TAGELE Sprint - Race reports, chat etc.

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Please use this thread for race reports, chat etc. relating to the MIDWEEK SPRINT league

(Keep the Rules thread etc. pure and focussed!)

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

I’ll start!

Well, thanks - first of all - for the support of the first Sprint evening - a good mix of drivers, abilities - and car selections!

Apologies for the restart of the second race - I was trialling a new grid management tool for the first time and made a schoolboy error that resulted in the grid not being reversed - so I had to revert to my usual, clunkier method. I understand what went wrong and hope this was a one off.

Thanks also go to everyone who held their patience after the start line crash chaos - I’ve not looked into the crash but understand and expect it was just an unfortunate racing incident - much appreciated that no one threw their toys out of the pram and everyone continued and completed the race.

For what it’s worth, these cars are very robust! I was showing lots of dark blue damage by the end of the race but suffered no obvious I’ll effects!

I hope everyone is aware of the ‘Slug’ car bonus for completing races in the (relatively heavy, relatively underpowered) AMC and Pontiac cars…

Dave Coyne (Pontiac) and I (AMC) spent most of both races absolutely nose-to-tail and had a great battle. As far as I could tell, the Pontiac has a bit more grunt (Dave always pulled away slightly on the straight despite the draft) but was heavier on the tyres and slower through many of the corners - but not enough to lose the position! Our finishing results (4th and 5th in both races) show that these cars can be a worthwhile option - but boy, the Mustangs in particular looked rocket-powered on the straights by comparison!

Anyway, thanks - hope you enjoyed it. Laguna Seca is up and running already - see you next week!

[deecee52]

Last nights event was good fun but never in all my previous races have I spent so much time looking in my mirrors and concentrating on my lines ,phew Myles made me earn those points .

I chose the Firebird over the AMC for its extra grunt , that turned out to be a wise choice , in both races Myles was out driving me and was glued to my tail but the extra hp kept me ahead JUST , it must have been as frustrating as hell for Myles , I suspect there maybe teeth marks in his steering wheel now .

I decided to use a slug in the first event as I thought folks would be getting better with these cars as the season progresses , this race would be the best chance of a good result with one , must admit I thought both Myles and I got away lucky to finish as high as we did as the performance difference to the Mustangs was enormous , they were like starships .

[Ricknau]

DC, sorry for running you off at the start of race 2. I shut the door way to slowly. Bad form. Glad you still had a good result.

[giorgetto giaguaro]

Finally the Midweek Sprint League is started, the grid was nice and also the two races.
I had good battles with Mel Fisk and Rick Neuman.

The unfortunate episode of the incident at the start of race 2 fortunatelly didn't mess the whole race and nobody gave up not finishing the 18 laps.

Now it s time to think about the car (with a new skin of course) to choose for Laguna Seca, a track that I love and with these cars it will be so cool, I m sure!

[bullwinkle]

Well not much to say as usual I am slow in a slow car, oh well. Race one I spun Mel (sorry could not get stopped) then trudged along to last. Race 2 killed at T1 had to pit, party over finished one lap down. Not sure how I feel about bonus points Mel outdrove me in both races, but I have more points than him, hmmmmmmm.

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Yep! I wanted to run the AMC to make sure *someone* got slug points on the board…

I just needed longer races - I could see you struggling more and more with the tyres but never enough to squeeze through!

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Well not much to say as usual I am slow in a slow car, oh well. Race one I spun Mel (sorry could not get stopped) then trudged along to last. Race 2 killed at T1 had to pit, party over finished one lap down. Not sure how I feel about bonus points Mel outdrove me in both races, but I have more points than him, hmmmmmmm.

You were an average of 1 sec per lap slower than Mel in the longer race - Dave and I were *two* seconds a lap slower than Ed. I’d say you drove a slow car pretty well!

Bottom line is that we wanted to maximise the diversity of cars on track - and without some incentive, the AMC and Pontiac wouldn’t see the light of day.

[DJCruicky]

I drove one of the fast cars, the Ford.
I thought for sure Ed would just disappear in the races like he did in the test races, but I was surprised that I was keeping up with him this time.

Race 1, me in 2nd had Seb Zito in tow behind me, he was driving very good. Ed in front driving a good race.
Well into the race Ed makes a mistake going wide and now I'm in his tow now. I put a lot of pressure on him and he makes another small mistake and I'm passed him with one lap to go and win it .

In race 2 I'm starting at the very back of the reverse grid. Straight off there was 2 sets of carriage I had to navigate around. I did pick up some damage but was ok. Before I knew what was going on I was already in 2nd behind Ed. This time I make more mistakes than him in this race so no way of catching him. Another good result 2nd place.

It will be not so easy when the other fast guys pick the fast cars and I'm in the slow ones.

cu in next one.

[deecee52]

DC, sorry for running you off at the start of race 2. I shut the door way to slowly. Bad form. Glad you still had a good result.

