SimRacing.org.uk

Round 8 of the Season 15 Div 1 championship is at Brands Hatch.  Remember it is PRO rules for Div 1,  and the sweeping bends and undulations of this very British Circuit demand one's full attention.

We could benefit from a few more drivers joining with the current Div 1 crowd, so if you want to test yourself against the best ( and the rest!!) get practising Brands Hatch and be there on Sunday.

Don't forget, incident reports should be entered on the SRou system following the link at the bottom of the results table when it appears.  Race details below.

Div 1 Season 15 Round 8 is this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. London UK time.
Please be in VROC UKGPL chatroom by 8:55 p.m.
VROC and Race passwords: see above

Server 1.ukgpl
IP address  194.105.176.22


Race date = 04-01-2009
Track = Brand Hatch 67
Variant = 67F1
Damage Model = PRO
Qually time = 30 minutes.
Race length = 50 minutes (32 laps)

Password: see above
Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page



Division 1

	Single Stop Time		Double Stop Time
BRM	No Stop		N/A
Honda	Stop and Go		N/A
Cooper	1		N/A
Brabham	4		N/A
Eagle	17		N/A
Ferrari	21		N/A
Lotus	23		N/A

 First Pit Window is: 25 (to go on your pit board) to 17 (to go on your pit board)
 Second Pit Window is: 23 (to go on your pit board) to 8 (to go on your pit board)

I was just looking at the record times and I don't quite understand how the 67's Race laptime has lower average speed compared to the 66's Race laptime given that the former is quicker.

Great to here , does that mean I can use the 66 coop  ;D

I cannot explain that Hristo ???

I used the pitstop calculator and race length spreadsheet to enter the info as per usual.

I have to confess that I was surprised that the Lotus pitstop was not as long as i would have anticipated??,.....but I cannot argue with an official UKGPL spreadsheet can I ??? :-\

Maybe Phil will have something to say on this  when he reads the post.

And NO Bernie you cannot use the 66 Cooper ::) lol

No and now for asking for that, you have to start from the back of the grid!  :angel:

Cripes ! thats a bit harsh I was hoping for half a lap start  :)

sorry I'll miss the race, stupid work got in the way. >:(

Unless Phil appears, and adds Brands Hatch to the list of circuits on UKGPL1 server there may be a problem guys? :-\

Been off-line for a while (reorganizing the house after re-decorating) all sorted now.  1.UKGPL is good to go.

On the pit stop discussions.  I added a race pace factor to the pit stop calculator this season to encourage people to use the faster chassis so we didn't get a series of "Cooper fest" races like we did last season.  The pit stop times have been available via the pit stop calculator link (https://www.ukgpl.com/files/pit_stop_calculator.zip) all season so they shouldn't be a big surprise.  I admit the adjustment for Brands may favour the faster chassis a little too much but they are the same adjustments we've used at all the other tracks this season.  Brands does appear to be a special case.

My remark wasn't about pitstops, but record times listed above. Average speeds are wrong in those.

Thanks Phil....saved my bacon .........again ::)

After all the stress and worry about this race and the server etc. it lasted all of 3 laps for me  lol.

Ken and I both got the jump on Hristo at the start and I was palying it careful on cold tyres on my FIRST EVER RACE IN A 67 BRABHAM!!

with 2 laps out of the way and some grip in the rubbery stuff I was managing to prevent Hristo just blasting past me like I was not there ( that, I knew ,would come later!!).

Then Ken managed a graceful spin in front of me and through no fault of his, managed to park very neatly exactly where my locked up and tyre smoking Brabham wanted to go  >:(.
I managed to scrub off enough speed so that we merely bumped nose cones ...and I though I had survived that for ooo, about 0.5secs when Hristo added his weight to the argument from behind. The result was one inverted Brabham......mine  :o/.

Hristo did try to use the cow-catcher on the front of his Cooper to try and knock me back on my wheels ( Thanks Hristo ;D ;D) but he was losing eons of time in his attempts, so I quit and allowed the race to continue.

For the first time ever I actually felt that the Brabham just might be a good car :-\...guess I will have to wait for another day to confirm that suspicion.

