Sim Racers 4 Life-Season 6-Eve F2 Season-Round 3-Longford-Reports

[1959nikos]

I suppose youve seen me trying to join today's race so many times but I was kicked out everytime by my stupid Internet.

What I saw there though, I saw a full grid with 25 racers
So place your reports here gents so I will learn what happened there.

[argl]

Qualified 6th with a 2:17,0 which is about as fast as I can go, really. Going for 5th agaist John Cook would have meant shaving another 0.5 secs off that time, so I did not even attempt. My team mate made an appearance as well, but for unknown reasons was not really on the pace. He will get there, I am sure (RIGHT CHRISTIAN?!)

Race 1 was surprisingly lacking the anticipated chaos, the field passed the viaduct basically unscathed which underlines the calmness and professionalism of this league. I managed to more or less keep my position and just tried to not make any mistakes. A few fell by the wayside in the course of the first few laps and I got up to 4th. In the finest tradition of "stay out of trouble, hell is other people on track", I pitted very early on lap 4 or 5. After that, I was basically alone on track with no one around me. I only ran wide once, which was probably my only mistake in the race. Pulling off a string of 2:17.x lap made sure I brought home my 4th place. Yay!

Race 2 started with me forgetting to put in 1st gear at the first start, I subsequently bent my car when I drove into the knot of competitors under the viaduct and was relieved when it was decided to restart the race. The second start was much better, I managed to keep out of trouble for the first couple corners, but in the braking zone for Tannery Corner I clipped Stephen Miller (?), forcing him off the track. Totally my fault, I was braking a bit later than him and that was that. I basically ruined your race, Stephen, sorry for that.
I drove on sheepishly, following the early pit stop strategy again, which netted me a 3rd place on the podium.

All in all a very good result for me, with a slightly bitter taste because of that incident.

[bullwinkle]

Qual-sucked
race 1 sucked
race 2 sucked
that's that

[1959nikos]

Qual-sucked
race 1 sucked
race 2 sucked
that's that

lolol what a description

[sdancourt]

Well, Im happy, feeling taking ground on the sims world, at last!

I love this track, more and more easy with this car and certainly feeling very at home with this community.

Qualy: P9, nearly my PB, mid 17s.

Race 1: Amazing first lap, every one behave, even me, very cautious. I was between Jerry Santucci and Juraj most of the race, I was able to overtake Juraj braking at Mundford corner after a great effort and pass Jerry when he make a mistake, 6th place in the end, my best result in this champ.

Race 2: Starting in P4 and having Edwin before me, we took the lead before first turn and go away, Ed first and me following him very close, Aliens cacht us around lap 4 or 5 ( DJ & Rik) make pit stop on lap 7 (also Ed) re-enter race in 5 position, always after Ed, but just exiting boxes and entering the tunnel, Ed dowshift to 1 gear, spin and was impossible for me to avoid crashing him, broken suspension and end of the race as a result. Anyway, very, very happy, very good races with nearly 8 drivers in the same second.

See all you at Monza!

[edwin]

Well, Im happy, feeling taking ground on the sims world, at last!

I love this track, more and more easy with this car and certainly feeling very at home with this community.

Qualy: P9, nearly my PB, mid 17s.

Race 1: Amazing first lap, every one behave, even me, very cautious. I was between Jerry Santucci and Juraj most of the race, I was able to overtake Juraj braking at Mundford corner after a great effort and pass Jerry when he make a mistake, 6th place in the end, my best result in this champ.

Race 2: Starting in P4 and having Edwin before me, we took the lead before first turn and go away, Ed first and me following him very close, Aliens cacht us around lap 4 or 5 ( DJ & Rik) make pit stop on lap 7 (also Ed) re-enter race in 5 position, always after Ed, but just exiting boxes and entering the tunnel, Ed dowshift to 1 gear, spin and was impossible for me to avoid crashing him, broken suspension and end of the race as a result. Anyway, very, very happy, very good races with nearly 8 drivers in the same second.

See all you at Monza!

Lol almost my report, race 2 for certain.

