SimRacing.org.uk

Practice 1:	20:00	(10 mins)
Qual 2:	20:10	(25 mins)
Race:	20:35	(80 mins)	note: no warmup!

Note that British Summer Time ends on Saturday night so these times are GMT, not BST.

Cars allowed: any GT3 from the UKGTR Skin Pack v2.8.5.0 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3356.msg54519#msg54519)
Weather: changeable, based on real-world conditions at the start of the event.
Track: Road America v1.0.1.0 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3356.msg54521#post_roadamerica).
Race Start Time: 14:00
Pit Stops: You must make a minimum of one pit stop during which you must take on at least 1 litre of fuel and/or change at least two tyres. You cannot take a mandatory stop at the end of the pace lap, or with less than 1 lap to go.

Server: UKGTR Lower Endurance
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Notes:
(1) Please make sure you are fully aware of the UKGTR Rules (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3349.0) - especially the speed limiter starting procedure and the rules about in-game chat messages.
(2) Championship standings can be found on the series page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=183&theme=3).
(3) You will not be able to join the server without the car pack and track (see links 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.
(6) Please use the Driver Details (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=profile;sa=driver_info) page to ensure that the league management software has your correct GTR2 'Driving Name' (not necessarily the same as your lobby name).

So all three championships go down to the wire...

It's my intention to race this one.  My shoulder should be 100% by then. Gonna start to practice mid week. I like this track  ;D

Wow. Look at those awesome track records :whistling:

i might make a guest appearance here in a Cup-Porker (surprised eh?). Not competed in any of this series but Road America is a great track (being a big ALMS fan) and worth flying out to in my virtual cargo plane for a one off round  :) ..if nobody minds that is?

and of course, FPS permitting  :(

hmm.. cant seem to get anywhere near my times from last time around here. Is it the same track or do i need to d/l it again?

I'm sure we can make room. :D

...... at the back! lol  ;D

Gonna take my once a season opportunity to run something different to my usual Vertislow which I'm getting bored with!
Trying the Elise at the moment but am not quite as quick as in the Vertislow so far! I think I need a little more time with the little roller skate!
Thanks to Michael for a great set up! Don't think I'm worthy of it yet though!  ;)

Anyone put in any laps here yet? Interested to know what sort of laptime to aim for not having ever driven a G3 car around here.

I put in some 2:16's in the 911 last night but was still learning the track. So easy to put a wheel off or visit the gravel on such a long lap. I blew countless laps doing so !  Frustrating but its a superb race track and will take time to master due to the sheer number of corners to remember or get right.  8)
 It would make a great venue for a super enduro or GT1 round next season...hint hint.

Forgot how damn racy the cup car sounds with the fantastic realistic soundpack i run with it.  8)

Seems like the test race here was using the standard cars, no wonder i was struggling to match my 2.13 vertigo TT lap :sweatdrop: No results posted for it though? I couldnt get any temps in the tyres even if the presures were up in 210kpa range after a few laps! Might need to revisit the whole setup, though managed to get in the 2.15's.

Server is still set to Mugello...  :)

Don't believe you - can you prove it ;)

You got a win-win situation there...  :D

TT

Did some hotlaps and managed high 2-11's in the Vertigo but i'm inconsisent with that :-\

2.11 !!!?  :o  bugger off Jon  ;) cant you find something else to do with your spare time?  :laugh:

I got into the 2:14s and felt pleased ! ::)  :(  Am i right in thinking the vertigo is way quicker than the cup porker in this class? looking back over the results, the sheer numbers driving it would suggest so  ::)

On a brighter note, i was getting 100Fps and no stutters at all ...hurrah ! Seems the new 80.24? Geforce drivers i installed have fixed my fps problem  :thumbup2:

...well, so far  :shifty:

I think the Vertislow is actually the slowest in class (in straight line), but handles really well so is the safe drive. That's why I'm in it anyway, need all the help I can get!

In standard G3 class it's by far the fastest except in tracks like Monza. In our pack I would say it's on the same pace as the 350 and the CC (probably a tiny bit faster in circuits with medium and slow corners), can't judge the Porka cause I haven't battled on track with any :)

Maybe I'll try some laps with it  ;D

Holy cow, a 2:11 is just unreal, I assume it was offline and with a perfect lap, because on server I haven't managed anything faster than a low 2:15 in the Gillet!!! :-[

Did a 2:14 with the Porka after my first laps with this car, so it's definetely not slower than the Vertigo MJ :)

Glad to hear it  :ninja:

im guessing the nice long straights help the porker out here over the vertigo, which comes into its own on the twistier tracks.

Im sure ive asked this before but cant remember the answer. Isnt there any way of getting some kind of live timing utility bolted onto the srouk server praccy sessions? Would be great to keep tabs on what sort of times people are achieving at the various tracks we use. ie some sort of script file.
I have seen it used at 2 other race leagues (1 GTR2 and 1 rFactor). It would add a great bit of interaction/immersion to the race weeks.