Ahh, sorry my mistake.  I think that is something for Giz to have a look at.  It must be down to the track length in the SRou database, not something I can do anything about.

Finally, a finish at a Div 1 race  ;D. Although I finished a lap down, 3rd is more than I could have hoped for and with Dave finishing 4th, this was the best combined result so far for Reed Racing in the Div 1 championship.

Quali was uneventful, apart from a spin at Paddock Hill, and I managed 4th on the grid. When the race began I made an awful start and Phil managed to get past me with ease. We then went side by side past Druids and I had the inside line for the next corner which allowed me to regain 4th. The first three shot away and I lost sight of them after a couple of laps. A few laps later I noticed they all had a coming together and that allowed me into 2nd, as Ken had recovered in time.

I procceded to become a nuisance to Phil as he was quicker than me in the Ferrari but thanks to my wide BRM I held second for a while. When Phil pulled into the pits, I noticed Ken had pulled off the the left of the track. I was leading the race at this point, was it all too good to be true?

Alas it was as Hristo, recovering from the earlier incident, outbraked me easily into Druids and continued to drive away at around 3-5 seconds a lap faster than I was managing. I then had a spin at Westfield and was lucky not to hit a the trees either side. A few laps later, Ken, from what looked like retirement, recovered and overtook me a few laps later. I was puzzled, but it turns out that Ken's steering wheel was to blame in his off track moment.

The last 10 or so laps were relatively calm and 3rd place was a great result all round. My lap times were rather inconsistent, but a finish is a finish and that was enough for me.

I really like this track. I wouldn't mind if we run it more than once in a championship. Qualifying was a bit different than I expected with Ken going very fast, so much that I had to do a final minutes run on minimum amount of fuel and risk everywhere, but it worked.
I don't know what happened at the start, as soon as I released my clutch button the car just died. It's not like I had too tall 1st gear or something, so I'm not sure, it might've been that bump in the road there. I was lucky to lose just 2 positions and so set off to chase Ken and Clive.
Brabham fits the track well and they were going at a very good pace so I just thought pitstops would give me the needed advantage, but at the same time it appeared Ken could open up a lead on Clive by then. That became irrelevant as Ken bottomed out on the backstraight and spun slowly in the middle of the track. I saw it early enough and started braking but it felt like the car would spin if I tried to change my direction, so I just kept braking as Clive was doing the same infront.
Sadly that wasn't enough - we made contact and he got flipped upside down while I just spun around. I tried my best to flip him back up and I think it would've worked eventually but he gave up and quit.  >:(
Sorry, Clive, thinking about it the contact could've been avoided even if I had spun as a result, but next time let me flip you back over, lol.  ;D
So I set off to chase the whole pack that now stood between myself and 1st place and it was quite enjoyable as the handling of the car improved over the next few laps and allowed me to really go for it. Obviously the gaps were big and it took many laps to catch up people but as some were making mistakes it helped me alot. I was expecting a battle with Ken but he must've gone off somewhere as I never saw him again. My pitstop went just fine and now I only had to make it to the finish, but near the end I went too fast into T4 and spun around, then had another off at T1 on the next lap. Luckily no damage or anything, so I was able to continue and take the chequered flag.
Fun race, despite the low turn out.

Well where do I start?!!

As per usual these days I had no preparation for this event and grabbed a couple of setups to try in qually. One was a Paul Jackson specifically for Brands67, but I often find his setups aren't so good on race fuel over long distances, and the other was an Andre Wilks for the original Brands, but I figured they couldn't be that different. Anyway I went with the AW and all seemed fine, even posting a new overall PB in qually, and forcing Hristo in to the drastic action of a low fuel Senna lap to beat me to pole.  ;)

In the last few minutes I thought I better try race fuel and check my GPLWait was working. First problem, no GPLWait. So off I went to see what might be wrong. All looked OK, GPLWait running, Logi profiler running. Back to server and still not working, oh well 4 secs isn't long to count!! So finally away on a race fuel run and when I get to Dingle Dell dip, wham, she bottoms out and spins. Bugger, back to pits, increase ride height, try again. Seems OK but I'm now cautious.

