SimRacing.org.uk

Season 22 is upon us already so it's time to start the traditional chassis allocation arguments again.

The Novices Trophy will again use a chassis allocation style handicap but slightly different to last season. Drivers will be allocated a chassis group which will be used to determine the chassis they can drive for the season. Once they have been allocated a group they must use a chassis from that group for the entire season unless the moderator has permitted or requested a change. So, unlike previous seasons drivers will have a chassis choice from race to race. The faster the driver, the less (and slower) chassis that they will be able to select.

Season 21 was very close as most Novices seasons are - it always seems to go to the wire and it was only decided at the last race. We do keep an eye on chassis allocation throughout the season, and people in a chassis that is too fast or too slow for them will be reviewed as the season progresses.

So - slightly different this season as the chassis will be split into five groups as below. Drivers will have free choice of ANY chassis within their group:

Group I
Lotus, Ferrari, BRM, Honda, BT11, Cooper, BT7

GROUP 2
BRM, Honda, BT11, Cooper, BT7

GROUP 3
BT11, Cooper, BT7

GROUP 4
Cooper, BT7

GROUP 5
BT7

Since drivers have a free choice within their group, they will need to consider, on a circuit by circuit basis which car will best suit their needs. Control and a reliable setup may be more important than outright speed.

I will maintain a table with Chassis groups here, which I will expand as the registrations come in. Please feel free to post your chassis or group choice here and I will helpfully ignore you although Fabio probably needs to contact me...!

FULL TIME

DRIVER	CHASSIS GROUP
Badblood	1
Rotaxmax125	1
il lupo mannaro	2
blito	3
NHance	3
HappyAl	2
Nigel Smith	2
economia	1
Hendy Nichols	3
Billy Nobrakes	3
Screwcutter	1
RogUK	3
Roberto Vianna	1
Pierre D	1
carlospaz	1
Giovani	1
Leonardo	1
Noguiera	1

RESERVE

DRIVER	CHASSIS GROUP
Miniblood	1
JonnyBoy	1
goldtop	1
AuldenA	1
Norbert	2
BookieW	1
PhilKeith	1

Feel free to discuss the chassis allocations in this thread, but if anybody feels that they, or somebody else, has been grouped incorrectly then contact me by PM or post below.

Hi Paul,
I haven't thought about what I will do vis a vis 65's this season although, if we did get a mammoth sign up, an Intermediate division would be right up my street.
Anyway, if I did go Nov's, out of interest what group would you put me into based on my recent form?

Probably make a Group 6. ;)

Oh, and you seem to have a BT11 and a Brabham, presumably that should be BRM.

LOL Yes - good spot Mike....

Vos can go in Group 1...

But he has to take the Advanced Trainer.... ;) - You would probably be Group 3, maybe 4 - what were you thinking.

What I'm thinking and what I'd get are two different things.

Anyway let's see how many sign up. If we get enough across Pro's and Nov's the middle league is still a possibility.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

1) Paul, did you hit the "5" key  instead of the "1", isn't it?

2) BT7 is not an Italian red car, so I can't drive it. If I remember well, it also has 6 gears, so I'm really not able to drive it...

3) As I didn't find any other excuse so far... do you think I should move up to the PRO Division? When there I will be allowed to drive the Italian red car I will immediately do it...

I wouldn't want to lose you to the Pro's Fabio but the Intermediates may be different...  :(

I am guessing but you MAY want the Ferrari...  ;D Hmmm - GROUP 1? Maybe...

Maybe I have to go to pro's too then? Seeing Fabio's ranks, I'm -15 67rank and +33 65rank...