NP Rick , i wasnt trying to pass you i was trying to use you to get my speed up to be near Myles no way could i out drag your mustang, i was having to back out anyway because the barriers were closing in on that side

[Edvvc]

Very excited that not one but two leagues have started, and am really enjoying racing in these cars. For Bridgehampton I chose the Plymouth Barracuda because it has good power and is very stable.

Quali went well and I secured pole position.

Race 1 started well and I kept [USER=10]@DJCruicky[/USER] behind me to begin with. Opened up about a three second gap but then I went too wide into the very tight righthander and he was right on my tail. The next few laps were tense as he was driving better and I was making mistakes. His Mustang had a superior top speed which meant I had to work hard to defend into turn 1. Eventually I made another costly mistake and he got past. I tried to follow but had no answer and finished P2.

Race 2 and reversed grid meant I started P10. I managed to avoid getting caught up in the initial pandemonium and then settled to try and make up places. A Camaro and Javelin had an incident in front and after that [USER=10]@DJCruicky[/USER] was on my tail again. Now I was following Giorgio in the other Plymouth until he got very loose into a corner and swapped ends. I took avoiding action to the left but [USER=10]@DJCruicky[/USER] clipped him which gave me a bit of space. After this I managed to focus on my driving and kept position to finish P1.

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Laguna Seca Round 2

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

I enjoyed that last night! Cracking track.

I qualified well for the first race and made a safe start too. Safely trailing Ed for 2nd until I think I overheated the tyres and let Cruicky through. At some point, he locked a wheel into the Corkscrew and I also outbraked myself slightly and tapped him into a spin. Waited for him to rejoin and gave the place back - fortunately the 4th place driver was well back and we were untroubled in the fight to the finish.

Second start seemed pretty nicely handled by everyone and I gradually picked off a few drivers until I came up behind Jonathan leading DeeCee. Jonathan managed to hold up Dave in just the right spot for me to leapfrog both - and to keep him back for long enough for me to build a three second or so gap that I pretty much kept until the late stages of the race. I made a few unforced errors that probably gave Cruicky a bit of hope - but the long untroubled run in the lead had left my tyres in pretty good shape so I was able to refocus and get my first win for what seems like a long time!

Hope you all had fun too! I’ll load the next track later this morning.

[giorgetto giaguaro]

Great racing night: these cars on their natural environment (Laguna Seca) are so cool, and who cares about not having a big grid when you have a nice group of drivers as we do.

I was not so quick on qually but managed to keep a good concentration on booth races, without big mistakes.

Made a good start on R1 wich gave me a good position. I get passed by J Cook in the Javelin after a little mistake and after that I had a nice battle with Jonathan Rarity who managed to pass me only after the last corner of last lap. I was going out of fuel and he didn't managed to avoid me decelerating. The incident didn't made me cross the finish line so, DNF at race 1.Bad result but super fun race.

Race 2 was even better in terms of fun and final result aswell. After the start managet to let pass all the aliens without problem and without defense: my race is not versus them. Again I found myself havin the same race peace with Rarity and stayed together till the end, we switched positions twice but he won the battle. Nice racing Jonathan!

Again, a lot of fun this round!

Thank you all guys and thank you Myles for organizing this!

See you next one!

[deecee52]

Another good event , had some great racing with Jonathan who knows how to make his car wide when he wants to , although i was faster he kept me under control with some good driving , but in getting past i hammered my tyres so couldnt do much else .
What tyre pressures are you guys running , i am having difficulty manageing the tyres dont know if its my driving or my setups

[Edvvc]

Race 1 went smoothly but starting at the back for race 2 made it more challenging. Unfortunately I tapped djc and spun him (sorry) but I waited for him and we continued. The main memory of the race was my game crashing yet again but hopefully a solution or workaround is near.

[USER=19]@deecee52[/USER] I run minimum pressures all round. Tyres get very hot but it's manageable.

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Another good event , had some great racing with Jonathan who knows how to make his car wide when he wants to , although i was faster he kept me under control with some good driving , but in getting past i hammered my tyres so couldnt do much else .
What tyre pressures are you guys running , i am having difficulty manageing the tyres dont know if its my driving or my setups

Unusually for me, I’m not running minimum pressures. Virtually every other car ever, I run at min…

I think I’m at something like 124 front, 122 rear.

[deecee52]

hmm it must be me , i ran min with the Firebird at Bidgehampton and struggled on cornering at Portland i ran 21 - 19 and the rears fell off a cliff at 95% , will have to look at my driving

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

hmm it must be me , i ran min with the Firebird at Bidgehampton and struggled on cornering at Portland i ran 21 - 19 and the rears fell off a cliff at 95% , will have to look at my driving

Just checked - I was running 122 F, 112 rear on Wednesday.

I'm in the 3.6/3.8 degree range on camber and 6.5deg on caster.
44F, 22R ARB?
I'm damped a *lot* more than you (not sure about springs)

[Ricknau]

I presume a Ross Chastain move would be frowned upon at the last corner of Riverside!!