SimRacing.org.uk

Formula One 1988 Half Season

Please use this thread to reserve your car for this series and remember we're aiming for a balanced grid

A championship series featuring half length races from the first half of the F1 1988 season. The finale will be
a full length Grand Prix at the fabulous Silverstone '88 circuit in the same week as this year's British GP.

1  Brazilian Grand Prix       17th May    Jacarepagua88         30 laps
 
2  San Marino Grand Prix    24th May    94Imola                   30 laps
 
3  Monaco Grand Prix         31st May     88Monaco                 39 laps
  
4  Mexican Grand Prix        7th June     MexicoCity88             34 laps                      
 
5  Canadian Grand Prix      14th June   Montreal_GP_NAGP    35 laps
 
6  Detroit Grand Prix          21st June   Detroit88                   32 laps
                          
7  French Grand Prix         28th June   PaulRicard88              40 laps
 
8  British Grand Prix          5th July     Silverstone88              65 laps (Full length finale)

All tracks are now available in our download area.

Practice 1: 19:40

Quali 2:    20:40

Race:       21:00

Rolling Start with formation lap.

        
Signup List

MCLAREN        Spanner (Senna)  SRW (Prost)

LIGIER            Cosworth (Rene Arnoux)  Marco (Stefan Johannson)
            
MARCH                        (Gugelmin)  Legzy (Capelli)
            
FERRARI         Jamera (Berger)  Matt (Alboreto)

ARROWS        Truetom (Cheever)       (Warwick)
        
WILLIAMS       H@L (Mansell)             (Patrese)  

LOTUS            Samb (Nakajima)   Purdie (Piquet)          

BENETTON      goldtop (Boutsen)  Navin (Nannini)

COLONI                      (Tarquini)

MINARDI         Lazlow (Martini)  Son Goku (Luis Pérez-Sala)

ZAKSPEED      Staltro (Ghinzani) Pepz (Schneider)

TYRRELL         Manteos (#3 Palmer)  Dan (#4 Bailey)

AGS                            (#14 Streiff)

OSELLA                       (#21 Larini)

RIAL                           (#22 de Cesaris)
 
LARROUSSE                (#29 Dalmas)          (#30 Alliot)

EUROBRUN                 (#32 Larrauri)         (#33 Modena)
  

Probably not worth me attending this series as I going to miss 3 of the races

I disagree. :(

I agree with TT, I unfortunately will be missing every-other race, but will still be attending this very exciting series that is already generating more posts per race than any other sim here 8)

I agree with you both....COME ON LAZ.

+1  :)

How about if we drop 1 or 2 scores from the 8 (this would be in line with the real season) as I'm sure there will be a few that can't make all the races.

Yes please.

I'm in, but will miss a couple of races.

Probably stick with the Ferrari, unless I get time to try something else!

I will miss one race but if thats ok can I drive the Ferrari!? Pls!?  :P

Let me know for definite when you've decided...if you're trying something else the Williams is worth a look.


I plan to drop the 2 lowest scores from each driver, so no problem. Looking at your times from Brno and remembering that you didn't like the Ligier at all, I've put you in Berger's fezza. You might have to put up with a few stares in the paddock if you're too quick though ;)

That's how it works at UKGPL and it's a system that hasn't received any complaints  :). I love the sound of this series and will try to attend as many races as possible. May I take Nakajima's Lotus? That might excuse my ordinary performances and I'd just like to listen the the Honda engine  ;D.

I wondered if this series might attract a few GPLers  :) I've put you in Nakajima's car. Post#1 updated.

How long, time wise, will these races will be?

Just at the mo, time is very short for me and my interest in 'strategy' is even less than normal.

These races will range between 40 to 50 minutes in duration except for the full length finale at Silverstone which will last around 75 minutes.

Most cars will probably benefit from one stop for tyres only....refuelling shouldn't be necessary. I'm kind to my tyres and so is the Benetton, but I lose too much time late in the race to go for a no stop. Some might be able to run softs both stints, or first stint hards and second stint softs. I think car choice, driving style and track position will determine choice. Silverstone looks like being a 2 stop.

The cars have different fuel consumptions and the in game figures are waaaay off. For those who don't use xd, shout up and I'll gladly turn a couple of laps to give a race estimate for your car.

Important Announcement

Just completed some fuel testing and pitting at Silverstone where we will be holding our full length finale.

Most of the cars are borderline for completing the race on a full tank of fuel. Some of the cars will definitely need to take on fuel to complete the 65 laps. They are....

Lotus
March
McLaren
Williams
Zakspeed

I've tested pitting in all of the cars and unfortunately the Coloni will not restart so I've decided to withdraw this from the championship (post #1 amended).

Please also remember that the Minardi was not able to restart after pitting, which has been noted before. However, the fact that it sips fuel means that it will easily go race distance without refuelling, so I've decided to keep it in.

Did you try it with high wing settings GT? My high wing setup makes the Arrows drink like a fish.

I don't use high wing settings on any of these cars, so if you do you'll more than likely need to stop for fuel at Silverstone.

I may not particularly like the principle of these, you cant avoid the speed these things have. Plus its another night of gtr2!

If i felt i might be on pace i might consider doing all races but i'll probably miss some out. Not sure theres a car available that will balance me out with the rest of you! how about this years model. 

How about the McLaren 8)  It might be the quickest car here, but only by a second or so a lap and it's still a challenging drive. What's more there would be plenty of us that would relish the chance to go wheel to wheel with it. If it helps you reach the point where you can have enjoyable and close racing, go for it. That was my thinking behind this series.

As I didn't connect with the Mclaren at all, I reckon you'll like it Spanner. The Fezza was lovely, but I think Matt has asked for the 2nd one? :-\

Ps didn't the 2nd Lotus get requested too?

Ok then, i'll take the mclaren.

Yes, I've reserved the Berger car for Matt, but understood that he was also going to test the Williams again.

Geoffers said that he would probably stick with the fezza, unless he gets the chance to try something else, but I did ask that he let me know for definite when he decided.

Since then Blunder has put in a firm request for the fezza which I've accepted.

Navin has said he thinks he'll go back to the Lotus which I've noted  :)

Samb has made a firm request for the Nakajima Lotus, which I've accepted.

Not sure what others will choose at the moment.....maybe seeing how the grid settles  :-\

This gets more like real F1 every day  :laugh:

I have updated the driver list to avoid any confusion. Please post if you wish to change your car or to make your choice


Thanks spanner, I'll put you in the Senna car 8)

Geoffers...on reflection I think it's a bit harsh to not allow you to drive the fezza as I may have misunderstood your choice, so because of this I'm making an exception to the one driver one car rule and putting you in the Alboreto car also.

OK GT, but I am hoping to give something else a try this weekend & will let you know by Sunday.

Do you think the Williams would be suitable for me GoldTop?

I will take one of them please if you agree. :)

A good choice I think H@L. I've put you down as the original Mr. Eyebrows  :)

Can you put me down for a Minardi GT. I think I should be able to be competitive in it. Thanks

When are the race announcements going to be put up ??

Thanks Lazlow, I've put you in the Pierluigi Martini car  8)

H@L's handling the race announcements so they'll be along soon.

There is now a race thread for the 1st event: https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=9350.msg169762#msg169762

Well, as no one had chosen it, I had a go in the Ligier at Jacarepagua & am getting laps around 1.28 so can I change to that please GT. I had tested the Ferrari there & was into the 1.26s in that, AI were doing 1.23s with it!

Ok Thanks Geoffers. The Ligier should be a nice drive....I've put you in the Arnoux car.

Struggled to keep hold of the Benetton rear end ??? so would like to use the last Williams please.

OK thanks Legzy, the Patrese Williams it is  8)


Well that looks like a very cool line up for the season. A good mix of cars and a nice even grid with challenges and fun in store for all.

There are still a few cars available for those who wish to join us, so shout up here if anything takes your fancy  :)

Thanks GT is works fine.
I'll race tonight in the Benetton of Nannini.
Jan would like to join too in the Ligier of Johansson.
It's been a while so don't expect too much, we will be carefull though.

Gr. Evert

Thanks Evert, hope you both enjoy it and can make it for the rest of the season. Post #1 amended.

