SimRacing.org.uk

SEASON UPDATE – due to the cancellation of the Goodwood race & the release of the 69 Extra Mod there will be some minor changes to the schedule:
5 August – 69 Extra Race at Spa – chassis TBA
19 August   65 at Hockenheim 67 – BRM v Lotus (date changed)
2 September – 69 Extra at Zandvoort – chassis TBA
16 September – 65 Race at Luguna 67 – BT7 v Honda
I will amend the race schedule proper when the chassis have been allocated.

So Round 3 we’re off to Finland – famous for rally drivers, vodka & trees. Keimola circuit was opened for business in June 1966. The track was never used for Formula One races although its track profile would suit Formula One cars. It’s around 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) long consisting seven turns and 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) long home straight.  The rounded curves should make for great racing. From memory we ran a 65 Novices race here a couple of seasons back & the pole sitter cannot see the flagman without looking right. (Obviously not an issue from where I will be starting).

A quick look at the Championship table after two rounds sees Evil leading from Natan & then Goran.

The track can be downloaded here  keimola (http://personal.inet.fi/private/kaskia/keimola/)

For any new entrants to Spec Racing the format is a little different from other divisions. There will be two Int Short Races, back to back on the same track. For each event there are two chassis available and you should drive both cars - anyone daft enough to use the same car will be disqualified for Race 2. Start with whichever chassis you like. Your choice of chariot is the Brabham BT7 & the Cooper.

There is no handicapping all participants will run in one division.

 A slight change in moderating procedures from previous seasons:
Unlimited resets are allowed but every Shift R must be followed by a Stop & Go in the pit lane. If you Reset on the last lap a 30 second time penalty will be awarded.
Incidents should be reported in the usual way.
In line with other divisions the races will be subject to full moderation on lap one.
Also please note that qualifying runs are limited to 12 minutes.

Race List = IGOR
Server = UKGPL_T7_2
IP address = 62.149.202.168
Race date = Friday 10-06-2011
Time = 21:00 UK time (21:00 GMT)
Track = Keimola
Race length = Intermediate Short
Variant = 1965
Chassis = BT7 & Cooper
Damage Model = Intermediate
Qualifying time = 12 minutes

Driver lists can be found on the championship standings page (https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=LM2R;group=308;theme=6)

aww shucks Billy.. your modification rules me out of two races now as I don't have a strong enough PC to cope with the 69 Extra.. the file is huge and I don't have that much spare space left on my drive!!!

Me too I'm afraid :-\

I have downloaded the new 69 mod but when I looked at the size of it, I realised that I almost certainly don't have enough memory or hard disk space to run it.  I already suffer in the GT's with low frame rates even if I run with severly reduced graphics etc. so the new 69's are likely to be a step too far at the moment.

It looks like the only solution will be a new computer to replace my 6 year old Dell box, but that involves heavy negotiation with the financial controller and all the hassles of getting all the whistles and bells working on a new computer.

Thanks for the note chaps.
I did notice tha 69 Extra sucked up a rather large chunk of memory. Also my one outing with GPL Brasil ended in a screen freeze although I don't know if that was graphics, the server or my PC or a combination thereof.
Obviously quite a few people would like a crack at the new mod but if this is going to preclude regular drivers then I will revert to plan A which is to run the original 69 Mod at Spa & 67 Zandvoort.
Perhaps we can line up some 69X fun races in the close season.

Not intending to mess people about - trust you will understand.

I was not asking that the race be changed, especially if others are able to run the new mod and wish to try it, as that would be unfair on those who are able to run it.

Some feedback here on how those who have ionstalled the mod and how well ( or not) it runs might be useful before you chop the schedule around.

I might try and clear some disk space and try an install over the coming week. Possibly stick in another gig of RAM and see how it works, but I would rather try this out on a "fun" server before I risk ruining my own, and several other peoples races, with a spluttering and dodgy system.

I have installed the 69x Mod on my low budget Computer
(Athlon2 X2 250 @ 3200MHz, 4GB Ram, ATI 5670 Graphics, 500GB HD, OS XP-Sp3)

It takes longer to load, but I have no problems at all even with 60fps.  I have the detail slider full right.
I took part on some of the training sessions of the brasilian Indy race without any restrictions.

Fulvio asked in the SRMZ for a lite version for servers, because this will be the greatest challenge to load the 45 cars in server.
As my old server had some aging problems, I have made a "new" one with more power.
I will try to install the mod the next days and if it runs we can have some Funraces there.

