SimRacing.org.uk

WELCOME TO THE UKGPL SEASON 22 HISTORIC (66) TROPHY 

For the eighth round we go to Switzerland. The Bremgarten track is from back when safety was not an issue, so be aware.

There will be full moderation of lap one Red Zone and reported incidents for the rest of the race. Please submit incident reports within a week after the race so that the moderators report may be out before the next race.

The Red Zone is from start until after Eichholtz.

Reserve drivers should not use the server between 35 and 30 minutes of qualifying to allow full timers to join.

Please restrict chat to a minimum, (or maybe none).

Please do not rely on luck.
 
Race List =         iGOR
Server =            UKGPL_T7_2
IP Address =       62.149.202.168
Race date =       20-03-2012
Time =              The Race will start 21.30 UK time
Track =             Bremgarten  1954   Grand Prix Bern
Variant =           66F1 3L engines
Damage Model =  PRO
Qualifying time =  >30 minutes. You are free to start as soon as the server is up but reserve drivers should not use the server between 35 and 30 minutes of qualifying to allow full timers to join.
Race length =     Pro Long (22 laps)

The track can be downloaded from: http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=5964 (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=5964)


The cars:


Group I
Mclaren M2B Ford
T1G Eagle Weslake

Group II
Lotus 43 BRM 
BRM P83


GroupIII
Ferrari 312
Brabham BT19
Cooper T81
Honda RA273


Drivers Restricted to cars from Group I

Al Heller



Drivers Restricted to cars form Group II or Group I

Göran Jonsson



All other drivers have free chassis choice.



Password: See above
(2) Driver lists can be found here: https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=339&theme=6 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=339&theme=6)

Due to prior experience and the track layout I have decided to make the grid looser than normal with 30 yards instead of 10 between cars. This mean that only the first 10 cars or so will see the flag, the rest will have to start when the car in front starts but that should not be a problem I think. Any objections?

Göran

No objections from me and given that I'll probably be at the back most people should be OK with the grid ;)

Oh no !!!

So only 3 cars will crash on the 1st turn instead of 6 !

Ihave to disagree because of the greater distance between cars the "concertinaeffect" will be greater at T1 so watch yer rear guys  :o

Pleased with my qually position in 4th place :).  I managed to keep close enough to the leaders to take advantage of a shunt between Evil and Al.  Before they could get back on the track I nipped through to take second place.  For the next half dozen laps I had to fend off Al who was much better on the brakes than me.  It was just the mighty Ferrari power that kept Al at bay.  Eventually Al made an attempt at passing me on the last slow corner.  I left enough room but I think Al hit the kerb and we made contact.  After that I tried to drive steadily but at about half distance I made a mistake at T1 and the fly paper fence entangled me and I was out.

knowing the chances of completing 22 laps without crashing would be impossible I took the 'advanced driver with geriatric endorsement test' for this one , resolved to dawdle along at the rear admiring the scenery but got rather bored and decided I might just be able to catch up with Rainiers Cooper , which prib said was 9 secs ahead  ::)

So much for the theory , it didnt take long for the 66 mod reality bug to show her ugly face as I demolished the neighbours fence and ripped the front lhs off the car in the process .

Dont like this track much at all so wasn't sorry to be taking an early bath , especially hate the fast section  through the trees which really does me head in .

Bring on the Nurby then Silvy my last remaining hopes of getting a 66mod finish and maybe even score a point or 3   :-\

Not sure what happened to my race, other than it was a total disaster!! :-\

I know deep down that it had to be MY driving, but it felt like the car I had in qually had been tampered with and responded entirely differently once the race got going :o.

I did qually on race fuel, so I expected to be able to compete for the podium places and when the race started I felt that everything was Ok. I waited until I got a little heat into the tyres before closing on Al who was in 2nd . I could see Goran ahead and gradually easing away and i did not want to let him have things too easy. Al made a very prudent move and allowed me to pass and hurtle to my own oblivion!!

I was soon on Goran's tail and was intending to simply wait for a gap, but then the gremlins kicked in and the car became very unpredictable over that bump on the fast right hander through the forest, where it had previously been solid as a rock. :-\
I managed a couple more laps but something was wrong and the car became a liability on all right hand corners taken at anything approaching racing speed.  Another trip into the scenery dropped me behind Fulvio and Jonny.

