SimRacing.org.uk

UKGPL Season 18 (2009) Novices Trophy (65) - Watkins Glen (GP) - Sep 8

Welcome to the Grand Opener for UKGPL Season 18, the 10th anniversary year of UKGPL.

The opening race of the season will be held at Watkins Glen, USA which hosted a United States Grand Prix for twenty consecutive years. The race received the Grand Prix Drivers' Association award for the best organized and best staged GP of the season in 1965, 1970 and 1972 and unfortunately, like many other circuits, had to be altered to cope with faster cars in later years.

Please be careful on Lap 1 as you make your way through the Esses where things can get congested, and don't forget that lap 1 incidents attract an extra place penalty and can usually be avoided.

Remember you cannot win the race on the first lap but you can go a long way to loosing it.  The driver who wins is usually the driver who makes the least mistakes.  Remember if you need to do a shift-R then you will have to perform a stop and go in the pit lane unless you are sure it was totally the fault of another driver.

Reserve drivers should not join the race server until there are only 30 mins of qualifying left - this is to ensure the full-time drivers have had a fair chance to join the server.
No drivers should go out on track until there is 30 minutes of qualifying left - this helps to ensure all the full time drivers have joined the server successfully before qualifying begins.
Please restrict chat to "pit in" / "pit out"  messages, and at the end of the race avoid chat until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.

Please be in the 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 = 6.UKGPL
IP Address = TBC
Race Date = 08-09-2009
Time = 21:00
Track = Watkins Glen
Variant = 65F1
Damage Model = Intermediate
Qually Time = 30 minutes.
Race Length = Long (33 laps)

Password: see above (#post_event_password)

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=223;theme=6)

Chassis allocations are below, and the same chassis will be used for all races this season unless there is an adjustment agreed by the moderator.  Please note chassis adjustments can be made at any time not just at the mid season review.  Good luck!

FULL TIME DRIVERS
Burtoner - a choice between the BT7 again or the Cooper
G Poole - BT11
Vosblod - Lotus
Happy Al - Lotus
Maestro - BT11
Nicky - Cooper
Bookie - Ferrari
Norbert - Ferrari
NHance - BRM
Al Heller - BRM
Il Lupo - Ferrari
RogUK - BRM
Mark65 - BT11
Barry De La Rosa - Ferrari
Billy Nobrakes - BT11
Bernie - Honda

RESERVE DRIVERS
Viss - choice between the Lotus and the Ferrari

Please use the updated 65 mod for this race.
If you have re-installed UKGPL over the summer break or are joining us for the first time, please don't forget to use the updated 65 mod which is available here: Jamesonline.net/UKGPL (http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/1965mod_PATCH_v2.0.2_Setup.zip)

Just wondered why I'm restricted to those 2 chassis. I was just about to post to request the Honda! :-)

Also, I have a channel called #gpl, where I can join races etc. I've added one called #ukgpl, but do I need to enter certain settings?

Cheers,

BdlR

Update to this - I have found it impossible to set up UKGPL channel on igor (thanks to john roberts for his tireless help!). I managed to set it up on Vroc though.

BdlR

The Ferrari and Lotus are slightly quicker than the Honda.  We have plenty of Ferraris and a couple of Lotuses so I have no problem with you taking a Honda (that will make 2 Hondas and hence a nicely balanced grid) but you'll have to stick with that for the rest of the season.

Only the password which is published at the top of this thread

I'll take the Ferrari.

BdlR

I wonder what sort of laptimes I should be doing in bt7?

Make sure you have this in your igor.ini file (program files/gplsecrets/igor);
[ RaceListServers ]
IP                        = gplrank.info

further down...
IRCServer                 = "irc.shadowworld.net"

Other then that I can't see why it wouldn't work. Not a fix but chat in VROC then jump to IGOR to join the race (assuming you can see the race list in IGOR). At the worst case you can bypass both and join the race direct using the server IP.

