SimRacing.org.uk

Grid/server capacity: 20

Track: Stardust International Raceway Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg187123#post_stardust)

Cars allowed: Mercury Cougar TA from the 1960's carset Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_american_v8) , Chevrolet Camaro Z28 from the 1970's carset Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_american_v8) , '66 Shelby Mustang TA, 340 Plymouth Barracuda and the 1968 Pontiac Firebird all from this carset Download this (http://www.mediafire.com/download/pe41p6divqam78y/Old_Geezers_add-on_car_pack.zip)

Drivers are reminded that they are limited to only two drives in each car. Check your status HERE (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oiWs6vgMrzQkMd9qHQrp-AwCEgSUcm3GfFkiFe0S97o/edit?usp=sharing)

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

Time of Day Setting: 17:00
Start: STANDING
Tyre wear: Normal
Fuel consumption: Normal

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

OK,,, Next one up is the Trans Am V8's at Stardust Raceway just outside Las Vegas Nevada.  Track was built by the owners of the Stardust Hotel/Casino people to draw the racing crowd to Las Vegas.  By 1967 Trans Am was a pretty popular series and the Pony cars were selling like crazy.  It was held towards the end of September but in the desert still hot as you know where.  The race was a 350 mile length that started at 6PM because of the heat.  Maybe we should have started in the evening to get the correct "feel", Oh well it is what it is....Pole time was 150.0 by a Cougar, thats pretty close to my race time in the Firebird.  Didn't find too many pics on the net but found one site with some and some news write-ups.     http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=9375.0;nowap     Always liked this track, nothing to hit, but if you go off you pay for it with a lot of lost time in the sand...

BTW Pony cars should be called Fish cars, because the Plymouth Barracuda hit the showrooms before the Mustang.................

See you at the track
Bob M.

Might get back in time for this. I have my first real race of the season at Croft  on Easter Monday, and it's a couple of hours drag back
home, so could be on. I did a few laps in a couple of different cars. was slow in the Fireybird, liked the mustang and I think the barracuda
was good as well. Nice track  8)

There's still time to set the start at 18:00 isn't there - if we want to ?  :)

Cheers,
Erling

Sure. Could be done. But when we have set the start time to evening in the past, we usually got a bunch of people complaining
that it's too dark, or it gives them low frame rate.

Is it that dark at 18:00 already ?

I haven't tried it yet on this track, but worth a check I think.

Cheers,
Erling

I just checked and all the cars have headlights.  1800 is pretty dark, but the corner markers (black signs) stand out well.  Only T1 may be a little tricky judging the wide arc to hit the apex just right.
You guys know the crowd better than I do, but I remember their were some remarks about the evening race last year.......Your call as to do it or not..

Bob M.

If it requires headlights, it's probably not a good idea, as that's what typically gives a hard performance hit.

Just had a brief look, and 18:00 is darker than I had imagined, and probably too dark.  As a compromise, I'd suggest 16:00 instead - it gives a nice evening mood, and shouldn't be dark enough to require headlights by the time we finish.

Cheers,
Erling

I agree Erling, however this is Tony/Bob's series. I will probably be around for this, though I might not be back from Croft to start the server
We have done this sort of thing in the past, and someone or other has always complained that even in the twilight it saps frame rate.
If Tony is not back for this, then it's up to Bob to decide.

Guy's, flew back into Heathrow this morning and the jet lag hasn't cut in yet so I'll see if I get a chance to try out an alternative daylight setting.

EDIT: 17:00 seems to work well; sun has just dipped below the horizon. Race announcement changed to suit.

Guy's, we are carrying a small deficit which would be nice to get rid off before subs time comes around again. If you have already contributed towards our cost's, Thank you. If you haven't, then please consider a small contribution. It is only through your generosity that we are able to keep going.
Thanks for reading,
Tony

Just checked out the 1700 start time.  Looks good to me, at 1600 the sun glare was bad, 1700 is much better....Hope you enjoyed your holiday Tony.  I spent 93 days at Takhli AFB (about 150 miles north of Bangkok) in a all expense paid vacation by the goverment in winter of 1962/63 out of Okinawa.  Wonderful people especially the kids.  They were learning English in school so anytime they saw us they would come up and welcome us to their country and chit chat.

Bob M.

Replay posted. Results are provisional as I need to find out what happened to Ziu.

Apologies to Ati for my early braking, but I really struggle with getting these big tanks slowed down. I did notice that you aborted and went off track to avoid me. :notworthy:
 Not a bad race for me, although I found myself amongst the fast guys where I had no place to be in the early laps and used far too much rubber trying to hang on to Geoffers and then Ziu. When Matt started to close I discovered that wheel rims do not offer as much traction as tyres!! After 2 cut warnings I had to ease off and concentrate on finishing.
Grats to Geoffers and Matt....and all finishers.

Well, a night to forget for me. :( Had a problem I have not come across before. Joined the server and found myself sitting on a "vanilla" track with no groove or darkened braking areas. It was like I had switched off some level of detail or similar, All objects seemed to be present just no tarmac detail.. I tried disconnecting and rejoining but no change.

Anyway, it totally screwed my race, I just couldn't find a braking point and spent time exploring parts of the surrounding scenery I was not aware of. Time after time I missed my braking point and took an excursion off track unless I braked ridiculously early. No fun at all tonight. which was a shame as I was beginning to warm to this track.

Went straight into an off-line quick race after the end of the race and everything was back to normal again.

Congrats to the podium and all finishers. On to Riverside.....

TTFN
John.
  