Start was awkward, I didn't get away that cleanly but it isn't far to T1 and it was difficult to be sure as I very quickly glanced right as to where Hristo had gone. So I stayed very wide, and then again at the Hairpin, it was only as I exited Bottom Bend I could see from Prib that I had a small gap. It was all looking good at that point, Clive was holding Hristo up and as he mentioned I was able to start eaking out a slight advantage. It didn't last long though and I was again caught out at Dingle Dell. As I spun and came to a halt looking back up the track all I could see was Clive coming straight for me, I was helpless. I was amazed to survive the impact and set off again feeling rather guilty. It did look like carnage in my mirrors so I thought there was little point in waiting to atone my error, well that's my excuse anyway! So onwards I drove, all the time thinking of how I was going to apologise to Clive and Hristo after the race. I was watching Prib again and I picked up Hristo was back in the race but it looked like we'd lost Clive. Knowing what Hristo is capable of I thought I could not relax, but the car seemed fine and I had a nice rythm. Not for long though and as I took the right at the end of the back straight (Hawthorne I think), the wheel moved on the table. Normally if this happens I can just push it back on and tighten the bolts without too much problem, but I think the gripping mat thing I use got caught and it wouldn't push back. I was struggling on through Dingle Dell and then down towards Clearways and I still couldn't get the bloody thing back on. Even the wife saw me struggling and came over to help, does that mean I'm disqualified for receiving outside assistance?!! Anyway I did get it sorted eventually after virtually everyone had gone through that is. I suppose it was a case of "What comes around, comes around"!

After that I took my pitstop at the start of the window, there was little point in passing people twice, and getting my head down to chase back through the field. There was always the chance Hristo might make a mistake, which he did seemingly, but not a big enough one!!

Grats to Hristo for yet another win and Sam for his podium. A big big apology to Clive, what a bummer. I can't believe you haven't raced the Brabham though, did Clive L not have you in Soggy Brabhams a couple of seasons ago, obviously not.

No probs Ken. As Hristo said it was one of those moments when you "just know" if you try and steer then it is all gonna go "t*ts up!!. All I could do was watch your nose cone getting closer through clouds of tyre smoke.

I have NEVER been a "soggy bottomer"   lol,    and I have never really got to grips with the Brabham even in private practice before. This was definitely my first on line race with the Brab ::) and up to a point, ::) it was going ok.
Qually was done on full race fuel so my time was not that bad and the handling was coming good as the tyres warmed so I felt I could begin to up my early pace.

Brands is indeed a great track to race , very challenging to get the best from because of the nature of some of the corners.
Just hope that one day I will be able to do justice to the track designer .

My best pre race laps were done with a set up that only wanted to turn left off the grid no matter how easy I put the power on, so decided to change things for the race, not that I needed to worry as my overall PB was still a back of the grid out of harms way position.
Anyway I chose to use a much less agressive clutch for the race plus having neglected to test on full tanks I decided to raise the ride hieght an inch or two as there are some nasty and unforgiving bumps at the "hatch"
Start was good and could have grabbed a couple of places on the run up to druids but decided to hang back and see how things developed .
As the race settled down I had a great view of Phil and Sam dicing it out and thought I would join in the action , things didn't go to plan however as my attempt at gaining V max out of Westfield resulted in damaged steering and the first of many spins due to more self inflicted damage .
I decided to carry on as long as poss in the hope that everyone else would somehow pile into each other self destruct and leave me with the winners medal .

Lost count of how many times Hristo came flying by but it did stop the boredom,  gave the lap timers something to do and the spectators something to talk about .

not my best D1 outing must try harder less next time   :D

I had an even more uneventful race than Sam!  I was concerned about clearance and fuel and spent qualifying lowering the ride height on full fuel- or 3 gallons too much fuel as it turned out.  I wasn't going to pass anyone off the start, so I just watched T1, which we managed without a big accident, then followed Sam, Phil and Bernie around at a safe distance for a while.

