SimRacing.org.uk

Season 19 Spec Race Challenge - Round 1 - Goodwood

Welcome to the inaugural race of the Spec Challenge Series, kicking off in sunny Sussex at Goodwood.

We will run two races on the same circuit. Two chassis are available, you must use one in each race. Use the same car twice earns you a disqualification in the second race.  Over the course of the series we will be running predominantly the 65 mod but (by popular vote) one race in each of the 66, 67 and 69 mods. Your choice of chariot for this occasion is the 1965 BRM and the BT7. BRM has a clear speed advantage but the Brab may hold its own in the sweeping curves.
The Spec Series is a full championship with standard points scoring. In addition the moderator (lucky me) will also tally up every drivers fastest race lap & compare the chassis head to head. For your time to count in the “Spec Challenge” you must complete more than 50% distance in both races. Resets are allowed so don’t retire because of a bad start.
Also the Spec Series in the only GPL championship to be decided exclusively by driver skill, no handicapping applies.

Race List = IGOR
Server = UKGPL_T7_2 *
IP address = 62.149.202.168
Race date = 28-03-2010
Time = 21:00 UK time (GMT+1)
Track = Goodwood
Variant = 65 F1
Damage Model = Intermediate
Qualifying time = 20 minutes. No wait time.
Race length = Intermediate Short
[* Second server kindly provided by Nicky Ickx]

Password: see above

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R&group=251&theme=6)
The track can be downloaded from http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?dis=G&menu=Show_Letters (http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?dis=G&menu=Show_Letters)

Unlimited Shift-R is allowed in the race. No-fault Shift-Rs will not attract a Stop & Go penalty.  All other Shift-Rs must be followed by a Stop & Go.

Please be in IGOR UKGPL chatroom by 8:50 pm UK Time = GMT).

Due to the number of races moderating will be light touch - reported incidents only, however the moderators reserve the right to review any incident with a particular emphasis on lap one. The aim is to review the race the following weekend so incident reports should be submitted within five days of the race (ie the following Friday). We're hopeful most incidents can be resolved amicably. A sorry in the forum won't be taken as an automatic admission of guilt by the moderators.

The Championship is split into two sub-divisions, the Light Brigade & the Heavy Brigade. The driver allocation is set out below (Transfer requests may be made to the moderator)

LIGHT BRIGADE DRIVERS
Burtoner   Evil Clive      John Roberts  
Tim FMG       Hristo     Jethro    
Nicky Ickx   Bartosz (Pod)       King Hiro    
   Clutch    Al Hellar     Ruud Savelkoul    
Sam B        Fulvio P       
              

HEAVY BRIGADE DRIVERS
Bernie       Billy       Bookie W
Maestro   Norbert      D Rock
Fabio (Il Lupo)       Norbert   Phil T
Pete Maestro       Nigel Smith       Gilles 27
   Steve Bird           
              


NOTE: In the event of more then 19 entrants a second grid will be run by Nicky. Instructions will be provided in the chatroom – please ensure you join the correct server, due to the way we import if you start the race on the wrong server your result will not count. If you can try to make sure you are in the chatroom by 8.50pm this will enable a decision without any delays to the start time.

Track installed on server T7  ;)
Ciao

All looks good Billy

Though in your sub-divisions i can't see my Mountside Team Mate N-Hance? He's registered as a reserve like me, but will probably make most races.

He'll be in the heavy Brigade Division i'd suspect (65 Novice).

Cheers

Thanks Clutch.
See whats's happened - got the Norms & the Norberts mixed up - Norbert was in twice.
Also will put Graham in with the Heavy Brigade. Important thing is that Norm is in the Championship table.
... Billy

Here's the updated driver allocation.
LIGHT BRIGADE drivers

Burtoner	Evil Clive	John Roberts
Tim FMG	Hristo	Jethro
Nicky Ickx	Bartosz (Pod)	King Hiro
Clutch	Al Hellar	Ruud Savelkoul
Sam B	Fulvio P	Natan

HEAVY BRIGADE drivers

Bernie	Billy	Bookie
Maestro	Norbert	D Rock
Fabio / Il Lupo	N Hance	Phil T
Nigel Smith	Gilles27	Steve Bird
Graham P	Maddog	Vosblod

Not sure if Natan is properly registered - not showing on the Championship table.

I'm thinking GPL drivers may be a bit like grizzly bears. What with the cold winter many retreated into hibernation & missed the opening race of the season at Mexico. We have nearly 30 registered drivers but a less than full grid on Sunday 21st.
Spec Races also have 30 drivers & since Spring has sprung I'm guessing there will be a better turn out for Goodwood.
Anyhow ~ to get to the point ~ I'm expecting to run 2 grids. UKGPL7 & Nicky's server.
Light Brigade (fast types / aliens will run on Nicky's server) Heavy Bridge (mere mortals will run on UKGPL7).

If you are wondering why
a) Fast types get the preference of UKGPL7 for the other divisions. As some of the mortals have parted with hard earned cash to the server fund only fair they get some use of the server.
b) I'm driving Heavy - Nicky is Light so this split makes sense
c) Anyone unhappy with their allocation can make a representation to the moderator with a minimum of 10 very good reasons why.

Does Light mean light right foot and Heavy - heavy right foot?  :)

Sorry, I can't make it.
Ciao

I'm 50/50 - waiting to find out if we have a babysitter so I can get dragged to the cinema to see Leo Di Caprio  :-\

Love this track - but there were quite a few discos when we raced it in Interleague last season so hope it behaves itself.

IMPORANT MESSAGE FOR NON-UK DRIVERS
I've been reminded that the clocks in the UK go forward 1 hours on Saturday night. Race will start at 9pm UK time ~ but that might be an hour earlier than you were expecting if you are based outside th UK.

Well, I think that most of Europe is doing the same thing ;)

i think it has more to do with this ...

"Half a league, half a league,
  Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
  Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
  Rode the six hundred."

john

I hope to be there with a new (hopefully sorted) gpl install   ::)

Oops! Was that a pig I just saw going past the window  :)



 

Unbelievable. Running 2nd and the game freezes out of nowhere.  :(

Had a very bad connection so decided to sit out race 2. Pretty much the worst start to a season ever. :(

Got screen freeze in race 1 whilst in P2 with 1 lap to go  :cursing:

Turned graphics down in race 2 (set detail bias to 25%) and that helped, no screen freeze.  Could only manage third place Steve and Nigel were too quick, WD gents.

Thanks to all those who turned up tonight - what a great circuit for racing!
Importing the race results into SROU is a bit complicated as there are 4 races & this is all a bit new to me.
Please be patient & hang on to your incident reports until the results come through.
... Bill

Was pleased to get on line and my connection was OK after the PC re- build  :)

Big Ta to all them what helped  ;)


As for the race , I spent both quallies trying to find decent set ups , using most of the basic de-fault set ups with a quickly cobbled gear box .

Race 1 was good but I crashed a lot cos I tried too hard . Race 2 was bad cos I crashed a lot cos i didnt try hard enough  ;D

Note to self

Must try harder next time and / or take it easy ?  

 ::) ::) ::)

Awesome races - despite my silly mistake which took me from 2nd to last ( ::)) I enjoyed race 1 massively  :angel:
Still can't decide myself if my rejoin on lap 4 was bad or merely unlucky (I span on entering the track and Jethro had no-where to go!) so I'll leave that to you to call Jethro as you were the only one involved  :)
From that mistake onwards it was great fun, battled my way upto 6th only to have to pit for my SnG after beeing flipped by Jethro, rejoined dead last again and fought my way back up to 5th when I slightly messed my line into Woodcote and then could only choose the kitty litter and tire wall when I discovered a spun al in the middle of the second apex!  :hammer:
Back to last again!  :wacko:
Managed to get back up to 6th and spun it (again) partly because I was too close to Nicky (Woodcote again) and partly because I was convinced Jethro was about to rear end me so tryed to drift out a little to slow down - fishtailed instead and lost another place in the sand  :scared:
Eventually scored 4th curtesy of Jethro spinning on the last lap at Lavant  ;D

Race 2 was looking even better, My practice times were getting very close to Hristo's - or the sectors were at least, I never managed to link them all together and span on the final practice lap with 3 fastest sectors  :oops:
Come the start I didn't quite get as big a jump on Hristo this time but at least managed to keep John behind me.
The 3 of us circulated fairly closely for several laps until John decided it was only fair if he took a trip into the scenery - which left myself and H clear of threats.
As I was slowly dropping back having lost the draft I decided to start short shifting and taking it more steadily due to engine temps of over 230 degrees F!  :o
Kept it tidy and with 3 to go was rewarded as I passed Hristo's BRM on the outside of T1 where he'd been practicing Ballet.
I threw my engine preservation plan in the bin and gave it hell hoping to make it to the flag first - nearly made it but entering the chicane at the end of the final lap H dives up alongside me  :wetfish:
I'd have been very interested to have known who'd win the drag race to the line but H set his tame Lag monster on me and I was clouted into the wall as he passed  :(

The replay shows he left as much room as physically possible so well done on the fair win H - Maybe I'll get you next time  :ninja:

RACE 1- BRM
Qually got 23.53 so pleased - big sorry to Graham for the mammoth rear end. I got a default setup for the race, saw loads pass as I played slug then span a lot so left.

RACE 2 - BT7
Qually 23.35 but didn't seem to register, guess passed the flag too late. A much better start marred by a couple of solo spins early on. Got into the swing of it and had to keep Billy pinned at 200 yards behind. He closed when I mowed the grass but think he must have mowed too as all ended well. Think I got 5th or 6th.

Anyway congrats to Big (Steve) Bird on winning both and Nigel was looking good. He might worry me in Nov's but think I am going to miss the next one re Mrs wants to see Leo Di Caprio film on Tuesday...

Loved the fact that all but one of us ended up in the same car. After a scrappy start to my season with way too many spins my first aim was to just keep it on track for these races. Was all going to plan nicely in race 1 as I just about hung on to the back of the leading group but unfortunately Natan spun right in front of me & I had nowhere to go. Had to take a (no fault) shift-R & resumed plum last but then had great fun scrapping at the back & attempting (unsuccessfully) to keep a rocket-powered FMG at bay. Managed a couple more spins on my own but after a few discos ahead & JW's last corner incident just managed to sneak ahead for a richly-undeserved 5th. Much happier with race 2 - quallied 4th, got 4th fastest lap and finished... 4th. At least I actually managed to avoid spinning for the first time this season. WD to H & the podium.   

Not really a fan of Goodwood, but started to get into a bit of a groove with it to an extent.

Viewed this one as damage limitation, so was happy to collect any points.

Avoided various spinners in race 1 to find myself fighting for 3rd with 2 to go, but then - Screen Freeze, so had to abandon the game. Bit of a shame, but these things happen i guess.

Race 2 was Ok. Tried hanging onto Al Heller, but a slight mistake led to him getting away and so it was a case of lapping until the finish for a 5th (? I think).

Good fun, despite the freezes.

Such a bad night!

Race 1 (BT7): CTD on qualify, accident, shift+r, stop'n'go, CTD again... >:(

Race 2 (BRM): I suddendly got sick when in p2 and I had to left the race on first laps... :'(

cu you next time.

I didn't have many battles in the two races, but there was some fun non the less.

In the first race most of us took the BT7 and having driven it for so long I didn't have a problem putting it 1st on the grid. I thought I had a good start, but Tim passed me and JR nearly did the same, but I managed to hold him off.

After going around the outside of Tim who was playing it a bit too safe, I was back in first on the backstraight and never looked back.

In the second race with the BRM, it took me some time to come up with a decent setup for a car that I've only driven once long ago, at Rouen. It was tricky to get used to the abundance of power the car had and cope with the understeering when you floor it too early.

I had a good lap in Qualifying though and it was enough for pole after Tim made a mistake on his fastest lap. My start was good this time, but I couldn't quite escape Tim who was dragging along in my slipstream for a couple of laps. After finally breaking away from him, I was struggling to take T1 properly for a number of laps, suffering from understeer on its exit.

Eventually that led to a spin with 3 laps to go and Tim went by just as I managed to recover. I tried my best to close up on him as soon as possible, and just when I was within a good distance for an attack, I touched the wall at the chicane and lost ground to him again.

On the last lap I closed up the gap, but the time was running out and we were already on the backstraight, going into the final 3 corners. He had a bit of a slower exit of the 2nd right hander so I went for it on the inside of the chicane and did my best to keep the inside and leave him room. Apparently some warp contact bumped him a bit into the wall and he lost speed, so I emerged first and won the race!  ;D

It was an exciting end to the race, so I'm looking forward to the next one.

-=Hristo=-

Many thanks to Phil T who has sorted out how to import the results into the system

Anyhow, the bit you might  (or might not) have been waiting for here is the "Spec Challenge" result.
Driver   BRM   BT7   Delta
HEAVY BRIGADE         
Hristo   78.334   79.416   -1.082
John Roberts   79.643   81.27   -1.627
Nicky Ickx   82.618   83.163   -0.545
FMG   79.168   80.664   -1.496
Al Hellar   81.034   81.3   -0.266
Turkey Machine   81.679   82.925   -1.246
Natan   81.431   81.872   -0.441
Clutch   81.121   82.294   -1.173
         -7.876
Average Difference         -0.9845
LIGHT BRIGADE         
Steve Bird   81.804   82.227   -0.423
Nigel Smith   81.294   83.588   -2.294
Phil Thornton   81.785   82.872   -1.087
N Hance   83.677   84.263   -0.586
Billy Nobrakes   84.497   84.106   0.391
Norbert   83.963   85.216   -1.253
Graham Poole   85.374   89.061   -3.687
Bookie   85.673   84.837   0.836
Maddog   82.3   85.448   -3.148
         -11.251
Average Difference         -1.250
All drivers av. Diff         -1.125

Accidentally posted that one too early ...
Apart from the text formatting the summary would; have read "General conclusion seems to be the BRM is quicker but the BT7 more fun to drive. Keeping up with the Statmeister I've thrown in a couple of extra stats - showing each drivers comparative fastest lap, the average difference between chassis for the Heavy & Light Brigades & average difference for all drivers. This is based on fastest race lap for every driver who completes more than half race distance in both cars.

Hi Billy,

Are the replays for these races available anywhere?

Haven't organised that Statto - but I have got GPL Replay Analyser reports for all 4 races. PM me an e-mail address.

Here's the Statmeister tables from the first pair of Heavy Brigade Spec races. (Thanks to Billy for supplying the replay information). Like the normal championship points table, each competitor will drop their 2 worst scores at the end of the season to allow for the odd hiccup.

Steve Bird marked his 100th UKGPL race in style by claiming his first triple of pole, fastest lap and win. Steve also won the Consistency prize for both races while Billy NoBrakes & Graham Poole share the lead of the Climber table. Billy's 8-place rise in the first race is also the highest climb across all divisions so far.

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AwMtMND4F-o/S8OPkn8182I/AAAAAAAAADI/HrgNzEzMMBA/s1600/SpecH01a.png)

Edit: my apologies, some clown here at Statmeister control made an error in their calculations. Correct table now posted

And at last here are the results for the 2 Light Brigade races.

N.B. the consistency point scores here are not directly comparable to the Heavy Brigade results posted previously as their races seem to have been 1 lap longer, however across divisions the 5 lowest average laptime deviations (over a full race distance) were:

1. 0.284 - Al Heller (Light Race #2)
2. 0.323 - Hristo Itchov (Light Race #1)
3. 0.408 - John Roberts (Light Race #1)
4. 0.435 - Steve Bird (Heavy Race #2)
5. 0.486 - Full Metal Gasket (Light Race #2)


(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AwMtMND4F-o/S8BpN5bakGI/AAAAAAAAACw/rS3dryYuKMQ/s1600/SpecL01.png)