UKPnG Season 8 Sports Car Series - Suzuka - Nov 14

[goldtop]

Why not run a series containing multiple classes?

I'd agree with this. We certainly have enough takers for multiclass and it would add another dimension to the racing.

Unfortunately I'll be unable to make this one as I doubt that my new pc will be delivered and running in time, so have fun.

[johnw]

PS. This reply is risky, Capt. Clive might rule me in bad standing :-))

Funny you say that, I was going to suggest a Porsche-only series

Why not run a series containing multiple classes?

It's all well and good, but you're effectively halving the chance of having someone to race with.

Having said that, I agree entirely with this:

I aint bothered which cars are being run, I'll always find something that'll make me smile. I'll leave any decisions to the powers that be.

Well said

[Walter Conn]

You could make the top five drivers in the limited championship drive a slower car than the rest of the field. For example, the top five would have to drive the cobra 289 roadster, and the rest of the field could drive the Cobra Coupe.

Also, it would be great if we could use the Porsche IROC for a limited race.

[NPP]

I think running it with a different series/class/era each alternate week as you have been doing is the right formula. It caters for everyone and satisfies most persuasions of vintage racing. 
It's cool knowing one week it's 60's tintops then next might be a lairy 70's GT race.
The endurance round was possibly least popular in attendance so how about putting a proper sportscar round in its place using the cars more suited ie GT40's, 906-8, Vette big block etc on big tracks that suit them like Spa, Paul ricard, Suzuka, Sebring Dijon etc.

Prob best starting a seperate topic for suggestions though Matt as this race thread will get drowned! 

I agree with all of this, I have enjoyed the variety of classes and eras. The very long races don't do it for me really (though I got my only win at Sebring) because of the potential to screw up the pitstop.

If I could add a suggestion of my own it would be: more classic tracks, and no Mickey-Mousey ones (Valencia or Oschersleben). But I realise that this is a question of personal taste only.

[Mogget]

Multiple class racing is pointless unless you can get 60+ drivers. All it does is spread the field out even further.

[Clive Loynes]

Multiple class racing is pointless unless you can get 60+ drivers. All it does is spread the field out even further.

And increase the number of shunts!   

[Mark J]

Multiple class racing is pointless unless you can get 60+ drivers. All it does is spread the field out even further.

And increase the number of shunts!   

looking at the performance spread in this group at Suzuka, i'd say we already have multi-class racing and a possibility of shunts !
But I only managed to bang in about 8 laps total last night as a sighter using two different cars and they were surprisingly similar in laptime.  The RSR feels like sim-racing nirvana through the 'S' turn complex in sector 1 for me 

[phspok]

Not keen for multi class or two short events.

Anything that increases the admin load is out for me. I struggle to find time for what we have been doing.

One of the things that differentiates these series is the 40 minute event, which has been popular in the past
and seems to be so now.

I like the idea of some form of handicapping in at least one of the series. Top 5 have to drive "these" cars. That's fairly easy to do.
I liked things that Legzy and Tony have done in the past, but I won't be keeping spreadsheets up to date etc.
From an easy admin point of view I might create one series with a fixed car list of 3 or 4 in a faster and also a few in a slower group.
All I need to do then is pick tracks and create the events  

Enduro gets a lot of negatives, so that will likely not happen next year.
Walter is keen to run some Big American cars and is putting in time for testing, so that might become a series, similar to Tony's GTL one.
I like having a Spec or limited choice series, is usually fun and is very light on testing time.
I don't plan to change the format much, unless someone comes up with a new idea that is easy to implement
it's more about what classes do people want so far.

[Mark J]

I personally like an enduro every now and then as the long game tactics and pit stop can spice it up nicely, but think they only need to be occasional as special events or double pointers in a series like they do for Le Mans or Sebring to encourage entry lists.
Not interested in 2x short races. Our 40 min races are just right length to have a good sprint format with an element of worn tyres & tiredness creeping in over the last 10mins to give it an endurance element too. Spot on. A mandatory stop could be interesting too depending on known tracks without pit problems and the class of car involved.

I'd have on a rotating weekly basis:-
a British touring car class on uk club tracks (always popular)
A 60's Gt series
A 70's Gt series alternate rounds using grp2 & 4
US muscle car series on US/Canadian tracks
A fast sportscar series on big tracks
A spec race series

That covers all bases and should utilise the whole car range  more refinement is needed when allowing cars too, it's no good saying 'all escorts' for instance when they have massively different bhp/t figures or several years development improvement in handling and braking. As proved at the Birmingham GP round! Closer the car group, the closer the racing

[Clive Loynes]

Handicapping is good if it can be done well.  I'm in the top five of all the current series but I'm a hell of a lot slower than those people that I'm fighting with!  Putting all of the top five in a slower car is fine if they are all aliens.  I'm giving John about three seconds a lap at Suzuka and the last thing that I need is to be put in a car that lets even Old Legzy have a go at me!   

Having said that, if this turns out to be Matt's Be Kind to Porsche Week, then I shall probably be lapped by the top five!

[Mogget]

I enjoy racing at Valencia and Oschersleben (in response to the "mickey mouse tracks" comment), but I appreciate that it is hard to overtake at Oschersleben. Nevertheless, I have no idea why so many people do not like the Valencia track. I think that it is a superb track for P&G3 races, and (for the record) I enjoy it a lot more than many of the old "classic" tracks.

As for this one, I will probably drive the GT40 MkI Gulf. I have no idea how it compares to the RSR3.0 around here...

[phspok]

Well said Mogget. Last night in practice was an RSR lockout, except myself. Hopefully there will be some mixture of cars... I like Valancia too.

[Mark J]

I like Valencia too, works surprisingly well for vintage racing.

Surprised to hear praccy was an RSR lockout, thought the 906-8 would be a race winner here. Someone check what car Clive is in as that will be the fastest of the set  Gt40's will be monstering the two long straights and are prob wide enough to hold their own in sector 1.

[johnw]

Valencia? Where to start...

There's no 'flow' to it. It looks like it's been designed with a ruler, a protractor and some arbitrary angles.
It feels featureless, characterless & flat (I know it's not actually flat, but there's no sense of elevation driving round it), all the kerbs are very wide and very flat, which encourages no-consequence cutting. I don't get a feeling of achievement stringing a sequence of corners together unlike, for example, the esses at Suzuka. There's also no risk involved trying to squeeze that last little bit of time out of a lap, you'll just run a bit wide onto one of the runoff areas or maybe some gravel, lose a few tenths then life will continue. It's hardly the same as running wide at Eau Rouge or taking too much speed into 130R, etc.

I realise I've used the words 'feeling' and 'sense of' a lot, which is all very woolly, but that's what's missing for me at Valencia for some reason.

Anyway, diatribe over and let's get back on topic - The RSR feels absolutely sublime around Suzuka

[Mark J]

Hmm assuming all the usual suspects have found the RSR to be the pace setter out of this group of cars, we could always make it the 2.8 version instead of a 3.0L  that or make a new rule that all the glory hunters who now take the RSR also have to use it when there are capris and beemers to use next time round  (not including John in that sarcasm!)