SimRacing.org.uk

Practice 1:	20:00	(15 mins)	full time drivers only
Practice 2:	20:15	(10 mins)	reserves may join too
Qual 1:	20:25	(5 mins)	Masters may join too
Qual 2:	20:30	(25 mins)
Race:	20:55	(80 mins)	note: no warmup!

Cars allowed: any GT1, G2, GT2, GTC or GT3 from the UKGTR Skin Pack v2.4 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?pid=27) (G2 and GT3 cars will not score points).
Weather: changeable, based on real-world conditions at the start of the event.
Track: UKGTR Imola GP 2004 (download from here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?pid=27))
Race Start Time 14:00
Pit Stops: All drivers must make a minimum of one pit stop. This must involve entering the pit lane at the speed limit, and coming to a complete standstill in the designated pit box. Tyres do not have to be changed and no fuel has to be added. You cannot take your mandatory stop at the end of the pace lap, or with less than 1 lap to go.

Server: UKGTR Endurance Clubmen
Password: available from the event page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?ind=lm2&event=366) (see the Show Password link under the announcement text)

Notes:
(1) Please make sure you are fully aware of the UKGTR Rules (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?pid=7) - especially the speed limiter starting procedure and the rules about in-game chat messages.
(2) Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?ind=lm2&group=51)
(2b) Reserves (anyone without a full time spot) should not join until the stated session, regardless of the time.
(2c) Drivers with a full time spot in the Endurance Masters should only take G2 or GT3 cars. Other reserves may take any permitted car.
(3) You will not be able to join the server without the UKGTR track pack and the skin and ballast pack (see link above).
(4) Drivers may only change car once in the season without penalty.
(5) Drivers are reminded that they must select ISDN as their bandwidth, otherwise the stability of everyone's connection will be reduced.

I should be here as usual.

I'm a bit worried after seeing the qualifying and race pace for sprint race as I'm not doing too well.

How hot was it the other night? Had my first go in practice server and track temperature was 43 degrees. Even Medium tyres were too hot after a few laps. Hope it cools down, without raining

Normal temps, around 28 or so. 43 degrees is too much, so please put server on dry weather, and not changeable, as that is messed up in game by default :)

No time to worry about temps :). Just relieved that me pedal bits have arrived from those lovely people at BRD and I will be there on Sunday (touching a hefty plank here). Lets get the battle for second on, hoping you don't employ any underhand/shark like tactics to aid you, pops. You know what to do Eddie ;)

Don't worry - I'll leave you  boys to it ..... ;)

heh, well it is in the 40's out in Italy lately, my missus's parents tell us all the river beds are dry and cracking up  :(

Dave - could you confirm that thiis is at UKGTR Imola and not Imola as stated in the race announcement?

Really, yikes. That will be a major challenge. :o

yep, just checked the BBC world weather, 40 today....41 tomorrow !  :o  but dont worry its cooling off to a 'mere' 37 degrees on sunday  :)

i'm melting already  ;D

With temps like that .... I like the Vertigo even more ;)

MJ - you'd best lay-off the ballet routines or your tires aren't going to last!

That's what I have in my study under the roof so I'm already used to it. On top of that we have very high humidity and last night I got attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes in the middle of a GTL race. Single-handed around Nurby short in a Cobra crushing bloodthirsty gnats with the other hand was really a new experience ;D

where do you live?...in a swamp  ??? ;D

shrek? lol  ;)

that would explain the green cars  ;) ;D

Keep up Mark  ::)  ;)

<=== green cars ??? ???

Correct - well spotted. :-[

Thx

Glad you will be sorted for Sunday SBG, I'm looking forward to our battle for 2nd place.

Good luck and let the best driver win (assuming you can avoid Adam :angel:)

Not that the Legends would ever try Schumacher-esque tactics to win ::)

Not happy  >:(
Was pushed from behind coming out of Tamburello by a GT1 car spinning me into the inside wall! had considerable damage (missing front left wheel i think) and limped it back to the pits, sorry for getting into anyones way!
After getting fixed up and having the red mist come down, made so many silly mistakes pushing too hard until eventually losing it at Aqua and putting into the wall again!!

Gutted!!

Thanks to all I have raced with this season, well done to Adam Parle and Backo for Championship wins, especially Adam for some outstanding drives!!

Looking forward to next season already

Munk

###!!***!!##  so p***ed with myself, was driving really well but i knew i was gunna overheat at some point coz i forgot to open the radiator up for race, tried to get to first pit stop but didnt quite make it. I reckon i could of had a 3rd. I really like this track.

Congrats to all winners, and championship winners.

Really enjoyed the races since i joined and will definately be back for a full season next time.

