SimRacing.org.uk

Season 37 – 1955 Grand Prix – Round 7 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The seventh race in the 1955 Grand Prix series takes us to Indianapolis in the USA. Constructed in 1909, Indianapolis was the second purpose built banked oval racing circuit after Brooklands and the first to be called a 'speedway'. It has a permanent seating capacity of 257,325 with infield seating raising the grand total capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. An estimated 80,000 spectators attended the first 500-mile (800 km) race on Memorial Day, May 30, 1911. Forty cars competed with Ray Harroun winning at an average speed of 74.602 miles per hour (120.060 km/h). The 500 mile race remained a regular event at the "brickyard" during the 20s, 30s and 40s. Eventually it became part of the Formula One World Championship between 1950 and 1960. None of the Indy drivers of that era raced in Formula One and only Ferrari's F1 driver, Alberto Ascari, raced in the 500 in 1952. The 1955 Indy 500 was won by Bob Sweikert in a Kurtis Kraft powered by an Offenhauser engine. However, the race is notable to many as the race in which Bill Vukovich was killed in a crash while seemingly on his way to winning an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500. Five-time world champion Juan Fangio practiced at the speedway in 1958, but ultimately decided against racing there.
 
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	1-11-2020
Track	IMS (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=3794)
Mod	55GP with 60fpsV2newmod
Damage	PRO long
Race time	~ 21:30 UK time
Qualifying	20:45 UK time - 45 minutes
Race length	43 laps
Replay	here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_aldITBeqdaEyDrLtoacCQLJDrlXgcai/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	11	Works
bagrupp	3	Works
Clive Loynes	15	Works
Cookie	5	Works
Doni Yourth	27	Works
Dulima	25	Works
Enrique Farina	25	Works
EvilClive	18	Works
fpolicardi	12	Works
Gareth	0	Works
GrandPrixYannick	10	Works
JonnyO	10	Works
Phil Thornton	13	Works
Raoni Frizzo	20	Works
Albert Hallu	10	Privateer
bernie	5	Privateer
covisi2016	10	Privateer
Daniel_San	10	Privateer
francesco	5	Privateer
maddog	15	Privateer
maestro57	10	Privateer
PaulV	10	Privateer
Ricardo Valim da Silva	25	Privateer
tagomago	10	Privateer

Race server is up on iGOR if anyone would like to test their connections.

This is a fast oval which calls for a fast car. How many tokens are you prepared to spend? There are 3 races left after this one; Roy Hesketh, East London and Monsanto Park. Each track requires some thought on which chassis to choose, so plan your car selection carefully ;D

At least when you mess up a qually lap at Indy, you only have to wait a minute to start a new one!

wouldnt call this track boring , its just that every 5 laps I don't spin off , I nod off  ::)

Like all oval tracks the layout is repetive but the racing is usually exciting. What is needed is a setup that doesn't overheat the front offside tyre and the slipstream will keep things interesting  ;D

!!??!! So sorry Clive, I could see a Merc close behind in my mirror and thought that was you. It was Silva and you were in my blind spot  :-\ Entirely my fault, should've checked prib for distances. Not how I anticipated this race ending for either of us.  :(
I will post a race incident.

I've loaded the chassis the drivers used into the token calculator spreadsheet.  For the next race the available tokens will be as declared in the table below (the table will also appear in the next race announcement).  The calculated values are automated but selecting the cars is a manual process so please check your tokens to make sure I haven't made a silly error. There was no token overspend for this round so no one is disqualified.

Driver	Tokens	Status
Alain Maurice	6	Works
bagrupp	1	Works
Clive Loynes	7	Works
Cookie	0	Works
Doni Yourth	27	Works
Dulima	17	Works
Enrique Farina	15	Works
EvilClive	10	Works
fpolicardi	2	Works
Gareth	0	Works
GrandPrixYannick	5	Works
JonnyO	20	Works
Phil Thornton	8	Works
Raoni Frizzo	20	Works
Albert Hallu	2	Privateer
bernie	5	Privateer
covisi2016	2	Privateer
Daniel_San	10	Privateer
francesco	0	Privateer
maddog	15	Privateer
maestro57	10	Privateer
PaulV	10	Privateer
Ricardo Valim da Silva	17	Privateer
tagomago	20	Privateer

Not that it makes any difference ,I had to start from the pits cos some ijit missed the start through faffing around with his race set up . when I joined the server I found all my carefully concocted setups were absent , only the de fault ones available  :-\  A quick call to Interpol got  Insp. Clueso's missing su dept. on the case , he discovered some nameless twit had practised under the cars 67 sudanim !  what a plonker  ::)

Got back on the server and had to cobble up the set up of choice from memory , (not the wisest thing with my few remaining active brain cells ) . as it turned out the race was better than expected though could have been a lot better .