My advice for little space on HD: buy an external 500GB HD with USB3 for about 40€! All my Data are on it even a backup of my complete GPL installation, so there is lots of space for programs on the main HD.

Axel

Best thing to pep up a PC is add memory but for a six year old box it might be hard to get hold of. Hard Disks are cheap as chips. The graphics, mobo and other subsystems will be perfectly adequate. Graphics are the next thing to look at and they are fairly cheap as well (<£30).

If you let me know the model I can find some upgrades that would not break the bank... I have built more than 20 over the years...

I have installed the 69x Mod on my low budget Computer
(Athlon2 X2 250 @ 3200MHz, 4GB Ram, ATI 5670 Graphics, 500GB HD, OS XP-Sp3)

LMAO  low budget???!!!

We are talking 2.8ghz processor, 1GB ram, 256mb graphics and 100GB HD, Windows XP Professional here, and that is my "state of the art" workstation!!! ( and playstation  ;))

I have just purchased an external HDD with 1TB storage  which will help, once I work out which files and data I want to move across from the main HD.

Don't worry too much Paul. As I understand things Dell, in their infinite wisdom, use an AGP (?) motherboard system which severly limits the options available for simple upgrades to graphic cards etc. So, it looks like I shall have to start budgeting to buy a PCI type machine which might prove easier to upgrade in the future.
Therefore, I am reluctant to spend too much on a machine that I might be retiring in a few months.

Noted Clive but I don't think it appropriate to schedule a championship race with a Mod which some drivers can't use. It's a mute point about whether it has changed because this actually reverts to the original race schedule.
There should be ample opportunity for some 69X tests in the close season.

Its my job to worry - lol - its the only way an ADM can assist...

It may well be AGP but you would be surprised what is available and if £50 gives you another 5 years its worth it.

TELL ME THE MODEL AND DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD - YOU ARE NOT THE MESSIAH - YOU ARE A VERY NAUGHTY BOY  :laugh:

I think that since a couple of our regular members can't run this new 69 mod (at least not properly), we should either run the regular 69 mod or some other mod for these races. It's the same as with 60 fps patch - we're not using because not all of us can run it smoothly. I'm all for having a go with the new 69 mod, but not at the expense of someone being forced to skip an official league race.

Axel, your so called low budget PC is what my brand new PC is (X3 instead of X2 athlon CPU though), lol...  ::)

Sorry guys,
my low budget is a complete PC for about 290€ and 1,5 years old.
My first HD had 10MB and cost more than this pc ::)
I am in computers since the late 80s and do all myself together.
I don't know your criteria but for a pc freak this is low budget !!!
For the actual pc games I have another machine  ;)

I think your problem is to have too much respect to change a running pc system.
But they get way faster old than we do!

Cheers
Axel

Technically speaking they get old, but the reality is that you can run 90% of the games out there just fine on what you call a low budget PC, so the only reason to buy anything more expensive is if you want extras - super high fps and resolution, quicker loading speeds (you have a SSD hard disk on your gaming PC, Axel?) and so forth, but nothing really that makes a much noticeable difference.

Clive, I have almost the same specs (2.8Ghz P4, 1GB RAM, 60GB hdd and Windoze XP, but I have one of these in my AGP slot - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002KTZRF2/ref=asc_df_B002KTZRF23084869?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B002KTZRF2

Price has gone up a tenner since I bought mine last year but I think it is the best AGP card you can get. Just be warned though, the HD4650 chipset was never designed to use AGP, its a modification that Sapphire themselves did and so the current ATI driver is no use at all but there is a legacy driver that works a treat.
As for GPL, mostly i get 30+ FPS at 1024*768 screen res, but the GT od still struggles.. starts at Brands Hatch see the FPS drop below 20fps but then again I do have the details maxed out :)
The only other way of boosting the performance of this rig is to double the memory and the old-style DDR is now way too expensive!

Lets just hope the new mods that are being worked on aren't as big as the 69 Extra!

-----------------------
Edit - Just realised why mine was a tenner cheaper - I got the XfX branded version which is now unavailable! Otherwise its the same card.

Jason, GPL is not like other games where graphics FPS is separated from the physics engine. I suggest you always try and maintain 36 fps, even at the cost of reduced graphics, otherwise you may see some odd behaviour from the car and you may find it a lot more difficult to control than normal.

For GPL and the 69xtra mod 2,8GHz is ok and should run fine.
Yes, its a good idea to give it more RAM, because thats what the mod needs.
Then the used RAM has not to be written on HD what makes it very slow.