First off sorry to Silva, I spun because I clipped teh grass under braking and was a passenger of my own car :(.

Race was kinda alone and in the end I wanted to overtake the two Legends Vertigo's, but they were too far infront and finished 15th, which is disappointing as I was running 13th all the time.

Grats to winners.

Bad Luck Gazza49er I was chasing you hard!!

Sorry for the abrupt leave BUT my pc CTD & I lost the game :(
Take it you finished in 3rd RoadRunner? nice pit work 8)

Nice race guys & thank`s for the fun!!!!!!!

no problem ruskus, great fun in that first half of the race, my tyres dont warm i dont now why, mine setup for this track is not very good :)

sorry to pseudo and i think eddy meyer - i lost all force feedback on my wheel tonight - had to exit before i caused anymore damage :-\

Bad luck Munkez - I tried to keep you behind but the straight line speed made that hard!  One smallish mistake and you were off.  I was looking forward to keeping you at bay after the pit stops but it never happened.

Grats to Pops - great drive mate.  Unlucky SBG - you ran Pops close!  I hope I didn't slow you down too much out of the pits ;) .

Bit of a non-race for me, but I had some good fun nonetheless.


Cheers all for the racing - really had fun this season.

yeah i noticed kit kat lol think it would of bin close between us.  Ill be back in a pink car next season lol unless i get any other offers lol

A bit of and up and down night for me. Happy to set the second qualifying lap record on the trot after magny cours. I should have bettered 1.41.2 though, but still more than enough for pole.

Fully expected Backo to be pushing hard and was no surprise. I was able to fend him off fine then we caught Jure on the third
 lap, what went wrong there?

He was very slow out of the corner I caught him and I had to get on the brakes, this allowed Backo the run and get even then past.

Chased him hard, thought the 550 would explode but never happened. Sitting on his back and was happy there. Caught traffic and Backo was gone.

Nearing pit stops I had reeled him back in and only a few seconds in it.

After a very sharp pit stop I added more fuel than I calculated and used in the first half, turned out to be very lucky.

I then had to catch and pass those who had chosen longer pit stop strategies. Was happy to find after pit stops I was ahead of Back by some 7 seconds. Nice work by the pit crew!

Car was not feeling to good in the second half. Overcast clouds did not allow my tyres reach temperates.

Caught up with Dave in his corvette and he was running really well. I could not get past him and could see Backo getting closer all the time.

Backo was right on my tail and putting me under huge pressure again. It seemed two people left in quick succession and my game started to freeze. I ran off on to grass in a straight line and the couple of quick pauses lost me the lead.

Again chased very hard and could just about match Backo as soon as we hit traffic again he was off.

Noticed by this stage my fuel situation was very poor so I decided to easy off a little to save some.

Two laps to go came around the corner to see yellow flags and Backo in the middle of the road. He was just straightening as I past and right on my heals.

Managed a couple of half decent laps with heavily worn tyres to fend him off for victory.

Finished with only 0.5l of fuel. Another case of disappearing fuel.

Nice way to end the season

Congrats for your class wins Backo and Adam Parle :alien:
I´m begining to like the Z3 ::) (not enough top speed and bad turning, but fun to drive) ;D
Cool fight with Reign Man and some fun laps with Psuedo also :yes:

Well done to Kerr and Silva  :)


Cheers

That was the kind of racing I'd been hoping for all season. Shame that for one reason or another it hasn't happened enough for my liking.

Done over by real team effort from the Leg-ends tonight. Wingman Parle held me up for long enough that I couldn't quite sneak past pops (was I along side in last chicane? ;)). Great stuff. Congrats to you both on 1/2 and team champs, very much deserved :). And we'll get it back next season.

From my point of view the GT boys have been real gentleman all season :angel:. Thats why I was so annoyed/disappointed that one of them tried to outbreak me twice, once on their outlap, in quali costing me two fast laps. However, that stood out as unusual and you even showed great patience as I was totally focused on my own race and held some of you up more than I would like tonight.

Roll on next season 8)
 

 ;D  Cheers SBG -great season.  Shame we lost a few runners, but we've had some cracking fights between us. Bring on next season!

Replay (https://replay.simracing.org.uk/ukgtr/UKGTR%20Imola%20-%20Endurance%20Clubmen%20070722.zip) and provisional results (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?ind=lm2&event=366) and final standings (https://www.simracing.org.uk/index.php?ind=lm2&group=51)

I'll write a race report tomorrow but I just want to get this off my chest...

NO CHAT DURING THE RACE  :death:

It's not hard, just wait until the race is over, it's damn distracting and downright inconsiderate and came close to ruining my amazing fight with SBG.

