Interviews with the Pro Cup Participants

Ahead of the upcoming Pro Cup season, we asked four questions to those who entered the most prestigious INL series in the post-Soviet corner of the internet.

HG !!!

1. What are your plans? What are you hoping for in this championship?
2. At which tracks will you be able to run well?
3. Who will be the championship favorite?
4. How will this Pro Cup championship differ from the previous ones?

Butt-head

1. I hope to finish the season in first place.
2. I love you, Richmond!
3. Me, Beavis, Dmitriev, Kan, Forza. And if the Internet doesn't act up, then probably Ant and Johny too.
4. Same as always.

Pab

1. Making the Chase.
2. On the 1.5-mile tracks.
3. I don't know who exactly will win, but there won't be any dark horses. In my view the favorites are No. 3, No. 74 and No. 88, but it could also be someone from No. 36, No. 113, No. 98, No. 229. Twenty rounds is a long distance, so flukes are ruled out.
4. I think this championship will differ from the previous one with heightened nerves and scandals, though there were plenty of those last year too.


Eugeny Dmitriev

1. I plan to at least make the TOP-5, and at most, naturally, to win the championship.
2. I think I can do well at Darlington and Dover. I might also manage to shine at Michigan and Texas (Lowe's, Atlanta).
3. There will definitely be three favorites: Lich, Nascardude and Arzamasov; Кan, Butt-head, maybe SerzhNascar, Johny, and, well, me could also get involved in their fight.
4. Judging by the registered drivers, this championship will have more people on the starting grid. There are a lot of genuinely fast drivers — in my view around ten of them, and that's not three or five like in the two previous championships. I'm sure the battle for the Chase, and then for the title, will be tense and exciting.


Kan

1. I hope I won't get wrecked too often.
2. Whichever track I manage to download and have a good setup for.
3. Judging by the forum posts, OverDriver is aiming for the title.
4. I have no answer to that question, because this is my first full season.


Nascardude (Beavis)

1. I hope to make it to the finish with the car in one piece in at least one race.
2. Joltis. 8-balls.
3. Butt-head.
4. By having fewer participants.


Sinner (Komisarchik)

1. To learn to finish races (last year I failed to finish 50% of the rounds). If that works out, I can think about the Chase too.
2. I feel best on 1.5-mile tracks with banking.
3. It's hard to pick a championship favorite. Quite a few fast racers have joined this year. I think the season will be no less intriguing than this year's Sprint Cup.
4. The only difference from the previous championships will be stronger competition; otherwise everything is the same.

Madlopt

1. Full-time participation and helping the team. I hope one of the WRI drivers becomes champion.
2. Daytona, Talladega.
3. The reigning Pro cup champion Nascardude will be the favorite this time as well.
4. Harsh sanctions for offenders, the introduction of NORBTL, the abolition of the lucky dog, a ban on blocking rivals, a clear rule regarding revenge on track... and looking through a racer's eyes, I think it will be one of the most exciting INL seasons.

Moged (Mogilevich)

1. I plan to run the maximum number of races and try to fight for the Chase.
2. Luck will come first here. But usually I do best in races on tracks 1.0-1.5 miles long
3. As usual, Dude will be the favorite, but all the INL champions of the various series have good chances too.
4. There will be few differences from last season; no revolutionary innovations are planned. The only thing that may set the coming season apart is the penalty system tried out in the «Intimidator». I think it will make a serious impact on the drivers' standings and, I hope, lead to a lower number of cautions.

Alexandr Chistov (Ligier)

1. Finishing out last season, I had weighty reasons to end my Pro Cup career right there.
But enough time has passed since I last took the start of an official INL series race, and on the eve of the new season, nostalgia for the old days got the better of me. Though in my current situation I wouldn't make the whole championship my primary goal as I used to; it's more about the pleasure of the racing itself.
And team responsibility is quite nominal these days. In any case I won't make any predictions — we'll see how it goes.
2. Like anyone, I always have certain chances to run well in the restrictor-plate races.
I can probably be quite competitive on the road courses thanks to my considerable experience in that field. And on a number of classic tracks, like Michigan and Atlanta
3. Obviously, it's the Beavis and Butt-head posse team in full strength.
With the strongest lineup made up of the best INL racers, they have every chance of playing out the championship among themselves. There are also experienced and fast racers like Tik, Kan, Komisarchik and the freshly crowned Intimidator champion Johny, who are unlikely to give the result away that easily.
An entry was also submitted for Alexander Schokin, the fastest racer in INL history. The legendary Lich is unlikely to run the season on a regular basis, but in the individual races he does enter, he will be the main contender for the win.
4. I don't think the coming season will differ much from the previous ones.
One should hope, of course, that the average level of the races will rise and the crash rate will drop.
That is probably the most important and necessary thing that should be changing in INL racing.

