SimRacing.org.uk

Season 27 Works Trophy - Round 10 - Parco Sempione

Welcome to Round 10 for the Season 27 Graduates Works Trophy! The -final- event will determine who will succeed last year's Works champion Attilio Artiglietti. There are still 5 drivers with a chance of the title, so it should be an exciting race!

Parco Sempione ("Simplon Park") is a large city park in Milan. The park was established in 1888 but the circuit dates from 1937 when the likes of Nuvolari, Rudolf Caracciola and Bernd Rosemeyer drove outrageous cars like the Mercedes-Benz W125 and Auto Union Type C.  A very tight track characteristic of the early days of motor sport, public roads and virtually no concept of safety precautions.

We race at Parco Sempione 1937 (sempione37)!

Race List = iGOR
Server = UKGPL_8
IP address = 95.113.193.216
Race date = Sunday 21-12-2014
Race Time = race starts at 21:30 UK time (21:30 GMT)
Qualifying Time = Between 30 and 60 minutes, starting no later than 21:00 UK time (21:00 GMT)
Track = Parco Sempione 1937 (http://srmz.net/tracks/sempio37_gpl.zip)
Variant = 67F1
Damage Model = Pro
Race length = 40 Laps (50 minutes)
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Replays Available here (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Replays/Archive/Season27/Grads_Works/)

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=453&theme=6)

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.  

Moderating The red zone will be fully moderated from the start to the exit of Piazza Sempione on Lap 1. 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.

The chassis token system is explained on the Works (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=453&theme=6) standings page. 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.

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

Note: we do ask the drivers not to exploit the S/F situation in Qualifying by not braking for T1. If you do impede following drivers by crashing on purpose in order to gain an advantage, this will be moderated. Please try to make T1 in order to have a fair level playing field.

This track is going to kill so many driver's races.

Did some prac with the lot and managed to get some low 13 s and high/mid 12 s. I felt I was up for this task, then my job called and greedy as I am I said yes to some extra work tonight. mixed feelings..I hope I was off pace almost :-X gl everyone , must be nervwrecking this track for all you who can win the championship.

Lap 16 or so, had climbed up to 5th from my 10th grid slot (through attrition, not talent :P ), when someone was having issues with the haybales ahead, glanced at Prib to see who, should have used that 0.15 sec to notice that my car was headed for the trees, oh hullo tree, Y U INVERT ME??!? ok now we're airborne and upside down, land on wheels land on wheels land o... crap.

My race ended in the hay bales, same place as Robert's! Congrats to Tommie on a championship snatched at the death!

Grats to Tommie on a fine win!  Precision above all.  Well done.  AND...  Congrats on being our Works Driver Champion!  Fabulous result!

Good job by Andrew to survive all the carnage for a P2 placing.  A fine job to finish P3 in the title standings.  Admirable job.

Sorry to see Robert stuffed in the haybales and score a DNF from the lead.  Still...  P2 in the final standings.  Well done.

Kudos to Antipasti for Team Award!  Just edged out the Moose.

I had a bit of a thriller.  Reasonable pace but not with the degree of control I would have liked.  A few minor excursions trumped by drilling Bob in the arse in T1.  Sorry, Baab.  It just got away from me.

Ended the day by clipping a bale and being propelled on top of a string of them.  I swapped over to the F10 view for a moment to see why I couldn't move away.  Saw that I was well and truly stuck.  Game over...

Unlike last week's F2 decider, I wasn't nervous, but was rather (over)confident. The laptimes were very good and didn't seem to have too much trouble lapping consistently.

After start went a bit wide Viale Legione Lombarda, but after that pulled away from Greg. My plan was to create an early gap and then bring it safely to the finish. However pride comes before a fall and pushed too much. Went a bit too fast in Viale Wolfango Goeth, went wide, oversteered and overcorrected in the hay bales. Left front tire got stuck, field went by, tried to get out still but game threw me out very soon.

Stayed on the server, I knew exactly what was going on points wise. Iestyn blew up his engine at the start. After my retirement Tim got stuck and had to retire. Still Tommie and Andy left. Tommie ran a great race, very solid drive to win the race and taking the Season 27 UKGPL Works Championship. Many congrats, and well deserved over the whole season with great wins at Monaco and here, complimented with some nice podiums! :)

If I had to lose it to someone it would be my teamie Tommie, and we also took the team championship. Also congrats to Andy, great consistent season, almost always a finisher and it's good to see that is rewarded by a magnificent 2nd here and 3rd place overall. Also grats to Ray for podium despite not finishing ;) Commiserations to Tim who had the upper hand early on, and suffered from a lot of bad luck later in the season.

Thanks all for racing this season, thanks to Axel for hosting, and Phil for moderating. See you in Season 28, the goal is clear: championship.

I'm under no illusions about this - I don't have the pace or commitment to get anywhere near most of the Works drivers, but what a thrill to be able to win the championship. If Tommie had just caught a wheel in a haybale in the first 27 laps then I would have finished on top. I missed one race, had a lap1 incident in another and finished the other eight races. Six of them I finished at least one lap down and and in both the other two I was 59 seconds down at the end. I think the only time I overtook anyone on track all season was Clive's BRM in my Eagle at Monza. This really isn't championship material. Just finishing has its rewards.
We have a true champion in Tommie, who races better than he qualifies and dominated the two toughest rounds at Monaco and Sempione. Congratulations Tommie! There were a few others who could have been champ with a tiny change of luck. Robert, Tim, Greg and Iestyn were all possible champs if one of their races went differently. I suppose it is healthy that the league, its rules and its drivers are combining to make it all interesting and worthwhile right to the end of the last race. I just turn up. Thanks to all who put the effort in.

Congrats Tommie, Andy, and Ray! Nice job guys. And a big congrats to Tommie and Andy in the championship standings! It took some good fortune for you to win it Tommie, but that's the way racing often goes. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. That's become somewhat of a motto for me over the last several years. You were also good though, Tom. You couldn't have done it otherwise. No Rob, I didn't forget you. Congrats on 2nd! I'm glad you recovered nicely from the harm I inflicted on you this season.


You entire post was very good. I particularly liked that part because I kind of know how you feel but it's somewhat different. I was in the championship until the end in the F2's but I never really drove like a champion. I made mistakes a champion wouldn't make, lost positions I shouldn't have lost, got lucky that Roberto Teso didn't race, Piero missed most of the season, and Clive didn't get the practice he needed or didn't participate at all. You, like Andreas, show that consistency is important. Even if you're outmatched at times, you still did a nice job of getting what you could. A lesson I seem to be forgetting.


Poor Bob! I drove him off the track too Donnie. I didn't realize he was beside me exiting the hairpin and I drove him into the hay bales on the left. :( I started to give back the position but then I didn't think it was wise. With me tailing Bob once again, I figured it might lead to one of us to wrecking again, so I went on my way. I was thinking I should stop on the last lap if Bob was still holding the position behind me. I apologize Bob. That was one of my worst mistakes of the season. I actually called myself a dirty SOB.

Somewhat of a pathetic drive on my part. After Rob got stuck in the hay bales, I started thinking you guys sure are kind to me. Rob, Tristan, Iestyn, and Tim did everything they could to hand me the win but I couldn't keep my cool. I had a little gap on Tommie and felt if I could open it to 4 or 5 seconds I'd be in good shape. I can't remember how I screwed up now to give up the lead but that was the beginning of my mistakes. By the time I went off in front of Ray to end my race, I had damaged the car enough to slow it some and make it much twitchier. I forgot that discretion is the better part of valor and pushed the car when I shouldn't have. That's something I've had real problems with this season, trying to often to drive beyond the limits of the car and myself.

Once again, I enjoyed it. Even though I had a disastrous season I still got a lot enjoyment just from the driving. Hopefully next season I can get back to having a good to excellent drive more than occasionally.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

Great post, Greg!  I always enjoy your compositions.  A really good read.

Yes, I drilled Bob comprehensively.  My G25 controller is stock and braking is always something of a guess as it transmits no feel at all, really.  Gets me into trouble more than any other factor.  I'm working on a solution...

Thank you Greg, but just a little bit more speed could also be good.  :)

Congratulations to the podium and especially to Tom, who is a real Champion!
 

 ::)

Mod Report published.

Thanks for an exciting season gents.  Good luck in Season 28!

Thanks for the moderation personal attention Phil. Sorry Bob and Greg, my fault.

Well, it's been an eventfull season on and also off the track, to the point I haven't even had the time to write something about my first UKGPL Championship! But with season 28 approaching, I guess I'd better write down something fast!

After my comeback in season 26, where I finished slightly down the order in 5th, obviously I had something to aim for in the coming season. However, unfortunately the first race of the season was scheduled on my birthday, and with all the partying going on there was no time to get to the Sachsenring in time. After that, I had a good pace going in the BRM at one of my favorite tracks Rouen, until I shunted off with a spectacular barrel roll, leaving me with only a handful of points. The next round at Clermont-Ferrand me and a very fast Greg in the Cooper were setting the pace, until we both made unforced errors whilst comfortably in the lead, and neither of us scored any points. So, 3 races into the championship, and only a handful of points and 0 finishes were mine. I decided to take a different approach and from that point on I always tried to drive within my own limits, even if that meant being at the back of the grid.

That is exactly what happened at Monza, where almost the complete field picked the Lotus or Eagle, and I was left scrambling for leftovers during quali. In the race a lot of people fell by the wayside and with a bit of added luck when Greg popped the Weslake engine on the penultimate lap, I got the Ferrari on the podium. More of the same at the Salzburgring, where a mediocre quali was cancelled out with a strong race to second, overtaking a bunch of people in the process, although Iestyn was well out of my reach and finished a full minute up the road. Things got even better at Monaco, a place where I always seem to go well somehow. I was lucky Iestyn raced the BRM because he was hurtling that thing round at a pace I'd never seen before! I was able to snatch pole and stayed out of trouble in the race, winning the event. Due to budget issues I was forced to drive the BRM, then the Brabham in the next rounds at Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen, resulting in 5th and 6th placed finishes, getting in the way of Axel in the proces as well, an incident from which we could thankfully recover during the race.

This continueous string of finishes did however put me back into championship contention, although my chances were still slim. If I ever had any good chance of a good result it would have been at Bremgarten though, a place I know well and seem to be competitive enough at times. Problems outside the track and league hampered my expectations however, I was not able to practice and for a while participation for the entire event was in doubt. Despite this I experienced a reasonable quali and ran a decent race in the top 3 or 4 until I was involved in an accident with Tristan.

So entering the final race I only had a mathematical chance to win the championship, and despite the Sempione track suiting me quite well, I qualified in mid-field. To my surprise, one by one my competitors fell by the wayside. Tim never got going after blowing the engine on the grid, Robert got stuck in the haybales, Greg and Iestyn got severely penalized for crossing track limits, until there was only me and Andy left. I only realized late into the race what was happening, and still couldn't believe it when I saw the final standings.

I'm very glad to win the championship against such tough opposition. I hope to be able to defend my title this year, although it seems like I'll be preoccupied for at least some of the sunday nights. But I'll race whenever I can!

Tommie.