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Welcome to the second half of the GT Trophy for Season 23.  Imola presents a challenge with some long fast straights and some more technical corners. The big cars will probably have the edge around this track, but remember that this championship is all about TEAM points so your choice of chassis will be important.

This season we are trying to add some extra fun and tactical thinking to the races with the introduction of pitstops which are calculated to bring the racing closer in the final laps. In every race there will be one car that does not need to stop, but all of the other cars will have to visit the pits. All drivers appear to have coped with the added complication of pitstops in the first race and the relative stop times for Mosport are set out below.

Teams can choose to run any cars they like, but in any race each all team members must drive different cars, so only one driver can drive the car that does not need to stop.

Pit stop times are listed below with a choice of a single long stop or two shorter stops... the choice is yours.

THIS RACE WILL HAVE A ROLLING START AND CARS ARE EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN THEIR GRID POSITIONS FOR THE FIRST LAP. THE POLE CAR WILL LEAD THE PACK AROUND AT A STEADY SPEED AND RACING WILL START AS CARS EXIT THE FINAL CORNER ON LAP 1.


"Please ensure you are aware of the new in-series penalties for this season. Details are here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=10879.0). Drivers incurring a penalty will receive a PM informing them of this."

Race list	iGOR
Server	T7_2
IP address	62.149.202.168
Date	09-09-2012
Race time	Race starts at 09:30 UK time
Qualifying time	Between 30 and 60 minutes, starting no later than 21:00 UK time
Track	Imola
Mod	GT
Damage model	INT

(Each driver is allowed a single Shift-R)

Race length	35 laps
Replay	Available here (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/replays/Archive/Season23/GTs/S23_GTs_R02_2012_07_08_Mosport.rar)

Imola

	Single Stop Time		Double Stop Time		Post Race Time Penalty
Ford GT40 Mk1	No Stop		N/A		0
Porsche 910	30		N/A		57
Mirage M1	63		25		90
Ford GT40 Mk4	81		35		108
Lola T70 Mk3	88		38		115
Ford GT40 Mk2B	89		39		116
Ferrari 330/P4	98		43		125
Chaparral Mk2F	112		48		139
Chaparral Mk2D	114		53		141

 First Pit Window is: 28 (to go on your pit board) to 18 (to go on your pit board)
 Second Pit Window is: 26 (to go on your pit board) to 9 (to go on your pit board)



Some useful information about pitstops. If you unsure about anything please post  a question and we will give you the answers.

1) We recommend the use of the small programme   "GPL WAIT"   .....link here This will time your stop for you and is simple to set up and operate.

2) Pitstops must be taken by coming to a halt in YOUR pitbox. That means where there is a black board with your racing name on it in pit lane.

3) To be sure that you are correctly in your pitbox approach your name board carefully with your car close to the pit wall. Just when the board vanishes STOP and you are correctly positioned.

4) If your stop is LESS than 30 seconds you can be a little less precise with your position as GPL will not disco you automatically.
    However, if your stop is MORE than 30 secs you need to be correctly parked in your pitbox otherwise at 30 seconds GPL will retire your car. THIS IS WORTH PRACTISING OFFLINE.

5) Stop n Go after a Shift-R must be taken as a seperate stop and cannot be combined with your mandatory pitstop.

6) Proirity in pitlane is given to cars that are moving. If you are about to leave the pits after your stop you MUST wait if another car is about to pass you in the pits.

7) In this race all cars leaving the pits will emerge ALMOST directly onto racing line and will have to be careful as they try to get up to racing speed.
Please be extra careful as you leave the pits and try to keep close to the right side of the track as you accelerate up to full race speed.
Cars that are passing the pits at full racing speed should be looking for cars that might be leaving the pits and adjust their line to the left hand side until they are sure that they have a clear line through T1.
 Cars that have just left the pits WILL be a slow moving hazard at Imola as they are unlikely to be at full race speed before T1 and cars will close up very quickly and drivers should be aware of the potential danger. 

Which car you would be taking, Nige?

Just for clarification, what is considered to be the last turn? The flatout sweep before the pits, or the U-turn corner before that?

Chugging along quite nicely in the Mirage running about 5th at halfway point I think. Stopped for my pitstop but there was a collision in the pits right in front of me so I wasn't sure if I entered my pitbox exactly on target. So I started edging forward every few seconds to play safe but GPL still decided to retire me anyway ::) I don't understand that at all ??? Very frustrated at the moment - I like the idea of the pitstops but getting discoed for no reason isn't much fun.

Sorry Al that was me rear-ending somebody because I thought you would hit me if I pulled out. Big sorry to Clive (and Doni). Misjudged the stopping distance and couldn't pull out. I knew I wasn't in my box and I was reversing and moving forward to keep moving and was actually in motion when it disco'ed me! Grumble grumble. I was having a pretty good tussle with Jonny as well :(

Fun but frustrating.

