FH5: S2, W2 (Autumn/Storm) notes

A few notes on this week’s seasonal championships:
Carol of the Bel-Airs:
Street Race, Chevy Bel-Air, B700
The only car that fits the restrictions stock is the Hoonigan Bel-Air; but, the 1957 Chevy Bel-Air is also available. It’s D-class by default, so it won’t show as an option unless you’ve already upgraded it. The Hoonigan one is about half the price, though, and already in class.
The first race is on the street course with THAT right hairpin (“if you think you’re going slow enough for that turn… you’re not going slow enough”)
Brakes are not great, even after taking a B700 set; be conservative.

Drivin’ Home for Xmas:
Cross Country, Anything Goes, B700
No real car notes here, as the field is wide open. I went with the Ford Escort RS1800 ‘77 for the first race, but it’s just not competitive, even after taking a setup. Moved to an Exomotive Exocet (non-FE) for the circuit, and realised even that wasn’t great. Restarted championship with a “04 Subaru WRX, already at B700, while the top AI was using a ‘16 Mazda MX-5.
AI seems extremely difficult relative to other event types in XC; this also affects the Forzathon weekly challenge. Feel free to crank down the difficulty on that one; unfortunately, for the championship, you’re stuck on Highly Skilled or more.
HUGE jump at start of first race; though I had zero acceleration off the line, I jumped from 12th to 3rd off that jump. Lost basically all my speed on landing though, and had to regain it.
Watch for flying objects in the Stadium circuit race; the arena is filled with bowling pins! By laps 2 and 3, the field should have cleared most of them for a straight shot under the ramp.
Once again, destructible objects can play a part in the Las Granjas race; this time, the route has you going through the solar farm. Make sure to get a clean line through to avoid losing speed.

Getting Hyped
Road, Hypercars, S1 900
They should all be competitive, but I went with the Zerouno since I already had it from playlists past. I just left it stock this time after the first race.
There’s two and a half ways to make positions here. Either carry more speed where the AI doesn’t (including sometimes the AI will slow down a lot for a turn that can be taken flat or with a small lift), or Max Verstappen-esque divebombs using the other cars as your apex.
There’s only one really tight and slow turn across the three circuits, so it’s pretty much all about speed here.
It’s a very fast championship; the first two races were just under three minutes each, with Playa Azul being three and a half.
Speaking of Playa Azul, be cautious at T2 (the first right hander); if you dip your wheels into the puddle there, your car will be pulled round, and the result will depend on your reflexes. If you catch it, you’ll pull off an awesome drift. If not, well, expect to be acquainted with the front views of your competitors very quickly.

Trial: Dirt, Super Saloons, A800
Forzathon Weekly: RJ Anderson Pro Truck
Danger Sign: Ford, A800
Speed Trap: Audi RS 6 ‘03, S1 900
Speed Zone: Unlimited Buggies, A800 (isn’t that an oxymoron? The Ford Coupe FE counts, and is stock at A800.)
Playground Games: Unlimited Buggies, B700