I'm sure this is "Get at Picnic Day". This is the 3rd forum today where someone has told me they know something I don't but ensure I won't know as they are keeping their knowledge secret  ::) Give us a clue what it's called, where I might find it  :-* TVM

It's called koerskast for rfactor.

Think it's the same for GTR2.

Check here and click koerskast on the right for an example:

http://benelux.endurance-series.org/

I cant remember the GTR2 league name. It was a highly competitive league full of very quick drivers. I know JonM was in it and think Jan Dujis was also in it ?..perhaps they can remind us of the name?. It had live timings and session laptimes always there for viewing in tables and assume it was a server script of some sorts that did it all automatically.
The rFactor one was F1rst.   http://www.f1rst3.com/

Have a look at this one  8)
http://sls.simracing.pl/

ooh that sounds the ticket:-

"WHAT SLS IS?
Simracing League System (SLS) is a 3-layer application for managing leagues. It is designed as a web application, making it easy for the worldwide community to use all the features just by means of an Internet browser.
It can store a lot of binary data like car skins, driver photos, race results files, and more. SLS includes LiveView which shows current standings during all the events started by an application (sim) that generates live results.
And mainly, it is free.  :)

It's free as in beer, but not free as in Linux. I looked at SLS extensively but the license conditions preclude any sort of modification which means I cannot legally integrate it into the SRou system.

Do I need to ask guys about that Koerskast system? Don't think that system will cost anything, but I can check if you want.

TBH Jeff, these things are all just interfaces onto the Live Update via FTP which the dedicated server supports - it uses pretty much the same format as the results export so we already have most of the code required to import it. But I question whether once we've got over the 'cool factor' it's really worth the effort compared to people simply posting practice times in the forum threads...

Your very welcome martin. Remember to keep the trucks oiled and your laces tied tight and the plastic roller skate  will have you dancing at the local disco in no time  ;D ;D

Did some laps on the server and couldn't get near 2-11. 2-13-1 was my best in prac 1. TBH I think Qually will be 2-12. Dunno what the extra grip of Q2 will add tho'.


A JazzyJeffNL Modified setup
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WE6JMHTK
In the slow corners you may need to use some gas pedal

Have dusted off my glitter ball and will have it whirling Sunday!  :lol:

Obviously its your call as to whether its a lot of effort to incorporate and understand that you guys do enough already, but personally i think it would add a nice immersive touch to the league and forum to be able to see a live timing kind of display that readily shows laptimes performed so far with some standings etc.
Is it not something that would just run automatically in the background once initially setup ?
I always thought it was pretty cool to see it in action at the other league sites i visited.

As an aside, if you can get the script to ignore aliens lap times that would be all the better to avoid general depression amongst the rank and file  ;D
(and yes that includes you JonM  ;) )

Not if we want it properly integrated into the league system (with driving names matched up to forum identities).

This is something I have had a few comments about. Everyone other forum I am signed to has had a forum or online name and your real name in your signature and then you race under your real name in game. Here however, some do this and some use their real name as their forum/online name. I have never come across this on any other forum, racing or non racing.  Is it prefered that you use the same name in the forum and in game or is it up to the individual?

I like this idea.

It's up to the individual, but if you want to match them up you can click the person's name against one of their forum posts and click Driving Histroy against their profile, which then shows all the driving names we have on record for them.

so anyone else got any laptimes pumped in for comparison?

I took a few tenths off my race time but no major improvements. 2:15.1 with an hours fuel onboard.

...see thats why we need the timing screen  ;) I'd like stats like the ALMS series, those Americans do love their statistics  :)

I like the idea, but everyone would see how slow I am all week, while here I can just avoid publishing my slllooooooooooow time till I come last in the race!  ;)

Does it record each drivers fastest overall lap or their best for each session?

2.16.xxx here in the plastic roller skate.

2:16.3 in the 350Z - it's not a great track for the car, with all the long corners, but I should make some of that back with a combination of straightline speed and good fuel economy.

Thanks for sharing. I've managed a 2:16 so far but only on a slightly modded default setup. It will be interesting to see how I go on yours.

If that is a setup which I think it is, it might not be the best sollution :P

Plus jumping me at the pitstops like you do at every race  ;D

I'm still at 2:19 Legzy so I think you are safe.

Beginning to get the hang of it I think.  You apply the brakes for all you are worth and when you get to the point where you are stood up in the stirups, hauling on the reins and shouting "Whoooooa" but still travelling what appears to be far too quick to make the corner, you come off the brakes, turn the wheel and against all odds it turns in.  Mostly

My front tyres never get above blue and I'm having to lift too much on the fast kinks like T5right and the one after Carousel.  Is there a cure?

