SimRacing.org.uk

Grid/server capacity: 28

Practice: ~19:20 (60 mins)
Qualifying: 20:20 (20 mins)
Race: 20:40 (32 laps)

Track: Watkins Glen GP Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg81636#post_watkins)

Cars allowed: Alfa Romeo Tipo 33-3 Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_alfa_tipo_333), Ferrari 312P Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_ferrari312p), Ferrari 512S Code Lunga Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_ferrari512s), Lola T70 Mk3B/C Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_lolat70), Matra Simca MS650 Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_matra_simca), Porsche 908/2 and 908/03 Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_porsche908), Porsche 917K Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_porsche917k).

Modern tyre fix must be applied to the relevant cars. Full details here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=12159.msg218178#msg218178)

Car restrictions: Two drives maximum per make *. Check your status here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuS59xI7-YTLdGl0aWt3YWM4dkdMZGZhQlFwaTBqcVE&usp=sharing). *Drivers may elect to drop one make entirely and add two bonus drives with one other make.

Time of Day Setting: 14:00
Start: STANDING
Tyre wear: Normal
Fuel consumption: Normal
Pit stops: Not required

Server: simracing.org.uk Monday
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Notes:
(1) It's best if all drivers can make sure they are connected before the Qualifying session as drivers on track during qualifying will not see cars that join after they are on track until they go back to the garage.
(2) Please make sure you are fully aware of the SimRacing.org.uk Rules.
(3) The AI control should be turned off so that you have control of the car at all times, including pitting. Your player file should therefore read
Autopit="0"
Force Autopit Off="1" // Forces autopit always off
No AI Control="1" // AI never has control over car
If you still finding pitting problematic, experience tells us that its less to do with positioning and more to do with approach speed. A slow approach to pit crew chief has proved most reliable.

Special Notes: None

Race announcement revised

Porsche 917L removed from series.

Race announcement revised

Rule change regarding No. of drives per make.

Race announcement revised

Message and link for Modern tyre fix added.

I don't seem to get much luck in joining this particular series, but I will give it a try this evening as these cars are something different.

Can anyone give me any clues to a reasonable lap time? just so I know how far off the pace I am.

Here is a link to a similar race at this venue https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=9499.msg172317#msg172317

Ah, quit yer whining..  ;D

You always moan about not being fast enough, but come race time, you're always one of the bloody quickest around..  ;)

I've done a 1:49 in the 917, which I'm not using, and 1:51 - 1:52 in 512 and Lola.   Where that puts me in the field, I have no idea, except behind Goldtop of course...  :D

Cheers,
Erling

Sadly, we may be Bill'less tonight. He's having wheel difficulties (well more than usual  ;) )

lol .  ;D

OK!!,  I have to admit that I seem to have found how to drive some of the cars in GTL, and some better than others. But I still find it difficult to know if I am at least "in the mix" when it comes to cars like these.

This is so far removed from my GPL experience, because these GT cars have more of everything...speed, power. grip, handling etc. So I don't know until race night and I get onto the server what constitutes a reasonable lap time. It might feel quick to me, but actually I could be 5 seconds or more behind the grid  ???. I could even be 5 seconds ahead, but that is a little unlikely I think  LOL.

The other problem I moan about is my lack of experience with each car option. Choosing from a list is good fun, but only if you have any idea what are the attributes of each car. At the moment I might as well use alphabetical order as I havn't a clue which is best. The only thing I will say is that the audio for the T70 Lola Maserati is awesome!!!  ;)


Edit at 21:40...after the race. :oops:

Hmmmm it seems that I AM on the pace, at least in this race. ::)

My previous attempts in this series have been dismal at best, but somehow it all clicked this time. Maybe it is because I am beginning to get the feel of GTL...I don't know?

