SimRacing.org.uk

The Novices Trophy gets glamorous. Monaco, home of the beautiful and a wonderful anachronism. We don't have to deal with the swimming pool but it is still pretty hard round here. No stopping for a beer at the Rascasse bar either - not on this version of the track. Mind you, I have had a beer there and it isn't the best bar in the world but the view is good. This though is the Papyrus regular - Monaco 1967. Monaco is a tight twisting circuit, with heavy braking into several low speed turns. Will drivers please take additional care & avoid any rash overtaking moves. This track is all about concentration & patience.

In line with the new handicapping of Rob system, only one driver is handicapped and we will abandon this if and when he wins the championship. The BT7 should do alright here. Driver skill makes all the difference here.

Handicapped Driver(s)	Allowed Chassis
Rotaxmax125	BT7

Please check the Season 23 pages for details (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=359&theme=6) regarding rules and the Novices Trophy (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=364&theme=6) pages in particular.

Qualifying may start before 9pm, if so, Reserve drivers should leave the server when 35 minutes of qualifying remains and only rejoin when 30 minutes of qualifying is left. This is to ensure that Full Time drivers get priority in joining.

Please restrict chat to pit messages if necessary, and this includes the end of the race, until all running drivers have completed the necessary laps.

The Novice Trophy races are run under Int Long rules and all incidents in the Lap 1 red zone will be moderated and reported incidents for the rest of the race, however the moderators reserve the right to review any incident. Drivers can take UNLIMITED Shift-R but MUST take a Stop n Go for each one. The Red Zone is start to the exit of turn 8 (see below).

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."

Please submit incident reports within a week after the race so that the moderators report may be out before the next race.

Race List = iGOR
Server = UKGPL3
IP address = ping ukgpl3.dyndns.org
Race date = 27/11/2012
Time = no later then 9:00pm UK Time (30-60 mins practice, race starts at 9:30pm)
Track = Monaco (Papy) - there is an update - Monaco Rocks v2 (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=3145)
Variant = 65F1
Damage Model = Int
Qualifying time = 30 minutes
Race length = 26 laps
RED ZONE = ALL of Lap 1
Password: see above (#post_event_password)


65 Patch: The 2.02 Release of the 65mod can and should be used. You need a working installation of the 65 mod to install the 2.02 Update. All the 65 Mod files can be found here (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Mods/1965)

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=363;theme=6)

Password: see above (#post_event_password)

http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=3145

think its here

Cheers Gareth. The 'search' on SRMZ is shite not the best ;)

Well, that wasn't great, Mini had stopped at the hairpin after tapping Andy and I tapped him, After that all hell broke loose but my car was intact so I continued. It must have been damaged though as I was finding it hard to control. Phillipe was pretty slow through the chicane and caught me out a couple of times. Second time I tried to restart with a spin and span into Mini who I didn't see. I then span in front of JP and then reset incorrectly. After that I had fun chasing Nigel and passing him! I was a lap down though. Finally came through Casino under yellows and saw Adam rejoining in front of me. I couldn't avoid him. Gave up at that point.

Embarrassingly bad but I did break 1:33 which I thought might be competitive... blimey!

Can I ask to be disqualified from this race

Why Rob? Put JP in the BT7 and you free choice eh?

It is actually the BT7 or Cooper at Monza.

I will try and get the Moderation out within the week. It is important, obviously. Any incident ASAP please.

Very poor prformance.
Never really hooked up a good lap in qually but no bad thing to start near the back.
Lap 1 was a pigs breakfast at the Virage hairpin but managed to creep through the wreackage. OK first lap but with Nigel hot on my tail. Lap 2 Nigel nudged me into Tabac. Terrible place to be facing the wrong way & a Reset may have been a better plan. Trying to do a 3 point turn as quick as poss I ended up reversiing across Phillip's path. Very sorry Phillipe - I should have used the look left button - by the time I heard your engine I was in mid turn. Will be up before the mods for that one.
The car seemed OK apart from scraping the hay bales at Virage as I could not seem to get a full lock. I tried a reset & SnG but still could not turn in properly.
Was becoming more of a chore than fun so I took an early bath.
Never have liked this track (maybe not entirely suited to the Novices) but looks much better with the V Rocks upgrade & plenty of time to enjoy at my lumbering pace.
At least the next round is a proper race track.