What car? what tyres? what track temps? what f/b wing settings? what springs? what dampers? what toe? what camber? what castor?

 :laugh:

I could tell you how to cure it....BUT  ;)

I have finally been able to put the wheel back on the pc and have a tootle round here.

2:14:5 in race trim...after a whole 5 laps  ::). hpoefully get some time to praccy proper before Sunday eve.

Well, eventhough it says in the notes it's for a 550 and it is a little twitchy, it did get me in to the 14's. :)

I keep loosing the time trial hotlaps though! What is the sequence of button clicks to get them uploaded. I managed it once but on every other occasion I seem to end up with it not uploaded and removed from my local sceen!!  ???

Good point Ken.

It says thet it is saving the Hot Lap, then I can't find it in the replays, :(

I think you have to upload it to the online database thing before leaving the session but as I said I've only managed to do that succesfully once!

Don't forget that the clocks go back tonight, so don't turn up an hour early! :D

Well we get an hours extra practise then!

I wouldnt bother Mark its a heap of junk after it was messed with.

Dan, the cars etc aren't actually 'messed with' as such. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and a fair few people give up a chunk of their time to try and make the performance of the cars at least mean they can compete on the same terms. WE test them, test them again and test them again. and use quality software etc to make any performance changes. OK, so the cup car may need some further time investing in it....but it has not been messed with....it has had it's performance balanced to enable folk the chance to use other cars too...instead of the cup car winning every race. ;) ;D

I'd like to join forces with Psuedo in this.  :)  "Messing" with the cars has produced some of the best competitive racing in this season and I hope such trimming can provide more of this in the next season. Another thing: Dan, even admitting there might be a micro chance for MJ to join one of the races in this series has cost him 11,6 GW of energy. Don't mess with it!  ;D

TT

...wakes up like angry bear with sore head....grrrr   ;D

I understand both sides of the argument discussion here. TT is right, i have totally steered clear of this particular series as i didnt like 'messed with', sorry, 'performance balanced' cars. To me the whole ethos of racing GT cars is pitting different make cars against different drivers with their own unique styles and characteristics. Each car should have its own strengths and weaknesses, thats what makes it interesting. You cant bludgeon 1 car to make it fit with a weaker car. I dont know what relevant traits were altered to make the cars, ahem, 'even' but you only have to look at the tables for this season and see that some cars (vertigo) are obviously more 'even'  ;) than others. By the very fact i only 1 or 2 Porkers in the tables means that car must have been quite severely ham-strung ?  Dans a very good Porker racer so i take his words seriously as well in this case.
But the flip side is, its good to see some of the rarer used cars in action like the z3M etc and from what i read the race action is pretty close. I can understand 'enchancing' some cars ala the real world with cars like an 'M-badged' beemer being improved but curtailing a cars traits to fit doesnt sit well with me.
Just my own pennies worth, you all seem to enjoy your Belgian waffle racing  ;D

Am looking forward to the race tonight whatever, but if i see a Vertigo out powering me down a straight i will not be impressed !  ;)

Bah, anything overpowers Vert down the straight.  ::)

TT

You had best get on to the FIA then....as thats what they do  ;)....all their cars have 'Limits' to various aspects (like power to weight ratio's, suspension geometry etc) and some cars are quite badly 'hampered' to allow them to race in some classes.

You dont get any more 'REAL' than emulating what the Official body does.  :)

No, it means it's a horrible to drive car which no longer enjoys a ludicrous and unrealistic advantage over the other cars in its class.

None of the cars in GT3 have lost any of their fundamental driving characteristics. I've driven the 350Z in NGT, GTC and now GT3 and despite it going from big weight loss, through a tyre change, to weight gain and power loss it still goes, handles and stops in essentially the same way. Ditto the VCC which I've driven in several incarnations.

I normally drive the the Vertislow  ;D, but having driven the Porka for the very 1st time last night... I'm probably going to take that for this the last race of the campaign. Seems like a great drive to me (certainly nicer the the 350z & Z3M that I also tried), so I can't imagine how awesome this little Porka mast have been before it was 'balanced'  :o

The problem with the 911 Cup is it has a significant disadvantage due to the front splitter being locked at 1, plus its diff is also locked and there are limited arb adjustments, whereas all thew 'new' GT3's are able to utilise full adjustments ( I think) for all of these.

Although this doesn't hamper it over short stints it eventually rears its ugly head as the  car becomes more difficult to drive as the driver is having to over drive in certain areas to overcome these limits.

ie A far more agressive setup to give the car more mechanical front end grip and a looser rear end to help it turn in and exit with slight oversteer so you can get on the power earlier due to its inherant understeer due to lack of front aero grip, this obviously cooks the tyres quicker and so exacerbates the problem with the cars setup limits.

Its only trump card was its low fuel consumption which was removed for balancing, it still IS a quick car but it is extremely difficult to compete with cars which have the full adjustments available to them. I felt at the time it was neutered almost to the point of redundancy and after the Zhuhai race and moreso the Suzuka race I feel I was correct in that assumption.

That is definately a part of the problem Madd....the Viper cc is the same with locked gear ratios, front splitter 1 etc.....but its compensated for by the extremely good handling characteristics  :laugh:

Sounds like I have spent two weeks practicing with exactly the wrong car.

Clive as long as you've picked the car from the GT3 class within the UKGTR series you should be ok.

I think that it's legal.  Just sounds that it's been knobbled!

Remember that, with my lack of talent, I need a fast car.

The porka cup IS a fast car....just like the Viper cc though, it has restrictions on it's setupabillity (new word) which makes it a little harder to drive against cars that dont have the restrictions.

This is season 8 GTR2....and the first time the cup car hasn't won everything.

Personally, I have driven both the UKGTR 'knobbled' version and the standard (unknobbled but must be right coz Simbin made it ;)) versions.....and I cant tell the differences other than the UKGTR version being a little slower.

It's a bit late to change now anyway.

I will just have to settle for trying not to be lapped before half distance.  So slow down at the front.  :P

Clive, my aim in every race I enter here is just that, to try not to get lapped before the race ends. I've managed it a couple of times in the UKGTL league races, but the sheer quality/speed of the drivers here in UKGTR2 makes it a target I'm yet to achieve. Keep plucking away, I'm sure that with each race that passes, we can improve more then the front runners do. See you at the back of the grid mate 8)

p.s. Have you seen the weather forecast? Get in some wet practice!

Didnt mean to offend any of you guys who work behind the scenes  ;), Just that the cup car a season ago was a great car to drive even though some might dispute that.  And yes i totally agree with you Bob and TT the class is alot more competitve now but how many 911,s do you see out there 1,2 or maybe 3 , its gone from being a porker cup to a Vertigo cup which isnt really the spirit of GT racing but this isnt real racing and the aim of the game is to make sure people have fun and im totally for that... but the 911 is not enjoyable to drive anymore.

Why not do a single make championship then no one can moan about the cars...  "Cough PCC championship cough"

Wont be racing tonight got to try and build up my iRacing rating, see you at Philip Island.

No offence taken  :).

Not being a regular driver of the porka myself, I cant really tell much difference in it this season. It handles the same as is still a Cwap car to drive.  ;D

As a quickie test, I have just done 5 laps in the Shark porka cup at RdAm, default setup etc...and was comfy within a second of my best time in the Viper. (which has a good setup and I am used to driving it :o)

its not slow, but as i have said before, it has competition now and its become 'useless' coz it doesn't win everything.  :(

That is the problem though, the issue with the car only becomes apparent after a longer stint, I'm not miffed that it doesn't win anything I'm miffed because its performance drop off is more pronounced than the other cars.

It just makes it far more diffucult to compete with the other cars, and as stated its almost a vertigo championship instead of a 911 one, exactly what I would imagine the organisers didn't want (and probably are a bit miffed at too).

I mean, if I do race tonight I'm not sure I want to drive the 911, especially after Suzuka where it was horrendous.

In all the races there has only been at maximum 2 911's, whereas most of the grid is Vertigos and BMWs, not a varied grid as I expect the organisers were hoping for. A real shame. :'(

 :laugh:

tis a shame Madd, even more so as I seem to be the only fool in a Viper cc  ::)....next season...maybe some changes... ;) ;)

Ok, fix Lambo for me for the next season.  ;)

TT

wHAT....A GT3 Lambo  :o :o :o

For me, the Lotus would be a waste of time to race if the cars were not balanced. the Lotus is to slow on its own. I would be racing on my own which would get very boring. Would be great to see a bigger variety of cars next season like more Porsche's. If the Lambo could be included then that would be awsome.

By the way, has anyone seen the weather?? Snow?? Love to see how the game will simulate that :)

It cant emilate snow I'm afraid.  :(...But you could always hang some cotton wool buds off your hat.  ;)

 ;D ;D ;D

Damn the unreliable technology called ADSL. Again it reset and unsurprisingly. Over the last 6 weeks or so I've noticed my sync speed as been slowly increasing form my normal 4.2-4.4 to over 6Mbps. Put my line attenuation/noise figures in to online checks and they reckon I'd get mid 3Mbps. Why has it taken it upon itself to keep increasing. I used to get connections last 2 or more weeks, lucky to get 12 hours now  >:( At least I have the season break to sort that out.

Annoyingly against all the odds the race was going ok too. Running 4th, although no idea how the tyre changing would pan out. Wasn't expecting to do too well as I've had an annoying headache all day, the track was wet which guarantees that I'll have a comedy moment or two, Hey ho. Well done to all the winners and thanks to everyone who's regularly turned out and raced.

Changing to WET tyres at the pit stop by mistake! was not the best idea  >:(
Curse, curse, curse.
Times were going backward after that!
Slip sliding everywhere! in the dry!

Gutted!

M.

Great Race for me, without incident, unlike my last race, really enjoyed the tricky conditions 8),

War of attrition out there.

Pleased with 11th (I think), under the circumstances.

I was well pleased to be running quite competitively in my first ever endurance event. Qualifying was nothing startling but in the race I guess the little Streiff thing is easy on wets in the dry (i did choose hard just in case). Anyway by hanging on until fairly late to take my stop I think was actually running 4th at one point!! At the stop I changed to soft slicks (took a bit of fiddling with the keys due to my unfamiliarity and my crew chief was shouting for me to hurry and make a decision!!). Then re-joined about 11th or 12th but after all the pitstops unravelled and some went off I was running 8th and having a good battle with the two Daves. Then with what turned out to be about 3 laps to go the bloody motor blew, and as far as I could see the oil and engine temps where normal. I had been red lining it though, is that not a good idea??

I was having a great race, running in 5th I think until I accidently pressed either the + key or the - key on the back straight before my last pitstop by mistake which changed my view to somebody elses car. I then had to cycle through all the cars until I found my car, crashed into a wall. Got going again but I lost so much time that I lost about 5 places. Finished in 10th in the end.

Apart from that, the race was great especially the wet start. Just wished it had stayed wet :):)

Oh well, great season and thanks to all the organisers and drivers. I sure did have fun.

I'd be lethal if i planned ahead ;D

Once i saw it was raining i thought i'd take the viper having felt quite happy with it early in practise. But i had no idea on fuel consumption and guessed a bit wrong.

With the wets on the rear getting into the red i tried taking it easy and it seemed to work and knew it wasnt going to dry out too quickly. Pitted just after halfway, stuck slicks on and come out with the battle for around 4th but they clearly hadn't pitted as they were holding me up! Once Prof pitted i managed to go 2 secs quicker! But sadly i should have put more fuel in as i had to stop for 15L extra and then was one lap too short.

I gather the Viper wasn't quite so fun around the other tracks then ;)

Replay and provisional results posted

LapChart (http://www.granum.plus.com/20081026%20U8LE/index.html)

Man, that was fun  ;D

Managed to get my first set of tyres to the half way stage and then change to slicks with the drying track. Then my pace improved a load and I caught DG who appeared to generously let me past  ???

However after that I couldn't increase the gap above about 3-5 seconds and in the last few laps with sweaty palms developing and the risk of nosebleed from being as high as 5th, a few small errors crept in and then one big error allowing him back past along with Dave M.

I thought I would have to settling for 7th, but on the final corner I sneaked back to 6th when Dave M ran wide.

Great stuff and really pleased with the position.

Congrats to the championship winners and thanks for all the fantastic organisation  :notworthy: and great driving this season.  8)

Good rave..thats what its all about having changable weather imo.  ;D 8)

Big mistake taking hard wets at the start....they were at 120 deg on the first flying lap ::)...so I pitted on lap 3 and took medium slicks all round.

First half a dozen laps were a bit dodgy but it was improving all the time and I was able to claw my way back up to p9....had to pit again though...but left it as late as possible and just 45 ltr of fuel and a set of softs all round. That did the trick and I was lapping at a reasonable pace after that. Rejoined in 13th but made a couple of passes on track and a couple more through pit stops to get back to 9th again...pretty pleased with that, though if I had made the right tyre choice initially I would have been a fair bit higher I reckon.  :(

Grats to Freq...champion and winner.
and to all drivers....this has been a good season for GT3....next one will be even better.  ;D

Why is Blunder's Viper shown on dunlops? Arent they all on Michelins?

I guess me running out of fuel on the last lap doesnt mean i keep 12th then :(

Bad luck, Pete. I forgot to reboot my router before the race but luckily my connection held okay.

Apologies to TT - I had no intention of looking for a pass into T1, but found myself flying up the inside of you. Still not sure how I even made the corner! :o :D


There was no 'letting' about it - after I could no longer cool my hard wets by running off line I pitted for medium slicks, but with hindsight that was a mistake and I should've taken soft wets. Struggled to get any heat in them, and having lost three places early in the race with a silly off when I just couldn't see the braking marks, I slid off numerous times, and was getting swallowed up by the Vertigos in the second half of the lap. I couldn't get the car safely through the Kink without a stab on the brakes and the Gillets could just come flying past as a result.

Thought I was going to have to settle to 7th with 2 laps to go but Ted looked like he was suddenly struggling, which allowed me past, and then David ran off giving me 5th back again, and I managed to make my car wide enough (and hit enough apexes) during the final lap to keep the place.

