SimRacing.org.uk

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RACE ONE

Practice: ~19:20 (60 mins)
Qualifying: 20:20 (10 mins)
Race: 20:30 (15 laps)

Track: Magny-Cours GP, France (Standard GTL Track)

Cars allowed: BMW 2002tii (not S) Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_bmw2002tii)
                     Ford Escort RS1600 Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_escort_rs1600)
                     Nissan Skyline GTR2000 Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_skyline2000gtr)
                     Opel Commodore GS (Not 3000) Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_opel_commodore_gs)
                     Porsche 911S Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_porsche911s1972)

                    
Car restrictions: Four drives maximum per make. Check your status here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FPooSLD493GghZZzv4KblgCSy_iTljKpYhY5ZI2YEpc/edit?usp=sharing)

Time of Day Setting: 14:00
Start: STANDING
Tyre wear: Normal
Fuel consumption: Normal
Pit stops: Not required

Server: simracing.org.uk Wednesday
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: Note early race start.

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Well that's two races I'd rather not remember. Not much practice due to other things going on and it showed. Just didn't get the Beemer up to it's full potential. Hope you all had better races.

BTW still a few cars left in the Christmas Special https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=15121.msg275927#msg275927

Results and replay now posted

I've rarely been more relieved to finish races than these two. Practice had gone bad: spin, spin, spin and my setup seemed to be one of my all-time worst Classics.

Race 1:
But maybe it wasn't that bad because I ended up 4th on the grid. For once I didn't mess up the start and only lost one spot in the take-off. The very quick acceleration of the GTR gave me back 4th quite early. With Coyote as a personal lead for half the race and no one coming back from behind it was a quite easy final 4th despite struggling with the setup and the need for intense concentration.

Race 2:
Had an uncharacteristically good lap in qually, cutting my time down with a whole second and ended up 3rd on the grid. Even dafter, had an excellent start (very, very, very rare) which surprised Geoffers to such an extent he careened right into the stands inviting Fulvio with him for strawberries and cream. Or frog legs, it was one of those.
There I was, right behind Ziu in 2nd. Now it was a matter of keeping cool...Right, sure, of course  :P. Two laps later I had spun twice and was in last position. At least I thought so until looking in the mirror some time later gave me a start. Someone was behind me! XD told me it was Geoff so that elusive last place would be easily obtainable after all. But just as that was about to happen Magny-Cours decided that while not exactly French, Belgian was good enough and the Curse de la République started. First Dan spun, a while later Clive spun in that nasty right hander close to the finish, then Tony went very wide in the second corner, then Geoff messed up Nürburgring (yes, that's what it's called) followed by a spin by Eifel and finally Bob went way wide in the first corner. Clearly, it was voodoo.  :o
I was third! With Ziu and Coyote ahead, catching up was not an option and while Clive was close and always better, I knew he struggled with the Opel so I tried to keep him at the same distance while avoiding all the pitfalls of this tricky track. And lo and behold, it worked.

Tough job, but wow; 4th and 3rd and 18 points. Top 10 is lurking  :angel:

This track not sense and it seems that any setup doesnt work. It s clear also which it s better drive a heavy weight car like Opel, from my mirror i understood that Geoffers was driving without too much problems with Opel while i was driving on eggs espacially on race 1 with Avon compound i cannot turn what is happen 2 laps to go on Estoril corner, i didnt wronged but Nissan not turned and i go out of track. When i back to compound i used at Donington Nissan improved on race 2 and the proof is my pace, enough watch my lap times !
About weight car the proof that light car not good on this track it s the Erling Porsche. The Erling gap is a fake, i m sure wich Erling with an other car was with me and Geoffers, i can immagine how much could be complicated keep Porsche on this track, maybe the worst car to drive here. Instead i see that Erling it s more fast every years The Professor improving, the more the wine ages, the better it becomes ! Just we can hope that Erling will not make us all get drunk (http://www.vocinelweb.it/faccine/speciali/04.gif)

Anyway i got my goal, finish both races ahead to The Professor

Grats Geoffers, Erling and Dominick

Grats to the podiums for both races.

This track certainly bites back and punishes any errors!!!

OK! Yes! so maybe some pre race practice might have taught me a little more respect  ::) But, I have to confess that I was less than impressed with my driving last night, and I was close to hitting the "ESC" key in both races  :-\ :-\.

I used the Opel because it had gone well at Nurburgring and I thought I had it sorted. Haha! this track seemed to prove that perception wrong.
The biggest frustration was that I could hook up what promised to be a really fast lap, only to have the tail end sweep around on one of the last corners and spoil it.

Race 1 was a comedy of errors for me and it did appear that one or two others were also experiencing difficult handling. I would gain a few places, only to lose them again with a spin. Eventually I just slowed down and cruised to the finish. Tony performed one or two spectacular excursions that I witnessed and on occassion I found myself picking my way past 3 cars that had spun. But inevitably any places gained were lost a lap later when I too lost the rear end and had to watch the field go past again.  :-\

Thanks to Geoff for posting his proven setup for the Opel for race 2.
I tried to do as many laps as possible during qually to "get a feel" for his setup, ignoring lap times. Ironically Geoff got things a little wrong at the start and dropped to the back of the field. It took me a couple of laps to get used to the different gearing, and once I had that sorted, things started to improve and I picked up a few places. Gradually I moved up the leaderboard, more as a result of others misfortune than any great skill on my part.
 At one point I think I made it up to 3rd place, and I could even see Erling ahead in 2nd!!!
But just as I was beginning to feel that maybe I had grasped the right way to drive the Opel, and that Geoffers setup needed studying for future use things started to take on a familiar look.
I would approach a corner and brake at the same marker as I had the previous lap, downshift at the same points and get off the brakes and turn in at  what felt like the same place and speed, only to have the rear end to sweep slowly around. No amount of opp lock could catch the slide and a 180 degree spin was the consistent result. A great way to watch everyone else take the corner, but not conducive to a great result  :-\

Towards the end of the race a great many cars dropped out and I found myself in an undeserved 4th, chasing Dominick. I could close up and the maths said that I would catch him with a few laps left to find a pass, and maybe a chance of some champagne?
But each time I got closer, I suffered the rear end waltz and dropped back again no matter how careful I thought I was being :-\ It would feel 100% solid going into a corner and then just when you reach the transition point where you ease off the brakes and reach the apex ready to apply some gas, the tail would just swing around. This only happened on the real tight corners and the car was quite stable through the fast Esses with no hint of losing the rear. It had to be something about the way I was braking??
So once again I cruised the last laps...and even managed a couple of spins when not even pushing??
I know that I am not as consistently quick as him, but I had used Geoffers' setup ( which was proven to work well), the tyres were not badly worn, and yet I could not get within 2 secs of Geoffers on a lucky lap?? There was something going wrong!! :-\

Always looking for an excuse and something else to blame  ::) I wondered if there might be something awry with my hardware. So post race I looked at the Logitech Profiler settings.
I had set things to apply my GPL profile to all simracing games, (and TBH I have not been too happy with my races in GPL lately ) so I dived into GPL to check how things were configured there.
I discovered that somehow the Accelerator and Brake were sharing the same axis,and I am not too sure how that could work effectively?? It may have happened when I migrated to my new PC?
Anyway I have re-configured the G25 to use separate axis for brake and accelerator and will have to test things out when I have a moment and report back. It is quite possible that my abilities are the problem and that I am in denial  ??? ??? ::)

As usual not a single lap of practice before race night but I found a very good setup for the Nissan (on Michelin tyres) in the online folder  :)

Could improve in quali and reached further improvements to regular sub 2:00 laps during race 1. Had the same pace than my direct competition but was unable
to take more efforts concerning passing. Only improvements were the bad luck of Dan and Tony and some new pb's only 3 or 4 seconds slower than the leaders.
During last lap I nearly ran out of fuel and had to slow down.
Frankly spoken - it's lot more fun when you have a suitable setup.

In race 2 I could not keep up the concentration level of race 1 and was about one second slower than in race 1 but in that strange lap 9 I climbed up the roster
due to several offs and when Geoffers spun and left for good I was in third place for some yards before I spun by myself  :P
The remainder of the race was uneventful except during last lap I suddenly gained about 10 seconds to Clive ahead but was unable to catch him before the finish line.

Results to be posted tonight.

As usual a big "Thank you" to all involved in organizing these events.

BTW: what about Matt, Roger and Bill Thomas?

Matt likes to do AC sometimes. Bill won't do 2 races per week so decided to do RRE instead. Rog, not heard from him.

A couple of contrasting races in the Opel which I found to be a much easier drive here than it had been when I used it at Spa, even with the same setup. Only corner I was having problems with was the Nurburgring esse bend which would unsettle the rear if I took it too quick & spin the car to the right.

First race was a straight fight between me & Ziu. First few laps Ziu was marginally faster & opened a bit of a gap when I ran wide at the 180 bend after Nurburgring, but as the race wore on the Opel was clearly better in the slow turns although I could not get close enough to attempt a pass as the Nissan was a little faster on the straights. Result was eventually decided when Ziu understeered off at Estoril leaving me with a comfortable last couple of laps.

Second race was a bit of a disaster, got away from the line ok but when I changed to 2nd the car veered sharp right & headed for the grandstands, it would made it had Fulvio not intervened & halted its trajectory. Sorry it ruined your race Fulvio  :'(. Everyone else had cleared off by the time I got going & by some miracle the collision had made no difference to the car's handling, so the chase was on. Caught Dom first & took a little while to find a way past as he had pretty good pace, after that it was mainly a case of gaining places as others went to pick flowers at the side of the track. After reaching 3rd place the car decided it too would like some flowers & promptly threw itself at the scenery at Nurburgring!  ::) Race over.

Congrats to Ziu, Erling & Dom on their podiums.  :clap: :clap: :clap: Cya all at Zeltweg, I think its that confounded version with the high kerbed chicane at the top of the hill, always gets me does that corner.  ::)

First of all thanks to Ziu for his kind words, although I'm not sure I can quite live up to them.

Wasn't exactly spoiled for choice with cars for these late season races.  Additionally had little time to prepare. Favored the Porker, but initially it was practically undriveable. With the slightest of provocation (or none at all), it would swap ends all over the track.  Found myself wondering why Porsche insisted on keeping the engine in the back, when it so very obviously wants to be in front..  ::)   Tweaks to setup reigned it in a little, but by no means were I able to make it idiot proof.  Would have to do the rest with my driving.  Did try the Escort & Commodore too, but for me both had end swapping tendencies too, the former was slower than the Porker, and the latter would require learning and setting up a second car, which I didn't really have time for.

Surprised to be 3rd on grid in race 1. Got an ok start and maintained that position.  Geoffers & Ziu made a fast disappearing act, while I had to keep a wary eye on Dom in my mirrors.  I had nothing on him on the straights, and through corners; my only advantage appeared to be traction & acceleration out of corners. Slowly stretched the gap, and the race became lonely and uneventful, once Dom slipped from view. Still had to watch the 911 like a hawk, but it behaved surprisingly well - only came close to losing it 5-6 times..  :o   Grats to Geoffers for the win & Ziu for 2nd.

Screwed up my qual for race two. Lost two laps to cut warnings, and ruined my last chance lap, so Dom slipped in front.  Hoped to use the 911 traction off the line to outdrag him, but didn't happen.  Instead, Geoffers ahead suddenly veered right and I barely avoided him.  Chased Dom, while behind Tony reeled me in with his Beemer.  Didn't want him to get past, as I know he can very difficult to overtake, so had to find a way past Dom quickly.  Did so on L2.  Hadn't really planned making a move when I did, but I braked too late, so it was either that or ram his rear (somehow that doesn't sound right...).  Ended up working like a charm, and even looks deliberate in the replay  :D

Soon after Dom spun, and I had Tony chasing me.  Ziu was long gone.  Steadily increased the gap to Tony or whoever else was behind me lap by lap, but fully expected to see the gap drop like a stone, once a fired up Geoffers had battered his way through the field.  Never materialized though, and with the message about his exit, the 'excitement balloon' was deflated.  Could thus cruise home to a most welcome 2nd place.  Grats to Ziu on the win & Dom for completing the podium.  Commiserations to all the early retirees in race two.

I've been banished down to London for the past few weeks for work, so have not been doing any racing.
As Tony says, I sometimes like to do Asseto Corsa events depending on what they are running
I like MJ's current WTC series, so tend to do that at the moment. I didn't like the previous AC Ferri 250 series
as I found those just masochism, so did GTL events when I am home.
Thursdays is my own Race Room series, tonight is the 1st in the new M1 Procar series, there are 3 series
starting, one for Procar, one for 1995 Merc DTM, and one for 1992 DTM and "Touring Classics"
If you can stand racing 2 night running (One of the reasons I am sometimes not here) come along
and join in the fun  ;D

Can recommend this sim, provides some close racing, we just need a few more drivers. Oh & it attracts fast Italians! (Where have I heard that before  ???)

Result_Race1 (https://www.avonrise.co.uk/srou/kurts/Magny-Cours_07112018_R1)

Obviously the graphic of race 1 is wrong as in fact I didn't overtake three drivers during lap 15 but i got a cut warning through
the last corner before the finish line, so lap 15 did not count (I assume) respectively my lap time for the last lap in the "Race" chart shows only 1:30.361.
So I entered a fictive lap time for my last lap in the txt-file in order to correct the graphic which now looks correct.
The "Summary" chart is correct and didn't change.

Result_Race1 with corrected graphic (https://www.avonrise.co.uk/srou/kurts/Magny-Cours_07112018_R1correctedgraphic)

8)

It happens Geoff, even if I felt bad to find myself stuck on the rail on my roof after a couple of meters.
I stayd on line to watch your race. Very nice clear drive with Opel, I learned a lot. Too bad you leaved when you were 3rd at half distance.
Ciao

Just did a few laps in that Opel around Magny Cours, with the G25 now working Accelerator and Brake on separate axis.  I tried Geoffers' setup that I had used in the 2nd race and matched my best on Wed evening in the first 4 laps.  The car felt more controllable into the corners, and I was certainly able to brake a little later, plus I was able to add a little gas to prevent the rear end locking up on down shifts. In all, I felt more in control and might have gone even faster.

Then I compared the differences between his setup and the one I had used in the first race. Surprisingly there were only 2 big differences. He had zero rear roll bar ( I had the first notch up) and his gear ratios were generally about 20% lower than what I was using, which as I had discovered during Race 2 meant that he was cornering in 3rd where I had been using 2nd, and I suspect that once off the grid he never used 1st?
 I went back to my own setup and reduced the rear roll bar to zero and dropped my gear ratios to be a notch or two higher than Geoff's. I also noticed that he was running 55.5% on the brakes which I found a little unsettling under braking ( probably my heavy left foot!! ::) ) so I stuck with my 59.5%.

I think the change to the G25 gave me a much better feel for the car, and the mods to my setup helped make the car slightly quicker out of the corners. The net result was that after 3 laps I had knocked 1.6 secs off my PB from Wednesday. There might have been some more time to gain as I was still very tentative at the point of turn in, still anticipating the a** end to break away.

So for any of you who might have your pedals working on a combined axis instead of dedicated individual axis,  go check it out  ;).

Glad you got G25 working correctly now, I guess the rest of us won't see much of you in the races now, as you'll be disappearing into the distance!  :P

Regarding my setup. Most of it was what I used at Spa, so can't actually remember how I arrived at it, so not sure if the roll-bar setting makes too much difference. Gear ratios were different to Spa & yes I only used 1st at the start, then 2nd for the 4 slowest corners, 3rd for the rest except Nurburgring (my nemesis) which I took in 4th. My brake settings are generally very biased to the rear as I have a habit of keeping a little throttle on when braking to balance the car & the rear bias helps to turn the car. Not sure it is the fastest way though, JohnW, the quickest guy when we raced at NG could not get on with my brake setup, said it made the car too nervous under braking. It probably means I am not getting the best out of the brakes but if I put the brakes more forward I end up struggling to get the car to turn.