SimRacing.org.uk

Grid/server capacity: 22

Practice: ~19:20 (60 mins) Please do not set a time in practice. This affects the "randomness" of random qualy. If you do set a time please leave and rejoin practice before the practice session ends, and wait in your pit.
Qualifying: Random qualy
Race: 20:20 (29 laps)

Cars allowed: BMW CSL Turbo (Car#'s 1, 21 & 41 only) Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_bmwcsl5), Ford Capri Mk3 Turbo (Div 1, '79 only) Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54518#post_capri3t), Porsche 935 Turbo Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg54520#post_porsche935)

Track: Interlagos - Autodromo José Carlos Pace 1979 Download this (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3358.msg109873#post_interlagos79)

IMPORTANT

Just spotted a bad line in one of the track files  >:(

Please download this http://www.mediafire.com/file/q4xczz1pvp4au3x/79InterlagosGPC.gdb/file and put it in the GameData/Locations/ Interlagos79 folder, allowing to overwrite.

Time of Day Setting: 14:00
Start: STANDING
Tyre wear: Normal
Fuel consumption: Normal
Pit stops: 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 time.

This used to be the annual Lawrence Clemo memorial race but I've widened the scope to include others, who in their own way were important to the sim-racing community and GTL in particular. Last year we lost modders Deep-Strike (Carsten, 54) and Hmmguy (Phil, 58). RIP.

In my first test's in appears that..........

The Porsche is fastest but eats it's tyres.

The BMW and Ford are equal on times but..............the BMW will blow it's engine if over revved.

The Ford is the easier to drive IMO.

Oh boy! My favorite track! Can't wait now.  ;D

Getting nearer to the Porsche with the BMW now but tyre wear is going up. BMW engine health is improved with a lower rev limit.

Ford continues to lag behind improve  ;).

IMPORTANT

Race distance increased by one lap to 29 laps.

Currently I am hoping to be involved in this race and might even occupy some time by trying out the cars, which will be a change from the normal preparations.
But, I have just been advised that I urgently require a heart pacemaker to be fitted and that is likely to be next Wed/Thur. Still awaiting the confirmation letter through the post as to exact time and date. So until then I have to stay in total isolation, except for one trip to the local hospital car park for a Covid-19 swab test, where I get a cotton bud stuffed down my throat whilst still sitting in the car....can't wait for that bubble of excitement!! :-\
After the op I am informed that I must not raise my left arm higher than my shoulder for 6 weeks, so that means I cannot make extravagant gesticulations at any other cars during races. or throw my arms in the air when centrifugal force exceeds my ability to control it  ???.  So, that's GTL fun ruined for 6 weeks  :blink:

BTW I shall be requesting that the pacemaker that I get is fitted with a turbo button, so that I can boost my lap times in the future  ;) I can't see why that wouldn't work??  ::) ::)

Keep us informed Clive and I hope all goes well and you have a speedy return to us all.

In the States the swab goes up the nose, enjoy.

Hey Clive;
My uncle had a pacemaker installed, this was maybe 12/15 years ago and he had it installed one day and went home the next.  I went by his place a couple of days later and he was out raking leaves like nothing happened.  He lived to be 92 or 93 yo and was just as grumpy right till the end.  Little tip, he died putting on his socks, so beware when you get that age!!!!!!

Be thinking of you
Bob M.

All the best Clive, hope to see you back soon & speedier than ever. :thumbup2:

All the best Clive, now I understand why you were so slow last night...  ;D

Fingers crossed and all the best, Clive !

Thanks guys for your kind thoughts.
I trust that you will all feel sorry for me in future races, and allow me to win everything for the rest of the year  ;D

Thanks to Bob for the permission to be grumpy for another 25 years   ;)

I was only faster than Fulvio because I shut my eyes at each braking point and hoped that the car would stop. 95% of the time it did  ::) ::)

FWIW
I have just done 5 laps in each car

I find the Porsche the slowest and a horrible thing to drive. The turbo comes in like a sledge hammer on that 4 speed gearbox and throws the balance of the car completely. But maybe I have a wrong setup/driving style/ability? probably all 3!!! Might go back and try again having read Tony's assessment.

The Ford is so much smoother on the power delivery, and consequently I find it very driveable and quicker than the Porker by 4 secs.

