UKGPL Season 24 (2013) Novices Trophy (65) - Kyalami - Jan 22

[dave curtis]

Where can I get a replay?

http://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/inc_replaysS24_js.aspx#

Then click 'Novices' on the left hand side.


The main www.ukgpl.com  page has link to the ukgpl3 server at top left corner.

Cheers,
Dave.

[Billy Nobrakes]

We need to get the Int's back on track please , surely we could sort something out for moderating , how about a few of us take turns about, I'd be up for doing a couple of races , maybe more at a push. Need volunteers though dont know what's involved , how much time , etc.

Bernie - dropping the Inters was the right thing to do at the time - we just did not have enough registrations. There was a late influx of sign ups & - unusually nearly everyone turned up on race day.
Paul did the noble thing & gave up his spot on the grid - we also found a few runners on the grid were more suited to Pro speed  - but that always happens to some extent.
Provided we have enough servers it is a fixable problem - much better to have a surplus of drivers than not enough - proves GPL is popular.

[BadBlood]

I think resurrecting Inters is too much work. A couple of drivers can go to Pros (thanks Jonny) and it is, likely that not everyone will turn up. It was a surprise!
 
I will ensure that T7 is available for a non-championship race. That way, anyone will be able to access a server. This can also be used by anyone who feels that the racing is too gung-ho. That race will start at 9.45 so that anyone who gets booted out at T1 can still get a race.

[Geoff65]

Lets not go off too half cocked lads, and look at the facts. giovanii and JonnyO were driving Lotus, which is capable of sub tonights Qually times in the right hands...My best in the BT11 here is hi 24's, but for me, that takes a perfect lap to achieve and I couldn't manage it this race. I was a little annoyed that Dave Rainier was asked to step up to Pro, as he has not to date won a 65 title. In the context of 2 fields only available, it would have been fairer to ask John Pennington to step up as he'd won last seasons Novice 65, convincingly....not just scraping in by a point or two. However I see Dave aquitted himself quite well, even without practice. Nice job Dave.

I think that the novice guys would benefit more from practice with guidance and advice from us senior, more experienced drivers than just being locked away in their own level with nothing to aim for. I am aware that practice time is precious, as we all have our own version of the fun police at home.....that can't understand why we play this 'stupid' game. So using your practice time wisely is a better option than just recycling the same mistakes. I for one am available any time for training if anyone wants it, i know John Roberts will assist anyone that is serious about getting faster...perhaps a few more Ints level drivers could make themselves available to assist the Novices. Most of what I saw in that race whilst lapping tailenders were not bad drivers, but evil handling cars. Passing on some setup advice to guys with quite good skills already would certainly compress the field a bit tighter, in my opinion. Perhaps we can get some discussion going on this in it's own thread Paul in the next few days, before we make drastic changes to what we already have. I'm sure some guys stepping up to Pro would welcome some advice that shaves their laptimes down as well you Pro drivers. For consideration by the membership......Geoff.


Race report later......

[Geoff65]

Not my best pace ever at this venue, but certainly my most mature, low stuff-up count race in some time    
Qually was ok posting a 25.21 thanks to a handy tow on the front straight to kick off the lap. I was less concerned about qualifying than having a good setup that was race friendly.
Happy in the end with P3, only 2 very fast Lotus in front.

Started fair in the race, the engine bogged a little off the line, but still managed to thread my way through the traffic into P2 on L1  Good Bad T1 everyone, I think most some got through unscathed. Tried to hold JonnyO off for a couple of laps but the Lotus just had too much pace for the BT and he slipped by into T1 a few laps later. Settled down to try and drive a pitboard race then, as encountering some lapped traffic early let JonnyO slip away out of draft range. There went my plan to use him to drag me away from Andy, Dave C and JohnnyP that were lurking a few seconds in arrears. All went quietly until sometime later, Dave C made a little blue, that allowed Johnny P to bring his blowtorch to bear on Andys Honda. He slipped through Andy and started trying to run me down. I kept an eye on the splits, and tried to drive as conservatively, but still quickly, as possible. In the hope the John would makee a major mistake trying too hard to catch me. He posted some of his fastest laps of the race in pursuit, but once he was within draft range of my gearbox i realized it was going to be....problematic, to hold him at bay. I think it was 2 or 3 laps I managed to hold him off....he dropped back a little at one stage, I was hoping he'd hurt his car in the chase and was having difficulties. It seems he was just gathering his wits for a final assault. Johnny duly attacked a lap or two later, however my defence of P3 had taken it's toll on the BT, and it was showing signs of distress in the LH tyres, front and rear. When Johnny got a great run on me down the front straight in draft, I elected to ease up and let him through, to have a look at him and give the rubber a chance to cool off a bit....perhaps mounting a counterattack at a later time.  This was around L22, sadly my car didn't improve much at all and encountering more lapped traffic put paid to any counterattack. I eased off to conserve the car and watched the gap to Andy behind, who was charging. He posted his fastest lap of the race on the last lap, trying to catch me, but I had P4 fairly comfortably barring any mishaps.

Congrats to JonnyO, Giovanii and JohnnyP on their well earned podium positions, and thanks to all the lapped traffic that caused me no hindrance whatsoever, well done lads. Enjoying the season so far.
Geoff.

[Pierre D]

I was a reservist on this one . Half an hour before the race, there was still some room on the server and I waited. I left when more people came in. A few days ago, I asked on Igor before a race how reservists were chosen when the server was full. I was told it never happened !  You're right Billy

much better to have a surplus of drivers than not enough - proves GPL is popular.

During the last practice race, I noticed my frame rate was steady between 34 and 36. During the official practice, as I was still in the pits with no other car around, It was at 15. I thought I was in a bad spot but it didn't improve after that. There was more and more people on the server and I decided to leave thinking I would have a chance to come back. Being in Canada has never been a problem in 4 years (I have a cable connection from one of the major providers in Canada). Have you  noticed yourselves any drop in the fps today ?

[Geoff65]

During the last practice race, I noticed my frame rate was steady between 34 and 36. During the official practice, as I was still in the pits with no other car around, It was at 15. I thought I was in a bad spot but it didn't improve after that. There was more and more people on the server and I decided to leave thinking I would have a chance to come back. Being in Canada has never been a problem in 4 years (I have a cable connection from one of the major providers in Canada). Have you  noticed yourselves any drop in the fps today ?

No Pierre, my FPS was rock solid the whole time...though I did get ejected (GPL crashed) just after crossing the finish line during Qually. It was fine after I re-entered, no further problems.

[Hristo Itchov]

I still believe it's better to have a grid of 10 drivers but of similar ability than a full grid but with a larger difference in speed. It would be a shame if the trend of drivers missing out races because there is no room on a server continues, yet I can see why some would be reluctant to move up because instead of fighting for victories they may end up fighting for 5th or 10th. If Ints can be brought back eventually, it seems like the better solution. From the number of drivers registered for Novices at the moment and the available room in Pro, there will be always someone potentially missing out a race, and without a proper way to moderate who gets priority, people who arrive a bit late may be left out, even if they are not reserves.

As for tutoring, I will try to install my lap guides blog on another domain because the one I used previously was taken down. It is mostly through one's own doing that improvements in ability are made though, by watching replays, reading about setup parameters, by experimenting and practicing, and by observing one's own driving in detail. IMO giving advice works only to some minor extent, but in the long run a driver should be proactive in finding out what works best for him/her.

[BadBlood]

The disparity in lap times is a bit too wide IMHO and there are definitely two divisions racing here. I can do a low 1:26 here without tow and I took the Honda because I have a stable setup. When I tried the Lotus, I found it handled badly for me and I was slower although the combined Prib time was lower. Maybe we could develop some really stable setups that the real Novices could use? Geoff gave me a setup which helped last season BUT I wouldn't have been ready for it a year ago. Practice Practice and more Practice. Which is a bit of a downer when you have to give up your race spot (Dave C - you owe me a pint!) 

By the way. LEAVE ROOM AT T1

LEAVE ROOM AT T1!!!. The Red Zone moderation is going to be lengthy...

[Hristo Itchov]

I could make some setups that are easy to drive, if not fast. It's mostly down to the anti-roll bar and differential settings, as well as brake bias, which makes the biggest difference. In fact I believe a so called alien setup can be used without any change to the suspension apart from those parameters and it would remain quick yet easy to drive. I haven't driven all cars properly, but they're quite similar to each other anyway, so an approach that works for one car would work for the rest as well. The Honda and BRM might be a slight exception though, due to the different weight distribution they have. It still remains very much a subjective thing though. I'll see what I can do, it shouldn't take too long to make at least a base setup for all cars and then it could be adjusted to match different tracks by changing gears, cambers and tire pressures, as well as brake bias and steering lock as a personal preference matching the individual controller specs (wheel lock range, pedal sensitivity).

[happyal]

The disparity in lap times is a bit too wide IMHO and there are definitely two divisions racing here.

I agree with that, I know it's only 1 race track, and they were in faster cars but the times were too quick for Novices in my opinion.

My race was pretty poor. I did OK in quali, and I got a time which was on par with my best. The race started OK but at turn 1 I was involved in an incident. I haven't looked at my reply yet, but basically there were cars all over the track all of a sudden. I got punned off the track and it took me a while to get going again, I always seem to come out of these incidences badly, I don't know why but I always seem to end up last, or nearly last when ever there is something like this.

I got going again and was battling for about 10th place with a few other cars, it was good fun and was nice to have a battle. My pace was rubbish in the race, I don't know why, but I just couldn't get going, added to the fact that i made a few mistakes left me doing quite poorly. I was quite glad when the race finished.

[BadBlood]

That first corner was BAD. I have reveiwed it and nearly everybody involved gets it wrong. You are, however, blameless Al. The best driving of all, seeing what is ahead, is by Tony W. Lesson to you all.

[Wiltshire Tony]

 

[Wiltshire Tony]

Really enjoyed my first "proper" GPL Novice League race. I have chosen the Honda and hope to continue to drive her for the remainder of the season. I want to do that with every car so this GPL malarkey had better not stop. My mission statement was just to finish the race and I'm happy to tick that box. Had some excitement too but until I see the replay I can't tell who I was racing/crashing with.
I downloaded some setups from a link that was provided here. Simply went through all of them and finaly selected the one I felt most comfortable with. Then tweaked it for braking/gearing/steering. However in the race I think I should have shortened the gearing as 5th felt too long and I only used 6th on that long down hill section after the start finish line.
Looking forwards to the next one now.

Thanks to the organisers for the series/races

WT

[Clive Loynes]

Creep!