Rant over 

Unofficial Lapchart (http://www.lapcharts.teamshark.org.uk/Lapcharts/Imola Clubmen enduro 22-07-2007/index.html)

Easily my most satisfying drive of the season - quite possibly my only satisfying drive of the season!

Qualified dead last in GT1 (as usual) but made a place up off trhe start when Prof got all confused about whether his limiter was on or not (hint - once it's on it's a bad idea to take it off again!) and I stormed past - after Backo did the same at Magny Cours I was taking no prisoners this time! Race pace was good enough to start to pull away a bit and with the higher temperatures my mediums worked well, much better than in the Sprint.

Then Jure (who had a torrid race by the look of it) and Robert Midderhoff slipped off and I was up another couple of places. Picnic also ran wide and allowed me to squeek past. After a few laps Robert caught me up and for once rather than folding like a deck chair I managed a great display of defensive driving to keep him behind until eventually he made another mistake at the Variante Alta and gave me a little breathing space.

With the low tyre wear I could run as long as I wanted and stayed out until there were just 30 minutes to go, holding Brian up for a couple of laps in the process. (Sorry, Junior Boy - no team orders there. :P) Stop was a bit of a faff with me barely making the speed limit (hadn't practiced the entry like I normally do) but once in the crew did a sterling job and with no damage and the stop being at the planned time I wasted no time checking the board so that they could get straight to work.

Came out again some 20 seconds ahead of the next car - MJ I think, though I assumed it was Robert at the time - but right behind Prof, now a lap down but pretty much able to match me for pace. The gap behind was coming down but Prof very sensibly allowed me past when the chance arose and I started pushing a bit harder trying to slow the rate of closure. Suddenly the gap was back to 30 seconds and I eased off a little to preserve the engine - and my brain.

Really pleased to get 5th - not sure how! - especially with some new guys showing up. Wasn't terribly consistent - kept running wide or biting off more inside curb than I intended - but didn't spin or actually run off once, which is a novelty for me in GT1! Good to see a full grid for the last race too - bodes well for Season 6! ;D

Bit of a non-event race for me, despite setting 4th fastest race lap, the rest of them were way off pace ???  I was about 2 seconds a lap slower on average than any offline testing i had done with my race setup and still no idea why :-\
I just had no confidence in the car in most of the corners and just seemed able to plod around in the 47's which is cack. :(
Lost loads of time to traffic tonight, no fault of the slower cars as they were mainly great at moving aside, but catching a vertigo or cup porker at the chicanes or the fast s section was a nightmare and easily cost upto 4 seconds a lap at times, i just seemed to catch them at all the wrong places tonight. :(
2 spins didnt help either, 1 when i went offline to lap a G3 car and 1 at the uphill chicane in front of the team boss Pops  ::)..there goes my pay rise :-[
I had run 4th for quite a while and enjoyed a good battle with Kit-kat? in the viper but after my spin his pressure ceased and the gap just got bigger by the lap.
To add insult to injury, when i finally came out of the pits after the worlds slowest mechanics had filled me up and changed tyres i found myself down in 8th place :( which redeemed itself to a final 6th when others stopped.
Getting lapped by mid race distance just showed me that i am way off the pace in GT1 class at this place but at a loss to see where i am losing so much time.  :'(

Well done to all the class winners, top job boys and thanks to the moderators and organisers for another great season of racing. 8)

Had a great first half of the race, spent the whole time behind Pribeiro I just could not find a way past. Good race dude.

I spoiled it by spinning a couple of times and then having a dreadful pitstop I spent 30 seconds faffing around with the board selecting softer tyres (as I was on MED/HARDS) and as I forgot to change the amount of fueltops i had to hammer the keyboard until it got below what i currently had..

I come out 30 secs behind pribeiro and with one lap to go I have to go for a splash and dash.....not good.  ::)

Sorry to a couple of GT1's by costing you more time than necessary, can't remember who you are but I spun in front of one and got mixed up on where another was gonna pass me.

....ah Picnic I think....span in front of you, :-[ sorry!

Not looking forward to the sprint on Tuesday, as I'm not that much faster in the TVR.  ???

See ya there

RM

Just thought I would say well done to all for a great season. There has been a few good races and many great battles.

Anderstorp I really shot myself in the foot. Leading with only a few laps to go and stupidly spun overtaking back marker. Still a very tight and fun race.

Silverstone was great. had a few top battles only for a big accident to wipe out a few cars. Happy to win!

Estoril and Dubai I was a bit off the pace and Backo won both.

I missed enna as off on holiday.

Suffered connection problems as Oschersleben whilst leading only to spin off and lose lead because of it. shortly afterwards disconnection.

Magny Cours was a great series of races regardless of race/class.

Imola was fun too. Had a few battles with Backo tonight. Nice to finish with a win.

It's been a fun season with many highlights, a few unsavory moments too. On the whole it's been great.

I have found I have improved greatly this season with more laps under my belt and getting some help with my steering wheel set up especially.

I will be back next season ready to do battle.


Looking forward to hearing the plans for races next season

THX to all for gratulation to me :),this was my frist  season in  SimRacing,which i really enjoyed ;).THX to all for makeing this racing profesional!!!I like very much and I'm sure come back for next season. ;),of course more stronger :P

Last Endurance Clubmen race in Imola was amazing and I had nice fight with Kerr about top position.Half of race I went on 75% and other half 90% like I came from pit stop 8 sec behind Kerr.I started to chase Kerr ,I manage overtake him again.But 2 laps to go I did big mistake in last chicane (poor concentration)and spin my car ,then Kerr took my position,I tryed overtake him but he did superb last 2 laps.Well done mate!Thx again for nice race and whole season!!!! ;D

I have enjoyed this endurance clubmen competition....my first go at sim racing and it's been brilliant. Thanks to all and especially the organisers and behind the scenes folk for making it possible. Great job, and I eagerly anticipate the start of season 6. ;D

I wont make a race report tonight.....it will just be repeating myself....mistake, error, mistake, error.  :'(

No probs with the love tap Will....I lost it more by trying to recover and overdoing it.

On the slightly down side, I did notice a bit of rather impatient overtaking moves from some lapping cars.
I actually read somwhere that it is best to either overtake under braking or wait to use the extra power in the straight......NOT on the apex of corners :o  forcing the slower cars into the gravel etc. ;D

I wont write a rece report either as it would more or less sound like what Mark said above with lots of  :( ??? :-\ :'( as well ;D
Apologies to Ruskus for the tap at Rivazza :-[

Congratulations to all the class winners and thanks to the organisers and mods.
Looking forward to season 6 ;D

no problem Will, helped me to wake up a little ;)

No problem, I did a nice 360 and off I went again ;D. Didn't change anything in my race, so no harm done  ;D

Well, don't I feel stupid? I thought I just had to finish ahead of SBG and in the top 4 to nick 3^rd place in the GTC/G2 standings because I thought I'd get the tie-break based on number of wins. That'll teach me not to read the rules, SBG gets the tie-break due to attending more races.

That was a great race though.

I set a new PB by 0.7s in qually to be a few 100ths behind SBG on the grid so my intention was to hang on for as long as possible and hope for a mistake or to see what happened in the pits.

The first half of the race was pretty intense, it was obvious SBG was a bit quicker but I had all the luck when the GT1's started to steam round and lap us so he was only able to build a few seconds lead as he pitted. The skies had darkened at that point so I decided to stay out for a bit in case the weather changed. The skies brightened a few laps later so I came in to pit, hit the limiter perfectly and was out again with what I reckon was my fastest pit-stop of the season.

I was amazed to find myself nearly 10s ahead of Adam and SBG but I knew my engine was in pretty poor shape after the abuse it got in the first part of the race so I had to ease off a little and short-shifted for a few laps. With about 20 mins to go I could see SBG storming up on me. I seemed to get the worse of the traffic so it was an easy job to get on my tail with 4-5 laps to go.

That was a very sweaty last 10 minutes trying not to bin it whilst SBG piled on the pressure. I almost did lose it on a couple of occasions, that chicane on the back section was an adventure every time!

In the end I just held on by the skin of my teeth, I'm not sure I would have lasted another lap...

Great race SBG, you were unlucky, you were clearly faster last night :notworthy:

Congrats to Adam on an immense performance to win GTC and GTC/G2, fantastic driving mate.

I had a great season in the Vertigo, it was really good fun 8)

A fairly quiet race for me, with Ruskus far too fast in the Viper and the other cup cars dropping back, leaving me on my own. The early laps were eventful after Will lost it in front of me at T2 and span in to me, letting Mo and TT in front. Then had a quick joust with TT (sorry for the mini-tap at the top of the hill at Piratella) before getting past into Variante Alta. Chased Mo for quite a few laps without gaining much, but he then went wide at Piratella and I that was the last I saw of him. Towards the end Adam was catching me up after a late pitstop I think, but I just managed to hold him off.

Congrats to Kerr, Pedro, Pops and Ruskus, and to Backo and Adam for the championships. Also well done to Ginsters, who had a storming race only to just miss out.

Lapping cars were generally good for me last night, but one thing I found difficult was that a few assumed that I would move off line and came up close behind until I did. The guidelines say the exact opposite should happen, so this is likely to lead to confusion - it would be quite easy for the slower car to start off staying on the racing line, find the lapper waiting behind and then the lapper losing patience just as the slower car moves out of the way, with inevitable results. Better IMO for the lapper to move offline quite early to signal his intentions.

Yep - got a stop and go after one slide into the muck too many.  Think one more lap would have made things interesting - don't know if the Vertigo had the legs to get by though.

Np, Paul. Always like to toussle with ya, even with a touch I know it stays within limits we set waaay back in Season1.  :)

Too bad I got a disco, was motivated and prepaired for the event.  :(
I started to like Cup porker, feels much better than in GTR1.  :)

TT

Sorry to see you disco TT, I was slowly closing on your bumper and just when it looked like we were going to have a nice scrap you vanished.
In fact on the lap before you vanished momentarily as well but reappeared right in front of me so I knew things weren't looking good for one of us.
I'm really enjoying the cup cars too so hopefully we'll get a chance to continue it in S6.

Grats to the winners, hope I did a good job getting out of the way of the GT cars who were very patient especially when catching me coming into Minerale (a very difficult place to get out of the way safely).

Was really great to be back last night (my first race this season). The rustiness was evident though, and I made a number of errors, including forgetting where my pit box was (it was the very first, hiding behind the corner!!), and driving straight past it when I had my Stop/Go (corner cutting). Hugely enjoyable though and I will be back next season, fully fit hopefully!

One area that was quite disappointing was the behaviour of 1 or 2 of the faster cars. After I spun out of the race I settled into watching the scrap between Pops and SBG, which was excellent, with good driving from them both. However there must have been 2 or 3 occassions when the faster cars attempted to outbreak the 2 Vertigos into corners, left it way to late and ended up flying off the track! Both Pops and SBG were fighting for important points at the time, and just for the sake of a bit of patience (the GT`s could have waited until the straight, and manouvered a lot more safely and easily) their race could have been ruined by what is reckless driving. Definitely by luck more than judgement, there was no contact, so reports may not be filed, but these incidents should be looked at, and an appropriate punishment handed out for persistent offenders.

On a final note I would like to congratulate the various winners on their success, and once again thank Dave et al for all their hard work.

Cheers

Rob

Cheers Rob. Good job I didn't know anyone was watching, I'm sure I'd have lost it otherwise!

Not sure if you've followed any of the other Clubmen post-race discussion, we've been bitching about exactly what you describe on a number of other occasions.

The GT1's CANNOT outbrake the Vertigo (even with SimBin's physics :D) it just isn't going to work. All that happens is that we're used to it now so whenever the inevitable happens we just run wide to avoid the contact which I think is what you saw us doing at the end of the race. What is really disappointing is that it nearly decided the result between SBG & I.

How can we look at the incidents if you don't file reports! ::) We're not psychic! :no:

Psychic Sharks ? :scared:

I understand what you are saying Dave but it's because there generally isn't any contact. As far as I can remember, there has never been a penalty given out for an on-track incident where there hasn't been contact.

If I see a GT1 closing and I know they are likely to try something reckless I might decide to run wide on a corner instead of risking contact (and possibly the race).

If I do that, the GT1 passes cleanly so there's nothing to penalise, for it to be clear cut I need to get hit and I'm not prepared to do that and potentially ruin the effort I've put into the race and practicing for it.

Even if there are penalties, there are some that blatantly ignore them and carry on regardless...

Agreed, you`re not - then a provision should be made for filing reports for bad driving, rather than when contact is made. I havent read other race reports as enquired by Pops, but if this has been a theme throughout the season then maybe it needs looking at.

Cheers

Rob

We could introduce a yellow card, followed by red.  ;)

TT

You can already do that - and don't assume that because a report doesn't appear in the mod rulings that we aren't keeping score of inconsiderate driving and having quiet words with people behind the scenes. Because we are. :ninja:

My view is that if a driver has to take avoiding action to avoid contact while being passed then it should be reported, even if there is no contact.
My thinking is that the passing driver has made the exact same error of judgement either way, and it is only by the actions of the defending driver that contact was avoided.

Once a driver reachs the turn-in point, and no one is alongside, then they have a right to turn in. It is not reasonable to expect drivers to check their mirrors after turn-in, to check for someone making a late move. If a driver has to abort their turn-in at this point in order to avoid contact then the attacking driver is in the wrong whether there is contact or not, and the incident can and should be reported imo.

You must have wet yourself with laughter as i tried to out break you on the outside coming into Tamburello on lap 12? and taking in a long trip in the sand!!

Ok Dave thanks.

Cheers

Rob

Right. Where do I begin? Oh yes, let's start with a 2000+ EUR PC that got a very strange FPS drop in quali session (!?), terrible FPS at first two (fast) chicanes and last chicane in particular. And I mean HUGE fps drop to the point I was thinking of dropping out of the race (if I knew what's waiting for me in the race... well, it would be a no-brainer  ;D).

Anyway, stubborn as I am I simply could not and would not give up. Backo and Kerr were in a league of their own, so I knew there's no way I can fight for the championship, but I did want to finish the bloody thing, that's what endurance is all about, right?

Now imagine the way I had to drive... Slideshow at Rivaza and last chicane (prior to S/F straight) - if the car was not travelling in a completely straight line, there was a chance of losing back end since once it started to slid around, it was too late/impossible to catch it due to difference in time between the actual slide and the time when PC decided it's OK for me to know about it.  ::) Funny thing is FPS drops were sporadical, i.e. one lap - slide show, next lap, same position on the track - everything a OK. Weird. Anyway, doing even low 1.47s (in a bloody GT1 F550) was very... dangerous to say the least.

Ruskus saw it, twice, I think, passed him into last chicane only to demonstrate my drifting abilities  ;D Sorry if I scared you, mate. Was a passenger, trust me. Luckily I was avoiding doing any passes on NGT drivers in low FPS zones, it felt way too dangerous and even on normal-FPS parts I had to take it easy. Combine that with an off in lap one, i.e. racing lap 1 at tamburello, vlaaaam into the wall - FPS s**t, front right puncture, had to wait for everyone to pass to return to the track and then limp back to pits for repairs only to rejoin right in front of the leaders which caused a frantic "must get out of the way - NOW" move which coincided with a low-FPS part that caused another major off and a 20 second loss in lap 4).

Then had to pass all the slower cars (19 passes for position only to finish 2 laps down, giggle).

Never ever ever drove such a hard race, just keeping the car on the track was a nightmare (keep in mind my setup was set for appropriate tyre temps achieved via optimal pace - which was suppose to be 3 seconds faster then the pace I managed to do on the track, hence my tyres were colder then a frigid... emm... nevermind  >:(  ;D ).  Was constantly pondering should I go out to avoid any contact with other drivers or not, but it seemed fine... most of the time, although it did come too close for comfort few times (was passing a slower car, then did a typical "Jure" on him, dove inside to make a pass, decided it's too risky and backed off to give him room only to enable him to hit my behind and, in effect, punt him off. Road to hell is paved with good intentions.  :-\ Must look at the replay to find out whom I should apologise to, think it was vertigo....

Enjoyed driving behind a double vertigo fight in the last lap though, nice view, last chicane was... well... interesting to say the least. ;)

Anyway... THANK YOU ALL for a great season, mods for their hard work, enjoyed our racing a lot and then some, congrats to all championship winners (and podium guys... oh wait, that includes myself, wuiiiiiiii  ;D ).

I'll be back (with a fresh winXP installation and fixed right knee, I hope there's at least 6-7 weeks to the start of season 6 in order to fix my leg properly). 8)


edit: did I mention I got 1 (one) point at the end of this "man I'm beat, that was hard" race? Hooray.  ;D

Damn, didn't think anyone saw that. Sure I was alongside, maybe I should report pops? ;)

Please cut the GT1 boys some slack. To be fair, we were far to busy to help them pass, which I normally do, and they were having battles of their own I'm sure. Not worried about honest mistakes and hope they correct their own strategy without the need for reporting. Dave really has enough to do and we all know the standards expected for races here :angel:

Well said....I think its worth a mention in the post race reports, just to keep reminding folk it happens occasionally but unless it is an obvious blatent bending of rules etc then there is no need to file reports. We are all here to enjoy the racing together and its just as likely some of us slower classes can be a bit unpredictable when being passed making the GT1 boys look worse than they are.

well said Ginsters  :angel:

Having driven GT1 cars for the first time this season in Endurance it has given me insight into the view from the other side of the fence. Perhaps some who keep on about it should try one out in a mixed field and appreciate the difference in speed these things have on track, its amazing and a real eye opener  :o
I keep thinking i am being 'too gentlemenly' in the 'after you, no after you' stakes as i appear to lose so much time to other GT1 cars lapping traffic (spins aside ::)). I was constantly taking severe avoiding action when closing on some slow class cars last night to the detriment of one spin at the fast 's' corners and also a lost place to 5th up at the hilltop chicane when i had to slam the anchors on to avoid rear-ending a vertigo which seemed like it had virtually stopped as it made its own leisurely way through.
But as i said earlier, everyone was a gent and most did their best to move aside, some even went off onto grass to move offline which is un-necessary, though i wondered if they were baseing that decision on earlier 'robust' passes by the front few GT1's  ::).
I meant to say earlier too that apologies if i looked like i wasnt thanking anyone for making room, as i had lost my headlights in the earlier spin so couldnt flash a ta! :-[
I think this track (and oschers) are possibly two of the hardest for traffic situations with mixed classes, so considering that, everyone did very well to avoid contacts.  8)

I'm pretty convinced that considering the work load and organisation to run SRou to the current standards that Dave & Co could quite easily run their own real championship!!! They would be definitely more organised that some organisers i've been involved with (including FIA!...lol  :o)

As usual, any comments made about inconsiderate GT1 drivers are aimed at the same drivers we've had problems with all year season.

