UKGTR NGT Sprint Masters - Spa - Nov 28

[Jeffrey]

I did a PB in qually and I thought I had pole again after a long time, but Radius took it away from me in the last few secs :'( .

The formation lap was crap. I was doing 140kp/h, which is more than allowed, but still it was like I was driving on pole , and at the end of the lap all of a sudden in the ankers to go on the limiter . Please use a consistent speed during formation lap (e.g 120kp/h).

The race was pretty good. The first half or so I was following Radius with never more than .7 of a sec. At some point he made a small mistake at the busstop, so I had to overtake him. There was no way I could stay behind him or else I would have collected the Fezza and Bi-turbo behind me. Was quite a risky move.

But somebody rearended me slightly at La Source, and I lost alot of speed. We then went 3 wide between La Source and Eau Rouge and there wasn't enough room and I got pushed on the grass as bit, losing some more speed. So I went from 2nd to 4th. But the two Fezza's that overtook me went off/wide at Les Combe, giving me 2nd back.

I then had to follow Radius around for the last 15 minutes. Due to bad fuel calc of me (taking too much again after Brno-incident ) I still had 25L left , and I couldn't make a move on Radius (on track ). In the end I was surviving Easu Rouge and trying to finish 2nd as my front softs were getting worst. There weren't worn, but just less good

All in all a pretty fun race, and grats to Rad for the win.

If I have time I might do a vid tomorrow.

[Mark J]

Phew, i feel like i just did an endurance event  That was very hard work and i was pushed right to the line in a great 3 way battle  ...knackered !

Couldnt believe the pace in qually  ...amazing. A 2:20 only got me 18th/19th?  

Race started well, made up a couple of places from others mistakes or misfortunes, chasing Greg for a couple of laps but then on about lap 2 or 3 his car started warping and i saw him seem to slow a couple of times which made things fiddly but then he quit out (ta greg). Then chased down a 3 car battle up ahead until they had some kind of disagreement up at bus stop and found myself upto 11th and set about chasing my teamie Paul W in his Bi-turbo. I found i could gain right up thru the twisty 2nd sector only to be left on the faster areas. Then had Mark Mc catch the pair of us for about the last 10-15 minutes and we had an epic battle that went on for lap after lap until Mark got up the inside of me at La source and out-dragged me down to Eau Rouge. It was then my turrn to chase him hard for a few laps until i got a great exit out of turn 15 and got glued to his rear spoiler. This seemed to un-nerve him enough at Bus stop to make an error and he went into a spin off the exit kerbs (bad luck mate) and i was able to power on through and re-commence the chase on Paul again.
I closed on his butt once or twice but never had the power (or ability!) to get past and we had a team finish across the line  

My highest finish in the Masters so far, so quite chuffed, especially on a difficult track.  
Thoroughly enjoyed the fight with several cars, but particularly Mark Mc and PW who drove hard and fair.

Well done to Radius and the other podium guys  

[PaulW]

Hmmm, but I've only got a medium spec machine and Spa was fine for me all night. I noticed Spa was giving me marginally less fps while lapping offline so I dropped a couple of setting to make sure I was OK. Aren't I clever? 

Had great fun with the first half of the race a constant battle and the second spaced out enough that I could relax a bit although the end saw Mark and Mc pushing really hard, brill racing guys .

Thought the Bi-T was worth a look as I really enjoyed hotlapping it offline but with full fuel and the ballast it was like cornering with a skip on rollerskates. Big thanks to the careful drivers behind at the start who must have been having kittens the first time they saw how early I had to brake! Chuffed with 10th, at the start of the Masters I didn't think I'd ever finish that high with the drivers in it. But as Spa is my fave track it's a certainty that I won't again  

[picnic]

Replay and Provisional Results posted

[baracus250gt]

Fun but disapointing race here... could have done better were it not for a couple of spins. 1st spin was in the hectic moment (reminsicent of Schuey v Hakkinen) going into Les Combes where I got up the inside 2 wide next to a recovering Ruskus and on the tail of CJ, turning in I thought I had slowed enough to keep the inside line and keep it tight but I guess Rus didnt allow for this and I got an unintentional tap thus spinning me round.

Recovered from this to catch up again but second spin when I had to brake to avoid going into the back of a couple who got slowed infront into the trickly little right hander before the long run up to Bus Stop. Really annoyed about that one coz it was my stupid fault for braking too suddenly whilst turning. This let Jon back through (again! - how many times did we pass each other!? lol) and I ran out of laps to do anything about it.

Still really exciting race with lots going on all the time. Got a new PB in qual 2.17.26 something I think So i'm chuffed but I could have had a more consistent rhythm in the race so gotta work on that.

[Simon Gymer]

Haven't raced at Spa with other people in a while. Quite a different experience from all the other tracks with so many different challenging corners.

Qualified in the usual position (13th), was 14th last week and 13th the week before so I'm getting used to knowing where I should be on the grid now. Pace lap was very fast, but at the position I was in come the start line it all seemed to start off nice and even and settled down into the race.

First off had a battle with PaulW trying to get by his BiTurbo. Without assistance the BiT stretched away down the straights making any overtaking hard, but Paul made a mistake out of Eau Rouge and I pulled my TVR along side down the straight and was not going to be outbraked into the little corner at the end of the straight. Gained a couple of positions more when there was a melee in the bus stop and I had to cut it to avoid the pile-up along with PaulW behind me.

After that I chased down TT and PaulH who were having a good battle it seemed. They were slowing each other up badly and I was able to get closer, then TT went off at the end of the main straight and not too long after Paul ran wide and into the kitty litter and quit out.

With 12 minutes to go I was in an amazing 7th position and I noticed this nasty Porker starting to bear down on me. It was Leuven, *dum der derr*. He slowly eeked into my 3 second advantage and with 7 minutes to go he was right with me and wanting to get by. Was a great battle to the end, but I stuck to my guns and tried to avoid looking in the mirrors too much and just drive as fast as i could on the racing line. Made a few minor mistakes here and there but wasn't enough to let Leuven by and with the chequered flag out one lap earlier than I had anticipated I was a relieved man not to have to endure Leuvens pressure for another lap.

Well done Rad, Jeff and Claus on the podium.

I also had some bad stutters particularly coming into the bus stop and through the first set of pit garages. Don't know why, rest of the time it was smooth, but more often than not there would be nasty stutters there making life tricky.

[Jeffrey]

... but I guess Rus didnt allow for this and I got an unintentional tap thus spinning me round.

Please check the replay, as I never even touched your car.

[Jeffrey]

Unofficial Lapchart

[Radius]

Replay and Provisional Results posted

no1 says this enough but tx picnic...always timely and precise 

..also sry about fast pace lap...just thought Spa is such a long track and cause im used to my league formation lap structure being different.

Unofficial Lapchart

plus my result is wrong for quali..not that it matters but it does to me and me 3 fans ....tx 

[baracus250gt]

... but I guess Rus didnt allow for this and I got an unintentional tap thus spinning me round.

Please check the replay, as I never even touched your car.

Also would like to say thanks for the lap charts etc good on you!

I don't want u to take this the wrong way m8 as I said it was "unintentional" and im not that bothered but you did touch me as I was a bit sideways, which sent me into a spin. Admitedley you had to go somewhere but I don't want people to think I make things up. No hard feelings at all - I was just giving my report and it was my fault for trying to push too much anyway.

[Paul968]

then TT went off at the end of the main straight and not too long after Paul ran wide and into the kitty litter and quit out.

To be honest Simon, I was too embarassed to continue ahead of TrueTom having punted him off, so it was more a case of choosing to quit mid corner than running wide.

[Jeffrey]

Also would like to say thanks for the lap charts etc good on you!

I don't want u to take this the wrong way m8 as I said it was "unintentional" and im not that bothered but you did touch me as I was a bit sideways, which sent me into a spin. Admitedley you had to go somewhere but I don't want people to think I make things up. No hard feelings at all - I was just giving my report and it was my fault for trying to push too much anyway.

Check this video and tell me what was my fault?

[baracus250gt]

Check this video and tell me what was my fault?

No nothing was your fault - I never said that mate. I was out of shape but not unrecoverable and I didnt realise my front came across so much. Sorry and don't worry about it

[Simon Gymer]

Can I remind you that incidents should not be discussed in public.

Thanks.

[Pedro[PL]]

Terrible race to me. Qualified 10th setting my PB on the same time. Guess high speed corners are not my friends.
I was surprised by the formation lap pace - at one moment I had to do 190km/h to keep up with the pack! It was difficult to warm tires and brakes.
After some minor mistakes (bus-stop spin for example) and nice fight with Leuven and PaulW (I can't wait to see the replay this evening!) my race collapsed as I got some friendly high-speed slap at my back and lost my front wing. I struggled back to pits for the necessary repairs. Of coure my pit crew had to make a mistake and fill me up to 99 liters No problem I thought. Car will be more stable And it was - which resulted with two consecutive bus-stop cuts followed by stop and go penalties (twice ).

Anyway - I might have finished last, but at least I have finished