Ta for the fun

Grats to the pod . Comms to the rest of you and better luck next time , keep trying and remember "its always more fun at the back"

 

 

Not to worry.


Don't see that a report is going to fix much as neither of us gained any points.

It has certainly made the end of the season more hard work than it should have been!

Clive

Fun and exciting race tonight.

First number of laps was in a fun fight for 1st with Cilve, Evil and Silva .
Eventually I saw two Mercedes going into the outer wall which left just Silva to fight for 1st.

We switched lead a couple of times. Silva was really defensive in keeping the inner line,
which cost us a lot of time. Maybe he was looking for a way to get the group behind to catch up to us :P
I tried to keep the pace up as much as possible, getting the most out of the corners as possible.

In the end I prevailed, I think I inadvertly drove the cool down lap on full speed,
because Pribluda/pit board seemed to tell me different things. :D
Maybe I missed the flagman!

Grats to finishers.
See you next time :)

Fun race, thx to the setup Clive Loynes lent me years ago. Tried modifications which went completly wrong and so i restored it.

did not work out without contacts, sorry Alain and Fulvio ( it was still some space but gpl made a contact from my replay).

I had an early spin and lost connection to the lead. we could close the gap just a little.
probably would have closed the gap completly if we fought less.

Grats to Yannick, de Silva and Dulima for the podium, and to all finishers.

Thanks for being understanding Clive. I know that s*** happens sometimes, but I was mortified when I realised what I had done.  
Our personal rivalry in the 55's is something that makes sim racing so addictive/enjoyable . If I had made an error and crashed out on my own, I would have been truly miffed, but my lack of concentration ended your race too, something that I find difficult to accept.

I have written myself a stern memo about avoiding any other incidents in the remaining 3 races!!!

Ha! Ignore the last remark Clive , all part of a dastardly plot to put you off guard so he can go for the kill .   ;D

Oh, I wish that were true Bernie  :-\   lol

With 3 races left and a mountain of points, and competitors, to climb, I rather think my chances are slim to zero  :-\. In an ideal world I would have finished ahead of Clive last night and reduced the points margin to the top place. At least that would have given me a fighting chance in the last 3 races. But Clive and one or two others are probably too fast, and too consistent, to leave me any chance now. All my own fault for not being ultra cautious at Indy.

I now have three DNF's, which means I have forfeited probably 20+ points. Plus, I was robbed of 10 tokens by that devilish Cornish Wi-Fi!! I am beginning to get that Bottas feeling  ::)

Don't worry Bernie.  I resumed practice for Roy Hesketh last night!

  Congrats podium !!!
My biggest goal in the race was to finish with Gordini and if possible on the same lap as the leader, I expected more abandonments, but you can't want everything !!!
   We will have 3 races and many applicants for the crown !!!

 

Quite an enjoyable race. This track is all about maintaining momentum and not making any mistakes. It is very hard to recover when you have lost the tow. I had a great race-long duel with Doni and a good battle with several other drivers. I wasn't quick enough onto the straightaways, I need to check on my corner exit and see if I can improve it. Congratulations to Fran on an impressive drive. He was very patient and waited until 4 or 5 laps from the finish before showing his true pace. When he put the hammer down I couldn't stay with him. Just 4 points separate us in the combined championship table, I'll have to be on top form for the rest of the season if I'm going to win our private battle.

Pity about the two Clive's coming to grief but as JonnyO has said, the championship is still wide open with 3 rounds remaining. So hopefully the excitement will continue through to the last round.

Save Faster

First of all, I wanted to thank the Grupp and Maurice, for being extremely competitive and clean

I like to share the track with drivers like you

 There, it was a game of chess, I was lucky to choose the car, in the end, the Mercedes engine, spoke a little louder

It was an excellent dispute, the hour the race ended, I was shaking, the adrenaline was up there

Congratulations Yannick, for the victory and Ricardo Silva for second place

Unfortunately, I thought I had solved my LEG problem with the start, so I lost a lot of positions and drops to penultimate

Trying to stay in my line and not disturb anyone, After that, it was to run a recovery race.

I escaped from a BIG ONE and I was climbing the platoon

I arrived at Doni and four more cars, there, the strategy game began

After a lot of struggle I managed to pass Doni, the guy walks a lot, know what you're doing!

