In March of 2011 a young, bright-eyed lad joined ROOZ, keen to dip his toe into the online world of GT5. He quietly poked around for a month, then the 3rd season of ROOZ league racing started (got a feeling that was the TVR Tamora season, what a POS!). He got slotted into Division 3 and started to get noticed immediately. Now he won a few rounds and finished on the podium consistently, but it wasn’t coming second in the championship race that got him noticed. He got noticed for everything else he was doing off the track - contributing to the forum, organising practice meets, helping with results and stepping in whenever help was needed. It is now August of 2014, and that man has more wrinkles and less hair, but he has continued to do the job on and off the track. After accepting the position of moderator exactly 1 year after he joined ROOZ, we can now thank this tireless workhorse for just about everything that happens, from organising the Sunday League to dealing with supporters and prizes. He is responsible for most of the new initiatives you have seen in the last 2 years - including the concept of SuperROOZ. Until now he has managed to shrug off the many nominations. The Mod’s have spoken, the nomination has been accepted and approved. Stu, you are officially a SuperROOZ member!! Normally we like to provide details of what the member has done that makes them a suitable SuperROOZ member. This is impossible with Stu, I mean nearly 6400 posts, 1200+ likes (a lot of those his Mum mind you) and a zillion hours of personal time put into organising this site. With all that he does, Stu is not just a great ROOZ member, he is ROOZ! Without his efforts I know we wouldn’t have 6 full Divisions of drivers, hundreds of members, great sponsors/supporters and, I might be biased, but the best bloody sim-racing forum on the planet!!! Now, with all SuperROOZ members we look back over their Sunday League career, and as with most SuperROOZ drivers, Stu has a long career. Season 3 has been discussed and with 2 wins and numerous podiums, he was unlucky to be the bridesmaid in GT5 S3. These strong results saw him move up to Division 2 for GT5 S4, and sadly that season is lost to the internet wilderness, but his sig tells us he got 7th. GT5 S5 was in the High End Performance G37, and Stu was again in Division 2. This season drew a strong field with names like Bonus, Neishy, Aussie, Tek and Veno - all very quick lads. As he often does, Stu started the season strong, winning at Monza. He snuck onto the podium in Daytona and grabbed the lollies at Fuji in the sprints. With 3 rounds left, he could taste the championship. Alas it was not to be, and a couple of shaky results netted him another second in the championship race. Then there was GT5 S6 in the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 RM. With one race victory and 4 podiums, Stu was always a contender for end of season glory. Sadly, he was bridesmaid once more - can’t remember who won that season, but he must have been some driver to beat Stu home. Now we won’t talk much about what happened on the track in GT5 S7 as it was a forgettable one in the Chevrolet Camaro SS 2010 RM. Disconnections and hardware problems causing Stu to finish 7th overall, but it was the first season he wore a Moderators hat - and looking through the archives, he had his fingers in everything that season, and nothing has changed. GT5 S8 was back to regular broadcasting and Stu dug around in his closet and found that bridesmaids outfit. He ran into a red hot Zampli in the sweet little Toyota FT86 G sports concept '10, and although he spend time on the podium, nothing was stopping Zamps that season. Then, finally in the GT500 GT-R’s of S9, Stu got off the second rung of the ladder in the championship race! He got third!! With him missing 2 races, he would have been a shoe-in for second though… The next few seasons Stu had all sorts of issues with broken PS3’s and life in general keeping him off the track and it wasn’t until GT5 S13 that he was able to find the podium again. He wrestled that Citroen GT Race Car to 6 podiums in class B of Div 1. Sadly, once again he got pipped at the post, this time by Corzza who had a great season. “Where did I put that Bridesmaids outfit??”. GT6 rolled off the presses and we had big numbers for S1, and the BRZ was a popular choice. Stu drove onto the podium 3 times that season, but could only grab a fifth place in the championship around some very hot drivers. We jumped into the McLaren’s for S2 and Stu found his mojo again. Multiple race victories and podiums had him challenging for the top step once more. Amazingly, he finished his sixth season out of twelve in second position on the championship ladder!! Got to give it to the boy, he’s nothing if not consistent. Who knows what the future will hold. I have a feeling that Bridesmaids outfit will be cast aside one day, but whether that happens or not I know Stu won’t stop giving it 100%, both on and off the track - and as far as we are concerned Stu, you are the Number 1 man.
Glad to see the man who got me and countless others to join ROOZ finally become a SuperROOZ member! Well done mate!
, sneaky bastards ! Thanks for the kind words guys. This was never meant for me, more for the guys who help to make our community what it is.....a great bunch of guys who all want the same thing, clean racing and a yarn most nights. I have to say, other than Aussie, i havent met anyone in person, but feel like i have a great bunch of mates. I didnt realize quite what this place meant until that fateful day a few months ago when i got the message about BJ. It made me take stock and realize how much time we spend with each other, and what a great bunch of guys we have here as a part of our community. I love what we have been able to achieve, all off the back of Castro, Koaster and Carns efforts, not to mention the huge daily contributions of Anon, Clevo, Stumbles and Cyber. I hope we can continue to make ROOZ the best racing community for us to be a part of, for many years to come. Cheers
finally got you stu i have been trying for so long and thanks very much to the MOD i collaborated with you are fantastic news could not be happier for you m8
Well, that just goes to show.. With the way you take the reins, I always thought you were part of the original crew that started ROOZ. To just appear out of the blue and dedicate so much personal time is nothing to take so lightly.
Congrats Stu. Behind every good forum is the team of individuals that work hard at building the community and making the forum a place people want to come back to time and time again. To go beyond that and become a great forum (which I feel ROOZ has attained) it is people just like you who pull everything together and continue to make it better. Forget your modesty and accept these accolades from everyone as thank you for the hard work you continue to put in (most of which goes unseen).
Congrats stu. I have only been a member a short time but from what i have seen and read about you it is thorougly deserved. It truly is a great community and with people like you and the rest of the mod team it can only get bigger and better. Im glad I found this place (although the handbrake would disagree lol)
Congrats Stu, the man hidden in the closet making things work.... I mean behind the curtains Seriously though, thank you for your for everything you do for this community, good on you mate.
Cheers guys, thanks for the sentiments....appreciated. Really is a group effort though, a fair bit goes on behind the scenes....may it long continue.