At about halfway I got within a couple of seconds of Sam.  I wondered whether he had a problem, but he just seemed to be cruising.  Unfortunately I couldn't tell how far Phil was behind until Hristo lapped me which was a worry, but after that I simply relaxed and followed Sam home.  I was happy that I'd spent qualifying sorting my setup out, as I had no problems and might even have solved an issue caused by having insufficient front roll bar.  Once you've got into a rhythm Brands is a very enjoyable track.

Well done Hristo for passing the field to win, and congratulations to Sam for making his first D1 finish a podium!  If we have another D1 season Reed might challenge.... otherwise I'll miss 67 pro driving, I hope any replacement is as good, and the races are at least as long.  I know Bernie is set against it, but I would much prefer to enforce an ability limit on Clubmans so that we can build up a beginners 67 division again, and then move drivers I know to have D1 ability into D1.   

Out of interest, what did you get down to?

I had 3.25/3.50 with the rear higher.  I didn't test any lower, but I'd started out with 4/4.25 and was surprised to have no problems.     

Blimey! that seems like high altitude?? I was running 2.75 front and 3.0 rear and had no ride height issues. I know I wasn't there for long but the laps I did were on full tanks..lol
One thing I did find during private practice in the Brabham, was that as far as Dingley Dell was concerned, any change of direction whilst traversing the bottom of the dip or any attempt at a gearchange around there was 90% certain to end in the barrier. It was as if the change in balance of the car cause by anything other than straight driving caused it to bottom on the suspension.
This cannot be taken as anything other than an obsercvation of someone who was starting from zero in terms of Brabham setups, but did get it down to a 1:33 with race fuel just before joining the server...so I guess I had something about right???

Sounds about right Clive. I was on 2.75 and bumped it up to 3 for the race. I think it was an illadvised gearchange that got me in the race. I'd been holding it in 3rd through there most of the time but I thought short shifting to 4th would be easier on the engine and possibly safer in the dip, how wrong I was!

Next time Ken, stay in 3rd gear...please :-\

Results imported.

I think I finally managed to get to grips with this place.  I find the bumps and blind corners very challenging so I was quite pleased with my early laps.  Unfortunately I had a bad misfire after my pit stop and the Fezza didn't have enough grunt to reach top gear :(.  Caused me a few problems shifting down too many gears and I had a few spins in the latter part of the race.  I was a bit worried Bernie would overhaul me in the final few laps but he seems to have had plenty of mechanical problems himself.  Hopefully we'll have better luck in the next round!

Grats to Sam and Jack, great result for Reed Racing :clap:.

I'm flattered by your remarks but I would hardly class myself as D1 stuff , the results speak for themselves , way way  off the pace with not much hope of improvement  ???

Actually I think a geriactrics div would be more up my street  ::)

 

But Bernie, the results are that you are both the Clubman's champion and championship leader... in former seasons you'd have been forced from Clubmans already.

While you might not have been D1 stuff in the past, the reality is that D1, or any replacement division whatever the mod, won't have the same quality as in previous seasons, unless and until UKGPL recovers its former strength.  You're not a beginner either, beginners might decide that they weren't Clubmans stuff, based on your races!

Dave , Is this a windup ? I dont know where this has come from , but please look back at the  previous CC champions and tell me how many seasons they did before deciding to move on , and why they chose to do so .

Please also tell me also , whose rule book I should be reading as I obviously missed something here ?

As i see it there are 2 levels of racing in UKGPL 67's . CC and D1.  As I have said previously , I do not concider myself to be D1 standard by a long shot , My best results being abismal,  as you can see for yourself . I actually joined in D1 for both the chat and to "make up the numbers " in a very poorly  supported class

I cannot say I have enjoyed any actual D1 "racing" unless you call driving around solo waiting for the proper D1 guys to lap me "racing" 

As far as CC is concerned I became champion by default not from being the fastest or best driver and I do NOT lead the championship as you say .

There are now drivers in CC who are conciderably faster and better than I am , again I am up with the leaders more because  I have been lucky when they have been unlucky , The next few races will surely see some of the new faces winning races and on the podium which is a very healthy state of affairs for CC   

I'm sorry if you think I dont belong in the Clubmens but I feel strongly that if D1 is the only alternative then perhaps I should resign and go back to VROC pick up racing .

