SimRacing.org.uk

Season 28 Historics Trophy - Round 7 - Le Mans (Sarthe)

Back from the mountains the UKGPL Historics Trophy spends less than 24 hours at round 7, and appropriately arrives at Le Mans. We will be racing at night. Just like the Sports Car boys. We may lose a little historical accuracy but this is just too good an opportunity to miss!

Most famous race in the world is probably the 24hours at Le Mans. It has also hosted several Grand Prix including the first ever - the French Grand Prix of 1906. The Grand Prix name ("Great Prize") referred to the prize of 45,000 French francs to the race winner. The franc was pegged to the gold at 0.290 grams per franc, which meant that the prize was worth 13 kg of gold!

Anyone winning this race will get gold too - just look at the table ;)

TOLD YOU IT WOULD CHANGE - LOL

This race is for cars with engines of 3L in displacement.

Nobody is restricted to a chassis as this is a power circuit and the championship is close. Tris should be happier now ;)

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

This season, races are to be run at 60 frames per second – please use this patch 60fpsV2newmod (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Replays/Archive/Season27/60fps/).

Drivers must complete 50% of each race to score.


Race List = iGOR
Server = UKGPL_9
IP address = 37.157.48.87
Race date = 16-06-2015
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 = Le Mans (Sarthe) at night (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Tracks/nbsarthe)
Variant = 66F1
Damage Model = Pro
Race length = 15 Laps (40 to 50 minutes)
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Replays Available here (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Replays/Archive/Season28/Historics/)

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=479&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 the Mulsanne straight 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.

Password: see above (#post_event_password)

???  Two-litre spec, Paul?  Last race was at Montjuic for the small bores.

???  Regular LeMans or the night version?  The latter is in my notes.

No worries either way, frankly...  Just lookin' to get it pinned down.

This race is for cars with engines less than 2.5L in displacement.......so, under 2.5 meen that we ( Iestyn & me ) have no choise of car ;) the only car under 2.5l in the group 1 chassi is the Lotus climax !!...the Eagle is 2.7 liters !!

.....this race should be 3 liters  ;).....

According to the registration thread (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=12905.0) this race should be run with 3L cars at the night version of Le Mans.

The Night version is more stable online...

wont be around for this one

Training server is running ;)

The first three races will not be handicapped and after that the top three drivers in the championship will be limited to a slower car subject to a thirty point margin over the next driver.

1   Iestyn Davies (R1)      186.0            
2   MagicArsouille (FT)      167.0            
3   Cookie (R1)                      161.0               
4   Doni Yourth (FT)              150.0               
5   Rainier (FT)                      142.0               
6   Ronniepeterson (FT)      130.0   

......well,......... Iestyn Davies & Tristan Bot are restricted to Group 1 chassis. That may change after the concert!...........but I am only 17 pts marging to the next ( 4 th ? ) driver........is it coform to the rulls ??

....hum...concert is finish ??   :angel:

As no clarification on the matter of which car classification seems to be forthcoming and we are due to be under starter's orders in just a few hours, I'm having to assume that the lead post is what will prevail.  NOT 3-LITRE MODELS.

This handicap system will not work, if the Moderator does not take it seriously.  ???

Doni, it's 3 litres.. I was practicing T1G last night with Rob and Axel. Everyone makes mistakes.. or is simply caught in the glow of a 5 Seconds of Summer concert (lucky you Paul ;D).

Draft can be worth over 7 seconds here! I might try to continue as a Team Lotus driver until there is a shortage of BRM engines :P.

Right on Iestyn. Paul has corrected the racepost yesterday.

Sorry for the confusion. ;)

See S26 last time we raced at Le Mans. I think I just about held on in the P83 until I clouted the Tertre Rouge trees. Also, speedshifting should ensure a plentiful supply of valves and camshafts on the asphalt! ;D

Hehe Rob and I did a double draft pass to Mulsanne corner.. I was so close to him that we both slid wide and I went off into the trees ::). Axel found an Eagle flying across the road ;D

1/2 lap and disco again ....... :cursing: :censored: :hang: tumbleweed

Thought I had long enough gearing to deal with the draft here. Well, for 6 1/2 laps, I did...  :-\

Tris: sorry to hear that.  :(

Results up, replay up. Grats Doni! Championship's close, all to play for!