After recovering yet again, I managed to catch Fulvio by adapting my braking and cornering, but overtaking around Bremgarten is not easy in an underpowered car. I had a look on the approach to T1 but had not got close enough as we came on to the straight to take advantage of the slipstream, so I waited another lap and tried again. I got closer but had to back off as there is definitely no way that 2 cars will get through T1 side by side!!  Unfortunately Fulvio ran slightly wide and just clipped the grass bank on the outside which gave him a tank slapper and me a problem. I tried to guess where his car was going next as I braked and fought for control. Just when I thought I had it sussed and aimed for the gap...it closed!!   Double barrel roll with two and half twists later I was parked on my crash helmet.

Grats to Goran for the win and to Al for being sensible enough to go for a finish and not the glory  ::)

Thanks Clive, though I must admit I did go for glory, especially in the final laps where I drove out of my skin to try & put that pesky Swede under pressure ;)

Having not taken the Mclaren below 2:15 in practice, I surprised myself by dipping into the 2:12's in qualifying which proved good enough for 2nd on the grid. I wasn't quite so comfortable on full tanks though & right on my tail Clive was looking to push a lot harder than I felt I could manage safely in the opening laps so after careful thought I unleashed him on Goran instead :D Sadly my cunning plan backfired spectacularly soon after when Clive had a big accident right in front of me! While I gingerly picked a path past the spinning blue thing, Phil was able to speed through into 2nd.

Phil was in full "turbo" mode in his Ferrari & while I was able to catch him quickly enough, getting past in the rather underpowered Mclaren was going to be tricky. Several laps of ducking & diving revealed my best chance might be at the hairpin, especially as the Ferrari seemed to be getting ever more sideways through the woods. A few trial runs revealed it might be possible & on lap 8 I took a run up the inside at the hairpin - Phil held the outside leaving me plenty of room & I tried to keep as close to the inside as possible. It looked like it was shaping up into a nice clean move & I pulled in front, except in trying to hug the tightest possible line I inadvertently bumped into the kerb which kicked out my rear onto Phil's front, sending him into a spin. :-\ Really sorry Phil.

I was relieved to see that Phil got going again & was soon back in 3rd - in the meantime I resumed my chase of Goran who was leading about 7 seconds ahead. I wasn't sure if Goran was controlling the gap or if he was nursing some damage but the gap started coming down so I threw caution to the wind & did a series of 2:14's to try & catch him. Sadly for me Goran was indeed just winning at the slowest possible speed which was very sensible at this track.

Congrats to Goran, Jonny & Dave. Commiserations to Clive but with only 8 races to score (and some of us dropping far too many points :P ) the championship is still looking pretty close.       

Very sorry Clive to have ended your race, I wasn't in control there :(
Later I was settled for a confortable 3rd but a little touch on the haybail downhill rebounded me on the trees inside and lost a wheel.  :'(
Ciao

Thanks, but this is getting a bit too easy. Three in a row does indicate that there is something wrong here, because I am not that good. OK so Evil gave me the Opatija race for free but still.

Of cause I do practice (a lot) and try to prepare the best I can for the races because I think the key is to get pole, but it is also a great deal of luck involved. This time at the beginning of lap 2 my race could just as easily been over, I hope I did not scare you too much Evil. I am also very pleased with the fact that you were racing each other and not concentrating on keeping up with me. I do not want to think about how the race would have been if I Evil and Al had stayed with me all the time. Now I could take it rather easy for most of the race lapping around 1.17 having a 7 sec lead. It was only at the end when Al came closer and closer I had to show him who was in controll with a sub 1.14 lap but I do not think I could have put in sub 1.14 laps for 20 laps so..... I also noticed from the mechanical report that you seems to have had some problems with you rear suspension Evil form lap 3.

Congrats to Al, Jonny and Dave and Evil, maybe you were under a curse form HER for taking the blue meanie instead of the white beauty,

So, two to go after the Easter brake. That mean that we will have 4 weeks to prepare for the Nurburg race and if my calculations are correct if I win that one then the championship is mine, so just relax and enjoy the Easter brake.

