Grand Prix Virtual World Championship

After much thought (all of about two minutes), I have decided to withdraw from the GPVWC.

It is a shame as I've wasted many hours of my life trying to suggest ideas on how to improve the series and tighten up the field, make it more competative, offered my own time also, but it seems this league is not open to new ideas and concepts, and in reality, the DA and TMA are a laughing stock.

I find myself being heavily criticised for bringing ideas to the table and explaining why and how they would work, and when I try to answer those critics, my forum comments are removed, which also proves there's no freedom of speech here either. People have been incredibly and unecessarily unpleasent to myself and others, and rFactor is supposed to be fun. The whole league is meant to be fun, but such things mean it isn't; and to pay for the privilage next year would be simply madness.

Someone who has driven a couple of races in the league before (I'll save him his graces) went as far as saying "The RD's are inconsistent and the organisation of events was poor - that's why I left". If people say this, then there's a problem, but every idea and comment I make on the forum on the subject is slated or removed.

What I say could be noted and considered as areas to improve, but you seem to just have a go at me for causing a disturbance, and then all my efforts to justify my thoughts are removed (but the comments slagging me off remain for all to see), and we all carry on as if nothing happened and everything's fine.

I hate to say but it isn't.

When I'm punted, nothing's done. When I survive three starts at Spa but get punted on the last, nothing is done. When I finish, I get disqualified for trying to avoid a potentially hideous accident. When the server glitched me from 3rd to 5th and then dropped me completely at Interlagos, I had no mention post race, and strangely I didn't this round either, despite being involved in a race changing accident.

It's as if you try to pretend I don't exist...

Problems don't just go away. They need to be confronted, and I'm fed up of repeating it. It's a waste of my time.

I'd like to thank those who shared my vision and discussed ideas openly and bounced concepts off eachother, who raced cleanly and fairly, were not discriminative, needlessley rude, ignorant and unconstructive. It was a pleasure racing with you, I wish you all the best and I hope to see you on track sometime soon.

Will - It'd be a new move if you actually responded to my points rather than just deleting them. Have a go.

Regardless, you've lost yet another driver.

Sorry to see you go Chris.

To be fair, I think that any comments seen to be made with any kind of anger are seen as disruptive to the league, and maybe that's why they've been removed. Will gave us all a warning, after having made requests several times, as I recall.

I think it's better for the league if we're all seen as being more harmonious. I say this without wanting to lay all the blame solely at your door - I didn't get involved in the arguments and I don't intend to start. I'd rather swallow my pride and get along with everyone.

This league isn't a democracy. We don't really have any rights or a constitution, as such. Everything has been done, up until now, thanks to many hours of free time by Will primarily. Our privilege is that we get to compete together and, hopefully, enjoy ourselves.

In contrast to what you suggest though, I have to say that I find this league, under Will's leadership, is very open to new ideas and suggestions. There are lots of developments in the pipeline, and next season will see the implementation of the vast majority of them, I'm sure.

Will has always listened to suggestions and accepted help. He may not agree with them all, but he's always been grateful for them all, so far as I can tell.

As for the DA and TMA, I think you've perhaps misunderstood the intention behind them. When I put the idea to Will (although he had already planned on it anyway), I had envisioned that the Drivers' Association would help out with disputes and come up with suggestions for Will. I think both the TMA and the DA are still in development really.

You, and the anonymous driver you mentioned, may well have valid points. I feel I'm more patient because I appreciate that this is the GPVWC's début year in online racing and with rFactor. I expected teething problems. I doubt any season will ever run as smoothly as we'd all (including Will) like it to.

In fairness, if what you say is indeed the case, that your comments have been removed and others which slag you off personally are the only ones which remain, then those comments too should probably be removed.

The problem we had in Spa is, as far as I'm concerned, done and dusted. I could have picked up points in it - my first of this season - who knows. I regret it, but I don't believe in labouring a point for too long. I made my point clearly at the time, apologies were offered and accepted. It was crazy. It was a mess. But it's over. I recall discussing what should be done to help prevent things like that in the future. At Singapore, there were actually four cars (in fact there were more than that) involved at a T1 incident, but the race carried on. I think that was the right decision, though I've no idea who the RDs were.

Anyway, you've made a decision and the best of luck to you in the future. I'd be the first to welcome you back if you change your mind or decide to rejoin at a later date, but I think you do need to understand the nature of the league and accept it. Apparently at the minute, it isn't for you, but it does suit the rest of us.

Good luck, and may all your races be long ones!

Thankyou, Mal. You could have chosen to be a complete cock to me if you really wanted to, but you stepped up to answer the questions/points raised rather than just having a go at me for the hell of it. You have my respect.

