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Password: see above (#post_event_password) (released 24hrs before the race)

Test race Pt 2 - Ford Vs Alfa

(https://i.postimg.cc/B6ZP1b0c/Ford-V-Alfa-Round-2.jpg)

April 29th - Password entry (on day of race)

Welcome to Pt 2 of the Ford Vs Alfa race at Croft!

This is the same event as last time with only one twist - you all have to drive the opposite car for this round!
This will give us a very solid idea on how well matched the cars are and will allow us to kick off Season 16 with a bang! ;D
Although the Alfa has been updated to V1.21 we will still be using the V1.2 version from last week so you don't need to update. If you don't have the car yet but are joining this event then follow the download link below and make sure you get the V1.2 car.

Tire wear is still set to 130% as per the last race and there will still be a mandatory pit for tires - to pretend this is a real double header I'm moving the race time forward a few hours to 3pm game time. (Obviously we're the main event ;) )


Practice: 19:30 (45 mins)
Qual: 20:15 (15 mins)
Race: 20:30  (45 minutes)

Cars allowed:
Ford Escort (Stock Kunos)
Vs
Alfa Romeo GTam (V1.2 from Racedepartment - do NOT use the new 1.21 version! The server will be running V1.2. (https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/1970-alfa-romeo-gtam.28717/history))
*The Alfa seems to have a requirement for the Stock Kuno's Alfa GTA from Dream Pack 1, If you don't have that pack and suffer CTD when loading the car then you need that pack. *

Track:  Croft (https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/croft-circuit.16806/) (V1.0)


Live Timing: stracker.simracing.org.uk:50041/lapstat (http://stracker.simracing.org.uk:50041/lapstat)

Time of Day Setting: 15:00
Weather: Clear
Start: Standing
Tyre wear: x1.3
Fuel consumption: Normal
Pit-stops: Mandatory stop for tires

Server track settings:
SESSION_START=100
RANDOMNESS=0
LAP_GAIN=0
SESSION_TRANSFER=N/a

Damage: 70%

Password: see above (#post_event_password)

PLP App - Not used in this series. Cutting will be monitored on replay and penalties issued for excessive cutting.

Notes:
(1) Please make sure you are fully aware of the UKGTR Rules (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3349.0)
(2) Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page

(http://www.motorsportcircuits.co.uk/assets/images/croft_track_guide.gif)

Escort is almost 1 sec slower in my hands, could't get it right at any point, only in straighs it goes where I want it to go.

I forget if it was Bob or Syd - but in a practice session before the race they said they made the springs softer in the Escort and it became much better.

I'm running standard spring rates I think and the car was very tail happy so sharing my setup won't help :D

Tried the Alfa and am as fast as with the Escort just using stock setup. :o

Yeah, I'd say Alfa is easiest on stock settings. But my times are at least suggesting that the 'Scort is quicker - it certainly has less tire deg, but that's not an issue with the settings used on the server.

Appearently my little problem with the Alfa's FFB was more related to the track.

As my experience was the opposite of people above, I needed quite some setup tweaks to keep it going roughly where I want it to. Loving this mod more and more now.
Btw, I tested it a bit at Tor Poznan as a last Interleague race' echo and she was delightful.  :tt1:

Out of curiosity - is this FFB issue in the middle/exit of Tower bend?
If so what you're probably feeling is the front inside wheel lifting and then re-gaining traction over the camber change, real cars feel the same :)

I'm really looking forward to this race, I find the Alfa a bit of a handful out of the final hairpin, but otherwise she's a beut!

Nah, was in the beginning of the straight line, due to the tarmac strips.

Is there a reason 4th gear cannot be altered with the Alfa?

It's a 1:1 gear (normal in most road gearboxes) - you adjust it by changing the final drive (differential) gearing :)
I can't remember the design of the GTAm, but it might have a trans-axle - which *could* make swapping 4th almost impossible at a track?? (or something else I'll make up if you press me! ;D ).

I'm sure it had a transaxle, that could be the reason, these cars are so evenly matched, the Alfa is the easier drive for me, but still prefer the four wheels and a board!

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the GTAm has not transaxle. Alfa Romeo started use this solution later, with Alfetta and GT/GTV.

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Whatever you can afford, it all helps keep us running, and is most appreciated.

That was another fun one!
I made it much harder than I needed to by falling off on the first corner, but that resulted in a good fight with Adam until I managed to re-pass him.

Well done to Darren on a commanding drive, looking at your times we should have some very interesting fights moving forward! (hopefully Max will be rejoining us too to really spice things up!)

Looking at the lap times and race times over the previous 2 events it seems that the cars have near identical performance but the Alfa has significantly worse tire wear (I got that bit wrong then!).
I like the race format and the cars are obviously matched so for the series propper I intend to keep the pit stops but lower the tire wear enough to prevent the Alfa getting handicapped in the late race stages (I might do something unusual here to allow for interesting strategy plays, wait for the announcement ;))

You'll be allowed to pick your car and skin for this one once the series announcement is made so I'll start the season in 3 weeks, this allows time to test the formula easters on a high speed circuit to see if the performances change a bit and one other random event to pad us out :)

Yes, another enjoyable race ... and no cockups at the pit stop this time (correct tyre pressures overfuelled by a few litres this time, taking no chances)!

Darren had another trademark start  ;D leading to a very tight first couple of corners.  With Tim going "a bit wide" I managed to sneak into 2nd, had a couple of good laps keeping him behind before he got back past.  After that there was a bit of clear air front and back, though Stefan closed in again as we neared the halfway point.

I left the pitstop a bit later this time, and when I came out Tim was 10 seconds up the road and Stefan was 10 seconds behind, leaving me with a few laps to keep it clean and wrap up the podium.

Congrats to Darren, great pace in both cars.  Looking forward to seeing the series details in due course.

Yep enjoyed that again last night, do love the 'chuck it in' nature of these cars. Should have been in a top 6 fight but got turned around in the final chicane area early in the race whilst 6th and that dropped me to the back of the field  :'( Had some great battles along the way to recoup to 10th then got spun again  :taz:  so lost another 10 seconds. Pitted shortly afterwards for new boots then set consistent 1:36 lap times for ages until I caught Maxime with a few laps to go. This strangely upset my concentration and I made a few errors running wide, but despite a gallant battle, Maxime ran wide at T1 under pressure and I got past with about a lap to go  :) Finished 8th, good stuff, good grid again.

I agree, the cars are even enough, but the higher tire wear slightly disadvantages the Alfa.

About me, a race ended in a duel against Stefan, just like the previous one. Great battle, especially of nerves, and good show with big slideways. I started a little bottled in the middle of the group, to avoid battles which would have wasted me time, I preferred to make a early pit stop (undercut?). This has benefited me a lot and put forward, near to Stefan in the second half of the race.

Tim, will the Formula Easter championship be after this with Alfa and Ford? I'm going to try doing also the Russians Championship, but I haven't tested the car yet. If I don't like her, I will abandon the idea.

Formula Easter will be after this series - Ford V Alfa will be 4 rounds starting on the 14th of May, with races every week and I'll then plan in a 2 week buffer after it ends for in case we have to do any re-runs.

If all goes to plan I *think* than means Formula Easter will start on the 25th of June. Depending on my own workload at home/work that may be races every week or it might be every other week, I should have an idea in a week or 2..

So you have loads of time to join the Russians :)

I'm looking forward to it!!!

Thank you for introducing Adam and myself to these cars and of course the marvellous Croft.  It's a shame this track isn't available on more sims.

 

I know standing starts aren't my speciality, but I had to choose between a long 1st gear or constantly looping it at the hairpin.  It turns out I don't need a fast start because people want to give me places at T1.  ;D :angel: