UKGTR Season 5 GT2/GTC Sprint - Silverstone (GP) - Apr 17

[Nevski]

I practiced hard for this one, for two reasons. The first was that I had not driven the track until last week, and the second was because Paul968 had hinted that he might switch to GTC after the first race, and I wanted to still be capable of fighting for the win if he did. As it turned out, Paul continued with his GT2 campaign, and with the Sharks gone fishing my main opposition for this one proved to be the suprisingly quick TVR of Reign Man.

I managed a 49.7 to secure GTC pole in the Mosler by nearly a second. The cushion was big enough that I made a last minute decision to run medium tyres all around, after having spent all my time setting up the car with soft fronts and medium rears. That was a bit silly in hindsight, as it made the car understeer a lot in the first 15 minutes of the race. Reign Man took full advantage and closed right up behind me, applying increasing pressure for several laps.

I got lucky at this point when Darren had an off and his RSR and rejoined in the thick of my battle with Reign Man. After their unfortunate coming together, I had a comfortable cushion and was able to cruise the rest of the race on autopilot. Unlucky there Reign Man, you were going like a train. Congrats to  Ruskus on the GT2 win.

[Paul968]

and the second was because Paul968 had hinted that he might switch to GTC after the first race, and I wanted to still be capable of fighting for the win if he did. As it turned out, Paul continued with his GT2 campaign

Yes, sorry Nev, I was away for a long weekend and had not had much time for practice, and what with having to learn a new track a switch didn't make a lot of sense.

Qual went ok, and I was happy with my 3rd on the grid behind Ruskus and teamie Mo. I managed to avoid losing a place on lap 1 this time but lost out to Backo in his fast M3 at Stowe on lap 2, dropping me to 4th. He moved ahead to challenge Mo and I was left fending off Enzo until around half distance when he made a mistake and left me to concentrate on Backo. My only hope was that his efforts early in the race had worn his tyres out, and so it was to prove. The 3.5 sec gap started to come down with 10 mins to go, and with 2 laps left I was right behind. He ran wide onto the grass at Vale and I nipped round the outside at club to take 3rd back. My tyres were also pretty shot though by then, and the last lap was rather edgy as we slithered around. He got close into the complex at the end of the last lap, but not quite close enough to make a pass stick, so I kept the place to the finishing line. Congrats to Ruskus for the emphatic win and to Mo for a very consistent 2nd. Now, should I switch or not...?

[Nevski]

Yes, sorry Nev, I was away for a long weekend and had not had much time for practice, and what with having to learn a new track a switch didn't make a lot of sense.

Yes, I guessed that was probably the reason.

Now, should I switch or not...?

I think you should, and not only to balance the two series out a bit better. It will also give you the chance to compete for wins on a regular basis, rather than just podiums. Plus it will help to keep me awake as an added bonus 

[Paul968]

With Ruskus and Claus around, a podium feels like a win!

[Jeffrey]

Pretty uneventfull race for me, but in the first few laps Mo kept me on my toes as I couldn't drive away and the gap stayed small. When my front mediums came to a nice temp I could increase the pace a bit, but still the car didn't feel good with the meds.

[Jeffrey]

Unofficial Lapchart

[mo]

Pity I couldn't make it eventful for you Ruskus
Grats on the win and a great drive.  Once you settled in your pace was awesome and after a few laps trying to keep up I got some sense and backed off to retain the 2nd place.

A great overall result for the Kerbcrawlers with Paul finishing on the podium too, which puts us on top in the team standings in GT2 

[BACKO]

Was amazing race for me in Silverstone!!!Be honest I didn't practice too much on this track with M3 but I know this track and I love it from others game!!!I started from 4'th and finished 4'th ,I could finished 3'th but I choosed wrong tyres and about 10 min  before end of race my car hadn't any grip (ice race),I've made lots mistace and Paul968 took it back 3'th position.Last lap was amazing chalenge with Paul968 about 3'th place,I really enjoyed that!!!Siya soon on track!!!

[Simon Gymer]

Shame this has almost turned into a one make series. Why is everyone taking the RSR, is it really THAT much faster that the other cars are not worth considering?

[Zacari]

Not that I'm driving ngt at the moment, but personally I think the Ferraris are handicapped too much.  The RSR is easier to drive on the limit imo.

[Mark J]

i drive the RSR because i am a porsche fan, being that i drive one ! But as for everyone else, i guess many aliens have decided its a race winner, so alas the ballast removal has fallen into their hands  It drives a whole lot better without the extra baggage thats for sure. Perhaps all aliens should be made to drive the RS or Modena instead 

Such a crap failing on simbins behalf to not sort the proper success ballast formula out. 

[Paul968]

I think it's a bit unfair to suggest that people only take the RSR because it's the quickest by far. As Mark says, many people drive the Porsche because of it's heritage, although in my case it's because I enjoy the unique way that it drives. I'll admit that I struggle to make the GTC go as fast, but when I look at others who are normally similar pace to me, they are not that much slower. I am as quick, if not quicker in the BMW but it is not as involving to drive. Dividing the NGT class into 2 has also not helped matters, as a couple of drivers (like you Simon) would never drive a 911 but this time you are in GTC - not a problem, but a reason why RSRs seem more dominant in GT2. 

[Simon Gymer]

Dividing the NGT class into 2 has also not helped matters, as a couple of drivers (like you Simon) would never drive a 911 but this time you are in GTC - not a problem, but a reason why RSRs seem more dominant in GT2. 

Not sure that's true Paul, I would drive an RSR, but I prefer the other cars like the 360, as Porkers are for girls. 

Originally I really wanted to take Fezza GTC in GT2, but considering I couldn't even get it within 0.5 of a second of the tail end of the RSRs at the Anderstorp round in TimeTrial let alone online I couldn't see the point (and that was with a good setup and stable handling). Now I'm not an alien by any stretch of the imagination but I'm also no slouch and I would expect to be in the mix of the second half of the GT2 grid on time. So I decided that I'd rather have some competition and fun driving in GTC class with some of the rarer cars than pootle around at back of GT2 with no one to race when everyone else is in RSRs.

If that's the way it is no problem, I'll just carry on racing GTC, just a shame as i wanted to try the GTC Fez. I'm sure the GTC or even RS or Modena in alien hands could be driven a lot faster than me, but I did expect to be in the mix of some part of the field, even the rear-end. Not sure what went wrong with the ballasts (or in fact if anything has gone wrong) as it looks pretty good on paper still.

C'est la vie. No problem, just wondering the reasons behind all these RSRs. If people like driving them so much over the other cars that's perfectly fair reason to choose them. I know some cars some people just don't enjoy driving.

[Paul968]

I can't remember the last time I saw you in a porker Simon, but but maybe you find them too tricky to handle? 

I agree with you that getting a quick time from the GTC is not easy. When I did my testing for the first ballast pack I found the GTC very hard to exploit (and my previous NGT GTR experience was in the 360), but some drivers certainly managed to do just that. Because of this it would be wrong to give the GTC a lot less ballast, or we risk seeing the 'exploiters' disappear. OTOH I wouldn't object to a small adjustment (-5 to -10kg?) for the 360s.

I'm a bit surprised not to see more M3s on the grid though (including you).

[Truetom]

I hate being a smarta$$  but I was trying to voice relation between RSR and GTC at the start of S4 already.    I remember testing in Donington in S4 with various cars: M3 was the fastest, then RSR and GTC trodding more than 1 second behind RSR.    I know it's easy to be a general after the battle, but I propose at least 10 kg off of GTC. 

Hopefuly I won't get the answer "In the right hands GTC is as fast as RSR". I hate that kind of coversation.     In the right hands even Elise could be in the GTC class.    But it's hard to get right the ballast with different drivers. I guess this is the process without a final solution - we need to adjust a bit for ever season.    By the time we'll get it right there'll be GTR3. 

TT