When running GPL and the more challengeing mods, you have to close all unneccessary resident programes that eat RAM.
Stop all processes that have to do with printer or adobe and so on.
A nice little freeware is CCleaner  where you can control all autostart programs. My autostart contains only graphics, sound and antivir !

My low budget runs long time, cause it contains also a HDTV card and has replaced my TV. So it has to be energy saving too.
The whole system containing a 5.1 HIFI sound system and a 24' monitor eats only 120Watt/hour to max 200Watt/hour under full throttle !

Writing this post I watch the 125ccm MotoGP at BBC in a small window ;D

Cheers
Axel

T7 server hasn't enough RAM to run 69Xtra mod. I asked Bart to install the mod on the same server we run the Porsche Cup,  it has 2 gb RAM so wouldn't be a problem, but I think would be for some clients pc.
Ciao

69 is not praticilary resource heavy. I have p4 1.8 ghz, 500 mb ram, 32 mb vram and 30 gb hdd, and, besides the 5 min loading time, it runs fine... anyone with more ram will run it just fine.

Yesterday I installed the 69Xtra mod on my new server with 1GB RAM and it runs fine with 36fps!

The first funraces where with 3-5 drivers and I hope to test it with some more in the next days...

  

Keep in mind that the only thing bigger mods really need is RAM and if you don't have, they simply use the virtual memory of the OS. Once loaded up, it doesn't make much of a difference while you're driving. FPS wise, I doubt the new mod is heavier than the GT cars, with their higher polygon count.

A quick note to whoever is lucky enough to start from pole - you can't see the flagman from first place on the grid. You need to glance to the right.

I found this out the hard way in season 19 :)

 ;) I wont agree in general that2,8GHz CPU is fast enough for GPL .
Especially older CPUs like P4 arent fast enoughh even soo they come with 3GHz .
Norbert once run an Pentium 4 with 3 GHz and that CPU was way slower then Opteron 148 with 2,2GHz !!!

Another thing to me turns out while setting up new PCs for GPL over the last years , is that CPU power is extreme more important then GPU power ( videocard ) .
In my case , GPL dont benefit from ATI 4890 1GB videocard over my oldest ATI X1800XTX 512MB videocard.

As well , imo , GPL do not benefit from dual , triple or quad core CPUs .

( well havnt installed 69extra on my oldest PC yet , but will soon and then report here if DFI Ultra-D motherboard , Optern 146@2,7GHz , 1GB OCZ RAM and ATI X1800XTX 512 MB can handle this new mod ) .


As to 69extra and server  : I allready did ordered an 2 GB DDR2 kit for my server . should arrive tomorrow hopefully .
So far my server ( 1GB atm ) have 951MB in use when 69extra is on . But that is related to the fact a onboard videocard is running , steeling main  memory ....

happy tuning

btw.
anyone interested in one of my older ATI videocards ?
-X1800XTX 512 MB with Accelero S1 cooler on

-X1900XTX 512 MB with waterblock-cooler on , originall cooler still in the back

-X195oXTX 512 GDR3 MB with Accelero S1 cooler on ( not sure if I really like to get free of this card )

- or maybe on above mentioned DFI combo ?

Thx for head ups, grid is fixed on T7 server.
Ciao

Well, you're wrong, Nicky. As I said before, I played GPL on a 300 mhz Celeron CPU without any issues whatsoever. The main thing is the video card and then the memory.

Exacly, i have run it on p3 450 mhz, only problem i had was the videocard (8 mb vram) on more detailed tracks and mods. Now a 32 mb videocard and 1.8 mhz p4 can handle everything at 36 fps. 2.6 ghz is overkill... and i can figure 1 gig ram would be enough for 69 extra for reasonable load times. Othervize i am able to run them at 36 fps too, once they load.

 ;D ;D funny magic..at least great commercials for my ATI offers .....for sure you folks do know how to put an PCIe videocard into PCI/AGP slot an tune south and northbridge chip same time ....

I dont, all my computers are with integrated videocards. >:D

Sorry about that bump at second spec race btw...forgot to check my prib. I let you through on the next lap because of that... but you spin after that...

Enough of hardware - what about the race.

Apologies to H for a touch at T1, L1, Race 1. I over rotated and couldn't stop myself sliding into you. First time I've ever actually raced you! And don't forget I out qualified you (ahem).

Sorry also to Ronnie for a bad rejoin in front of him on Lap 1. I genuinely thought there was a gap mate and I tried to keep very tight to the tyres. Sorry.

