UKGPL Season 24 (2013) Privateers Trophy (67) - Silverstone - Apr 7

[BadBlood]

Bad luck Michael. Join our club... 

[blito]

Looking at those laptimes I feel I would have been quite competitive in this race but seeing as I fell asleep on the sofa at 8:30.......
... came to at 9pm to find a "motorsport on the bbc"  program on TV showcasing British F1 drivers of the 60s.  So I watched that instead..

[maddog]

I've never much liked Silverstone, though it's a home track.  The curbs usually curtail my attainments, which can be painful, and it becomes a lonely outing.

Prospects were not good, but my race got off to a flying start.  Actually it was more of a barrel roll.  I was in full race mode entering the 1st turn, and chanced apon a slowing Ferrari.  With a blatant rear end shunt loomed large, I cunningly ducked right, to nip through the solid wall there.  The wall refused to warp, but my connection obliged, and as a low flying missile, the Brabham works quite well! My apologies to both victims.  This was not the best way to forward ones aspirations to glory.  After the judges declared a four point landing, I continued unscathed.

As things settled in, there developed an annoying Honda, just out of sight behind. And with tyre temps. fluctuating, so did the distance between us.  I spotted it was Dave driving, when he briefly took a turn in front.  Meanwhile, Fabio was unchaseable ahead, though fate rarely smiles on his prospects, or their attachments.

At half distance, I suddenly had a BRM in my sights.  It was young Florian after a pitstop, who decided to dangle his tailpipes just out of reach, for most of the race remainder.  An eventual mistake allowed me an opening at Stowe, with my pass being interrupted only by the retaining wall, mid-corner.  This allowed the shadowing Honda closer, and I reverted to 5th place preservation mode.

By late race, Francesco had continued his unbroken record for engine breakage, and Florian had encountered a closer examination of the infield, towards Becketts.  This put me a miraculous 3rd, free and clear.

With only 3 laps remaining, there was an annoying buzzing in my ear, causing an annoying Honda to reappear.  This had me exploring various novel areas of the track on the penultimate lap, some of them green.  We were parallel entering Stowe, but I held the inside line, while being shown the blue flag.  This seemed grossly unfair, and I refused to yield.  Then noticed there were 2 cars behind - we were being lapped!  I pressed on, while David generously yielded, and only a final lap remained.  Then the 3 brain cells kicked in, and I realised the man on my tail held the chequered flag, and I let the flying Andreas through, and inspected some earlier grass removal while the brain cells were occupied.  Podium spot, by not a lot! 

Silverstone's not such a bad place, when the GPL Gods are smiling.

[James Andrew]

Excellent report, Maddog, enjoyed that.

My evening was a mixture really. Qualifying saw me low but in among a tight group, meaning that I was, for once, somewhere near a decent pace in the Ferrari - something I've rarely driven before. Late on, I tried to make some daring setup changes. When the 30-second board went up for the race, I had to quickly switch setups and fix the fuel levels. Something glitched and I couldn't complete it in time.

Starting from the pit lane, then, on a hastily selected, less-than-optimal setup, I started after the pack. Was miles behind but knew that I had a setup that was very well planted so anyone making mistakes would be a juicy target. As it happened, there must have been plenty of carnage early on, because when I looked up I was already ahead of some people.

In general the race was quiet and tedious, with the odd patch of engine management and, probably due to concentration failure, a few too many minor spins. However, late on, I noticed that Michael, who had been almost a lap ahead, was suddenly just 30 seconds in front with plenty of laps left. When I found him he was spewing smoke from the engine bay and was trying to limp home, I think. I enjoyed beating a wounded rival. That's how low I've sunk.

Anyway, I seem to have been the only Ferrari to make it to the end. I believe it's meant to be a little fragile but for me, with probably the least experience with it, to get home safely seems strange. Oh well. I'll happily take what might be the biggest points haul I've ever had. See you next time!

[Flow]

It was young Florian after...

Young? No, no, I will be 30 later this year. When I am at a concert folk there can call me grandpa Flow. 25 and lower, THATS young.

Btw. Michael Turner, what did you do when I lapped you? First you slowed down at the straight without making space, then you kicked me from the track in the next corner. Nearly destroyed my race. Not cool.

[maddog]

Young? No, no, I will be 30 later this year.

If I do not call you young Florian, I must call your Father old Andreas, and the winner cannot be old.

[bernie]

I like Silverstone , it has some interesting corners and "usually" produces some great racing . That wasn't the case last night , for some reason I couldnt get anywhere near my PB of 1m29s ish , quallified near the rear , 3.5 secs off the pole man , maybe because I was feeling clapped out after spending most of the day underneath my daughters car repairing a reluctant starter motor , maybe the lag bars which were sky high making it feel like I was driving on ice , whatever finished up lapped "again" (getting to be a habit this year)

After 34 laps 54 spins coupled with a bit of racing was suprised to finish 6th (which means the rest of you lot must really be bad  )   

Grats to the Podium commiserations to Axel ( dunno what happend ?  ) looks like the chumpionship is a foregone conclusion

[Michael Turner]

It was young Florian after...

Btw. Michael Turner, what did you do when I lapped you? First you slowed down at the straight without making space, then you kicked me from the track in the next corner. Nearly destroyed my race. Not cool.

This was on the finishing straight of L13 for information of others. I moved left to keep to the racing line (as per official guidance) intending to lift and allow plenty of room for you to pass on my right.
However I saw you coming up on my left and moved over to the right to allow room for you to pass and stayed as far right as possible going into T1 to allow you to pass. At this point you were not in my mirrors so I could only assume that you were somewhere alongside me
to my left not having completed a pass. Unfortunately you decided to turn into the corner and into me having failed to complete the pass which you must have known as I was not in your mirrors. Decidedly uncool.
Here is an extract from the official guidance on lapping to help you avoid further incidents.

How to allow a lapping car to pass cleanly

When approached by a faster car, initially just hold your line to prevent any confusion 

If the faster driver then moves alongside in an attempt to pass, back off just very slightly to make the pass easier. Be aware in this situation that GPL only shows one following car in your mirrors. If the pass is in a corner, make sure to give as much room as possible to the other driver. Because of warping and your limited peripheral vision, this usually means running right around the outside of a corner.

If the following car does not pass you almost immediately then try to allow them to pass at a safe part of the circuit as soon as you can.

Suggestion 1 — as you brake for a corner stay well to the outside during the braking stage, then deliberately run right around the outside of the corner allowing the faster driver to pass on the inside line.

Following these guidelines will allow you let a driver lap you safely, without hindering them or yourself. At some circuits such as Monaco, it may require extra care to make this go smoothly. Ultimately, as long as you have done everything above correctly, any accident where the lapping driver hits the back of you is likely to be their fault.

Advice for the lapping driver

The lapping driver takes the majority of the responsibility to make a clean pass. If you cannot see any guaranteed clean route to pass the driver then be patient and follow them! Do not make a risky move even if it means following them for a long period. Anyone causing an accident through impatience will be penalised severely.

The lapping driver is responsible for following a slower driver at a safe distance. Slow down when approaching a slower car – the speed difference may be much larger than you expect. Their lines and braking points may be totally different to yours and they may be more likely to make mistakes. Warping will also mean that you may need to leave extra room. Lapping drivers showing a lack of care in this situation will be penalised.

[bernie]

LOL

After my recent experiences I should really say something about 'other drivers please take note' but dont think I should be opening another can of worms here except to say (IMO)  when being lapped it is ALWAYS better to stay on your NORMAL  racing line 

Suddenly slowing or changing  direction is courting disaster.

The person lapping does not have a god given right of passage , its up to HIM to decide when its safe to pass , not the person being lapped , anything else can and does cause confusion  .

GPL is 1967 not F1 Senna Schumaker rules

[BadBlood]

Thank you for your advice gentlemen, I will be sure to look at it...

[Flow]

LOL

I wonder what is so funny about that?

After my recent experiences I should really say something about 'other drivers please take note' but dont think I should be opening another can of worms here except to say (IMO)  when being lapped it is ALWAYS better to stay on your NORMAL  racing line 

Suddenly slowing or changing  direction is courting disaster.

Did you even have a peek at the replay? Because slowing is what he did after the exit of the corner. When he passes the finish line he has 180 kmh, then instead of increasing it drops to 178 kmh.

The person lapping does not have a god given right of passage , its up to HIM to decide when its safe to pass , not the person being lapped , anything else can and does cause confusion  .

Not god given, but he has the right to pass. At least I thought this is what blue flags do signal.

GPL is 1967 not F1 Senna Schumaker rules

I dont even know what that means "Senna Schumaker rules"?

Btw. Michael Turner, what did you do when I lapped you? First you slowed down at the straight without making space, then you kicked me from the track in the next corner. Nearly destroyed my race. Not cool.

This was on the finishing straight of L13 for information of others. I moved left to keep to the racing line (as per official guidance) intending to lift and allow plenty of room for you to pass on my right.

I cant read anything in the official guidance about staying on the racing line and then slowing down. Why not just accelerating normal then? In the race I was like, wtf what is going on here?

However I saw you coming up on my left and moved over to the right to allow room for you to pass and stayed as far right as possible going into T1 to allow you to pass. At this point you were not in my mirrors so I could only assume that you were somewhere alongside me
to my left not having completed a pass. Unfortunately you decided to turn into the corner and into me having failed to complete the pass which you must have known as I was not in your mirrors. Decidedly uncool.

So then why didnt you let me pass? You didnt even break into that corner, you just rolled into it. So you knew I was there going to overtake you, why didnt you brake more than usual to allow a safe pass? Ofc I turned into the corner, assuming you were already behind me. I was totally surprised to see that you still were driving side by side with me. I wouldnt have turned into the corner if I knew this was a battle for position, because in such a case I naturally assume the other driver is right beside me, but it just wasnt the case.

[bernie]

ermm! my remarks were not directed at you personally Florian so dont go take the hump , and no I haven't seen the replay nor was I making a comment about your race I dont see how you got that idea .

LOL because I wanted my post to be seen as a light hearted observation not because I think the situation was funny ,more ironic in view of the way I have been pilloried because of a similar situation . (obviously I failed there )

I'm sure the moderators will view the replay and as always make a fair judgement . not up to me to comment 

[Michael Turner]

"When approached by a faster car, initially just hold your line to prevent any confusion   
If the faster driver then moves alongside in an attempt to pass, back off just very slightly to make the pass easier"
 That is why I initially kept to my line (the racing line) and then eased off. I moved to the right only because I saw you in my mirrors coming up behind me apparently intent on passing on my left.
Going into T1 I was surprised not to see you ahead of me and stayed to the right assuming that you would stay to the left and pass me through the corner or (more sensibly) on the following straight.
Why did you assume that I was already behind you? If you couldn't see me in your mirrors then you could not and should not have assumed that you had passed me.

As the incident is now in the lap of the moderators and as I can't see any benefit in turning this into another epic saga I won't be adding any further comments.

[Flow]

When you moved to the right I already had to slow down the car and move into the grass to avoid contact. I wonder why you were surprised not to see me ahead if you didnt even break into the corner. Seems like a misjudgement there. I assumed you were already behind me because I lapped you there and expected sensible driving. I dont know about you, but I cant check my mirrors every two seconds when braking into a corner. There is a blind spot where a car can already be behind you but you cant see it in the mirror, if the car isnt directly behind you. Normally you see the car then 1-2 seconds later in your mirror. Sure one can check Pribluda if it says about -8 to -10m to be safe, but like I said i cant check it when braking into a corner. I rely on the backmarker to let me pass. If I know I have to drive with him like its a battle, I drive different of course.

[AnGex]

... I moved left to keep to the racing line (as per official guidance) intending to lift and allow plenty of room for you to pass on my right.
However I saw you coming up on my left and moved over to the right to allow room for you to pass and stayed as far right as possible going into T1 to allow you to pass
[/quote]

There you made your first mistake. Also in driving and in writing as well. In the replay one can surely see that you moved from the right to the left when Florian already was there. So he had to go on the grass to avoid contact. If he had not done so your race could easily be finished. How about that? But for you it would not make a big difference: No Finish instead of being last. But some1 to loose a podium is another thing. Btw you did about the same behaviour to me, 3x you were the back-marker for me. First time I was lucky because you were about 500 meters in the infield, picking flowers or something. The other time you were with a smoking motor cruising in front of me directly on the racing-line. For this a report will be on the way. And because it looks like you are a fan of extractions from official guidance on lapping here is the simple version of the official FIA F1: "Blue flag: A driver signalled that he will soon be overtaken. He MUST let the other vehicle pass." That is simple, isn´t it? Piquet and Salazar was a good example in Hockenheim 1982.