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All members welcome

Practice 1:	20:00	(10 mins)
Qual 2:	20:10	(30 mins)
Race:	20:40	(120 mins)	note: no warmup!

Cars allowed: any GT1 from the UKGTR Physics Pack v2.13.0.0 (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3356.msg54519#msg54519) (Possibility of multi class with GT2, see post below) Update: GT1 only
Weather: changeable. The race will start with rain and finish dry, ambient temperature will be 14 - 16 Degrees C. (Updated)
Track: Le Mans 24H 'revived' v1.0.0.0 - download from here (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3356.msg54521#post_lmsarthe). (Filefront link now updated.)
Race Start Time: 14.00  (Updated)

Fuel consumption: x2

Pit Stops: You must make a minimum of one pit stop during which you must take on at least 1 litre of fuel and/or change at least two tyres. You cannot take a mandatory stop at the end of the pace lap, or with less than 1 lap to go.

Server: simracing.org.uk 2011
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

This is a non championship race however the results will be stored on the web site indefinitely.

Notes:
(1) Please make sure you are fully aware of the UKGTR Rules (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3349.0) - especially the speed limiter starting procedure and the rules about in-game chat messages.
(2) Standings and schedule can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=197;theme=3)
(3) You will not be able to join the server without the skin and ballast pack and track pack (see links above).
(4) Drivers may only change car once in the season without penalty.
(5) Drivers are reminded that they must select ISDN as their bandwidth, otherwise the stability of everyone's connection will be reduced.
(6) Please use the Driver Details (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=profile;sa=driver_info) page to ensure that the league management software has your correct GTR2 'Driving Name' (not necessarily the same as your lobby name).
(7) Note that the track is relatively heavy on frame rates, so if necessary turn your shadows and other graphical settings down to ensure that you get a decent number of FPS.

I thought that I would give the GT1s a last outing before putting them away for a while as I plan to use GT500/LMP2 and GT2 for season 14.

I thought that we should go back to the roots of GTR2 and have a proper enduro.

I am not sure how many people (if any) will be interested in this race otherwise I would have made it GT2 and GT1 multi class. For that reason, could people post a message here if they are interested in racing and if you would be interested in driving GT1 or GT2. If you will only attend if GT2 is an option then please say that also.

Thanks all. :)

Sounds good. Sign me up, GT1 or GT2 8)

GT1 here 8)

Any, but I found a recent addiction to F550, so if it's GT1s... :)

GT2 or GT1 here too. Think of it as race between you and the track lol

GT1s for me

GT1's for me please. ;D

I'm having a problem downloading the track at the moment.

The filefont link doesn't appear to be working and I think the Humyo link needs me to sign in for a 30 day trial.  ::) Is this correct?  ???

 

It does seem pretty much most of the filefront links are dead. I'm afraid Humyo is it nsfast. However i beleive it is our old, horrible looking one so i'm sure you've got it somewhere!

Are you going to run this endurance race with accelerated time of day Hal, i.e. 2 hours of real time will span, say, 12 hours of game time so that night/day transitions are more prominent?

The reason for mentioning this is that the current start time is sunset and with changeable weather thrown in, it could produce a wet/night race which on the whole are not a lot of fun.

 

I expect a dull race and my early retirement. This track is so long you can hardly meet anyone - same as nordhilfe. :P

I will see if I can get the filefront upload updated. I am pretty sure that you can use Humyo for free without having to install anything or any 30 day trial. You just need to find the smaller boxes for free options. Usually hidden down the screen somewhere.  ::)


Probably not accelerated time but, I have been thinking about the rain and night combination as it can be far too variable on frame rates as well as insanely difficult to drive. The weather system can be used to make sure that we have rain earlier in the race race and none later in the race and that it is not too heavy for the reduced visibility of having no sun. The only problem is it takes a long time to get to full night time darkness so we may start after sun set and just not allow the rain to get too heavy.

This race will be about getting to the end in one piece TT, not everyone's cup of Tea. I love Nord but, I will not put you guys through the horror of trying to learn that track. It took me about 2 months. ;D

I was going to take the Viper for this race but, the 6th gear is not long enough and it destroys its own engine. I was getting 10% engine damage per lap with a qualy setup and had to slow it down so much to stop the damage that the car become too slow. :(

I am considering the Marcos. It does not have the advantage it should as it also suffers from too short 6th gear (not as bad as the Viper though). ::) However, I think it may be close competition given the 2 Hour race length and awful tyres. The 550, 575 and Saleen are probably the best cars to choose.

ooh Le Mans  :wub: too far ahead to know what swmbo has planned for me but if i can be there i most definitely will  :)

GT1 or GT2, will go with the majority for better chance of racing.

I disagree with TT about no-one to race, ive generally always had some great multi-lap battles here, alas the track usually bites me on the butt and ends it early for me, but thats usually my enthusiasm getting the better part of my talent  ;D

After all these years I've somehow missed out on Le Mans in the past. This is going to be a my first attempt.  8)

Sorry, i'll be doing the iRacing Enduro :-X

Should be ok for this depending on Mrs Goldtop's new working patterns. Don't mind GT1 or GT2 and if there's enough for dual class I'll commit to GT2. That BiTurbo is mightily fun round here :)

Might have been up for a trundle along at the back but I'm not likely to risk domestic harmony on a Sunday night for the sake of a wet race in the dark.

Depends how my PnG 2hrs go on the Thursday before.  ;D

Splitter !!   

;)

Filefront link for the track is now working. :)

Thanks Dave.

i think i`m up for this.....   lapping 4:21 in the dark after just 30 mins of having the game. - havent tried rain on it yet....

thought i'd throw up an early timingboard time to get the ball rolling.

3:54 so far in GT1. Still testing wings and settings etc so early days.

Great track conversion this, not as total eye candy as the VirtuaLM version but still very nicely done. Really highlights how they have opened up the corners and made it 'safer' ::) over the years too.

Hm, hm, tried the beasty Marcos but it also suffers too short transmission. Shame. :(
3:51, and if anyone wants to try and suggest setup improvement... :)

Marcos quali setup (http://www.humyo.com/DzKHPZb/Marcos-q.svm?a=kuCVZx0jZ3g)

some dumbass n00bie questions...

i`m favouring the Murci gt-r (black and orange DAMS car) at the moment but i`m concerned about the lack of
mirrors. i only seem to have the drivers door mirror, no internal mirror, and a passenger door mirror thats obscured by the cars roll cage when i glance right. is there a way around this as i`m concernedi may be a danger to everyone with my lack of rear-vision.
Also, at what point should i be concerned with setup - atm im lapping 4:06 (day) 4:16(night) on default...

in options, possibly in the realism bit, I recommend turning on virtual mirror.
I think it's then controlled with #2 on your keyboard when you're in car :-\


Setup can be worth maybe 1-2 secs, but you'll gain the most time now by following someone quicker online. Next best would probably be racing against yourself in Time-Trial mode. Make sure you turn on your ghost car & play with different lines through corners. You'll notice that usually, a fast corner exit saves you a lot
more time than a fast corner entry. Particularly if the corner is followed by some kind of straight 8)

With regards setup, what is the biggest problem with driving the car that you'd like to make easier? ( i.e. Spinning sometimes when exiting a slow corner...)

3:50.092  8)  PB for me so far.

Hello sim racers,

just found out that i should be home in time to race on sunday night, so will have to start getting some practice in, DBR9 i think

I'd like to have a go at this, as long as no-one has any objections to me jumping in. I've downloaded the track, carpack etc and had a quick couple of laps on the praccy server daytime, waaaaay slower than you guys at the moment lol, must be a bit rusty!!!!!

tried the 575, though found it a bit skittish on exit, but then again been over 3 years since I used gtr2 and boy does it show.

The more, the better. I'm always rubbish at LeMans, so I'll keep it slow and hopefuly safe. If the itch won't be stronger then me. :D

All members are free to join and will be very welcome. :)

I will give more details on virtual time and weather soon.

I have given up on the Marcos as well TT. I just cant get a decent lap time. It is so slow on all corners that lead into a straight that it seems unable to use its straight line advantage. I am now planing on using the Viper again. I will just have to do a super economy drive but, that will help to keep things interesting. ;D I got a 3.48 in the Viper and 3.47 in the 550 during practise and something like 3.53 in the Marcos.

This track requires a uniuqe method for setup and driving style. You need to concentrate on getting the power down as early as possible on the entrance to the long straights. Gear ratios are critical and you need to get the car as stable as possible under heavy braking and when applying throttle. In my experience having the coast at around 80, the power at around 10 and a preload of at least 3 suits this track with almost all of the GT1 cars. Low wing of course as well and limit the revs a little to make sure that the engine will last for the 2 hours. The XD monitor can show you your engine health.

Link for XD monitor:
http://www.vitumo.de/

Nice times [email protected] swine  ;)  Ah well i had 5 hours of glory at the top of the timing board  ::) felt quite content when i realised i had gone 2 secs quicker than TT   ;D

I have got down to 3mins52 in a DBR9 after a couple of hours practice, will try out your diff settings tommorow H@L9000, when you mention low wing settings, how low do you suggest (i was using front=1 and rear=8)

regards    Stephen

Lol MJ, you never had problems beating me here. :)

Really having problems on this track (never raced it before) finding the fastest line through the first and third sector. If any kind soul fancies lending a hand I wouldn't mind following someone who knows the track round for a few laps at a "moderate" pace!!!!!

or you could just turn up[ and plod around at the back with me :D

'Low' for Le Mans is definetely 1 front 1 back. Highest you can allow yourself to run in Le Mans with those straights is 1 front and around 4-5 back, if you need rear stability that is. Otherwise 1-1 and off you go 8)

An important setting at this track is the brakes. I usually run brake duct at 2 (if not 1), pressure 100% and your brake bias has to be set according to the toughest braking, which for me is at the Mulsane corner (after the last part of the long straight). Set your brake bias as rear as you can without losing it in that corner. Don't hesitate if you have to set it around 60:40, I always have to do so in Le Mans :laugh:

Hi Jason, I've been doing some laps in the GT40 and managed a 4:00.341 so I would say, as one noob to another that you are doing OK.  Although what I know about GTR2 you can stick in your eye.

My experience of GTR2 is that once they start lobbing the weather at you then it's no race for noobs; as you are about two years short on experience of when to change the poxy tyres and what to change them to!

If it starts wet then you can at least start with something with treads on but as to which ones you want for what amount of rain is all black magic as far as I am concerned.

Pit stops are another area that you need to practice and I expect that there will be a pit lane speed limit.

Good luck

First post has been updated.

Gt1 cars only.

The race will start with rain and finish dry.

The race virtual start time will be 20.00. There is normally some light still at that time but, with the rain it will actually be a bit dark. I promise to do a full day time race with this track in the summer. :)

This will be a very difficult race so it will be more about getting to the end rather than being fast. :scooter:

just a thought - is it possible to adjust wings at the pit stops? if the race is starting wet i would like more wing then with a dry setup.... lap times down to 4:02 in the dry (daytime) 4:11 (night)...
i have been tweaking the car setup to make it move around in the corners which has made me far more comfortable with the car - its now nice and progressive when it breaks away...  At some point i should do the time trial thing as all my laps so far have been against 100% psycho AI and have generally involved rather a lot of bumping around.... i`m trying to train myself for awareness of other vehicles doing odd things.
Looking forward to going wheel to wheel with you again Clive, just like our old wireplay gpl days :D

Would be useful for drivers to come and join in on Teamspeak. All kind of useful info can be found out by actualy talking. ;)

starting with rain eh.. what kind of rain we talking?  Monsoon or hard wets? Should make it interesting strategy wise as it will all depend on how long your rain tyres can hang on as the track dries, or making the right call at right time. Just hope it doesnt stretch the field out too much as you really want someone to race within a few secs on a big track like this.

The rain might fubar Busi's 1-4 wing combo  :o  ;)...thats almost Monza wing spec. I was running 2-6 for my laptimes but not tried it in the wet yet.

Not only is that not possible nor is changing the tyre pressures AFAIK. One of many reasons I hate changeable weather.

Just ran some wet laps with 50% rain using hard wets. PB was a 4:07.4 using my dry setup with some minor tweaks, ie few clicks more power diff and 1 click off front ARB. Anyone else ran any for comparison?
I found if i tried to run my normal low power diff it was almost undriveable out of any corner exit or up through the Dunlop curves and even now i am using 3rd gear where i would normally drop into 2nd or even 1st !

Racing while using teamspeak can be a bit distracting when you are not used to it but, the chat will mainly be about tyres during this race and you will be able to get a much better understanding of which tyre to use at which time.


It will be a normal rain level so no heavy rain or monsoon conditions. I am intending that no one will need soft wet tyres. I think Busi said splitter 1 and wing 1. ;D That is alien talk I reckon. The changeable conditions will require a setup that can be used for both wet and dry so I would recommend higher than 1 - 1. I use 2 - 5 in the Viper and 2 - 3 in the 550 and 575.


It is not possible to change wing levels during a race but, it is possible to change tyre pressure using the newer version of XD however, I still do not change them. You can also use XD to pre select your tyre change choice before stopping in order to speed up the pit stop process. I recommend everyone uses it for this race. Also do not request your pit stop until half way around the track or your crew get bored waiting for you and go back in the garage for a Tea.


4.05 in the wet with the Viper for me. I am not totally sure of the rain % to use to simulate the same weather conditions but, it will be in the area of 50 - 60%.

I'm generally not much into setup talk, but I'm not sure what's the purpose of setting the splitter on 2. I mean I can understand that the rear goes up to 5 or 6 (1-5, 1-6, 1-7) for the right stability of the car, i.e. avoid oversteer. But for a track with so many straights, the downforce should be lower for more top speed, and I doubt there's too much difference between for example 1-4 and 2-6 in terms of car balance?

I'm talking about dry conditions at all times, for wet I can understand the use of high downforce. Even though I'll most probably be on around 1-3 anyway ;D

As I said though, for Le Mans I think the key is having the right brake bias in which you can be comfortable and avoid spins on braking.

Hadn't ever looked at the race start time/weather as it's Sunday night & that means I'll be there to race.

However, just had my 1st go using the 8pm/60% rain combination...

First impression is that it's not going to very enjoyable. I just don't understand the need for rain & the dark together ???, let's not forget these are GT1's we're trying to drive.

I was really looking forward to this & just hadn't taken it on board. My fault of course & I'll give it another go, closer to the time before I make a decision I think. :-\

Blimey Legz, just read this post and your touring car race post...you have turned into the christmas Grinch !  :laugh: Someone get some crappy socks for christmas?  ;D

My only fear of using dark&rain is it might put off some that were tempted to join in, and we really want as many racers as possible to make these races 'events'. It could also cause some early dnf's as ive found one momentary off is all it takes for an early bath, even with concentrating intently, these powerful GT1's can fall off quite of their own choice! But im all for changeable weather to spice it up some.

Was looking forward to this too, but I'm afraid the changeable weather has also killed it for me. Tried 50% wet with a couple of cars and I can hardly keep them on track for a lap let alone think about competing. It takes someone with more skill than me to enjoy this.

Have fun.

NOOB TO NOOB helpline......

Hi Jason,
Still not sure about this race.  As I said before it depends how badly I get on tonight in the PnG Christmas special.

However, here are some things that I have found out the hard way.

Map a couple of buttons to select 1st and Reverse.  I can't always get these after a spin, using the normal gear change paddles, so I found it necessary to have another means of getting out of trouble.  I ended one race with my nose pressed against the Armco and another parked off the track and no way to select 1st.  Make sure that you have remembered which ones they are and don't get them mixed up with the curssor up/down buttons when using XD.  Selecting 1st at full chat down the straight at Kyalami is another of my classic ways of messing up a race!

You need to map buttons for the ignition switch and probably the starter.  If you don't then you will not make it any further than your first pit stop.  Remember, they will not put any fuel in until you have switched off the ignition and if you can't then that's it!

Remember the pit lane speed imiter.  You don't get the nice little men with flags at the side of the road as you do in GPL and if you ignor the black flag then you will be chucked out of the game.  I have more experience of PnG than GTR2 but the flags appear up with all the XD stuff and can be a challenge to spot before you have been disqualified.

In GTR2 you could also do with learning swahili.  This might help you to understand what your race engineer is shouting at you.  I've never made any sence of it to date.

Can't think of anything else yet.

Good luck and stay rubber side down on the grey bit!

Yep, sorry for the difficulty level here. I will not make any races this hard in the championships.

This headlight mod will help:
http://www.nogripracing.com/details.php?filenr=2906

That mod does make the ghost car far less see through if you do time trials with your car light on though.

Just take it easy in the race. In the rain brake earlier and accelerate later than you would in the dry. You have to be patient and not push too hard. I am doing some tweaks to the weather system to make sure that we have no rain in the 2nd half of the race.