The BMW is quickest for me and I did not change the default rev limit. I saw no reduction in the health % in 4 flying laps on full tanks. If I make the race next week and opt for the Beemer I will have to tweak the setup as it is a little twitchy when provoked and not quite so stable as the Ford...but so far the quickest by a couple of secs.

Holy Moses Clive  :o

Hope all goes well and that you're back soon - you'll be missed!

I gave the Porker another go last night, starting from the default setup and working sort of logically to correct the glitches. Even though I am not sure if I will be taking part in the race, I can enjoy testing the cars  :)

Improved on my earlier porker time by about 2.5 secs, but I found it hard work to extract the extra time.
The most productive thing that I did was close up the ratios in the gearbox, making 4th gear just long enough to reach the end of the straight as the red light came on, and then working back down the box to keep the engine spinning in the power band. I also found understeer on turn in an issue, but also snap oversteer on corner exit. That took some creative thinking around settings and a slight change of approach in the driving style. The rear tyre wear was more noticeable on this car even after 5 laps, but maybe a lighter/smoother touch with the right foot would make them last for the whole race ??

Posted a time just under 2:50, but I suspect that the uber aliens, and Porsche lovers, will take 5 secs off that time.

Wishing you all the best Clive. I hope you make a speedy recovery. :thumbup1:

Not driven the Porsche or BMW for a long time, but I seem to remember that the BMW was quite easy to drive compared with the Porsche. As Clive said the Porsche goes from hardly any power to a huge amount almost instantly making it very hard to control. One of the most difficult parts of racing it is getting it off the line, it either crawls away at a snail's pace or goes wildly out of control with little in between.  :cursing:

Quietly chuffed that the great Geoffers confirms my impressions of the Porsche  ::), maybe I am doing something right even if it is not as quick as the aliens.  ;)
I hate to philosophy about these things, but I am a firm believer that within simracing, setups are all about "what suits you". If you are not comfortable with the virtual car that you are trying to pilot, then you are never going to be fast. You might last 1 or 2 laps with an alien's setup that promises a PB 5 secs faster than what you have achieved, but if you are fighting to keep the beast on the grey stuff it will eventually bite you in the a**!!
It does not matter what values you have for diff/rebound etc, if the car does not respond for you in a predictable and progressive way then you will never drive it quickly. The individual's inputs to the game physics are what determines the on screen action.
Having said that, there are obviously parameters that can be set so wrong that they will never work for anyone, and other values that simply have to be close to a certain mark to work.
In the end it is an algorithm within the software that creates a certain value from a combination of the settings/driver inputs and dictates what happens. The closer we get to the "ideal" number the faster we can drive.
In theory this brings us close to real life racing, but as most of us will never get the chance to drive a Porsche935 in full race trim at 100% around Interlagos, we will never know how accurate the simulation is.

But that does not stop us enjoying the fun  ;D ;D ;D

lecture over, back to the race rig and some practice for Sunday's GPL race at Imola, coz that comes before Wednesday!!

The Porsche has now been updated (V2.0) and seems to handle better than the original version.

OH!!! that is just sooooo sneaky Tony!! 
Just when I was doing some pre race practice and beginning to dial into a car, he moves the goal posts lol.
The only thing in your defence is that it is the same for everyone  ;)

You misunderstand Clive. Geoffers said that he had not driven the Porsche for a long time. I therefore assume that his experience would be based on the V1.0 version of the 935. I was telling him that IMO V2.0 handles better.

Wishing you all the best Clive. You'd better abandon weight lifting for a couple of weeks I'd say. Take care.
Cheers, Dan

Yes probably would have been v1.0 Tony, I think it was not long after it was released, seems to me the car builder overdid the amount of turbo lag he built into it. The real car would not have been that tricky to drive as it was mainly used for endurance events & sold to gentleman driver customers. Will have to give it another try later.

OK Tony, you might just have talked yourself out of that one lol. I confess that I was a little puzzled that I could not see a new download for the Porsche ::)
TBH I was secretly hoping that there was a new improved version with better handling that I could try  ;) But I am under no illusion that the fast boys will be way quicker in these beasts than I can manage. I recall that series a few years ago with the turbo Capris that I just could not drive, having to opt for the most docile car available for each race. My brain is just too slow for these missiles.  :wacko:

Is it the same Capri Turbo we used some years ago, or a different one ? (seemed to be a new download)

Yes, it's the same mod.

EDIT: I think I changed the cars "Buy" value down to 0.