I think that's Nissan's first manufacturer's crown in UKGTR, thanks almost entirely to FreQ, not me, and Team Shark's zillionth team title. :D Congrats to FreQ on the drivers crown too. :thumbup2:

I've just checked and it is on michelins....just need altering in the database....prolly because its not been used since the change.

Oh dear :D

I should have done well but made many mistakes including putting wet tyres back on when I needed drys. Once I was up and running, this happend:

(http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9950/rdamericazw2.jpg) (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rdamericazw2.jpg)

2612 in the replay, enjoy ;)

Thanks for a great seasons racing and well done to race/championship podiums. 2nd for Team Pseudo ;D

An error? In the results? :o I think not... ;) :angel:

Sorry I looked in the wrong text file  :-[

Another awful race for me.

Started 3rd, a mistake put me down to 5th, more mistakes made me lose ground. Then on the pitstop I put on too much fuel (finished the race with 20+ litres), at least the strategy on tyres was right.

I just find odd thought, that even starting with front HARD wets and rear SOFT wets, I had around 3 times more front tyre wear than rear :o I know the Gillet is very kind to the rear tyres and I am not kind to the fronts ;D but that was odd anyway. Anyone else having huge front tyre wear compared to rear in the Gillet?

Grats to FreQ on the win and title :)


PS: Please bring the Gillet back to GTC class, PLEASE!!! :laugh:

I really enjoyed that especially the incredulity in the voice that came over Teamspeak telling me I had taken the lead. When the Aliens caught me up after their pit stops, I gave up hope of another rainstorm and stopped for slicks. After this normal order was rapidly restored and I finished a slightly lucky 8th as engines blew and fuel ran out giving me two undeserved places late in the race.

Thanks to all I have raced in all four divisions this year. Well done to Freq for the Championship win and Team Shark for completing the season team 'Grand Slam'. Thanks to Dave, Pete and all who make this league run so well. Mods, please look at the court list, there are around five races needing our attention now the season is over.

lol comedy of errors for me   :P

Didn't know the track and only got back at 8pm... made for amusing practise and quali which in the wet was hilarious  :laugh:
2 laps into the race and i almost knew the track! When it dried I stupidly took a gamble straight away and pitted for slicks, i therefore crashed  :-\  ::)

I was going to turn up for the last race of the season just as a farewell to Season 8, but I think I'm going to give up with PCs. I once again can't run any 3D games anymore, they all just crash in ntdll.dll as soon as you try and start them. When it happened last time on XP I reinstalled  from XP to Vista. Well a few months later and it's doing the same thing on Vista so I may as well give up now as I'm not going to reinstall every 2 months when it happens again.

Well done Joss, TT and Busi on the top three in the drivers championship and Team Shark (woo haa), Team Pink and Legends racing on the team podium positions.

well that didnt turn out quite as planned for my debut in lower enduro  :(

Had a disco within 100m of leaving pitlane when i first joined. Couldnt rejoin the race although the lobby would let me join any other race in there!  ??? Had to reboot and refire up game to get back in !

Qually was a 'challenge'. Hadnt done any wet laps at all and dont think ive ever driven the cup car in the wet. Went out on dry slicks for what i thought was a damp track but it proceeded to get flooded by the time i found my groove and even hard wets werent upto the job.

Race was good fun but equally frustrating. Kept taking several places only to then understeer off at an apex somewhere and lose them again, repeat again, repeat.... ::) My car seemed to absolutely hate and refuse to negotiate properly that 2nd left hand 90 degree turn immediately after the Toyota bridge. I must have slithered off there about 8 times no matter how slow i tried to take it  :taz:
I think my teamie JPS got fed up letting me past countless times only to see me rejoining a few laps later, very sporting of him though.
Enjoyed the changing conditions though, keeping my wets cool running offline etc, all very immersive. Pitted after 40+ mins to swap for dry slicks as could see that was now way to go.
Came out pits and started taking chunks of time out of some people but still the odd understeer off track. Then with only 27 mins to go and closing fast on 10th-12th places my screen froze mid corner and pc locked up  >:(
Just about sums up this season for me in any championship..race ruined by technical difficulties.  :(
Nice spread of cars (albeit too many vertigos  ;)), great race track.

The irony of sim racing I'm beginning to conclude  :-\

In real racing you can be plagued by many different technical failures which cause your retirement (bitter experience of that! ::)) and since they are not simulated in-game our failures with computers and/or connections seems to fill its spot quite nicely! (if not frustratingly :cursing:)

The only problem with this parallel is mechanical issues on race cars can be solved!  :'(

I just wish the results section had a retirement due to 'Disco' or 'Windows being emotional'  :)

i said exactly the same thing to TT last week when a disco cost him the GTC championship, its the only way to get your head around the frustration by kinda imagining it as a car failure. Still bloody annoying though !
My problem is still gfx related. Fixed my fps woes with the 80.42 geforce drivers but either they have a bug or there is a certain setting it doesnt like as had 3 screen freezes in GTR2 over the weekend, always mid corner. The whole pc freezes and i have to reboot. Its a 1500 quid rig and i have more troubles than my old jallopy that i used to get by with.  ::) It was fantastic though until sp3 screwed it all up !  :taz:

I had a game freeze last night also. At the start of qualifying, went to leave the pits and thats it, game froze. Never had that before. Had to reboot PC. When I rejoined, I noticed about 5 other drivers joined after me. I wondered if they had problems also. So I wonder if its a problem with the track and not the game.