One last thing. On the rolling lap it was really hard to keep up at places - the porker just doesn't have the acceleration. Can we keep a slower more unvaried pace please.

A big compliment to Clive! the stop times were excellent matched!

I could have won, if not

- in the first lap GPLWait made me a F10 view ( bad with the wing!!!) so Hristo could pass me...
- mid race I blew my engine -> stop and go  >:(
- than I had a freeze that stopped me for ~10 sec but I could go on with a flickering screen  >:(

But Juha, suffering with a bad back, made it, a double podium for Team International !!

Sorry to hear that Al but just edging forward isn't enough.  You have to spin up the wheels (you don't have to do it all the time, just once about every 25 seconds).  Don't forget if you see the "Press F1 for help" prompt (because GPL thinks you have stopped) you are going to be discoed if you don't move.

I don't know if my version of the track is out of date but I didn't have a pit board so I couldn't tell where my pit box was.  So I decided to do 2 short stops (of 25 seconds) so that I didn't run the risk of being discoed regardless of my positioning in my pit box.

The race itself was a cracker.  Dicing with several cars through out the race thanks to the various pit stop strategies.  Had a great battle at the Sam and Al in the early stages and another monumental tussle with Doni in the final few laps.  Grats to Juha and Tim on a very close finish!

Great fun that, until my early exit. I think its fair to say I simply can't get to grips with the MKIV GT40. I was over 2 seconds a lap slower here than I was with the Lola last season. Qualified around mid field, and enjoyed great scrap with Phil in the early laps. After a lengthy pitstop however, I was plum last. I was making steady progress but half way through the race, real life intervened and I was forced to quit. This has been happening quite a lot recently.

Time constraints mean its unlikely that I'll be able to make too many Works races this season, but I'm hoping to see out the GT season. May need to change back to the trusty Lola, as I'm simply not gelling with the Ford.

I don't understand, Axel was really cruising in front, much slower than the pace in previous races. He was going at like 100-120 km/h lol.

As for my race, I could have won had it not been for some trouble with backmarkers, a blown engine as a consequence and a few mistakes of my own. Had some fun dicing with Axel though.

Grats to Juha on a fine, fine win.  No question about it.  Super job!

Tim certainly kept him honest, tho, finishing a challenging P2 only a whisker away from victory.

Good job by Axel to bring home the winged-wonder in P3.  Well done.

A great disappointment for me this round.  Too much rear brake had me off the road several times with sufficient damage to warrant a shift-R.  Blah!

I bungled my pitstop by over-shooting my stall and had to sit at the end of pitlane moving back and forth til my time was served.  I suppose that I should consider myself lucky in that as others had trouble in the pits.

Around Lap10, my vision disintigrated and fogged-over comprehensively.  A late-race duel with former boss, Phil, was rather exciting and it was all I could do to see the road let alone stay on it.  A final off in the Ravazza sealed the deal and I had to settle for P7.  Good fun there, Phil.

This evening, I'm experimenting with various monitor settings and positions.  I've lowered the gamma to 0.70 from its default 1.00 in hopes of easing the eye strain.  A few more outings as bad as this and I'll be ready to call it a day for sim racing.

I am the backmarker Hristo was having trouble with... I wasnt triyng to race you really, I just wanted to get faster to a better spot for overtaking and then I overcooked the corner... It was my fault tho, so sorry...

Doni: If you have such settings in your monitor, try setting the gamma to more warmer colors, or maybe wear some sunglasses with brown or warm tint... I'm no specialist, but blue and green lights seem more tiring to the eyes, thats why I hate lumen lamps...

I don't think it was Cookie - somehow the field got really strung out and there were big concertina effects at the back. I was doing 120mph into Rivazza to keep up and then found everyone stopping >:(

Didn't make much odds in the end though ;)

I guess there were some people behind us who slowed down too much at certain corners and then had to accelerate fully to catch up. Not really sure why anyone would do that, you can't really warm up those tires within a lap anyway, even if you stop/go and zig-zag a lot. These are not modern F1 with slicks lol...

Thanks Phil. Funny that after all these years of GPL I'm still getting caught out by such things... I guess I'll need to practice pitstops online to figure out where I'm going wrong. @Paul - I think my issues were entirely self-inflicted. I was rubbernecking your collision with Clive so much I missed my pitboard :P

On reflection I should have pulled out and totalled your Mirage... it would have been better for the team!  :D

Just noticed team Green have the top spot again :D

I tried my absolute best to get past Juha and stay there - pretty certain I should have been able to pull away if I could have got out of slipstream range but he drove well and kept close enough to waft back past when ever I made it in front.
When I was behind I didn't have the legs for a clean passing maneuver and he was braking just late enough that I couldn't really risk a late braking move without the risk of taking us both out :(
My best chance of passing him came just after his pit stop when he ran wide onto the grass letting me through - a maneuver I promptly copied a few turns later to return the lead - We spent the final 10 laps I recon with less than a second between us  8)

   Congratulations to the winner!!! :clap:

  I just made a run to reach the final......  I'm adapting the driving wheel... :scooter:

  ...frankly was missing keyboard. :whistling:

We'd better enjoy it while we can, it looks like we're down to 2 drivers for the rest of the season :(.  Fester has had to pull out on health grounds and Blito (our reserve) has computer problems (no monitor).

So if there are any novice drivers out there who fancy a go at the GTs, Team Green are recruiting!

Re the problems with the rolling lap... I was about 5th or 6th on the grid  and could see the leading cars and obviously a few of those behind me.
 
I tried to run a steady pace and gradually close up to within 2-4 car lengths, but I found that i was either closing too fast ( and had to slow early to avoid a possible rear ending!) or was being left behind as cars in front accelerated ( or appeared to accelerate out of the corner ahead  :-\).
Axel did slow the whole field into the final corners and backed us all up, but by that time I noticed there was a long gap behind me. I suspect that although the car at the front is running an even pace, if someone mid pack wobbles in a corner on cold tyres, everyone behind has to back off and a gap develops. Now the pack is trying to run faster to catch up and finds itself closing quickly on the car in front and so we get a see-saw effect?
Also the problem is worst for those at the rear of the grid if you think about it. If during the rolling lap all cars run about 10 lengths apart, aiming to close up just before the final corner That is OK for the car in 2nd spot, he only has to close 5-6 car lengths. But, the car in 10th spot has 10x5 car lengths to make up without charging into the rear of the car in front at the last bend.  
The answer would seem to be obvious, once all the cars are off the grid, the lead car should run a steady pace and the whole field should try and run smoothly at about 5 car lengths......probably easier said than done unfortunately.
 

Grats to the podium and all finishers, this is a tricky circuit.
As for my race and my exit from it.............................
 
I settled in on the first few laps riding shotgun for my team mate Doni as the tyres warmed up. I could see Hristo and Alex dicing ahead with Juha watching closely. A long way to go so I was content to cruise along behind Doni, until I spotted a red thing looming larger in my mirrors....FMG was on the move and closing.
I knew that I could run faster than Doni so I had to make a pass which I did up the hill out of the 1st hairpin, using the extra grunt of the Lola. Now free to open up and chase the leaders I set about Juha who kindly slid off and gave me the chance to slip through  ;D.
Next was Hristo, who had been left behind a little by Axel in his 2F.
 
Slowly I reeled Hristo in, but I knew that passing him was going to prove more of a problem! I stalked him for a couple of laps watching where I might have a chance.  The extra grunt of the Lola again gave me the chance on the back straight and the inside line into the final slow left handers. Then I had to put the hammer down to try and shake Hristo out of my slipstream.....never an easy task ::) I just managed to get a gap and then we caught some backmarkers which allowed H back onto my tail. Another lap and a small gap and then yet another small lift for a backmarker  and Hristo was in my mirrors again.  Things actually looked good for a podium finish I felt.
Axel was in front but he was not pulling away fast enough to make his pitstop and emerge in front after I made mine, Hristo was behind but seemed to be struggling a little to match my pace, The Lola felt good and I was able to keep tyres and oil temps down running at a quick pace. It was clear that the front runners were beginning to lap cars and that was costing time so I decided that this would be a good time to make my pitstop
" thought that this would be a good moment to make my pitstop"...................... hmmmm I might reconsider that assessment in the light of what happened    ::) lol.

I had practiced the pitstop during qually and was confident that I could park neatly in my pitbox and complete my 88 second stop.

I had just poured a cup of tea and was dunking my Hobnob biscuit whilst admiring the view :yawn: when............Boff!!!! hot tea in lap!!!  :o  and I dropped my biscuit!!! :eek: The car shot forward about 20 metres and stopped. Then Al calmly cruised past and pulled up in his pit box????   What??!! was it Al who had clobbered me? Because I was using GPLWAIT I was still in F10 view and totally confused. So I half heartedly eased the car forward and stopped. Now that I was OUT of my pitbox, I probably had to inch down the pit lane or get disco'd. Surely Al had not hit me..not like him at all??!!  But who else could it be???

Then....it all went black and I was disco'd...obviously I had not moved enough to satisfy the GPL pitstop god!!! :-\

A few moments after I returned to chat, Al appeared also disco'd and denied any involvement in my boff up the rear!  So, which dastardly sneaky coward had resorted to such under hand methods to remove Mrs Fujikawa's driver from a possible podium or race win???.  
Mrs Fujikawa has despatched Kiki Nakawaka to discover the identity of this miscreant and administer some "corrective therapy". This correspondent is keeping an eye on the admissions to the A&E dept at the local hospital.

UPDATE>>>>>>>  A confession has been extracted and the perpitrator will be very uncomfortable for the next 72hrs or until the swelling goes down!!

I think your race starts will be better now, Jonny ?

Moderation published.

Hope the report made you smile Chief!

Yes I was amused...but the look on HER face was somewhat different  ::)

 :( ;D