SimRacing.org.uk

All members welcome.

This will be the first race of a short series designed to test the new GT1 and GT2 cars in a competitive setting.

Practice 1:	20:00	(10 mins)
Qual 2:	20:10	(15 mins)
Race:	20:25	(80 mins)	note: no warmup!

Cars allowed: Any GT2 from the v2.8.9.1 experimental pack (download from here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3356.msg54519#msg54519))
It would be good to have a mix of original and add-on cars.
Weather: changeable, based on real-world conditions at the start of the event.
Track: UKGTR Spa 2003 (download from here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3356.msg54519#msg54519) as part of the UKGTR Track Pack v1.2)
Race Start Time: 14:00.
Pit Stops: You must make a minimum of one pit stop. You cannot take your mandatory stop at the end of the pace lap, or with less than 1 lap to go.

Server: UKGTR Season 8.9
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Notes:

• 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 rolling starting procedure and the rules about in-game chat messages.
• You will not be able to join the server without v2.8.9.1 of the UKGTR car pack and v1.2 of the track pack (see links above).
  You will not see skins correctly without the optional, matching GT2 skins pack.
• Drivers are reminded that they must select ISDN as their bandwidth, otherwise the stability of everyone's connection will be reduced.
• 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).

Note that the car pack has been numbered 2.8.9.1 to match the series (UKGTR 8.9). This means it's numbered lower than the experimental 2.9.0.2 pack - this is intentional.

When season 9 begins I anticipate us starting with pack 2.9.1.0. :)

ah, that explains why i just got booted as possible cheat when i tried to join the srouk praccy server just now !  :P

pps. The C5-R and 996 RSR have been moved into G2 for now. Both have new equivalents which are very similar in nature to their predecessors so I anticipate people taking the newer cars exclusively. I've left the 360 GTC in GT2 because the F430 feels quite different IMHO, and also because Psuedo's said he'll take it. :D

So if I'm the only one to use 996 RSR or C5R I'm a champion by default?  :wacko:   Might be a good way to look good when the aliens start to come back from that, err, ?? ?? ?? iR.  :-*

TT

Only if you can find a way to select them when the server is set to GT2 or GT1 only... :P

Doh!  :D

Yep 360GTC for me.

I spent most of last season developing setups and getting to know the modena, so it should be the easiest transition.

And it will be more fun with better variety on the grid.

Just tried 5 laps...(dont tell the boss ;)) 2:20:100 in the 360, dry conditions.

Anyone else got anything to compare it with?

If I volunteered to take the 996 (the 996 feels different to the 997, in particular in the wet) DG, would you put this back into the GT2 selection like you have done with the 360Modena i.e. Psuedo

Thanks DG 8)

I know people want to test in the wet but can the server be changed to changeable weather?

EDIT: Nevermind, seems its just the server status that needs updating.

one of my favourite tracks,had a session with the 430,its handles brilliant,my advise all children of a lesser racing God take the 430,
aliens dont you dare to take it ;D
i did a 2.16.8  ??? ???,eau rouge, stavelot,blanchimont flat cant believe it almost(wing 5)

Jan

Wow, it's indeed very good here, a minute faster than the rest of the pack ;D

lol, oops, 2.16.8  :angel: :angel:

Jan

Just a little question, is the Porsche 911 GT2 in the mix for this race? Its called GT2 but shows in the garage as a G2 ???


                                           Cheers Ade

No - that's the old 993 GT2 which is far too fast for GT2 and far too slow for GT1.

OK thanks.

I forgot about that Porsche, I loved racing that in the Academy series couple of season back. Great fun car to drive ;D

Which would be the correct pit lane entrance please?

Exhibit A:?

(http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/1784/spa1kq0.jpg)

Or Exhibit B:?

(http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/9210/spa2qf8.jpg)

I have a problem.

The UKGTR Version of Spa does not work for me??  The game crashes to desktop every time i try to load it??

Any ideas?

Its a pretty nasty pitlane entry, almost like there trying to hide it! There isnt much of a gap between those blocks and its diffficult to gauge it come straight at it. I thought they were using the diagonal entry in 03 werent they?

@ H@l, definatly 1 :)

Huh? how can we say it may be dropped when even a mortal like me can pedal it around competently and reasonably quickly  ??? Theres nothing majorly wrong with it, just that odd meander behaviour exactly like the Mc12 standard simbin car had. Just means it has to be dialled out with setup.
2:16.6 offline, 2:17.2 online for me so far in the dry :)
2:28 offline, 2:30 online in the wet 50% rain.

This is why we're doing a test season MJ... to find out!

Just plough straight through those polystyrene blocks. Save a few seconds ;D

You just beat me to it LOL of course first pic for Spa 2003

How do I select the 'Porka 996 GT2' that's listed in the '2.8.9.1 ballast pack licence agreement' as a GT2 car? Does it have an alternate name in the game? (please don't laugh at the level of my Porka knowledge)

I think (off the top of my head) it's the "911 BiTurbo".

i see the real world weather is now showing clear but i think we need some rain thrown in just to test the various cars out in those conditions also. Not sure what others are finding in the different cars but i am a whopping 10-12 seconds slower a lap in the wet which could mean either the 997 really doesnt work physics wise in the wet or that kind of gap is about right between wet and dry conditions at Spa. Its a long lap after all.

10 Seconds is perfectly normal, even for shorter tracks. That is fully wet and not damp or wet-ish :P;D.

LOL. Started practice in the Lambo, but the engine sounds are so attrocious I had to change car as it was driving me potty and I couldn't hear anything. Took the Panoz under advice from team mates and it felt fairly neutral although typically American. Managed to get a lap in whilst it was still mildly moist so started 10th or something.

First lap I went off under braking at the end of the first long straight - noooob. Then a couple of laps later I came across a stationary Porsche in the same place, unable to avoid and I rammed it hard. Went to pit the next lap to get a new front end and couldn't turn off the engine to refuel. Ignition is mapped to a joystick button and the joystick button is mapped to a key. Sorry for the chat, that was me trying every key before giving up. :-D

Have to say I hate all the new engine noises for the cars, they're dire and don't fit in with the other cars at all and sound like some Japanese death cry or something. Awful.

Hope you had more fun than me.

Quali went well 10th/11th I think.

Race was going well, car handling well..everything great :rockon:    then Jon Marjanen.. tries an over take into the 2nd gear right hander at the end of the straight and I am shunted off...disaster..waited..but was conscious I was stranded over part of the track which was probably blind to on coming drivers..looked clear.. tried to move off track and I think there was some kind of contact with someone..sorry hope it didn't ruin your race...got going eventually..but rear end damage..end of my race tumbleweed

Hmm, no idea why I was so pants tonight but the car just felt horrid from the pace lap (when I went off twice), through the race (when the fronts were either overheating or too cold), to the moment when MJ spun coming out of Eau Rogue and I wiped my lights off on him.

Then I tried to type "LOL" in chat and it decided to cut my engine and switch my view. So I gave up. ::)

ps. Driving down the middle of the track is not a legitimate defending strategy. >:(

Good start but went too long on slicks when the rain came. I was then little too keen to get back out quickly...result...stop and go for pit lane speed.  :oops:

Started to get back into it to then diasaster struck again. Went into the pits to change back to slicks...selected wrong tyres by mistake..tried to cancel by hitting the ESC key..big mistake..DNF  >:(

Interesting race. Hopefully learnt more about tyre choices.

I've never liked this track from previous experience & this week/race has done nothing to improve my opinion of it. >:(
In fact, it is the only track I've done in GTR2 that I dislike & it's only the 2nd time I abandoned a working car mid-race (the other time was at Spa too).  :ban:


p.s. I assume I'm in the minority here?

uuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuu(iiiiiii),uuuu(iiiiiii),uuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuu
uuuuuuuuuuuu,.....

Lol@sound of F430 (well said, Psuedo ;D ); lol@weather.  ::)

Started to watch the pit entrance longingly when the tracks started to dry, was close to call the pit-crew when it started raining again. Was closing on Freqie, then he spun at Eau Rouge. :(  Damn, was looking forward to actually race you for the first time. :P  Or were you just teasing me?  ;)

Well done, modders. The car's great and I'll get used to the sound.  8)   I don't think 997 is slower, even in the rain, the laps I was close to them were fairly equal, even faster on exit. So I guess I was the most patient.  :D

Too bad for the spin, MJ, you were close. Bad luck, JPS.

TT  

P.S. I love the track, Legzy.  :wub:

Whoops....crashed out of the lead with 15 mins to go. Bugger! :wetfish:

Had a few problems round fast corners with understeer, but also had exit oversteer. The Gallardo is pretty difficult to drive, and I could only get it sort of quick with a rock solid suspension set and lowered.....which was rubbish in the wet! Was pleased to still be leading towards the end, but lost it out of Eau Rouge and wreaked the front end. Job done.

Congrats podium  8)

Really sorry about that. I wasn't trying to overtake, I braked pretty early into the corner and I was on the inside incase you braked earlier than I did. I was going to let you into the corner but I was closer to you than it seemed and as you turned in my front end clipped you. Again, sorry. :(

My own race was terrible, when the rain started it was fine really going with slicks, but when I went in to change tires I made the wrong choice and suffered from that a lot. I was really slow. The front tires were always too cold. I had a few spins. After I had a big crash on top of eau rouge I limped back to the pits, got some fuel on and took the right tires. After that the car went well and after truetom lapped me I was able to keep up with him without much pushing. Oh well at least I finished. I'm going to do some more testing in the wet with the different tyres.

No worries .. Jon....One of those things...didn't suffer too much pain :'( with it being a test race :)

Lol TT.....I have my Teamspeak button mapped to the letter 'U'.....and I had been chatting b4 I tried to congrat you.  ::)

I like Spa...never usually do too well there though.

Nicked a podium tonight through pitting at what must have been the correct time for some hard wets and no fuel...33 seconds stop  ;D. That got me up where I didn't belong  ;)

Good race...cars all seemed to perform pretty much as expected and the driving I saw was all spot on.

Did get up to 2nd with Jan like a rash all over my rear, but I binned it putting the power down too soon and made a mess of the suspension. That left me 3rd with 3 laps left....35 secs up on [email protected] managed to limp it round enough to cross the line about 4 secs in front  :o....another lap?  ;) :laugh:

Grats to TT and Jan
Unlucky FreQ.......(Rope for sale!) :laugh:

Yes Legzy, you are in the minority ;D

Incredible race, Spa is so difficult in the wet :sweatdrop:

2 off track excursions and 2 pit stops, so I am happy with my 5th place result :)

Lol psuedo, I would have loved another lap :D

As I had a rubbish qualifying I tried something different to the rest in the race, which was starting on slicks and not pitting until I was going to run out of fuel, no matter how hard rain was.

I was really surprised with how fast the car was on slicks under the rain (and I think the other cars too, did you all start on slicks, FreQ, TT, etc.?). It started to rain hard on lap 7-8 when the leaders pitted, but I kept going with a wet track and spray behind the cars, and I was going only around 10 seconds a lap slower, on slicks!! Was pretty strange, I think something should be done with it, no idea how from my part of course ;D

So with the not-too-poor-considering-I-was-on-slicks pace I kept the lead until FreQ caught me back after his pitstop (of course such a long pitlane helped me with that) I spun off right after that and quit, as I had nothing to do from that moment, wrong tyres and the rest having caught me. And it was becoming more and more undrivable on slicks so it was safer to retire :)

Yes, Busi, I started on medium slicks, full fuel. When the rain started I was watching my laptimes and after 20 minutes I was closing to my testing wet laptimes, so I decided to pit as it didn't look like the raining will stop and the car will be more stable with the same laptimes if the raining would get worse (and it did ;D ). Pitted 1 lap after Freq, I think, took hard wets and topped the tank (I was left with 20 after finishing). Your times (10 seconds +) on slicks in the rain are incredible, Busi!  :o  How much wing did you have? I had 5 and this was impossible, I was 10+ sec slower on wets...  :P

TT 

Replay and Provisional results now available

wow, that was a roller coaster of a race for me with varying fortunes.

First off, Spa in changeable weather conditions over an enduro length is just fantastic  :tt1: ..thats exactly how Spa should be and makes it part of the challenge of racing on what is already a superb track regardless of weather. Loved the strategy it forces, great fun.  8)

Joined late in qually as got my times all wrong for the sessions, thinking it was practise starting later :(
Only managed 1 flying lap and on 2nd lap around i was 2-3 seconds up on my time with 2 corners to go when the session ended  ::)
So qualied 16th, only for some numpty to rear end me on the warm up lap and punt me into the scenery  >:(...cant believe this still happens  :wacko:
Dropped to 2nd or 3rd last as a result and now really fired up !
At the green flag i drove like a demon, slicing through the traffic and made it back upto 16th before the first couple of laps were over, taking no prisoners  :)
A few laps later i was upto 11th and chasing 10th when the rain started to fall. This was where my first tactical error showed itself as i had picked my dry setup, tweaked for a possible wet race rather than a wet setup tweaked for a possible dry race. :P and gradually the car got slower and slower as i corrected the oversteers and understeers through the corners. Did a few laps like that then dived in for some rain tyres.
Thats where tac error number two came in !....i put blinking soft wets on instead of hard wets in my haste  :blink:
They actually worked great for a number of laps and i soon found myself fighting Jan for 5th place as people started falling off or pitting later for their wets.
Me and Jan had a bit of a dice in the tricky conditions until near flat out in blanchimont when my rear end broke away and i had a multiple high speed spin that gave Jan a whack as he flew through behind me. Sorry about that.
Alas the exact same thing happened a few laps later to DG as he followed me up through Eau Rouge  :( I was actually pitting at the end of that lap as my soft wet rears had decided to catch fire in temperature and turn to melted cheese, so apologies also to Dave as my spinning top car collected him..i was just a passenger half way up the hill  :sweatdrop:
I pitted okay but with an RSR shaped like a 50p piece, took on too much fuel as brain couldnt quickly calc what i needed and hard wets and set off to chase the top 10 once more as i had slipped to 14th  :'(
Re-caught a few guys in last half hour and finished a semi-decent 9th place, considering my dramas.  :)

997 was great, really enjoyed driving it in the mixed weather conditions. A valuable learning curve. My problem is the ideal wet and ideal dry setups are so far apart it makes it hard to compromise for changing conditions, but guess that applies to most cars/drivers. It was superb in the dry but quite tricky in the wet, but thats also lack of wet weather experience for me. I only had 7 wing on the car,  :o so no wonder it was oversteery when it really tipped down.

Big congrats to TT on his maiden win in the F430, superb job, and congrats to the other podium guys and finishers.  :thumbup1:

Wow. wow. wow !
I love love love love love Spa!
Legzy. you will learn to love it too :)
Started with half fuel on soft slicks!
Brilliant in the wet too!
Changed to soft wets when we got to 100% rain!
Luckily I stayed out when it looked like the rain had stop and my tyres were cooking!
Rain got worse, tyre temps came down and made it to the end!
Fantastic fun, best race in ages!

Thanks all!

Oh and love the sound of the 430 !

M.

uuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuuu,uuuuuuuuuuuuu    :lol:

Very happy with last nights race,on the podium for the first time since ages :D :D  MJ you collected my teammate Evert at Blanchimont not me,he told me that he would take terrible revenge next race  ;D ;D
I agree Spa is the best circuit in the world ( sry Legzy).I come there for more then 20 years to watch all kinds of races and guys for sure the wheather there changes so fast that its a real setupnightmare for the drivers.Still they all love to race there.
Really hope that it will be on our race calendar coming season.
Eau Rouge and Blanchimont flat......a thrill ( in real life only F1 cars can do that).

Jan

I think I was on 2-8 wings TT. Well the +10 seconds laptimes were just after you all pitted. By the time FreQ caught me, around lap 12 I think, my laptimes must have been slower but I couldn't take a look at the laptimes as I needed to have 3 eyes focused on the track and the car handling lol but for sure I wasn't going more than 15 seconds slower despite the heavy rain. As I said I found it odd.

Wow, that was a tough, tiring race in the Gallardo. I'd only really practiced in the dry so I was learning the limits as I went along.

I think the new DDS files and other graphic update for GTR2 had an adverse effect on my frame rate with the rain and so many cars. With 10 AI cars in the dry I was getting 40-50fps but it dropped 20-ish for the first part of the race. It also had the nasty habit of dropping to single digit fps for periods of about 10sec - going through Eau Rouge at 2fps is not a good experience :)

Didn't really race anybody as I had major trouble keeping the thing planted, but I didn't have a major off until the very end. That was me just being very tired by this point. But at least I finished. :) 

Pseudo, my mic was shot so I couldn't join Teamspeak. Will sort it this week.

Was looking forward to that, but had to jump out during qualifying coz i was getting low frame rates like you
Mcfids (didn't use any DDS files in this one) got back in and started from the back and got the same 2fps on the straight after Eau rouge after a few laps so quit to be on the safe side ???

i think Spa is quite heavy on fps, being a big circuit and lots of tree covered scenery. Add the rain to that and a full grid and it can affect lower spec pc's.

I had no probs fps wise thankfully, not even the merest stutter.  :)

Don't depress me MJ ??? I'm not that low spec am I ???

AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual core 4200+
4gb 800Mhz dual channel RAM
8800GT 1gb graphics card

Oh yer 4th, not 5th. WHoohoo :D

I started on meds all round and put hard wets on during my first pit stop. I would have been better off with soft wets though I think.

I've got a similar setup, which in theory should blitz GTR2, even in the rain with a full grid. So it was a bit of a shock to find it had turned into a slide show - normally get 40-50fps running 1680x1050 with max-ish details

AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual core 4400+
4GB  RAM
Radeon 4870 512MB graphics card
 
I'll have a play tonight to see what caused it. 

Well i'll make a stand with Legzy, Spa isnt one of my favorite tracks either.

Didnt really stay too long, two drive thru's just annoyed me as i wasnt exactly pushing it into the pitlane so decided to quit. I guess each track is different on how strict they are.

Started on soft fronts, med rear and they were actually lasting quite well, and i wanted to stay on them aslong as possible as the handling suddenly changes with wets but about 25 mins in the rain was just dropping the tyre pressures and i seemed to be one of the last to pit. Came out in 14th and the field seem to be a bit depleted already but then i got the 2nd stop go i'd had enough.
Only had 1 lap but i wasnt sure weather the wets were that much faster in that rain. Did it ever stop raining?

Oh yeah, I was struggling with 50-60fps at times, definately looked jerky at times. If we are running more wet ones i'll have to drop some of the settings down.

That would be me, really sorry about it. Wasn't prepared for a traffic jam there, the bimmer in front dodged to the grass and I couldn't stop in time.

Rest of the race wasn't much better, pitted in for wet tires as soon as the rain started, which turned out to be a slippery mistake. After a few laps ran a corner wide while dodging the lapping cars, trashed my front end and decided to call it a day.

Then I assume you have absolutely all the graphics setting to the max?? Because I have a much less powerfull machine (AMD Sempron 2600+ 1 gb Ram 1'61 GHz, 8600GT) but settings on medium/low values and I didn't have any problems at all (fps going around 50 at the beginning, with low pics of 25-30 maybe).

In Spa you get a HUGE difference on fps between medium and low circuit detail. And you don't miss anything by setting it low, you see more than you need to ::)

Sounds like the slower your PC is, the faster you are!



Wheres my old 486...