And these struggles prevailed until the end, honestly, I didn't see the 43 laps pass

Thank you all for the podium messages.

Big hug and be well, be strong!

I wasn't happy at all, I knew that you were faster on the corner and kept the line straight out, but you car went wide before ended the pass and I smashed the wall damaging the car and loosing the tow of the pack. Then I had a nice battle with Covisi recovering passing each other a lot of times, but I managed to loose the final corner run to s/f line.
In the end I think that the aircarrier wasn't the best car for Indy, tokens wasted  :'(

Thank you Phil,i have seen your hand at the end of the race.You are right i was patient because Doni was not easy to overcome.
I have joined your group after a spin that have caused some elimination(sorry).Sometime happen to go in spin specially in the third curve,is not the first time for me and always in the same curve.Without the problem to overcome Doni and you probably my battle was with the group of Bastian. I think that you will be the winner in our private battle because now there are 2 difficult track for me.

Good morning all

Really great race with Bastian and Dulima, it's not easy on an oval.

Good start and I'm with the front group, but at 8 laps, Ricardo collides with me trying to get inside. I go in a spinning top, hit the wall and find myself with the next group.

Too bad this collision and not to wait in continuation.

Bravo Yannick, at least on this race I do not hit you.

Thank you to the organizers and see you soon

Grats to Yannick on a fine victory here at the Brickyard!  Terrific job by our Latin pair, Ricardo & Eddie(Dulima), for nailing down P2 & P3, respectively.  Good show, amigos!

Quite sad to see two Top Guns...Clive & Clive...eliminated early in an unfortunate collision.  WOW!  That really stilted the results.  As well, a major shunt triggered by Fran took down three runners including contenders, Cookie & Ricky(Enrique), on Lap03.  I had to thread my way through that carnage and only just avoided being a fourth involved.

Lap06 and the group I was running with...Fulvio & Phil...came across a car sideways in short chute between T1 & T2.  This was Bastian and I properly figured that he was no longer a factor.  By the end of Lap10 with all the retirements to date, I was up to a delighful P6 with three cars directly ahead.  That was P3 just up ahead.  Yummy!  :)

I was easily able to tag along in the slipstream in top gear set to cruise.  I felt somewhat sorry for Fulvio in the SL Merc.  While fast, it's also very heavy which means lethargic acceleration and the extra mass compared to other marques will bake the tyres fast.  My group...now including Alain...just wasn't up to my expectations on pace for some reason.  Eddie was well back at one point but in no time at all, he was close in my mirrors.  DRAT!  As well, he had brought along Bastian recovered from his spin.  DOUBLE DRAT!

Lap13 and Phil scrubbed off some speed entering T3 after aborting a challenge to Alain.  I had to check up slightly and was just moving to take up my line for T4 when I caught sight of Bastian diving to my left.  I quickly altered my course to give him room and luckily avoided contact.  A bit rash perhaps, Bastian?

By Lap20, Eddie had put me in his mirrors and I had Fran giving me his full attention.  On several occasions, I caught sight of him diving low for a pass attempt at T2 or T4 and I quickly covered this off.  Blocking is not something I typically employ or encourage but in this case, I reasoned that such a move puts me in extreme peril as I commit to a line carving down near the grass verge.

By Lap30, the group of Alain, Bastian & Eddie had broken away to leave Phil leading me with Fran on my tail.  Without a tow, I was able to pass Phil to take P6 but that was short-lived.  The very next lap, Phil was close enough that I had to yield my preferred low line into T1 and through the chute.  I got a tow from Phil down the back straight but it wasn't enough to comfortably axe down to the verge in T3 to lead Fran.  Running high to give him room, the inevitable.  Back to P8.

As the final laps reeled off, Fran was able to pull a bit of a gap to Phil & I so looked solid for P6.  On Lap42, Phil got a poorish exit from T2 and lost pace.  I was able to breeze by with relative ease but PT easily gunned me down in the chute between T3 & T4 to regain the place.  MERDE!

Last lap and pushing as hard as I dare, I got a run on Phil coming off T4 but came up 0.040 short.  Ah, well...  P8 it is.

A great duel, Phil!  :)

A real shame that my battle in the leading group was cut short as this is the last event in this season where I entertained any thoughts of winning!

Congrats to Yannick, Dulima and Bastian.  And well done to all other finishers.

There are three difficult races to end the season and a good slice of luck will be required by the eventual winner.

At least I don't have to drop any points now, so the maths is easier.  ::)