SimRacing.org.uk

Car: Star Mazda
Track: Zandvoort (GP)
Practice: approx. 18:00 for 150 mins
Qualifying: 20:30 (15 mins)
Race: 25 laps (approx. 40 minutes)

Start: Standard iRacing double file rolling start
Flags: local only

THERE WILL BE NO RESETS AVAILABLE!

NOTE: All sessions protected by the main password, there is no seperate 'pre-event practice'
Password: see above (#post_event_password)
(2) Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=255;theme=33)

I'll kick off with some early times...

1:39.5 so far for me so I'm assuming 1:36/7 from the quick guys.

WooHoo, just tried it out. New fav track in iRacing, well after Brands maybe, and only until Oulton!!

1:35.9 with 35.5 optimum, but I think there's more to come!! And I'm not usually the quickest, so maybe 33's are possible??

I hope I was using the correct layout. Grand Prix - No Chicane??

Oulton!!   first ive heard of this and nope i dont read much.... Looking forward to having a version of Oulton with all the bumps the right size and in the right places. ;D
Zandvoorts great , not done any laps in the Mazda yet.

Jeepers :(

That's the correct layout, can't believe I'm 5s off the pace, I thought I was going OK....

dont worry mate, wait until you see my times  ::)

35.9 here too.  35.6 optimum, IIRC.

Great track.  The first half of the circuit brings back so many GPL memories.  Coincidentally, Zandvoort was the location for my very first league race. 

Some of the tight technical corners can gain or lose huge amounts of time.  I think a good line is critical round here.

Yes, it's definitely been scanned, they just need to get their fingers out and get it constructed!!

I know what you mean about the versions of Oulton currently available for the likes of rFactor and GTR. They are all shocking with regard to the surface mapping, totally innacurate. The GPL track is probably the best of the lot.

1.34.3 on qual fuel, but a 33 is just an error free lap away.

34.8 Q fuel/34.4 optimum, but it's still a bit scruffy.

Into 34's on race fuel, still need a bit of work on setup though.

You'd think after all these years of simracing I would have vague idea what I was doing... oh no!

The set-up I was using was entirely inappropriate for the track ::)

I'm into the 1:35's now.

I'm just using my Brands setup, which I also used at Infinion. I did try others at Infinion but still recorded better times and had more confidence in the Brands one. I haven't tried any others at Zandvoort but to be a second or so down on Paul I doubt I can go faster with anything else.

I'm still horribly inconsistent at this track. It seems I'm OK-ish at the tracks I know well (i.e. everything we've done so far this season) but throw something new at me and I struggle :-\

Hopefully it'll start to click tonight!

Practice makes perfect Iain!!

I can only imagine what Scheivlak (T6??) feels like in real life!! I'm sure your internal organs will be trying to escape the confines of your body in a winged car!! I must try it in the Dallara sometime!!

I'm struggling with this one too although the track is superb.  Only managed a couple of 1m39s after half an hours practice so I'm way off the pace.

Still looking forward to it though.

Cheers, Ross.

Low 36's for me on race fuel and am pretty consistent!
Did a 35.5 but that was a one off!
Playing with the set up loads but cannot get any faster!  ;)
Situation normal!  ;D

1.34.6 on low fuel but seems like im running the wings way too low ,    running 21.5 Front and 23 on the rear, What wings you guys running ??  Havnt had a chance yet to try higher settings.

Pretty much full downforce, same as Brands.  I'm experimenting with a bit less for some extra speed on the straight.

Server is up, hopefully I'll see you around 8.

A 1.35.1 in practice tonight! with full fuel
P2 !!!  ;D
I don't even need to turn up tomorrow!
Smiling from ear to ear! :)
I'm sure everyone else will kick my butt but hey!  ;)

Took me another 10 mins after you left (in a hurry :-X) but did a 34.9 :-*
Think there's still a bit more to come 8)

Someone give me a gun, I'm going to shoot myself...

Ok, but can we get personal tuition from Paul next time ;)

and I did a 34.6!! but I'm not saying what fuel I had in ;)

34.6 here too. 

Tonight could be Brands Mk2, Ken.  ;)

managed a 35.8 and it was on 2.1g of fuel  ::)

not bad, used to know this track from F3000s in Race07  :) ..... gotta be one of my favourites now  8)

I was down to a 1:36.0xx in my race set-up but generally at mid-36's so I'm fairly pleased I made some progress in my pace as well as consistency.

It's really impressive how quick everyone is, this Mazda series is becoming very competitive (in a good way) :)

Great to see so many guys in the practice session last night too, it was fun.

Looks like there was a new driver, Joshua Daniels, in the session. Welcome Joshua!

Using the brands setup i was instantly at home once i worked out where the corners go! I must be alergic to american tracks ::) Its got a good rythym and was just pleased to get into the 36's though the final chicane is a place i always loose time though. Not sure how i got into the 35's though!

Server will be up in a few minutes.

Could be!!

Didnt think i was pushing too hard and thought the guys ahead would have started to pull away but came round turn 2 and saw people queing into turn 3, got on the brakes quickly but got on the grass and spun hitting Ross. I guess my deeper line through turn 3 probably wasnt the same as others! Tried carry on but too damaged and it spun me into the barriers again.

Really felt quite comfortable round so really gutted about ending mine and Ross's race AND not being able to repair and continue on my own to just drive round.

Amazing track and an amazing race up until the crash ....  Great stuff Brendan and Ken  ;D   for 15 mins i was in the F3 Masters .   Real shame..car was too damaged to continue. :(

New i should have gone to the inside of Pauls stationary car. ::)

Well that was brilliant while it lasted.  John jumped me at the start and we were very cautious into the hairpin, but he slowed a lot more than I thought and I just nudged him.  We both survived that unscathed and battle commenced.  I finally forced a mistake and got the hammer down.  Caught up with Ken after some very hot laps and found we were also catching the pack ahead. It was all starting to get very interesting when we all arrived at a spun car at the hairpin blocking the track.

We all piled into it and each other.  I think most were out on the spot :(

Most competitive race in the season so far, lots of drivers on a fast pace.  Gutted it ended like that.

Yes, that's what it's all about. Fantastic while it lasted. I was well chuffed to be running with the "big boys" at the front!! :)

I demand a re-run!!  ;D

Suppose we have all week on iRacing now to have as many goes we like!! Off to put a qually lap in while I'm hot!!!

 :( :( :( :(

So sorry to everyone involved. Cant believe I just did that. Just touched the outside bit of turf and it half spun me face into the barriers right on the tight hairpin. Bit of a gap so thought about reversing right back across the track onto the grass. After selecting reverse the car rolled back a bit. The gap dissappeard in no time so shoved it into first to stick it back in the barriers again to get out of everyones way. Dont know if it wheel span or what but was slow getting away. By the time it moved towards the outside Brendan or Dan had already commited to going around the outside of me leaving him nowhere to go. That collision blocked the whole track and the others then had nowhere to go either.

So sorry to everyone. I should have just quit out although I wasnt damaged as there was no way I was turning round there. Self imposed rest of season ban for me. Was having a great time up to then.

Great track, great car... just a shame I seem to be the slowest driver in UKiR by some distance & I didn't see another car from L1 T5 onwards after getting a bit behind when I avoided the little T3 issue.

Finally lost concentration properly on about lap 15.



- Been thinking about it & I guess I just don't have enough time to dedicate/prioritise to just iR to catch up to the pack here. Ho hum

No worries Spanner, probably made no real difference to my race anyhow, great combo, but I'm really struggling to find decent pace round here.

Still, on the bright side, I've just learnt that McLaren's 'Manchester' showroom will be 500 yards down the road from my house in Knutsford!  Hurrah!  Must start saving my pennies.

Cheers, Ross.

Brilliant while it lasted.

Bittersweet qually for me.  A PB of 34.4 but optimal of 33.8  >:(

Anyway, the race was one of my all time best.  Hung on to the front 3, suprisingly but missed my braking point into the tight hairpin on lap 3.  Luckily Paul H had his wits about him and there was no contact.  This spooked me a little and I took a lap or so to regain my composure by which point Dan was very close.  

We were going hammer and tongs at it, lap after lap and although Dan was quicker, I was able to hold him off into the braking zones.  We swapped position a few times and even a minor side-by-side contact through the chicane didn't quell the excitement.

Anyway, no hard feelings Paul R.  When I saw you broadside across the track I made a split second decision to aim for the largest gap, which was to the outside.  It was a toss of the coin decision which unfortunately was the wrong one.  I'm reluctant to wave the finger as everyone has the odd moment like this from time to time.  I personally wouldn't be upset to see you back on track next week.   :thumbup1:

Anyway, can we race Zandvoort every week?  ;D

PS Grats to John, Paul and Martin.

Another ridiculously high finish for me. 14th fastest guy and finished 5th. Awesome. Had a great long race with Martin, James and also Ade early on, although there was next to no overtaking we were all very close the whole time.

When Paul's traffic jam special occurred it was Christmas all over again gaining 6 or so places I think from the 12th I was running in and gained another latter for some reason.

Was running very high wing so slipstreaming was nigh on impossible except for Pops, who I managed to get a good run on after a couple of laps down into T1, but after that it was follow my leader, although tbh driving behind Martin was really dragging my pace up more than I would on my own and I was really just managing to keep up rather than knocking at the door.

Very nice to use Zandvoort, although it's spoilt by some what used to fast corners being turned into bizarre little complexes and chicanes. Hope to see more new tracks in the schedule as it will give me a reason to buy things like Mid Ohio which I wouldn't bother with otherwise.

Epic race.

I was late getting started practicing on this track, and although I've run races at Zandvoort in the past, I've not run any on this configuration - so it took a good few laps last night to get to know the circuit, and after the official race at Milwaukee I was pretty tired, so didn't make as much progress as I would have liked.

Even this evening, I wasn't happy with the setup of the car, but soldiered on with the Brands race setup that I had been using, and just trying to make the best of a bad situation.  Thankfully I thought I'd try my luck in qually with the Brands qually setup - it felt pretty good and although I was nearer the back of the grid than the front, you can't really complain when you set a PB.  I didn't manage to get into the 35's, but close enough.

More importantly, Pops wasn't too far in front .... directly infront of me on the grid ... and I was going to get used to the sight of the back of his car!

As the Brands qually setup was feeling good, I changed the tyre pressures slightly and loaded up with fuel - I hadn't run a lap with the setup with race fuel on board, but the setup felt so much better than the others that I was using I figured it was a risk worth taking, I was unlikely to be any slower than I had been with the other setups.

I was happy to keep up with Pops and Shark for the first few laps, and after Pops let Shark by and scarper up the road, I was still within a second.  Indeed, we were within a second for the entire race!  I had a straight line speed advantage - a couple of tenths on the main straight, and ultimately this got me by Pops when he ran over a bit of kitty litter on the final corner - that slowed him down enough to let me get by into T1.  I very nearly handed it straight back running wide at T3, but settled down after that.

There was a great bit of racing when Ade caught us, all of us within a second for a good few laps.  A locked brake let Ade by, but it was just a matter of time at that point.  Pops was still behind me though - and that was the main thing!  From pretty much there to the end of the race I was getting harassed, and having to show Pops a thing or two about defensive driving :)  I made a good few mistakes, but none big enough to let Pops by.

.... ultimately it could have been either one of us winning the battle, but thankfully I triumphed.  Epic race - really enjoyed it.

Shame to see a load of guys drop out early - it sounds like this car/track combo was producing battles from the front of the field to the back.

It was epically close.  Ken and I in 6th and 7th were lapping faster than the leader after 8 laps.

Stupid game has me a lap down but I never got lapped and completed all the laps, albeit the last one very slowly!

Shame Legzy you weren't just a little quicker as it also meant a very lonely race for me. I could just about keep up with the cars in front when I did a perfect (for me) lap but there weren't many of those :(

Great job at the start guys, one of the best ever :)

I had no answer to the pace up front but I got a new PB in qually and got into the 1:35's in the race so I'm pretty happy there.

