Sim Racers 4 Life - T290 Season - Round 3 - Zandvoort - Reports

[1959nikos]

Well that was nice

A great track, going up and down all the time, great attendance again, thank you all SR4L members for making it happen

Btw Swire is getting better and better, tonight he fought like a lion, I find it very hard to stay with him, can somebody please slow him down ??

Place your reports here ladies and gents so we see your side of view of the race.

(YOU WERE MISSED TIM!!)

[Paul Swire]

Replays and results are on the dropbox

BTW Nikos it is you who is getting slower (Old age hehe)

[jerry 33]

My apologies to Mel and whoever I impacted at the start of race one! I just watched replay and.....
I was watching Hari come up on me on left and must have moved right - and there was mel... SORRY! :-[
so, I thought with the 220 second damage repair and finishing 21 out of 22 in the first race - that the racing Gods would leave me alone...........
NOPE!
second race while running in the top ten I noticed I was going to run out of gas! let off and slowed in last lap but didn't make finish line............
so it is...........

also, yes Tobias you have some Wicked Lag..... you were bouncing in and out of sight - I was scared as all get out to try to pass you.......... hope it's gets better...

[Paul Swire]

Quali

I had no time to practice this car/track combo :-[

I did manage to get a 1:48 which put me near the back of the grid.

Race 1

I got a good start and as I approached turn one I could see a blue car flying in the air, opps better slow down this could hurt!! Managed to avoid the carnage and got round the first corner without any contact . Managed to get some space and decided to try and settle down into a rhythm. Had Nikos not to far behind me so decided to pit early and see if I could do the under cut. This worked after Nikos had pitted he was 8 seconds behind me 8). Kept my head down and drove, Nikos was slowly catching me at one point so put a bit more pressure on and managed the gap to the end. Beat Nikos ;D

Race 2

Started 17th, watched the carnage unfold in front of me and managed to get through it all and was in 12th!!! Oh my there were some fast guys behind me. Put my head down and drove as fast as I could to keep them at bay for as long as possible. Nikos was directly behind me holding them off nicely so I could keep going 8). Decided to pit early again as it worked in the first race, and again after the pits I was still in front of Nikos (You need to sack your pit crew). On lap 15 I made a mistake and MOBKing managed to get in front of me, I fought with him to regain the place then as I crossed the line to start the last lap I noticed I only had 1.0 L of fuel left and I was using 1.6L per lap. Had to slow it all the way down on the last lap and coast where I could just to get to the finish line, fuel ran out as I was comming out of last corner and managed to roll it across the finish line PHEW!! Beat Nikos AGAIN!! 8)

[1959nikos]

Quali

You need to sack your pit crew

Not their fault, they did the pitstop in 25secs, but it took me some time to get properly on it, it was a bit crowded when I went into pits.

[Hedlund]

Another enjoyable race weekend Thank you guys for clean racing, specially in race 2.. no easy passing lol

Managed to get down to 1:41.3 in the practice session with only a couple of minutes left before qualifying. In quali I struggled but eventually did a 41.5 which I later managed to improve by 2-3 tenths. Just like last time, I was about 2 tenths faster than Robert and took pole position again.

RACE 1
Robert and Gorka could quite easily follow me, and at the same time I felt totally relaxed because no serious overtaking attempts were made. I noticed Robert pushed a little harder towards the end of the first stint, so I had to respond and a small gap opened up down to Gorka. Rob and I pitted same lap, but he lost a lot of time in the pits. So when I exited pits I saw Gorka quite far behind me on the main straight, but still he was able to squeeze in between us to take 2nd place. My second stint was lonely. I saw Robert was able to take back second spot but later found out that it was because of a incident when they lapped someone. Really fast but unlucky Gorka, better luck next time!