OOH a Ligier teammate! Is there going to be a constructors championship as well?  ;D

Yep  :)

Oh no! I'd have put more thought into my car selection had I known... Eh H@L :winkiss:

Some strong pairings there, I just hope those Arrow's boys are ready for a "Nil point" ;D

 ;D

Mansel used to crash a lot so its a good choice for me. ;)

You hold everyone up Legzy and I will take the wins, nice. Thanks. ;D

Hello GT,

I would like to register for the 88 f1 series please (sorry for the lateness, i have been on holiday). I see some one has 'stolen my benetton' while i was away....lol

i see one of the maclarens is still free, could i use that?

SRW

Hi SRW, good to see you back. I've put you in the Prost car.

I'm in with Lluis Perez Sala's Minardi 8)

I can attend this Imola race and probably the final 2 or 3, so may also try the Zakspeed later if I'm allowed :)

Great mod this one! I used to play it for a long time, and I would like to join this champ, even if only by the 2nd race.

If it's possible I'll take the other Ligier left. I guess nobody reserved it yet. Tell me if I'm wrong ;)

So... see you during the next days for some training.

I've seen right now that the Ligier team is apparently "full". So I'll try the March or Zakspeed :'( :'(... Which is the worst?!?!

Bye bye  ;)

Thanks Busi....I'll put you in as a sort of guest driver for Imola
Geoffers has left the Ligier team  :( which leaves the Arnoux car free. Both March cars are available and for some reason, no-one has yet signed for Zakspeed :laugh:

My advice would be to give them all a try at one of the tracks we've previously used and compare your laptimes. You're a quick driver and if you're familiar with the mod, you might find you're a bit quick for the Ligier and March. The Zakspeed is slow, but my guess is you'll still have others to race with. And I'm secretly hoping someone is foolish talented enough to give it a go.

Great to see you both here  :thumbup1: :thumbup1:

Thanks GT :). I think I'll give a try to all these 3 cars to have a better idea of the laptimes I can reach. If I'm not wrong, your laptimes with race fuel are close to 1.26.0 so, I'll take your time as a reference for my choice. After the evening P&G race, I'm going to make some laps and let you know some laptimes references. There will be an online server after P&G race? Thanks in advance for your answer ;)

Cu :)

Yes, but to do these times I have been driving and developing the Benetton almost continually for the past 2 months  :o

I've just loaded Imola and started a practice server as we have no GTR2 race this Sunday. Could someone please restart the F1 server after tonight's PnG race as I won't be around.

I guess that the Zakspeed is a real fuxxin car... I tried it with very low wings (10 front/8 rear), and it was not able to reach 300 km/h on the straight...
At the opposite, with the same wings the March go a lot faster (near 315 km/h), and my laptimes were at least 5 seconds faster than the Zakspeed.

After some laps, in race fuel these are my laptimes (offline):
Zakspeed: 1.30.9
March: 1.25.5
I guess that the Ligier, if I remember well, was even faster than the March, but I will try it later.
Don't know what to do... maybe with very low wings like 2 front 1 rear, I can make some better laptimes with Zakspeed, admitting that I will able to drive it along the corners  ??? ???
It will be a really hard challenge, but I will choose the Zakspeed if the Ligier isn't slower than the March.

I will let you know my choice very soon :)

Err.. i dont think anyone has run the wings that low ever. i think at the last race everyone was runnng them around 40!

I guess that jacarepagua is totally different by Imola. There are more fast corners and you need an higher wing.
At the opposite in Imola the only fast corner it's the "Piratella", and the rest of the track it's full of slow chicanes (Acque Minerali-Variante alta-Variant Bassa) and slow corners (Tosa and Rivazza 1/2), so it's not needed a high downforce.
It's obvious that the higher wings are helpful in brakings, but the advantage in acceleration and straight speed is most important and helpful to make some overtakes here in Imola (especially with the Zakspeed  ;D ;D)

A higher wing would be helpful in a track like Jerez 88, that it's a really twisted track with a combination of fast and slow corners and some heavy brakings. In that track I would agree that a higher downforce it's surely better ;).
It's not simple to drive these cars with lower wings indeed. I used to play a lot with this mod when I stareted to play GTR2, and of course it's a bit easier to drive these cars when you know the mod properly, especially with lower wings. Give it a try, that's my suggestion, perhaps without starting directly with 10/8. Try something like 20/18, and adjust the gears ;)

Cu :)

The single entry Coloni car is now available for this championship.

