SimRacing.org.uk

Season 24 Works Trophy (67) - Round 8 - Dijon-Prenois

For round 8 we return to France, this time to Dijon-Prenois.  Plans for the circuit were (quite appropriately) drawn up in 1967 but it took over 4 years to build and the first race wasn't held until 1972.  The first Formula 1 race was in 1974 but the circuit was a little too short and the race was marred by congestion as the leaders tried to lap the backmarkers.  So the circuit was revised to include a new section incorporating the Parabolique.  It is this revised circuit that we will be racing on today.  The circuit is probably best known as the location for one of the most exciting battles for second place ever seen in Formula 1.  The battle between Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) and René Arnoux (Renault) was played out over the last 5 laps with Villeneuve taking the honours by less than half a second.  The race was won by Arnoux's team mate Jean-Pierre Jabouille.  It was the first victory for Renault and the first victory for a turbocharged car.

Race List = IGOR
Server = UKGPL_GPG
IP address = 62.195.2.111
Race date = 05-05-2013
Race Time = race starts at 21:30 UK time
Qualifying Time = Between 30 and 60 minutes, starting no later than 21:00 UK time
Track = Dijon-Prenois (dijonp81 (http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?dis=D#13))
Variant = 67F1
Damage Model = PRO
Race length = 50 minutes (laps 37)
Password: see above (#post_event_password)
Replays Available here (http://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/inc_replaysS24_js.aspx)
Driver lists and token rules can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=387&theme=6)
The track can be downloaded from : here (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=7886)
The full time drivers can start to practice as soon as the server is available.  Reserve drivers can also join as soon as the server becomes available but must leave the server with 35 minutes of qualifying left, for a total of 5 minutes; this will allow any remaining full timers to join.  If there is enough space on the grid, the reserve drivers will be able to rejoin when there are 30 mins of qualifying left.  

Please restrict chat to pit messages including at the end of the race until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.

The race will be run under PRO rules so no resets are allowed.

The chassis token system is explained on the Works standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=387&theme=6). Please ensure you choose a chassis that is within your budget, which can be seen by hovering the mouse over your points total in the standings.

Moderating The red zone will be fully moderated for lap 1 only. For this event the red zone will be from the start line to the exit of Parabolique. Other moderation will be on reported incidents only.  However any incidents that occur in the red zone that are not reported by the drivers will be reported by the moderator.  This will allow all affected drivers the opportunity to present their case before the incident is moderated.  This should ensure there are no surprises when the moderator's report is published and hence appeals will be less likely.  If you haven't received a PM about an incident before the link below the results table is removed, you can be sure that you will not appear in the moderator's report.

GPG server is set for 37 laps Long race.
Ciao

I've won PP, I had a nice lead and then I've simply crashed. I need to report myself :lol:

Not a bad race for me.  My pace was quite good but I had to drive on the edge the entire time.  Consequently I had a few spins but I still managed a finish.   In the early laps I had a good battle with my old Privateers sparring partner David Rainier.  He was really good on the brakes into turn 1 and I couldn't make a pass stick.  I made a mistake, dropped back and I was trying to get back on terms with him when his engine blew and spoiled the fun.  Hard luck David I was enjoying our dice.  At the end of the race I was fighting with Ronnie and Al who had dropped back after making mistakes.  But they were too fast for me and I crashed a couple of times trying to keep up.

Two races at Dijon in the last two seasons, and I've managed two second places. As such this is my favourite circuit in the world!!!

Very happy to start so far up the grid, and to get away in formation. Clive was spoiling the fun in the first couple of laps, as he was taking most of my attention, when I wanted to focus on chasing KH. He disappeared after a few laps, not sure why, but that allowed me to put some pressure on KH. I was finding it hard to close the gap and try for a pass, but sometimes all you need to do is sit there long enough and force an error...maybe I'm flattering myself, but an error occurred and that was me into P3. Baab took over in P4, but only for a while and then I had a comfortable lead....and bog all chance of challenging for P2. I then settled down to doing what I do most-driving along all on my own. Granted, that's usually at the back, but I knew I had a good, fast setup that I could lap consistently with, so the main challenge was to keep it on the track.

...and that's what I managed to do.  After a while I saw KH was behind me again, and whilst he closed that gap from 12 seconds down to 5, that was mostly because I decided to be cautious.

I had no hope of catching the top two, but when I saw a car in the gravel at T1 I did start thinking about whether one of them might make a mistake. I shall look forward to reading the Mods report where Bartosz complains about his own driving  :laugh:

Shame baab had engine problems, we'll never catch Clark-Hill if he doesn't get some luck soon.....

I should have nailed 2 nd on this one but a split sec too long mirrorlooking put me 180 degrees. Another  mistake some laps later but that was because I was pushing hard to catch Arf who was very stable and confident . Didn t see much of AA, but awsome driving put him to a deserved win. Really sorry for my teammate Bartoz who was so superb most of the race. The Lotus was tricky to balance through these corners, but so might the other cars have been too. 3 rd is a good result but I m still dissappointed I let myself stress up just because someone was behind me. After all I managed to open the gap when I did descent laps,and there were never contact hazard. I couldn t expect to gain much more that a tenth or 2 per lap, so I have no idea why I tried and overpushing made me loose tens of seconds instead of gaining. Having other cars around is a part of racing I should handle .
You didn t force error Arf  you were very polite behind me just waiting patiently  for a  chance and not do mistakes. You did that very well.In my book Forcing an error is to actively stressing the car in front with for example diving and ducking leaving the car in front unsure of your intentions. This violates the "clear body language" courtesy and is nothing to flatter about . You did none of this Arf  :).
 

If this is Arf's favourite circuit, it certainly is not mine. For whatever reason this is a circuit where I just cannot get a car to work.

Maybe it is my setup or maybe it is just my driving, but I find that to be anywhere near competitive I am driving beyond my comfort zone....considerably beyond for much of the time!!  ::)

Somehow I got myself up to about 6th?? on the grid and had already decided that I would simply try and maintain a steady pace and hope for retirements ahead. The first two laps were quite steady as everyone appeared to be cautious on cold tyres, but as the pace slowly increased ahead I was drawn into laptimes that were probably faster than I wanted to go. I was trying to stay with Arf's Fezza whilst watching a very threatening Baab in my mirrors.
I suspect that Baab was scared to get too close because my Brabham was all over the road as I struggled to keep control, sorry about that, but I was trying VERY hard. It could not last and I clipped a couple of kerbs too hard and I think GPL decided that I should suffer some suspension/steering problems. As I fought to keep the car going ( generally ) in the right direction the sliding about raised the rear tyre temps to stupid levels.
I has just about decided that I should let Baab pass and settle for a more sensible drive to the end when I really got things wrong on the exit of the long T1. The hot tyres had called enough and I was approaching T2 going sideways...the wrong sideways!!!! Somehow I wrestled the Brab around and got it to turn in but I bounced over the inside kerb and it spat me across the track and another huge bounce over the kerb on the inside of T3.
Any semblance of control over the car was an illusion at this point LOL and I went straight off into the gravel as Baab swept past.
To make a bad situation worse..I made a complete hash of getting out of the gravel and ended up dead last.

The suspension had suffered more damage and I almost threw in the towel right there, but just decided to try a few laps more.
I could see Phil and David ahead but for 2-3 laps I made absolutely no impression on them. I was adapting to the strange handling and had to take some slightly different lines to make things work and suddenly I was closing fast. Maybe there would be some fun racing with a couple of cars to soften the blow of bad race by yours truly. Just as I caught up with them David decided to blow his engine and Phil got very sideways out of the final uphill turn and I passed them both without contest.
The sight of 2 cars a little way ahead suckered me into trying to improve my position even further......I always enjoy chasing down a target  ::)
Al and Ronnie were having a right battle and I slowly reeled them in as I fought a car that did not want to brake in a straight line or turn in when I wanted it to.
Once again, I was hoping for some close racing as I got within striking range of Al and Ronnie. Maybe the sight of my Brabham almost out of control in their mirrors, scared them, I don't know, but The moment that I caught them Al shot off towards the inside of one of the hairpins and just one corner later Ronnie ran wide and I had a free pass..again!!.
I caught and passed a limping Baab and Bartosz who had tested the gravel trap to come home in a position I just did not deserve given my performance.
I still do not like this circuit. I don't know why as all those sweeping corners and elevation changes should make it my ideal track.
Grats to AA, arf and Tom for taming this track.....maybe I need to do some serious practice around here and find out where I am losing 2 secs a lap?? :-\

Grats again to the podium of Art, Arf and Tom.

This track is like marmite because you either love it or hate it. I hate it. On/off track racing lines, overheating tyres, bollards you can drive through etc. No this one is not for me.

Unfortunately we have two more races this season here (Historic and Pro) so I will have to try and put up with it a bit longer :( :(

No worries Clive, all part of the racing, you certainly seemed to be struggling but still going at quite a rate and I couldn't get close enough to make a pass for the first few laps.  However, the bigger issue for me, well that and an overheating left rear, was the warp.  Not sure if it was you or me Clive, everyone else looked okay to me, but your car appeared to be lurching all over the place, I had to think of Pod's hypnotoad as I tried to stay focused.  Just as I was close to full hypnosis I managed to drag past on the straight (was my memory of it) and you didn't fight into T1, which I was quite cautious into.  Quite relieved not to be stir crazy I then tried to drive sensibly and not gift the position back.  

I could see Arf a few seconds in front and he seemed to be getting closer when I started to billow smoke...3 laps later it was all she wrote.  Disappointing, not sure why I had the issue, I don't think I revved it too hard and most changes were pretty smooth, is there a random element to this kind of thing?

I too find this a tricky place, but I need to be better at setting the car up, I usually just sort the tyres out, try a few different ramp settings and make sure the gearing is somewhere near.

Grats podium and all finishers.

Bob.

Nah.....that'll be hypnotoad playing mind games on you  :laugh: