SimRacing.org.uk

UKGPL Season 21 65 Professionals Trophy
Race 1 Monaco

Welcome one and all to the Inaugeral event in the new Professionals championship!
After several years of decidedly non-amateur racing we've finally been promoted (;)) which also conveniently leaves the Am's slot available should the 65 series grown enough to warrent 3 grids  :)

So, in an unusual step we are opening the season at Monaco.
Monaco is famed for a great number of things, one of which is the utter lack of run-off, so I don't need to tell you all to be very carefull and give each other room here.
As with the other championships Pros will be running FULL moderation of lap one, so any incidents will be acted regardless of wether they are reported or not (Why did I agree to that with Monaco first on the list?!  :D)
Also worth noting is that this season in Pros drivers will be required to complete 50% of the race to score points, this is especially worth remembering here in the tight confines of Monte Carlo.

Race List = IGOR
Server = UKGPL_T7_2
IP address = 62.149.202.168
Race date = 03/05/2011
Time = 21:00 UK time
Track = Monaco
Variant = 65F1
Damage Model = Pro
Qualifying time = 35 minutes
Race length = 50 minutes ( 33 laps)
Password: see above (#post_event_password)

65 Patch: The 2.02 Release of the 65mod can and should be used and can be found here (http://bit.ly/d8dECl)

Driver lists can be found on the Pro championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=305;theme=6)
The track can be downloaded from : original papy track
Add-on’s available at : Speedgeezas (http://www.dixierunners.speedgeezers.net/mrocks/) (Also from GPLMZ although the links are currently down)

Please be in IGOR UKGPL chatroom by 8:50 pm UK Time

Reserve drivers should not join the server(s) until there are only 30 minutes of qualifying left. Please restrict chat to pit messages. Moderating will be by 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 and recommend a days deep breath with a replay review before posting. A sorry in the forum won't be taken as an automatic admission of guilt by the moderators.
The race will be run on PRO Damage.

NOTE: 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.

To give drivers some free choice in the chassis they drive for the season we have split the cars into groups based on average performance and split the drivers into groups based on average ability. The chassis numbers for Amateurs are as follows:

Please see the Pros registration thread (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=9282.0) for an explanation of the chassis allocations shown below as the permitted chassis you take here will be your chassis for the season:

CHASSIS GROUPS
1 - Lotus, Ferrari
2 - BRM, BT11
3 - Honda
4 - Cooper
5 - BT7

FULL TIME
5. Hristo Itchov    
5. FullMetalGasket
4. EvilClive
4. Turkey Machine
3. Raoni Frizzo  (please can you give me an idea if this would be corrent Raoni, I only have your first race in Historics to go on.
As a result you may have to be moved sooner rather than later if you prove too fast/slow :))
2. G Jonsson
2. fpolicardi
2. natan5
1. Clutch4                                  
1. Ross Neilson                  
1. vosblod
1. Ronnie peterson

We still have several drivers from last season who havn't voted and expressed and interest in joining (hopefully they've just forgotten ;)), To save me from running about like a headless chicken prior to the first race I'm seeding you now for should you join either Full Time or part time  :)

2 al heller
2 kinghiro
1 Phil
1 Bernie
1 Steve (b_1_rd)

Reserve drivers should not join the server until there are only 30 minutes of qualifying left so as to give the FULL TIME drivers chance to join, and drivers are not to go out on track until there are 30 minutes of qualifying left as this helps all drivers join the server successfully.

Please restrict chat to pit messages if necessary, and this includes the end of the race, until all running drivers have completed the necessary laps.

A bit about the circuit:
The Monaco Grand Prix has been run since 1929, and is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (informally known as the Triple Crown of Motorsport). The circuit has been called "an exceptional location of glamour and prestige."

The race is held on a narrow course laid out in the streets of Monaco, with many elevation changes and tight corners as well as a tunnel, making it one of the most demanding tracks in Formula One. In spite of the relatively low average speeds, it is a dangerous place to race.

The first race in 1929, was organised by Anthony Noghès under the auspices of the "Automobile Club de Monaco", and was won by William Grover-Williams driving a Bugatti. The event was part of the pre-Second World War European Championship and was included in the first Formula One World Championship in 1950. It was designated the European Grand Prix two times, 1955 and 1963, when this title was an honorary designation given each year to one grand prix race in Europe. Graham Hill was known as "Mr Monaco" due to his five Monaco wins in the 1960s. Brazil's Ayrton Senna has won the race more times than any other driver, with six victories, winning five races consecutively between 1989 and 1993.

BTW, Tim, do you think it should be called Professionals, just like Novices and Amateurs, and Pro just for short? Pros is kinda ambiguous, lol.

I know where you're coming from but I'm too lazy to type it - now you have though I'll use the powers of cut and paste  ;D

lol, I suppose the full name is Professional Trophy.  ;D

Nope, Bodey and Doyle will be giving out the trophys at the end of the series ;)

I'm going to miss this race.
A real shame because I rate Monaco as one of my favourite circuits. :-\ 

I knew you were wierd Clive - but Monaco - your favourite? That is just perverse!

It's also much easier to shorten it for importing etc. Bit like I always called Amateurs Am's.

I found Monaco a very difficult circuit to master in my early GPL life. But once I had discovered the "racing line" around those streets the circuit has a nice flow to it, plus it rewards precise driving something I am not good at maintaining usually.

Also it is a very "tactical" circuit where you can defend a lead easily, but making the space to pass someone is a huge challenge and any rash move will almost certainly end your race!!

Someone gave me some very wise advice in my early on-line races.
"there is usually loads more time to be gained in the slow corners of any circuit than in the fast sections" and Monaco has plenty of slow bits.
 
I still don't think that I have ever hooked up an even 90%  perfect lap around Monaco in any of the mods, which is why I like it.

but, maybe you are right and I am just peverted peverse  ::)

Funny, that's the opposite of what Ayrton Senna says in his book Principles of race driving. If you think about it, you can't really gain much in slow corners, because any difference in speed would make a small difference in traveled distance, but in fast corners and especially if they're followed by longer straights, the time gained by even 1 km/h higher speed multiplies significantly. Maybe you should rethink your approach, Evil.  :D

lol, I was not really referring to real life racing H. You are quite correct that in the real world and in GPL, the speed carried through a corner onto a straight is crucial.

I was speaking more specifically at how I found some good lap time at Monaco.

The point I was trying to get across ( very poorly it seems) is that in GPL getting your line and transition from braking to throttle in the slow corners can be where you are losing too much time.

Braking too late ( yes I know Hristo !!  lol), the wrong apex, wrong gear ratios or being late getting back on the power for the exits especially at Monaco will compromise you lap times. The same is generally true for any track of course, but at Monaco I find it even more important and there is no room for error as we all know.

I think when Monaco finally clicked for me, I knocked 3-4 seconds off my PB within a couple of weeks, but that was a looooong time ago now...................... sigh!

Yes, that's true, just by being precise and by taking the best line, you can see a vast improvement in lap times at Monaco. Not braking late is extremely important here and I don't mean just to avoid a contact with the armco, lol.

Monaco is just SOOOOO hard - I can never get a flow going because I always seem to manage to bury it in the hay at Loews and then clip the kerb in the tunnel and if I manage to get the flick right at the bottom of the hill I side slap the wall at the next corner and finally I can never actually seem to make the last hairpin (Rascasse?) without hitting the armco - rest of the lap after that is OK ;)

If you're making so many mistakes it simply means you're constantly going over your limit. Ease off and let it come to you naturally. It takes patience and focus.

The flick ( or chicane ), after the tunnel is NOT a flick for me.

 I straight line it, flat in top gear,  by aiming for the gap from the top of the hill and using some of the pink pavement on the left hand side. You just have to be smooth with straightening up afterwards and getting on the brakes for Tabac in plenty of time....go on try it, I dare you!!!!  lol

Left hand side!?  I've been doing it the French way, where they drive on the right. :P

For me it's ok driving the Honda ;) I like all cars of the 65 mod, and Honda is a funny one to drive, especially because of the 6 gears. Even if I'm going to be a little slower than with a Lotus, for example, there'll be no problem. If the car and the race is enjoyable, that's enough for me. To have fun is the most important, no matter how fast or slow I am :laugh:

Then you won't mind the BT7?  ;D Lotus, he says...  ::)

'

I think he means using that as a reference, not that you should stay on the left-hand side of the track. Evil's right though, the chicane is straightforward, especially in the 65s. You set up the line to it as early as the crest on top of the hill, then just avoid steering as much as possible while going through it on full throttle.

Sry, I won't race tonight, I'm out of town.
Good Luck  :)

Results up, I'll watch Lap 1 tomorrow if I get time - If anyone else has anything to submit from later in the race please do so by Saturday (I'm away till than anyway so can't do much before hand  ;) )

Will also write my race up later - but I'll start by saying very well done to Tom for scaring the hell out of me for over half the race  ;D

Got black screen after long chase .
Can do nothing except to break . ???
Sry if I hit someone .
Cya
Natan

Disappointing start to the season for me. I could do high 30s in training but couldn't get within 2s of that last night, not sure why :(

Followed Bernie during the opening laps and was just hoping to finish, however I came round Station hairpin on lap 15 and found him going a touch slow, tried to avoid him but we made contact and both retired. Sorry Bernie, I guess that will go down as my fault, which is little consolation to you.

Hoping for better luck in the next round.

Well done to Tim on the win and Ronnie on a good solid debut.