RACE 2
Took it easy in T1 and stayed behind Robert. Some guys crashed in the "chicane" leading to T2 and I think I saw Gorka there because never saw him again this race.. So I was in 9th and following Robert who was trying to find a way past my team mate. When Rob tried too hard, I could overtake him instead but there was no way past Ed. After all I was quite comfy back there but eventually he let me past (thanks teamy ) Next up was once again the both Run Lola Run-drivers who always seem very consistent. They both raced hard but fair and was quite tricky to overtake! Eventually I managed to overtake them tho, and instantly opened up a gap. At last, I had only Coyne and DJ in front of me, and Rob still hanging on right behind me. Coyne pitted really early. DJ too. I stayed on track until end of lap 11 iirc, and when I came out from the pits DJ still had a big gap, and Rob was right behind me. After a few laps I made a little mistake in T1 and he could overtake me. I followed him as he gave it all to try to catch DJ. With only a few laps left I thought the gap was too big, but we came closer and closer. With two laps to go I thought that it might be possible and with a very late braking in T1 for the very last lap Robert was already up in the gearbox on DJ. I watched them fight until Robert somehow managed to squeeze past. DJ's front tires were obviously cooked and gone long ago but he was able to drive good lines the final corners so I never really had the chance to attack him. Congrats to my brother.. his first win this season. Next time David

[edwin]

Very enjoyable weekend indeed.

Quali:

I did a 43.6 and was happy with it almost my pb and that never happens in quali where i'm definitely no good.

Race 1:

After T1 i was in 8th spot and was wondering where the he.. DeeCee managed to get past me (well done David good start )
From first to last lap i was in a fight with Andi and at some points he was faster where on the other hand i was faster at other points off the track.
i tried to force him into a mistake which he never made, nice racing Andi. In the end i was 6th and happy with the result.

Race 2:

After the start Gorka tried (sorry for saying) in a do or die attempt to overtake me in T2 but his fronts where not even close to my front axle. In fact i didn't even know you were there.Shame it happened and if it was my fault (which i don't think) than sorry for that. I managed to keep on track and had Robert and my Teamie (also known as the Hedlunds) behind me and i decided to give them a fight for what i was worth. We kept like that for 2 or 3 laps but then i decided to let them pass because they obviously where faster and i got orders from the pit to let my teammate pass to score the highest possible points for the championship. First i thought to tell them afterwards that my radio was broken but well the team pays my bills :o .
There i was again behind Andi and Ramon but disaster struck when i went for my pitstop and the DPP (Dutch Pit Police) gave me a ticket for speeding >
Stop and go next lap and regained the race in 15th spot. Had a nice fight with Harry till second to last lap and the gap in front was to big i thought to get a higher position then 14th. but in the last lap i gave everything and i don't know exactly what happend in the last lap but managed to overtake Dan Bayford and Jerry and finished in 10th.

[edwin]

Dutch Pit Police......well i melt every time i meet them

[Hedlund]

Lol Eddy..

Shame on that stop n go, but even with a penalty you managed another top 10. Really strong performance from team F&L once again

[Ricknau]

A PB in qualy got me P13 on the grid. Survived lap one to fall into some good racing with several drivers. One unforced error lost me 2 positions but all in all had good effort. Battled Shannon for the last 5 or 6 laps. I think I was a wee bit faster over all but not in the last curve leading to the main straight and so could never get a draft going. I had a couple of close chances elsewhere but he was racing so well I did not want to take a chance of barging him off track. I took P11. Great racing Shannon! Great nerves. No bobbles to give me an opening.

Race 2. Got sandwiched in the left hairpin on lap one. All manor of mayhem ensued. Most who were involved got past the hairpin intact but in the uphill climb toward the cresting right I think a lot of guys lost their situational awareness in the chaos and several bumps and bangs sent folks flying off track, myself included. Got going in near P last and decided to just make what I could of it. On about lap 2 or 3 everybody around me instantly vanished! Oh My! I raced a few more corners hoping everyone would come back but no luck. Drove off track and hit Esc.

Dang! Two weeks in row I get a DNF for race 2. Sucks.

