SimRacing.org.uk

Season 39 – 1968 EARLY – Round 8 – Monza 67

Welcome to the first full season of the 1968 Early Mod – when racing cars evolved to grow wings. We will be using a selection of tracks from the original 1968 season. For each race drivers will be able to select from a group of 4 cars that have relatively similar performance levels.

There is no handicapping.

The eighth and final round will take place at Monza, home of the Italian GP. We will be using the updated Monza67 track, not the Papyrus original. The actual 1968 race was won by Denny Hulme in the McLaren with John Surtees starting on pole with the Honda.

The car set is Group I (these are all winged cars). Drivers are reminded to select a different chassis to the one they drove in Round 4 at Zandvoort.

Ferrari 312
Lotus 49
Brabham BT26
McLaren M7A

Full time drivers can start to practice as soon as the server is available.  Reserve drivers can also join as soon as the server becomes available but must leave the server with 35 minutes of qualifying left, for a total of 5 minutes; this will allow any remaining full timers to join.  If there is enough space on the grid, the reserve drivers will be able to rejoin when there are 30 mins of qualifying left.  

Please read the season 39 general rules on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1531&theme=6).

Please read the specific rules for 68 series on the 1968 Early championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=1591&theme=6).

Race list	iGOR
Server	UKGPL4_60fps
IP address	TBA
Date	14-12-2021

Track = Monza67  (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=13537)

Mod	68E with 60fpsV2newmod
Damage	Intermediate
Race time	~ 21:30 UK time
Qualifying	20:45 UK time - 45 minutes
Race length	31 laps
Replay	Here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aKN96cmvsOUIl67egVZbputBygweSQBi/view?usp=sharing)

If you don’t have the 68 Mod, go to this site http://68f1.gplworld.de/downloads.htm
Save Download 1 & Download 3 - you will need them both. Follow the installation instructions & select the 68 car sets in GEM.

Unlimited number of Shift-Rs are allowed with no need to make Stop & Go.

Drivers are reminded that Lap 1 incidents carry an extra 1 place penalty.

Only reported incidents will be moderated.

Please, excepting emergencies, no chat until Session Completed in qualification. No chat in the race until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.

Race later today and I just jumped onto the server to check my connection.  Something a little odd going on.  I was the only one on the server and when going to track, I was set down not in the pits but way, way down-track the other side of what would be the first corner for Monza Junior.  I checked my track68.ini file and it's good.  Offline, I checked with a race with AI against a full grid and we are all in the pits as is proper.  Not a crippling problem; just a bit weird.  Worth a look, Billy?

If that was practice on UKGPL11,  should be better on the next iteration.

Doni, it's allways the servers track.ini that puts you in the position at grid and pits ;)

OK.  Thanks for that, Axel.

Ummm...  Can I pleased be placed half way round the track on the starting grid?  Not that I want an advantage or anything.  ;)

That'd just put you half a lap back.   :P

NUTS!  :(

Hey, Dean!  Long time, no see...

As for today's race, c'mon.  I didn't even get to the Curva Grande.  Nice drivin', boys.  Double :(

Gotta love these 68 cars. Thanks to Tris for towing me onto the third place starting slot with a huge tow for a couple of laps in qualifying.  ;D

Great racing with you all but I must apologise to Clive for the knock at the Parabolica on L11. My Ferrari would have made it on the inside line had I not just clipped the curve. I knew that I could trust you to take the outside line but I overestimated my own ability. So sorry. This knocked me back to twelfth and a great battle with Dave C who filled my mirrors with his Lotus until the final lap. He made an awesome move, timed to perfection, as I slowed to let Tris lap me. Dave followed Tris through the gap and I couldn't do anything to defend. Great move.  :clap:

See you all next year.

I really enjoyed that race. I had second place for several laps but it didn't take long for Yannick, Tom and Andreas to hunt me down. I left about 1/3 wing on which helped me in the corners and with a good tow I could keep up on the straights. So I could keep up with the faster drivers (apart from Tris who disappeared on lap 1) but I couldn't get ahead. I was hoping to get past Tom or Andreas on the last lap but I put a wheel on the grass at Parabolica on the last lap and my chance was gone.

I hope everyone enjoyed the 68s this season. They are a bit different and a lot of fun. Thanks to Billy for organising the series and coming up with a fun format.

Glad you liked them Pete, rather incredibly we had exactly the same time for our fastest laps  :eek:

Great race, I had a blast racing with Clive, Pete, Uli, Yannick, Andreas and Phil, thanks all. Got off to a great start, and after leading the first lap, Tris went by, and my plan was to stay in his tow. Unfortunately my engine smoked and I had to wait to rejoin the race. Lucky for me, I fell in to a great group to race with. Very sorry for the contact in Parabolica Uli, I  was unable to avoid your car after you and Andreas got together. Thanks for organizing this season Billy. Hope to see everyone again next year.

There certainly looks to have been a lot of close running throughout the field!

Start-crash was unfortunate. Needed more resets later too.

It was clear I really needed a tow in order to be hauled along from the following cars.  Yannick provided that for a while.
Later on, had some close running with Billy.  But once I pulled out,  he was quicker in clean air.  Apologies teamie - we were side by side in the run to T1 & Philippe was on your other side.
I eased off to concede the corner, but that resulted in you needing a reset.

I think I used Yannick again to pull away from Billy & Bastian for a while.  I came across Pete later & be took over the tow-duties for 18 laps or so.
Again, I could sit behind & close slightly if needed, but there would be no chance of pulling away.  My only hope was the rapidly closing Tristan & grabbing another slipstream opportunity...

