UKAC Season 18 Prototype Potluck - The Laguna Seca 130 - Feb 9

[MaxVeloce]

Something a bit odd tonight, car was running fine up until my pitstop, just put fuel in & the car was terrible afterwards, just would not turn & kept losing the rear too & locking the brakes, tyres just seemed to have lost all grip.

Even if you didn't change tyres you should ALWAYS set pitstop tyre pressure to the same as your race setup if you're going to pit.  I've had the same thing happen in a GT2 race and I'm almost certain that was the cause!

[Geoffers]

Something a bit odd tonight, car was running fine up until my pitstop, just put fuel in & the car was terrible afterwards, just would not turn & kept losing the rear too & locking the brakes, tyres just seemed to have lost all grip.

Even if you didn't change tyres you should ALWAYS set pitstop tyre pressure to the same as your race setup if you're going to pit.  I've had the same thing happen in a GT2 race and I'm almost certain that was the cause!

Mmm, actually I did set the tyre pressures at the pitstop the same as my race setup for this race, the first time I have done that. Previously I have just left them at default & not had a problem. The cars have always seemed a little slower after stopping & I have just put that down to the fuel load & the tyres cooling a little during the stop. This is the first time there has been such a drastic change in the car's handling. 

[MaxVeloce]

Hmm IDK about that then, I was damn sure its what happened to me previously. Maybe I was wrong but I don't have another explanation for the sudden loss of grip I experienced...

Honestly though no way I could have not swapped tyres last night, mine definitely died in the 1st stint after last night after 26/27 or so laps, and when I pitted a few laps later they still showed green bar / lots of wear life left - kinda like the GT40 does...

[Geoffers]

Maybe it was just that the tyres were shot then. As you say there appeared to be plenty of wear left according to the readout.

[FullMetalGasket]

The tires absolutely needed changing, as hard to believe as it may be with my driving ( ) I had my hands full from about lap 20 when they started going off, same again in the closing stages, although not as bad as I had such a margin on Max after the stop I had been intentionally taking it easier on them through the 2nd stint.

All 3 of the 'normal' cars behave like this, although the 908 gets furthest before falling off the cliff.
They'll all make it to the end of the race with out changing, but why wouldn't you change them when they're covered by fuel? (cheapskate team manager perhaps? )

Anyway, Max summed my race up for me - fantastic battle start to - nearly - end. Curious how I made such a leap in the pits though, I could tell we were using different gear ratios just from where we were each fastest (There were some corners I was taking in 3rd when clear, and only using 2nd while battling Max for instance) - But I must have gained about 6 seconds in the stop, no-way I saved that much!

[Mark J]

Whoosh, that was a proper endurance race last night. Now i know how the old racers felt using a gearlever at Monaco   must have made about 5k gearshifts last night, finished the race soaked in sweat and aching all over.  

What a great combination of car and track though   the 330 is already just about my favourite looking race car ever (amongst a few others) and it just felt sublime at Laguna and i could really hit the apex's for an old 60's race car.
Despite my best efforts, i just couldnt keep up with Tim and Max, you guys were incredibly quick. Took me a little while to get into rhythm and do regular 32's but you buggers were doing regular 31's !   I only crept into the 31's when my fuel had almost run out.
Pitstop went well, swapped out my 50pence shaped front tyres! Finished with about 3L in the tank.  

Had a pretty lonely race after about the first 20mins when i eventually lost sight of the two duelling ahead and Kimi dropped behind, but was nice to catch sight of various other cool race cars as i lapped them, apart from the spinning 908 at Corkscrew that gave me a big scare   Didnt have any offs or dramas, though the saw tooth exit of corkscrew tried to drag me into the wall a couple of times and i lost the odd second here and there. The last 10-15 laps were tough lapping on my tod and trying to stay focused with an aching shoulder, but the race ended like a proper enduro with Max (bad luck) losing his gearbox at the bitter end and then i came across a GT40 crabbing along with broken suspension trying to make the line.
Great stuff, though pain for those guys, and finished a well accomplished 2nd in the Ferrari lock out  

Onwards to Sebring in the 917K  

[MaxVeloce]

Curious how I made such a leap in the pits though .... I must have gained about 6 seconds in the stop, no-way I saved that much!

Yeh I think I overfueled,  I based it on practice/qually usage but on lap 56 I still had enough for another 4.5 laps, so that explains a few seconds...    Also nearly died as you were exiting the pitlane when a 908 decided to spin right in front of me in T1 and I had to brake in avoidance and still had some light contact with them 

No matter, I signed up for a RACE and we certainly had one 

[MaxVeloce]

the race ended like a proper enduro with Max (bad luck) losing his gearbox at the bitter end

No luck involved, I seriously damaged it early in the race the first time we caught backmarkers. I went into T1 all locked up side by side with a 908 and I couldn't hear the tyres or engine for the noise of the car next to me and shifted down - these cars do not like downshifts with locked tyres (try it in the 917 and see, you can break the gearbox in 1 go!!!)

A few more slightly not perfect shifts on my part(which normally wouldn't be race ending) and it decided the road was a better place to be and left the vehicle

[Geoffers]

All 3 of the 'normal' cars behave like this, although the 908 gets furthest before falling off the cliff.
They'll all make it to the end of the race with out changing, but why wouldn't you change them when they're covered by fuel? (cheapskate team manager perhaps? )

Well you learn something new every day, didn't realise you could change tyres & refuel at the same time. 

[MaxVeloce]

Well you learn something new every day, didn't realise you could change tyres & refuel at the same time. 

In AC I think they all do fuel and tyres at the same time, but some cars (modern GTs) refuel very quickly but are slow to change tyres,  so not changing can sometimes be an advantage.  These old cars are so slow to refuel that the tyre change is not a disadvantage.