Could some of it be internet/ network issues? How does the game handle missing packets, timeouts etc

I think my main PC problems have been cooling as the 8800's are known to have marginal stock cooling. Having now fitted a proper cooler which seems to have dropped the temps alot i'm hoping my PC is a bit more stable.

What a complete nightmare that was!

Had to chase my son all over Lancashire just before the race and it took me several attempts to spell “finale” which meant that most of practice had disappeared by the time I hit the tarmac.

Then the bloody stuff was dripping wet!

I had done a little wet practice but not enough to know what I was doing.  In the dry I was down to a magnificent 2:18somthing so was expecting to be able to keep the back of the pack in sight for a while.

No chance.  I started on wets but can’t remember what sort.  Anyway, after three slow laps they were all showing bright red on the tyreomiter thingy.  I had no idea how long this could go on for so pitted at about lap 5 for soft slicks.

With the track still damp I still didn’t know where to brake and I was being lapped almost immediately.  I couldn’t find any rhythm and went off into the sand half a dozen times.  Usually whilst looking in my mirrors.

I think that I only caused one moment of grief for anyone.  Having let one car pass on the straight I found another bearing down on me into T1.  I stayed left but my lack of speed must have caught him out as a yellow and black beastie shot down the inside and into the sand.  Soz

I saw you parked upside down there, it's my team Oldie Vertislow driving past in the picture background  ;D

Came across you parked backwards too, made my car shake all over the place like someone had picked it up to 'rattle it', it span my car right round to a stop. The car didn't stop shaking till I got going again & was 100m down the road. Weird I thought  ???


Really enjoyed the race, great track & one of my better performances. Managed to get higher up the field then normal due to the early (& qualifying) rain I guess. Should have changed for slicks sooner but was playing it save having suffered making the change too soon earlier in the season. Managed to beat team mate Blunder for the 1st time, so chuffed about that.

Just want to thank the organisers for organising a fantastic line up of entertainment across the four disciplines of Season 8, it's been fantastic & what bigger compliment can I give then to say I can't wait for the next season. Thanks to all the drivers who took part, you've all been great, even if I do only see half of you as you lap me (again). Also thanks to Blunder for introducing me to the world of sim racing 5 months back, I'm hooked (but my Mrs is not so happy with you)  ;D ;D

p.s. I finished on equal points with Ruskus in this Lower Enduro Championship, I'd have settled for that at the start of the campaign ;)

That was me and all my fault. I had changed to slicks and so as I went off the dry line to pass you, when I braked I just locked and slid off as it was wet. So 100% my fault. So sorry for the scare.

Overall a good race for me and one where I was very fortunate. Quallyed on pole after getting in a half decent lap before the real rain came...Think after 2 laps ;D In the race I started on hard wet fronts and soft wet rears, Joss was quicker than me at though and soon passed. I followed him for a few laps then on lap 5 I spun after putting my rears on the grass after that fast left hander down the back straight. I knew I had a bit of damaged so pitted for some repairs. It looked like the weather was drying and at this point I thought it was worth the risk of slicks. After my pitstop I made decent time on the front runners and people were also very kind when being overtaken for postion. TT was a bit unlucky to come out of is stop just ahead of me because I was already used to slick tyres on a slippery surface and I soon past him. I was now trying to catch Joss but at the same time conserve fuel but the gap was just too large. As it turned out my crash happened just at the right time because my laps were faster on slicks and I finished with 0.5L of fuel.
Grats to Joss on the Drivers Champ and to TT and Busi for top 3 postions and to Team Shark for the Team champ 8)
Thanks to all you guys behind the scenes who made this season possible 8) On to the next(hopefully I'll run a few more races).

Jon

It's not forbidden, Dave. ;)  I expected it as the Vertical Tub is no match for any car on the straight. :P I also expected to come in front in the corner section. :)  Not done a single wet lap as the server was always dry. ::)  Car felt ok in any weather. Wet tyres were all red for the first part and I was determined to stop once only, so I tried to cool them down but there was not enough water. Freq was too quick for me and I knew Jon's gonna pass me sooner or later. Busi was the real contender for the Championship 2nd place. There was a chance to get Freq, but, you know, theoretical only. ::) So I didn't flinch when Freq went to pit and I waited for Busi. He was quicker than me after pitstop - when he didn't make mistakes, that is. ;D  After he gave up I was cruising and the 2nd overall was mine.

