2020 NoGrip Legacy HTC Event 8: Donington Park Twin Race

[Nappe1]

NoGrip Legacy HTC Championship 2020

Donington National twin race event

18th of May, 2020

Second outing in UK.



Server info:
- Server Name: NoGrip Legacy HTC Server
- Password: tc4ever


1st Race
Track: Donington National
Track download: (original track)
Allowed Classes: Division 2 classes.

• 1000 - 1300cc.
• 1300 - 1600cc.

Qualifying: 20 minutes, starts at 19:40 BST.
Race: Length 15 laps, starts at approx. 20:00  BST.
Scoring:

• Both classes score points separately. Winner of each class receives 9 points, 2nd in each class receives 8 points and so on and so forth.
• Overall winner of the race scores additional 1 point.
• Start in a class where driver has not started yet in this season, scores automatically 3 additional points.

2nd Race
Track: Donington National
Track download: (original track)
Allowed Classes: Division 3 classes.

• 1600 - 2000cc.
• over 2000cc.

Qualifying: 20 minutes, starts approx 20:25 BST.
Race: Length 15 laps.
Scoring:

• Both classes score points separately. Winner of each class receives 9 points, 2nd in each class receives 8 points and so on and so forth.
• Overall winner of the race scores additional 1 point.
• Start in a class where driver has not started yet in this season, scores automatically 3 additional points.

Notes
- Championship main thread, with calendar, cars, classes and other info: https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=18592.0

EDIT: fixed venue names...

[Wiltshire Tony]

Donington has only two "n"s 

[SpecialKS]

Donington has only two "n"s 

I think three but not four 

[Wiltshire Tony]

Donington has only two "n"s 

I think three but not four 

That's me trying to be cleverer

[Wiltshire Tony]

It occurs to me that there may be the potential for some track miss-match messages at these events.

In the past UKGTL driver's have been asked to change their .gdb files to show this:

Practice1Start = 11:00
TestDayStart = 17:30
Qualify1Start = 13:00
RaceStart = 14:00

We did this for the GP circuit tho. But some may have done both .gdb files (International (GP) and National).

The original Donny National .gdb file has these settings

Practice1Start = 06:00
TestDayStart = 17:30
Qualify1Start = 17:00
RaceStart = 12:00

Perhaps Lasse can tell us which he would prefer we use.

It's still the same track BTW but with different daylight settings. If you can live with the potential of miss-match error messages leave as is.

[Nappe1]

Server is up.

[Dimitar Dulichki]

Well done to all the drivers as the qualys and races were so much equal on pace. We had 3-4 drivers in the top 5-6 with 1-2 tents of the second from the first to the last. I am totaly delighted with this events as they had so much racing in it.

I've started fourth on both of the races and managed to win 1 position in both. Good starts in both of the races but missed oportunaties on the second one, as i could have gone up to the lead if i didnt managed to make a mistake on the last corner.

The first race was a little bit lonely as Markus was to fast for me, and Daz was 1-2 tents faster as well, so i finished in third without problems as three of the concurents for the podium maded mistakes.

The second race, after the first few laps, was intensce. I was second all the time, as Markus was just behind me, but there was no place for overtakes. As Hristo was to fast in front i thought that i will finish second, but a stupid mistake on the first corner on the last lap sent me down to third. Great chase with Markus though.

Congrats to the winners, the podium guys, and all of the guys who maded that great event.

The replay from my cars with commentary and camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjywwUozTBU

[misnoimis]

I had an interesting evenings racing, quite enjoyable but not without some problems.

Race 1

I used the Escort 1300GT as I had previously owned one of these in real life.  I had done a little practice on Sunday but on the GP track by mistake so the last corners were a bit of a mystery to me at first.  I forgot early on in the race not to floor the throttle peddle too soon and half span ending up mowing some grass and letting a few cars past. This meant I was lapped by the leaders in the final lap and I compounded this mistake by getting mixed up with drivers who I was letting past and those who I was racing against by letting a couple of pursuing drivers past in error.  Anyway it was fun.

Race 2

For some reason I was unable to rejoin. I tried about a dozen times with different cars but always got disconnected after a few drivers had loaded. I have a dedicated install for this Championship only. I remembered I had also loaded these cars into my Classic GTL download when I had had a sound problem with some cars (now solved). I loaded the GTL installation and was able to join at first attempt at the end of qually. I was driving the Alfa GT Am and I think I had a really good setup (for me). However this was not available as it was on the dedicated install so I had to go with the default setup whch I am sure was slower. It was all a bit of a rush but I quite enjoyed the race. Thinking I was a bit slow I saw Tony closing fast in the Capri so as he was in a faster car decided to let him by quickly as I thought racing would slow both of us down. I flashed him by and he passed off the racing line but strangely slid off the track at slow speed for no good reason as far as I could see. I hope it was nothing I did. I didn’t see any more of Tony after that but had some fun with Salesman2 but his BMW was just too quick on the long straights in the end. Again good fun.

I am just off now to my Golf Club to hit a golf ball for the first time this year, should be interesting. I expect my golf game to be even rustier than my sim driving.

Grats to winners and podiums. 

[SpecialKS]

Result_Race 1

Result_Race 2




@ misnoimis: concerning your problems to join for race 2. Did you check the Capri folder in your NGLHTC install?
                      In the NGLHTC download only the Capri addon skins are included, not the (original GTL) Capri mod
                      (the only original GTL car included in the NGLHTC series).
                      You have to add the original GTL files. I stumbled about this one more time some weeks ago, also unable to join,
                      as I copied the NGLHTC files in a "naked" GTL (without the original GTL cars).
                      You were unable to join as the game did not find the Capri.

[Wiltshire Tony]

Can anyone provide a replay for Race 1 please?

@ Misnoimis, The Capri was a dreadful choice for this track and I was able to lose control of it on my own, so nothing wrong from you.

BTW my golf is dreadful 

[Dominick]

Quite the uneventful evening for me. But that's a good thing. 

I don't know the protocol but I think race 1 deserved a restart. 6 or 7 cars went off or got blocked in T1 without any clear culprit(s). Should we use chat for that?
Once the dust settled I was in a bit of no man's land chasing nocatu and while I got a bit closer I'd have needed a hundred more laps to catch up. At least I managed a half decent setup for a new car which is very, very rare.

The Beemer was great fun but with all those aliens nowadays the only battle I had was with Geoff in a lower league car. He got past but I almost had him back on the line, 0.139 seconds was the difference. Ironically during practice I thought my setup was a horror but it went well and judging from Dimitar's video it might even have been better than average. One of these days I'm going to learn this stuff, lol.

[Hristo Itchov]

I struggled a lot in race 1. I initially thought the Isuzu was a handful and its 4 gearbox was hurting it, so I opted for the Escort like Markus, Paddler and others, and it seemed like a good choice. The more I tried in qualifying though, the more I realized it was the wrong choice, but there was no time to make changes. It might have been quick, but I was struggling to find a good balance and to control it under braking and acceleration. Had a bad start as usual, but quickly progressed up and thought I might even have a chance for victory.

It all ended when I completely lost it under braking for the Craner Curves, going off into the graver and slamming hard into the tyre barrier. From there on the car was strongly pulling to the right, the balance was even worse and I just tried to bring it back home. Had some fights with Tony and someone else for a few laps, and it seemed I even had a chance to catch Geoffers, but a backmarker who ignored blue flags distracted me a bit too much and I went off again, this time without hitting anything. Still managed to close in on Geoffers near the end, but time ran out.

Race 2 was much different. I missed most of qualifying as I was busy with something else, but I felt confident with the car as soon as I got on the track with 5 minutes to go, using my setup from Hockenheim where we last ran those cars, with just the gearbox shortened. I realized I had no time to challenge Markus for the pole, but managed to grab 2nd on the grid.

Another bad start though, dropped down to 5th, but then quickly realized I was much faster than those ahead, gaining places and moving up to 3rd. Then 2 laps later Markus got hit from behind on entry to the chicane, I briefly took the lead, lost it on the exit, went side by side with Markus into T1 and then managed to come out ahead. Markus seemed to have problems and dropped back, leaving Dimitar in 2nd.

From there on I just kept gaining more and more confidence in the BMW, even though I had a few close calls with the car going completely sideways. As the race progressed I discovered how to better take some turns and the lap times just kept going down, eventually giving me a 1:17 flat, which I was very happy with. 

Was keeping an eye on Dimitar's defense from a recovering Markus, but unfortunately he lost it on the last lap.

Congrats to Markus for the recovery and Dimitar for a double 3rd from both races!

[Geoffers]

What could have been a couple of good races, I spoilt a bit with two stupid mistakes.

Took the 1300 Escort for race 1 & was quite surprised to get 2nd on the grid with it. First couple of laps I lost some places having to lift mid corner to avoid contact when I would have been on the power & the 1600s out-powered me on the next straight. Then I went off at McLeans & hit the barrier, rejoined without losing a place ( ), but the slight damage meant the car would not turn into RHers as well & I was potentially around a second a lap slower. Fortunately there was no real pressure from behind & I was able to hold on to 4th place.
Congrats to Markus, Daz & Dimitar on the podium. 

Second race in the Alfa was much the same. Lost a couple of places early on but tagged onto the lead group until I had a spin at the chicane. Spent most of the race chasing Dom's BMW, eventually getting ahead when he made a mistake & just held him off for 6th at the finish.
Congrats to Hristo, Markus & Dimitar on the podium & to Paddler winning the 2000s. 

[Markus]

For me it went by far better than expected. I choose the Escort (what else?) and found a setup which worked good in Donington. Usually I loose several positions at the start, but to my surprise it went well and I could pull away from the cars behind me that were battling each other. So the gap was big enough and I  was able to bring it home. Grats to Dimitar, Hristo for completing the 1600 podium and Daz, Geoffers and Tony for the 1300 podium!

The second race was another story, the big BMW on this track was a real challenge (at least for me) and although I had the pole there was plenty of room left. In the race my speed was not high enough in the first laps. I was a little bit too careful at the beginning and so I brought Nocatu in a position to overtake me. Unfortunately we had contact and I lost one position to Hristo, after that I have lost my rhythm and so Daz could overtake me I was beside the track and had to lift the throttle, so Geoffers and Dimitar could pass too. (@Nocatu: No problem mate, this is racing!)  I could catch Geoffers again as he was in the small class, and Daz had a problem, so I was behind Dimitar. I was a lttle bit afaster but not fast enough to overtake him safely. And he did not make a mistake until the last lap where he brked a little too late for the first corner. I could pass him and had a second place. Grats to Hristo for a remarkable performance, to Dimitar for a great battle, and grats to Paddler, Geoffers and MattR for the podium in the 2000 class. Btw nice to see new faces: Hello Paddler!

Thanks Nappe for organizing, and cu at the next hillclimb ;-)

[nocatu]

 A bit of a disappointing couple of races for me unfortunately...

In race one I only completed a few laps in qually as I was trying to deal with something else, got close to my PB in the Mini but sadly the 1300 Escorts were simply too fast. In the race itself something weird happened at the start. I had a strange spin in the first corner and probably caused lots of trouble to the people who tried to avoid me so sorry to everyone whose race was affected. The weird thing is that in my replay there is an Escort in front of me, but I don't recall anyone being there the night we raced, I remember being all by myself. After my silly spin i tried to catch the guys in front. At times I reached Tony but on the next lap he increased the gap again, over and over until the last lap where I got as close as I could but it still wasn't enough.

Race 2 started great, I jumped three cars at the start and was second behind Markus for the first 2 laps. He seemed to be struggling a bit, maybe due to cold tyres or the setup, and kept catching him in the second part of the track. I realized he was braking earlier than me at the last chicane so I thought that if I could pass him before Hristo passed me I could have a good chance for a podium if they kept each other busy. Unfortunately I misjudged Markus' braking point and even though I tried to avoid him it was too late, the fronts locked up but if I let go of the brakes I would still hit him. I need to apologize again Markus, I know it's racing but I usually avoid such mistakes ( and we didn't have contact, I rammed you  ) After that I simply tried to gain as many places as possible so once more I ended up 4th. Hopefully the next one goes better.

PS Glad to see some new faces as well as Daz who seems to be as fast as he always was