Please ensure that in order to refuel in this car (only necessary at Silverstone event), you must not have buttons assigned for ignition or starter in your control settings. Engine will cut and restart automatically.

Thanks Manteos  :thumbup1:

One March for me please  ;)

Thanks Purdie.....I've put you in the Ivan Capelli car.

 :thumbup1:

Andy, if those were your first few laps with this mod tonight I think you'll need a slower car to balance you out in this series  8)

I've tidied up the entry list (see post #1) and there are now a few cars to choose from. The Benetton is a great drive......maybe give that a try and see how you get on.

i'm just lucky that Son Guku bloke didn't register.... but then again he was in a McLaren !!

no problem mate, i'll test the Benetton for Mexico City...... like this car as I used to have the Scalextric car!

Put me down for the Benetton then mate

Son Guku was driving the Ligier last night - if thats a slow enough car  ;)

OK Andy, I'll put you in the Nannini Benetton.

Son is obviously in another class and unless he wants to lap on his own I suggest he chooses a slower car than the Ligier.

He can have my Benetton  ;) :laugh:

you better pm him his options then mate

PM sent.

HI ALL. im the new 1, i take the minardi

HAVE A NICE RACE

Thank you and welcome to the mad house Son  8)

I have put you in the Luis Pérez-Sala Minardi.

Please remember this race has a formation lap and rolling start (as you will probably be on pole  ;))

Details of starting procedure here......

https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3349.msg54455#msg54455

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your first race with us.

Hi Goldtop,    Can i take one of the ligier's pls . ;)

is possible LIger for me ?

Casadei Marco

Thanks Dan, I've put you in the René Arnoux car.


....and thanks Marco, I've put you in the Stefan Johansson car.

Please post your lap times so we can see what pace you are at.

Thanks.

Only done a handfull of laps at Mexico so far. Running 1.15's on softs with 40 laps worth of fuel.

Are the in-game figures wrong for the fuel, How much fuel will the Ligier need for the race . ???

Never one to miss a subtle hint  :D

I would like to sign up for the series and would be grateful if you could allocate me an available car

I'll put you in the Gugelmin March as you drove that one at Imola if that's ok. Good to see you here  ;)

Goldtop, Are we using the 88 version of Montreal ?

It's the modern version Dan, which I don't think is that much different. I looked for an 88 version when I put this together (found the rF version), but I couldn't find one for GTR2.

Probably too late to change now, but if you know of one, point it up please.

I found the rFactor and spent 10 minutes wondering why it wouldnt show up in gtr2..... ::) :D

Shame an 88 version wasnt made , Same layout but the advertising banners were different .

Tried the rFactor version of Montreal 88 and the track is quite a bit different.     Theres a big sweeping right left right in the middle of the back straight and the last chicane is nearly flat in 4th . Also the curbs are alot higher witch makes it a bit more tricky.   Better layout imo such a shame it hasn't been converted for gtr2.

Surprised it hasn't been converted tbh as most of the others seem to have been.

Just out of interest, how do you think the F1 88 GTR2 conversion stacks up against the original rF mod Dan?

IMPORTANT UPDATE

The following cars have now been made available for the remainder of this season....

TYRRELL          (#3 Palmer) (#4 Bailey)

AGS                (#14 Streiff)

OSELLA           (#21 Larini)

RIAL                (#22 de Cesaris)
 
LARROUSSE     (#29 Dalmas) (#30 Alliot)

EUROBRUN      (#32 Larrauri) (#33 Modena)
   
Pace wise, these cars are towards the bottom end of the grid and are intended to give greater choice for the faster drivers.

EVERYONE WILL NEED TO INSTALL THESE....SEE EVENT POSTS FOR LINK TO DOWNLOAD

Driver sign ups are now open again  :)

Ok, after a few laps, I decided to jump into the Tyrrell (Palmer). At least it's a bit more competitive than the Coloni :)

Cu :)

Thanks Manteos, post #1 updated.

We have a small handful of drivers who could do with thinking about taking a slightly slower car.

