SR4L F2 Leauge Sebring Race Report

[Fergy]

What a season it was...

Looking forward to reading the reports here.

Thank you all for this great community

[Lecram]

Well, I never expected the times being so close and fast like they were after we got through practise. Rikard running 11's (amazing!) after we created the new rrf file, made me worry a bit and doubts arose wether I chose the right car config or not. I knew I would be able to push in corners with my wings providing grip but the most obvious overtaking spots, the ones after the long straights, would be impossible against anything wingless.

In Q I was still trying setup changes. After I set the suspension to all stiff, as opposed to a little softer front springs which I had been running before, I managed to improve my pb and get sufficient gap to get pole. But how tight it was

Starting from pole here is still a disadvantage because of lack of grip, no matter how much I tried to rubber it in during our rrf file creating sessions. ;D
So Rikard took the lead and I prepared for a cautious turn 1 but Kalle nudged me in the rear and I had to go wide. Then at the second corner, Kalle tried to outbrake me but ambitiously flew by in front of me, missing the corner completely and my car by not much. ;D A miracle it didn't get worse... :o

Then I was chasing Rikard who had a hard time through corners, slipping and sliding it seemed. I followed him quite easily till I notice him braking way too late at the hairpin. As soon as I realised that, I saw the 300 M sign coming, the 400m sign was gone :o and I smashed my brakes while watching Rikard taking the escape route. I just barely made the corner but was in front of Rikard after that. Pitstop and race to victory! ;D

Then race 2, the start was the same though a little less spectacular. Again I was chasing Rikard and I saw him struggling. After some laps I was able to close in right behind him entering the final corner and again he lost his rear and went wide. I tried to slip inside but got a little too much to the left exiting the corner and Rikard did the opposite while trying to get his vehicle to grips and we touched. Rikard spun, I felt guilty and waited for him to recover. I searched a safe place and several cars came by. Finally Rikard came by and I think I was in 6th place when I was chasing the Hedlund brothers but next time around I pitted. Best tactic for me in this position I thought and it worked. Others pitted, Bart came out of the pit in front of me and I chased him for a while for 2nd till he outbraked himself and I could pass. Very happy with 2nd after letting a bunch through...

Then 3rd race, some mayhem occurred mid field but no biggie and soon I found myself behind a nice battle. Everon tried his best to get hold of what was left of his pole postion, Dj Rikard and George were in the mix and some others too and it took a little patience to see it all work out and do not something stupid. It almost went wrong when I was aside of Rikard, from my replay it looks like his front right wheel was between my front and rears at the left side through the second corner. Really close but luckily no drama there. At some point I got in front of Dj who slowed for some reason, I saw Everon and George touch and get off track and then I was in 2nd, chasing Kalle who was about 5 seconds ahead. I was able to gain a little but my stop was coming up and my team did a great job, only 46 secs this time!! I tried to push after that and I think I gained a little but Kalle was still in the lead after his stop and uncatchable so 2nd again but what a great race!

Well done to Gorka for beating DjC for 2nd position in point standings at the final event for this season. I hope you enjoyed the wings

Well done Dj, well done to the rest, this league is by far the best I have ever experienced so far

[Hedlund]

I was well prepared for this race weekend, first time since Putnam. Had chance on my first pole, but missed it with 0,1 sec.

Race 1 was a somewhat 'easy' travel. I took the start and had a nice little gap down to Marcel through the first corners. However he was soon right behind me, and although I was sliding all over the place, we got away and built up a gap to the rest of the drivers. Marcel had big advantage in some specific corners, especially the last one and the first one, where he had to lift off to not hit me. 3rd lap I lost the lead when braking much too late for the hairpin and had to continue straight forward while Marcel barely managed to stay on track. I didn't realise what had happened and why I did make that mistake until next lap when I saw that the 400m sign was missing I was chasing Marcel rest of the race, a few seconds behind, gaining in some corners but overall loosing a few tenths every lap. Pitstop was a 'bad' one, 51 sec. Finished 2nd without any more drama.