Apart from that, quite good fun. Made a great start and then messed it up by tangling with Mister H. Got some places back at the post pit carnage and then lost them again through poor car control. Generally though I was pleased with my consistency - had a fun battle with Bernie and then Ronnie caught us up. I slowed at the pit corner a wee bit early so as not to fight too hard but I think I caught Bernie by surprise and he span. Pity really, we were having a good battle. He was quicker, no doubt, but not quick enough to have no trouble. I put in a couple of PB's with him breathing down my neck. Pleased about that.

Race 2. Qually found the BT7 quite nice to drive and I quickly set a PB. To put myself... last. Cue wry grin. Made a few places on lap one gain but this time, I was a bit loose coming on to the S/F straight and had a big warp contact with Geoff. I always seem to come out of these things worse off :(

Tootled round in 18th and nearly caught Cookie who had had some adventures. Again pretty pleased with my consistency even if I am slow as treacle.

These really are the most fun races in UKGPL IMHO.

 ;) sorry for hijack this thread for hardwarestuff...

back to race :
I used JK setups out the internet , unfortunately the Coopers gear ratio became corrupted the moment I reduced the 6th gear . Thatswhy I stopped the race coz couldnt even rech  2nd gear ...

2nd race was big fun . Had some nice racing with Cookie and S2173 .

:)np , normal race incident . thx for letting me pass after that ,very gentlemen like .

hope I will find the time to do more of this brilliant spec-races. its real great fun .

I went into these races with very little practice under my belt - I gave each car 10 minutes, enough to sort out gear ratios and learn which way the track goes but nothing more. It showed in race 1 as I made dozens of silly mistakes and had too many offs... I was surprised to see my best lap was so competitive!
Race 2 was a whole lot better.... although I lost a fair few places on lap one by being too close to the guy in front when he got out of shape in the twisties... Very pleased to have made two very smart overtakes in race two, first to pass Fabio and secondly to pass Steve Bird (who was bottled up behind sky - thanks Sky, I wouldn't have caught Steve without your help!) The final half of the race was spent being a bit defensive because Steve was on a flyer... I held him off and was well pleased with the result..
Another great race :)

Well I held Jason off in Race 2 (sort of - he didn't lap me...). That is a result.

I have found that sometimes when I am coming out of a slow corner if I get the throttle on early the back end becomes unstable and I am see sawing - front is OK - so I have to ease off the throttle and let the car settle. Is that too much rear ARB? Too little or something else.

to much left foot , try feeding the power in slowly ( well not that slow)  ::)

If it still does it try 1 less clutch or higher number on  power side  :)

Hmmm, race 1. Apologies to Fabio for getting a full gearbox of neutrals on the startline. I've been having some troubles with gear selection lately....but more often on the downshift, causing a second bite at the correct gear and arrival in corners a gear higher than necessary. Usually ending in a frustrating spin. It's pretty rare that it doesn't select a gear on the upshift. Just a pain in the a*se that it happened on the start.... ??? >:(  Nearly avoided the  L1 T3 shenannigans, til Nicky got tagged, whom in turn tagged me, triggering the first of many abused rear tyre spins. PB in the Coop here and finished top 10, so pretty happy overall.

Race 2 was a better start, just plenty more shenannigans to be had. Run off the road at the last corner by a re-entering missile called Bernie, caught people up just to spin lazily and throw it all away. Sorry Paul for the warp whack in the straight. I was right on the edge of the bitumen and thought I'd left you plenty of space to complete your........gyrations. But.....you chased after me like a stalker, until I had no option but to wallop you. Cruised around for the last 1/3 of the race in isolation after more useless spins and stinking hot tyres made driving hard a lottery. Happy to finish 2 races and gather some points..at last.

LOL - I thought - 'Arrrgggghhh no I've lost it... Geoff's gonna whack me... arrggghhhh... wait a minute, I'm OK..... ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!' Watch the replay, it will make you smile. It was your own fault for pressing me too hard. I thought I'd better leave some room to let you past if you had the beans... that'll teach you. What's that? You continued unscathed. :(

LOL.

@Bernie, thanks mate.

I usially floor it, steer the exact opposite direction of the corner and pray it all goes well...  ;D

Well, I think I need to apologise to everyone for my shocking performance yesterday. The first race went down the toilet when I closed the door on Clive who was right beside me  ::). Soon afterwards, I thought I missed the turn 3 carnage but suddenly Fabio appeared out of nowhere on my screen right in front of me! Must have looked amusing on the client replay but I was completely unsighted thanks to my internet setting of only being able to see four cars ahead.

