SimRacing.org.uk

Season 37 - SC67 - Alfa vs Porsche Cup – Round 3 - 37¾ mile Isle Of Man Mountain Course

For round 3 we visit the "37¾ mile Isle Of Man Mountain Course" a wonderfull new track made in many years by Aussie Jim Pearson.



Please check the Season 37 details (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1102&theme=6) regarding rules and the Alfa vs Porsche Cup pages (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1122&theme=6) in particular.

Race List	=	IGOR
Server	=	UKGPL_8
IP Address	=	look at iGOR
Race date	=	11-09-2020
GPL mod	=	SC67 - Alfa + Porsche only
60fps patch used	=	60fpsV2newmod
Track	=	AAIOM (http://jrpearson.homestead.com/37MileIOMMCRelease.html)
Qualification	=	20:45  UK time -> 45min
Race	=	race starts at ~21:30 UK time
Race length	=	~50 min -> 2 laps
Damage Model	=	Intermediate
Replay	=	here (https://www.sendspace.com)

Handicapping
"Works" drivers will carry extra weight in form of 10 gallons of fuel (to remain in the tank after the race).
Drivers are expected to behave in a fair and gentlemanly fashion and declare how much fuel they have left after the race.

In order to ensure there will be 10 gallons of fuel left after the race, the minimum race fuel load for Works is expected to be:

• Alfa T33 = 23 gallons (87 litres)
• Porsche = 24 gallons (91 litres)

Two resets will be allowed (there is no need to carry out a Stop and Go in the pit lane if you make a Shift-R).
Drivers are reminded that Lap 1 incidents carry an extra 1 place penalty.
Only reported incidents will be moderated.

Class     Driver AlfaT33   Porsche Works Tristan Bot     1 1 Works Enrique Farina   2 0 Works Axel Cookie 0 2 Works EvilClive 2 0 Works Ziu Bacubacu 1 1 Works Raoni Frizzo 1 1 Works Fulvio Policardi 0 2 Privat David Rainier 2 0 Privat Phil Thornton 2 0 Privat Doni Y 0 2 Privat Bastian G 0 0 Privat Paul V 1 0 Privat Billy N 2 0 Privat Jani Posta 1 0 Works Alain Maurice 1 1 GLA +FUN

 :)

Hello and thank you for these clarifications Alex.

Difficult race, I do not know this track and learning it will be impossible before the race, no time.
But what a job !!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to the director (s)

For the chassis, I drove with the Alfa and the Porsche and not with the Alfa, could this be updated please ?  :P

Thank you   ;)

Got it ;)

I will host the track for the rest of the week to give you a chance to learn it, it's worth it  ;D

Cheers

Axel ;)

PS

Jim Pearson points in SRMZ to this "lap" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxd8JzNiCoI

Thank you Axel  :)

I thought that maybe I should try a couple of laps last night as I have not driven IOM for a long time, and even back then I cannot claim to have "known" the circuit.
 TBH I probably have a good idea of where the track goes for the first 4-5 miles, after that there are occasional sections where memory kicks in and I can attack the next corner, but all too often I forget that the corner after the remembered section, is much tighter lol!!

So, I imported an old setup and rolled out of the pits.  Basically it was point and squirt for the first half a lap and I was running at a reasonable pace, until once again my wheel and pedals appeared to lose calibration??!!

I am mentioning this because I am hoping that someone might have some advice about this? I wondered if it might be the encoder disc, but if that were the problem then surely I would not be able to calibrate and start a session with good controls?? I wonder if it is a Logitech software problem? But why would the software appear to fail after 30 mins of starting??

Clive I think this could be an USB problem, loosing contact  ::)

Try the black USB2 ports on the back of the PC, best these on top, ;) the mouse and keyboard are not as critical with blue USB3.

I now fire the server up and let's have a training session tonight at 21:00

PS

please also look for any damage of the long cable from wheel to pc - if there is any damage, I had this when the cable came under the wheelbase once...

Thanks Axel I will crawl under my desk and investigate the USB ports.  The possibility of a loose plug did occur to me, also I will check the cable for damage too, never thought of that possibility   ;)

The strange thing is that the wheel does not cease to work, it just stops working as it was set up to do in the Logitech Profiler . So, it does not lose connection or power.
In the IOM test last night, the first clue that things were wrong was when I suddenly had 20 degrees off centre to go straight. I had not hit anything and was driving carefully to avoid kerbs and walls etc. Then I took a reasonably tight corner and the steering was suddenly uncontrollable sending me into the trees.  I usually drive with 5:1 ratio and 240 rotation, so I am used to a quick response on the steering with a "Linear" setup in GPL.

But it almost feels like the steering has become a left/right switch with no proportional element? It is difficult to describe exactly..all I know is that something changes dramatically and it is not the same as when I started the lap.

Hope that I can join the practice tonight Axel.

BTW. I have tried the Pace Notes that are provided with this track to help with the navigation and I am not sure if they help me. Sometimes I find that taking my eye off the approaching apex to look at the extra info about the corner causes me more problems. It just seems better to be totally focused on the road ahead?? Maybe they are best used as a Training aid to learn sections of the track?? ......or maybe it is just me lol!!

Oups

this sounds like a loose screw at the calibration rotor...

There is a good "how-to" in the net

This shows the part where the problem-screw is -> under the black cap

I always suspected Clive had a screw loose  :lol:


On a serious point Clive, I would support Axel's suggestion to never plug controllers into USB3 ports. Checking the colour of the USB port would be easier than checking the calibration rotor. If you are plugged into a black USB port, then check the rotor.