Race 2, I started from 2nd spot, beside Marcel, once again. And once again I managed to take the lead but couldn't relax with him chasing me. He was chasing me down the straight before last corner, and as I have advantage in speed, I did not have to worry about an attack. But I was going a bit wider than I intended, while Marcel was much faster on the inside. Accidently he touched my rear tire with his left front and I spun. He waited for me to re-join the race but we lost 5 drivers, and I was 6th. My brother Robert came accelerating down the finish straight, passed Marcel, and was right behind me. We were gaining on drivers ahead, a group of Bart, Bryan and DjC. At the end of 5th lap I went in to pit to make my tirechange. This time it took me 54 seconds because I had forgotten to request pitstop. Marcel who had made an earlier stop, got passed me, and a few laps later my brother left the pit and was right behind me again. Bryan and DjC that made their pitstops together with me got away because my pitstop took so long, but once again the Hedlund team gained on them and started to close in. I had a hard battle with Bryan for a few corner, I got passed, we made contact, but I got passed again and managed to get away and closing in on DjC too. Last corner before last lap I manage to overtake him, but lost it a few corners later. I made a last try in the very last corner, but it ended up with a spin and I lost 3 drivers, finished 7th

Race 3. I started from 13th spot on the grid, saw a car loose control in the acceleration and caused a big accident right after green lights. In the mirror I saw cars flying in the air but I managed to get through safe. After first corner I was 7th (I think), behind DjC. In the hairpin I accidently touched his rear and he spun out (ISI pleeease fix the collisions!). I was surprised by the very low speed through that corner, and no doubt we were held up by slower drivers. I was waiting for him to rejoin the track but misjudged it a bit, he was very quickly up on track again while I was passed by both Marcel and Bryan. I overtook them both down the straight before last corner. But when we once again were held up and almost stood still in the second corner, Marcel took his position back. A few corners later the slower guys ahead made contact and crashed out. We were through and now KK was in the aim. I had decided to make a very early pitstop so I went into pits at 3rd lap. I was driving alone a few laps before Marcel left pit and with his fresh tires he left me behind, increasing the lead over me for each lap. KK had the lead with 60-70 seconds and after his stop, I was 9 seconds behind. Marcel was definitely closing in but I made a mistake once again when the 400m sign was gone... I finished 3rd.

2nd - 7th (should have been 4th lol) - 3rd ;D

Thanks for the racing.

[gorgias1976]

Well done to Gorka for beating DjC for 2nd position in point standings at the final event for this season. I hope you enjoyed the wings

I enjoyed them, yep. As you could see in Rikard's car, the only way to have a very fast Eve is driving sideways way beyond it's limits and that normally, using manual gears, is prone to making a mistake sooner or later :-\

Next season I guess we'll all be driving Eves, as spark F1 is wingless.

[Fergy]

what a night.. ambient room temp was around 28° with two PC's running.

Qual went well but was more of a warm up as I was to late getting home. 1:13.6xx put me 9th on the grid.

Race 1
The aim of the night to stay ahead of DC my season rival and try and take 4th place in the drivers points. I got a reasonable start but DC's was better but he yielded into t1 letting me through later just to pass me again. We we're behind Everon and possible being held up a fraction and at the end of lap one DC pits... cheeky.. I think to myself I have to pit too so I can keep sight of him.
I pitted at the end of lap two but for some reason DJ's pit crew had moved into my box and gave me a 52 second stop, still can't work that system out. I came out almost 4 seconds behind DC and was going to struggle to catch him. Unfortunately Kalle hit him from behind knocking him clean off the track and me a lucky break.
I finished 5th in was was a quiet race after that.

Race 2
Not a bad start, with luck again I worked my way into 3rd but this time my pace was better. Intense chase developed with DJ to the first pit stop. This time a 47 second stop and I managed to jump DJ in the pits. My dream run didn't last to long, DJ passed me about a lap later and then came the Hedlund brothers in their fast EVE's, again my straight line speed was poor and they passed me pretty easily. I managed to stay on the back of Robert and the train of 5 or 6 cars in front of me.
Last lap I thought I really have to hang on to the pack here, there is always some action. Sure enough last turn Rikard slides out and I moved from 7th into 6th with DC not far behind.
Again the luck was on my side.

Race 3
Steady start, avoided the big crash at the start as Cookie threw himself into the stands but I was well behind DC. Theoretically he can still get 4th place at this point. After viewing the replay I see he has a few apologies coming as this time Yerke cleaned him up and ended any hope of 4th
After my pit stop on lap 5 I just had one more job to do and that was keep Bart behind me. With about 3 laps to go he was right behind me and I needed him to make a mistake to hold 5th as he was to quick. Again I got a lucky break when he ran wide in the last lap giving me enough breathing space to hold position. Luck again on my side, that's racing some times.
I'd like to thank DC for the great see sawing battle this season. Always quick to hand out a set up, some times to his own detriment, fast and getting faster. Well done mate it was a lot of fun.

Lastly the winner.
You get out what you put in. That sums up Marcel. Congratulation on a fantastic season.

Thanks again SR4L

P.S. well done to my team mate Nikos too, 3rd place to Billy Cart Bangers

[gorgias1976]

My report.
I had planned this race in a single way, being in front of DjC so I could take back the second place in the championship. For the first time I decided to drive the winged spark, as driving the Eve I found it imposible to have a balanced car and drive below 2:13s. With the winged spark I managed to easily drive the 2:12s.

Qualy
--------
I managed to get a 2:12.3 which I found to be enough to be in 4th place and in front of David.
One thing I want to point out that I didn't like was seing KK at the final minutes of the session come out of the pits between me and Thanos (who was some seconds ahead of me in a personal qualifying lap) and see him fighting thanos in the brakings. You shouldn't do that in your out lap to a car who is in his hot lap.

Race 1
--------
A difficult time in the first two curves trying to find a clean way between Marcel and KK fighting for position and also suffering from poor fps. I had to take turn 2 through the grass as in the danger of hitting them. This caused Bart and DjC to overtake me. This poor fps at the first lap caused me to have late reactions to the car's rear waving at some turns wich caused the rear wheels to go to a sudden overheat and have me really struggling this first stint with an oversteery car, mainly in the brakings. I came to my 49sec pitstop at turn 5. As I got cooler tires again I managed to build my driving pace and have the car nice balanced till the end. At the moment I came to the pits a was 1.8 sec behind David and after his pitstop we came just behind me.
I managed to pull 2-3 tenths per lap away from him and finally finished the race in third place.

Race 2
---------
Clean start and keeping 3rd position and hoping David had to care more for his mirrors and Bryan attacking than me.
It was about lap 2 or three 3 when at the final turn I saw Marcel and Rikard have a little contact enough to get both stuck. I managed to avoid them and seeing myself in first position I started pushing harder so I could get a big gap before my pitstop came. Pitstop took again 49 seconds and managed to get away cleanly and drive leading the race till the end. Coming to a win that tasted really good.

Race 3
---------
Starting from the back of the grid I decided to avoid all kind of trouble, accelerating slowly and avoiding both accidents that took in the midfield. I was relieved to have survived it but that didn't last that long. After the first heavy braking hairping I was behind Nikos and was preparing the attack for the next braking when I wrongly meassured his driving line and gave him a push from behind, my fault, sorry Nikos. After that incident I found my both left suspensions to be damaged and steering wheel veered 30º to the left. I went to the pits and decided not to repair the car as I preffered losing 4 seconds per lap than being 150sec in the pits. The remining 9 laps were a sweaty fight with the car trying to bring it home and catch at least a point as I did finishing in 10th place.

[1959nikos]

well done to my team mate Nikos too, 3rd place to Billy Cart Bangers

Naah, no big thing, Im a natural, you should take lessons from me though, try to copy my style, I dont mind, I believe in sharing my craftmanship with you young fellows 8)

[deecee52]

Qualy

I struggled to get a time out of the car , my setup was just not working for me , for some reason the track appeared more slippy as my car was sliding a lot and the times wouldn’t come to me , but a run on light fuel kept me just ahead of Bryan who was my target .

Race 1

Got an awful start for me , car just didn’t bite and slid sideways so I had to back out of it and follow the guys in front , I had fuelled light with the intention of making places at the start but that didn’t work this time , I harried Bryan around the first lap and passed him up the back straight but then went for my pitstop . came out on clear track so got my head down and pushed , I was doing reasonable laptimes and making places but then the last of the late brakers (I don’t know who) drove into the back of me hard at turn 4 , this put me off and damaged the car , it was still drivable but kept trying to swap ends , this pretty much destroyed my championship battle with Bryan .

Race 2

Tried the same tactic again but again I fluffed the start after that I cant really remember much about this one apart from my tyres going off near the end .

Race 3

Got a good start (at last) avoided the first corner melee and made places , avoided the crashing at turn 7 and was in first , I thought I had a faint chance of a win which might have put me back into contention with Bryan , but some hero slammed into me whilst trying the impossible at turn 2 and put me into the barriers , race and championship over

Well done Bryan , Paul and SR4L for putting on a great championship , well done Marcel a worthy champion indeed . Well done Bryan we had a good fight all season I will have to try harder on the next one .

[Fergy]

Perpetrators named in my report DC. After watching the replay you were incredibly unlucky and on the wrong end of some bad braking. I've spoken about braking points on many occasions also knowing what's left and right of us on track. We'll need to improve at this next season.

[KeiKei]

My weekend in short.

Qualify was quite OK and ended up third. At first I was surprised by the laptimes from Rikard and Marcel so knew something needed to be done to the setup. Little tweakings to diff removed excessive understeering so it wasn't the car but me not able put whole lap together. Anyway would have been very tight for the pole.

First race was disaster. Took fairly good start from the green side but didn't want to try anything stupid for the first corner. Well I still did by going in too fast and hit Marcel slightly in the rear. Anyhow no damage done but few seconds later somehow missed my braking point (guess I was watching car on my side) and this time it was really close of not taking Marcel out of the race. Luckily it was only me who spinned out of the track. No damage yet so back to race but at last corner I found Jesus behind cloud of smoke and of course damaged both cars badly.

Second race, fairly good start from the back but not long when entered a mayhem and got hit from behind by Jesus and spinned out of the track. No damage though but I think it wasn't even the end of the lap and there was a car sideways on the track so of course I hit it hard. And believe it or not but there he was again; Jesus! I've heard he saves... and for sure he did - I mean saved me from racing!

Third race was easy one. Because of the poor result from last and reversed grid started from fourth or so. Guys crashed from front so few moments later I was leading the race. Marcel was second but so far away (maybe 5...7 seconds) that it was easy for me to find good rhythm and control the race. Also the pace was comparable to Marcel and Rikard so it was bit of a shame that I ruined first and second races because would have been hard and fun racing against them. Oh well, maybe on next season...

Thanks to everyone for very good times on racing! Indeed SR4L is a great community and rF2 is a great sim. Also congratulations to Marcel of winning the championship by far!

Qualy
--------
I managed to get a 2:12.3 which I found to be enough to be in 4th place and in front of David.
One thing I want to point out that I didn't like was seing KK at the final minutes of the session come out of the pits between me and Thanos (who was some seconds ahead of me in a personal qualifying lap) and see him fighting thanos in the brakings. You shouldn't do that in your out lap to a car who is in his hot lap.

Well he exited turn 1 close to inside and also screwed up turn 3. Then he also made room for me by going off the driving line at turn 5 (leading into long straight). To me it looked like he's lap was ruined and he wanted to let me by. Well Thanos is the only one who knows the truth.

[KeiKei]

I pitted at the end of lap two but for some reason DJ's pit crew had moved into my box and gave me a 52 second stop, still can't work that system out. I came out almost 4 seconds behind DC and was going to struggle to catch him. Unfortunately Kalle hit him from behind knocking him clean off the track and me a lucky break.