Watch your frame rates as well. I recommend having light detail in the graphics options on med or low as high causes the other cars headlights to appear like they are flashing all the time. 'ctrl + f' to get in game fps count up. Try racing the ai with about 15 cars with a race start time of 20.00 with 50% rain and make sure fps is always above at least 40.

Championship races will be more aimed at actual racing, don't worry. ;D

I have to make sure that I am not the first one to crash out in the rain or I will never hear the end of it. ;)

LOL  40fps

Going through that last chicane it feels like I get one going in, one in the middle and one coming out!

Update!

Virtual start time is now 14.00Hrs.


I did some more testing and the start time and weather conditions on this track will push the fps too far for some drivers including myself. Therefore its now a day time race which I am sure you will all be happy about. :)

I still recommend the use of the headlight mod and putting the light effects setting to mid or low.

Its better to use headlights in the rain. :)

 :laugh:

I appear to have lost my toys from my pram last night, I'm ready to have them back now :angel: ;D
Prepare to eat my dust spray come Sunday! :2guns:

H@L, I forgot to ask, any hints as to the sort of temps we can expect through the race?  (i.e. Are we looking at 13/20/28 ish ambient degrees?)

14 - 16 degrees C.

Close to what it was at the actual event this year.

1st post has been updated.

* breathes BIG sigh of relief *

fps wasnt an issue for me , but finding the corners through the spray certainly was!

at least now i might be able to do more than just couple of laps between spins....

just done some practice laps in a Viper - best lap of 4:23,, comfortable at 4:25.. (2pm, 50% rain, 20c ambient)

Blito, just go slow and watch me others crash... :D

i wonder if someone could offer me some setup advice. I`ve managed to get a Saleen round in 4:16 (50% rain) but the cars handling was rather vague - it tended to wander around a lot on the straights... not had this problem on the other cars i`ve driven. Would reducing the rear wing help?

Wandering is solved with seeting a toe. 0,1 should be enough for such a long straights, I set it front and rear. For Saleen I set it + at the front and - at the back. Now watch get me beat up with setup manuals... ;D

Well, I can't resist, I'm taking the Marcos. The Beast is strong and st00pid - just like me. :blink:

(http://images.paraorkut.com/img/funnypics/images/s/stupid_chickens-12103.jpg)

if your rear toe is currently "+0.1", try a rear toe of "+0.2" to see if it helps?
Keep upping rear toe by 0.1 till it's sorted :)

Sorry for the lack in organisation standards on this race guys, Christmas and all that you know. ::)

Some more info on the weather.

-I have done a few tweaks to the weather system to get a suitable weather file. The weather will be rain at the start and will stop at some point in the first hour. The race will remain dry from that point until the end.

-Qualy will be dry.

-The 10 min practise session will have the same weather as the first 10 mins of the race exactly.

The weather system will be used by the server starter to generate a file just before the race so no one gets to see it. I have done example runs with the weather system. The weather files generated had the following weather conditions:
Run 1. Drys up in the first 10 - 15 mins
Run 2. Stops raining after about 20 mins
Run 3. Drys up in first 10 mins
Run 4. Rains for 30 mins
Run 5. Stops raining after about 20 mins

You can download the actual files here if you want to take a look:
http://www.filefront.com/17735735/testWeather.rar/

I hope to see some of you practising tonight. :)

I'm now a proud owner of a G27 after 3 years using sh!tty wheels :laugh: so I will be learning during this race. Still gotta decide whether I'll use the H shifter or paddles.

according to my pit garage menu it says i would only get 6 laps (22mins) in for a full tank when using 2x consumption !  :o Thats a lot of pitstops for a 2 hour race!?

I really dont enjoy practising this. I can normally manage an outlap which is enough to work out a setup. Every lap is a new lap with it being so long, i dont learn them too quickly. I guess my first timed lap will be in practise.

Practise server now has changeable weather for practise 1 and dry weather for qualy.

The weather in the practise 1 session has been taken from the list of example runs already given.

I was reckoning on just over 400 litres for the race and the tank will only take 135 so even three full tanks is marginal. With stop(s) for tyres in mixed weather that will be at least 3 pit stops as tyres will not be needed necessarily at the same time as the fuel runs out. I know you are trying to ensure one pit stop is required but....

Lol Pete. :D
I won't fret too much about setting the car. I don't intend to win, just take a tour and see what the weather brings. :)

Do we want to change it to 1x fuel?

What do you guys think? I thought 4 stops would help to concentrate for 2 hours and allow good opportunities to change tyre. It does of course mean that the risk of a pit stop error is higher and many of us know first hand how costly it can be to over run your stop (you have to do another lap, reversing does not work). Also people that are good at pit stops get super advantage with 4 stops.

I would say that the more pitstops yu need the more spread out your'll get. I think the weather will ensure we all pit eventually.

2x fuel is good or I might fall asleep...  :yawn:

If everyone is happy with 2x fuel that's fine. The way I drive in the wet especially with GT1 cars, pit stops are my least concern.  ;D

With X2 fuel in this race, what I expect is that anyone trying to do only 2 pitstops will have to do them on a very narrow window (pitstop 1 very close to the 40-45 minute mark and pitstop 2 close to 1:20) otherwise there's not enough fuel. This means that the 2-stoppers would have to stay out on track with the wrong tyre unless they are very lucky.

On the other hand the 3-stoppers have a wider window. I think 3 stops is pretty much ideal for a FUN 2hour race :)

i`ve been practising pit-stops today.. just about getting the hang of it.... i will do at least 4 stops, maybe more just to relieve the monotony of 2 hours of cruising round at a steady pace :D

OK, we will leave the tyre use on 2x then.

I still can not decide if I will take the 550 or the Viper. ::)

EDIT: sorry, 2x fuel not tyres.

keep switching between the 550 and the C6 myself. Still not sure which to take. My only beef with the C6 is its a beeyatch in the wet and it also doesnt have a long enough final gear....but i do love that bumble bee rumble compared to a possible 2 hours of screechy fezza.

Tyres,  Tyres  TYRES?!

I thought it was x2 fuel!!!!!

LOL.

Yer, sorry. I mean fuel. ::)

Still recovering from Friday I think. :nuke:

 >:(

Doesn't matter anyway.

Apparently watching Miss Marple is more imortant!   ::)

Ouch.

At least its not eastenders. ;D

Gutted!!!

made it to 1h10 before getting mad with my earphones and in taking them out put the car into the barrier mid way down the mulsanne straight, coming to rest in the gravel at one of the chicanes. So now i have to sit here annoyed with myself for failing in my aim to make the finish AND with earache from crap earphones to boot!

Anyhow - a few questions...
1 - about 2 minutes after the rain stopped the back of the car stepped out on me in the porsche curves and i swiped the barrier. The muffled voice in my ear told me i had a puncture - the result of the crash or the cause of it? I`m not aware that i made a mistake there and i doubt my soft wets would have degraded that quickly.

2 - on the drying track i was having problems braking, especially at mulsanne corner - i just seemed to run out of braking effort - was that down to wear and tear on the brakes or standing water?

3 - is it possible to drive a wrecked and wheel-less car out of the gravel trap? :D

An early bath for me but to be honest I was more than happy with my run out in the 550. It's been over a year since my last GTR2 race so I pretty happy with the performance, even if it did include many offs a puncture and finishing up on my roof ;D

i enjoyed the race tonight, was good to get some experiance racing in the wet on a high speed track (have done a wet race at Ricard HTTT last year). My computer froze up for a second a few times during the warm up lap and in the first few laps, hope i didnt cause anyone too much trouble ( i hit someone in a blue car on the warm up lap)

Results & Replay (including weather file) posted in the usual places



I've corrected the finishing position of TT, who got himself DQ'd after crossing the finish line ::) :nono: :-*

Never really liked it here being too long to really learn it propperly and the weather just felt like it got in the way making every lap a lottery. Even wished i was in iR after trying my car out in the wet and realising it wasnt right, no matter what i did. Would have prefered a long normal track like Spa, brno, watkins etc but hey ho.

Got fun briefly when there was 5 of us or so stacking up behind TT fat ass in the twistys but i was become increasingly nervous after some of the driving out there meant i went off. Got caught out by SRW a few times with his PC freezing and Jamera's warping car was concerning at times.

The new season cant come soon enough. Glad others enjoyed it.

I fell off too many times to count and was not quick enough in the later damp periods.
The weather made it into the usual egg and spoon race where I can't actually do any "racing" for fear of dropping my egg. Had some fun trying to keep a pit stop's gap back to TT. Lost the usual 20 secs/stop to Legzy despite presetting
everything with XD which makes a mockery of any "racing" that might have happened.
Was a good event spoiled by the rain for me. I like the enduro idea, but I don't like pit stops, and I don't like rain.
One or the other is enough for me.

phew that was a 'proper' endurance race. My eyes were completely squirelled after 2+ hours intense concentration  :P

Evening didnt start well when the missus decided to serve up dinner at 8.05pm ::) so i had to miss practise and half of qually. Then had a couple of really frustrating runs where on the 2nd flying lap whilst 2secs faster than my first flyer i ran out of fuel in the final sector as had forgot to change my qually setup to suit 2x fuel burn  ::) then on my second run out the blinking session ended when 2/3rds round again whilst 2+secs ahead of my time...grrr. So had to settle for 9th or 10th on grid which was disapointing.

Early half of the race was a lesson in frustration. It quickly became apparent that i had more wing (and in some cases a much slower car!) than the guys around me as they were like grannies in the corners but left me for dead on the straights. Every corner became an episode of avoiding actions trying not to hit the much slower car that had just gazumped me down the straights. I take it you were all on 1-3 or 4 or such like? I stuck to 2-6 as couldnt face any lower in the wet. The fezzas and TT's Marcos could literally just pull out several hundred metres away from me even with me trying to tow them !  :o  But i was still enjoying myself mostly.

Had several incidents due to the slippery track surface and stupid low speed tyre grip bug that afflicts the GTR series and turned the air blue on a few occasions when it just would not grip out of corner exits. Also got a stop and go for pitlane speeding even though i use autopit  ::)
and that prevented me chasing Matt ahead at one point when only 20secs behind. Had a good race with Legz early on and TT later on but that was about it for racing, the rest alas was pure grip management/frustration as the track just never really dried out until perhaps final 10minutes or so. My car was a tad stiff for a wet track so was always tough as i thought it would dry out earlier than it did.

To round it off, i had to make a flipping splash and dash with 2 laps remaining so couldnt even chase TT to the line when we had been a few seconds apart  :(

But i finished 6th overall and i was quite pleased with that considering the effort just to get the car home and my trials throughout!  :)Pleased that most stayed the distance where possible and big congratulations to H@L on the win and the two pody guys  :thumbup1: Its a fantastic achievement to win at Le Mans, especially in those weather conditions.  :notworthy:

Well, my expectations were not too high and the race was ok-ish, excepting a push I gave Legzy. :-[ Missed my braking point completely and Marcos is hard to stop even with getting it right. :( Must say it really didn't feel like racing, only getting the darn thing to finish. Erm, MJ, I had 3-1 wing. :angel: Was great to see Marcos pull away from others.  :wheelchair:

Glad SRW and Blito decided to drive - I expect Champ races will be much more enjoyable. :)
H@l - did you learn to set the weather now? Or do we have another season of variable weather? ;)

Was a bit sceptical, but overall was a good event. :)

Erm, thanks for fixing the results, Legzy. And where's the "I'll mention you in me speech" thingy? :D  

it surprised me just how long the track stayed wet after the rain had stopped - after i had my puncture (about a lap after the rain had stopped) i limped to the pits, repaired the damage and put medium slicks on.... got as far as the dunlop curves before saying hello to the gravel for the first time! I then tip-toed round for another 5 or 6 laps before pitting again for fuel and soft slicks.. but by then i was getting tired and started to make mistakes - compounded by my headphones starting to get very uncomfortable.
BTW - i didnt realise autopit was an option! i had everything disabled! call me mr hardcore :)

I was called to go out for some beers even it was on a sunday night lol sorry for retiring.

I enjoyed my first official officially organized race with the G27 and using the H gearbox, although I had a couple of hot moments where I tried to 'upshift' from 4th to 3rd and things like that :laugh:

1st stint on hard wets I pulled away with Jon and Prof following closely. 1st pitstop I thought the track would dry out quicker than that :o so put on medium slicks and struggled like hell. Not sure if Jon was on slicks too, both of us kept dancing on and off track :P so H@L got past with inters I reckon. Then I retired.

Well done H@L, you alien! ;)

I'd say puncture, as you must have hit the barrier with your tyre.

Did you check your brake bias in XD (you did use it, right?). Bias your brake balance to your liking but usualy it's preferable to lock the fronts just a bit sooner than your rears. In the rain it's easy to lock the brakes. I used to lower the brake strenght to 80%, nowadays I just press less - up until locking. But I bet you already knew all that. :P

Not the Marcos you can't. :D

Hopefully I can help with this:

1 - Punctures only happen due to hits, so that must have been the result of the crash. When its wet you can lose it anywhere at anytime if you do the slightest error in braking or accelerating. Or turning in :P

2 - not sure if it has anything to do, but a useful tip: a locked wheel brakes less than a moving wheel. This means that if you floor the brake, your wheels will lock up and your braking will be longer (worse). If that's the case, I suggest you to set the audio settings related to wheelspin or whatever its called to around 150% so you will hear when you are sliding/locking brakes and therefore you need to dicrease the braking power.

3 - as far as I know GTR2 doesn't allow you to pull out of the car and push it, so the answer would be no :laugh:

EDIT: TT beat me by 1 minute!

 :clap:

Well done all. :)

That was not easy and the track took longer to dry that I thought it would. Maybe if the temperature was higher the track would have dried more quickly. Especially well done to anyone that has not raced in the wet before.

Guess who forgot to put wet tyres on at the start of the race. ::) I had to pit at the end of the formation lap. I had some good fights coming back through the field and was in a big train behind TT for a while, that was intense. I kept the wet tyres on until the fuel ran out and pitted for Inters. The inters were going well and I decided to put another set of Inters on once I had used up my fuel again. I some how managed to get back near the front and Jon seemed to start having problems. Soon after Busi quit and I had a big lead to Prof. I could see that I may need a quick stop for a little fuel before the end and I was over 50 seconds ahead of Prof. As he was in the Lister I doubted that he would stop again and I considered short shifting to the end but, I thought that I had a good enough lead to make a stop as I only need a small amount of fuel and I new I could potentially get the track record for a race session with dry tyres if it was dry enough. Luckily it was. I came out of the pit only 5 seconds ahead of Prof. I was really expecting to be at least 20 seconds ahead. Doh!

After the last quick stop I thought that we may not get another lap but, I crossed the line with 30 seconds left on the clock so we got the 29th lap and I got my chance to try for lap record. That last lap I was 4 seconds quicker than any previous lap. Changing to drys sooner would have been faster!

Thanks for racing all, it was fun. :)

Forgot to say: was great to see Jon back on track. Hope you can join more times from now on. :)

Yes as Busi said punctures only occur and wheels only fall off from an impact (I think the pit crew tell you you have a puncture when the wheel has actually come off). A few of the corners on the track (that one included) can catch you out. I almost lost it there my self at one point when Jon was in my mirrors.


Again, I agree with Busi. Its all about using the audio as a queue to wheel locking and its harder to pick up on in the wet as the noise is different than it is in the dry, more quiet. As you get down to 2nd and 1st gears when braking you would have needed to back off the brake a little to reduce locking.


As long as you have at least 1 wheel on the back of the car its theoretically possible but, the car can get really wedged in the gravel some times. If you have that game set to use a manual clutch you would have needed to use that as well.


Maybe on this track but, I have done a crazy amount of laps here with variable weather and I still was not close to the insane qualy record of low 1.43. :o

Well I must say I really enjoyed that, first GTR race in over 3 years and what a way to get back into it!!!
Bit gutted I buggered my suspension up with about 20 mins to go, had my sights on SRW who I knew still had do a final stop, but hey thems the breaks. Thought I was being clever by jumping onto inters early, however it took til my next stop for them start performing properly, by which time I'd fallen some way back. All in all though really enjoyed it and hope I didn't get in anyone's way

Good fun in a not blinking for two hours sort of a way. I decided that 4:04 was the switchover time from wet to dry tyres only to find the track took another hour to dry properly. I was not fast enough to keep up with the really fast guys but made surprisingly few mistakes given the slippery surface. I gained places when it was Busi's bedtime  ;D and when Jon crashed out to give me a richly undeserved second place - but I'll take it.
Well done to everyone who lasted the course and especially H@L for great pace throughout. My best performance of the year and I fear I shall still be saying that in December.

not really got anything more to add to this post... but we cant just leave it sitting here with just 99 replies can we?

so this post might be pointless but when was the last time any post on this forum had 100 replies?