The VAST majority of the GT1 drivers are perfect gents and it is a pleasure racing against you, sorry if I didn't make that clear :-[

It's also worth emphasizing that there's a huge difference between passes for position and passes whilst lapping slow class cars. The former will inevitably make contact more likely and we allow considerably more leeway when judging such situations, whereas when lapping a car with a 200 pony deficit there really is no need at all for contact.

The only time I outbreak a slower class car is when I'm clearly invited too by them breaking early. A Vertigo will eat a Corvette for breakfast under braking and the last thing I want to end up as is a Gillet fillet! :o

 ;D ;D

I agree with MJ totaly. I was always an NGT driver at heart and only after I tried some mixed class races in GTs I was able to see the problem lies on the other side, too. There's always another side of the coin.  ;) Also, some NGT drivers are too accomodating and others are the other way around and it doesn't always go by the rule.   :-\

TT

This debate will always rumble on. Again there was not many gt1 cars racing.  the speed difference between a gt1 and a vertigo is frightening at times. You close so fast and when you are in a flow you dont like to break it and sometimes end up over eager.       It's really hard from both sides of the fence. When you are making about 100 passes in one race, sometimes you will get a couple wrong. Not intentional but with split second decisions to make we are sometimes wrong.

Back home and checking results I now see there was 11 GT1 cars. More than I thought. I just assumed that as I seemed to see lots of 911s and Vertigos!

I think it's fair to say most of the season has been great. Poor turn out from too many full time and reserve one drivers at times.

The clubmen championship is for those starting out and finding their feet. Not only to gain experience, learn tracks, set ups, pit stop strategies it's also race craft too.

There are a few drivers as quick as many masters over a race and single lap basis, but lack that little bit that comes with experience.

I remember being the same where every backmarker was treated with "I must get past as soon as" attitude. I've learned now that quite often squeezing past can result in contact, losing both parties time and even just holding a tight line can result in losing as much time as waiting until after the corner. Easy to reflect afterwards but when in race mode sometimes you choose the wrong decision.

It's hard to call at times but after racing more I understand more what I expect from fellow racers. Hopefully they know what to expect from me too.

I explained before I don't flash light etc, not because I'm ungrateful, I just feel it can be viewed as aggressive at times. I accept peoples view on the opposite.

I'm sure as the season went on it was easier for most parties. On the whole I have thought all the other drivers have been great, a few exceptions though.

I raced a few races in the 911 cup and Viper CC and it's really hard to concentrate on two races. The one ahead of you and the one catching up behind. Don't think it goes unnoticed how much effort you guys put in.

If I have been too aggressive or done anything to upset anyone on the track, let me know. It's the only way to learn.

Thanks everyone for some great racing this season and see you for the fun races soon!

Viper was me...

Race for me was ok, was fairly close with KK, Myself and Gazza, i dropped back with a spin or summat, cant remember what. Ended up some 10-15 secs behind KK, when pitstops started i got lead for 5-6 laps...came out 12 secs infront of KK  :P.

Thought you used a very odd race stategy Roadrunner. Why did you run for so long in first stint?

Shorter 2nd stint...I knew i was never gonna get anywhere near you or Backo, and i was able to keep up with KK and Gazza without to much trouble, so as far as i was concerned i was racing for 3rd at best. Maybe done summat different if i knew 3rd was gonna be difficult as well

...And i didnt really know what to expect from a Viper...never used it in a race of that length, never mind the UKGTR spec version...was a bit of a learning curve as such

Perhaps you should raise a report - and PM the driver in question, they are more than likely unaware of having caused a problem.  There are always 2 sides to a story - PM'ing can clear the air and clear up confusion/misunderstandings.

And of course you have to bear in mind that the endurance clubmen is primarily for new and inexperienced drivers to learn the ropes and gain the required experience. So not all the folk on track are experienced enough yet and make errors and bad judgements, especially when put under pressure by more experienced drivers.