My car developed an instant dislike for the rapid esse, between Arnage and White House, but seemed strangely attracted to the tree soon after?  Much head banging and body bending, failed to fix this before the race.  No time to ask the President, whose house I thought was larger?

Lap 1, while in flow with the tow, a near catastrophe!  My car continued to esse beyond requirements, and attempted some esse bending.  The resulting loss of a tow, meant a lonely tiptoe around the track for much of the race, while others lost various important parts.  :o

David eventually caught my tow, when he put the hammer down.  I was fighting him off, until some fool put sand across the track, at the end of the Mulsanne.  Cooked my rears  trying to escape it.  Escaped!  Forgot the rears were cooked and 'cooked my Goose!'  Thus, ending ye heroic charge towards the front, before it had gotten started.  Grumble!

I knew that I was in with a chance in this round as the circuit allows even "slowpokes" like me to keep up.  :)  As well, misfortune for others is always waiting in the wings to strike.

In one slipstream on the Mulsanne, I saw a cool 203mph briefly.  That's wicked!

The fallers in this round were notable.  Iestyn with a Lap01, T1 biff of the barriers set him back and he never really got a chance to recover.  Later, an engine glitch.  Tristan hardly got warmed up at all before losing his connection.  Rocket was a possible contender but lost the slipstream and then fell off.  It looked like the lead serial had dropped Dean early on but he fought back hard to set the new UKGPL FTD with a blistering time.  A duff engine ended his hopes.  And poor Axel.  Surely, this was his race to lose and by gum, he did.  Quite a shocker.  Even with his off at Indianapolis, it was possible for a charge back but in a cruel stroke, he became high-centred on the berm.  Gross misfortune.

Over the last couple of laps, it was down to dealing with cagey Robert in the BRM P83.  I knew that, overall, RF would use his skills to the ultimate and even if my Ferrari was the superior ride, that wouldn't count in the final result and odds were that he'd gun me down at some critical point.  Going into the Mulsanne hairpin on the final lap, I had to make a decision as to how best to counter his pass attempt on braking.  In previous laps, it was a typical pass by the BRM going in there and I simply yielded.  For that last pass through, I decided to force the issue by staying high and wide and staying in the left lane as we rounded the hairpin.  There was a faint hope that in pinching Robert off and forcing him to pussy-foot through in the right-hand lane, he'd lose momentum and have issues getting the H-16 back up on the cam.  To my amazement, it worked!  Kudos to RF for gauging superbly what exactly was going on and leaving me room.  This would be a maneuver I would only consider with those in which I had the fullest confidence.  Even if I somewhat bungled my effort through the hairpin...and I did..., it was at least as good as Robert's and I just managed to get the needed acceleration to squirt into the lead on the run down to Indianapolis.  This was crucial, of course, as getting into and out of Arnage in the lead would be all important.  Even as we coursed through the esses and approached White House, it was a close thing and the prospect of being passed on the exit to that tricky switchback with the finish line virtually in sight was a distinct possibility however much I may have tried.  I had to have a flawless if not perfect pass through White House.  Made it!  To my shock, as I gassed it on the exit, in my mirrors, I caught a glimpse of the BRM spearing off to the outfield.  Robert had the misfortune to just catch a bit of the grass verge and lose traction.  A quick trip into the barrier ended his fierce challenge.  PHEW!  HOMEFREE!  :)

No doubt about it.  Luck was on my side.  I've been running UKGPL events since S23 and this is my first win.  One to savour as it's not likely to be a trend.  :)

Grats to Dave for hanging in there for a podium.

Congrats Doni!

Nicely done.  :fencing:

Pedals were messed up early in quali, then Axel towed me, but in good laps either we had a mishap, and then I blew the BRM engine. This decided I would use an extremely tall 5th and 6th gear for the race...in the end I had to set a lap in clean air, which was decent and good for P4...