That is how the (towards-the-back) race ended;  with a directive to allow a lapping car to pass,  then a mad dash for a last lap sprint in the hope of hanging on.
It just about worked,  luckily the finish line is not further down the straight!
Thanks Pete for the cool running.

Must say, having been forced to drive other cars from the period, the Lotus is my favourite of the bunch.
Good series in the end - thanks for finishing with group#1 :)

Cheers,
Dave.

Thanks to Billy for making this series work by sorting the cars into ( almost) evenly matched groups.

I opted for the Mclaren just to take something different, but it looked like the Lotus was THE car to have. I still found some decent pace hidden deep within the Mclaren setup pages and was looking forward to a decent race.

In hindsight, I was lucky to be baulked by traffic off the grid or else I might have been closer ( or part of ) the spectacular crash on the way to T1. Instead, I had to shut my eyes and hope as cars rained down from a great height. I squeaked through feeling only a miniscule nudge on the left rear and could breathe again.

The first few laps I was simply trying to keep it clean and allow the tyres to get to working temp whilst staying in touch with the faster cars. A few offline practice laps had revealed that my setup became more stable after 3-4 laps. No idea why it took so long...but it did lol.

All was working well and as the car "warmed up" I was feeling able to push a little. I'm not sure why but I was getting some great exits from Lesmo 2 that threw me into the slipstream of the cars ahead and flat in 5th gear through Ascari, inviting an attack into Parabolica. The only problem was that 4 other drivers had the same idea on that lap and space was limited.
I think Tom was ahead of me and in his attempts to avoid contact with the 2 cars ahead he wobbled under braking. Not exactly sure who was on my outside, but I knew that another car was on my inside. I was able to keep the car straight and avoid Tom's tailpipes. Then I was caught in a pincer as the cars on either side squeezed in on my patch of tarmac and contact was inevitable sending several cars into the gravel.

I recovered and set off after the pack and enjoyed some close racing with several cars including Pete again. Yes, I was trying to leave room and take the wide line around Parabolica but his aim was too good and he got me lol.
I need to look at the replay because after my contact with Pete the car was not the same and 2 laps later I am sure that the car wobbled and a rear wheel "fell off!!" on the exit of Parabolica ??
One reset and later after a multi lap battle with Giovanni and Phillipe I clipped the grass on a fast exit from Lesmo 2 and spun into the fence. I thought we were only allowed a single reset ( read the rules next time ??!!) so I quit  :-\

At first, I must apologize to you, Andreas. I am very sorry,  :notworthy: I tried to avoid to the right as good as I could! In the replay, it looks very close, but our wheels don’t have contact (lag or collision model?). Doesn't matter, it was too close, I'm the one who caused it and I don't want to talk myself out of it - stupid action, we could have had a lot of fun, like in the first laps when I thought I would fight with Axel (NO Pribu here!). Again, BIG SRY – was happy that you could continue racing without shift-R and I got my just punishment ;)
I get along better and better with the FFB steering wheel, except breaking pedal (what is the clutch). That is why I have had two spins in the Parabo.
My biggest problem was my much to long 5th gear and above all I still have NO PRIBLUDA!?!?!?  ???
I'm working on that prob, but it's not easy to find out what it is ...
Until my self-inflicted OFF I had a lot of fun ;D thanks to you Andreas, Pete, Tom and all others (I didn‘t know who because of NON pribu).
Congratulations to the podium!
Great series, 8 races, 6 winners, keep going with the 68s, please!
If everything goes as I have planned, I'm sporadically in next year (February/March) ...
In this sense, happy holidays and all the best for 2022.

What an amazing race, a big smile on my face at the end  ;D. Monza is always a headache for me even if i love this layout, i can't nail the right setup, every change seems not to impact on car performace. I tried also to put a bit of wings on, and of course i was faster in Curva Grande but i would have need a tow to keep the pace and i would been like a sitting duck if i was alone with cars behind. So no wings and... POWER! ::). I didn't survive the cars raining from the sky at the start and at the first Lesmo i was alone, last. Then at the Ascari, flying cars, but this time i could avoid the crash. I passed Billy and Rainer and i was slowly gaining on Fulvio, then I used Yannick for my purpose and in a couple of laps, thanks to the tow and the right gearing ( I hit 310 km/h at 9000 rpm before Curva Grande) i was in sight of Fulvio. Yannick struggled to pass Fulvio and gain enought space to let him without a tow, so we were engaged in a close battle until lap 11, when i crashed with i think was Pete's Ferrari, that was rejoining the track  ;) at the Parabolica. So i lost the train but not the position; my car was a bit damaged and evil and Rainer were ready to take advantage of my fate. Good for me, my Lotus without wings was very fast ( were you guys running with wings?) and both evil and Rainer were unable to pass me even with the tow. It was a very fun, clean, and respectful fight, it was so intese, thank you! I really hope for another 68 run...

Thank you all guys fot the fun, thanks to the organization for such  a good champ. Congrats to Yannick for the well deserved championship, I'm happy to have finished 4th with opponents of so high level. Have a nice Christmas and a happy new year to you all and your beloved ones, see you for the 2022 season  :D

Don't you worry too much, Uli. Was wondering before about your little mistakes, I learned that it is because of your new Wheel-Setup. Hau rein, alter Kart-Kumpel!

Mod report now published.