Oh yes, I'm very sorry about this. That missing sign was my braking marker and it happened to me like so many others. For sure we need to learn from this.

[Hedlund]

It's always fun to read all race reports, so keep them coming

And I thought KeiKei and Kalle was two different drivers until now

[Paul Swire]

It's always fun to read all race reports, so keep them coming

And I thought KeiKei and Kalle was two different drivers until now

Bit like me thinking the Hedlunds were the same driver until you both appeared on track together lol

[Hedlund]

It's always fun to read all race reports, so keep them coming

And I thought KeiKei and Kalle was two different drivers until now

Bit like me thinking the Hedlunds were the same driver until you both appeared on track together lol

So at that moment you didn't think the other Hedlund was an (swearing) AI? ;D Nice bug, it was 8)
But I can imagine the name shortenings are tricky, R. Hedlund for both of us.

[thazio]

Hello to every one!
That was my first online race and i really enjoyed it even being the slowest by far ;D (i have to practice more...)
next season i will try to participate to all the races.

Qualy
--------
I managed to get a 2:12.3 which I found to be enough to be in 4th place and in front of David.
One thing I want to point out that I didn't like was seing KK at the final minutes of the session come out of the pits between me and Thanos (who was some seconds ahead of me in a personal qualifying lap) and see him fighting thanos in the brakings. You shouldn't do that in your out lap to a car who is in his hot lap.

Well he exited turn 1 close to inside and also screwed up turn 3. Then he also made room for me by going off the driving line at turn 5 (leading into long straight). To me it looked like he's lap was ruined and he wanted to let me by. Well Thanos is the only one who knows the truth.
[/quote]

The truth is i lost concentration because i didn't new if you will try to pass me because you came very close.
After the mistake i gave you room to pass. :
But i believe if i were a little bit faster you wouldn't be so close and you would "respect" my effort
So no big problem!

Can anyone tell me who is the one who pushed me out at 3rd race start (blue eve)...

thanos

[1959nikos]

Hello to every one!
That was my first online race and i really enjoyed it even being the slowest by far ;D (i have to practice more...)
next season i will try to participate to all the races.

You did well to take part even with little practice Thano, we encourage people to do that here, racing with friends is what we do.

Im sure you will get faster (poor me )

[vittorio]

That was my first online race and i really enjoyed it even being the slowest by far ;D (i have to practice more...)
next season i will try to participate to all the races.

You did by far better than me in my first SR4L race! Nikos is my witness. ;D

Can anyone tell me who is the one who pushed me out at 3rd race start (blue eve)...

Phew can't be me than, im driving spark. In case you don't know there's a replay option in single player modus. You can find out everything what happened in race using replays. I always do an after race analysis.

[Fergy]

I checked the reply Thanos, you did nothing wrong. Unfortunately Cookie drove into your line spinning you around.

[Txus]

Hello all!
I think this was by far the most difficult race of the season for me and not only because it was the last one

This is a track I like a lot but I didn't practice enough, I was not able to build a good garage setup and kept modifying it until the end, even between races.

Qualy: I did a 1:16omehing and PB was 1:15omething, not very proud of it

First race: bad start as usual, I was hit trying to avoid the accident on first turn, some suspension damage, the car was drivable but I decided to pit on second lap to avoid traffic and try to find a comfortable pace for the rest of the race and the evening...I made several mistakes anyway, at least I was able to finish.

Second race: I tried to be more "ambitious", I think I gain some positions on the start but made a big mistake on the corner before back straight and caused a huge accident. Apologies to everyone involved I will be more careful next time and hit escape key faster.

Third race: My main goals were to finish the race, avoid contacts and do some nice laps and that is what I did. Including several big mistakes, at least I didn't ruin anyone's race this time...

Looking forward to next season.
Thanks SR4L!

[Hedlund]

Start of the final race of the season :o ;D

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