MJ, GET THE THING FORMATTED !  :taz:  Good going, JPS, well done, Legends.  8)

TT 

What an odd race. Prior to the start I was saying to Jon how I wanted it to be dry; I thought the Vertigo would really benefit from a wet track due to it's high grip, the tracks long corners and the Z handling rubbish, so when I saw wet weather in the server, I moaned a lot. Sorry  :angel:

Practised a bit on hard wets and they seemed OK. In qually everyone went straight out and I waited almost 2 minutes to ensure a clear lap...only the rain came almost immediately, and really started to hammer down just as I came out of the last corner to start my flying lap! Nooo! I pushed ahead with the lap hoping to find grip. Slid around a lot through some corners, and being really pleasantly surprised with 2nd! My second flyer was 2 seconds slower so I was really lucky to make my first lap count, and to only have Jon in front of me.

Race came....wet  :-X :-X :-\

No idea what to do. With the track on wet I decided that hards would be safest, but with a dark grey sky I was worried it would rain more and make softs the way to go. Ran a really long 1st gear so was ready to defend into T1, but for the first time tried a new start technique of slipping the clutch in 1st gear....and it worked! Jumped from Busi and was closing on Jon! Went past Jon (not planned at all!) on the back straight and then pulled a gap. I was totally expecting Jon to scamper off so it was great to be leading. Then Jon made his customary mistake and pitted for slicks, even though the track was treacherous off line. With the weather having done a 180 and being bright blue sky, we were all driving off line to cool the tyres. I was happy in the lead.

Then I made the cock up that would haunt me through the race. I pitted with 40l left instead of 30l. I had a mega quick pitstop (37s - my fastest all season!) and thought blimey, the wet does help fuel consumption! Except I'd pitted a good 4 laps too soon. At first I didn't realise and went about overtaking the dudes who hadn't stopped, got the lead back from Prof (who had lead for about 6 corners!) and then pulled a gap to about 25 seconds. Then I worked out what I'd done and had to decide whether to push and make a splash and dash, or to go super-granny and short shift for the rest of the race. So I became super-granny. :wheelchair:

Jon also had a lack of fuel and we were bizarrely both in p1 and p2, but cruising on straights, shifting really early to save fuel. I went to an extreme for a few laps, coming off the throttle altogether at the end of straight and coasting for 50 metres before braking, but was luckily not losing much as Jon was also being frugal. This went on until 2 laps from the end when I suddenly noticed I had 8l left and only 2 laps to do - plenty! So full revs for the penultimate lap and a mistake on the last lap meant my best lap was set on shagged tyres 1 lap from home. Same with Jon. What a weird way to pace yourself.   :P

Jon needs to stop crashing, and I need to concentrate when I need to pit  :laugh:

I do love changeable weather normally, and hope we get more of these races. The strategy element makes them so much more fun to drive, second guessing the weather.

Nice 1 to Jon on an excellent fightback. Make sure you start from the beginning of S9 and you'll be fighting for the title ;D Well done to TT and Busi for the champ top 3 - some really close, fun and very tense fights with Busi in particular are the stand-out memories for me in this championship. Finally a big thanks to Dave for getting points at Zhuhai and Brands because

Nissan won the manufacturers champ! EEEEEEEEE!  :laugh: :angel: ;D

Didn't expect it at all and couldn't have done it without Dave getting points when my PC crashed twice this season. It's the only time it'll ever win a manu title with the Vertigo around, so enjoy! ;D

Thanks for the racing peeps!  8)

Cracked it. To save the hotlap you need to click on the Time Trial button. The confusing thing is that the screen that appears does not have your new lap shown. It has the online times on the left and any previously loaded local times on the right. However if you click save on the bottom of the lhs then a box pops up with your new lap named asking for confirmation to save. Once saved you can upload it or just keep it to yourself. It was the fact that the new lap isn't actually shown on the screen that you need to select to save it that was confusing me, but that's easy to do.   ???

I assume that by some other mystic chanting, and perhaps sacrificing a squirrel or two, you could maybe save a race replay one day. ;D

All replays are here Clive

https://replay.simracing.org.uk/

Have a look at the blue bar at the top of the page, the one with all this stuff on it   

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Thanks Ade but how do I save my own replay?  It seems to chuck me out before I have the option to save anything?

The replay will be saved automatically normally, but it will use the same filename all the time and so keep being overwritten. You need to add a line to the game options section of your player file:

Replays Dated="1" // Replays have date in filename

which will give each file a unique name.

Thanks Paul, done that.  Now I suppose that I have to keep deleting them to prevent the disk fulling up as it does for GPL.

Disks are so cheap now it shouldn't be much of an issue - even an endurance race is only 100MB or so. Testing and stuff should be much, much smaller.