I wish I could win championships by default!

Bernie, I wasn't suggesting that you alone should be moved up to D1, rather that the few remaining D1 drivers should join the Clubmans, with a new beginners division.  I'm not happy that the beginners have to be lapped, while more experienced drivers are reluctant to be.  You and I have both been on the D1 podium this season- while it might not be reflective of ability, it would be more so if the other experienced Clubmans drivers were competing as well. 

As I see it, we have about one full grid of 67 drivers, plus some beginners.  Clubmans was originally the beginners division for 67s, and I'd like it restored to that function.

If you were really champion by default as you claim, it suggests that there is something up with the Clubmans format- and it doesn't reward consistent attendance at races, as it should.  You are leading Clubmans though, honest- 1. bernie 179pts...perhaps your impressions aren't that reliable?  The current D1 format isn't useful when we need to handicap a few leading drivers, though the Masters/Clubmans format wouldn't work either when there are fast drivers who race less frequently.

However, it won't be something that will be decided without consultation, we're going to have a single open thread for all the issues that have come up.  I'm still of the opinion that we race too much and that causes lower grid numbers, perhaps we should just drop one alternate Sunday, stage 67 training sessions instead.

Erm lets see now

last season end both my championship rivals take holiday brakes and miss races when I lie 3rd place in CC

My own holiday plans go tits up due to the Airlines disaster otherwise I would have been away for 2 of the remaining races , instead I have the CC sewn up because Will Tway and Phil cant score points .

I win by default really , call that LUCKY   :)

This season I head the Dc list , but dont forget the lowest 2 scores need to be discarded , so I'm 3rd or 4th ?


Will has attended 3 of seven CC races or he would be up there at the top,  believe me .

Burt ( ex CC Champ and cup holder ) had a lousy start to the season and has problems at work in spite of which he is in contention .

Not to mention RIK , Sam , Steve , and new boy Aspjuern , the first and last of these guys are capable in view of the handicap system of putting a lap on the whole field on some tracks.

I say again ,there is nothing wrong with the CC , as far as I know all those who race in this div thourely enjoy the racing , nothing to stop anyone moving up to D1 except maybe compared to Clubmens D1 has nothing much to offer them.  atm at least.

Also note that the CC podium has a lot of new names on there and a great variety of winners , I am sure we will see a new name on the CC  this season.

It seems every time I defend Clubmans series I am told it is because I own the series , not so by a long chalk , its always been close racing not just at the top , but throughout the whole field.  I was lucky to win once and it felt great , but I doubt it happens again

Sorry if ive opened a worm can here , but leave off Clubmens please , not just for my sake but for all the CC drivers .




Why fix it if it aint broke ? 

 
 

You are the Fernando Alonso of CC, Bernie!  :D

ROFLMAO  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Bernie said.....

"I say again ,there is nothing wrong with the CC , as far as I know all those who race in this div thourely enjoy the racing , nothing to stop anyone moving up to D1 except maybe compared to Clubmens D1 has nothing much to offer them.  atm at least."

I think Bernie has hit the nail very squarely on the head here and highlited what is apparent as regards Div1!!!

The entertainment value that is available in CC far outweighs the "glory" ( or whatever you want to call it?) of racing in Div 1. Whether that is as a result of closer competition between more drivers or whatever is up for discussion, but what he says is true. I think if we look back there might be a few names that slowly dimmed and vanished after gaining promotion to Div 1? after being involved in CC for several seasons.

I think we all enjoy racing, and lets be honest ...we ALL enjoy winning at least occasionally ::). Promotion to Div1 is a major performance shock and I for one found it quite daunting at first, in fact I still do!!

If I am in a race, I want to be competitive, that is to say I want to be trying 100% to win and just running around trying to preserve the car at 90% pace hoping guys in front break down or leave the circuit to pick up places just does not count for me. By the same token I do not want to find it easy and a stroll in the park, maybe that is why I still find myself enjoying the slower chassis and the challenge of hustling it around against "faster" opposition.

I want to actually race Hristo and Lorenzo one day...it may be well into the future...but ONE day...I have a dream........

Hola!

I'm backing my amigo Bernie on this one too   ;D

Are you Bernie's cat?

Burt hasn't yet won the Clubman's Bernie- he pines for it every race.  If completely ignoring your team-mate and fellow Clubmans driver is the type of singleminded ruthlessness it takes to be Default Champion, well I'm happy not to have developed the skill.

Ben won the season 14 championship but as Division 2 wasn't going to be run, there wasn't the opportunity for the champion to be promoted to D2 the following season.

The 67s are the carset that it makes most sense to run a chassis allocation division for, as we have far more information about both cars and drivers.  With allocation we could avoid the Clubmans problem, where fast drivers who have missed a few races can take fast cars without penalty.  We could also handicap our faster drivers more effectively, and without pit stops.

Division 1 has a long history in UKGPL, but altering the format might be preferable to having the championship debased?  If we just drop Division 1, Clubmans will be the top 67 division though...

I think we need to draw a line under this one now.  It is true that in previous seasons when there were far more drivers than we have now, the divisional champions always moved up.  This was in the days when the Chief Moderator allocated drivers to divisions based on their ability.  We are in a different situation now. There are nothing like as many drivers but there are far more options in terms of add-on tracks, car set mods and handicapping rules.  Consequently the allocation to divisions now is primarily down to driver choice based on personal preferences.  That is why I changed the registration process for the last couple of years, announcing the rules, dates and track lists BEFORE drivers registered, not after the divisions had been allocated by the Chief Mod.

The moderating team need to reserve the right to adjust the divisions if there is an obvious "round peg in a square hole".  This is covered in the introduction to season 16 here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=189&theme=6).  It specifically states that the main contenders for Division 1 will not be allowed to enter the Clubmans Cup.  Much as I respect Bernie as a competitor (that I frequently enjoy battling with) I do not consider him a main contender for the Division 1 title.

There is clearly a massive step up in performance between the Clubman's Cup and Division 1 now that Division 2 (the natural progression for the Clubmans Champion) is defunct. We clearly have a choice to make for Season 17.  Do we want to reduce the variety of car sets we use and enforce ability streamed divisions in one particular car set (i.e. effectively re-create Division 2).  Or do we stick with a diverse range of races and formats which allow people to double up and race on more than one division?  The reason we went this way was based solely on falling numbers.  Allowing drivers to double-up was the only way to ensure reasonably full grids.  One thing is for certain, UKGPL doesn't have the drivers, moderators or servers to run more than 4 or 5 divisions in any one season.

I fully understand Jack's motives in trying to promote close racing with ability based divisions and appropriate chassis allocation but I am concerned that we simply don't have the numbers of drivers to support this approach.  If Jack is as successful in promoting the 67s next season as he has been in promoting the 65s this season,  I may be proved wrong.  Hopefully I will be and there will be a natural progression for the Clubmans Champion that we can all subscribe to.

LOL!  :o

Regarding the discussion, I really wish we could all race together, closely. It was working to some extent in the Masters Cup because of the chassis handicap, which I quite liked btw. Perhaps that system could be extended to handle some issues like faster drivers missing a few races to get a faster chassis. Maybe a forbidden chassis based on rank, i.e. I shouldn't be allowed to race Lotus and Eagle (and maybe Ferrari) under any circumstances. I wish GPL had a better way for providing data from the client side, so one could enforce fuel handicaps and stuff safely and in a controlled manner without relying simply on faith in fairplay.
I remember enjoying many great close battles in past Masters Cup races with slower and faster (relatively) drivers and also many more in the BREASTS league when it was running 67s.
I admire Dave's efforts to promote us and to gather more drivers, it seems to be working really well for the other divisions and it's a shame about 67, because there actually exist hundreds of active drivers but most are focused on a single league or their local country championships. We've discussed it before and I really don't know why anyone with passion for 67 racing wouldn't like to join us. It's as if they're doubting the league is that good, so I wish we could somehow prove them wrong. I try to speak about UKGPL's pros whenever possible in chats, but I guess that approach isn't so effective.
I hope we keep a 67 division for the future as nothing compares to the feeling of the original cars and the racing they produce. Of course I enjoy 66s and especially 65s quite a lot as well.