Just be in 2nd if I'm leading on the last lap and the glory is all yours!

Hope it all goes well with the pacemaker and wishing you a speedy recovery!

As for the cars, I have no idea how these 3 handle, but now that you've all complained about the Porsche, I feel like I have no choice but to try and wrestle with it!  ;D If you see me enter the actual race with another car though, don't judge me too hard...  ::)

All the best to you Clive !
Make sure you get the "race pace" maker, you might be tempted by the pole pace maker but it may not be the best choice for those 25 years of grumpiness  ;)

Hi guys


I'm a friend of Hristo, I may join in for a few GTL races, I'll confirm tomorrow if I can do interlagos. He can vouch for me or tell you guys how bad I am


Dom :laugh:

I had a brief go with all 3 cars. I can get round with all 3, but I can't "race" with anything other than the Ford.
The pork is, exactly as Geoff says. It either crawls off the line or sets off out of control. Will thow the back out with
the slightest bit of throttle. Could be fun for masochists, or Bulgarians, but has to be ridiculously exaggerated from the real car
The beemer is like the beemer series we did a few years ago, much the same as the pork, but not so much
That one could be ok with a delicate right foot. The Capri is a pussycat in comparison.
It doesn't help that this track is not so slick as others we use, there are a lot of bumps and camber changes
that make these cars probably harder to drive than one of the smoother tracks. Good historical mix though
will be a good event  ;D

Hi Dom and welcome to UKGTL. We hope that you will do more than a few races tho...........

Have tried the Porsche & the BMW so far. The Porsche is easier to drive than I remember it, so it maybe that the physics were modded for V2, but it still takes some controlling & patience with the throttle. The BMW conversely is harder to drive than I remember it, not helped by the fact that the max tyre pressure still seems too low & the centres of the tyres are always much cooler than the edges. Currently 1s faster in the Porsche. Will hopefully try the Ford later.

Yes, I'm currently struggling with the BMW tyre temps too. I'm slowest in the Beemer but I may take it as I suspect most will opt for the Pork or Carpi.

Remember to practice those pit stops guy's.

Have now done a few laps in the Capri & nearly matched my Porsche time, then gave the BMW another go & went over 2s faster with it, so now that is my fastest car by 1.3s! Need to try the Pork again.

I find the Porsche nearly undriveable and am more than 4 secs quicker in the Ford!!   One thing is the power delivery requiring a super sensitive right foot, but the understeer really kills it for me.  Again and again I find myself just ploughing straight on when entering a corner.   The Beemer I've just tested on pretty much the default setup, and am 2-3 secs slower than in the Ford.  Need to practice more with it.

Welcome, Dom! I'm sure you'll be just as good as in the past when we raced.  :)

Are the number of laps correct? It's going to be a long race if so  :o

I wrestled with the Porsche and although it's incredibly quick, it wears out the tyres in no time and you're also bound to have a high speed off sooner or later. Managed a 2:41.9 in it, but only after having countless attempts. Previous best was a 2:45.2.  ::)

That Ford with that circuit = awesome!

I am so impresed with the handling, the slow corners, the fast corners... and THAT SOUND.... OMG  :angel: ;D

Priceless

What!!!!..... I'll get my coat!  That's 4s faster than I can do in it, you will have time for 2 or 3 stops for tyres with that pace Hristo ;D.

In the mid 2.44s with the BMW & 2.46 with the Ford which is much the easiest to drive. Will probably go with the BMW although chances of reaching the finish without a major off are slim.

I was fastest in the Pork, it was the only one I could get under 50 with. Then did some more laps with the Capri
and managed a high 47, and it's the one I am least likely to crash and burn in, so probably run with that.

IMPORTANT

Driver's who wish to take part in this event are required to be in their pit box (without a time set) by 20:18 BST at the very latest.

The race will begin at 20:20 BST sharp.

The server is now running using normal race password.

I don't think I'm going to run with the Porsche. It's next to impossible to keep such a high pace on every lap, plus the difference in tyre wear is enormous. After watching Dimitar drive the Ford, I think that's what I'll use as well.

Will probably miss this one as I'm not able to handle these beasts in a halfway competitive manner
and don't have enough time for more extensive testing.

Have fun guys.

RIP LC

Hi I applied the lobbyfix but i dont see any servers? do i need a IP addresss?

You don't need a lobby fix, whatever that is?