[myself9]

One of the most fun race weekends I've had in years, although I'm certain I'll be having nightmares starring Rick tonight.
Had a pretty close battle going with Harri for a while there, too. Think the pit land speed cops got her?

[rob.hedlund91]

Practice and Qualifying went well. Was able to improve my laptimes from the start to the end. Got 2nd position, again very close behind Rikard.

Race 1- Good start. Was able to follow Rikard without any sort of problems. Overall, I'm happy with how clean and smooth the first stint was. Rik and I made our pitstops in same lap, but mine was about 27-28 sec. Not good. Also, I think I just wasn't quick enough especially into the pits and to the box, but also out. Need to work a bit more on this part in the future cause I'm sure I lost seconds there. Coming out of pits in 3rd I knew Rikard was far away, and I noticed Gorka made a successful undercut so I had to chase him some laps. He was driving good and it wasn't too easy to pass. I expected a battle between us until an incident at the start-finish straight, just beginning our 14th lap. It all started with Gorka braking hard and crashing into another guy, think it was Cook having blue flag there. Anyhow, I clearly noticed something was going wrong at this point, but still having the throttle to the floor (sounds like a maniac)? :o lol). With some luck I thought there could be a chance to avoid them but no. While their cars were out of control, one of them touched my right rear so I crashed into the right wall. Not a very bad crash though, but when I continued again I notice some damage to the suspension and tyres cause my steering wheel vibrated. Luckily I could go on and finish the race. Unfortunately for Gorka, I took over the 2nd place that he had before. If it wasn't because of the incident, I think we would've been able to fight towards the end.

Race 2- Starting from 9th knowing it's gonna be difficult to handle. Looked like a pretty nice and clean start for everyone in front of me. But in turn 3, 4 and after (the long left), something happened behind me. Yes I watched the replay and it didn't look so nice for many there, disaster! Meanwhile For me, it was going good enough, 8th place behind Rikard for a couple laps. Fighting with some drivers the first stint was a good experience so I could plan my decisions and overtakes and so on. I didn't expect to find more than 2 corners for overtaking, so I was surprised it worked well in others, in total maybe 4 or 5. 26 sec pitstop in lap 10 was ok, went out from pits again and knew I had to work hard for a victory. Was lucky to not have anyone in front of me this lap. Starting lap 11, Rik came out from the pits in front of me, so the battle could continue. But at the same time Minges arrived ahead of me. There was an incident between us (in turn 7 I think). I was going for the inside line there, and as he braked and same time moved I pushed him out by mistake. This was totally my fault cause I was too close and had no time to react. I'm sorry for what happened! A couple laps later, I took over the 2nd position from Rik in turn 1, because he braked late and went out wide, (was surprised cause I'm used to see him race without problems). ;D After that it turned out really well for me. Closed the gap to Cruickshank who was in the lead, and I did everything I could to go for it the last lap. Finished in 1st place!

Nice racing, Zandvoort was one of the best for me in this leauge so far.

[gorgias1976]

A very frustating event.

Qualy went well, after the hard work done the previous week on the setup I managed to feel competitive again. Being just 2 tenths from the pole was a good feeling (the previous races gap was higher than a second)

Race 1 - Started fine without trouble. The first laps I was quite cautious trying to get the feeling of the car behind Rik and Robert. By the end of lap 6 I decided to go for an early pitstop. If things went well I could gain a position, if I got caught in traffic I would remain third, so I had nothing to lose.
I had a bit of traffic so I got surprised when 2 laps later I was ahead of Robert when he got out of the pits. I had to manage this set of tires for 10 laps so I new Robert would catch me and put me into trouble.
I was able to defend for 2 laps but about 4 laps to the end we met John Cook and Nikos in battle at the end of the lap. Getting to the main straight I was right behind John's slipstream when suddenly I say his brake lights turn on mid straight. I had no time to react and crushed into him and went straight into Robert and the wall, damaging the car.
Having lost my second position to Robert I just wanted to make it to the end of the race. I later met Nikos and we just didn't correctly interpretate the other on where to move and we both went in the same direction crashing again and losing 3rd to DjC. (as Nikos said later we should talk about lapping overtakes and how to make them safer)
So that was the end of race 1.

Race 2. I should be starting in 7th place on the rubbered side, but instead I found myself in 8th place on the green side.
Starting on the green side I almost lose my position to Robert. We went side by side in turn 1 and then to the next lefthander. It was not me trying to outbrake Edwin, but me defending from Robert. Anyway I touched Edwin, that was my fault.
Getting out of the hairpin cars ahead started to touch eachother and took me to the grass and wall damaging my car and losing big seconds. Again rejoined the track and again cars crashed and took me to the wall.
I was already like 30 seconds from the lead, in frustration and thinking I was already the last man of the race I rejoined the track not looking behind. In my mistake the new guy who joined us (sorry I don't remember the name) was coming fast and crushed into me, my apologies.
I then continued my unlucky race.
A few laps later I reached Santiago who had the bad luck to make a mistake in front of me taking me against the wall (getting even more damage).
I continued racing and met another driver who also made a mistake in front of me but fortunately we only touched sides not losing time in incident.
By lap 6 I was approaching Harri Mac, so to avoid losing time battling him I went for my pitstop. The remaining laps were more comfortable with little traffic. The next driver was S. Flynn (can't remember well, sorry) 17 seconds ahead. I calculated that at the pace I was driving I would catch him by the final lap. And so it was, beginning the final lap I was 1.5sec behind him. I was quite happy and forgetting about my frustration of the previous incidents.
To make the great finale Windows also wanted to take part in the race. 4 corners to the end a sudden "Installshield" notification appeared on my task bar minimizing rfactor2. Just heard my car crashing against the wall trying to bring rfactor2 back to work which happened a bunch of seconds later (at least I managed to exit pressing the Esc key)

Anyway, a disatreous weekend, just hope Targa Florio gets better.

[donrandom]

Top racing at Zandvoort – a truly wonderful track!
… and a good result for Race Lola Race (RLR) Racing, seeing both drivers in the top10 in both races.

Q – no complaints. I did a personal best in my first stint – less than a second off the alien racing league – which placed me on P5 on the grid.

R1 – I had a decent start into P4 but couldn't hold Cruickshank taking back the position after a lap or so. Well, I settled into P5, found my flow and had an easy pit stop. Coming out of the pits, I was behind a "heavily fluctuating" Tobias - or let's say, behind a car that was appearing/disappearing constantly left, right and in front of me. I tried to lap him, but suddenly crashed into an invisible car. My car ended upside down in the gravel and it took me almost 30 sec to dig myself out. There was some damage, but I continued the race to end up in P8.

R2 – Starting from P3, David Coyne managed to outbrake me in T1. I was also overtaken by Mr. Cruickshank very soon – as well as by my teammate Andi, who was close behind him. Anyway, after the pit stop I was back behind David Coyne in P5. The rest of the race was a great duel with Mr. Coyne. I managed to overtake him in T1, only to see him appear in front of me when accelerating out of the turn. Since he seemed to have pitted quite early, I thought I duck behind him and see how his tyres & line will develop. That was the right decision. Just 2 laps to go I managed to pass him and I finished on P4. Great racing David! I really really enjoy our ongoing battle.

[deecee52]

I wasnt looking forwards to this event , for some reason I had a mental block on setups and how to drive this circuit , I couldnt get a setup that didnt destroy tyres .

Qually

Went out but struggled to get a good time , ended up in 8th


Race 1


Got a good start and made up a couple of places before turn 1 , managed to keep a hard charging Andi behind me whilst I tried to settle down , chased Ramon and was doing ok for a few laps but then my front left started giving out , pitted early and came out on clear track , came up to Nikos and misread his intentions so ended up putting myself of track , rejoined behind Ed but couldnt keep pace but managed to finish in 6th .

Race 2

Got a good start but couldnt get past the guys in front until they made mistakes a couple a laps later , was in the lead for a while but DJ was hunting me down , let him past as my race was with Ramon , did an early pitstop and again came out on clear track , 2 lap later I passed Ramon exiting the pits , he slowly reeled me in and then we battled away for a few laps , he was faster than me but I was better on the brakes so I managed to hold him off until lap 15 , by then my left front was dead and I was struggling to get round the last corner , he got me and slowly pulled a gap but I still finished in 5th so I was happy .

[gorgias1976]

Coming out of the pits, I was behind a "heavily fluctuating" Tobias - or let's say, behind a car that was appearing/disappearing constantly left, right and in front of me. I tried to lap him, but suddenly crashed into an invisible car. My car ended upside down in the gravel and it took me almost 30 sec to dig myself out. There was some damage, but I continued the race to end up in P8.

Yes, Tobias had a crazy fluctuating ping that was constantly alternating from 4 to 9 tents.

[argl]

A great day for Team RLR on a wonderful track I did not race before for ome reason.

Qualy went well on P6, did my PB at a low 1:43, so I was happy. Next up in line would be my team mate, about a sec faster, so no real incentive to improve there. Same from behind where I was bout half a sec clear of Eddie.

R1: Had a so-so start but made it through the first lap without incident. I fell into some kind of rhythm quite soon, did not make too many mistakes, but had Eddie in my mirrors throughout the race, so no contemplation there. Astonishingly, I held it together until the finish, the gap to Eddie fluctuating through the race but he never quite got a real shot for taking my place. Lapping Tobias was a bit of a gamble, but I made it without a scratch. 5th in the end was a very rewarding outcome.

R2: Had a slightly better start, but did not take on too much of a fight with the people coming up behind me, they were clearly faster anyway. I settled into my pace and had a good look at the epic battle between my team mate Ramon and DC. Ramon finally overtook at some point and we ended up 4th and 6th.

Overall a very good weekend. I wonder why I never raced in modern Zandvoort before, its a very nice track, the only flaw probably the massive wear on the left front, a perfect track would not do that I guess.

[Hedlund]

Uploaded one of those comparison videos again https://youtu.be/Op0XyVd9qpM

I could just not put all sectors together last night. So this is the pole lap but I failed in first sector because I entered the two first corners in too high speed which caused the front tires to slide a bit. I'm like 2-3 tenths something behind Robert and Gorka after that, but I'm slowly closing the gap. I'm pretty much side by side with Robert when we enter turn 10 leading to the left-hand hairpin. In turn 10 I accidently cut the track just slightly but did not gain on that.. :-[ however the winning move was obviously the exit from corner 11. Looks like those 2 tenths that I had to my favour at the finish line was created there ;D

[Harri Mac]

I was dumped by the server during quali. Never managed to make a good time despite much better times in practice during the week.

Race 1. I have no idea why but my skin isn't showing on the server, I'm just another car 44. Cars did seem to be flickering on and off a bit. I have a good internet connection and my son knows it's death to download on Sundays after 7pm and before 10pm! Got a good start but made a mistake and let R Nauman past, then he took me out on a corner a bit later (no good turn goes unpunished) as I tried to overtake him. I was caught by the pit police and had to do a drive through after doing 102 kph on pit entry, bad me

Race 2. I'm still a little confused by this. I was caught by two other drivers, spun and hit and spun lots more. They got away scot free, there was mayhem behind them. Still in the default skin, with a flat spot from hell after all the shoving, couldn't do fast laps with the juddering flat spot, pitted early but it was like driving a car made of lead, very heavy and completely unresponsive.

From my view during the race I had the orange skin. No idea what's going on there.

[gorgias1976]

Great video Rikard, always love those comparisons.

Harri, yes you had the orange sking during race. Were you actually "wearing" a different one?