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 Just wondering if there is enough interest to consider running a really long GT race over the Christmas Period when we might all have a little more time??

Initial thoughts are that we can find out what the "reliability factor" is all about and maybe do something like a 2 hour race at Le Mans?? Even I am not crazy enough to suggest a 24hr race!!!!! ::)

So far most of the races that I have seen on Igor have been "sprint" events as everyone tries out these new cars, but they were designed for endurance racing and maybe we should test that out??

Drop your thoughts here and we can judge the interest and maybe set something up...maybe even some teams?

I'd be up for it, just depends when. The only thing with Le Mans, and I might be talking out of my posterior, is it would leave the slower chassis standing. That said if you are talking about a spec run then not an issue plus I guess it's your choice what to take.

Please not Le Mans! That's the most boring, most car (engine) dependent track ever! I can't even bare to run it for 30 minutes, let alone 2 hours... Choose something varied and entertaining like Schottenring.  ;D

Well, if you're going to cut a GT race down to 2 hours, I'd still be interested, but enthusiasm would be dependent on the track chosen.  On the one side, you have Le Mans, with it's tradition, and relative simplicity, and towards the opposite extreme, there's Schottenring, with it's sinews and challenges of various sorts.  So, which of these 2 is likely to produce the larger number of participants?  And which, the larger number of racing laps?  It may depend on your clientele, or drivers even! ???

There are plenty of other tracks of similar ilkliness (just made that up!) to both suggested, but of the 2, I'd head to France.  It's easy to learn, has fewer corners for those less skilled, and enough history to attract some far-flung talent, if advertised beforehand.  Schottenring would be a tremendous challenge, but with emphasis on endurance, it could quickly become a hard core event.

If regular 2 hour events are going to be run, then each cars reliability would be good to gauge, specifically in this way, but would the event be run under pro-rules?  And if not, is a tally to be made of every reset, so we know what failed?  And would it be a shame to handicap the faster cars with a slow track, simply to allow an equal education in Porsche.

All right, I'll leave off now . . . mumble, mumble!  ???

I was joking about Schottenring, lol, was thinking of a track opposite to the extreme to Le Mans.  :D

Some decent varied track though, so there would be some racing for the whole distance instead of flooring down an endless straight alone, especially if we don't get a full grid of drivers...

Well, I won't mind if it's Schottenring, but that's probably just me...  ::)

i won't be racing ... but might i say (possibly racing but i guess not)

for power Spa

or normal Rouen

if you run spec 910 try something like silverstone or slower

I agree, Spa or Rouen would get my vote or possibly Kyalami.

Incidentally I am trying to think up a format for a Porsche Super Cup for next season. Obviously it would not be handicapped but I think if we have a good enough spread of skill we will end up with battles throughout the field, so people like me would enter knowing they have no hope of winning but I could end up in a battle with somebody of similar ability which would make the race enjoyable anyway.

I may start a thread for it.

I tried a quick blast around Le Mans in the GT 40 the other day and despite a setup that was miles off, the Ford felt absolutely at home on the Mulsanne and using all that grunt out of the slow corners.

I found the difference between the GT's and what I have tried before in 67's at Le Sarthe miles apart and somehow "right" with the new mod. Especially the braking at the end of the straight!!!

I think that we will struggle to find a balanced circuit, where the top speed of the brutes can be made up by the agility of the Porsche to give an even playing field. There are a couple of pappy tracks that might be worth looking at along with a selection of more exotic locations.  ;)

I don't know as we have had very little experience with these, but Spa would seem to favour the big cars, and the Porsche might just be out gunned. I would hope that we can have every type of car running at least at the start of the race and for the first race Shift-R would be allowed possibly with  SnG's to mimic  pitstops for repairs?. 

So, I am thinking of putting together some 3 car teams where there is a fair cross section of chassis, so that if there is a Ferrari as the No 1 car there would also be a GT40 Mk 1 maybe and a Porsche. The Porshe might be common to all teams, but with a mixture of other cars in there as well.

One way to equalize the field would be through mandatory pitstops, to simulate refueling. The bigger cars could be forced to pit and shift-r 2-3 times while the less powerful cars could go along with 1 mandatory stop.

As for a track that produces similar laptimes for all cars, anything that doesn't have too long straights should do. Le Mans, Spa, Monza and the likes would definitely favour the beasts and even mandatory pitstops won't compensate for that. Rouen and Kya sound like a good choice, if you want to stick to Papy tracks, otherwise there are plenty of tracks to chose from. What about Brands or is that too much of a drivers track?

Hi chaps!! I most likely won't be racing, unless a miracle occurs between now and then. But might Clermont-Ferrand or even Dundrod give these beasts a thorough workout? C-F has long enough WOT sections to not disadvantage the big thumpers too much.......And Dundrod, although a bit narrow perhaps, would test the reliability question I would think, whilst having enough tight sections to give the slower chassis some hope.
Food for thought. Cya all again soon I hope, these no-racing DT's just won't subside.  :( :(
Cheers all
Geoff.

For those interested in trying Le Mans offline, I read about a recent discovery at SRMZ.  The Ai have been trying to pass each other on the grass, all these years.  They fail!   It's very noticeable with the GTs, so someones found the solution.  Open the bsarthe track folder, and swop the names of pass1 & pass2, so they're pass2 & pass1.  Job done. :angel: :angel: :angel: ::)

and why not? You could handicap by fuel load. I, of course, would get the extra boost of using the Ford GT as well :D

As for a track how about the Stunt Track lol

i think i would be up for a 2 hour GT race. I would suggest somewhere easy though as 2 hours of GPL aint good for the eyes so i will be doing driver swap with the OH. Silverstone or monza (original) so that Kaz can at least keep the car on the road!

Isn't Sebring another classic long race track?

Don't know what the GT version is like and I don't think that I would be up for it anyway. 

It is probably caused by not having a decent setup but the best way that I can describe driving these cars is as unpleasant.

Sebring is indeed a classic GT track Clive, and might be one of the circuits in contention.

 But, does it kind of favour the cars with outright horsepower on those long straights, or are there enough twisty bits to give the Porsche a chance to make up the difference with its superior handling and reliability. The biggest prob will be that is a "new" track to great many drivers and there is a certain reluctance to commit to learning a new track. Although one would have thought that "if you ain't nailed the circuit in 2 hrs of racing you ain't never gonna learn it sonny!!"


I guess I should confess here, that I am intrigued by the "reliability factor" that has allegedly been fed into the DNA of these cars and I am interested to see if it is possible to:-

a)  nurse one of the fragile cars to the end of a long race by short shifting and monitoring oil temps etc.
b) see if the unbreakable Porsche wins out through sheer reliability as the beasts up front go lame.
c)  stay awake for long enough to find out!!!

here is what i said before about the gt default setups ...

"they were made for normal drivers and to make them safe .

they were made to have a good balance with a very safe diff so most gpl drivers would be able to keep these heavy cars on track , they were not made for aliens or for people at the pointy end of the grid .

it is expected that those know who how to change setups will put in their normal diff , steer ratio , toe and camber while playing with the defaults .

after that it is also expected that they change bars (and wheelrates) to suit their style of driving in that order .

theses setups where made to give people some "ball park" numbers which they could change within their understanding before other setups become available . "

or to make it more simple ... if you like a oversteering car stiffen up the rear bar , do it in steps of 10lbs until you get the handling you like .

the GT cars will never handle like like f1 cars because they weigh so much more , however if you are having problem getting a understanding of the car it might be best to start with the 910 (it has been said it is like a turbo charged 65 car) and after that go m1 , gt40 mk1 , lola , gt40 mk2 .

it would be best not to start with the chapps or the gt40 mkIV .

also imho you don't have to redline the engine as they have so much torque and you may find that you the rear wheels break away and you spin while close to the redline .

john

Initial thought about 3 car teams, with the intention of trying to spread the reliabilty factor as evenly as possible ( not so easy without some reliable data!!) and to offer each team a Porsche that is the easiest/ most reliable car to drive and perhaps would suit the "less experienced" member of each team. So that they can then dice with others an a level playing field and maybe rise to the top if others in faster but more fragile cars drop out.

I would hope that all teams ( and therefore all of the cars) would be represented and that everyone would race in a "gentlemanly fashion" because there will be no moderating, and it is gonna be a loooong race if it happens.

Team A   Ferrari 330P / GT40 MK2B / Porsche

Team B   Chap 2F / GT40 MK1 / Porsche

Team C   GT40 MK4 / Chap 2D / Porsche

Team D   Lola / Mirage / Porsche

That gives us 12 cars with the option for doubling up on two teams for a total grid of 18 cars, if there is enough interest.

Already done all that John.

I'll just have to wait until there is something "off the peg".  I do it for fun, which for me means more of an arrive-and-drive approach.  For this week, by the time that I have sorted a Cobra 289 for Portimao, an E-Type Jag for Portimao, a Vette L88 for Brands and a Vette z06 for Oulton, I have very little time to faff with anything else.

Has anyone posted any setups anywhere yet?

And what's with the brakes? 

Gentlemen, I have some bad news!  It seems that GPL is programmed, to allow a maximum of 128 laps of racing.  This may dash any attempts at holding a long race, as I'm informed, there is no easy fix.  Still, on a longer track, this would at least allow for acclimatisation to ones environment.  But at Le Mans for example, there'd be a maximum duration of around 7hrs 30. :( (

How about 128 laps at Targa...  ::)

Which week did you have in mind? ;D

There are ways of getting around that..........


And those complaining about 2 hour races have nothing on those doing 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 hour GTP races. Nucking futs!

Apart from 2 hours might be my limit what ways Jethro?

If people insist on long races, fine, but I'll pass. I don't find it enjoyable to drive alone on my own (because that's what would most likely happen to the majority of drivers in such a race) for hours. If I wanted that I could do it offline. This is especially true if you consider the vast differences in speed between some of the cars and unless you run a spec race, with drivers of equal ability, you can't really call it a race...

You ought to be more philosophical H - this is my experience of every race with the exception of the first lap :D

Ok Hristo, let's call it off.  And there are some tracks, where even 2 hours would seem like a chore.  So my enthusiasm is very much dependent upon location.

But you have other priorities than racing other people, so it doesn't count. I've done my GPL "school" years long ago, so I just want some close racing, that's all. It doesn't matter though, if people want to do it then go ahead, was just sharing my opinion.

I was only kidding you H. I am not sure that I want to do even 2 hours trolling round on my own!

The occasional race is nice - even for a pedestrian like me :)

Consider it a 2 hours training session, Paul. You need a lot of those at the moment anyway.  :P

Some people think it's just about talent, but I think talent plays the smallest role in it. If I sum up all the practice I did in my 15 or so years of simracing, it's scary.

Just for example, there was an addon tool for GP2 (microprose sim) which would count and sum up all the time you spent inside the sim and show it to you every time you quit the game. There was a period of 11-12 months when it turned out I had spent almost 2 months of that time inside the sim.  :o

Talk about being obsessed, lol...

It's similar with GPL, in my early GPL days I would spend 1/3rd of the day just driving or whenever I had spare time, but it's definitely worth it in the end as all that counts towards improving your understanding and abilities, not only in one sim but overall as a simracer.

Of course there are some rare exceptions where talent makes up for anything else, but I'm not such a case and I know very few people who are. Probably 1 in 10000 or so. People who would enter a new sim (or mod) and just dominate from the let go, because they just have this natural knowledge what is the right thing to do and they're able to do it without effort. Greger Huttu springs to mind. I'm sure he still practices his ass off though, just to keep an edge on others of similar talent as his.

Certainly with GTP and NR2003 you could forcibly crash the game and still keep your entry, thus not losing out.

Hi guys, maybe I'm off topic on this Thd but...at most I agree with H pertaining Le Mans. I think it would be better a track like Interlagos or also the track I've just installed..."Diamante" it seems a very nice one. Anyway I prefer a track like Interlagos because it is long enough but not too much long. Also Nurburgring I think it could be a great racing site but it is quite difficult for most of us to stay on that track for 2 hours and more.
Interlagos permitts to stay in contact with the other pilots and also lapping is not too much difficult so you have a perception of the others around you.
Fulvio told me that you've already raced at Interlagos (but I would not want to remember bad) and GPFun did it also (with 67's cars) just during the last season.
I only wanted to give you my little contribution.

See you soon

Hi Sergio, thanks for your feedback on Interlagos. We will be running two short races there tomorrow evening at 9pm UK time so please join us if you can. The 65 and GT mods will be used.

As for a long race in the GTs, Clive is drawing up plans for next season at the moment, I'm sure he will see this thread and take note of it.