Quali 10th

Race 1:

After start i saw Rikard next to me, well i thought it was Rikard. But Ricky had sneaky taken Rikards skin. i think knowing that most people go out of the way when they see Rikard or maybe he just likes the skin . Anyway he had me fooled for a moment there, good move Ricky .
had a nice battle with Mel, but he overdid it at last corner and then i overtook him. pitted 7th lap and managed to finish 7th.

Race 2:

As Santiago describes we had a superduper start and took of first and second and stayed that way until DJ and Rikard came and overtook us. i was driving the race of my life and thought that a 3rd or 4th place should be possible. I didn't shift to first tho Santiago, it was second gear but messed up my blib so back tires where locked for a moment and i hit the post of the tunnel. You where, was it 50mtr behind me and no way you could avoid hitting me. So both of us out of race. I'm angry with myself and sorry for you Santiago.

Nevertheless it was a great night. Thanks Paul for setting it up again.

[Hedlund]

After Gorka's great pace with the BT20 I expected him to be my main rival with the F2's as well, but I guess lack of practice ruined it for him. Instead I noticed DJ was really fast during our practice sessions. I was a little bit faster but that doesn't really matter here because of the long straights. But with no draft I was the quicker one and I managed to take pole position with a pb, 2:14 flat. I know it sounds ridiculous but I was a bit dissappointed I didn't make it to the 13's because I've been really close all the time :p

RACE 1
Got a bad start because first gear was quite heavy. DJ got past me but Gorka stayed behind. No panic, as I knew DJ would have overtaken me at first straight anyway, and now it was the other way around. DJ and I quickly got a small gap to Gorka and I decided to push DJ in front of me the first lap so we could get away from him. That worked and after that we started to swap places and I can't really remember much more from that fight. He went for his pitstop very early I think that was a bad decision because he would probably come out in traffic, while I could do laptimes close to our quali laps.. When I came out from pits much later he was not to be seen in my mirrors, not even on the long straights. So I relaxed and took a comfortable victory

RACE 2
After the restart I was not as lucky but at least it was a very clean first sector from top 10. I gained one position in the start and was following DJ as we tried to make our way through the field. I decided to push DJ so we could get higher top speed and get past Bayford on the "Flying Mile" straight, and so we did. Somehow I missed the 400m sign and was completely sure I was using the same brake sign as usual when I hit the brakes at the 100m sign (ooops). Of course I overshot the corner and had to turn around. After that I was 7th with Gorka in front of me. I followed him for one lap and decided to push him in front of me as well so we could once again get past Bayford. This time I braked earlier but couldn't make it past Gorka. Stayed behind him down the hill and through the tunnel, but in the right hander Gorka suddenly hit some posts (they were invisible to me, probably to him as well). Apparently these posts are extremely heavy because that was a huge crash. Gorka's car went upside down and I could not avoid him but crashed straight into him and pushed him in front of me several meters before the car behind me decided to crash into him as well... bye bye Fortunately no damage for me and I continued. Soon I caught Ed and some other guy and overtook them. After that I had an emty road and could finally push. I did some really good laps - one of them same as my pole time and several others in the 14's - and when DJ pitted I stayed out. I decided to pit on lap 8 and when I came out again DJ could just barely retake the lead. And so the fight was on...again. Aaaand of course I made a mistake in final corner again. This time I have no explaination - I lost the rear of the car the same second I pressed the brake pedal - and it was impossible to save (but I'm quite happy with the save because it could have been so much worse). Once again I had to turn the car around and lost several seconds. I had flat spotted my front left and had a quite uncomfortable shaking in the wheel, but slowly I catched DJ again and when we were about to start the final lap I made the same mistake again!! I braked too late and this time DJ was gone, once and for all. My left front tire was so bad that I decided to go half-speed on the straights because the wheel rattle was so bad. After so many mistakes I could not complain about my 2nd place. Well done DJ

[Hedlund]

After start i saw Rikard next to me, well i thought it was Rikard. But Ricky had sneaky taken Rikards skin. i think knowing that most people go out of the way when they see Rikard or maybe he just likes the skin . Anyway he had me fooled for a moment there, good move Ricky .
had a nice battle with Mel, but he overdid it at last corner and then i overtook him. pitted 7th lap and managed to finish 7th.