Burtoner-There was only 1 BT7 at Watkins Glen last season & he qualified with 1 min 12.27secs which is about where I am if I try a BT7 but I am not one of the fastest novices. This was 16th on the grid. However he eventually finished 9th in the race. You can look this up yourself by clicking on season 17 on the left of the front page of ukgpl selecting novices & then click on the top of that race points list.

Norm H

Yes - I have all that but no joy...

BdlR

Stuck on that one then - try posting on RSC http://forum.racesimcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=366 (http://forum.racesimcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=366)

So 11 laps in, I'm sliding merrily through the esses safely tucked into 4th place when the screen freezes. Engine roaring away, I'm frozen. Tried shift-r, enter, esc, nothing worked. Only ctrl-alt-delete got me out.

Finally managed to get past the inevitable 1st lap pile-up, thought I might finally finish a race, and cleanly to boot! Not today. Too bad :(

Thanks guys, it was fun ;)

Sorry to here that Mark its a real bummer when you get a screen freeze or a disco

assuming you have a good conection and frame rate screen freezes are usually down to the grafix drivers being unsuitable for GPL usually the earlier drivers work beter than the new ones .

hope you get the gremlins sorted so you can enjoy the whole race  :)

Firstly congrats to Al, Nicky and Bernie.

Quallied 6th and less than half a second behind the leader so happy with that - bodes for a close season. Finished 6th so no complaints.

My race was a tale of three sections;
1) Lap 1 - Following Rog - tucked in at the tail end of the leading pack
2) Lap 7 - Following Bernie - the result of an intermission up ahead
3) Lap 26 - Following Rog again - there was an acrobatics display in front and the grass looked a better option

I also have an apology to make to my team-mate Rog. After the display I slightly saw the red mist, I saw a car pass which I took as you, it wasn't and I drove into your path - big sorry (if our new eye in the sky Phil spots that it might be appalling or blatant  ;) )

Anyway great racing - onto the next one...

PS: Just noticed the first seven finished in exactly the same position they got in qually

Great result for the team, well done to Al H. I felt a little bit like Badeor out their, at one point in qualifying my team mates were 1,2 & 3 and I was next to last. At least it forced me to get a better time, only moved me 1 place up the grid, but I was happy with my time.

Race went OK, to be honest, better than expected. First of all I must apologies to Norbert, and also to Norm Stance. I must of got my braking points messed up on the first lap, first incident was with Norm at the Loop. He braked sooner than I expected and I had to take avoiding action, I made a clean pass on the outside but that was luck rather than anything else, sorry about that, I must of scared you, because I scared the crap out of myself.

I should of really learnt from that, cold brakes and full tanks mean that people are taking it easy on the first lap or two. Sorry to Norbert because it obviously didn’t go into my thick head. Coming to the Big Bend Norbert was in front, I was chasing with Norm also next to me, Norbert braked sooner than I expected I tried to duck underneath to avoid him but didn’t quite make it. Very sorry about that.

After that I had a lonely race, I took a stop and go for the above incident, I also needed another Ctrl & R due to me missing a braking point later. Apart from those two little off’s I had a clean race.

I passed Barry De La Rosa quite a few times, some of them where a bit hairy, but I believe that some others had it worst than me. I would say that everyone has to start somewhere, and I could see that he was really trying to get out of the way, but just lost control of his car. Mods, please don’t penalise him too much and put him off, as it wasn’t that long ago that I was in his position and it’s off putting enough racing against a quick and competitive field.

Time for me to get some more practice in, and please don’t tell the press about my drive, I don’t want to be replaced by Fisichella just yet :) 

Season 18 is shaping up to be a great contest. I’ve managed to find a bit more pace to make me sort of competitive and really enjoying the Brabham. I think my haul of 8 championship points from 8 starts in Season 17 must be something of a record for UKGPL.
Congrats to Al Hellar on pole & first place – downgrading from a Louts to the BRM seems to have made you even quicker.
This was the debut race in the 65’s for my team, Black Night Racing. We were a bit down on numbers, Pete should be back next week & hope to see Graham on the grid. I suspect my team Mark has been putting in double practice sessions over the summer. I just managed to pip him in qually but he beat me off the grid & powered up to fourth place before the computer gremlins destroyed his race. Hope that was just a one off Mark you should get some good finishes this season.
Race was fairly uneventful, one wheel on the grass in the Esses put paid to any chance of staying with the pack. Also a minor incident going into T1 somewhere mid-race, I was picking place to overtake Barry when Norm “No Chance” saw gap but clipped my rear. Norm got the worst of it & it was just a racing incident in my book. Haven’t checked the replay so I hope I’ve got that right.
Also just mention a great overtake on me by Bernie. One of the early laps I backed off a tad to avoid any contact with Mark in T1 & Bernie flashed clean through a gap I didn’t know was there. I think I’ve figured out his strategy – he qualifies with a bit to spare & then carves his was through the field as his special medicine kicks in. Bernie revealed the magic formula – one part Viagra to two parts Jamiesons whiskey – but I think you need to be a GPL veteran to handle that.
Finally a word of welcome to our latest Newbie, Barry. GPL is difficult to learn & near impossible to master. Stick with it Barry & you will improve. I think your Ferrari got switched for the SS Enterprise –  with warp factor 9 – maybe an issue with the connection caused your car to jump across the race track & made passing you a bit of a lottery. Running with default setups will handicap you – the brake balance at 59% or so kills the tyres. I’ve got good setup guide which explains how the different variables work. If you want a copy send me a Personal Message with your e-mail address.
Looking forward to Solitude – although I do need to figure it out.

I practised a heck of a lot in the off season on 9 of last season's tracks in a Honda & after many hours improved my BT11 PB's by hundredths at Mosport & Silverstone only. Fed up I copied the Honda set ups into a BRM (6 gears 12000 rpm) & within 1 hour had new PB's at Mosport & Kyalami so I asked for a BRM & when I found I had one practised until I got within 3 hundredths of BT11 PB at the Glen & left it till race day.

Qually slower than my BT11 time I was glad we had a newcomer or I was last. Did actally chase down the Bernie/Billy duel but Bernie got past & cleared off. Billy got baulked  & I made an attempt at a pass which failed with a shift r & S&G result. A few "offs" of my own. What is it with me & Happy Al. Everytime we are running in adjacent places something happens to one of us. With 6 laps to go I was 5 secs up on Al when I crashed for no reason. Surely it's got to get better.

I'll close by starting my season long campaign for Mosport to be included in season 19 schedule

Norm H

Thanks Billy. I was knackered after that race. I thought I did ok, what with finishing and all. I wasn't aware of me warping all over the track of course - that must explain why I was rammed at speed at one point!

I'll take you up on that guide - I barely got into 4th in the default setup.

When are the results published?

Thanks for the support. I did have two Shift-Rs, but both were the result of being hit by other cars. I believe there is somewhere to state this after a race, but I couldn't see where.

BdlR

Barry, race results and replay will be here when Tim has uploaded them

http://www.jamesonline.net/UKGPL (http://www.jamesonline.net/UKGPL)

If you want some Lotus setups then I have some here that I used last season.

http://www.jamesonline.net/gpl/downloads.htm (http://www.jamesonline.net/gpl/downloads.htm)

You will only be able to submit incident reports when the results have been posted at the top of this thread which usually happens the day after the race but it is when the moderator has time to do it.

If you do submit an incident report make sure you include the timestamp.

I was quite surprised to find I had qualified P3 not having run the Honda much previously I wasn't expecting much and having spent the last 10 mins of practise nurturing a decent race set up I fully expected to see myself relegated to a more usual grid position.

Made a great start but arriving in the braking zone for the big bend i was suprised by Al's early braking which kind of knocked me off balance and half expecting a clout from the rear so I got back on the gas but slid a tad wide onto the turf and was lucky not to break it ,re joining in about 8th place . top marks for nippon engineering .

Then lap 7 and I get gifted  3 places  due to others misfortunes but a lap later I again make a mess of the same corner and lose 2 of the places just gained , but lady luck stays with me and im able to re join unhindered, further down the road Im studying the form book and waying up the situation when I suddenly come across a recovering Vos and almost rear end him , he latches onto my tow and now I become  mechanicaly harrassed by the Vos ! who pressed me hard for quite a while before I saw him spinning away his chances in my mirrors .
(really sad to see you dissapear there Vos)   :D

After that little episode it became a long and lonely drive in what now had become 4th place ,thanks to those who chose to take a break ( or brake ) and except for lapping pedro de la rossa what seemed about 17 times ( by now you will have realised just how useless the default set up is escpecially the de fault gear set )

Then with 3 laps to go I came across the battle for 3rd btw the ferrari of  Il Lupo  and Nicky's very well driven Coop .

Il lupo's  fezz went wide into the barriers at BB and I was able to take advantage but couldnt get on terms with Niks coop in spite of setting PB's on the last two laps . So rolled over the line in P3 , what a great result

All in all quite a satisfying start to the season ,though I have a feeling the next round Sollytude (best jappy speak ) and not my favourite , will be a bit more of a challenge .

 :) :) :)
 

 

That must be the hardest fought yet also one of the most enjoyable races I've had in GPL. Nicky drove an excellent race & we were wheel-to-wheel racing for 25 laps. Shame that it didn't continue until the flag as it was a great scrap & was shaping up for a real grandstand finish.

Nicky sped into the lead at the start but by the time we reached the Loop I was able to draw alongside - my problem was with Nicky in my blind spot somewhere on the inside I didn't want to risk turning in for the normal line, so elected to go around the outside to leave him room. That might explain why I braked early Bernie (though I am reliably informed that I brake early all the time!) Came perilously close to spinning off but somehow emerged from my trip around the Loop's perimeter in first place. After that it was just constant pressure from Nicky for lap after lap - I had the advantage down the straights but Nicky was much quicker through the twisty bits. By lap 5 we had caught Barry who seemed so busy fighting his default setup that he probably didn't realise we were there - that led to some errrm interesting moments but also bought me a little breathing space as Nicky came off worse (cheque's in the post Barry ;)). Didn't last long & Nicky was soon large in my mirrors once again & with Fabio right behind him we now had a 3-way battle for the lead. Apart from me almost losing it at the final corner & snagging Nicky in the process (sorry about that) it was a really clean battle that only finally got settled on lap 25 when we encountered Barry's "warp factor 9" Ferrari. I saw it hopping all over the track & wasn't really sure where I could pass so I slowed down.. as I hesitated Nicky went through but he was promptly splattered by Barry's car as it bounced like Zebedee all over the track. I had to take to the grass along the main straight to avoid it but somehow got through in one piece & then had a relatively clear run to the finish line. Anyway congratulations to Nicky & Bernie for the podium & looking forward to another exciting race at Solitude.

I was using the chase view so had to rely on hearing cars coming and didn't see what was behind me until the very last second or so.

BdlR

thats not good  :o

You really want to use the in car view for GPL

the only view IMO  ::)

Hi Barry ,

like most people here i would recommend that you drive from the cockpit view , having said that is there any reason why you are using chase view like poor hardware/framerate , if so we might be able to help resolve some of these problems .

as a matter of interest do you have a steering wheel or other controller (this is not to say you must have a wheel as there are plenty of fast drivers that use a joystick)

also have you played many racing games/sims before ? because gpl can be very tricky for somebody not used to this type of racing .

don't get down hearted with your poor showing in your first race , because if you stick with it and ask for advice you will soon be going much faster .

john   

He has a wheel John, the one Vos sent to Billy, Billy sent to me and I sent to Barry.

I would also recomend the cockpit view at all times other than when rejoining the track if you have a restricted view of what may be coming.

I would also recomend not using the Force Feedback in that wheel straight away, but I don't like it anyway while others do.

Oh, and practise, practise and err, practise LOL.

Yep wean yourself off the chase view - you need those mirrors.

As John says stick with it and you will get faster. I started about a year ago and struggled to begin with but practice makes perfect - or far from it in my case.
Look out for our practice servers in IGOR and hop on - you'll find the motley crew are very helpful if you need advice.

Come on guys, there's no reason to stick to cockpit view. There were aliens who never even used it. Barty Mee and Dug Thomson come to mind. We didn't even know they were not using cockpit view until they said so some years later... Use whatever you feel comfortable with as long as you don't endanger others.  ;)

One must, IMO with chase view, is Pribluda. It gives far more information, especially in the absense of mirrors. ;)

 :) ;) :D ;D ::)
What an fantastic thrilling race !!!!!!!!!!! 25 laps of amazing wheel to wheel action , together with Al  and Fabio .
That was absolutely brilliant fun ,  bit less Barry's "warp factor 9" Ferrari. lol. .

Got an super start , served me the lead. But I did know I would be catch up at the straight to the Loop. That’s why I stood on right side  of the track. Well once again behind Al , I really benefit by  slipstream.  could  even  push at `the loop `, `big bend `and mostly  at `the 90 `.
But Al did such an fantastic job all over , I couldn’t passed him. And then there was Fabio with his Ferrari in my gearbox nearly for numbers of laps. He passed me after my Cooper got slightly contact with Al`s car at the 90. But luckily somehow I could made my way back into his slipstream and passed by at the Loop.
Well at Lap 25 Barry mixed up and instead of the lead I earned a trip through the clouds.
Luckily found myself back on track with my Cooper in one piece and none damage to engine or anything. Coming out 2nd  was only due to the fact that Fabio got bad luck at Lap 28 hitting into Barry , who came back to track. Guess Fabio`s Fezza was partly broken then , that’s why I could pass by easily at lap29.
P2 again  , but an speeding Bernie in my mirrors, burning one fastest race lap after the other into the asphalt. Thx god there where only 3 laps left…………..

Congratulation to Al on a very  well deserved win , to Fabio and Bernie and to all taken part .

See ya all at Solitude.

 :)
Hi Barry ,
 below some links to some useful GPL stuff. ( helps me a lot )
 F10 view or cockpit view for sure depends on personal preference.
Myself I started with F10 view back the days at WinVroc trying to keep the 67 beasts on the track. But that time I didn’t get seriously into GPL. Started my GP3 offline league time instead.
But when I came back to GPL 3years ago I decided to use cockpit view. At least watching the front springs and tyres working , is such so nice to look at.
However…

Another thing I noticed watching the replay  : if you got to be lapped try to leave the ideal line `and reduce speed a little bit then  till lapping is clearly done.

The program  called pribluda for sure is a big help. Its displayed the time distance  to drivers behind and in front , as well shows you if the driver behind is one who gonna lap you or one you could fight with ..

Hope to see you soon on practise server at Igor and plz feel free to ask if y alike too.





To me very helpfull stuff :

Floating mirrors for 65cars  at post 22 :
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=176551

For BT11 at post 114 http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?p=3978891#post3978891

Gplshift (e.c. supported up/down/back/forw positional change )
http://www.gplshift.dk/GPLshift/index.htm

Pribluda : (e.c. shows time distances to other drivers  )
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=310673

I definitely find it easier using chase view - always have in racing games.

I was really trying to keep out of the way but it was such a battle to keep it going in the right direction sometimes. I could have slowed down though. Duly noted...

By the way, is there some way I can watch a replay?

I have race experience, starting with Chequred Flag on the Speccy (no opposition drivers!), through to Geoff Crammond's GP on amiga and PC and PGR on XBox. I really enjoyed the realism of GP, and used to compete in full seasons against a mate where we'd be beating each other's lap times by 100ths of second, so I reckon we were racing near the limits of the cars.

Out of interest, what is the difference between amateur and novice series here? I expected to be racing against people of similar ability in the novice class?

Thanks for all the support and advice people,
BdlR

Check this: http://simracing.pl/forum/f196/dublowanie-8128/ (http://simracing.pl/forum/f196/dublowanie-8128/). It's article about lapping. It's in polish, but with google translator you should be able to read this ;)

Hi Barry - yes I think server replay is available to download here http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/2009.09.08_Watkins_Novs/

There are a plethora of free tools & add-ons for GPL but I'd argue that the single most useful is the GPL replay analyser which allows you (amongst many other things) to compare your laps to others & see exactly where & how you are losing time. You can grab that here http://gplra.pike.nu/  You should find me or some of the other guys lurking around on Igor in the evenings so you won't be short on advice on using GPLRA, Pribluda, setups or anything else should you need it..

Al

well the amateurs are even faster than the novices Barry .

john

But it sounds like some of the racers in this series have been racing for quite a while, and certainly not newcomers. That's not 'novice'.

BdlR

As John says the Amateurs are even faster.
The Novices do contain the less experienced drivers like myself but there are varying degrees. If you have just started I'd expect to be trailing at the back for a while but you will improve as you practice. It's a long learning curve but worth it and I would still consider myself a 'novice' even after a year.

The trouble is Barry, we only have enough 65 drivers for 2 grids so they are split roughly down the middle though not quite. Some Novices are in Europe and the longer races don't suit them when they finish too late, others don't like to race under Pro rules with no resets so they stay in Novices.

If we had enough drivers for 3 grids then the Novices class would be made up of the slower drivers and newcomers like yourself with the top half of the Novices grid moving up to a middle division.

Until we get those numbers you will be racing with some pretty experienced "Novices".

That is far better than having 3 half full grids but may seem more daunting at first.

Stick with it, it will be worth it.

poetry in motion  :balloon: :balloon: :balloon:

would have been nice to lock wheels with you nicky  ;)


BTW if Barry was using the default 65 set up he would have been hopelessly overgeared , hence the very poor lap times .

My bet is even H would be lapped N times using the default gear set .

regards using the chase view I dont know for sure but I would have thought aliens such as Barty Mee and Co. maybe used chase for hotlapping but in a race amongst other cars ???

Who knows ?  but one thing for sure,  they wouldnt have to be watching out for being lapped , not by me anyway  :D

 

As others have said, Barry, using cockpit view often gives a better race experience. I used chase view for a while when I first started out in GPL, and I was basically told "don't do it, it's not a good way to do it for single-seater racing". Chase view also doesn't have the "look left" and "look right" motions, or a rear-view mirror, which is crucial in close racing. It took a while to adapt, but I'm much better for not doing it. I'm not knocking you starting out, but try a few laps with cockpit view and a decent setup and see how much quicker / more consistent you'd be.

Have a search for the 65s setup zip on the net, I found one and dropped it straight in my profile. There were about 12000 setups for any and every track and 65 car. From there I picked a setup suited to my driving style and learnt how to drive these things properly. If you can't find it, I'll find the one I downloaded and upload it somewhere. :)

It was really an exciting race!

I started 4th on grid but I immediately won the 3rd place, behind Nicky and in front of Rog.

The first six laps we were 5 drivers really so close each other: Al and Nicky in front, I, Rog and Vlad just behind.

At lap 7 I went wide at the Loop and I braked hard until I stopped in the middle of the turn, so Rog cannot avoid me but, as his car hit mine, I was facing the racing direction and I can immediately re-start the chase on the leaders without any damage. :angel:

In few laps I filled the gap from Nicky and Al (on 12th lap I made the FL of the race, my first one ever and new PB! :o)

From lap 14 to lap 25 we were really so close!!

At the end of lap 15, after a small contact between the leaders, I found myself in the 2nd place, but it last only few hundreds meters, then Nicky jumped again in front of me.

At nearly lap 20 the latency bar was getting high, and I saw the two cars in front of me warping like mads!! It lasted nearly 10 very hard laps...  >:(

At the beginning of lap 25 Nicky lost his 2nd place because of a contact with Barry, so I took his place on chasing Al.

At the end of lap 28 I hit Barry after his car suddenly bumped on the track: I was lucky enough to be able to re-start the race but I immediately felt something wrong with the car.

I wasn't more able to keep the same laptimes as before so I first lost the 2nd place and then even the 3rd one was gone... :(

OK, that's racing life, anyway it was really one of the best GPL experience I ever had and I can't complain with a 4th place on the season's opening race.

Grats to the podium, to everybody raced and to the staff.

Auf wiedersehen in Solitude!

Long Live GPL!

Barry, i'd take Niki Ickx's advice and get Pribluda installed. Read the 'Read Me' file attached to it so you can get the read-outs positioned correctly on your screen.

Whether you use the chase or cockpit view, you can still see all the read outs for Pribluda. It'll show you the time difference to all the cars around you so you can work out where you are and means you don't have to rely on the your mirrors all the time.  ;)

Stick at it. In PC Gaming magazine recently, GPL was voted 5th out of the the 10 most difficult computer games ever invented. However, the article went on to say that those who mastered it could call themselves the elite in Driving Simulations.

To make you feel better.. I believe no one has ever mastered it.  ;)

Also, Check out the 'GPL Alternative Track Database'. There are links to everything you need on there.

Sorry I'm a bit late importing the results onto the web site (had a problem with the html I had to sort out). 

You can now submit your incident reports.  For the new drivers amongst us, this is done by clicking on the link just below the race results at the top of this thread.  Please enter the replay time in the hours minutes and seconds format (e.g. 0h03m04s would be 3mins and 4 seconds) so I know exactly what incident you are describing.

Well, I'd strongly advise against anyone new to GPL installing Pribluda. Why? Because it's so fricking distracting! I had mine removed and instantly noticed an improvement in concentration levels. Even when you think it's not influencing your driving, it does, with all those numbers entering your subconscious through peripheral vision...

Rather spend time on car setup and car handling, developing a driving style you feel comfortable with, than paying attention to stats and info...

I'm with H on this one.  I have never used it for the simple reason that looking at the pit board is usually enough to cause me to prang it.

My brother used it when he was racing and and rather than call it Prib, as most do, he referred to it as his "CrashUtility"!

When I was first racing at also appeared that a yellow flag was an instruction to crash as well.  :-[

At the risk of opening up a debate, and just to give you a dilemma Barry, I disagree with Hristo and Clive.

Yes H is right Pribluda can be incredibly distracting and you need to train yourself not to Pribwatch or it's a sure fire way into the hedge but, especially for a newbie, it gives you a lot of notice as to when you are going to be lapped and by how many and lets you prepare.
What I do now is keep my eyes off it except for a glance on the straight but I use it to watch for any 'reds' (lappers) behind me which, thankfully, is now quite rare.

LOL

I think you are treating the symptoms instead of the original affliction.

The best way to avoid the being lapped problem is to drive faster and not crash.

You will not do either of those by watching Prib.

Pfft, you lot just can't multi-task! :P

I like prib , but only use it to watch my tyres go into the red and find it handy to see how far ahead of me the next man is in front and behind, cos I rarely ever see the pit board and when It isnt on screen long enough for me to read and take in .

Anyway who cares just off me hols now for a week or so sailing on the bright blue briny ;D

Cyas all soon and keep practising   :)

 

Lucky you - have a good one :boat:

Had a close look at the replay.. looks like you picked up some pretty hefty damage to your car in the opening laps Barry - that usually affects the handling & would explain if you were suddenly finding your car undriveable. Not sure whether it's so noticeable in chase view, but in cockpit view you can definitely 'feel' when the car is damaged.

Seems there are 2 types of driver - the Pribbers and the non-Pribbers.
Personally I think Prib has a lot to offer the less experienced driver - if you can avoid the distraction!
As mentioned you will know where the cars in front & behind are and it lets you know if the engine pressure & tyres overheat. Where I find useful - particularly learning a new track, are the split times. (Prib splits each lap into 4 sectors & times each). By experimenting with different brake points & gear selections you can improve your time. For chaps like Hristo & Clive they will consistently drive quick laps - they don't need Prib.
On the distraction side - you learn to ignore it. I now seem to spend most of my races trying to catch / stay with  Vos - he uses Prib & he doesn't make many mistakes.  (Not enough for my liking anyway).

I used to use Prib, but these days the silly thing doesnt ever seem to work!, cant even get it up on screen.

Wish I knew how:/

And can damage be fixed in the pits? I know on some of the other series you can't refuel and stuff...

BdlR

It's just come as a bit of a surprise to see my race mentioned in this forum so often. I don't mind, and I'm certainly not 'having a go' as everyone to a tee has been helpful, but when I entered the novice series I thought I'd be racing people who, like me, had just started. I.E. there'd be a whole bunch of us struggling round the track and I've have a chance of competing...

Anyhow, onwards and upwards! Will do some googling for setups and try and improve for the next race.

BdlR

To be honest that's exactly what I thought when I first joined. After a while I realised there's not too many brand new GPL'ers out there, probably because it's no longer on general release.
I think you'll find you're getting a lot of extra attention as we all want to help you through the inital hurdles. On that note keep an eye on the announcements (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?board=48.0) section, we'll shortly be launching some guidance for new drivers, something we've planned to do for a while.

Best of luck for the next race - the only way is up  ;)

PS: in a non-PRO race you can Shift/R which resets the car damage and fuel...

If you've sustained damage, you can only repair it by doing a shift-r (not in the pits) which will reset your car to its starting state (i.e., undamaged but also full of fuel & with cold tyres). If the damage is your own fault when you take a shift-R then you need to make a stop & go pitstop within 2 laps of the reset. If you are pretty certain that the damage was not your fault then you can skip the stop & go pitstop (though the moderators will have a look & may apply penalties if they disagree!)

I was also surprised by the pace of the novices when I joined at the tail-end of last season but once you get the hang of these cars your pace will rapidly improve. The laptimes in quallie show that the top 10 cars were separated by a whisker over 1 second - which is not bad considering that everyone was using different chassis & setups.

I notice from the results at the top of this thread I retired due to disco. What is disco? As far as I knew I finished the race.

BdlR

A disco is an internet disconnect but ignore that as the importer cannot determine what is a real disco and what is a crash or engine failure (most of the time) or, as in your case, you crossed the finishing line. It makes no difference to the points you receive.

Hi sorry for late post, been to busy workwise. Great quali at Glen all cars only about a second apart. Started 5th on grid, had 7 brill laps with Locarno ahead of me and Vosblod pushing behind, all went pear shape when my BRM decided to mate with Locarno's Ferrari at the Loop, sorry Vosblod you had to stop and then take the scenic route around me, after that my driving was poor and lucky to finish 5th. Grats to podium and special to Al for 1st.

The new drivers thread is now up https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6787.msg118357#new (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6787.msg118357#new)

 :D :
any news about your Fanatec pedals ?

Hi Nicky,

Yes, got the new pedals and they are great. The feel is greatly improved from my previous pedals. The clutch and accelerator is pretty much as you expect, there is some resistance and nice linier movement. It’s the brake pedal which really helps, if feels fantastic. Lots of resistance, it really feels like you are braking a car. It’s helps the whole driving experience.

I only got the pedals a week before the start of the season, and real life got in the way of me practicing. I hope to be more up to speed at the next few races. I think that the pedals will help me become more consistent, which is still a big problem for me. I did seem better at Watkins, might be a little too early to tell.

OMG Nicky in novies thats surely a JOKE!

He punted me off first race in Amateurs last season because he didn't realise it was a Pro race. He's been handicapped accordingly.

you mean you broke both his legs !!!

john


(yes this is a joke)

No ARM in that then