Was in this for the long haul, being tailed by Raoni while following Ronnie who was following Natan. In hindsight I ain't getting that close to another car, it's a tad unnerving, but latency was remarkably OK this time.

Think I went in too fast into Casino Square on a slightly wider entry and smacked the outside wall, thus I blocked the racing line thus Raoni had nowhere to go, thus putting us both on our rollbars and outta action.

Pace was good though - best sectors for 2nd on the grid in qualifying behind Tim's rocket-boosted BT7.

Yup , ran a bit wide at the station in my efforts to keep Ross at bay , cant blame you for trying to take advantage and to be honest I had no idea just how close we were at the time .

Very light if any contact made ( I think madam Warp intervened and finished our race ) pity it didnt go another lap or two to half distance then at least we would have had a few points on the scoreboard   :'(

Was very much enjoying our race up to then  :)

More worrying for me was my sound cut out during qually then had a screen freeze , was praying it would hold up for the race distance but due to the early departure didnt get a fair test . Tried the track again postrace (offline) and got the sound problem again after a few laps  ::)  

Have started to chew my fingernails in the hope that will help  :-\

I enjoy watching Monaco on the TV, but have never really mastered it on GPL (and i still haven't).

I actually enjoyed this one, not because i scraped a 3rd place, but because there was someone to race. Had a great fight with G.Jonsson for practically most of the race.

I slowed a little on the last few laps as i wanted to make sure i hit every apex as i knew he had the pace to get past. He was very fair though.

Well done to all finishers and anyone else who managed to string together a few laps around this unforgiving track. It is very difficult. Its also the most consecutive laps i've ever done around Monaco without crashing and i started to enjoy the flow of it eventually.

Thanks to UKGPL for making me start to enjoy a track i hadn't really liked before. The Monaco Rocks 2 Graphical update also made the place look better, not that i had time to look at the view   ;)

Hi Bernie,

The sound cutting out could point to another program being started up while GPL is running. GPL forces the PC to stay shown on the monitor but the sound exits in favor of the newly fired up program. Maybe it helps to find the cause. Freeze could point to CPU overload due to running two (heavy) programs at once.

As for my race...

In qually I got faster and faster, but as it seemed, so did everybody else! After a failed attempt to improve my time I decided to run some laps with full fuel tanks, but my times were only four tenths off the pace. So I decided to try to improve my position one more time, with only three minutes remaining. I made no big mistakes in my only flying lap and ended up taking second place instead of fifth :) . I was very happy with that because I know how hard it is to overtake 'round here.

The race started and I managed to stay in front of Goran in his white Honda. Thanks to some slipstream and me feeling comfortable in the Cooper in the slower parts of the track, I could hang on to Tim in his BT7. I was able to put some pressure on him during the intial part of the race, and he got really out of shape exiting some corners so I had the quiet hope of snatching the lead once he made a bigger mistake.

Unfortunately at about half distance I made a mistake in Tabac due to missing the braking point, and lost four seconds. After that Tim was able to drive his own race and gained another five seconds as the race went on untill he finally finished 9 seconds in front of me. Grats for a well deserved win Tim! Also grats to Clutch for 3rd, and all finishers in this gruelling event.

Tommie.

You could be right , seem to remember other times when my av fired up in the background , but that caused frame rate issues afaicr

will check it out

Ta for the pointer  :)

Well, that was me. I remember thinking, "I hope he at least wait until the 50% race distance before he try to pass me" and then I found myself on top of the haybales. Luckely I managed do back down from it but then I had Clutch just behind me and when I some 17 laps later made a little mistake he was in front of me and that was how it stayed until the end.

This was my first race in the Honda and it went rather well I think. No engine failure, 3rd on the grid, yes I know that both Evil and Hristo was missing but still, and I finished the race. I have never before enjoyed driving the Honda, but when I found a better engine sound and started to test the car a bit more............ well I have driven the Bt11 for two seasons so I needed a change.

Göran

Where did you find it? The Lotus sound is ugly too for me  :P

Thanx
Axel

Have a good look around on SRMZ Cookie, think that's where I got all mine many years ago  :)


For anyone waiting on the server replay to make a report, Mike's server is currently inaccesable.
As I'll be leaving in a few hours for Torquay and won't be back till sat to upload it I'm extending the window till Wednesday now for everyone - assuming anyone has anything to add of course!  ;)

Hi Axel,

There is a lot of sounds out there but I think this is a good place to start, http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=4794 (http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=4794)

Btw, you do not need to only use Lotus sounds you can rename any sound you like and put it on any car, that is as long as you are not concerned about authenticity.

The only tricky thing is to find the car in the GPL\sound folder. The Lotus 65 is called "l33"

Göran

Well Goran !
Sry again and glad that you finished the race .
Natan

Server replay is now in the correct place  :)

And I've finally moderated it  :ninja:

Snetterton will follow shortly - you 'orrible lot have made me have to do some work this time  :hammer: