UKPnG Season 9 GT Challenge - Charade - Apr 3

[Mark J]

yes its a right pita, though good news is it feels much better today than it did yesterday...or is that the heavy dose of painkillers 

I'm at Monthlery track, south of Paris...52 degree concrete banking ala 60's Monza  should be mega with an eclectic grid of classic cars

[Hotkeys]

Hello guys, even if someone has posed questions about the historical accuracy of Alfa SA (as soon as I get some time I will illustrate the reasons for the technique choice of PnG), as long as you can take it I'll use it very happily, is my favorite Alfa  

http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/alfa_giulia_gta_sa.shtml

[Giuseppe Reali]

http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/alfa_giulia_gta_sa.shtml

If you just need to know what is written there for me is fine, no problem 
Maybe you're right, better to let it speak the chronometer 

Ciaoo

[EvilClive]

I thought that I was OK with Charade because we use it in GPL. 

Needless to say it came as a shock last night to discover that 90% of the track is different!!!    Some of those chicanes are tricky to get right and very easy to get wrong, as I proved last night in the 20 mins practice that I found time for.

Not looking good for tonight. 

[Mark J]

Good news, I can join you this eve     got my leg strapped up and full of painkillers...hardcore 

Practise will be minimal/non existent so will have to rely on memory and god-given talent 

[Legzy]

Sounds like you might be in deep trouble

[Legzy]

That was looking good for another Team Oldie 'Points Scoring shock!' headline, as half way round lap one we were up to 3rd & 4th...

If only they dished out points for your position after half a lap :'(

I gave Clive room up my inside of a hairpin & was letting him through & for some reason my rear end just kept on going, causing my spin... & a car coming behind probably had nowhere to go (sorry) & flipped me on my roof. So from 4th to last in one corner & with the added bonus of suspension damage.

Was fun coming through the pack but car was just to wild for me & esc'ed before causing another issue

[Clive Loynes]

I gave Clive room up my inside of a hairpin & was letting him through ...........

Noted!    Many thanks.

I spent the whole race looking at the rear end of an Oldie and then when my tyres were shot I under steered wide at the last corner and let Geoffers have 4th.  One of my last lap special offers that I keep giving to the pesky Kerbies!

Grats to Giuseppe, Federico and Ed in what ever order they finished. 

[Mark J]

Qually went well, got 5th with a new pb for me. 

Race start was my usual poor affair as about 5 cars overtook me before the first corner  I just don't get how, I'm revving the car, dropping the clutch and going and yet every time I'm swamped off the line.
Avoided all the odd contacts happening on lap 1 and soon got back to 5th/6th but Frex did a last second lane change in the braking zone giving me nowhere to go so I unfortunately clumped him then geoffers clumped me, punting me into the Armco. Cost me 15 seconds to get going again 
Caught and past a few guys then had a really dull solo race for about 14 of the 19 laps, can't say I enjoyed that. 

Attendances are down about 10 drivers compared to last season    don't know why.

[frex]

Frex did a last second lane change in the braking zone giving me nowhere to go

That's not how i see it.. Just took my normal line there, although admittedly i was probably braking ridiculously early in which case my apologies and not your fault. Strangely, I just couldn't get the 911 to feel nice here, specially under braking/turn-in. Should have tried the Alpine..

And a dull race for me too - Kept Geoffers in sight til about 3/4 distance, then started to lose pace and drop further behind. Didn't enjoy that one.

Congrats podium.

[Mark J]

Sorry Frex wasn't meant as having a pop at you, from my seat it looked like you were taking a defensive inside line for the tight right 2nd corner as I had carried more momentum through the sweeping left hander to come up fast on your left. But then you moved over to take the normal line and braked and I couldn't avoid contact. My reactions are maybe not as fast after 3 days of painkillers    so sorry for the contact, a racing incident! 

[Stefan aka Postal]

Sorry, couldn't make the race yesterday. I like the layout of this track, nice combination of corners with elevation changes and some possible overtake spots. Too bad i missed the race then.

[frex]

No worries Mark and no need to apologise. Just wanted to point out that i wasn't actively trying to block you there or anything. Sorry you came off worse and lost so much time.

[Geoffers]

Good fun as always, really enjoyed it despite a bad first lap.

Yeh, first lap was a bit of a mess, was a bit slow away, too much wheelspin, then got bumped wide at T2 when I tried to go around the outside of Animal Ed, which allowed Legzy & Clive to go past. A few corners later Legzy lost it & spun right into my path & despite standing on the brakes I bumped into him which flipped his car over. Sorry Legzy nothing I could do to avoid you. This dropped me to about 9th or 10th place.

Passed a couple of cars & closed on Frex & MJ who had a coming together at T2 which again I couldn't avoid & bumped into MJ. Sorry MJ, you just stopped in the middle of the track! Soon caught up with Jarda who promptly decided to have a disco when I was right on his rear bumper  . Expected him to reappear about 100m further on so slowed a bit to avoid any collision but he then left so carried on.

Spent the rest of the race chasing Clive & Ed, didn't make any impression on the gap for several laps but near the end I closed in & caught Clive with a couple of laps to go. Unfortunately I got a bit too close at one point & bumped him into a spin, so waited for Clive to regain the place & resumed hostilities! Looked like I had lost the battle approaching the final corner, but Clive obligingly understeered wide & I nipped past on the inside to pinch 4th place. Cheers Clive  

Congrats to Giuseppe, Federico & Ed.  

[EvilClive]

Another race where I only discovered in the later laps that I had far too much rubber on my tyres, and that I should be far more aggressive with the downshifts. The setup I used seemed very slow on top end, not sure exactly why, but i was being caught and passed far too easily on the straight bits. I think the ratios needed some rethinking as the car appeared to bog down out of some of the slower corners and probably compromised my terminal velocity.

The early laps were fun with WGK at the back of the field, but when he dropped back it was a lonely 16 laps to the finish with only the leaders lapping for company.

Like I said in post race chat.." it was the kerbs that were abusing me!!" provoking a couple of spins through the chicanes, although the loss of time had no impact on my race position.