 

Hmmm - me too....

I'll do yours if you do mine... ;)

Hope Andy enjoyed his first trip out. Ready for the Inters yet?

Sounds a lot more fun ditching the bt7 and going for the win lol

LOL. Actually, the Cooper isn't too bad at Monza, maybe a second or so off the pace but much faster than the BT7.

That's still two tenths a corner to find, anyway not that interested in the championship anymore just want to win one last race

Well, the handicap hasn't been finalised yet BUT you could take any car and if you ignored the handicap I would have to exclude you...

Doesn't seem right somehow!

The way the handicapping has worked is very strange I won the first three races then ended up in the bt7 at spa. Yet Johnny wins three races in a row but still has no handicap.
There have been a number of occasions that I have felt its been against my interest in the championship to race, but I have raced anyway because that's what I want to do and the rules weren't devised to have this affect

We will review it at the season's end Rob but it does seem somewhat skewed. You actually took the Coop at Spa. If it is any satisfaction, you still go faster in the BT7 than many of us can in the fastest car!

I will give it some consideration. John has had the advantage of free choice and has got better and better.

The handicapping has kept the championship alive in both Novs and Inters but it does not feel right to me that you go into the last race with one hand tied behind...

I was in a similar position going into the last race at Monza in a BT7 a few seasons ago and it's quite a handicap at such a track, but you can still get a podium if you never lose the slipstream and make no mistakes. I can totally understand Rob's point of view though, it can be very frustrating at times. As I've brought it up many times before, it would work much better if handicaps are a bit more dynamic and drivers are allowed a slightly quicker car at faster tracks, otherwise they have to rely on luck and in the end you may not get the best driver win the championship.

I think the only fair thing to do at Monza is to put both Rob and Johnny in the BT7 or Coopers :)

Congrats to Johnny, a great win for you.

My race was much better than expected. In qualifying I was hoping for a 1:30.6, which I got quite early on and could not beat. I saw Rob and Johnny were faster than me so I started 3rd. Well done to Johnny on that time, it was very impressive.

Johnny started quite poorly, I had to jinks to the right to avoid his slow starting car. I still more or less got along side him, but backed out of it to avoid a silly first corner pile up. I remained in third, and Rob had got ahead of Johnny for the lead. I settled in to watch the battle ahead, as Johnny and Rob where very closely match and were dicing nicely, they where also pulling away from me. No idea what happened but Rob suddenly slowed and a stream of us all got past.

Johnny was now free, and pulled away quite easily from me. I was watching the gap to 3rd and was nervous for a time as it was very close. I spent quite a few laps checking my lap board and seeing 1 or 2 second gap, and then it suddenly jumped to 8 seconds, and it was Rob who was chasing me. I already knew that Rob was faster than me, so I tried to minimise the time loss and put in some fast laps. I did a nice (for me) string of mid to low 31’s, Rob was still faster but the gap was only slowly being eaten away and I felt OK with it. Rob must of made a small mistake because the gap increased to 10 seconds or so, at this point I felt the pressure lift. For the first time I check how many laps where left and to my surprise it was only 3 laps to go, so I cruised to take the flag. Those laps flew past for me :)

I’d like to thank the lapped cars, they were all fantastic for me, especially on a track that is so hard to overtake. I’ve been there and know how nerve wrecking it can be when you are in your own battle and someone is trying to lap you at the same time. So thank you for your help.

Monaco for me is a battle of concentration, which has never been my strong point. So for this race I’m so happy that I didn’t make any mistakes. It was a different challenge than some of the other tracks and I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to Monza, where I've never had a error free race, and I’ve completely lost me head a few times. Fingers crossed I can learn from Monaco.

Fair to WHOM Al? LOL

Yes, agree absolutely. Loosened the handicap for Spa to the BT7/Cooper but anything else would seem a bit much. What would you suggest?

Fair to me :) LOL, in all honesty I think that either both of the championship contenders should be handicapped or both should have a free choice for the final race. What does everyone else think?