Haha I haven't thought about that. Actually he was using my and Robert's skins during the F1 league too (EVE). I remember I asked him but never got an answer.. Maybe you're right but a prefer to believe he loves John Player Special-themed skins (altough it says Fast & Last Special lol)

And great job team mate. Important points in the team championship 8)

As Santiago describes we had a superduper start and took of first and second and stayed that way until DJ and Rikard came and overtook us. i was driving the race of my life and thought that a 3rd or 4th place should be possible. I didn't shift to first tho Santiago, it was second gear but messed up my blib so back tires where locked for a moment and i hit the post of the tunnel. You where, was it 50mtr behind me and no way you could avoid hitting me. So both of us out of race. I'm angry with myself and sorry for you Santiago.

Bad luck When I overtook you on the long straight for 2nd or 3rd position I thought you were doing a great job!

[jerry 33]

qualified well, almost got into the 16's - but kept hitting traffic as I suppose everybody else did too.

first race, did ok, not great, not bad - ok until the pitstop, after that I noticed puffs of smoke in my mirrors???? what is that I asked myself?? I "thought" I was bottoming out, but I didn't hear anything. gauges all good, temps good - then I started losing time. I was in the top 10 - 8 or 9 with a lap and a half more to go when - my motor went???? really, seriously - I don't ever, ever - EVER - remember anyone's motor going. but mine did and according to the results - Stephen's went in the 2nd race. has that been this way the whole time?? is it something new?? I thought about just letting the car sit there to see if I could get points - cause - "if you don't finish - you DON'T get points" but that would be rude. so I clicked out........ bummer, I had some pace..

second race, I was in 14th spot, make the best of it I thought. green goes on, I leave, cars warp, cars wreck - and there I am in 4TH place! ;D well then, second race will be better then - right? NOPE, restart. green goes on, chaos is happening and I am being very very careful. I make it to the bridge on the back, I see smoke, I am being careful, I am laying back - when out of the sky a formula car lands right on top of me. BIG log jam on the bridge, a freaking mess. nobody can go anywhere - I am sideways with cars wrecked all around me. try to go forward, nope. try to go backwards when someone else hits the pile from the other side. I go flying in the air, upside down, but off the bridge. as I get uprighted I put it in first and pull onto the track and WHAM I get hit again. my car will only go in circles after that - day over, ended - fini......... and a lot of cuss words.......

;D yeah..........

[JimmyC]

Congrats to the podium finishers and to all who drove sensibly, esp. getting under the viaduct on lap 1. Unfortunately I was out on the first lap of both Heats. Heat 1 happened just after crossing the river, and I'm not sure why. The car suddenly snapped out of control. Heat 2 I was caught in the carnage crossing the river.

I enjoy racing the vintage cars with SR4L, as well as the large fields; and I REALLY enjoy racing online with others who do their best to be careful of each other. However we may want to reconsider having events at Longford: There's just no where to go when someone in front makes a mistake, as happened in Heat 2.

[gorgias1976]

A couple of dougnuts last night and I didn't like it.

As Rik says not that much practice. Driving the previous event setup I was having lots of difficulties under braking. Car wandering like mad out of control.

Qualy
-------
Taking it as a practice session trying to find a stable car while trying to get a laptime. I could see how I was losing a lot of time to Rik and DjC but I could not push the car any harder. At least my time was good enough for 3rd

Race 1
--------
Had a very good start but had to stay right behind Rik as I new DjC was on me right and I couldn't see him. From that point my only mission was to try to finish in that position. I could see how David Coyne was pressing me from behind whenever we reached the final braking (worst moment of my braking).
Around lap 4 I saw Djc going for an early pitstop. Also a lap later aproaching the final curve me and David Coyne reached a very slow car. I was able to outbrake him but when I entered the main straight I saw David was no longer behind so he probably had trouble with that car.
By the end of lap 6 I did my pitstop and when I got out of the pitlane I was just in front of DjC. He was right on my tail and when we approached the final braking I could no longer control my car and spun stalling the engine. I went back on track but half a lap later lost it again and crashed, bad damaging the car and retiring from the race.