Well said, Psuedo. Also, I had all sorts of flags and lights showing stationary prior to disco, but never saw any car near or even heard the sounds.  :(
Gawd knows what was going on around me.  :blink:

TT

Suppose ya right psuedo, might let him off this time

I'd still PM the driver in question - you can't learn what you're doing wrong if nobody tells you you're doing wrong!

I remember when I joined here it was a standard that each and every "situation" was followed by pm exchange - even if there was not a touch. I still try to keep that level and I must say the other day when there was a touch between me and Paul968 at Oschers we exchanged views of the event long before the moderator made his decission. And I knew, regardless of mods decission, that whatever the outcome was, there were no issues between me and Paul968. This is way more important to me than one point I get if moderator makes me right. That way I can get another duel with Paul968 without one of us thinking about revenge.  :yes:
If it wasn't for this then (before my Legends time) me and MJ would be mounting machineguns for every race.  ;D

TT

well Legend guys would remember how to use a machine gun from their WW2 days!  ;D

mwhahahaahha  ::)  ;)

 :tank: :wheelchair:

Aye - that taught us all we need to know about being in dogfight - and that translates to the track as well ...... generaly if you take the wings of the guy in front of you, you can't go far wrong ;) .

Hi all,

this was a very good race for my experience. My setup had to much wings on the back and was too hard, so i had much problems when getting on Curbs. And no really time to optimize it. But for that the car droves well, with a little bit too much understeer.

In the first stint i had a great fight with Dave but he made nearly no mistake and i couldn't got past him as he droves away on the straights. I was exhausted after that, and there the series of mistakes began.

After the stop i was a coule of seconds behind dave and wanted to get him again. First i thought that i could get nerer but then i got a "stop and go" becuse off cutting while lapping some slower cars. Then i got a second "stop and go" because of to much speed in the pits, and a third one that i didn't understand. I got on the gravel while driving the fast right corner to the downhill part of the track. Then i couldn't do anything and slided over the track after the following left corner. Therefore i got the third "stop and go" :'(.  So the result was not a little bit poor :-(. But that is racing, mistakes are the worst things you can do as a race driver.

Grats to the Podium and to all who finished it was a great Race!

Reading this, for some reason I couldn't help thinking about Walter Mitty

----

'Haven't you done the hoovering yet Adam?',snapped his wife. 'Just doing it now dear', he replied, pressing the big yellow starter button on the Dyson. As the motor fired into life and he tracked back and forth across the room, he couldn't help thinking how much the sound reminded him of a racing fuel pump...

...Parle's Vertigo blasted out of Rivazza, ignored the left into Variante Bassa and dived straight into the pits. Braking with surgical precision, he knew had 38 seconds lead over Van Ruskus, and his mind whirled as he trundled down the pitlane with the speed limiter chattering away - ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. Hitting the marks perfectly, the crew jammed the refuelling rig into place and Parle took a long drag from the crew chief's Marlboro. 'Forget the tyre change, I'm still breaking the lap record even after 30 laps' - everyone knew that nobody drove as smoothly as Parle. 'By the way, I think there's a problem with the left rear damper bypass valve - I'm losing three tenths every lap due to bipolar oscillations, but I'll just have to drive round it'. Just as he finished speaking, the pit crew finally pulled off the refuelling hose. Mashing the throttle, he lit up the rears and surged out of the box in a cloud of tyre smoke. The mechanics let out a huge cheer as he disappeared down the pitlane - if anyone could beat the ruthlessly efficient Dutch ace, it was Parle!

----

with apologies to James Thurber, writer of the best short story ever  :)

If you've never read the original, it is here:

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/6821/thurber.html

Very good, Paul.  :thumbup2:

Be afraid, Rusky. Be very afraid.  :ninja:

TT

 ;D ;D

Very good .... sadly the only bit that ring any bells is the hoovering .....  :-[

Grats on the win Adam  ;D

Cheers Ruskus (and others that have said the same  :angel: ).  The final result is very flattering though - with slightly more luck Pops would have been level if not ahead going into Imola - and that would have made for a hell of a race.

Mustn't forget SBG though - another cracking show of Vertigo piloting.  Next season should be fun.

You have date for next seasson?

Cheers for that Paul, not seen it before but reminded me of P.G. Wodehouse. Trust a Kerbcrawler to bring some culture to proceedings ;)

Sometime between the end of this one and the final energy death of the universe.

hehe, great write up Paul, perhaps you should do all the post race write ups  8)  ;D

...now, about adjusting these gun-sights ... :tank:

loolll....what side were you fighting for then? i'm not entirely sure  :o

Sorry for been a bit out of line guys...been quite tired this week & i guess i over reacted...i`ve spoken to the guy in question and there`s no hard feelings  :-[