AND, more importantly, that was (as Adam said) an absolutely epic race. 1s between us the whole race and Ade in the mix in the middle of the race.

Hugely enjoyable to race closely with drivers you can trust. Absolutely incredible and fun that you can't get anywhere else ;D

Pity about the pile-up. Mr Richards is on only 2 bottles of Cinzano a day for the next week as punishment ;)

Forgot to mention how close qually was too. I was running P4 right until near the end and I was about to park up and just rest for a few mins before the race. Next thing I know I'm P7 and there is only just 2 or 3 mins on the clock!! Jumped back in and did a quick out lap and tried to nail one final last gasp effort. It didn't look to be going to well with the delta showing red all the way round, so I did a banzai final corner and just managed a slight improvement, but enough to jump 2 places back up to 5th. Great stuff!!

There's a time limit (sufficient to complete a lap) after the chequered is thrown; if you don't cross the line before the countdown expires it doesn't score the lap. So if you crawl round the last lap it may not score it.

Just looking at the result and noticed top 12 were covered by 1 sec in qually. Must be the closest grid we've had?

It must have been.  I have found I was under-performing here, I tested later and my optimal Q time was 1:34.2 and optimal race time 1:34.6  :o  I just could not put the complete lap together at all :(  I was still stuck at 1:34.5 and 1:34.9.

Ah well, off to VIR :)

how cruel of you dave, to highlight pete's speed round the track ;) ;)

May have been slow but I was testing to see what happened if I went too slowly ;)

 :wub: Slowcoach Pete





although not the slowest slowcoach  :P Well not until all the other slowcoaches wimp out and leave the iR fold  :fencing:

This slowcoach will be around in iR for a while 8)

Ditto - well .... it has been an investment after all!  Makes sense to get a lot of use out of it!

blimey whats with all those discos?

Great race guys but a shame about the big pile up.

I had not tested the car with any fuel in the car at all only Qual runs, so went slow for the first couple of laps, I noticed that everyone was staying with me but  had already decided if anyone got a run on me not to defend to much so let Paul R and Paul H through. Once Paul R had spun off I followed Paul H for the rest of the race and then with about 10 to go started to apply pressure to close the gap which worked and Paul had a half spin, got the lead with about 2 to go, and just took it easy to the end.

Grats to the podium.

Finally managed to do a 1.34.8 in a practice session but man I struggle with this place.

Read the race reports Rob. Big pileup at the second hairpin. iRacing always shows a disco even if you quit volunterily.

Frustratingly busy at the mo so very late post... :(

Wow what a race!
Qualified worse than expected but on my usual pace.
Had so many vey close battles all the way to 3rd!
It's the first time I have had to comment on a tracks lack of passing places!
Overtaking is new to me! :lol:

Thanks all that was intense!
Finally iRacing delivers the kind of race we are all looking for!

Can we do that car/track combo every week!  ;D

M.

Managed a rare iR win in the Mazda tonight. Got a good draw on the split with pole in the lower of two. I then made things difficult for myself by bogging down off the line and spinning at the second hairpin! I've been taking lessons from Paul! ;)

Luckily I still came out of all that in third and harried the two leaders until they both spun on the same corner a few laps apart mid race to leave me out front. A German competitor did keep me honest until the closing stages when I presume his tyres went right off and the gap was finally 5 secs as i crossed the line. Adam was in the same race and came hope a creditable 5th to keep us both near the top of the table in Div 4!!

Yeah - I was behind you after your spin - you got pretty lucky! I was sure you were heading into the wall!  Good win though :)

I had someone get a run on me out of that corner and they were alonside heading into T6 - trying to avoid contact I stupidly ended up running wide and onto the gravel at T6 - and lost a load of positions (and time) as a result ::)

A few more tweaks to the setup had the car feeling good, and the shorter than SRouk race length meant I didn't suffer with the chronic understeer that plagued me in the closing laps of the race here.