Season 39 – 1955 GP - PRIVATEERS – Round 3 – Ain-Diab

For the third race in the 1955 Grand Prix series we sail across the Mediterranean to Morocco. The Moroccan Grand Prix was held on four different circuits between 1925 and 1958. Apart from Agadir, all the circuits are in the Casablanca area. The 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix was held on the Ain-Diab circuit which, in part, ran along a stretch of coastline know as La Corniche. The race was famous for deciding the 1958 world championship. Stirling Moss, in a Vanwall, needed to win the race with Mike Hawthorn, driving a Ferrari, finishing no higher than third. Moss did everything he could, winning the race and setting the fastest lap but he needed his teammates, Tony Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans, to finish ahead of Hawthorn. But it wasn’t to be, both Brooks and Lewis-Evans suffered engine seizures and were out of the race. Phil Hill, Hawthorn’s teammate, moved over to allow Mike Hawthorn to take second place and with it the world championship by a single point. Brooks walked away from his Vanwall but Stuart Lewis-Evans was not so lucky. His car spun off the road, burst into flames and although he climbed out, but Lewis-Evans was very badly burned. Tragically Stuart Lewis-Evans died from his injuries eight days later. Devastated, Tony Vandervell closed his team. Vanwall had just won the first ever Constructors' Formula 1 Championship but they would never race again.

Track Limits.  For the purposes of moderating, the track boundary will be the outer edge of the gravel "shoulder". So the desert is outside the track boundary, the gravel is inside the track boundary. Drivers should keep 2 wheels inside the track boundary (i.e. on the gravel) at all times. However, the gravel is a bit slippery so the fastest line will probably be to keep 2 wheels on the tarmac.
 

Race list	=	iGOR
Server	=	UKGPL04_60fps
IP address	=	86.6.125.152:32766
Password	=	see above
GPL Mod	=	55
Damage model	=	Pro
60fps Patch	=	60fpsV2newmod
Track download	=	Aindiab  1958
Track directory	=	aindiab
Qualifying starts	=	20:45 UK time - 45 minutes
Race starts	=	~ 21:30 UK time
Race length	=	19 laps
Replay	=	Here

Please restrict chat to emergency messages only including at the end of the race until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.

Driver lists and division specific rules can be found on the championship standings page.

Available Tokens:
Note: These are the tokens available to each driver before the 10 tokens are added for making the race start.

Driver	Tokens	Status
Albert Hallu	15	Privateer
Christian Dauger	5	Privateer
dave curtis	13	Privateer
francesco	15	Privateer
Gareth	20	Privateer
Leo Menegucci	25	Privateer
PaulV	20	Privateer
Pete Bennett	20	Privateer
Philippe Girard	18	Privateer
Rainier	10	Privateer
Ricardo Valim da Silva	10	Privateer

Have tested most the off track areas so far.

Thanks everyone. A lot of fun in the desert. I think that this championship is as much about tactics and car selection as it is driving. The Mercedes was very happy in the desert with that long back straight. I'll probably pay the price later as I run out of tokens.

I got a very slow start off the line and was in 4th place by T1. Chasing Christian was fun and it took 4 laps for me to be in a position to overtake. Even with a faster car under my seat, it was hard to pass on this narrow track. Thanks for leaving room on the inside for me to make the move safely.

These 55 cars are glorious to drive. I love it.  

Congrats Pete & the fast chaps.  Unlucky others.

I was happy to have made it to the chequered flag.  From a few tests over the weekend, I was expecting to not make it half distance & be stuck in a wall of either haybales/cardboard boxes after the the back straight.

As it was, did have some fun in that area with a violent crash. Surprised the car ended up on its wheels & still running.  Had to drive behind the wall to the next corner to get back on track.


Around lap 7,  after many spins, it dawned on me that maybe trying to trailbrake (out of desperation, with no brakes!) does not work & seems a sure-fire way to result in a spin.  Getting off the brake & turning in/just hoping seems to give better results.    After that, I found other ways to spin/crash instead.


I still don't get these cars, but dislike them less.

Cheers,
Dave.

Trailbraking is a definite no-no!
You have to decide where you are going to use your valuable braking capacity and stay off the brakes everywhere else.  And brakes are for slowing down, not steering, so keep off them in the corners.  Use your brakes in a straight line.

My lap was much like this:
T1 Lift just before the bridge and coast until around the 200m mark.  Change down to 4th(no brake).  Then frantically go down through the gears with a stab of brakes in each gear.
T3(left) Lift between the two first markers and change down to 3rd between the last two and turn in.  No brakes.
T4(right) Lift and change down to 3rd at the 100m board and change down to 2nd and jump on the brakes at the last board.  (I may be getting some of these boards wrong as I'm going on memory.)
T5(right onto straight) Same as T4.
At the end of the flat out section, I lifted at the first marker board and chucked it into the corner, planting my foot back on the loud pedal.
Lift and change down to 4th where the track has a sharp down slope and give a stab of brakes to reach entry velocity for the right-hander.  Change down to 3rd and stab the brakes at the last marker for the next right.  No more brakes needed for rest of lap so that you have plenty ready for T1.
Change up through the box to 5th.
Lift and change down to 4th before the 100 board and down to 3rd. Chuck it into the long right-hander and go up through the box to 5th.
Lift at the first board and change down to 4th at the last board.  Aim across the gravel to carry as much speed as possible onto the final flat out run.

This is the only mod that I know of where you cannot use the brakes as a steering aid and my poor little brain cannot cope with mixing anything else with it.