SimRacing.org.uk

S30 Specials Series Trophy - Sports Car Race - Targa Florio

This is a fun series where we do the big events, so let's start with the GT's biggest event in 1967: the Targa Florio.

Please check the Season 30 details (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=540&theme=6) regarding rules and the Specials Series Trophy pages (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=555&theme=6) in particular.

Handicaps:
Heavies/Priv/Amateurs have a free car choice and unlimited shift+r .

Lights/Pro/Works can't use the Porsche 910 and have only 1x shift+r.


IMPORTANT
We will do "only" one racing lap, (but the server will show 2) so please be cooperative when a faster car/driver is behind you.
Please start your last qualifying lap with minimum ~ 30min time left!

GPL will shut the quali after ~11min overtiming, even if you are 100m from the finish line!  :o

Please end your race lap after the finish line within 250m!

Race List	=	IGOR
Server	=	UKGPL_8
IP Address	=	look at IGOR
Race date	=	10-06-2016
Qualification Time	=	~20:30  UK time -> 60min
Race Time	=	race starts at 21:30 UK time
Track	=	Targa  (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Tracks/Targa/)
Variant	=	SC67 with 60fpsV1
Damage Model	=	INT
Race length	=	~45 min -> 1 lap
Replay	=	you get here (https://www.sendspace.com/file/q7151b)

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

Have FUN!

I will not race this evening ... Euro will start with France-Romania ! 

Yes, it's a shame those Euro guys do not take our schedules into account...   :'(

Training server is up!

Yesterday I made a test lap that made my GT rank negative  :clap:

I just noticed that the UKGPL lap records do not have a GT sports cars 67 time.

I don't think we've ever run a full (normal) race here in GTs - or at any rate, the last time we've done GT events here we had to import the results in a slightly unusual manner.

This may be why.  :)

Yes that's why I have to set the server to 2 laps to get a result after 1 lap ;)

For some strange reason I used to like this track. Now it's over :D

Shift-r went with a blow up about 10m in.

Then rolled it off a rock wall about 8 min from end because of thinking about challenging Cookie for podium :doh:.

GL to all left.

I had a minor incident at the start. I had trouble avoiding someone that spun at the start. I had fairly minimal damage until last few corners, and I became trapped on guard rail. One shift - R, and I was able to finish. Fun event for me in the Porsche. I only wish that I had been able to practice before hand. As it turns out, my porsche set-up for this track was close to the default setting. Still, it was a nice car to drive on this track.

Congrats to Greg, very fast today.  I screwed up my qualifying by bashing a wall and bending something, then screwed up at the start when the car womballed off weirdly onto the grass.  Walter I think did the same and sent me onto a fence so I had to burn a reset there.  Managed to get past Axel when he had a moment (sorry for the bump there, GPL rather over-reacted to that small bump when I was trying to dodge.) then had a good dice with Dean.  Once I got to second I tried to just relax and concentrate at the same time.  Such a challenging relentless track.  Axel chased me all the way home but thankfully I didn't make any big mistakes, and the few nudges I gave the Lola didn't seem to hurt it any.  Points on the board.

Congratulatins, Greg!  Super drive!  :)

A hearty well done to both Mark and Axel for making the podium.  Good show, gys!

Bad luck for Deaner and Jani.

My 'race' was rather more just a tour.  I'd done a full lap in the morning as warmup and decided to not put in any time in official practice.  I actually missed the start proper as I was 'draining my potatoes' and crossed the S/F line to start my lap some 1m15s behind Greg.  LOL!  I brushed a couple of road markers early on which annoyed me supremely but thankfully, there didn't seem to be any appreciable damage.  Just passed 1/4 distance, my vision started to cave with my left eyeball seemingly just along for the ride.  Not fun driving the Targa with just one functioning eye.  At one point, I clipped a marker and spun the GT40 exactly 180 degrees.  The roadway was very narrow and it looked like it was going to be a real task to get righted.  A power-spin got me headed(mostly)in the right direction and I carried on.  Got it home without any more dramas.  That was the goal so I'm satisfied.

Congrats Mark, Axel, and all the finishers.

It's a shame Dean was impaled by the end of a brick wall or he might have finished too. This track has a lot of deadly snags and traps. It reminds me of Jim Pearson's tracks in that aspect.

That was a lot of fun. I'm starting to get a good feel for the track. It's taken a long time. I've got one more significant improvement in lap times left in the 330. Without the 3 offs I had during the race, it wouldn't have surprised me to lower my race lap by 15 more seconds. :) Any gains after that will be small.

I've wrecked so many times I know a lot of the pitfalls now. I'm doing a good job now, keeping the car pointed in the right direction. :) I'm recovering better from mistakes. I learned a new place to get stuck during the CA66 event, leading to approach another section of track with greater care.

Thanks Axel. I almost feel Axel wanted to give me at least one sure win this season. I'm determined to one day run a clean lap here in the 330/P4, so I've been driving two laps per week for more than 6 months now in one car or another. I intend to continue that for a long time.

Thanks for the practice too. I'm pleased with my setup for the 330 now. The only thing I might change is the gearing and possibly increase the ride height some more. A longer 1st and 2nd gear might help? or a much shorter 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear? I won't test those changes until I know the track better.


