SimRacing.org.uk

UKGPL Season 17 - Novices Trophy - Race 2 - 65 mod - Albi

The second race of the Novices Trophy is at the French F2 circuit Albi north of Toulouse, a small tight circuit where the Coopers and BT7s will be substantially less handicapped.  The track is by Alain Bosco and is very popular with GPLers, visit his site to download it here: http://a.bosco.free.fr/gpl/albi67.htm (http://a.bosco.free.fr/gpl/albi67.htm)      

Use caution at the start, this applies to Bernie and Burt as well, I wouldn't want the Courbe Armand Brouzes to become a repetition of the wreck at L'Eau Rouge!

Please use the updated 65 mod for this race  

The 65 mod update has surprised us as it was a low-key announcement, and it isn't available on the 'Legends of 65' home site, where the 65 mod is hosted.  However, the effort put into it certainly merits a season's testing, without which feedback and any further development would be made difficult.

The updated layout features are very welcome, with the ability to record best lap times at addon tracks and to have 65 specific tracks. The new collision boxes are also a great improvement.  Though the new slipstream code will need extensive testing, the preliminary race seemed to show that it would be a definite improvement in racing terms, without the controversy over its extent, as with the 66 mod.

It seems a pity that the opportunity wasn't taken for more extensive changes to the 65 mod, especially as this means that we'll be racing cars that have compensation for the absence of slipstream built into the top speed, yet with slipstream present.  Though it might be a consideration that an update with corrected and slower speeds would then not be useful for rank, as the cars would be slower, rank should always take second place to realism, and the ranks could continue with the original mod.  However, an extensive reworking of the 65 mod might have taken resources that aren't available to the community.  While I'm disappointed because I'm not keen on the concept of patches that make the carsets faster without regard to realism, at least it's still possible that we could still have a 65 mod v3 based on the 66 physics and made incompatible by the addition of extra cars to prevent the unrealistic faster 2.02 mod being used by overcompetitive racers.

Thanks to all involved with producing the update.  If the new slipsteam code works as well as it seems it might, perhaps it could help persuade the authors of the 66 mod to rework their code as well!

Please be in IGOR UKGPL chatroom by 8:55 p.m.
(You will need to set up a channel called #ukgpl if you haven't already done so)
IGOR and Race passwords: see above (#post_event_password)

Server ukgpl5
IP address  TBC

Race date = 17-03-2009
Time = 21:00
Track = Albi
Variant = 65F1
Damage Model = INT
Qually time = 30 minutes.
Race length = long (24 laps)

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=206;theme=6)

CHASSIS ALLOCATION

Ferrari Norbert Roguk Fabio
Lotus Al Vos Mike Scott
BRM Billy Hezemans Hurtubise
BT11 Graham Maestro Clutch Nhance
Honda Bookie JamesRye
Cooper Asbjeurn* Ian* Steve B* Steve B2* Geoff* Bernie* Nicky*
BT7 Aulden Burt* Glyn

*drivers also assigned an Amateurs chassis

James wasn't at Spa, but was going to race a Honda- though he may revert to his earlier Ferrari if he wishes.

65 Mod

These were the 65 drivers
BT7 Bonnier, Baghetti, Hulme (Bonnier drove for Walker)
BT11 Brabham Gurney Gardner Anderson Siffert (Siffert drove for Walker, Gardner and Anderson were privateers)
Lotus Clark Spence Rodriguez Mitter Russo Solana (and Maggs Hailwood Attwood Amon and Ireland for Parnell)
Ferrari Surtees Bandini Rodriguez Vaccarella Bondurant Scarfiotti
Honda Ginther Bucknum
Cooper McLaren Rindt
BRM Hill Stewart

The 1965 season was the last to use the controversial 1500cc formula which had begun after 1960, to the initial advantage of Ferrari.  The 1965 cars are smaller than the 1967 cars and have less torque and hence more grip.  It was claimed that they 'cornered on rails', however this allowed the Grand Prix series to retain the use of circuits which were otherwise to prove extremely dangerous.

The 1965 cars are ideal for those new to GPL as they allow the tracks to be learnt in light reliable cars, however these are also full Formula One cars, and quite fast.... Albi was a Formula 2 track in 1965.

David Wright's 'Legends' site http://fp.gplegends.plus.com/  (http://fp.gplegends.plus.com/) has the download of the 2.0.1 version (under 'details') as well as being an exceptional guide to both 1965 and 1967, for those interested in Formula One history.  The 2.02 update is available here: http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/1965mod_PATCH_v2.0.2_Setup.zip (http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/1965mod_PATCH_v2.0.2_Setup.zip)

Indeed, Dave, the slipstream parameters for the latest version of the 65 mod seem to be spot on or at least closer to what feels realistic than what any other mod has. I really hope the devs would listen and consider working in the direction of realism and ignore the issue with gplrank as in the end we are racing each other online and the rank is mostly a totally unnecessary thing. Gone are the days when everyone and their mother were competing through ranks and apart from some leagues using rank for serving out handicaps to their drivers, it wouldn't make a difference if we're provided with an even better and, more importantly, realistic mod.
I'm also all up for adjusting 66 mod slipstream, I was once more convinced how ridiculous it is after yesterday's Historic Race at Spa. Normally I shouldn't have had any chance of catching Paul's Ferrari once he build a 2 secs or so gap after the start, but that wasn't the case as if by some KERS in my Honda I was receiving a better power output on every straight.  :D

I wont be around tomorrow going to visit my dad, who I not seen in 3 months I know its a short time, but for me its long time since i used to see him ever other week lol.

Well I seem to have collected more penalties than Man United from the Spa race , so I will now have to tread very carefully

The way my season's going so far , I look like  becoming UKGPL's first ever red card candidate  ::)

Sorry Burt can't make the race but at least it will be one less accident for me to worry about  ;D

unfortunately im not going to be able to make this one...

Sorry not make this one guys but I was late getting back from the hospital where I was having blood work done, also bone marrow samples taken as well as samples of the bone itself.......was really hoping to be back in time as I had practiced well for Albi, a track I happen to like a lot.
Oh well...guess I`ll just have to practice for good ol` Kyalami now won`t I :)

Hope all ok re hospital visit Glyn…

Congrats to podium and all finishers – well done Mike for third and more team points.
Was a bit off my best in Qually but no complaints. Race was best I’ve had purely for the fun factor ;D  ;D  ;D
Spent the whole time racing as opposed to a lonely drive – looked up 9 laps left, looked up again last lap…
Great fun and no incidents beyond a few race thrills and spills. Enjoyed following Al and others for quite a bit. Bad luck Al for trimming the grass near the end – we swapped team points  ;)
There was one close call - thought I'd spotted a four leaf clover so went to have a look. Waited for a few to go through then started to rejoin and, stone me, James Ryeman was shooting through with rockets strapped to his car - close call. Sorry if I gave you a near coronary, would have not gone down well had I knocked out the race leader  :blink:
Happy to finish 8th, roll on the next one…

Thanks Vos...mostly routine blood work and biopsies after my emergency op for a gall bladder trying to eminate Mt.Vesuvius   lol

All is looking good so far so that`s something :)  just a wee bit tender and tired right now   :D

Qually was not going well and I did more laps than anyone else during the session. Eventually I pulled out a low 1:17 so I settled for that and put on race fuel to test the grip etc and actually was surprised at how much I could push it and on my last effort scraped a 1:16.9 putting me 4th.

Hezemans bogged down on the line and I got into 3rd where I stayed until the chequered flag. The first 10 laps or so were spent about 1 second behind Nicky who would occasionally lay some rubber down or clip the grass but then I would close and do the same so I never really got a good attempt at a pass. Then he put in 3 back to back high 1:16s and as we hit the traffic he opened a bit of a lead and got through it better than me.

I was lapping somebody (Pete Maestro I think) when I missed the braking point at DD and went for a bit of cross country behind the ad hoardings. Once I got going again I had lost about 20 seconds so Nicky was long gone and the gap to him stayed consistent until the end. The gap to 4th was around 7 seconds but people seemed to be swapping places back there which helped me peg that gap and relax a bit towards the end.

I must thank Pete Maestro especially for yielding two or three times when I lapped him, spun and lapped him again.

I was pleased with how I drove the whole race other than the 1 spin as every lap apart from lap 1 and that spin was a 1:17 with a 1:16 thrown in for good measure and the rest of the field just seemed to fall away. The lead 3 seemed to spend the first 10 laps dragging each other away from the pack and I was never really under threat.

On to Kyalami then which is a track everybody should know well so that may even the field out again and help those that maybe didn't know Albi so well.

Nice race at Albi, made a stupid start, putting my sigarette out in the tray!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D, so I mist the flag!!!!! :P :P

Had a nice race at Albi  :), and was kept honest by Nicky. Managed not to spin, which is where I usually fall down. As I knew that I would miss Spa, I had practiced this track for around a month and found the secret to a good lap was to reduce the ramp angles in the setup because otherwise I just kept spinning on the exit of the hairpin.

Did anyone else have a problem where cars would disappear and re-appear. Maybe its down to my connection speed, which is a measly 2 Meg.

Looking forward to Kylami

 :) :)
Did had a nice enjoyable first race in  a Cooper  .
Except the fact its wrong painted , I really like that car. Qualifying to me was ok , first stint set me 2nd and so I only went out for another short try with race fuel load.
Wasn’t sure what to do with flying Ryeman :
Option 1 was trying to push as hard as I can from the beginning of the race , so maybe Ryeman would run into a mistake . but as I knew I cant follow him on the straight even in slipstream , and the downside would definitely overheating tyres and the high risk of earning an exploding engine , I forgot about that option.

Option 2 was simply hoping on an mistake by Ryeman due to lost concentration or an unlucky pass through the traffic to the end off the race.
Well I did that , but soon I realised James was real fast and kept  close behind and I was really worried been catch up due slipstream at the straight. That’s why I started my hard late brakin at DD more earlier in the race then I intended to do . ( that where the high 16 came from .. ).
As well more earlier then I expected it will happened the traffic starts. Due to luck I could pass trough without been slowed down too much . thx goes to all drivers here for clean style.

Last quarter of the race was nothing to work on  , Ryeman was far away and gone and James fall back in traffic . so 2nd seemed to be save to me . BUT then the q-red bar of pribluda starts to grew and settled down at 70%  ; and wouldn’t have been surprised on a freeze or lag sent me wide . Luckily nothing of that happened !!!.

And big hand to Rymean on well deserved win , to James on great 3rd and to all .



Thx all for nice racing .

See ya at Kyalami
 :) :)

I've had no incident reports from this race, I'll be closing the opportunity tomorrow night, after which you will have had your say!

If anyone is tempted by the 67s I may run a test meeting, just a couple of informal short races so you can spin the night away.  Post on this thread if you'd like to attend: https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6037.0 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6037.0)