The rest of the race was good fun, I managed to finally finish 6th after all the shenanigans. The second race was less fun. I was struggling with the Cooper's understeer and I couldn't dial it out in the setup. However, I still managed to qualify 4th and make a complete arse of myself a second time, passing Nat into 2nd, braking too late on the straight, almost colliding with H and going to the gravel in an effort to avoid colliding with anyone  :-\.

About half race distance my heart wasn't really in it anymore, and a spin obliged me to retire, being pretty appalled by my driving. You'd think I'd learn after how many seasons, but I hope this will be my last shocker for a while. Congrats to the winners.

Just looked at the replay of the lap 1 carnage. Apologies to Clive for the subsequent contact but if Goran had not spun and stopped on the outside of the turn that pass was going to stick, in my opinion.  A lot for the mods to sort out, good luck. Had to laugh at my search for the pits after my shift-r. It took me at least two laps and an unnecessary stop and go at the side of the track as well as the one in the pits. We must have used a different track for race 2, quite serene by comparison.

I wish I could have had the sort of crappy races that you lot had. If I could crash and do 1:22 that would be preferable to the consistent 1:27's that are my lot...

EVERYONE should look at the Lap 1 footage - its hilarious.

Two total different races for me  ::)

My first race on this track and first time driving the Cooper...

Race one I decided to take the slower BT7 and had all the luck to become best of the rest ;D

Race two all went wrong, in quali stuck behind a constant driving sky but on this track seems impossible to overtake...
On the grid my screen froze,  I could get it back but with wild flickering blue/green where has to be black on top and bottom of screen.
The start of the race was fantastic till T1 where I had warp contact with Jason and all the hassle began. Can't even count the events...
This became the worst ever race I had in my 6 month online career! 

Cheers

Really? I felt nothing and saw nothing untoward anywhere! I might have to check the replay to see this one!

Race 1: a total disaster!
At start I was really fast but, unfortunately, Geoff in front of me didn't move at all so a collision was the result... :( :( :(
Then, I was carefully escaping the carnage on lap 1 when someone hit me on the back: after s+r I was probably the last car... >:( >:( >:( >:(
Least, but not last, when overtaking someone (Bernie?) on s/f straight he suddenly moved to the right (in order to do the stopn'go there) and hit me: I did the stopn'go there too but I'm still thinking it wasn't the right place to do that... ??? ??? ???
Later, after another crash, I had to quit...

Race 2: a fantastic one!
I had great fights, with Jason and Steve

Anyway, it's a great track!

Long Live UKGPL!!

Sorry Fabio

Guilty as charged  ::)

My head was still spinning from the previous debacle and resultant re set when I suddenly realised I hadn't a clue were the pits were situated untill it was too late , then saw the car in front dive in and decided to follow , not realising you were so close behind and I was on the wrong side of the track

Maya Culpa !

In defence I'm not very good at 65's and only learned this track an hour before the race

BTW it wasnt just my driving that was deplorable , seems to be accepted practise in 65's to drive like a twunt .

I believe  it was Clive Loynes who christened it  "formula hooligan"  he was right on the money IMO

Again sorry if I ruined your race  ::)
 

Hmmm Bernie, Fabio, you are both in my report... sadly so am I. :(

That crash at the S/F is a classic though and that Lap 1 will go down in history!

You have definitely given Billy some work to do.

And no, it wasn't the right place for the stop n go  ::) ;D

Moderating reports now added.

A good read as always :)

Good advice lol  ;D

I didn't lose it , I temporarily misplaced it then found it again on the next lap  ;)

 

Great moderation for the first race. Do I need to appeal re the stop and go/ 30 sec penalty. I know my first attempt was in the wrong place but I realised this and did go round to the pits to do it in the correct place next time round?

Hmmm highlights that we modders, unfortunately, don't have the time to watch drivers for a lot of laps. Understandable that it was taken as your attempted pit in. I'd say yes you can appeal on the basis of this (https://www.ukgpl.com/index.php/rules/league);
"Since you can only appeal against a penalty if you have submitted an incident report, if you cause an incident or think it may go against you it is just as important that you submit your side of the story as for the victims. An exception will be made in moderator reviewed situations; should you NOT be sent an incident report notification via srou Personal Messaging, ie the incident has been picked up by a moderator review and not reported by another driver, you will have the right to Appeal any penalty imposed. This is the only exception."

To appeal just send me a PM roughly saying what you have said here.