SimRacing.org.uk

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RACE START: Light may be early, go on counter start
Practice: 19:20 (GMT) (60 mins)
Qual 2: 20:20 (20 mins)
Race: 20:40 18 Laps (~ 40mins)
Cars allowed: GT40 Gulf, GT40 MKII, GT40 MK1, 906 -6/8, 906 - All except 6/8, Pantera Modena, Pantera BOSS,  911 RSR 2.8
Porche 914, Cobra 427, Daytona Coupe, Ferrari 275 Speciale, Corvette Grand Sport, Lotus Elan.

N.B Car list will reduce by one car choice each event, the most popular car will be dropped from the list, if a tie, then the one with the most points of the tied cars will be dropped

Track: Melbourne Albert Park  Download and install this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/downloads/s3.php/gtr2/tracks/SRou_GTR2_Melbourne_1.1.0.0.exe)
Time of Day Setting: 13:00
Weather: Dry
Start: Standing

Tyre wear: Normal
Fuel consumption: normal
Pit-stops:  None required

Server: simracing.org.uk P8SC
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Championship Standings (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=432&theme=34)

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 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?pid=7) especially the
rules about in-game chat messages.
(3) You will need to install Power and Glory v3 from:  http://gtlw-blog.flyingpig.info/
(4) Watch our for pit lane speeding, some tracks support this.
(5) Please follow the SROUK guidelines for using kerbs etc. Please keep 2 wheels on the track surface (kerbs do not count as track surface)
Excessive cutting of corners will seen as cheating and the results may be altered to reflect

There are:
4x Very fast tracks, 4x Medium , and 4x slower/tighter tracks
And pitstops are only at half the events

There are 12 Events, and 15 cars, so there will be a choice of 4 cars at the last event.
The Le Mans Finale is the "revived" version, and (force field on) it's the one with the chicanes
After the way the last one turned out I have no choice.

Rough guide to track Pace and which events have Pit Stops:

Faster: Barcelona (Stop); Paul Ricard;  Spa (Stop); Le Mans revived (Stop);

Medium: Melbourne (Albert Park);  Imola (Stop);  Interlagos;   Mexico 67;

Slower: Hungaroring (Stop);   Keimola;   Portimao (Stop);  Albi 2006;

Don't think that the server's car selection is correct for this race.   ;D

Sorry, someone had filtered the cars for the Cadwell race, and I hadn't realised.
Should be ok now

oops, sorry  :angel:

NP

When I found that I had the Cadwell selection I did a couple of laps in the Jag.  I think that it would have made a good track for a Jag Festival, with plenty of places for overtaking. 

In contrast, Goodwood is ok for driving around but there are precious few chances for overtaking.  In a race where all the cars are of similar performance that will just "get physical"!

Sounds reasonable. I will try a few tracks when I get back for Jag suitability.

The race announcement says "906 -6/8, 906 - All except 6/8"  ???

I'm a bit on the slow side, so please explain in details  Matt.

Stig

Like the GT40s and 911s the 906s have more than one entry.
Specifically the 906-8 are one "car choice"
and the other 906s are a separate car choice.

If the 906-8 is the most popular car then it will be dropped, and then people
can still take the normal 906 variants.

Comprende mon amigo?

Claro que si  :D

Being as I am doing a tour of the USA (Other Side of Accrington)
Actually Glasgow and London, I will miss this event  :'(
Then back next week for 6 weeks wooohoo  ;D

LOL

I'm not getting on famously with any of these cars and the way that this series is structured it can only get worse!    :(

Listen sunshine!!! don't think YOU have got problems!!!

When I see the  laptimes that some are posting, I am checking under the car to make sure I am not towing a couple of large trees around with me!! :blink: :blink:

LOL

Yes, Giuseppe and Federico were slogging it out at 2:09 last night when I popped on to the server to try the 911.  As for the 906-8, I would rather not talk about it!  :-[

Donations time again, please give generously  :punk:

what car is proving popular? the RSR2.8? I am expecting other cars to be coming into range
soon, maybe at the next one if we drop 2.8RSR here.
I had thought that once the RSR3.0 had gone the choice would be less obvious
and that the ordinary 906 or Panty Modena might work well here? the 906-8 is likely too tail heavy
and can't make good use of it's power.

Can't comment on popular but the 2.8 is too slow.  That's the official word from Giuseppe.   ;D

If folk want to know what's popular then they need to show up on the server a bit more often.   ::)

Might get a bit more of a PnG community building then.

BTW  I've been working on past results to try to develop a UKPnGRank that may assist in future handicapping strategies.  I just have to work out the best way of presenting it so that it is clear where the tentacles start to sprout.

As usual, I don't have time to go testing lots of cars to find which one is best, so I will just pick a promising looking one & stick with it. So its GT40 Gulf for me, tried a few laps last night & was surprisingly easy to drive around here.

jeez 2:08's and 09's?  ::)...is that qually or race?  I have only managed a handful of laps in the 2.8RSR and the 906-E and I was only doing 2:15's race pace on meds.  :-[  Have done 2:09 here in a 3.0RSR before so think I may just need more laps as would hope i'm not 6secs slower in these other cars.  :-\  Wanted to try the pantera and couple of others but don't know If I will get any spare time before the race  :(
This is where us minnows lose out to the big teams with their resources for testing a lot of the available cars.

Go with your heart MJ, not your head.

cripes Obi Wan Kenobi is lurking around here  ;D  ....this is not the car you are looking for..... :laugh:

Don't know what the car of choice is here tbh

I find the 906e real easy to drive here. The Pantera is equaly fast but harder to drive.

Stig

I know I've got a violin around here somewhere ;)

I shouldn't worry MJ, every lap you've done for this is more than me & from the sound of it, it's a round for Pork drivers (don't get your violin out for me though, my turn will come soon :P)

A round of pork eh, well I will be in an Italian car  :) if you mean a load of 906-8's I would say its a waste of a sports prototype to use on this circuit when you look at some of the upcoming rounds  :-\

"this is not the car you are looking for"  ;D

"use the porsche Luke"

I agree the 906-8's power would be wasted here, and it's doesn't handle as well as the 906e
with the cement mixer in the boot. I haven't done any laps here and won't be able to as I am
now down in the smoke, but I would expect 906e or Panty Modena or Ferri275 speciale
would run well here. I would probably take a 275 mostly because I love the sound of the thing
Masochists might try the CObra, but I am no snake charmer so I wouldn't.
The 914 might be usefull, but I think it would be better at one of the tighter tracks.

I might hang on to the GT40s for places like Paul Ricard. I appreciate that having to make a car choice
yourselves is time consuming, and Clive's point about getting on the practice server to see what
people are doing is valid if you can spare the time, but not everyone can. For me the variations
in car choice make it fun, and will become more interesting as we drop more cars  :chef:

You are an evil person Mr Rowe!

I like the sound of the Ferrari too but I can't get it below 2:15 and I would not be surprised to find that tonight's pole time turned out to be a 2:06!

That's if you guys get to race tonight. Server is currently down.  >:(

https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=12257.msg220516#msg220516

EDIT: Looks like there ok again  :)

Hopefully it stays up. my home server refused to do a remote reboot last week, and it's 250 miles away so I can't go and kick it.

EDIT: the server itself claims to have been up for 67 hrs, The GTR2 server does not appear to be broadcasting to the lobby
but if the PG server is not visible it's must be the network itself. Ahhh looks like like someone turned
an amplifier up to 12 and it popped some valves...  ::)

I have found that if you start when the lights go green you may get a stop-n-go penalty.

Start when the timer starts and you should be ok.  Or maybe it's just my pc.   ;D


EDIT:  But without a server it hardly matters.   :(

great...only just seen this 'POST RACE'  >:(  had a good start on the green lights! racing in top 5 for a few laps to then suddenly get disqualified as I crossed the s/f line to start another lap  ::) grrrr !!  Looks like about 4 others all succumbed to it too.  We've raced here before without problem so why this time?
Bloody annoying as was enjoying that and was on the pace for a top 5 finish  :taz:

This race should be re-run (with a non-bugged version) for points or voided altogether.

Eehhhmm yeah what was that all about? No warning in game to take a stop/go?! and you just get disconnected? Weird and annoying as hell!

Is a surprise to me also, we have raced here loads of times in GTR2 with no issues. I might re-run or just remove it.
See what people want to do.  ???

I have made it a non championship race, I am not running it again next week, it just screws things up too much
I will make it the next in the KO series if people want to, otherwise we continue with the series as is.

Please don't make us do it again, couldn't get comfortable in any of the cars I tried (Pantera, F275 & Gulf MK2) that's I'm normally pretty happy in. So jumped in the Elan for a lonely but comlpeted race.

I think the race should stand.

I posted the warning here and also on the chat window just before the start.  (IN CAPITAL LETTERS)

I also told people about in chat as they joined the server, including a Kerbie!

If people can't prepare for a race then tough!

I am not going to do anything with it tonight, I will do something at the weekend
Please make an input guys. At the moment if I do the results it will be a non champ race
if people agree with Clive, or not, then shout up please. He has a point, but some may not have been
aware which is unfair. I will go with the flow, but I need some flow please  :-\

There IS a warning, but it's not on screen for long and it's in the stupid yellow GTR2 text which is hard to see - when you're concentrating on the start and not aware of the start lights issue it is very easy to miss.

I never look at the start lights anyway and always go on the start of the timer, but when everyone else around me took off early i instinctively dropped the clutch and went forward a metre or so before i could stop myself - enough to get a stop/go penalty anyway. I served my penalty at the end of the first lap with Giuseppe and Jarda and then set off again at the back of the field. Actually quite enjoyed the chase except for one silly spin near the end which nearly gave EvilClive the place back that i had just taken from him, but he then spun himself shortly after.

Enjoyed the 911 here, but a shame about the low turnout, which was then made even lower when several drivers dropped out after the start fiasco. Was looking forward to some battles here and there, never mind. Congrats podium.

Btw I have no worry either way whether the results stand or not - Clive was certainly doing his best to make ppl aware of the problem, but if you didn't see the message it will be very annoying to have been caught out.

Can`t belive that I own gratitude to SBRC member!  :laugh:

OK ... deep breath ... Thank You Clive for saving me from jump start penalty.  ;D

Aaaaaaaaaaaand NO DISCO FOR ME!!!!!!!  :clap: :clap:

Sorry for being that loud but this is big achievement for me. Somehow i think that talking with my provider helped in a way that I said one more reconnection in stupid time (that was cause of my discos) and I will disconnect someones head ...

You are more than welcome Ageing Ed.

I just can't believe that I'm the only person to have actually done a practice start!!!

And if Geoffers was using the timer to start by then I think that he wanted to see it say 5 seconds before he moved, just to make sure!

PS  Legzy let me lap him this time.   :clap:

Like Frex I always use the timer to start, never trust the start lights. I was watching the timer then got distracted by a Pantera that had started about a month before the grid had formed & sat there thinking 'well he's jumped the start' & totally forgot about getting underway!  ::) Still, had a good race only spoiled by a half-spin near the end when closing in on Clive.

Prefer the result to stand (well I did finish on the podium), but am happy either way. Don't particularly want to do it again, not one of my favourite tracks. Just drop the Pantera & move on to the next event.

I vote that the existence of this race be scrubbed from time ;)


Nah, I hate it when things happen beyond your control that mean you miss out on a race, but personally feel everyone should prioritise doing at least one offline practise start pre-race (as so many tracks have their own "special requirements", not to mention for the safety of other drivers) & the result should stand in the league.

My suggestion would be to alter the championship to include one "drop week score" (i.e. everyones best 9 of 10 scores count.)

The days when the great and the good either don't show up or shoot themselves in the foot are the ones that us poor slow types long for.  How else am I going to get on the podium?  And Evil will have scored his first team points for SBRC too!  In addition to warning everybody on the server that I could reach, I had also sent an email to the SBRC drivers.  That's going about things properly.  Not being unfair.   ::)

It wasn't unfair at all!  It was bad preparation by 99% of the field.  There is more to racing than just being quick and it isn't necessary to wet nurse this lot!

EDIT:  Just one more thing then I promise that I've done.   ;D  If we are talking about "unfair", what about the unfair aspect of denying a result to those of us who slogged it out to the end just because some people hadn't done their homework!?

Is that enough "flow" then Matt?

<Shrug>  So far the flow is that I just do the results as normal, MJ is hacked off and no doubt a
couple of other people, but Clive did shout a lot before the race start, I changed the race page
though many people would have missed it as I forgot to make it big and red.
Some people noticed the in game warning and went and did a stop which would have cost
them dearly, so they would be hacked off after fighting back and have their effort wasted
I will do the results tomorrow so people have time to make an input if they are concerned
I have not been able to look at the replay yet, Panties were most popular apparently?
I will remove the most popular car whatever we do with the results.

If you think typing beware of the lights or whatever you typed 'on the grid' is satisfactory warning you are blinking dreaming Clive! Most of us are either in the garage or dojng last minute checks that everything else is ready like clutch engaged,1st gear selected, staring at the lights etc. why didn't you post it up in practise or at qually start/end when it will grab most peoples attention, if you were aware of it?
I've had at least two races here before without problem so no idea why the lights were now borked or expected to be wrong.
What I thought odd is I already had this track installed from our previous race but when I tried to use it in the lobby it told me track not installed. Did you get this install from somewhere else this time Matt?

I don't like this track either and don't feel it has the vibe for classics racing so more than happy if we don't use it again. Poor turnout seems to indicate a lot of regulars feel the same  :-\
I should add that I don't really care that vociferously, if Clive and the podium really want their easy points  ;) to hell and be done with them  :devil:

At least I can plead "General Ignorance"!!

OK, I did receive Clive's warning about the start lights, but frankly I was utterly confused lol

"do not start when the start lights go green!!?????"  duh?  :wacko:   I guess Clive has not completely lost his marbles?

As a result for me the start was "interesting" to say the least, because I thought that as I have no idea what he means or what is going on I will watch the cars around me and go when they go.

Hah!!! well that worked well didn't it??  

back in the midfield pack, some cars seemed to launch themselves about 2 seconds before the others and there were almost a few rear endings as some stayed put. I guess I was fortunate not to have been collected in that melee.