Goldtop     - Benetton = 2 wins & 1 runner up & lap records at Imola & Jacarepagua
Navin        - Lotus = 1 win & 2 runners up & lap record at Monaco
Son           - Minardi = 1 win & lap records in both qually/race at Mexico & pole at Monaco
Blunder      - Ferrari = lap records at Imola & Jacarepagua
Dan Minton - Ligier = Beaten to a comfortable pole only by Son at Mexico & we all know is a very fast driver.

The reason I think this:

Those would be the drivers jumping out as not being a "balanced grid" at this the half way point of the season, to me anyway.


Just IMO of course.

Fair observation there Legzy. I have thought about my results and did consider changing after Imola, but I felt that the gap back to the slower cars was too great.

Personally I don't count myself as a fast driver.....my pace in the Benetton is down to the fact that I've spent the last few months getting to know it and in the process have clocked up well in advance of a thousand laps  :o Also I have made very few mistakes in any of these races.

Because of the nature of the track, I don't expect the Benetton to be as competetive at Montreal  :-\  My best time in the Benetton is a 1:21.1 while after a couple of laps in the Arrows I was doing 1:19s.

With limited practice time available for me before Tuesday, I'm going to stick with the Benetton for Montreal. If I'm too quick here (and not just too consistent) I'll certainly change for the remaining races as there are more cars now available, although I do already have all my Benetton setups sorted  ::)

I suppose I could just stop practicing so much  :P

As we have the rest of the cars now ill race the Larrouse Lola just for the fact it looks like a F3000 from the 80's !! :D

Its probably a bit better than the rFactor version because of gtr's ffb.  Not much in it though. ;)

Thanks Dan, I've put you in the #30 Pilippe Alliot car.

Goldtop , sorry to mess you around but can i take one of the Tyrrels instead ?  thanks

OK Dan, the #4 Julian Bailey car is yours.

Thanks mate.

If I'm not late, I would like to join with AGS.

My Friend "Daniele Scarpa" would like to join with Coloni.

Thanks a lot

OK Ayrton, it is good to see you both here.

Let me know please if you want to stay with us for the rest of the season and I will reserve you and Daniele's cars.

Alright, new rule....and I believe this has been hinted at before.

Drivers who can't be bothered to let me know that they cannot attend races risk losing their car

Legzy, I've put you back in the Capelli March.

Was trying for 20 mins last night to get in, every time it loaded Dan Minton the game ctd, dont know if its something to do with the second car pack install?

That would be the chief suspect Jamera, did you put all the new team names straight into the "grid" folder, next to the others?

That would be a no, but i have now lol

GT... please can you move me to a slower car... not sure whats available!?
Can you just pick me one!

Ta

M.  ;D

Am 3 secs a lap slower in the Williams around Detroit if that is available?

Could I take the Ferrari then please?  :)

Thanks chaps, Post #1 updated  :)

Navin and Purdie have also swapped cars and Navin is taking a look at the cars from the extra teams.

From recent correspondence it seems that the more practise time put in is having a big effect on laptimes....more than most other mods.... and leading to a few inbalances, so maybe something to consider for us all. I've been guilty of this and while it's silly to try to disuade drivers from over practising, I think we should just have this in mind in our preparation for races. Keep it fun chaps or we'll all be fighting over the Zakspeed  :)

well i practised a lot and my lap times i think aren't bad for the Benetton but with race consistency (and finishing!).... very poor :(

tried the Lotus at Montreal and straight into the 1m19s!!! Very nice  :D

Hi guys. I'd like to join this series.
Not much to choose from so I will take remaining Ligier  ;)

Hi Cosi. Great to see you here  8)

I think you need to try some of the slower cars unless you enjoy driving on your own. We're trying to keep a balanced grid in this series which means that faster drivers take the slower cars. As a guide I'm at around 1:26 at Paul Ricard in the Benetton, but I think that could be 1 or 2 seconds off the pace. Anything quicker than a 1:24 and I think you'll be racing alone.

1:26??? am I driving the wrong track then?

I'm not very good with these cars. Not my cup of tea to be honest. Plus I was among the slowest on the server today, so don't worry about my speed  :D

Fair enough, I've put you in the Arnoux Ligier. We'll be sneaking round your garage to let your tyres down if you're too quick  :laugh:


I think the key is low downforce and to take Signes flat out. Mexico setup wasn't far off for me.

Got me numbers muddled  ::) Should have said around 1:06 not 1:26  :wheelchair: