SimRacing.org.uk

Season 37 – 1955 Grand Prix – Round 2 – Spa-Francorchamps
The second race in the 1955 Grand Prix series finds us in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps. Designed in 1920 the original triangle-shaped course used public roads between the Belgian towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot. The track was intended to have hosted its inaugural race in August 1921, however the first car race was held at the circuit in 1922. Spa was the fastest road circuit in Europe at the time, and it had a nasty reputation for being dangerous and very fast. It was a circuit known to be one for the brave, and most drivers were frightened of it. The old Spa circuit was unique in that speeds were consistently high with hardly any let-up at all for 3–4 minutes. This made it an extraordinarily difficult mental challenge (& ridiculously easy to crash).
 
Please read the championship specific rules on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1112&theme=6).

Race list	iGOR
Server	UKGPL_4
IP address	77.102.28.179
Date	26-07-2020
Track	spa67 (http://srmz.net/index.php?s=448c71de31d5af327ee46f7dfc1fde15&showtopic=10443)
Mod	55GP with 60fpsV2newmod
Damage	PRO long
Race time	~ 21:30 UK time
Qualifying	20:45 UK time - 45 minutes
Race length	11 laps
Replay	here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/13qFcogpIJcQXGQx83eDFBggCE9IdDjzA/view?usp=sharing)

Please restrict chat to emergency messages only including at the end of the race until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.

Password: see above (#post_event_password)
Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1112&theme=6)

Handicapping and chassis allocation.
The 1955 Grand Prix cars will be using a token system which allows drivers to purchase any chassis of their choice for a given number of tokens as published on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1112&theme=6). Drivers classed as Privateers will be allocated an additional 10 tokens.  The tokens available to each driver will be published in the race announcement. See table below.

Available Tokens:
Note: These are the tokens available to each driver before the 10 tokens are added for making the race start.

Driver	Tokens	Status
Alain Maurice	20	Works
bagrupp	10	Works
Clive Loynes	15	Works
Doni Yourth	15	Works
Dulima	15	Works
Enrique Farina	15	Works
EvilClive	8	Works
fpolicardi	15	Works
JonnyO	20	Works
Phil Thornton	15	Works
Raoni Frizzo	10	Works
bernie	18	Privateer
covisi2016	30	Privateer
Daniel_San	20	Privateer
francesco	20	Privateer
maddog	15	Privateer
PaulV	20	Privateer
Ricardo Valim da Silva	25	Privateer
tagomago	25	Privateer

thank you for the information

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7exBtOgys7I

What courage these gentlemen  :o

Thanks for the link Alain.   :thumbup1:

Do you mean the drivers or gendarmes standing on the road at Stavelot?  :eek:

LOL

Or the ones trying to catch stray dogs?

Where can I hire that dog?
 I might need some extra help on Sunday  ::).

But, the film simply confirms what I find so compelling about that era. No wings, no slicks, no seatbelts....I could go on.
 Proper length Grand Prix where both car and driver ( and spectators!) are tested to the limit of their endurance. Those guys had to wrestle their cars, (it wasn't driving with power assisted steering like modern F1), unless you were Fangio who turned fast driving into an art form.

I hope to demonstrate a different sort of art form on Sunday, just loosely based on Fangio's example.

Awesome video!
When racing was dangerous and sex was safe...

Perhaps we should race in black and white for more realism!

Beware !

Ive armed myself with a goodly supply of banana skins for any lapping driver who wants to try get past  ;D

I've been working hard to get a good rhythm in spa ... here's a good test ...

(http://boxes.gaiztor.com/img/20200725_152616_480.jpg)

Although I don't know why lancia is so strange in the photo ... could it be missing two wheels? ... the setup did not adapt well either ... and finally I think the track installation is not adequate

I'm still working to be ready for tomorrow  :laugh:

You look to be well off piste there Tago.

Not had much time for intense practice but I hope that everyone else has made some progress.

I have a very nice Lancia for Spa that a bloke down in Bristol knitted for me!  ;-)

I hope you're ready  ;)

Nice GS, should be the perfect bike for that terrain. I've got a Triumph Explorer (1200 not the 800) but I've never dared to take it on tracks like that. It is so heavy, if I dropped it I'd never be able to get it back up!

......a bloke who might come to regret his moment of weakness and generosity :-\

Freeze for me, still with the game (sound) working.
Heard my car crashing and hope nobody else got involved. Only thing I could do was to reset the computer as soon as possible. Anyway, sincere apologies if anyone got involved :(

you were just vanishing in front of me Raoni ;)

so much action in a short race.
Connection Issues and just one lap, mistake and rejoined on Alain, sorry.

great start to 9th position, fighting with Clive (hope not to hard through la source)

I put pressure on tagomago and he went off unfortunatly. Even more, i touched the wall as well,
not so hard but just enough to lose a wheel :(

Your car went off track and rebounded in the middle of the track, Joonny missed it for a hair but I couldn't  :'(
Too bad, race was promising with the Merc. Anyway I saw a lot of crash till lap 6, then leaved.

Screen freeze in qually , unable to re set , task manager refused to obey so had to re start the computer , got a message from windows about them resetting my Radeon , got back in and found frame rate was abismal   Stuttered away at the back of the grid in the race got a wheel off track somewhere and ended up picking daisys from the radiator   . 60 fps doesn't work for me , not much point carrying on with things as they are .

Grats to the podium and all finishers , commiserations to the none finishers and all others who like me wish they had gone to Blackpool instead  :o

Apologies to E Farina for lap 1  :-\. Not my greatest moment  :(

I tried to avoid your car, but just could not scrub off enough speed.

A real shame Raoni, I had some nice laps with Alain until he got lost too...
It's my track, even with these cars  ;D

I'm really sorry, Fulvio :( It would be better if it were a full freeze. Then at least the game would stop and therefore my car disappear, but I could still hear the race going on. If you look at the replay you can see how strange was the way I went off the track.

I don't mind having some FPS drops here and there because Spa is a demanding track in graphics, but what's been strange is those micro freezes that make the game stop and sometimes return after a few seconds. In that case, it didn't come back. Have you guys already experienced anything similar? ???

A race to forget for me. Had a screen freeze in qually but got a good start in the race. I immediately caught up with the car in front who had a slow start but I didn't want to overtake and risk a crash in to L'Eau Rouge so I stayed in line. I tried to get past on the run to Les Combes but I touched the grass and spun, ending up in last place. Then on the approach to Masta, I caught a slower car and tried to overtake but I hit the armco and was out of the race. Very disappointing because I like Spa but it shows the way to do well in these cars is to get into a nice rhythm, having to take evasive action or going off your normal racing line is usually asking for trouble.

Grats to Cookie on another win on his favourite track. Nice podium for JonnyO and great to see Francesco on the podium too (engine stayed in one piece for a change  :thumbup2:. )

Thank you Phil.The race did not start well,one engine and one freeze in qually.I was convinced to not finish but ,instead,no error and no engine problems.

Good morning all  :)

Bravo Cookie, JonnyO and Francesco

Freeze also for me in testing but without reboot of the PC.
I do 4 practice laps and see on pribluda that the gap is small compared to the first and apply myself on the lines to try to gain a place.
We are very close in front, the race promises to be exciting.
Raoni is in my wheels but hangs on with Alex at the start of the race, too bad for him because he was very fast.

Alex replaced him and passed quickly, also very fast in Lancia, even with the aspiration I would have a hard time keeping up.
Unfortunately, after several laps I hit the low wall in Blanchimont and ended up against a tree.
Well done to the finishers, difficult these cars

Thank you to the organizers and warmly the next race  :thumbup1:

Very well done Fran, after my early departure, which was entirely my fault, I spent some time watching your race.  You must have had a strong engine on this occasion.

Congratulations also to Axel and Johnny.

Practice went OK for me, except that, I couldn't get a tow at any price, which is usually the case!

At the start I had just thought that it was a bit too warm in my office and had actually let go of my wheel and started to move towards the cooling fan when the starter raised the flag!  Not one of my best starts.
In the race, such as it was, I wasn't trying to push and was content for people to pass me whilst I got up to speed.  When Evil came past I thought he would make a good tow car but as usual when I'm not actually trying to go flat-out, I was a bit lax at turn-in for Stavelot and wiped a wheel off on the wall.  A shame as I had some good speed in the Gordini, although without any track time with other cars I think that I had pitched 4th gear a tad too high.

