Hello fellow ROOZers! I’m Beau Albert and today we debut a brand new addition to the sites homepage, helping everyone get to know a little more about some of the more well-known Avatars at RaceOnOz, ranging from the Moderators, to the quickest of the quick and the most helpful and interesting personalities on the site!

We start the series with a member none of us could do without on the site, making the points tables week in, week out and also the creator of the incredibly successful ROOZ Take It To The Streets Series, one of the longest running community series the site has ever seen over on GT6.
Hatfield, how did the Street Series come to you as an idea, and why has it been such a success in your eyes?

DRZ_Hatfield:
I had always tried to run various events on Tuesday Nights as my second weekly race night (aside from Sunday of course). Some were pretty successful (such as the Full Weather/Damage Series or the No Practice Series) and others not so.

In one of my brainstorming sessions (ie day-dreaming), I found myself thinking about missing some of the old Need for Speed type of racing, with multiple makes of cars and the added boost that NOS brings, keeping the field together. This was the reason behind the first draft of the Street Series.

As for why it has been a success, first and foremost it is due to the community. Without the drivers partaking, there wouldn't be any reason to continue and without guys like emmo we would struggle to organise events every week.
Another main reason would be due to the way the penalty system works to bring the winners back down to the pack after each race and giving everyone (eventually) a chance at a win.
You find with a lot of other series which run over a certain number of rounds, some drivers who don't do so well and find themselves out of the race for the championship, or other drivers who discover a series halfway through, don't attend which drops the numbers. But with ROOZ Take It To The Street, there is no set number of rounds, and so it is a clean sleight every night.

Beau:
Well theres plenty of great racing to have in your Take It To The Street series across the massive variety of Classes you have formed using Gran Turismo's performance points system! You mentioned thinking about the old Need for Speed style, NOS-using racing game style as inspiration for your Take it to the Street series, is that a game style you enjoy thoroughly or was it simply inspiration? What would you say is your all-time favourite racing title?

Hatfield:
I used to love some of the old NFS games. All time favourite NFS was the first underground, especially the drag racing. I am sure anyone who played that remembers the jump over the train haha.
Some of the newer NFS games, not so much... it sort of turned into a drift-fest instead of actually driving the best line around corners. Although I haven't played it, I love the liveries coming out of the newest NFS... I just bought a PS4 so will be looking to pick it up soon.
All-time favourite racing title is Gran Turismo but I couldn't say which one. But I have many fond memories of many racing games.
Started out playing DOS based games like 'Stunts' or 'Grand Prix'.
Many a day was spent editing driver and team names for Grand Prix 1 through 3. I used to get my dad to pause his Formula 1 recordings so I could jot down the details to fill in on the game (this was before internet).

Beau:
You've certainly experienced all the major changes and developments of the gaming world then! Going all the way back to DOS games, incredible!
Have to feel sorry for your dad pausing his motorsport though! Something none of us like to do haha! Is real world motorsport something you grew up with alot or was it something that developed from playing such games; if you do infact watch real world racing at all?

Hatfield:
I think he was just happy I liked motor racing and it kept me quiet!
I used to go watch dad race karts with my uncle or some of his friends when I was younger and I got to drive them from a primary school age too. Also used to watch my brother in rallies with his 1990 CR-X or classic Mini Cooper (shout-out to him on ROOZ gominiman !) Friends of our family race in the formula ford championship too so we have been to eastern creek to watch them.
We still own our karts but haven't taken them out in a while. Although I never competed in any races... I would normally just drive hard and power-slide wherever possible haha
I don't watch too much racing now though. I will catch a formula 1 race here or there and maybe a V8 highlights package. Just not much time to do it all I guess.

Beau:
Think we could all agree Virtual Racing is for the most part far more entertaining anyway! Thinking over your entire RaceOnOz career starting way back in early 2014, what race, or perhaps season stands out as your most memorable at the site?


Hatfield:
There are plenty of great races but one always sticks out in my mind which occurred during the first Hi-Tech Oils series that Vardz ran. It was a multi-car series based around the GT300 category.
I was in the silver division, which is like division 2 and was driving the RE Amemiya RX-7 GT300, one of my favorite cars. The race was at Fuji, which is also a track I enjoy and tend to do well at due to how smooth you have to be. The reason this race sticks out for me over others is, it wasn't my pace which brought me the win as I was outclassed in that area for the entire season. It was my ability to manage my tyres and drive smoothly to make it home with one less pitstop than the rest of the field in the 1hr 30mins race time limit. This translated to a less than 10 sec win and I've not had a win like it since.

Beau:
It's those underdog races you win that always feel the most rewarding when its all said and done, once again proving that quick laptimes aren't everything in racing! Although you have proven yourself to be pretty handy at producing the goods when needed, taking out the Division 4 title twice in Season 1 and Season 6, what are your thoughts leading into the next season of The Gamesmen Cup for your debut in the pinnacle division of GT6?

Hatfield:
Ah yes my debut season in the BRZ GT300 and the LFA Nurburgring Edition for season 6. Both contained a fair bit of luck in my opinion, disconnections from disturboed in the BRZ and a blocked track for mario in the LFA.
As for the upcoming Division 1 debut... frightening is one word haha! I know that guys like warrior2167 & aussie_nicko are miles ahead in terms of speed but I know that if I push myself I can be in contention for a top 5 finish.

Beau:
I'm sure a few eyes will be on you for a potential Top 5 at some of the circuits now, no pressure! As i touched on before, you've been around the site for a number of years, now into your third year and showing no signs of slowing up. What is it that keeps you logging back into the site week in, week out?

Hatfield:
That would be the community itself, and my love of racing. I have made real friendships thanks to ROOZ and it goes to show that the internet really has made the world smaller.

Beau:
You're one of the handful of people to have taken the chequered flag at the iconic Bruce Hale Race of Champions event, sadly I am not! So tell me, how much did winning this mean to you, knowing how hard every single member of ROOZ try for this star-studded event?

Hatfield:
I didn't know Bruce too well being in different divisions and not too many community events together before he sadly passed. But from what I heard from those that did know him, he was mad for racing and a great all-round bloke. Being able to even participate, let alone win the ROC which he himself had won before, was an absolute honour. Knowing how highly others regard him and watching the tribute laps before the race itself gives me goosebumps.

Beau:
Well you can consider yourself incredibly fortunate, thats for sure! Before a big race like the ROC or the Weekly Gamesmen Cup races, is there any pre-race-ritual you do? Perhaps a little 20 minute warm up on track, focusing with some music or perhaps wearing some lucky socks? *Laughs*

Hatfield:
It's a little different with rituals for online racing. Most rituals I've heard of consist of router reboots haha.
For me, I try to get the kids in bed as early as possible. Then I pull out my collapsable Next Level Racing cockpit and set it up. Plug in a long network cable and organise the headphones to keep the peace. Then set up a fan to keep my hands cool because of my condition.
I don't often run too many laps. Just enough to get my eye in if time permits. I focus more on making sure the room I am in is set up correctly and check that we aren't having any issues.

Beau:
Well perhaps i'm just the oddball here then! You mentioned having a fan to keep your hands cool due to a condition? Would you mind touching on what that is if your willing too, and does it affect you alot during a race despite your best efforts?

Hatfield:
I have what is called 'Epidermolysis Bullosa - Simplex' (I would suggest you don't google image search it)
Basically, it is a condition passed on genetically that causes easy blistering of the skin. So my hands due to contact with the wheel, can blister due to heat, friction & pressure. The easiest of these 3 factors to reduce in this instance is the heat by use of the fan.
I used to use gloves but they serve to increase the heat especially in summer.
Despite all this I would call myself lucky that I only have the simple version of this condition, as the Dystrophic version is much much worse.

Beau:
Can’t exactly say I’m jealous! That’s rough and I should have taken your advice on the google search! Well that's definately been interesting to get your thoughts on everything and also get a bit more on your background. Hatfield, an absolute pleasure to chat to you today and a huge thanks for making time for us on the debut of The Interviewooz!

Hatfield:
Thanks for all the hard work Beau!

Beau:
A new thread is up in the Off-Topic Section of the site for anybody with any questions that they would like to see answered by Hatfield or next time with our next guest, on our brand new addition to the site!

http://raceonoz.com/forums/index.php?threads/the-interviewooz-drz_hatfield.2275/

Until next time....