The Porsche is a great car for this track. In my early GPL days, I used it to learn Nurburgring after weeks of frustration in the 312 and 330. I also abandoned the 330 at one time to use the 910 to learn Targa better. I'm looking forward to a few laps in it in the near future. I know the track better than the last time I drove the 910 here.


That's a shame Doni. :( My eyes were bothering me some during the race. I ran a qualifying lap and 1 race lap at Targa with Geli just prior to entering this race. 4 laps almost in succession with a 10 minute break between lap 1 and 2 were almost more than my eyes could take.


That's one of things that make this track frustrating. The GTs are prone to facing the wrong direction when losing the rear. Most of the other mods will allow you to turn further into the slide and nail the throttle to do a quick 360. That doesn't work well at all with these cars. I've ruined dozens of laps here from the facing the wrong way in a tight section. It's also difficult for me to do a quick 180 from a standstill because of the long 1st gear I like to use.

At one point I thought you were driving the Mark 2B. I'm glad to see you drove the Mark 1. It's not a bad car to drive on this type of circuit. It's just slow. I find all the other Ford engine cars a nightmare on these circuits. I'm glad you didn't torture yourself with a big block or the Mirage.

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I'll keep my eyes open for any future races at Targa. They're rare with this track's length and difficulty.

Yes this track is allways a special event ;D

I did some preparation laps with the ChapF and bettered my PB by 84 sec ;)
another lap in the Lola was 1 sec faster but much more challenging...

I too had big problems in the last 3rd when my glasses were full of sweat and I tried to wipe them... look at the replay :o
Else I had maybe a good chance to catch Mark before the finish line ::)

For the Targa addicts: next Wednesday 20:30CET FunLiga races with 66s 2L here! Those cars are perfect for it.

I watched more of the replay. I've found I like watching Targa replays almost as much as Nurburgring replays. I couldn't help but laugh at a lot of the mistakes. Almost every mistake I saw had me thinking, "yeah, I know what it's like to do that." :)

I forgot about qualifying until watching the replay again. The first time I left the pits Mark was less than 1 mile in front of me. I wanted more of a gap so I wouldn't catch him during my Q lap. I drove slowly towards the start. By the time I got close I realized it's still not as much of a gap as I'd like. I returned to the pits. When I reentered the track, Prib was showing Mark 2.2 miles in front of me. I thought that might be a big enough gap, but I still caught him just before the Buonfornello Straight. :) I needed to wait 5-10 more seconds to start my qualifying lap. Move over Mark, you're fellow countryman, Chris Amon, is coming through! I still like trying to do Amon impersonations most. Now I just need a 312P at Nurburgring to do more. :)

Axel's first spin put him in the situation Doni and I mentioned. It's difficult to get the car turned around. The Chaps are some of the worst with a 3 speed transmission.

Mark and Dean were fighting for position. It's tough enough just racing the track. I'm still not comfortable enough with the track to really want to do any close racing with another car.


Yes! That was interesting until you ran wide in Campofelice. I thought that might prevent you from getting a tow on the Buonfornello Straight. When you started weaving like a drunk on the straight, you lost any chance of getting a tow. I still thought you had a chance to get a good tow until you hit the 203 km marker. :lol: Axel obviously couldn't see well. He had to get so close to the kilometer marker to see it that he hit it.

Luckily for Doni, the pits is before the starting line. It would have been worse if it weren't. Then you wouldn't have even got a timed lap.

I wish Dean could have reset again. I probably would have just to get some more practice. Who cares about a DQ when it takes such a long time to run one lap.

If any of you guys are interested in learning the track better. Move your 1st pit stall to other points on the track to practice them. I learned the 1st sector much sooner than any other. Too many wrecks and resets had me returning to the pits to try again. I've still probably driven the 1st sector twice as much as any other. It shows too. My first sector times are becoming somewhat consistent.

To get my 5th gear set correctly without using much time, I've set my first pit stall on the straight after entering Campofelice. Now I know sector 4 well from starting in Campofelice so many times. I think it's time to set the first pit stall near the end of sector 2. That should allow me to learn sector 3 well, the one I know least.

If we ever race the GTs here again, I'll use a slower car. Right now I'm trying to get the 330/P4 set up well for Nurburgring and Targa. I'm also trying to get my GTrank handicap as low as possible for the 330.


Congrats! You'll keep getting faster? From watching the replay, it appears you know the track somewhat well. After 150-200 laps, I still don't think I know it real well. I'm surprised you didn't like the Lola more. This is the track that made me grow to love the T70's handling. It only took me 2 or 3 laps to break 36 minutes in the Lola. That was much quicker than I did it in any other GT. If only the T70 sounded and looked as good as the Ferrari. :) It's probably smart to take the car you know best though, like I did with the Ferrari.

I must be a Targa addict. I'd guess there are few drivers that race online now that know the track better than I do.

Thanks for the info about Funliga, Axel. I can't make the next Targa race but I'll now watch what events they will be running. I might show occasionally if I ever have time on Wednesday for a race.

Thanks again guys.

Ha, you can't fool me I knew it was you :)  I thought I could stay ahead until I hit a wall near Campofelice which gave me horrible understeer when trying to turn left.  That let you catch right up in time for the long straight but at least I could get a draft down there.



Ah, I set my fifth gear by going the wrong way out of the pits and doing the short stretch to the straight in reverse!  Then I can run down the straight, and back again to the pits.