These cars are still a mystery to me and choosing which one is likely to be suitable for any circuit is a total lottery. I had been practising with what I thought was a Porker 906-8, only to discover that it might have been a 906-E witha setup for the 906-8 or vice versa?? Not sure I could have discerned any difference anyway as my practice times were terrible.  :-[

Just 15 minutes before the start of the race I read a few posts on the forum where it was suggested that perhaps the Porsches would be wasted on this track anyway. .....now they tell me!!    Fortunately the comprehensive training structure of the Soggies had provided me with a setup for something called a Pantera, although it sounded like an Italian dessert it was apparently eligible for this race.
So Mabel dragged it out of the transporter and fired it up....what beast!!! but initial impressions were good with lap times matching those I was getting with the Porker.  

There is no doubt that I benefited from those who were dq'd but as the race progressed I got to grips with the Pantera and its handling, especially the brakes. Things were going quite well until the tyre wear started to kick in and I had to tip toe around the last 6 laps, which was when I got caught by Frex.
 With 3 laps to go I started to push harder on the straighs and brake just a little earlier and found that I was eating in to Frex's advantage....then he was in the gravel and I sailed past and back into 6th place with a lap to go...woohoo!!. But my my joy turned to frustration when i parked it in the gravel with just a few hundred metres to go... and I discovered something else  :-\  
If the engine stalls and I have "chat" enabled, the "start" key won't work!!  It took me about 20 secs to sort that out by which time I had lost 6th place again...shucks!!! lol.  ::)

This is not a new situation, We have been here several times before, and every time we say that people should do
a quick AI race start to check that the lights work. I usually do that the week of the race or before and post it in
the race page, unfortunately this week being away I had not checked and the page was a copy from the previous event
in the series. I struggle to take responsibility for it too much though. It is annoying when people start and you go
with them only to find that the start is screwed and you get a stop/go and even more so when you miss the messages
and you get black flagged. I do agree however that it is each person's responsibility to either do a quick test - it only
takes 5 minutes, or always go when the timer starts in your screens, and never trust lights. As for the track version
I thought I had used the one we have used before, but I will check later.

Ok, I did not know or notice any warnings indeed. My bad.
However, when counting down to race start I got the hint from Clive about a timer countdown to be used. (I know GTL has one, but I feel it is more or less cheating) Had no idea where to look for it and was making last minute adjustments to my 906 (which was a nice drive around here after hours of online practice ;) and in contrast what others where claiming I thought it was top 10 material. Well in my hands that is)

On the grid watched the lights go green, waited a bit to see others moving, then took off and thought all was ok. Too busy managing the 906 around the other participants to see a warning of some sort. And I feel taking a penalty is still quite harsh for a technical glitch. Anyway; rerun, non-champ race or just awarding points, I am ok. Just happy to be able to race every week with some great cars and great drivers. Appreciate your efforts Matt.

Ohh, I can’t seem to find the start timer function anywhere in PnG, could someone point it out to me?... ???

It's not like GTL 3-2-1-go, we mean the top right of your screen where the race timer starts counting at the "real" start
which is not always the same as the lights.

Ok, thanks. Never seen it, but it must be somewhere in some HUD menu i guess. I will have a look see then.

I don't think P&G has a countdown like the GTL one.

Yep I don't think there is one either, I am probably just used to it being there, but it's probably an "F" key thing to cycle
through the HUD settings and you probably need to enable it in the options off line.

Hello guys, I and Federico were aware of the problem and thought that other people they knew  8)
Evidently it was not  ??? in fact Jarda start with the green and dab myself and Federico  :o
When I pushed forward, in addition to giving me the car damaged, the game has portrayed a false start.
However, these things can happen, no problem  :punk:
However, as has already been said, it would be good to try to make some tests before taking part in the race.
In my opinion it would be interesting to organize an evening of your choice when found, try different cars and exchange views, setup, etc.  :thumbup1:

See you next, ciao

Did not have time to practice with any of the cars, but decided to go with the Porsche 914.  Come to join the server was informed the track was not installed. Downloaded again and all was OK. I was well aware of the problem with the start fault so just set off after everyone else.  Managed a couple of laps or so, kept missing braking points, missing corners and decided it was best to quit rather than be a moving chicane when the leaders arrived to lap me.  Hope to do better next time, well done all that took part. Bob.

Unofficial LapChart (http://www.justanotherpage.nl/Srou/PnG/GTR2_Albert_Park_2014_2_27_20_48/)

So it is a Championship race after all?
No complaints from my side. Happy to have kept the Lotus Elan out of the barriers..

Thanks to Legzy for the driving lessons. He was a trifle faster than me in the same car (8 secs a lap, glp  :-\)
and thanks to Dan for giving chase and keeping me company at the end  ;D