-=Hristo=-

I do Appologise then, perhaps I dreamed it  , I was sure Burt had won the CC or something, season 14 ?   perhaps it was the Div 2 champion and  if that is so then surely  by your reckoning he ought not to be racing in the Clubmans Cup atm as he should have moved up to D1.

See here ....

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?t=322823 (http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?t=322823)




As for these comment regards me and Burt I'm afraid you have me there , as I dont recall ever "completley ignoring " the lad and as for your other remarks I shall do my best to take Phil's advice and ignore them, though I find it difficult .You are entitled to your opinion of me , but not sure how you have arrived at such a conclusion .

 

Bernie, Bernie.  If you choose to interpret my impish suggestion- that in order to become champion you had to set aside the fervent desires of your team mate- as a slur on your character, then it must be true.  You are Fernando Alonso...

However, though I might wish Clubman's was running well, the division has no moderator, or server, since it lost both during the course of the season- and many of the old familiar drivers race infrequently, if at all.  Phil has stepped in, but when I have to move up to the Interleague race to make up numbers, losing my Clubman's drive, that means that we don't have a moderator to start the server.  Which led to the problems last race, when though Mike was good enough to help out, we had no moderator to introduce new drivers.  I believe that you yourself mentioned that it didn't go smoothly?  Also, Mike can't start Brands for us next round. 

However hard the moderating team work, we only have one dedicated server remaining to us.  Despite Phil's best effort's, it only runs 67s.  To run only two 67 divisions- Clubmans and Interleague, and then to run them at the same time, leaving the alternate Sunday empty or to mod racing, seems absurd.  When we started running the mods we had a dedicated server.  Phil, Mike, Tim and Clive- who makes the 65s possible- do their level best, but domestic connections aren't as good.  It might even be as well that we only have half-grids, because when we run a full grid on a domestic server there are problems.

Hristo , I'll raise my glass and drink to that , but whatever the outcome, ANY change to the divisions which has to take place must reflect the majority needs of the league members, of coarse we all know how its impossible to please everyone and some of us will dissapointed by having to adopt a "new" formula .
I can recall how myself and others thought that when Div2 was dropped we had taken a step backwards,  but most of us race now without giving too much thought to past seasons and try to look forward . The fact remains that I feel very comfortable in "my" ukgpl league as it stands whatever title you give it . but what will be, will be. I dont run this league or make the descisions , all I ever did was give my opinion , good or bad about the present situation as I saw it , and my own reasons for wanting it to stay so,  yet every time I made a comment , certain people were convinced that my only motive was selfish and I assume that because they think I can somehow "hog" the title again ( which is utter rubbish as the current results of s16 show ) I am prepared to sell my mother to keep the status quo .
The truth is I won a championship (albiet at the lowest level ) and It felt great at the time. I am not unique , I have done nothing that others haven't done before me.  I would love to move upwards to a higher div but the step between CC and Div1 is way to big for this old man and there simply is no alternative atm .

Just in case anyone is remotely interested,  the true CC standings (my calculation after Kyalami round ) show RIK = 158 : Burt = 152 : Wil = 141 : me on 132 plus Steve and others knocking on the door . pretty close stuff with 3 rounds to go , I look forward to being diposed by the young guns
As I am utter crap at the upcoming Brands and Zandy there is a good chance I will be out of the reconing come Monza .

But what the hell,  life is full of  "if only's"   "maybe's" and  "should have's"  so "maybe" tomorrow I wake up to find I really am a short arsed spaniard with a talent for driving along with a greater talent for staring the shit  ;)

         

Dave, I assumed you had servers coming out of your ears and mine was just an add on...
If it's that bad I'll up the connection to 20 meg (apparently 50 meg is soon to be released in my area) and sort the remote hosting.
Let me know if you really need my server, thought it was just an extra

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the ratio of talent there, it goes the other way around IMO. BTW when I said you were the Alonso of CC it wasn't related with the Alonso-Hamilton feud affair, so don't take it the wrong way.  ;)
OK, back to topic... which is... race reports supposedly?  :D