UKGTL Season 17 Ford Asia Endurance Cup - Singapore - Sep 4

[Erling G-P]

Ok, lets make this more interesting....................

Shall we say 22:00 

Thanks, that wrecked my laptimes... 

Not a very pretty track at night, but does add an extra challenge of course.

Cheers,
Erling

[EvilClive]

Did a few laps last night............................Oh Yes!!! I do vaguely remember this track now   But how on earth I managed a win here must be more of a reflection on everyone else's misfortunes, rather than any great performance from me  

Maybe it is my PC's low spec, but there are at least two corners around this track where I find it difficult to pick out the right turns hidden in the concrete walls. Usually I find that once I have raced a circuit I retain the layout in my brain and can quickly dial in again, but not with this track as it seems like a voyage of discovery.

Plus of course there is the added complication of those Capris and trying to anticipate the turbo lag out of all of those tight corners.............If I have any hope of offering any challenge on Monday I will have to find time for some serious practice. Or maybe I just tootle around at the back and hope to pick up places from others mistakes?  

Oh yes!! Plus of course our beneficent organiser has now made this a nightime race, which I suspect will only add to my problems with picking out corners Something else I will have to try before Monday............there is currently a possibility of names being removed from my Christmas card list 

[EvilClive]

Had a few spare mins this pm,  so tried Ping-a-wall under floodlights  ..........someone around here has a wicked sense of humour!!!! 

In daylight, it is difficult to pick out the corner entry points in the concrete walls.....in semi darkness that becomes more of a lottery.

Just to make things impossible I refreshed my memory of the track with a few slow recce laps trying to predict where the turn in points were by using the engine revs and gearchanges under max acceleration from the previous corner. Not ideal, but I will use anything that I can lol!

So with a Div 1 car I am getting down to 2:25 secs with a far from comfortable setup and more than a few corners where I can gain more time. The question is if I can get to a position where I have enough confidence in the setup, to attack more of the corners. How you fast boys deal with that horrendous turbo lag in the slow corners is beyond me.
Just wondering if maybe I am too slow through the corners? and if I was quicker the revs would not drop so much and I would not suffer that lag??

Is anyone going to post some indicative laptimes for these frustrating projectiles? I find it very difficult to judge if I am extracting the potential performance from them as the handling/turbo mix is so different to what I am used to. 

[Geoffers]

Is anyone going to post some indicative laptimes for these frustrating projectiles? I find it very difficult to judge if I am extracting the potential performance from them as the handling/turbo mix is so different to what I am used to. 

No!








Oh go on then, did a few laps in daylight to learn the track last night, got into the 2.16s with 80 Div2 car.

[phspok]

2:19 any guide?

[EvilClive]

2:16,  2:19's???!!!..........................................oh dear! and in a Div 2 car too??? isn't life just great??  Thanks for bursting my bubble and ruining my weekend!

And to think I was chuffed with 2:25 in a Div 1 car!!!!  

I am going to bed.

[Erling G-P]

2:16,  2:19's???!!!..........................................oh dear! and in a Div 2 car too??? isn't life just great??  Thanks for bursting my bubble and ruining my weekend!

And to think I was chuffed with 2:25 in a Div 1 car!!!!   

I am going to bed.

I thought it surely was a printing error when you wrote Div 1 

If you find it THAT hard, I could send you a Div 1 hotlap replay (if you intend to race in Div 2 that is - don't want to shoot myself in the foot...  )

With regards to the turbo lag and loss of boost in the slow corners, I haven't found a way around it.  Can't negotiate the corners fast enough to keep it on boost, but at least it builds quickly in the low gears.  Most important is probably to realize that the accelerator is not an on/off switch in these cars; have to feed it in with just enough restraint to avoid the worst ketchup effect.

Cheers,
Erling

[EvilClive]

Well, TBH I was thinking of running a Div1 car for this race as part of a training and improvement programme ( gotta start somewhere!??)  and was genuinely beginning to think around Singapore that I might just avoid total humiliation in Div 1.

However.....in the cold light of day, and with the info on the laptimes of other members in Div 2 cars, that might have to be reviewed I am assuming that this is not some weird track where the Div 2 cars will be 10 secs a lap faster than the Div 1 cars???

 This begs the question...just how quick do you expect the Div 1 cars to be, if Div 2 cars are posting 2:16's ( and possibly even quicker come qually? ).

I must be approaching the Div 1 cars in entirely the wrong way if I am something like 20+ secs off the pace, something that really frustrates me, as in most cars I can at least offer some competition.
It does seem that the more modern cars with grippy slick tyres and the turbo's extra power just don't click with me. Give me a 5.7ltr 1955 Maserati with narrow tyres and almost zero grip anytime, that sort of technology I can deal with! 

[Erling G-P]

.... This begs the question...just how quick do you expect the Div 1 cars to be, if Div 2 cars are posting 2:16's ( and possibly even quicker come qually? ).

Well, let's have some openness for a change..     In daylight, my pb was a 2:09.5.  After the switch to night time, I couldn't break below 2:10.  Remedied that yesterday, when I unexpectedly broke into the 2:09s again, culminating in a 2:08.74 - the only sub 2:09 lap I've done, and will have a hard time repeating.  You can then expect a certain Sardinian to be a least a couple of secs quicker than that... 

Cheers,
Erling

[Geoffers]

Don't know why you can only do 2.25s Clive, you managed 2.29 in a BMW 2002 when you raced here before & these cars are much faster than one of those.

[EvilClive]

Thanks for being so open Erling.

I seem to need a target to aim at when preparing for a race, otherwise I find that I can settle for a mediocre time and think that I am doing well. Come race day that often blows up in my face and there is an element of panic during qualifying  

As you said, a certain Sardinian will probably be a couple of seconds faster and a certain Geoffers will likely be "in the zone" too. Then there is John, and one or two others, who can also be very quick.

Yes Geoffers, I noticed that time too and fully expected that these cars would be much faster. After some deep digging amongst the weeds in my memory, I think that I did a lot of practice and worked out where a very benign handling Beemer would carry the speed through a few of the corners with absolute confidence. But, I just don't have that degree of confidence and/or commitment between those concrete walls in the Capris, so I find that I am pointing and squirting between corners.

If I can find some free time before Monday I will give the Div 1's another go, but unless I can find 15-16 seconds hidden somewhere ( and that is unlikely!!) then it will have to be a Div 2, and even that looks to be a tough challenge, although I do find those easier to drive closer to the limit ( well my limit anyway!)

[Erling G-P]

Not to discourage you further, but keep in mind too that you can't avoid a pit stop in the Div 1 cars (knowing how much you love those...  )  In fact, with your... ahem..  pit stop history, I'd be willing to share a replay, even if you're in Div 1 in the race.  Should it in any way help you finish ahead of me, I'd naturally expect a suitably fat brown envelope afterwards as compensation.. 

Btw, you are aware that you're currently leading the Div 2 Championship ?

With regards to confidence and commitment; why not just go for it, until you find the limit - it's not like you're breaking a real car 


Cheers,
Erling

[EvilClive]

I have just had another stab at this in the Div 1 car and changed a few things in the setup.

Dropping the ratio for 1st gear made a big difference and reduced the time waiting for the turbo to spin up again. Made some changes to the diff and roll bars to try and keep the rear end under control when the power arrives in a big lump ( right foot education needed here ).

A few laps just testing the setup and general feel in a Div 1 beast, before I started looking for laptimes.

So, to continue the "open and honest" discussion, lap times went something like :- 2:23, 2:20, 2:16, 2:15, 2:14, 2:12. There were a couple of laps after that promising a low 2:11, possibly 2:10?. But the harder I tried the more time I lost, confirming that I need to concentrate on keeping everything smoooooth.

The biggest thing I discovered was how much later I could brake than seemed prudent in the Div 1 car, there was a point beyond which I could still wrestle the front end into the corner, but I would miss the apex and be slower on the exit.
Being very aware that the Div 1's are going to need a pitstop and not being the world's biggest fan, or best practitioner of those with a pit crew like Arnold and Mabel, I returned to a Div 2 car and tried again.

Using what I had learnt from the changes to the Div 1 car, I applied similar tweaks to the Div 2 and tried a few quick laps. Gradually improved my PB until I got it down to a high 2:15.
At this point real life intervened and I had to abandon the test. But I would estimate that a perfect lap ( something I suspect is beyond me around this track ) would get me  into the 2:13's?

[Erling G-P]

Sounds like you're gettting there, all by yourself! 

Cheers,
Erling

[EvilClive]

If only I knew where I was going  and how will I know when I get there?? Is there a sign that says you are here? what is the difference between here and there, if we don't know where here is?