Ah, I forgot the link - but it is rarely necessary to change the little wheel, just look if the screws under the black cap are fixed!

https://de.ifixit.com/Anleitung/Logitech+G27+Optischen+Encoder+austauschen/42113

OK. My wheel was plugged into blue USB, now switched to black port on rear of case. So I will run with this and see if the problem returns....before I start tightening screws  :blink:

Clive I had this with a G25 and a G27 in both cases it was te 3rd screw on black bottom right...

(https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/CTBhP1eigOuhUrkB.medium)

Freeze on 1st race lap (1st sector).

Everything was OK during qually.

Freeze here too just after the Gooseneck on Lap 1  :-\

Big sorry to Phil and Ziu for the start -
I had mistakenly mixed up the grid with the pit stalls order in the track.ini...
I wanted the front pits not so near to the line...

when I suddenly had Alain to lap in  the last lap my concentration was gone and I crashed in the railway station...

 :(


Sorry Axel, I was on the side of the track and almost stopped. :(

Well done to the winner and finishers

No problem Axel.

I had big problems in qualy. As I went to track the sound went off and I was back on desktop, three times. Then I changed from 4x to 2x AA and set Hard shadow off in IOM Options, but by then qually was over and we all enjoed a Tristan's lap. I had thought to start from pits to avoid problems in case my car had waved on the track without control, but then I crossed finger and the start worked right till…  a slow left handers where many cars ahead spun and crashed bringing me with them, So first reset was gone. Then the second reset occurred soon after by my own, so I restarted for a Mobil Economy Run  ::)
I had minor off till the last hairpin before the s/f  where there is a invisible wall that kept one wheel off and after many times I managed to free myself and crawled to the end.
I had tested offline the track and apart some fps drops I never was returned to desktop.

It made it interesting, I didn't expect to start at the back :o. This track is very hard to drive when you are following someone. I need a clear track and I focus a long way up the road it isn't possible when there is a car in front.

I got caught up in a pile up at Union Mills on the first lap which cost me a shiftR. Then on the approach to Kirk Michael I tried to overtake Doni but there was not enough room and I clipped a wall and I thought I'd lost a wheel so I reset. Second shiftR gone. Then I has a good battle with Ziu until I made a mess of Glen Helen and that was it.

Sorry about the contact Doni. You were in the middle of the road and I expected you to move left ready for the next right hander. I'd forgotten that the Alfa has no Right mirror otherwise I'm sure you would have seen me.

Grats to Ziu on the win and Fulvio for the determination to finish. 3 wheels on his Porsche just like the 3 legs of man.

Good morning all,

Difficult race, I have a pain in my left calf when I brake following a muscle strain, in addition to not knowing the circuit, I forget that the reset is unlimited and rolls very slowly to have only one turn to do when the leader has taken 1 turn.

Sorry Axel again for having distracted you.

Well done to the winner and see you on Sunday, I hope I will be better.

Thanks for organizing

Grats to our podium finishers.  Just to finish was reward enough, I think.

Well...  That had to be just about the most dismal outing and personal performance that I've put up in a long, long time.  I had practiced earlier in the week and felt reasonably comfortable with things.  I'd manage to squeeze out a 20m13s effort in the T33 on 9usg's worth of fuel.  That would get me two laps running.  However, with 23usg aboard, the Alfa was a different car altogether and I hadn't practiced with that load.  The errors came thick and fast and before long, I was convinced that I'd best retire before I make a complete horse's behind of myself.  Profuse apologies to Phil for our shunt.  Entirely my fault.  The Alfa does lack a right-side mirror and to compound the issue, I didn't have the virtual mirror invoked.  Bad idea.  As well, the engine note I have for the T33 completely drowns out that of the Porsche and I had no idea that you were alongside til it was way, way too late.  Groan...

This was a 'character building' experience.

Edit: I neglected to mention just how impressed I was with Phil's qualifying time.  Just out there, mate!  :)

Again Alain, ;D you did nothing wrong, maybe too good...

I was in a tunnel driving, concentrating on the next upcoming corner and difficulty,

 :o than there is a car parking in the gras - I look in pribluda who is this :o

- I start thinking about it and miss the next apex :oops:

Grats to Ziu and the podium + all finishers.

Something that I became very aware of during my short race, which Phil has also highlighted.
 Trying to closely follow another car around IOM is a little like modern F1. It is almost impossible, because the roads are so narrow and the speeds are so high, I found that I could not see the next apex because my view was always  blocked. As a result I might either cut the corner and clip a kerb ( not a good idea I discovered!!), or run too wide and hit one of the concrete hedges that they grow on that island  ( also not a good idea!!) ::). So, I tried dropping back and I know that I allowed Phil a free pass early in the lap, just so that I could be on my own.
Also, the speed of all cars was so great and so many corners were blind without flag marshalls. By the time that you saw a stranded car in front it was usually too late to stop, and no room to go around either  :-\. The first pile up was a proper crash fest with car after car joining the chaos.

At the point that I suffered my disco I was just beginning to settle into a steady pace, simply hoping to finish, but even that dream was broken lol!!

This track is a great challenge and I was actually looking forward to it, but I think we would have a better event if we copied the bikes and did it as a time trial? Cars starting at 1 minute intervals??

Thanks for being so understanding Doni, I felt really bad for ruining you race.

Clive made some good points. Perhaps a fun race in the Xmas break might be a good time to try another race with a slightly different format?