If you can see a file called LOCAL_IP_LOBBY.txt move it to a safe place but not in the GTL folder. Now try.

moved it i still dont see any servers d=the backup text file sill there gtl-lobby.bierbuden.de

Move that too

IMPORTANT

Just spotted a bad line in one of the track files  >:(

Please download this http://www.mediafire.com/file/q4xczz1pvp4au3x/79InterlagosGPC.gdb/file and put it in the GameData/Locations/ Interlagos79 folder, allowing to overwrite.

If you don't do this you will cause online miss-match messages and be highly unpopular.

Sorry for this last minute faff.

You need to have no LOCAL_IP_LOBBY files in the GTL directory, and then you need to register with an on line name
How you do that with the current setup is somewhere in Tony's archives.... ???

ok had to register my pings are high 300 will be able to race?

If your visible warping online we may ask you to leave. Lets see how it goes.

Guys are you sure about the qualy? I think the game makes the grid based on the join time of the players, so the first one joining will be the pole sitter.

Better join first then, and don't set a time in practice.

Perhaps you should add this to the race post so people don't miss it.

  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Good idea , and done.

Well that turned out to be an utter shambles. Note to self. Remember this night the next time you feel the need to set up something a bit different.

By the time the actual race started I was so wound up I couldn't concentrate on my driving and eventually lagged way behind, eventually leading to the obvious off.

I hereby resign from this racing forum.  When your on cold tires and a guy blast you from behind and doesn't stop and wait, just says sorry something is wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Its been a great time racing with you guys, but hasn't it always been the lead car in a corner has the line and the overtaker has to adjust.  Like I said it's been a great time but it's time for me to move on maybe I'm getting too old.  Maybe I'm wrong but thats the way it is.  Again thanks for the past years........Wish you all well.

Bob M.

I am really sorry Bob, but please watch the replay. You just stoped right in front of me at the straight before the corner. I just couldn't do enything. I thought it wasnt my fouth and that's why i didnt wait for you.

Please accept my apologies if you think i am not right.

Sorry, Dimitar, but it's ALWAYS the responsibility of the overtaking or lapping car to avoid incidents. You were at lightning speed and Bob was considerably slower and fresh out of the pits so you could/should expect him -or any non-alien for that matter- to brake way earlier than you're able too. Like I said some time ago, us mortals are slower for a reason and the aliens should take that into account. There are no trophies or money prizes to win here. (Note that I'm speaking for myself here, I do not represent SROUK).

I hope you reconsider, Bob. If you don't, I wish you all the best too. We had some great battles back in the day. I for one would miss you.

As for my race, despite having found a genuine JohnW^TM setup, the car's behaviour was a shambles. I had no idea what it was going to do in any corner and those two tightest right handers followed by a dip I had to take as I was driving in a pedestrian part of town. No pace, no control, so I let everyone pass, regardless of whether they were lapping or in the same lap. Combat would have ended in tears for sure. On the one hand it was a shame because I so do like monsters, but that doesn't mean I can drive them (with one notable exception the mention of which will make people like Geoff or Daz sigh: "here we go again"  ;D). Still, I somehow made it to the finish so there's that. Congrats to everyone for managing these lunatics especially Dan with that insane Porker.

Hey Bob, don’t resign, this league needs old fellows like us and moreover I can’t do without my racing mate I had so many fun battles with. We. Just have to teach the “young”  ;D aliens to be way more considerate and polite with us senior persons.
Spit it out and see you next race.
Cheers, Dan

That's not always true. If you are in front but act unpredictably, it's not always possible for the driver behind to avoid a collision. The simulated physics means drivers can't perform miracles. I've had a lot of issues with some backmarkers during my GPL years in the past, who would just suddenly hit the brake in front of me in places where I don't expect it. I was myself hit from behind at the 2nd start in this race, because I dropped the revs and lost acceleration (too long 1st). Do I blame the driver behind for that? Of course not...

I haven't seen this situation, but I've raced with Dimitar in different rFactor leagues since 2012 and he is a very correct driver, never doing things with ill intention. Besides, why wait for someone if they've been lapped, to let them unlap themselves and lap them again? It makes no sense to me. Perhaps Bob was under the impression that Dimitar was fighting for him for position and not lapping him?

Dimitar was under an enormous pressure from behind as I was catching him up and we were fighting for victory, so waiting for a backmarker makes no sense, particularly if he judged it to not be his fault for the accident.

In any case, I hope Bob reconsiders too. I don't quite get why you would take this so seriously, Bob, unless you've put the amount of practice Dimitar has done to prepare for this race and it has cost you a podium position or something.

Before we judge harshly, we should either watch the replay or wait for Dimitar to upload his onboard video, so we can see what happened exactly.

It was cool that we didn't had Qualy but a little bit unfair, as the pole sitter was the first joined the server.

I started 4th and made great start, as one of the Porsche's in front made mistake (i think it was Dan) so i went to the lead. Head few corner battle with Coyote, then Hristo started to reach me from P2. We had great chase and battle for the first till the pit stop. At the end i was slower but more consistant, as Gristo was longer in the pits aswell. Till the end was intense as Hristo was 1 or more second faster and could've catch me in the final lap by my calculations. But he made a mistake and the final laps was easy and off pace for me.

Congrats to Hristo and Coyote for the podiums.

Results and replay now posted.

The Ford Capri is shown as classless. This will be fixed soon.

Both you and Dimitar are most welcome additions to this league, no doubt, and I haven't the slighest notion something like this was with intent on Dimitar's part but as anyone here can vouch on behalf of Bob, neither would he ever do anything like that intentionally. You guys are really, really fast while some of us, at least some of the time, have no chance of battling for the victory but we still want to have an enjoyable race if only between us backmarkers. There IS room for both parties, but it does require a slight adaptation from the ultra fast guys. Just a little. I tend to agree on the waiting part but only because I'm off the opinion that this particular type of incident shouldn't happen in the first place.

Anyway, I'll back out of the discussion now and hope that Tony steps in to tell us all how we should behave  ;)

I have been thinking about unintentional incidents which everyone of us has been involved in some time or other. Do I wait or does sorry suffice ?

My rule of thumb has always been: In this league traditional British courtesy always wins over competitiveness. So I wait.

And……….I made it to the end in one piece in the Porsche :taz: :wub: :jumpjoy: :clap: :notworthy:

At this time I want to remind you all of one of our Forum rules which is this:

Under no circumstances should drivers engage in discussion of incidents in a public forum (including in-game chat). In particular, no attempt should be made to apportion blame.
A brief mention of an incident may be made in a public race report.

I don't think this rule has yet been transgressed but please bear this in mind when posting.

Unfortunately I'm out this morning (first golf in months) but my first priority after I return will be to pm Bob.

Then I will decide if any further action needs to be taken.

I'd also like to remind driver's of our rules regarding lapping:

Lapping And Being Lapped
The lapped driver should not change their line on a straight whilst being lapped.
A driver may elect to hold a tight line out of a corner and remain on the inside to allow a lapping driver to pass them using the normal racing line.
Drivers should not suddenly slow in the middle of a corner unless they are on the outside and the lapping car is clearly inside them.
The lapped driver should hold a predictable line and allow the lapping driver to move around them. The lapped driver may blend off the throttle slightly to help the lapping car past; drivers being lapped by cars in the same or slower classes are strongly encouraged to do so.
A driver should never lift off or brake on a straight with another driver right behind them.
The lapping driver should wherever possible prefer a pass under power to a pass on the brakes.
This frequently means being patient and going through at least one corner following the driver about to be lapped, setting the pass up.
A driver who is about to be passed by a car not on the same lap shall not unreasonably hold up the faster competitor.
This covers both being lapped, and being 'unlapped', that is, passed by a faster car that is one or more laps behind.

Bob - I emphatically hope that will reconsider your decision  :(

I tried a lap in each car and thought that this was an impossible race. Then I read that the Capri was not too bad. So I tried it gently and things became possible.
For the race I assumed a lot of carnage early on, so I wanted to be at the back to avoid anything. That worked well at the start, and the restart, and the other restart. There was no carnage and I settled in behind Bob and Fulvio. After some time, Bob let us both through. Pitstops started to happen and I encountered Geoffers and Erling leaving the pits as I passed. I lifted a little to let them go. They were not part of my race. I pitted for front tyres only (maybe they could have lasted all race?) and filled with fuel after starting with full tanks. I didn't want any complicated calculations going wrong. After that Bob was a little ahead of me and Fulvio did a lot of pit stopping. It looked like I could have a race with Bob to the end. I was surprised to be lapped so soon. The top three passed me in easy places with no drama. I'm sorry to hear about Bob and Dimitar. Dominick was struggling near the end and I picked up another place.
Grats to the fast podium and to Dan for keeping the mad Porsche on track.