I am genuinely sad that it has had to come to this. I wished to continue, but the concept of paying for something I'm not enjoying, under the constant opinion that everyone resents my presence, is not an appealing one.

All I ever did was try to help, but no, it seems the GPVWC is rather a dictatorship as opposed to democracy, and I'm afraid I'm democratic; people should have their say, their views heard, ideas developed, refined and possibly implemented for the good of all concerned, as after it all, it's the drivers who get out there and race.

But such a community spirit is not present here.

I know it's the first season, which is why I felt that it was the most important time to sort issues out in order for everyone to know fully what was going on, how everything worked, and in turn for it to grow in popularity and succeed, but all my ideas/suggestions were completely overlooked or ignored.
In my humble opinion, a driver doesn't need a league, but a league needs its drivers.

As forementioned, comments with offensive text against myself is left on the forum for all to see, while my comments are removed immediately. All my ideas/suggestions are rejected instantly. Trying to help here is a complete waste of time.

I'm pleased you'd welcome my return; I'm confident you'd be the only one, so I thank you. I'm afraid it will be unlikely.

I'm confident Chris Allen will also be withdrawing, although I'm not going to put words in his mouth; he has his own brain and I'm sure you'll hear from him soon enough.

You say I need to understand the nature of the league; I don't even know what it is, so I have little hope of understanding it, but it's no longer a cause for concern.

I wish you the best of luck, Mal. For being one of the few lateral thinkers here.

Hopefully we will meet again.

A clarification is needed.

This league, as many people here will testify, is open to ideas from everybody. Ideas are appreciated and every single one of them - even those coming from Mal McKee, and they are wacky - are considered. However, like F1 or ANY other sport, the GPVWC features a Governing Body whose role is, as the name suggests, to govern and take decisions. I work in a sport governing body in real life so I am aware that it is never possible to please every single member with rulings and decisions: that doesn't mean those decisions aren't meant to be made. And, while I always gather ideas and proposals from everyone, it is the Governing Body and ONLY the Governing Body who has the right to decide. You call it dictatorship? Then probably every sport in the world, from the Football World Cup to Bog snorkelling, is, as the decisions are made by a selected minority.

If a couple of interventions in the forum have been removed it is because, after an expressed request to deal with personal matters to MSN, email or otherwise any private means of communication, you chose to use the forum nonetheless. And when you finally chose to use MSN, you resorted to name calling - which, in any case, is your right to do, but shows that indeed certain stuff better remain off the forum.

We discussed the issue of your disqualification at length last night - it was a breach of the rules and, although you were victim of a mistake by another driver (which you chose not to appeal to any RD anyway), that doesn't authorise you to risk ruining the race of others. Another driver was DQ in previous races for roughly the same issue, and the consensus within the league was to apply a consistent way of punishing drivers. So if the issue was noted to the RDs it is only fair to assume the same decision will be applied.

If you see a RD decision going against you as a result of your activity on the forums, then I cannot help but think you may be biased against the way things are being done here. Penalties have been dished out, in the course of the season, to drivers from each team - and from each level of loud mouthness - so I believe that, while of course the RDing needs to be improved as many other things in the league, it sure is fair.

This place is like a pub. People come here, buy their beers, interact with the other patrons. If they don't like the quality/choice of the beers, think other patrons are annoying or is otherwise displeased, they leave. But the only man who has the right to take decisions is the landlord - even if he chooses to turn it into a teahouse.

I hope this reply will have helped to clear your ideas on where we stand. Feel free to contact me on MSN if you need any further explanation.

Hey, listen fella - I thought the idea about the stripper was pretty neat.

How was I to know you didn't understand I was talking about a paint stripper!

hahaha mal,

i have to say on this point this league has been run very professionally,
i seen a few leagues i been in this year having problems, (some not as bad as GPVWC) and yet they stopped racing.

i would like to say that will & mich accepted offers for changes when we had the 'meet the admin' chat sessions, along the way there was heated battles.

i believe in progress, nothing is ever perfect, nothing can ever really say to be finished, its all about changes, no matter how big it is.

Evolution of the gpvwc has gone a long way in the few months i have been racing here, and all that has to be down to will and to mich, taking on board what people have to say.

and as will has said 'Governing body' has the final rubber stamp on everything.

kinsman, im sorry to hear you have decided to part company with the GPVWC brand, it will be a shame you will not be driving with us in 2010, i have seen some of your posts on here regarding changes you feel the league might need, and some of them i quite liked, but as i stated, it all rests at the 'bodies' desk.

what i feel is you might of rushed in to things to hastily, like some 1 else i know (naming no names 'GAV THOMAS' oops) as almost every week he said he was quitting.

n e who kinsman i hope to see you again soon, in GPVWC if you change your mind.

Will - I didn't resort to name-calling - that's not my style, and to suggest that I did is the final nail in the coffin of what I think of the GPVWC, But it doesn't matter to me now anyway.

I did my best for you but it was thrown in my face. I'm taking my energies elsewhere. I was careful to note that you didn't wish me well for the future or hope for my return; I wish you the best of luck for the future, but only because I'm sure as it currently stands, this place will need all the luck it can get. You might think my departure is a 'good riddance', but I believe on that front the pleasure is mine.

On the incident, I didn't file a complaint against Mullins because I appreciate accidents happen, and to file a complaint after apologising and settling it as a racing incident would be pretty low of me. Perhaps it's the kind of low behaviour you expect of me? It matters little now.

I shall not need any further 'clarification' as it has no importance to me anymore.

Best of luck for the future (as you will need it).

Mal - The strippers are a good idea. Keep pushing for them. If such a thing were to happen, I'd come right back, although wouldn't be welcomed.

W3l54666 - I'd love to say this decision was out of haste but I've been contemplating it for a while. My rediculous disqualification, recent RD decisions/inconsistencies, rediculous situations causing unecessary restarts (sometimes 5 laps into a race), the feeling of continuous persecution against AllenGP, flimsy rules and the potental for underhandedness (carefully note the word POTENTIAL, before people make accusations), are all part of what caused me to make this decision.

I'm going to channel my efforts into a project that listens to its competitors, and puts as much effort into making a league fun as it does competative.

Remember this, as I've little doubt this whole thread will be removed VERY quickly after my departure so Will can forget my existance, brush the issues raised under the now pretty bumpy carpet, and just move on.

One thing I thought I'd mention in passing - You remember our potential sponsors? The guys looking to pay for our entries into next year's championship?

They gave us an ultimatum: They agreed they would only sponsor us if we moved to a different league (no names mentioned FSR woops).

I must stress it's not why I have quit, but if THAT doesn't suggest a problem...

Best of luck.

Thankyou Rouse. I know we've had our differences, but it's good to know we can both overlook them. I wish you all the best for the future.

Thought you wasnt logging on again ?

Chris K get your arse back here I wanted to actually finish some of our few duels we had this year next year how can I do that if your leaving m8?:(
shame to see you go wish you well

Morris - Shut up. I'm answering to people I've got the time for, and I'm afraid you're not one of them.

Kieran - I'm sorry mate - We've had some fantastic duels and you've been a real gentleman racer. It's been a pleasure to race you and hopefully the pleasure will be mine again at some point in the near future.

As I mentioned previousley, my team is persecuted, people wipe their arse on my ideas, and it's simply no fun anymore, and to pay for the privilage next year would be insanity.

It'd be cool to keep in contact with a good few of you guys. There's always a chance we could race together again. I did my best to be fair and clean on the track, so hopefully if the chance to race together again presented itself, you'd feel no hesitation to do so.

Best of luck, Kieran. You deserve to do well.

Mr Kinsman,

like i said previously sorry to see you go.

watching the battles between you and some of the other guys was exceptional racing at times, other i thought that i was going to need to call the mortury lolz.

i must say that it was unfortunate that you wer clipped on your last race by MULLINS that was a heated battle to say the least......

if you ever were to come back racing at the GPVWC brand then good on you, let the demons go and focus on other things, prove the doubters wrong.......

n e who GOOD LUCK in your future sim racing career and i wish you all the best

Thanks bud.

It's nice to feel like I did make some friends during my time here. We all came together for the good of competative racing. Some found it, unfortunately I didn't here... but what I did find were some great people and excellent, honourable drivers.

We had some good battles, but I really genuinely hope that people saw them as fair and clean; After all, it was my primary aim to race hard, but fair.

In it's current state, I shall not be making a return here in the near future; I feel like my team was persecuted, which is a hard mindset to drop considering recent events, and a few issues need resolving before I were to consider it. That aside, I'm confident Will doesn't want me here, so I don't think it's a possibility.

Don't blame Mullins for the incident; I didn't. Essentially I made a decision that wasn't best; My ambition was to get ahead of Mullins and slow him down in time for my stop, but I made the move quite late, rendering it pointless, and then in order to claw a little time back I had lost, I dived for the pits and Mullins simply didn't expect it.

You're a good chap. "Prove the doubters wrong" - That means a lot to me.

We will meet again. Until then, continue to do yourself proud.