Göran





 

Says who? The best driver is the one who brings it home - don't undersell yourself.

I got a fourth in Historics once upon a time and although I might have been 50% slower than everyone else (and I am not exaggerating!), I recognised that it was the only way for me to bring the car home.

The points table doesn't lie. You have made the best fist of what you have had - worthy leader. Now can you seal the deal?

(And yes, I know Al is top of the list but he has scores to drop maybe?)

Believe me, we're trying our best to make it as hard for you as possible! :hammer: I know Goran isn't fond of handicapping drivers, but ironically I think the 66 system has fallen rather favourably for him this season. Thanks largely to consistency, I've led the championship for a while now so have usually found myself in the slowest chassis with nearest rival Clive more often than not in the other handicap car. Now, beating Goran in the same car is hard enough but in the handicap car... pffft now you're asking! Don't get me wrong, I'm not whingeing about the handicap system, which I still think works better than any other, but there are distinct benefits to not peaking too early :P Dropping scores also adds a few idiosyncracies, in the sense that if you factor that in I'm 16 points behind Goran, though of course we don't apply that until after round 9 by which time it might all be over.

That's not to take anything away from the fine job Goran has done - you can only beat what's in front of you & Goran's been doing that & bringing it home at some very challenging tracks (OK, that he chose but you know what I mean :D ). As for Nurby, ah well another Swedish power cut would be nice... ;)   

 

I quite agree Al.

Goran is not where he is because of anything we did. He is there because he scored more points, simple as that!

Of course, my cunning Waza masterplan allows me to select which car I want to crash at Nurby. ::)

Better bring it home then Clive or SHE will not be pleased!

I'll try not to get lapped...

The fact is, besides that I do not like handicap systems just because they are handicapping, that the running handicap system for the Historics is pretty much designed to make it as hard as possible for Hristo. That was my idea when I changed it from two group 1 cars and two group 2 cars to one of each. Now that Hristo, and Tim as well for that matter, no longer drive the Historics I do feel that it does not work good. My first idea was to put in a kind of point related system so that if the difference between drivers is too small there would be no handicapping. Let`s say that to handicap a driver that driver needs to be like 20 points ahead. I do not know if that is the way to go but only to let you know that I have been thinking about it.

Now for the last two rounds I am willing to just skip the handicap system and say free car for all or put both me and Al in the same car group or we could skip the two worst results and that would put me in the group 1 car and Al in the group 2 car, but on the other hand maybe we should not change things in running season, what do you think? 

Anyway I am open to a discussion in the matter for the future because I do feel that as long as there are no Hristo`s around I do not think we should handicap drivers that are basically equal.

Göran

PS. Yes of cause you are right Paul the thing is that I have some kind of mental block when it comes to see myself as a winner, I guess I have to work on that.

Some interesting ideas there Goran which would be interesting to discuss further...

However on the idea of changing the system while the season's in progress - a very noble suggestion, but I think it's only right that we stick with things the way they are.   

I agree with Al. you have some good ideas there Goran, but changing mid season is probably not a good idea.

Actually I have frequently taken a car that is more handicapped than I needed to, just to enjoy some close racing. I would rather have a car that handles nicely, than one that has awesome power on the straights. It has not always worked to my advantage as was clear at Bremgarten.  ::) :-\

But I find that I enjoy hustling the Eagle around at close to the limit rather than taking the Ferrari or Lotus ( or even the WAZA!! if it is available) and having an "unfair" advantage.

The current handicap system has flaws, but I have not yet seen any systems that do not. Even the old pit stop handicap system that UKGPL used when I joined ( many years ago) caused some arguments.

Currently, because of some stupid mistakes ( or were they cunning tactical moves on my part ::)  ;D ) I am going into the last few races able to select very competitive cars, whereas Goran and Al will be limited in their choice.
Without being immodest, I have not gained that option because I am a slower driver than they are, I simply have not amassed as many points. So the handicap is not necessarily putting the fastest drivers in slower cars but it is preventing the guy who is top of the points table from having the faster cars. 

The current system does mean that the points table stays relatively close right through to the end of the season and I am all in favour of that as it keeps interest and competition alive through all 10 races.