When I saw 1:47's in practice I knew I could be in with a chance of some good racing as I had managed that in offline practice. When I pulled a 1:45 banzai lap on race setup in quali I was beginning to feel a little embarrassed about my comments on the forum. I honestly thought that I was several seconds off of a really quick lap  :-\

It was a great race with GT until I made a mistake about 4 laps from the end and ran wide. Until that point there was never more than 2 secs between us and it was noticeable that each car was stronger at certain points of the circuit. At half distance I thought to myself "these tyres are NEVER going to last the race at this pace" and i tried to be a little more gentle with the right foot. Not easy when you are fighting GT for every tenth of a second!!!

Apologies to anyone who feels I was sandbagging ( especially Erling ), but I honestly was not. From now on I will post my PB in offline practice...if I have managed any before race night.

Replay and results now posted.

Congrats to SG for his race finish  :clap:

Can I respectfully remind all drivers that chat in qually should be kept to the minimum please, thank you.  :-*

That was a tough race  :sweatdrop:

Was under pressure right from the start and having just managed to pull a small gap a few laps into the race I ran wide into the gravel allowing Clive though  ::). Gave chase but had a devil of a job closing him down and even then was never really in a position to have a go at getting past.

Eventually I was able to sneak through as Clive made a mistake but he still managed to chase me down again and very nearly got me down the inside at the back of the course with a few laps to go. Hope that was ok btw Clive, I thought I'd left you enough room to turn in but you appeared to run a bit deep and we had a bit of a coming together. Haven't seen the replay but I'll have a look if you felt I was in the wrong.

Anyway, great racing and good fun especially when those tyres started to give up  :o

NP GT.

 I have not looked at any replay, but as far as I am concerned it was a racing incident.

Yes, I thought I had you, when I nailed the exit of the previous corner and you were just a fraction slower.
 I ran late on the brakes down the inside and although I was sure that I could have held the inside line earlier in the race, with worn tyres and tired brakes I needed an extra 10mtrs of tarmac  :-\. I could claim that it was a tactical "block pass", but that would be stretching the truth  ::).

If we ran this race again I think I would drop the final drive ratio one notch because the engine just dropped "off the cam" out of 2 or 3 slower corners and I was only maxing out in 5th at the end of the straight, so maybe there was more to come from the Alfa. (I think I need to get some ear plugs though , because that engine is very much like Mabel singing opera when it is at high high revs!!)

All in all a fun race from flag to (almost) flag. If I had not gone off at that point the last few laps could have been very intense  ;) Although throughout the race you were a fraction quicker in the last sector and I gained in the first sector it all balanced out into a great battle.

At the risk of rousing Erling again  ;D.  Is the Alfa considered a faster car than the Lola? or are all of this set of cars about equal?

Lol, I can only speak for myself, and for me the Alfa is definitely faster than the Lola.  Yesterday, I improved my pb to 1:47.2, while the best I could manage in the 917 was 1:49.  Could probably have improved the latter with more practice, but I think it shows the Alfa to be quicker than you might expect at first glance.

You speak about maxing out in 5th.  You do realise the Alfa is 6-speed ?

Cheers,
Erling

Well some GTL drivers may know the circuits and cars so intimately, that they can work out which car to use where at a glance.  I'm certainly not one of them.  Knew I wanted the 917 on Le Mans, since the two are inextricably connected in my mind.  Likewise, I knew I wouldn't survive trying to use it at Nürburgring.  Other than that, I've had to try each car on each circuit, to see which ones work best for me.  Sometimes that results in surprises. On Imola for example, the 512 was the best choice for me, while I've hated it on some of the earlier tracks.  Most of the circuits are new to me too - or at least in the vintage we're using here.  With regards to audio; try listening to Tony's 312 from TV view in replay. Spine tinglingly good  :drool:

Yesterday's race;  I improved my pb several times during qualy, but still embarrassed by the times of GT & Clive.  At the start, Clive wobbled, so I could poke my nose ahead of him, but he retained the position - except for Postal making a lightning start, shooting past us both.  Clive got past him on L1, but I remained behind for several laps.  Very focused on avoiding an incident, given our history, so had to maintain sufficient gap for me to react when he braked, which was earlier than required for the Alfa.  The laps piled on, with me in hot pursuit, looking for an opportunity, but someone who bloc.. DEFENDS  ;D as well as Postal can be difficult to pass.