As I said in the chat just before the race, my yellow Gordini did not have a brake-fade light.  Thankfully not a huge problem at Spa.

Let's hope that my season gets under way properly at Zandvoort.   :(

Yes :laugh:,against an SL on the straight is a battle with defeat.

 
You was not the only one and for this reason i'm ,probably,the slower in this point.

Once again I must apologise to Enrique for the push on Lap 1.  :oops: I will put in a report and let the moderators decide on penalties.

Grats to Axel ( he is the Sultan of Spa) and to Jonny for a great recovery to claim 2rd place and also to Francesco for 3rd  :clap: :clap: :clap:  .

Hard luck to Dulima on the last corner  :-\ he made the same mistake that I had made earlier in the race and ran out of brakes just when he needed them most. It would have been a good result to claim 4th in a Connaught.

My first time in one of the Ferraris and I had real problems with understeer in the 625. All through qually I was trying to change the setup to make the car behave, but nothing appeared to work. So, I started towards the rear of the grid  :-\.
Eau Rouge was tricky as some cars were slower and some were making passes..... :scared: Then, with a good exit from Les Coombes, I found myself behind Enrique running down to Burnenville where he slowed more than I had expected and ran a wider line. Both of these things Enrique was entitled to do, but I ran out of brakes, and space, to avoid him.  :(

The race was then about picking up places as other cars had problems and disco's until I caught a lonely Gordini  ::). Passing Clive was not going to be a problem with my extra power, but getting that pesky little car off of my tail pipes might prove more of a problem. From Clive's qualification time is was clear that he could run in the slipstream and post quick laps. Until I read Clive L's report I thought that I might have been partly responsible for his early exit? I knew he was drafting me as we approached Stavelot and I was hoping to out drag him back up the hill towards Blanchimont. But, as I commited to Stavelot there was a marshall waving a yellow flag and I could see a Lancia cartwheeling across the track...so I backed off to avoid getting involved. I wonder if that had caught CliveL unaware and caused his exit?
The next time I looked in my mirrors he was gone and Prib showed him a long way back and stationary  :-\ I caught Dulima who was running a very good race in the Connaught and I had the same problem that I was expecting with the Gordini. I caught him easily and passed him with the slipstream. But once he had the tow from my car he was quick!!
On the final lap Dulima drafted past on the way to Stavelot and I was hoping to retake the position running up to Blanchimont and hold it to the finish, but I put a wheel off the track out of La Carriere and lost momentum and the chance of a pass. My only hope of taking 4th place was to outbrake Dulima into La Source.......I think he knew what I was going to try and left his braking as late as possible...just a little too late. He failed to make the final corner and I only just avoided the haybales on the exit to steal 4th.
Onwards to Zandvort and some fun in the sand dunes.... ;)

Another great race!

How I like to accelerate with these 55 cars

I don't know if it happens only on my computer, or if it happens to someone else

At the start, always give a "DALEY", It is almost impossible to keep the car stable

I was really afraid of hitting or that someone would hit me.

After the Eau Rouge, normalized and it was just fun.

Unfortunately with this problem I lost about three positions at the start

I missed the disputes with Phil, to do a rematch of the other SPA race

Evil Clive, I felt like Brian O'Connor running against Dominic Toretto, in Fast and Furious 1.

For a curve that I wouldn't win from you. Unfortunately I passed the braking point.

Thanks for the clean dispute, it is a pleasure to lose like this!

I'm exchanging for Doni's recovery

Let Zandvoort come

  This 2nd position does not mean that I had a good race, I would say that I was discreet, a stupid mistake, it was a miracle to be able to continue, 2nd position was an obligation because it is the fastest car.
  Congratulations Cookie, you are diabolical on this track, many merits at a spectacular speed.
  I am sorry for the drivers who abandoned, especially Raoni, who promised a good race.
  Spa67 is special !!!!