Ah statistics... just teasing Fabio for being Italian really - he's a Novice and he knows it  :D

And so are you Sky just not as much as me  ;D

nov·ice
noun \ˈnä-vəs\
Definition of NOVICE
1
: a person admitted to probationary membership in a religious community
2
: beginner, tyro

If Novices Division is meant according the second definition, I would definitevely change the name of it.
Just checking out the actual registered drivers:

Du Fossa, Rob and Sky will enter their 2nd Novices season
Paul and Jason will enter their 3rd one
I will enter my 5th one and driving GPL for more than 7 years put me amongst the slowest drivers of the hystory!!!  :wheelchair:
Norbert his 7th one!!
I guess MiniBlood is the only real novice ;)

What about Slow-Drivers-That-Can't-Compete-At-Highest-Level Division?
The name is a bit longer than the original one but I think it should work... :stupid:

But, maybe, we are a religious community so the actual name of the division is really the right one! :angel-wings:

So that makes me a Catholic UKGPL'er...

Maybe I should change ny title from Moderator (very Church of Scotland) to Abott....

Definitely a religious experience when you nail a corner or a pass. I think you move up from Novice when you can do two corners in a row...

When Jack 'O first set the Novices up the intent was for it to be just that and we had no idea how high the interest would be.
In reality there are very few pure Novice joiners, most falling into that class are returners after a long GPL absence or those that have done a lot of offline driving but are new to online racing. That said it is our prime entry point for 'novices' of whatever description hence the moniker.

As it turns out it is also popular for those who 'can't compete at the highest level' which is fine as we can accomodate both. IF we got enough sign-ups there is the possibility of a third 'intermediate' division which might be more attractive to those with a number of seasons up their sleeve but we shall have to see on that.

Rapped knuckles for me as I hadn't read the new system of chassis allocations.So I would prefer to be in  group 2 please( more options). However I do note that group 3 looks like last seasons group 2 which I was in then although I took the BT7 voluntarilly.  So put me in the group you think fit.
Norm H

LOL. No rapped knuckles yet...

Can I have a Ferrari please.

Blimey - lots of Ferrari requests this year.

a brabham please, you decide which.

LOL - you lot don't read the announcements do you. You will be in a GROUP where you will have free choice of the chassis in that group. If your group has a Brabham or a Ferrari or a Robin Reliant you can use it. If you are in one of the restricted groups (Jonny!) you can't :)

My group will have a Brabham. Your and everyone elses too ;)

 ;D

I guess BRM for me.  Is there an alternate engine sound though?  It sounds like a wind up toy  :D

I spend quite a lot of my time with no engine sound at all... plenty of flames though...  ;D

Have a search for some stuiff by DucWolf. Can't remember exactly but I know I found some sound packages by him and they were 'interesting'

re: engine sounds.
The wireplay ftp area has a selection of GPL files including one called blitogplsounds which is a collection of engine sounds collected originally for the 1967 cars but can be renamed for use with the 65s as well.
http://ftp.wireplay.co.uk/pub/grandprixlegends/patches/win32/
You will need to save the file to a spare directory, rename the engine note you want to use to b61 and slip it into the gpl sounds folder where it will over write the original. Of course the sounds in the pack are not authentic but I find they are pleasing on the ear, especially the BRM H-16 , Ferrari and Eagle ones.... Of course you may need to edit the sample RPM figure in the App.ini file (in the GPL root directory) and make the engine pitch suit your preferrence.... I like to raise the sample figure to deepen the engine notes a little.
Have a nose around the wireplay FTP - theres loads of stuff for GPL on there, and hundreds of other games too .. in its heyday wireplay was THE gaming service in the UK.

Thanks Jason

The Cooper for me then please.

Goldie - are you sure about that? Its not exactly fast you know.... most people would find either the Lotus or Ferrari more suitable for their first season....

Thanks for the advice Blito, but of the cars I've tried I just seem to get on best with the Cooper. I think it will help me to be more consistent in race and tbh I'd rather run at the back for now until I get used to racing these cars online.

That is fine. You are in Group 1 (at least until you win the first three!) so you can swap chassis when you feel comfortable.

hallo guy's ,
for the Season 22 Novices Chassis Selection i would like to race with the ferrari 1512 first choice if it is realy not possibul than BT11 or last honda ;
please let me know something because i don't see my name in any group for the moment .
greets svenvangent

You are there now svenagent. It is hard to keep up though...

I suspect you are faster than Group I but until I have some evidence you have free chassis choice - we will review everyone's chassis after three races.

No no no no i'm slow ok , not that slow but also not that fast ok ok ok wait , i'm not slow not fast but in between or something  :P
 .... glad to start with the 65ers  .
greets svenvangent (T.sven online)

Well, to give you some idea of times, I am doing Surfers paradise in low 1:14s (bt7) abd high 1:12s (lotus 33) which I suspect may put me on the cusp of being booted up into the inters........

Well I can match the 1: bit...  ::)

go on put up a replay so I can crib a bit... high 1:16's in the BT11 but not played with the setup...

A 1:14s in a BT7? Wow, tell the boys in inters I said hello  :angel:

Yeh - on the cusp.... six foot over the line if you ask me. What times you getting Al?

I see you've updated your GPLRank Paul, dark horse comes to mind.........

I'll be downloading the track tonight to have a few laps, I'll let you know my time ASAP, If Jason is getting 1:14's in a BT7, I'd expect mine to be nearer 1:20's in a BT11.

I'm lapping in the 1:16's with the odd high 1:15 at the moment in a BT11

So far, 12.1 in the Lotus....and 12.58 in the BT11......That bloody 11.xx is hard to get. That's why Juha is a Pro      ;D

Might try and join you online a bit later for some testing if I'm up to it.....had a busy day  ::)

From memory I think my pb is around the 1:13/1:14 mark offline in the Cooper with a decent load of fuel, but I doubt I'll be able to keep that up come race night.

Ohhh greeeeaaaatttt - another Bandido!

Group V for you Goldtop...  :laugh:

Hallo guy's ,
You can look here to see some laptimes already done by driver for Surfers paradise .
If you are in the mood place yours also in that topic and i put them in the list no matter which mod you use .
Pleasy write your name , care , tr/pr/ or race and time .
This until they put the track in GPLRank .
http://srmz.net/index.php?showtopic=7232&st=24

greets svenvangent (t.sven online racer)

I’ve posted my (embarrassingly slow) time in that thread, it’s currently a 1:15.937 using a BT11.

I would hope to get closer to 1:14’s before the season starts, if I ever get the chance to do some more training.

I would say that would be about mid-field..... Depends on how fast these new people are really.....

LOL, yeap, every time we get new drivers they always seem to be faster than me. I'm ready to be at the back again :(

I promise to wave as you lap me this year  ;D

Hallo happyAl ,
Don't worry to much , most of these flaptimes are hotlap so you can't compare them with full race laptimes .
I think a 1:14 is a reasonable time in a race ;
greets

Yeah.... 1:15s on full tanks for me :)

hallo blito ,
the point is that we don't know how much there will be for surfers paradise .
Any idea ?
greets svenvangent

Pretty much all the Novice races will be about the same on amount of fuel. So to get an idea go to Mexico and fill up for 20 laps, it'll be more of less the same amount of fuel for Surfers.

Thanks for teh kind words about my lack of pace. I guess we only have a week or two to find out how fast we all are..... and I can't wait  :)

From recollection I think I used 14 gallons as the fuel load in my BRM last season

This is the updated Chassis assignment with the chassis having been grouped slightly differently.

Novices

DRIVER	CHASSIS GROUP
Badblood	1
Rotaxmax125	3
il lupo mannaro	2
blito	5
NHance	3
HappyAl	3
Nigel Smith	3
economia	2
Hendy Nichols	4
Billy Nobrakes	3
Screwcutter	2
RogUK	4
Roberto Vianna	1
Pierre D	1
carlospaz	1
Giovani	1
Leonardo	1
Noguiera	1

RESERVE

DRIVER	CHASSIS GROUP
Miniblood	2
JonnyBoy	3
goldtop	1
AuldenA	2
Norbert	2
BookieW	1
Phillipe GIRARD	1

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU FEEL YOU (OR SOMEONE ELSE) HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED INCORRECTLY

The Chassis are split as follows:


Group I      Group II      Group III      Group IV      Group V    
Lotus         BT11          Honda         BT7            BT7
Ferrari       Honda         BT7           Cooper      
BT11          BRM           Cooper  
Honda         Cooper      
BRM           BT7
Cooper        Ferrari      
BT7