Chief Moderator: Phil Thornton
Season 16 sees the return of the 1965 cars in the guise of a new division aimed at beginners and novices with a sprinkling of experienced drivers to lead the way. This should provide an easier introduction to the delights on on-line racing with GPL without having to master the ferocious 1967 cars. The Historic championship with the 1966 cars proved very popular last season and is being run again. However there is a minor tweak to the rules to ensure the 3 litre and 2 litre cars are not mixed in the same race. The 1967 cars return in the familiar Division 1 and Clubmans formats but the lack of numbers in the Masters Cup in Season 15 has meant that series has been dropped from Season 16. A new initiative in Season 16 will be a series of Interleague races where an invited team of UKGPL drivers will be able to pit themselves against the cream of the other GPL divisions around the world.
As with last season drivers are being asked to read the rules, dates and track selection for each division and enter the divisions, they prefer. The moderators reserve the right to adjust the driver allocation as necessary (for example the main contenders for the Division 1 title last season will not be allowed to enter the Clubman's Cup this season). The objective here is to ensure the drivers are happy with the rules, dates and track selection of their chosen division(s) before committing to the season.
Experienced drivers comfortable with the 1967 cars can enter Division 1 (to be run on Sunday evenings). Fast drivers who don't like pit stops will be limited to the slower chassis. Division 1 will be run under PRO rules. The handicap format for this division is aimed at levelling car performance by a system of pit stops. The pit stop times are based on the world record times and vary depending on chassis and circuit. It should not matter what chassis are chosen, the fastest driver should always win the race. Naturally the fastest driver should also win the championship.
Drivers looking to get to grips with the 1967 cars will generally enter the Clubman's Cup (to be run on Sunday evenings). Here they will be able to get up to speed with racing the 1967 cars without the pressure of PRO rules and the added complexity of pit stops.
Newcomers to GPL will generally enter the Novices and Amateurs Trophy (to be run on Tuesday evenings). Here they will be able to get up to speed with racing on-line without the demands of the challenging 1967 cars. Once they are comfortable on-line, they may decide to experiment with pit stops with a view to moving on to the higher divisions with the faster cars.
There will also be a Historic Trophy division using the 66 mod open to drivers of all abilities (to be run on Tuesday evenings). Drivers will be assigned teams for the season (fastest drivers in slowest cars - no pit stops – PRO damage).
Drivers will not be restricted to entering a single division. Drivers who enter the Historic Trophy may also enter Division 1 and vice versa. Similarly drivers who enter the Historic Trophy may also enter the Clubman's Cup and vice versa. Other combinations of entries are possible but it is very unlikely that a top Division 1 driver would also be allowed to compete in the Clubman's Cup. Some experienced drivers are expected, and encouraged, to enter the Novice Trophy in the hope that they will be able to help the novice drivers. However the experienced drivers will be allocated an appropriate slower chassis. |