They are evil race things, I have never done well in the new spa, I always end badly, but I never thought it would be so fast. ;D
   always in the race I try to leave respecting the potions of others, since this mod 55 is dangerous to overtake in the 1st or 2nd corner. Coming to Burneville, between strong and I thought I was going to go out to the grass, and I released the accelerator a little to prevent that from happening, but evil was very close to me and I could not avoid the blow, they are racing things evil does not always things have to go well for you.
   You should not have sent the situation to the moderators, for me it was a race situation, without any blame at all.
    More races will come and there will be a rematch. 8)
    congratulations to the podium

Thank you Enrique for being so understanding. :)

Phil....
The Results table shows my car as the Ferrari 555, but I am sure that I used the 625?. I have no setups for the 555 and it would have cost me an extra 2 tokens  :o. (Far too much to spend upon a Ferrari IMHO  ::)).
Vast amounts of spare Thornton Dollars like that might come in handy at the end of the season??  :ninja:

Sadly, GPL Weekly has it listed as the 625.  There I was thinking that you had made a blunder.  ::)

wot moi?? un faux pas??  To quote Insp Clueseau,  "everything I do is carefully planned"...................................quelques temps. ::)

Seems a bug in the mapping here I will look at it  ;)

GOT IT ;D

Thanks for sorting that Axel. The 625 and 555 are hard to distinguish between in the parser, my mistake I mapped it wrong, SRou worked fine. Now Axel has sorted it, future imports should be OK.

Yes Phil the line produced by rpydump to SROU is misunderstandable:

Ferrari 625    Scuderia Ferrari    1955    Ferrari 555/F1 S4    F1-55    464552    

Comes from:
team=Scuderia Ferrari;chassis=Ferrari 625;engine=Ferrari 555/F1 S4;year=1955

I'm greatly disappointed to find that we don't race again until September!

It's great to see your enthusiasm Clive but I suspect a lot of drivers, never mind the mods, need a break at some point. So why not August when a lot of people will take holidays? Although a staycation is quite likely now, it wasn't when we planned the calendar.

However we will endevour to run a few fun races in the Summer break. Ideally a fun race would be novel and something that we don't normally do. Do you have any suggestions? Perhaps a 55GP race at Targa Florio or the IOM Full Mountain course? Maybe an oval race where the brakes aren't such a factor?

I'm more than happy to run a fun race of your choosing  :thumbup1:

Guess I should not begrudge the mods their break.   ;D   :thumbup1:

As for your "novelty" suggestions, LOL, I think that you have managed to pick three things that I would not be interested in! 

As for novelty, perhaps we could adopt a format similar to that used by PDLR recently.  A short "heat" to determine grid positions for the main race and the main race being run in reverse grid order.  Points for both races but the short race has half points.

I'm sure Tago could sort it, so long as he hasn't gone to the coast for August.  ::)

Totally happy with your proposal Clive. I can create a race post for you if you want to fill in the details. The normal UKGPL Sunday 21:00 GMT+1 or Tuesday 21:00 GMT+1 slots are available in the next couple of weeks. Which slot do you want? This Sunday?

If Tago can provide a server that would be great but I'm happy to provide mine if you like. I assume either you or Tago would organise the drivers on the day and make sure they join the server in the right order?

I think that it works best if the person running the server controls the order of entry for the second race.  Although I could use my server to be in the iGOR chat room.

I have not yey spoken to Tago with regards to the PDLR server being able to run 60fps.

OK I'll post a race announcement. Please fill in the details as you see fit and we can sort out the server duties later. What track do you want to use?

I would go for Aintree and keep to a Sunday night as those who race 55mod already have Sundays ring fenced for racing.

OK race announcement done see here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=21062#event10802).  Please add/correct as you see fit.

Slick work Phil.

I will try to play with iGOR tomorrow to invent a pit lane marshal.

Could we please cut qually to ten minutes, and then  allow me 5min ish to sort the grid for the main race.  Plenty of practice time available in the "heat".

It would be useful if people intending to run can post on the race thread.

I've adjusted the times. Qually starts at 21:00. The heat will start at ~21:10. 8 laps should take about 16-17 mins. So if we have 5 mins qually for the main race to give us time to shuffle the drivers onto the server (but nobody actually tries to set a time), the main race should finish about the same time as a normal league race.