Race 2
---------
before the race Rik told me he was driving a 59.5 brake balance. That's when I checked mine and was set to 54. That explained all my trouble under braking. Set it to 59 and car was finally braking straight, a little understeery but I had no time to work on the setup so that was as good as it could be.
After the race restart all the pack was clean through the first sector. When reaching the second bridge I got two cars flying over me, wow that was scary I even move my head down in reaction and very luckily I got out of there unhurt.
I gained a couple of positions, and a lap later I saw Rik missing the final corner and rejoining right behind me. He was quite comfy there just waiting for things to happen. At lap 3, coming out of the first bridge someone had hit the white poles and they were all over the racing line. I just couldn't avoid them and as I hit them my car got flipped sideways behing hit by Rik and another car who simply couldn't avoid me. Car was badly damaged after it, all 4 wheels in yellow (damage status). Tried getting to the pits to have my tires changed without repairing (not worthy spending 5 minutes there) in case damage was lower. But it wasn't. Car was still undriveable so decided to retire and watch the recorded F1 race.

[gorgias1976]

qualified well, almost got into the 16's - but kept hitting traffic as I suppose everybody else did too.

first race, did ok, not great, not bad - ok until the pitstop, after that I noticed puffs of smoke in my mirrors???? what is that I asked myself?? I "thought" I was bottoming out, but I didn't hear anything. gauges all good, temps good - then I started losing time. I was in the top 10 - 8 or 9 with a lap and a half more to go when - my motor went???? really, seriously - I don't ever, ever - EVER - remember anyone's motor going. but mine did and according to the results - Stephen's went in the 2nd race. has that been this way the whole time?? is it something new?? I thought about just letting the car sit there to see if I could get points - cause - "if you don't finish - you DON'T get points" but that would be rude. so I clicked out........ bummer, I had some pace..

I remember watching your smoky car in race 1.
I thought mechanical failures were off (though obviously they weren't). I vaguely remember we decided to turn them off after Marcel had a brake failure in Nordschleife a while ago.

[jerry 33]

I thought they were OFF TOO!

[Hedlund]

Yes damage should be off. I remember someone had engine failure at Silverstone and then both DJ and Marcel had brake failures at Nords during practice so we decided to turn damage off.

I was lucky because I was over-revving the engine a couple of times when downshifting :o :o

[bullwinkle]

at a track like Longford with so many obstacles to hit we should change damage multiplier also because for no matter what the reasons too many guys were denied the fun off racing entire races because of parts knocked off the car or run over a small post a flip into the air like shot out of a cannon. Just my opinion.

[gorgias1976]

It's curious on some car reactions. In montecarlo you can climb the sidewalk without a problem and in this track or Belgium white posts are like dynamite sticks.

[jerry 33]

;D BOOM

[argl]

Pardon the off-topic question, but is there a server-side replay of the races available somewhere?

[deecee52]

his was just a plain awful event for me , for whatever reason my setups stopped working , in the week leading up to this I developed 3 setups which could get into the low 16s easily but on raceday none of them could get out of the 17s so I spent ages trying to understand what had changed and trying to find the lost time again .

Qually

Went out early and set a time I was happy with , I just kept my eye on Cookie who was a threat , but I kept the position .

Race 1

Got a good start and dropped in behind Gorka , I just wanted to stay near him until pitstops were over , lap 6 approaching last corner could see Connor going slow so pulled over to the right to pass him but then he went striaght across the track in front of me when I was flat out , there was no way I could avoid him so I ended up damaged and in the fence , pitted striaght away for 115secs and then just tried to make up places .

Race 2

Got a good start and stayed out of trouble , coming out of Tannery corner the 2 cars in front of me Oscar / Steve touched and pushed each other over , this gave me a good run on Oscar and I was alongside him and carrying a lot more speed going into next corner , I dont think he saw me and turned into me , that started the big crash at the bridge , I got hooked up in the fence and couldnt move and I couldnt quit out quick enough before the main pack arrived , race over .

[gorgias1976]

Pardon the off-topic question, but is there a server-side replay of the races available somewhere?

There is, but probably only Paul has access to it