Isaenko

1. Last year I made the Chase but ended my season early. At the very least I expect to repeat that result.
2. Superspeedways.
3. Dude.
4. For me everything is the same as before.

Johny

1. Consistent Top-5 (10) finishes.
2. I can run well at many tracks.
3. I don't know.
4. Not by much. A few new racers, some changes to the rules.

Seh

1. The plan is to run as many races as possible and finish them as high as possible.
2. The one I prepare best for, and wherever luck goes my way.
3. The same as always: nascardude, Kadum, KAN 42, Johny, Johny GTP, Tik, Team Ringrace.
4. I think in terms of quality it will be better than the previous ones, since with every championship the participants get more and more experienced.

Jacky

1. The plan is to take part in a certain number of races. Daytona and Talladega for sure. The rest is still up in the air.
2. Run well... Given last season's results — at any track. The main thing is to stay out of crashes, and then even making the Chase is possible.
3. Unfortunately I didn't follow the off-season. A lot of new drivers showed up for the Daytona250 shootout, some of whom I'm seeing for the first time...
4. No idea.


We continue our conversations with the Pro Cup participants, who this Saturday are set to begin the fight for the most prestigious and coveted title of INL WRI.
This time, our interviewee is one of the title contenders. Surely well known to all of you — the Sinner, Komisarchik.


HG:
Which teams have you been part of before? And if you have, what were the reasons you left them?

Sinner:
Over the years I've raced for WRI, iFans, Metallurg Motorsports, Boondock saints team (which I owned). Now I'm with x3 Racing Team. Honestly, there were no specific reasons for my departures. I honestly raced out a season/series for one of those teams and had no complaints once it was over. Why did I pick others? I don't know — for variety, experience, maybe for new sensations from team tactics. I tried myself as a boss — as a result our team was first in the unofficial standings; now I race as a regular driver for one of the oldest teams in the Pro Cup.

HG:
In your opinion, does being on a team — or, on the contrary, not being on one — affect a racer in any way?

Sinner:
I think it rather doesn't than does. Honestly, I don't take it very seriously.

HG:
What are you by nature — an individualist or a team player?

Sinner:
Hard to say. Situations where a teammate genuinely needs help are usually rare (restrictor-plate races, for example). But in those cases I always try to cooperate. In all the rest, I don't think about the team when making decisions; at most I can root for their own result in the race.

HG:
As an experienced online racer, what could you advise novice sim racers?

Sinner:
I don't consider myself an experienced racer — I'm still learning myself. So I won't even try to recommend anything specific. I can only share what I've learned for myself: knowing the rules is not enough. You can drive within the rules and still drive like an idiot. There has to be a clear understanding of oval racing, respect for the races, the tracks, the racers, and your own car. Only experience gives you that. Watch how others drive (in real life and online). Your own mistakes are useful too, because you learn from them. Then both the speed and the consistent driving will come. Comparing myself then and now — night and day, even though I knew all the rules back then too.

HG:
Do you feel in any way the lack of opportunity to race for several months at a stretch?

Sinner:
Not really. After the first corner of the first round at Piston, everything immediately fell into place. It all came back at once — classic Piston Cup. As if I'd raced only yesterday.



WRI chief Alex Madlopt on the Fifth season of the INL Pro Cup.


Once again, congratulations to nascardude (Beavis) on a magnificent victory in the cup and in the final round. I can't recall anyone else here who could win with a disconnect — and without even getting the lucky dog.

RacerX became the best rookie and the only driver who never took a provisional while competing in all 20 rounds. In my opinion, he is the most consistent and cleanest driver of the INL Pro Cup.

Tik snatched second place in the standings out of his hands in the final round — quite deservedly; he was a contender for the win, but didn't always have the speed.

Sasha Chistov was frankly unlucky, but he made the Chase for the second season in a row, which confirms his high level.

Zhenya Dmitriev, now a former champion, clearly gave in under the pressure from nascardude, and in the Chase he no longer thought about the championship, simply racing for his own pleasure. I'd like to believe that next season he will fight to the end.

Dima Isaenko led during the season and could well have counted on 2nd-3rd place, but abandoned the championship.

"The best from the rest" was Sergey Komisarchik: he didn't manage to break through into the Chase, but he showed that he deserves a Chase spot and can fight for the win.

Sergey Lobanov set an anti-record for DNFs — he retired from 14 of the 17 races he ran — but despite that he took 8th position in the final standings.

The revelations of the season are, without doubt, KAN42 and Alex Arzamasov. The speed and talent they demonstrated are impressive.