SimRacing.org.uk

Grid/server capacity: 22


Track: Early Brands Hatch GP Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg81636#post_earlybrands)

Cars allowed:

CLASS A (0-1000cc)

Mini Cooper 970S Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_mini_cooper_970_s) Note: Not included '69 Mini.
Hillman/Sunbeam Imp Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_hillman_imp)

CLASS B (1000-1300cc)

Mini Cooper 1275S Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_mini_cooper_1275s_1968)
Ford Escort 1300GT Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_escort_1300gt)

CLASS C (1300-2000cc)

Ford Escort 1600RS Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_escort_rs1600)
Ford Escort 1600TC (FVA) Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_escort_fva)

CLASS D (Over 2000cc)

Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (from the 1970's carpack) Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_american_v8)
Ford Capri 2600RS (requires skinpack) Download this (http://www.mediafire.com/file/nv4lxqiu7nhdcnc/Ford_Capri_RS_2600.zip)
Ford Mustang Boss 302 Download this (http://gizmo71.www.idnet.com/srou/ukgtl/cars/SRou_GTL_69Boss302Mustang_1.1.0.0.exe)

Drivers are limited to a maximum of FOUR drives per Class, with a limited number of drives per car. For more information please click HERE (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I7egPwfJnD3svMwKxFhsK633XLm8BLocdNuofsj2VKg/edit?usp=sharing)

Practice: ~19:20 (60 mins)
Qualifying: 20:20 (20 mins)
Race: 20:40 (25 laps)

Time of Day Setting: 14:00
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

IMPORTANT

Once qualification has started drivers may not leave to change class/make/car. They may leave to change skins.

With these cars I'm obliged to use the Mini 1275 Yellow. Rebus unsolved  :(

Another one I'll  miss unfortunately. Off up to stay in a small village up in Scotland  for the week. Will hopefully top up my single malt collection while we are there.

TTFN
John

Nice one John. Where abouts. I may be able to tell you which Distillery's are worth a visit and which you should avoid (no freebies).  ;)

Hope you get this resolved soon. This is one of our better series IMO and it will be a shame if you cannot join the server etc.

We are staying in Port William in Dumfries and Galloway. It's an area we know well, unfortunately a bit of a desert as far as whisky goes. There is a new(ish) distillery in Annandale but not ready for bottling yet. Another in Wigtown (Bladnoch) which is only around 15m from where we are staying so I'm sure we will give it a try although I've heard it's not open to the public currently. :(.

Not many lowland distilleries left now, I think there is another one at Girvan (Ailsa Bay) but again not sure of it's status.

TTFN
John.

Yeah, the lowland distils have all but disappeared unfortunately

Had planned to take part in the race this evening, do some practice about 5 pm and join online about 7:45pm. I got home just over an hour ago to find there was a power cut, the house was freezing, and I was freezing. No way to get a hot drink of food so I went for a walk in the dark. I saw a diesel generator turn up at the substation about half an hour ago so came home and the power has just come back on. Having a hot cup of soup now, will then make a sandwich and do some practice. I think racing in GTL is a good way to warm up.
 
I have raced on the later version of Brands online and early Brands does not seem very different. I will use an Escort. I once owned a Mexico spec type Escort in real life. So with that experience what can possible go wrong. ::)

Watch out for me at the back.  :wheelchair:

Disaster, good qualifying lap and a good start.  ;D At T1 a Mini in front of me lifted making me lift also and caused a slow rotation  :oops: and a nose to nose collision with another Mini - Sorry! :surrender:

Replay and results now posted

Good fun, but not a real good finish, but then I wasn't expecting much more with the various cars.  Had to drive a 970 Mini as I had pretty much "painted myself in a corner" with car choices.   Sorry Bill I was the  mini that hit you in your spin on T1.  Didn,t seem to cause me any troubles though, sorry you got injured.  Chased after Tony in his 970 for a few laps and he went wide in a corner and went to the wall.  Drove by myself until about L 20 or so and then Tony showed up in my mirror after a few minor wheels in the weeds by me.  By that time I had lost my focus and the tires were gone.  He got by me easily and then Fulvio passed me in his 1275. They were having a good battle ahead and my only hope was that they would knock each other out, but didn't happen.  Oh well, on to Lemans and the beastley GT40.  I ran this particular version for 2.4 hrs several years ago in a GT350 with the old North American racers and was lucky enough to finish....Not my favorite version of the track but it is what it is!!!  See you all there!

Bob M.

That was a bit of a silly race for me.  Given the remaining tracks, I expected more to opt for class D, and only really prepared for racing the Boss.  Winning as the only driver in that car felt a bit like stealing candy from kids (although Mythbusters proved that that might not be all that easy...  ;))

Race uneventful until lap 9-10, when I started catching the rear of the field.  Remainder of the race kept interesting by trying to pass people with as little interference as possible - held back and tried finding spots where the driver in question didn't have to slow too much.  Had a big gap to 2nd place, so could afford to lose a little time.

When I was nearing Geoffers, noticing his car lagging somewhat, and making a mental note of telling him after the race, GTL suddenly minimized and I was looking at my desktop!    Thankfully the car just glanced along a tyre wall, with no damage done.  Passed Geoffers on the following lap, seeing him spin off in my mirrors.  Worried it was something I did, but replay suggests it wasn't.  If that's not the case, you must send me a virtual kick Geoffers  :)

On the penultimate lap, I was catching Bob, Fulvio & Tony, apparently having quite a battle.  Very much didn't want to spoil their fun, so backed off, keeping so far back that I hoped they would just continue.  Still managed to bungle it all up at the end of the final lap.  Absent minded, I sped up, passing Bob at the start/finish line, thinking the race would end. Didn't consider that Bob and the other two gents would have to do one more lap, and thus got in Bob's way in T1  :oops:  Very sorry about that Bob; that was thoughtless.  Hope it didn't spoil a last minute chance for catching Tony and/or Fulvio.

Grats to Kurt & Geoffers for completing the podium - and grats to Ziu for winning Class D !!  :clap: :clap:

About the minimizing to desktop:  Got very worried, as others have been having this issue recently.  However, am now completely convinced about the cause in my case.  Back in 2014 or 2015, it also happened during a race, and eventually the server crashed, but don't know if there was any connection.  At the time, I strongly suspected Citrix Receiver, which had inadvertently been running in my tray.  It's a program I have to activate to connect to work from home.  I normally shut it down afterwards, but most annoyingly, every time you run it, it sets itself up to start with Windows.  Can't find a way to disable it in its settings, so have to do it via Msconfig, in the startup programs.   Must have forgotten it last time I used it, as I found the little bugger running in my tray after the race (I always restart the PC just before a race, to clean out any running tasks that might interfere).  With this today, I'm convinced it must be the cause.  For those who's also had the minimizing, it might be worth investigating if you have Citrix or something similar running too - it was formerly known as ICA Client, so could be that too.

Grats to the podium places.

Having used most of the proper cars, I was also being forced into a corner about car choice with far too many Minis with their front wheel drive  :-\

I would happily have swapped all of my Minis for a Boss Mustang drive, but Tony was in a mean mood and insisted that I squeeze into a buzz box!!

I have finally upgraded my overloaded XP box for a 4.2Ghz, 16Gb Ram 8Gb 1080 video card and Windows 10. Very happy with all of it except the last item!!!!
The graphics are awesome and everything in GTL runs very quickly. Previously GTL took at least 3 minutes to load, now it is almost instantaneous  ;D
Having invested in such hi-tech hardware I expected to be proportionately quicker on track, but there must be a setting in Win 10 needs adjusting because that  did not work for some reason??

So, I had to actually do some practice laps with a Mini and opted for the 1275s. I tried the setup that I used at Oulton, but either I had forgotten how to drive it or, more likely, Windows 10 did not recognise the settings. Built a new setup that got more and more radical until I managed a 1:55 lap which felt quick, until Geoffers showed up on the server last night  :-\.
The race went much as I expected, with Erling running away out front, Eiffel following and Geoffers hurling his Mini after them. Misnomis was the only car out of position early on in his Escort 1600. Fulvio did a great job in holding him back for the first laps, but eventually the extra power got the Escort past and closing on my boot lid!!
I tried to make things as difficult as possible for Misnomis to pass by maxing out the corners, but I had no answer to his extra speed on the straights and he eventually cruised past. For a few laps I tried to smash his brake lights through the tight bits, but it was a losing battle.
With around 10 laps to go my HUD was telling me that I was all alone with Mis and Geoffers around 12 secs ahead and the next car behind was 25+ seconds back. Between myself and the next car behind HUD indicated that Ziu was there, but was a DNF...but he was not dropping down the order. I started watching my mirrors and began catching glimpses of a car that was clearly NOT 25 secs behind and keeping pace with me??

I figured that the server had dropped Ziu and actually he was still running. He was in a different class, so not a direct threat other than overall standings. I was not going to catch the cars in front unless they made a big mistake, so I decided to manage the gap and aim to finish first and not make any mistakes that would allow Ziu through.
Almost screwed that plan on the final laps, when I was watching Ziu in the mirror instead of my braking points and ran wide. That allowed Ziu to get much too close and I had to push hard on the last lap to maintain my place.

As I crossed the line I realised that I still had enough fuel for another 12 laps!! Talk about handicapping yourself???  ::)

Then Win 10 interrupted post race chat by freezing GTL and the PC completely??!! I had to switch off power and reboot which is not what I expected from a new PC. I am having the same issues in GPL and I suspect that it is linked to the G25 software that was reluctant to install and setup.
I have had a BSOD and a "Watchdog Violation" message, which indicates some sort of major conflict somewhere.

Anyone with any ideas or advice???

Having been round to friends with my good lady for nibbles and wine (early evening, how bourgeois is that?!) didn't expect to be able to drive any sense, but actually felt pretty relaxed and consequently completed the whole race without incident, and enjoyed it! OK, I was slow, and finished last, but what the hell? :) Topping the points in class C can only be temporary, as most of you regular guys have drives in hand but feels pretty good anyway. Will miss the Mallory double due to being on our trip to see the young 'uns in NZ and Aus, so fill yer boots lads, back for one last one in December.
Oh and Mrs.Huggy won darts and shove in her local ladies league up the pub too, beneficial effects of alcohol eh?  :D

Having decided to take part in yesterday evenings race I thought at one time I wasn’t going to make it due to a power cut. After a lay off from GTL I had re connected my G25 and it all worked O K.  :sweatdrop:

Before the race I was surprised to see I had the third most powerful car on the grid. I could see a possible podium beckoning.  Unfortunately a sloppy gear change and miscalculating the effect of a full fuel load on the cars handling resulted in me running wide and brushing a tyre barrier. The effect of this was me being demoted way down the field. I managed to run wide again at T1 and lost more places.  ::)

At least my mistakes made things interesting as I had to chase down and pass less powerful cars. I managed to get into 4th and was chasing down Geoffers, about 3 seconds behind him when I must have got a bit exited and out braked myself leaving me about 13 seconds behind him. I chased him again and was about 5 seconds down as the race finished one lap early as we had been lapped by the Stang.  :cursing:

I enjoyed the race, I knew the track quite well. I was a bit rusty I think and probably would have preferred to finish third in a boring race having made no mistakes but maybe I’ll manage that next time.  :no:

Grats to winners.  :clap: :clap: :clap:

First time with these cars since long time and I was obliged to drive the Mini 1275 n.0 as I explained in other posts, but I was conforted to be able to stay ahead  of Clive in qualy. At the beginning the car didn't want to turn easy, but a couple of clicks on diff and brake bias on default setup made the difference.
Start went good and after a little affair with a crazy Escort  ;D I was battling with Clive that passed me when I went wide on the grass at Westfield, but after a couple of laps I got a cut penalty on exit of Druids that I wasn't aware of. So Stop&GO with a funny enter in pit and 10 sec. from the first car ahead. Put my effort to catch Huggy's Escort and then had to find a way to pass cause it seems Huggy had awaked seeing me in the mirrors  ;D
Eventually I passed and focused on the two Minis ahead. Not an easy work, but after some paint exchange at Druids  ;D I passed both with a battle with Tony at the very last lap. I know, my car was superior, but I had fun  :) In the end I found that I have still half tank as Clive, next time I have to do some math  :angel:
When I watched replay all the other cars were ghosts even if they have their position switching cars. I think this have to do with the Mini 1275 install that prevents the use of all other cars.
Ciao

If you went straight from the race and watched the replay, that might explain it. Several cars will be invisible when you load the replay right after the race.  If you exit from the replay and load it a second time, all will be fine. (Know it sounds crazy, but give it a try  :))

Thx, I'll try it.

Enjoyable but for the most part a lonely race.

Improved the Mini's turn in over the earlier race at Brands but didn't quite manage to get in the 1.51s in qually, always some slight mistake somewhere.

Got a fair start & nipped past Misnoimis at Druids, nearly got Kurt too but he had the inside line for Bottom Bend. Misnoimis passed me on the run up to Hawthorns but ran off track which just about ended my excitement for the race. Eased away from the chasing pack of Minis over the next few laps until Misnoimis past them all & started to gain on me. He would have caught & passed me had he not run off again.

Had a couple of mishaps later in the race when I ran wide at Bottom Bend & again after Erling lapped me at Hawthorns. No wasn't your fault Erling, all my own doing, also sorry if I was lagging, although with your minimising problem, my guess it was your end rather than mine. Misnoimis started to get close again towards the end but was still a few seconds short at the finish. Very happy to get the Mini on the podium. ;D

Congrats to Erling & Kurt.  :clap: :clap:

Looks like the Mallory split races could be close fought with most of us having to drive similar cars.  :eek:

Results (https://www.avonrise.co.uk/srou/kurts/EarlyBrands_06112017)

8)

After having big problems on every version of this track throughout all these years I finally and incidentally found a car/setup combo
which I was able to drive here  :D .
Originally intended to drive the 1275 Mini but found that I was completely noncompetitive for one more time, so I switched
to the Capri without having done a single lap with it here before. But that was a good choice  ;D .
Race was a smooth and nearly faultless cruise to 2nd place although I'm aware that one of the aliens would have been far quicker.

Grats to Erling for the win and Geoffers for completing the podium.

Thank you for the results Kurt  :thumbup1:

Pretty uneventful race for me. Managed to avoid Bill's spinning Escort at T1 which left me behind Ziu but ahead of Bob. Bob gradualy caught and passed me whilst Ziu just went off into the future. Many many laps spent trying to catch Bob but the gap stayed fairly consistent at 9-10 secs up the road. In the last few laps Bob's time came right down and I caught him as he recovered from an off at Clark Curve. Managed to close the gap just as Kurt appeared eager to lap both of us. I didn't want to loss the distance to Bob that I had gained so didn't let Kurt through where he wanted to pass, sorry Kurt. I figured he would be by soon enough as the speed diff between his Capri and our Mini's was huge and a decent straight would see him gone.This is what happened and I was able to pass Bob a little while later to snatch the 2nd place in class.