and provide Co-Op modes if you want to ensure re-playability. GET IT RIGHT!

Romania: The India of Europe

Short introduction:
Romania is known as country with a high degree of knowledge in the IT departments.
From hackers to people that scam eBay buyers, from Microsoft, Apple and Google employees to important Romanian companies everyone recognized us.

But now, it all started going on a downward slope. The call center businesses that used to be outsourced in India, started being outsourced in Romania as well. Not the proudest part of the business but you can still make a honest living.

But yesterday I got the worst IT related job offer I've ever seen: being a gold farmer.
Link is here: http://www.ejobs.ro/user/locuri-de-munca/515580
Translation:

Perfect candidate:
We're looking for professional gamers who want to make money from the game testing/gold farming activity.

Work place is in Bucharest.

Requirements: - English language, intermediate level;
- at least one year of experience in online games (optional Xfire account )
- age between 18 and 30
- game experience with at least one game developed by Blizzard(from the series World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft)
- testing on a similar game.

For more details and direct job applications: service@diablo3charms.eu

 This is rock bottom. You cannot go any lower. But still 125 people applied for this job.
Would you apply for a similar job?

Lifehacks

lifehack (plural lifehacks)

1. any process or technique that reduces the chaos in one's life and makes it easier to manage, or more convenient

So this is what a lifehack is, a small trick that can improve your life.
Here are a few recent ones that I ran across, with small explanations for each of them.

•  Why you will fail to have a great career? 

A very, very good TED Talk about how to manage your own expectations, how to manage your career and how not to blame someone else when/if you fail. The speaker is Larry Smith, an Economic professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

• How to buy a new car?

Simple and effective. It may not seem like a lot but it will make a lot of difference when buying a new car. Also, it won't work in every single part of the world as this dealer system is mostly found in the US. The speaker is Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Professor of Politics at the New York University.
More info on him and the transcript of the talk, here.

• Stop basing everything on stories

Stop thinking in stories. Learn how to get the essential information out of stories and stop being influenced by the bulk of crap, padded in every story fed to you. Presented by Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Enjoy!

What happened to all the nice guys?

Just read it:

I see this question posted with some regularity in the personals section, so I thought I'd take a minute to explain things to the ladies out there that haven't figured it out.

What happened to all the nice guys?

The answer is simple: you did.

See, if you think back, really hard, you might vaguely remember a Platonic guy pal who always seemed to want to spend time with you. He'd tag along with you when you went shopping, stop by your place for a movie when you were lonely but didn't feel like going out, or even sit there and hold you while you sobbed and told him about how horribly the (other) guy that you were fucking treated you.

At the time, you probably joked with your girlfriends about how he was a little puppy dog, always following you around, trying to do things to get you to pay attention to him. They probably teased you because they thought he had a crush on you. Given that his behavior was, admittedly, a little pathetic, you vehemently denied having any romantic feelings for him, and buttressed your position by claiming that you were "just friends." Besides, he totally wasn't your type. I mean, he was a little too short, or too bald, or too fat, or too poor, or didn't know how to dress himself, or basically be or do any of the things that your tall, good-looking, fit, rich, stylish boyfriend at the time pulled off with such ease.

Eventually, your Platonic buddy drifted away, as your relationship with the boyfriend got more serious and spending time with this other guy was, admittedly, a little weird, if you werent dating him. More time passed, and the boyfriend eventually cheated on you, or became boring, or you realized that the things that attracted you to him weren't the kinds of things that make for a good, long-term relationship. So, now, you're single again, and after having tried the bar scene for several months having only encountered players and douche bags, you wonder, "What happened to all the nice guys?"

Well, once again, you did.

You ignored the nice guy. You used him for emotional intimacy without reciprocating, in kind, with physical intimacy. You laughed at his consideration and resented his devotion. You valued the aloof boyfriend more than the attentive "just-a-" friend. Eventually, he took the hint and moved on with his life. He probably came to realize, one day, that women aren't really attracted to guys who hold doors open; or make dinners just because; or buy you a Christmas gift that you mentioned, in passing, that you really wanted five months ago; or listen when you're upset; or hold you when you cry. He came to realize that, if he wanted a woman like you, he'd have to act more like the boyfriend that you had. He probably cleaned up his look, started making some money, and generally acted like more of an asshole than he ever wanted to be.

Fact is, now, he's probably getting laid, and in a way, your ultimate rejection of him is to thank for that. And I'm sorry that it took the complete absence of "nice guys" in your life for you to realize that you missed them and wanted them. Most women will only have a handful of nice guys stumble into their lives, if that.

So, if you're looking for a nice guy, here's what you do:

1.) Build a time machine.
2.) Go back a few years and pull your head out of your ass.
3.) Take a look at what's right in front of you and grab a hold of it.

I suppose the other possibility is that you STILL don't really want a nice guy, but you feel the social pressure to at least appear to have matured beyond your infantile taste in men. In which case, you might be in luck, because the nice guy you claim to want has, in reality, shed his nice guy mantle and is out there looking to unleash his cynicism and resentment onto someone just like you.

If you were five years younger.

So, please: either stop misrepresenting what you want, or own up to the fact that you've fucked yourself over. You're getting older, after all. It's time to excise the bullshit and deal with reality. You didn't want a nice guy then, and he certainly doesn't fucking want you, now.

Sincerely,

A Recovering Nice Guy

 via zerostiri.ro and craiglist.