Results now corrected

The landscape at sunset was artistic, looked like a painting in the impressionist style, but when the race started, all the poetry has vanished and gave way to a terrible nightmare. Drive on this track with sunset light it has been almost impossible, first because not there are any kerbs, second because the cartels meters input corners of braking are blacks  and third because stay under 1 second from Geoffers car  and i dont get any possibility to see the road with darkness.....Resulted ? Three cuts and Stop & Go. I did just a mistake, the start, i lost two places and i could to recover it only because Attila and Clive wronged also and i sure they wronged because poor light. Saturday i drove on Hockenehim GP in GCMCL in the same condition with sunset, i did a perfect race with pitstop also, with Chevrolet Camaro SS 1969, not problems with light, i could overtake normally and i saw well with kerbs and white cartels. About Stardust not kerbs and the worst thing it s that the gravel on the track edge is dark. Even if i wanted to try to pass Geoffers, in these conditions it was impossible, honestly i dont known where put my car wheels, each lap with a different line. Maybe it has been most comfortable for Geoffers to drive without anyone  ahead. My best race lap 1.47.3......Honestly i got pole with race fuel on my car and with one lap only with cold tyres 1.46.2, then i think with normal light my race could be between 1.46 and 1.47 and i could try  to pass Geoffers without take any risk. I conclude telling that i like to drive with sunset or with darkness night but not always possible to get it on all tracks, also because so in these track not much fun.

Grats Geoffers and Podium

I seem to remember mentioning that some people would not be happy with darkness  :whistling:
Wasn't frame rate apparently though. I did a couple of laps at 18:00 setting and it seemed ok, the main difference
was the lack of racing line, the braking zones had only the dark patch you get in qually. so I used those
and didn't have any particular problem, I liked the atmosphere, but then I drive night races without lights
so I may be weird  :-\ :laugh:

Was struggling for pace big styley, I had been doing 47s and low 48s regularly in previous practice, was doing
those sort of times on line prac with Clive, so maybe it was the darkness, but I was struggling to get 49s
COuld see Clive was running out of rubber, I had setup with a lot of rear grip to allow for the wear, and it payed off towards
the end, when I could catch Clive and then passed when he fell off.  ;D

Great to get back to simracing after several weeks away. Nice track but my setup skills were still on holiday cos my car just wouldn't turn in at the corners. Sadly one to forget for me.

John:
The missing tyre marks is a fairly common GTL problem with some add on tracks.  I'm sorry to tell you, but if you continue with GTL, you will run into it again. Normally they're not completely gone - you will get a blotch where they used to start, maybe one or two in between, and one where they ended, like yesterday. I had practiced at 17:00 without headlights, but ended up switching them on in the race, as the small patches of tyre marks were very easy to miss otherwise.

It has been discussed here in the forum before, but unfortunately there's apparently no solution. It's as you described; all looks normal in practice, but in qual and race, the marks are missing.  You can check beforehand if it will be a problem on a given track though:  fire up a quick race offline - if it's a 'problem track', you will see it there too.

The race:
Had a hard time picking a car for this. Cougar was my fastest option, but didn't want to use it again already. Camaro 2nd quickest, but frustrating to drive here; kept spinning off, and had a hard time matching my own fastest time.  Went back to the Mustang, which I used to learn the track.  Much easier to drive, so despite my best time being 0.5 secs slower than the Camaro, my average lap times during the race would most likely be faster.  First timed lap improved my former pb, and when I then beat my fastest Camaro time after some more practice laps, the choice was a given.

Surreal experience to see Ziu qualify with a lap that was 3.5 secs faster than my own time - which was a new pb for me, and in the same car no less!  :o 
Kept my 6th place after the start.  Had Bob in close attendance behind me on the first few laps, but then he gradually slipped back.  Guys ahead were disappearing too, so quickly a very lonely race.  Only distractions were lapping a couple of cars, and surprisingly seeing Ziu rejoining after an off, late in the race.  Any hopes of passing him, maybe if his tyres were completely shot, were soon quashed, when he disappeared again (he would have been quicker, even if driving on the rims..)

Got my 6th upgraded to 5th when Ati retired.  Grats to the podium & Ziu.

Cheers,
Erling

I was having difficulty last night reading the track and the lighting conditions for the race was just the icing on the cake! ::) :-\

No problem Clive,that's my fault  ;) Bad concentration.Light conditions it's not good for me.Grats Geoffers podium and all,see you next race.

Not too good, not too bad!!!  That about sums up my race.  Got 2 cut warnings in the first 4 or 5 laps both in the S's.  My fault as I was watching the car ahead (Erhling) instead  focusing on my own driving.  So drove cautiously for the rest of the race.  John was faster in the Camaro in some parts of the track, so wanted him to pass me.  Thought he would do it on the back straight and I pulled over to the left, but he overshot the left hander and must have wounded his car as I slowly pulled away from him after that.  Just did the rest of the laps trying to stay focused....Got some chuckles  in the last lap or so following Roger and chmichel  who were having one he** of a battle all the way to the finish.  Great racing guys!!!

Bob M.

Results (https://googledrive.com/host/0BzUpS2smyYQ_LXVRVDd1VGlPcTg?ltmpl/index.html)

 8)


I think, summary is wrong as Ziu is listed in last position, but position survey seems to be correct.

Thanks for the info Erling, Always something new to learn about GTL I hadn't realised just how much I was using the track textures rather than the countdown markers until they were not there any more..

TTFN
John.

Thanks Kurt. The race results file did contain some errors.