After start in Dunlop Curve we all bunched up, and went a bit loose checking up on the outside, this might have led to Iestyn hitting the barriers, sorry mate...after the first Mulsanne passage Tristan sadly discoed, just after he had passed me there...very tough luck Tris :(

For a while it looked like Axel and I could break away, but the tow was too strong. Couldn't manage to pass Axel with tow, improving both our laptimes. Had set an incredible tall 6th gear that gave me once 322kmh with the BRM, 201mph, but needing whole Mulsanne to catch up...in clean air I did about 295kmh/183mph...

This way Doni caught up, and later Dean. Decided not to race to hard and try to hang back. It wouldn't matter passing anyone, as they would drive past me on the straights again. However now and then I tried to make a move, just for practise later in the race. Almost rearended Axel, after initially braking too early for Mulsanne, and then finally braking too late last 50m. That was close, Doni went under me when I almost went straight. I think Axel saw me coming and gave me just that extra room I needed.

Dean made a mistake out of Arnage I think, and sadly blew up a lap later out of Tertre Rouge. Initially I thought he got caught out by me checking up for Doni out of Tertre Rouge, who went a bit sideways and lost momentum.

Basically let Axel and Doni fight. After I made before mentioned mistake at Mulsanne, decided to hang back a bit and trying to set a fast lap. After Axel sadly spun out at Indianapolis getting banked, I tried to stay close to Doni, and practise the final move out of Maison Blanche, as I knew this was my only chance to win. In the penultimate lap I made a good practise, but decided to stay behind at S/F.

In the last lap still tried to outbrake Doni at Mulsanne, was able to hold the inside but I bogged down, and to my surprise Doni still outaccelerated me. Stayed close until the section where nowadays the Porsche Curves are, but missed the line and lost momentum. Tried to compensate at Maison Blanche, but went wide exiting, hit the grass, and spun into the left wall. Got lucky to limp to the finish salvaging P2...

Very good win Doni, not lucky at all. Very well measured drive, being patient and agressive when you had to. Didn't know it was your first UKGPL win! Many congrats, and well deserved buddy!  8) Glad I didn't take you out. Also good job Dave Rainier, always a solid finisher ;)

Commiserations for the retirements...

Grats on the win Doni!

Well overdue. Grats!

Grats Doni!!! Well overdue you've been a regular here at UKGPL for long time. Hope this is the first of many  :thumbup2:

Thanks very kindly for the grats, fellas.  Can't lose all the time, I suppose.  Indeed, is it the start of a dynasty?  Hmmm...

(Only if a dynasty be considered as one win.   :laugh:)

From here on in, I'll just sit at the back at try not to get in anyone's way.

Does Exit of Mulsanne Straight mean the breaking zone for the hairpin ?

I got kicked from behind and got stuck on that bank. Needed 30 seconds to get free of it again.
There was no slipstream anymore and i was chanceless. very unhappy about that.

So i guess the moderation will look at this automatically.

Well first of all, a big grats to Doni for his first win here! :thumbup1: :thumbup1: :thumbup1:
Of course this track is a gift for a GT driver like me. ;)
After I had sorted out the braking problems in the training races my setup was perfect for the race.
So it was the drivers fault to brake a fraction too late into Indianapolis...



 

Does First Lap mean special aggressive driving and forcing an opponent off track  ?

Next time i know what to do in leaving no room and therefore going off together.

Congrats to the podium and the other finishers !

In my post above, I mentioned that I've been around here in the UKGPL since S23(2012).  I'd done a quick search of the GPL season records here at the UKGPL to determine that.  Somehow, that didn't sit well with me.  My feeling was that I'd been kicking around here a lot longer than that.  A more thorough search this morning revealed my suspicions were correct.  My debut here in this great league was WAY BACK in S17, 2009.  Evidently, it's all been a blur since then.   ;)

The tougher the challenge, the sweeter the victory.  :-*

And here is this weeks factoid selection :


1/ The Mulsanne straight leads to Mulsanne corner, where bucket and spade are often useful.  In it's early years, the track carried straight on through the village of Mulsanne.  The sharp right in use is more than a 90, but is not officially known as a hairpin.

2/ The main straight is often the longest straight on a track, but can be the start/finish straight.  There'a no doubt about it's whereabouts at Le Mans.

3/ A back marker does not usually mark backs, but prefers bumpers.  8)