Could see from my laptimes that I was loosing time, and up ahead, Clive & GT was getting away (not that I could have hung with them anyway). Frustration mounting, as I was getting deja-vu of Nürburgring, where I was stuck behind Postal for virtually the entire race.  On lap 8 however, when he twitched, going into the lefthander leading to the start-grid, I made an - unsuccessful - attempt up the inside. It set me up to do the same though, at the following righthander, this time getting past.  We were side by side down the start/finish straight, Postal applying Porsche power to regain the position.  Knew I could outbrake him at the upcoming righthander, and did so.  From then on I could use the curvy sections to build a gap.

After the intense dicing with Postal, the race now turned very lonely. Clive & GT were now 30 secs ahead, and despite basically driving the remainder of the race as an extended qualifying session, I couldn't make the slightest chink in their lead.  In fact, the smallest errors on my behalf promptly resulted in the gap growing, sometimes by several humiliating seconds.  Only other cars I saw were Tony and Geezer when I lapped them, and then Postal, whom I caught on the final lap.  Still happy for a podium finish of course.

Grats to GT and especially Clive (Mr. I-Haven't-Got-A-Clue..  ;)).  You managed to stay ahead of GT for many laps. NO ONE ELSE has done that in the entire series so far !!  (Mr. I-Have-In-Fact-Got-An-Abundance-Of-Clues..  ;D)

Cheers,
Erling

LOL Erling.

At least your assertion that the Alfa is the quicker car puts a reality check into last nights race. I did not expect to be able to live with ( let alone lead!!) GT for the whole race. The one thing I do have in my locker is years of race experience and a strong survival instinct  ::)

Yes, I was aware that the Alfa was 6 speed, but years of GPL conditioning, where hitting the red line regularly results in a nice display of conrods and crankshafts spread across the track made me a little conservative in the gear ratio department and I had set up the car to upshift with 750 revs to spare.

It was only when I was really pushing hard to make up tenths on GT and thrashing the poor Alfa, that I realised I was not using 6th gear at all??!!  :-\ and I was just hitting the rev limit in 5th when I backed off for the corner at the end of the straight.
Whether that means I was denying myself an extra 20 kph or not is an open question........but certainly worth dropping the final drive ratio a notch or two next time ;) especially as the engine revs dropped "off the cam" in a couple of the slower corners and I was caught between gears.

Had to have a quick blast in the Alfa to put my mind at rest  ;)  :angel:

Am in Brum this week so missed it :-(
We have used these cars in previous series, and my feeling is that the Alfa is the best all rounder but will be left
in the dust of the 917 on a fast track. I have always liked the Matra as it's  a complete nutter car
the sound is insane  :nuke:  I struggle to keep it on track but it's a hoot.  ;D

I like these add on mods but for me the handling leaves a lot to be desired, this group and the GT group we
use don't handle anything the "normal" GTL cars. Tony ran a turbo BMW series once, and they were wild things
mega amounts of power and a chassis that couldn't handle it. Great fun. but not at all representative of
the in game cars.

 :lol:    I'm not sure I want to know what laptimes you could do in it...   ;)

Cheers,
Erling

Early bath for me -very confident after practice and quali, I could not match
my efforts in race and crashed heavily  ::)

Sorry folks GTL screwed up. Now found  BT have had email problem. Hopefully none of you have been affected.

Maybe I missed something, but where do we find the replays Tony???

Click the tab at the top of this page labelled REPLAYS

LOLOLOL doh!!!

Well of course I knew that, I was just testing  ::)

You are aware that GTL makes your own replay too ? - at least if you've configured it to do so.

Don't know if it's just in my case, but in the server replays, the cars are 'hopping' strangely, so normally I prefer my own, local one.  Still, the server replay may offer an in-car view from another driver, so can still be interesting  :)

Cheers,
Erling

Thanks Tony and Erling.

Just wanted to watch this race as my replay did not work ?? and see how GT was getting the times that he was from the Lola. At the risk of being immodest it was a hell of a race!! until I messed up a few laps from the end. :(