The problem with the 65 mod is that apart from the Cooper and BT7, the other cars are quite close to each other, but I suppose you could have a look at Monza WRs (which for sure are all proper WRs because it's a popular track) and see what's the next car in terms of speed after Cooper and BT7. I have no idea what the gap between Jonny and Rob is in terms of pure pace, but you could either move Rob in a Cooper at least, or handicap Jonny down to a BT11 or something. Not that I want to influence the championship or that I have a personal favorite, just throwing out ideas that would make it a more fair fight.

Ultimately, the handicaps are Paul’s choice - as Divisonal Moderator. Based on the relative performance of the drivers over the course of a season. Please remember that handicaps are not a perfect solution but are used to even out the competition across the field for the whole season.
The Novices title is down to a shootout between Rob & Johnny. Rob holds a points advantage, although that may reduce a bit when the two lowest scores are discarded. Johnny probably would have been closer if his computer hadn’t sabotaged his earlier races.
At Monza I would expect Giovanni & Al to be quick.
My personal view – as a driver – is to give everyone a free choice at Monza. Putting Johnny & Rob in a slower chassis might mean they might start behind a slower driver in a faster car & get tangled up in a Lap 1 incident.

I gotta agree with Billy, we have similair issue in inters and i would rather have my competitor in a car capable of winning.

IMO it would work out much better if 65 divisions use the handicap system based on championship position and points gap, as in the F2 and Historic series. Not right now of course, but for future seasons.

The time I set in qualifying was a touch better than I had achieved in practice so I was really pleased. My start in the race was ok, my mirror filled up with Al's ferrari whilst me and Rob had a drag race to the first turn, he was just in front so I backed off to avoid any unwanted collision at turn 1. I followed Rob for the lap and on lap 2 he suddenly slowed at the right hander before the tunnel which gave me the opportunity to pass.. smokey engine I got told.. shame it would have been good fun. I tried to put a few good laps together whilst I had the chance and while keeping an eye on the lap chart saw a little gap appear- maybe some jostling behind but 8 seconds showed and that allowed me to take it a little easier. I saw badblood perform a slow motion pirouette in front of me at turn 1 but I had some time to avoid him and later when following Nigel he was stopped dead when I rounded a corner to avoid a spinner and I somehow missed them both. I tried to keep a decent pace for the first part of the lap but eased off exiting the tunnel to avoid the bails and also the following left hander- this was only possible because of my cushion to Al. I would like to thank the lapped cars who were really helpful on a tough track. Congratulations also to Al for a great 2nd place and also Rob to pull out 3rd place after after overcoming mechanical problems. I did notice Phillipe disconnect early and hoped he hadn't been a victim of another 1st lap incident.

Errrr... yes he had, but let's draw a hasty veil over that shall we. <ahem>

I think on reflection I would like to see the handicaps dispensed with for the last race. They have done their job and kept the competition going to the last race...

I think that's a good decision Paul, let them race it out on the track :) I'm looking forward to Monza.

I echo Billy's thoughts on this. If no-one else has a shout, then they should have free choice. I for one would hate to ruin either of their chances through one of my 'dodgy'- read lightning ;D starts.

Yes ol boy, it was spectacular fun! Apart from the over excitement at the hairpin where i was spun around, it was a meaty race. I just felt sorry for the others that got caught up in the mangle of cars there. :( It's a tricky corner especially at the start when it's easy to dive up the inside as people queue politely. I guess i could have pushed a little harder through there but was obviously trying to be a little cautious. I'm not bothered at all really, I lost time to those ahead of me but i didn't lose any places. Whoever it was, I think, waited for me to straighten, of which i'm grateful, but i read somewhere that one shouldn't do that as it causes accidents for those following. But it was nice and i guess i'm known to do the gentlemanly thing also, despite the rules  ;D

Not raced the 65's before so didn't realise i was in an under-powered motor! I saw chaps driving away on the straights and thought i heard the gears were being automated, as they seemed quicker than mine. Though they weren't, i'm sure no one uses auto gears. But that, I thought, was one reason why those ahead pulled away so well. Was up into 3rd at one point but couldn't hold it, and didn't fight for it too much. Then had a scare and i then lost 4th to Giovanni(?) but nonetheless happy with 5th at Monaco, first race back in GPL since 2006. Not a bad learning curve! More like a curve within a curve. :)

Yeah i wouldn't mind trying the inters out for the next round, and a better powered car if possible :)

Really looking forward to it :)

use of Auto shift makes the car slower , they were probably speed sifting ( not lifting off the as ) which you can get away with in no damage mode , would likely blow the engine in Intermediate and certainly in Pro   :)

Yeh I know Johnny - nobody else might challenge... I've got a podium y'know ;)

I thought that might be the case. Never use automatic myself. So then my question is: How many of you are using heel toe? In other words, how many are using the H shifter? That might account for some of it. I'm still using the paddles. *shocked* I know, i feel dirty. I know i should learn it but i was taken at an early age to contemporary cars where it's the norm.  ;D

I don't think they were speed shifting as the damage model for the Novices is intermediate. I cannot get on with the H shifter... can't do it quick enough...

Ah well.

I'm the same as you, I just can't get a H shifter to work for me, I'm using paddle shift at the monet, but I'm also using a modern F1 style wheel too which just looks wrong for 60's cars.

I beleive you can detect speed shifts using GPL analyser ,

I dont use H shift , tried the thing but find it too fiddly , I'm sure  it would be better if I had a pucker race seat  to go with it , but as it is , mounted to the table top , it just doesn't feel natural reaching up so high to change gears .

When i'm concentrating hard I often catch a paddle by mistake inadvertantly changing gear which results in either being overgeared and to slow up the next straight or downshifting and suddenly locking the rear end which can cause a spin if you dont catch it quick enough .

Would be inerested to know how everyone else has the wheel peddles etc set up , I'm sure using a race seat  makes for a better driving experience but how much improvement on lap times is there to be gained ?

The main reason i don't use the H shifter is because it's too noisy. Loud clicks and clanks are very unfair on those that share your home i find. I would more often worry about the noise and be put off by it. I don't know of any quieter ones but i've been on the look out.

As for a race seat and cockpit. In my opinion it won't make any difference in your lap time. Only maybe an increased sense of immersion. I couldn't get away with a cockpit in the corner of the room. It's too similar to wearing a helmet and clothes, it's not necessary unless i really want my girlfriend to disown me :) When i was 5 i used to put the legs of two chairs together laying them along the floor and i'd climb in while wearing my dads motor bike helmet and gloves  ;D I'd suggest that if you want a cheaper version!  :laugh:

As long as I'm comfortable and don't get aches after long races then my seat is adequate. 

I guess i just have to improve my paddle gear changes.

If you watch someone else driving on in car view the gears seem to change seamlessly although I don't think they actually are. I use a game pad so no heel and toeing for me.

You might have seen this already but this has to be one of the most extraordinary homemade cockpits ever: http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=7184 (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=7184)




 

that is mad. This is mine but I do find the more realistic it is the slower you go. If its speed your after stick with a playstation controller
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d30/Robvenn/IMG_0220.jpg)

I'd be happy with that rig. Looks comfortable :) Are those arc pedals? Or fanetic?

There fanatec ones, they were a bit of a pain to get in there

Ahh yeah i like them. Looking to update my equipment and I've seen them while browsing about.

Slightly off topic but then i don't know where else i could post something like this.... It's an American chap who has filmed himself racing a championship against the Ai in GPL. He's just about the best commentator and is full of facts and it's quite a good series to watch. Check him out :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy_FABpG0lw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy_FABpG0lw)

Enjoy, but sorry if you've seen it before. :)

Mod published. Not embarrassed at all <ahem>

Could you say that again please Paul  ,We couldn't quite hear you for the rather large plumb  ;D

Wasn't my best race but ironically I did actually drive quite well in this one... rejoining in front of Mini was the worst one. He was as impressed with me as the day I stormed the floor at his last school disco!

 :D Anyone catch this momentous event on video? I think we'd all pay to watch that one ;D

looks like you played a blinder mate, like to be a fly on the wall in that house after that. when does Mrs Blood make her debut?

LOL. Mrs Blood is most likely to say "Have you got a race tonight... ah well, I am off to bed then" but it is the TONE that makes me feel so guilty...