This was a memorial race for Laurie Clemo, or his online alter ego, Ligel Canello. Interestingly, his first online league race was at Interlagos, in January 2007 at GBGPL. Dan, you were in that race! Laurie was lapped then as he often was, but he loved the online experience. He was never a front runner, but always a gentleman on and off the track and became very good at being lapped.

I agree with all comments requesting Bob to stay. :thumbup1: I think all incidents considered reckless should be reported to Tony. :nono:

A predictably difficult race in the BMW, a rocket ship on the straights but an oil tanker in the twisties.

After a couple of early mistakes I ran 4th for much of the first half of the race. Pitstop went well until I got an S/G for pitlane speeding, I thought it was because I turned the limiter off a fraction too early, so on my penalty stop I made sure I was past the pit exit light before turning it off. Argh, another speeding penalty, must admit I nearly quit at that point & just cruised around the first couple of turns before deciding to carry on. So on the second penalty stop I made sure I slowed right down well before the pit entry & this time all was OK, although I had engaged the limiter both times when entering the pits before, I obviously was carrying a little too much speed when passing the entry lights & got pinged for it.

Rest of the race was fairly lonely apart from being lapped (twice each!) by the two leaders & lapping a couple of other cars. Made another couple of mistakes late in the race, too heavy right foot, & came in 5th.

Congrats to the podium.  :clap: :clap: :clap:

I do hope Bob will reconsider his decision & join us again next week.

Thank you for letting us know, Andy, I was wondering who the memorial was about!

This was one of the most intense races I've had a very long time! Knowing well Dimitar's affinity for Interlagos, even though this is the old version, I knew he was going to be strong and difficult to beat here. I wasn't helped at all of the starts by my long 1st gear, which I found worked better in the slowest corners, so I found myself trailing the top 4 down the straight after T2. Geoffer's Porsche was a rocket, so it took some time finding a place to pass him and then to manage to stay ahead.

Catching up and passing Erland was a different story though. He was really quick and made no mistakes, so I had to get very close and brake later to snatch 2nd. Fortunately for me he made a small error behind me and dropped a few seconds back, so he lost the slipstream and couldn't counter attack.

By now Dimitar was a few seconds in front and as much as I tried, we were just about evenly matched. It was only after tyre wear started to make a difference that I could gradually reel him in. Overtaking him though was next to impossible. He was very fast out of the corners that led onto the longer straights, and he also took defensive lines whenever I made an attack. I had no other choice but to back off and focus on getting another good exit. We had several side by side moments, but Dimitar was always had the better position and I didn't want to take too big of a risk so early in the race.

Shortly before the pitstop window I went wide in that narrow right-left combination (start of second sector I think), spun on the grass and lost about 10 seconds. Managed to claw back 4 of those, before Dimitar went into the pitlane for his stop. I had fueled my car to the maximum, because I didn't figure out the consumption in advance. The problem now was, what if he changed his tyres and start catching me up in the laps I still had left before my planned pitstop? I thought of not changing tyres, but I was already 3 seconds a lap slower, despite having a lighter car, plus it the traction under acceleration just kept getting worse. I decided to stop earlier, with 11 to go, and change tyres too.

Unfortunately I didn't stop where I'm supposed to, even though it didn't seem that way. I had to go back and forth a few times, losing about 10 seconds in the process. By the time I was out on track, Dimitar was 20 seconds in front. I set off in a crazy pursuit, taking risks absolutely everywhere, and this seemed to work for awhile, especially after Dimitar lost some 4 seconds due to his situation with Bob. Once the gap reached 10-11 seconds though, it stabilized and he did some very fast lap times, so I could only take a few tenths off him, for about 2-3 laps. I also lost 2 seconds at one point by having a minor off, so that didn't help my cause.

Once tyre wear become a factor again in the final 4-5 laps, I suddenly took big chunks off his lead and reduced it down to 5 seconds. This is where I allowed myself to imagine winning the race, losing focus for a bit, and the car surprised me by getting sideways in a place where it has never done before, at least not to that extent - in the double left after the long straight. It slid towards the inside, I overcorrected, and that sent me towards the outside at a very high speed. Went over the curb and slammed straight into the steep banking. I was expecting the car to go over the banking and flip violently, but instead it just decelerated to 0 and even flew backwards a bit. No damage done to the suspension, engine was OK, so I could continue and just cruise during the last 3 laps.

Well done to Dimitar for a well-deserved victory, it was a pleasure to battle with you! Congrats Erland for 3rd, you must have had a rather lonely race. Congrats to everyone else who survived this long race and to all who were courteous while being lapped, especially Geoffers who was otherwise very fast in the BMW and had to basically lift off to let me through.

The physics on these cars seemed very realistic, so I hope we can eventually do more races with them or similar ones in the future.

There is an incident reporting system which should be used, a moderator, not Tony, will then review it & make a decision on any penalty & advice. When I first raced at UKGTL this was widely used, not really to apportion blame, although penalties were handed out, but more to make drivers better & more careful. The last few years the use of the reporting system seems almost to have fallen into disuse, maybe because we have become better drivers, but also I suspect that people don't really want the hassle of using it. So maybe we should get back in the habit of using the system for any incidents that occur to learn from our mistakes.

I had a great time once we decided to race for real. Had some fun getting in Geoffers way for a few laps, then ran well until the stop
Much the same thing happened as last time we ran stops. Got a pit lane speeding S/G much as Geoff, in the pits I decided to take
just fronts as the rears seemed fine. Came out of the pits and the car was unraceable. The back end was on ice, so poddled round
slowly and took the S/G for speeding, then crawled round again to take rears, which made very little difference, the car was still
without any rear grip, lost the will to live so quit out as I was now a minute and a half behind Fulvio.

First of all I hope Bob will reconsider and continue racing with us - don't let an angry moment spoil it, if you otherwise enjoy the racing.  When lapping or being lapped, it's easy to misinterpret the other driver's intentions, so mistakes are bound to happen.

Really wanted to drive the Porsche, as it's such an iconic car, but for me it was the slowest, had the highest tyre wear, and was the most difficult to drive.  Got quicker in the Beemer with some setup tweaks and practice, but still almost a second faster in the Ford, which was also the easiest to drive, and had the least tyre wear.  Thus went with it, although it was the most boring and predictable choice, after using its more powerful big brother; the '81 car in our series a couple of years ago.

First start went well, with me grabbing the lead, albeit with Dimitar in hot pursuit.  With each successive restart, I ended up in less and less favorable positions, in 2nd behind Dimitar. In the final one. Geoffers behind me on L1 was soon replaced with Hristo, who didn't take long to get past. Missed my braking point as it was hidden by his car and went off track, fortunately without losing more places. Dan's Porsche loomed in my mirrors the following laps, but he gradually dropped back.  Stretched the gap to 22 seconds, at which point it stabilized - or dropped, if I made a less than stellar lap.

Suspected it was Geoffers chasing me. If he skipped a tyre change, he would close the gap right up, so considered skipping it myself, but didn't dare. As it was, the threat never materialized after our stops; understandable considering the two S/G he received.

A lonely race for me indeed, as Hristo suggests.  Grats to him on 2nd and Dimitar on the win.

Andy & Matt; If you change tyres, you might as well change all 4 - tests I did in the past, showed there's no time saved by only changing one axle.

Bob don't leave, I need someone to race with  ;D ;)

I tested all the cars a couple of laps the evening before and found only the Ford driveable for a long race even if I had set the best time with the Porker after have found that trying to put in 5th didn't work  ;D
Anyway started with 70 litres without any clues about tires wearing. Luckily the roulette put me on the back of the grid for all the starts so I could learn the car without been pressed by faster drivers. Had a nice slow  :D battle with Bob, Dominick and Andy getting the lead of back pack till the pit required, but entered in the pit at the very last moment after the left bend and couldn't slow enough in time so a penalty would have beeen in place. Did a lot of manouvre to find the right spot and decided to not change tires. The penalty was on and the following lap entered the pit to serve it with the maximum attention to not speed up, but again lost a lot of time to have the pit table shown so with two pits lost all the chance to race again with the backpack and rounded alone in angry with myself for my careless  :'(

I am hoping to compile a small list of driver's favourite tracks. The most popular are highly likely to appear in a future series.

It would help me enormously if you could take 5 mins to list your most favourite circuits.

Please reply here https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=19941.msg364281#msg364281

Result (https://www.avonrise.co.uk/srou/kurts/_2020/13052020_LC-Memorial_Interlagos)

 8)

Thanks Kurt  :thumbup1: