SimRacing.org.uk

I see RaceRoom are running a 3 round Touring Car Championship exclusively for British drivers. Races are on 3 consecutive Sundays at 16:00 BST starting on 26th April. Races are as follows:

April 26th Silverstone National
May 3rd Brands Hatch Indy
May 10th Silverstone International

Cars will be 2019 WTCC & there will be 3 races at each round with top 10 reversed grid in races 2 & 3. Apparently entry is free (unusual for RRE) & you will need to record a lap on the leaderboard to qualify.

See the competitions section of the game for full details & to enter.

Anyone else up for this? I have set a time on the leaderboard for the first race, currently 18th, one place ahead of BTCC driver Dan Cammish :o. Would be good to see a few other SROUK drivers having a go, might help advertising the site if you put SROUK in as your team in your profile. You do not even need to buy the content, all 2019 WTCC cars are free to drive in the event.

I will likely have a go. I got down to 88th  :o in the hillclimb qual leaderboard. Gavino is top with a sub 6 minute run  :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

Wow !!!!

I'll have a go at the TC thing this week, not expecting much though.

You have until 8pm on Wednesday to set a time on the leaderboard, I seem to remember you were pretty useful in the tourers Pete. Just managed to go a little faster, so back up to 18th after dropping to 20th.

Just looked & the VDA guys now fill the top 3 places on the leaderboard for the hillclimb. I got down to 6.18 which is currently 66th, but it would take a lot more attempts to learn it properly, so will most probably not persevere any more & do our GTL race that evening.

Better try tonight then as tomorrow is flight sim night. Don't seem to be very quick in anything RRE since my enforced break  :-[

I was 88th with a ....1:24 ooops, I mean 6:24 up the hill. Currently I am half a sec short of the magic 80th place at Silver

Ha ha - guess I've just done the wrong thing then. I was 721st  ::) with a 1:50 odd. The fastest on the leaderboard was the only one in the 1:44's. Think I did a TCR thing now

Looks like I will be on server 2 for the first Silverstone event.

How do you know where to go? Do they remind you of the event or do you just join magically at the right time?

Where did you finish on the leaderboard Pete? For the TCRs at Silverstone there are 4 servers apparently with 20 drivers in each, so the top 80 get invited (by email) plus some reserves I guess in case some drivers don't accept the invitation. In previous events RaceRoom have run, everyone who set a time on the leaderboard got an invite & they put on enough servers so everyone who accepted got to race.

I didn't try particularly hard due to the issues I'm having with RRE and the FFB so well outside the top 80 I'm afraid.

Will have a play over this weekend. I did last night's AC inter-league race with the Formula Easter cars. It was brilliant and reminded me of what I thought the NSUs used to feel like. Once in a slide you could feel the grip coming back and anticipate the steering input required. So much detail in the FFB that I get none of just now.

I think I ended up 85th for Silver nat, I am on the reserve list, but have a spot. I sent my details, but haven't had any more info since
3 races each event. I put a time in for Brands and I was 5th, but only a dozen people had bothered at that time.
The NSU series, everyone who enters (and pays the small fee) gets a race. The qual for the NSU races was to me not just about
how fast you are, was as much how much time you put in to learn the very long and complex hillclimb track.

Well one good race & two disappointing ones in server 2 at Silverstone. Drove the Lynk & Co 03.

Race 1, somehow qualified on pole! Got a great start & had a comfortable lead going into Maggots but forgot the brakes don't work well until they are warm, so overshot the corner & dropped back to 4th. Managed to recover one place & spent the rest of the race on the tail of the first two, very difficult to overtake unless the other car makes a mistake so finished 3rd less than 0.5s behind the winner.

Race 2, top 10 reversed grid so started 8th. First few laps were very hectic & after much pushing & shoving I fought my way back to 13th! Couple of laps later I ran wide into the gravel exiting Luffield & dropped to 16th & stayed there until the end.

Race 3, another good start from 16th & was into the top 10 on the first lap, but on lap 2 I lost it going into Maggots & skated off into the gravel trap. Took an age to get out by which time I was dead last, slowly gained on the back of the field but was still a couple of seconds short at the end, although with a couple of guys dropping out & some others going off, I finished 15th.

All told though was good fun, a couple of guys drove very aggressively & were not averse to shoving others out of the way & weaving on the straight to prevent overtaking, but most behaved very well. You do need to get your elbows out on the first couple of laps & being in the right place at the right time helps, something I didn't manage in race 2. Looking forward to Brands next week.

How did you get on Matt?

I qualed 85th on the leaderboard I think, got an email saying I was a reserve but had a slot, and would be in group 3, I was expecting to be in group 4
but they must have been even slower... and a lot must have not gone for the event, just the hotlapping I guess.

Race 1 I was being a bit cautious, didn't want to get a bad rep, qualled 13th out of 19, just 0.5 sec behind pole, eeek the field was close!
can't remember where I finished, somewhere near the back of a very hard charging group, had some paint swapping, race one T1
I got bashed sideways by someone trying to get round the outside, and lost a few places. was good fun though to the flag.

Race 2 more of the same, very close racing, some very pushy people, but I just held my line and let them worry about where they
were going to go. Got a stop/go because of wandering off track, but it said I had to give 0.1 sec within the next 18 seconds
had no idea how I might do that, as when we have used slow down it just slowed you automatically, tried lifting slightly on
the straight, but maybe I needed to be more obvious, so I did a S/G 3 laps from the end, and came last.

Race 3 was the best one, same bunch of people I had been racing in the previous two races, so we had a better idea of who would do what
and where. I finished towards the back again, but I think a better place.

Here is the replay for race 3 if anyone's interested. Can you put one or all of your replays up somewhere Geoff? I would enjoy a watch.

https://phspok1.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Race/2020-04-26+Silverstone+Circuit+National_8.Vcr (https://phspok1.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Race/2020-04-26+Silverstone+Circuit+National_8.Vcr)

I am looking ok on the Brands leaderboard at the moment, but it's early days yet.

OK Matt will try to upload them tomorrow.

Here are my replays from the Silverstone event for anyone who wishes to watch.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GczQHRLhJk-3h_UlKTkMkGYtpVe32xIq/view?usp=sharing

I think I have made the file downloadable, if not shout.

I ran the 3 NSU events last night, and mostly wished I hadn't bothered. 1st two races were ruined by a foolish person
called Stuart Robbins. 1st race start of lap 2 T1 he dive bombed a group with me at the rear, and rammed a couple off
me being one including himself then stuck in the gravel, race over. Race two he rammed me onto the grass from behind
putting me at the back of the field when I was doing ok. Race 3 my fault, I got fed up of people using my car as brakes
and after causing an incident trying to get a place back, I quit in disgust. Not heard about Brands yet, I was 95th
so might get into group 4 perhaps. I like the WTCC events, the NSU was just too many cars at a similar pace
which should have been great, but was actually a pain.

Watched a bit of the server 1 NSU races last night & it did come across as a bit of a demolition derby. Lots of wild lunges into corners & many bent cars & people stuck in the gravel traps. Probably just as well I skipped it.

Congrats though to Gavino who won all 3 races in server 1.  :notworthy: :clap:

Gavino is a special talent  ::)    :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :alien:

I'm on server 2 again for Brands Hatch, should be good fun as long as I can stay out of trouble in the opening laps.  :eek:

No invite for me so far, was this sort of time on Friday, so maybe I might scratch in to server 4

Three really intense but fun races at Brands this afternoon. In the Lynk & Co 03 on server 2 again.

Race 1, was on pole until the last few seconds of qually when an Audi went fractionally faster, so started 2nd. Good start again & grabbed the lead, I think some guys are not using the launch control as they seem really slow away. Lead only lasted to Druids when a guy in an Alfa outbraked me. Three of us ran close for the rest of the race without swapping positions, until the very final corner when the leader in the Alfa got very sideways on the brakes & skated across the grass on the inside. This slowed him enough as he regained the tarmac that I nipped through on the inside to win.  ;D

Race 2, with reverse grid I started 10th & gained a few places at the start but was on the outside at Druids & promptly lost them again, dropping to 11th. With everyone so close in laptimes it was very difficult overtake, you really need others to make mistakes, fortunately with cars battling closely mistakes were happening. So slowly gained places as others made errors, including the Alfa guy rolling it at Druids, & managed to get up to 6th at the flag.

Race 3, my worst race. Again made places at the start & was 3rd into Paddock Hill, but at Druids the car on the inside of me ran very wide & pushed me into the gravel trap dropping me to last ::). Passed a couple of guys who went off & got into an enthralling battle with several cars for 13th place. Gained a place or two then lost a place or two before eventually getting up to 14th at the end.

Looking forward to Silverstone International next week, probably in server 2 again.

Launch control?  ::)

Well done. I was 72nd for next week, but am 90 something now. WIll do some more laps, see if I can gain a couple of tenths

Yes, these cars are equipped with launch control. Map a button to it, then at the start hold the button, apply max throttle, the car automatically selects 1st gear, keep max throttle on then when lights change release the button & the car launches & changes up through the gears. To disengage, just lift off the throttle or brake, simples! Give it a try.

In server 2 again for this afternoon's race at Silverstone International.

Good luck  :thumbup1:

I kept going round using some of your advice, and I did get 3 - 4 tenths off up to the 1st sector on hangar straight
but would always be unable to get back even to my best previous time for the last section, so ended up 100+

Similar here Matt, lots of times I was well up at the first split then either got Stowe wrong or the final section. It confounded me why I was always slower through there & could never work out what was the fastest line.

By the way, did you try the launch control?

Ahh, no, didn't try it. Not being in a race I hadn't thought to do it.

Not such a good event this week. Qualified only 11th for the first race, only set one time, messed up every other lap! Had a good battle in the bottom half of the top 10 until with 2 laps to go...………….. we had a power cut. :cursing: Oh well.

Achh. properly annoying  :(

Anyone tried the Cupra competition currently running? I have had 4 sessions so far trying to work my way up the leaderboard at Nurbugring GP track. Started with laps around mid 2.08s & progressed until I have now got down to 2.06.0 which is 1.3s off the fastest time but only around 150th on the leaderboard! :o Don't think I can go much faster.
 
Just one or two tips for anyone who wants to give it a go. It's fixed setup, so the only thing you can adjust is the brakes. After initially putting the brakes more to the rear to aid turn in, I found it more effective to have the brakes more to the front. Dramatically shortens braking distance without adversely affecting turn in too much. Secondly, and it has been said before, concentrate on corner exits, nearly all the time gains I have made have come from getting the corner exits right, particularly T4. Keeping well to the left out of T3 really pays dividends. Finally when you are not improving with your own ghost fastest lap, try going against someone who is 0.5 - 1s faster, I found another 0.5s by seeing where I was losing time & adjusting line accordingly.

Not tried the Cupra yet, but I did have a go at the touring classics, that aren't so classic. Did some laps at Zolder, and was only a second off the top 100
and was 200+ eeek.