Next Season 2015

[Paul Swire]

We are approaching the end of our current season. So we need to decide between us what we would like for next season after the Christmas break.

We have a few descisions to make:

1. Start the next season Mid January after the holiday period?
2. The most important discussion imho. Which car/cars are we going to race.
3. Number of rounds this season.
4. Race format? (Endurance 1hr+ / 30 Min Races / 20 Min Races)
5. Then we have the tracks.

Let me know your thoughts, if we can narrow it down to a few options for each item we can open it for a vote to make the final descision.

Thanks
Paul

EDIT:The poll is open to suggestions for adding a car, feel free to propose, all propositions will be added to the poll. You can even alter your vote, this function is activated.

[edwin]

why not do a 2 race format again but then the first race as a 20 min (sprint)race and the second as a 40 min race.

For the cars i would say Lola's :-\ because the 91 F1 mod isn't finished yet. other possibility could be go back to the historic F2's.
I know they have been done before but then again there are a lot of new members here (me included) who didn't race them back then.

just my thoughts tho

[JimmyC]

Howston, Group 6, Mk I.

[gorgias1976]

I like Edwins idea of running a sprint race and then a longer one (maybe the first race without pitstops and the second with the mandatory one).
I also like the idea of single and longer races (like 60 or 90 minutes races).

I'm also thinking in shortening the duration of the qualifying sesion and/or limiting the number of laps, trying to make things a little more demanding.

There are so many car posibilities:
- Keep classic, Lola, Howston (Problem to me with Howstons is that driving manual clutch has proved to be slower than auto clutch in this car).
- Groing a moustache. Start battling 1990s Formulas (I really like the 1992 ASR, speed, inmersion, though drivers gaps could increase and make races less competitive)
- Going touring. Touring cars with modern racing rules.
- God Bless America. Going for an indy car season.
- Unlearning to learn. Pick up the Skip Barbers and learn to drive again having slower but closer racing.

I'd also consider using weight hadicaps depending on previous event finish or championship position. The idea would be to have closer racing and a closer championship so more experienced drivers can get a little more battle from the less experienced ones.

About number of races, I prefer to finish the league before the summer break, and then at the fall start a brand new one.

About the tracks, It all depends of what we drive. If we drive classic cars I preffer classic tracks, and the same goes for modern cars/tracks.

As a summary, I'd personally like the idea of a Skip Barber session so we could have a different and closer racing.
Anyway I think we should fun-race different type of cars to see what we like for the future league.

[Hedlund]

Hey, I've also been thinking about a longer race + a sprint race. I like that idea However I'm not fond of endurance races...well we should have a few per season but not all of them, I mean.

Otherwise, there's something that I've always missed in this league: the difference between driving with heavy car and light car. The short race distance makes it possible to complete the whole race with less than 30L of fuel. For almost every track this season (except Spa) I've been using maximum 15L per stint, that's really nothing What I would like to do is to make fuel consumption X3 at least. The car will become lighter and faster towards the end of the stint and it will create possibilities for different pit strategies. Right now it's possible to do fastest lap straight out from the pit.

- x3 or x4 fuel consumption
- Yep, keep classic. But it's time for a little change I think (EVE vs BT20 was not that big difference). Howston? (the weakest G6 1965 model is so fun), or 90's F1 cars...but honestly I don't like them very much.
- 10 events
- Tracks...I don't know. Depends of which car we use. I guess we will re-visit many tracks. But pls add Zandvoort!

We could use modern touring cars and SB for fun events? Or fun leagues if we will have that again.

[gorgias1976]

You're right Rikard.
I remember well when we raced x5 fuel. It was the Eve/SparkF3 league and I don't remember if also part of the Eve/SparkF2 league.
I really liked that because it made pitstops strategy more important, I remember working a lot in planning my strategy depending on my grid position and race objectives.

[deecee52]

Eds idea of a sprint race and 40 min sounds good to me , the longer race would then give more time for the reverse grid to sort itself out and also be the race where pit strategy plays a big part .
Using heavy fuel usage was great in F3 as you had to plan your pitstops carefully same goes for tyre wear .

Lola would be my car of choice or f2 again but using Eve only so we dont have arguments about winged Spark etc , after that Howston .
I was very impressed with the Megane when we ran the mixed race at Nords , that was a very fast and stable car with very limited adjustments , great for the less technically minded to setup


Track choice for me need not be historically accurate otherwise we could get stuck in the rut of the same tracks over and over ,I prefer to put more emphasis on the quality of the racing .
I like tracks that promote good close racing , tracks that flow and have grip , tracks like Palm Beach and Croft which have little grip I hate as you spend more time fighting the track itself rather than the cars around you ,

There are many tracks out there we have never used but which offer good racing , I raced f2 at canyelles and that track was a blast in them , my first race with SR4L was F3 at Mid Ohio which is a good track yet we have never been back there , maybe we could do some fun races on other tracks to test them out

[gorgias1976]

Oh, Mid Ohio, that is a great and technical track. I remember the race with the F3. Battling for the lead with Jonathan Hallas until I suffered the random CTD pit bug (bug from rFactor2 build, not track).
I also miss racing Searspoint, which is a very interesting track to drive.

[deecee52]

Oh, Mid Ohio, that is a great and technical track. I remember the race with the F3. Battling for the lead with Jonathan Hallas until I suffered the random CTD pit bug (bug from rFactor2 build, not track).
I also miss racing Searspoint, which is a very interesting track to drive.

I remember it well for different reasons , on 2nd race i was on front row and forgot to engage 1st , when lights went green i caused an almighty pile up as i didnt move , i thought my short career with SR4L had just come to an end , fortunately Bryan laughed it off

[gorgias1976]

Lol, it must be this race start:

[youtube]jB1i7qaMPhE[/youtube]

[1959nikos]

Im not convinced of the necessity of two different races, a sprint and a longer one, whats the point? We sprint during quali anyway, maybe Im missing something here.
I say the system we have has proven ok.

Also I think the idea of having shorter seasons has problems:
-We dont have enough time to learn the cars
-We dont have enough time to build skins
and more importand
-We dont have enough historic cars to change from season to season.

The most importand decision now is to decide car quickly, so we have time to build skins and teams.

I gather we want to stick to historics? After all that is what we are well known for.
If we stick to historics our choices are:

1) OWs
1a) Redo the Fs, F3 F2 F1
1b) Do Klaasvh and Navigator's Matra mod http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/20...E-Matra-F1
a very good mod, try it if you havent

2) Bathtubs
2a) Howstons
2b) Lola T280

of the above I vote 1b or 2b.

On the other hand if we are not very picky of what we call historics, we could always do 92 season mod http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/20...-by-car%29
full field, skin ready and very nice to drive, I had a thriling night with them at Nords the other day.

[deecee52]

Lol, it must be this race start:

[youtube]jB1i7qaMPhE[/youtube]

Lol , yep thats me :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

[gorgias1976]

Im not convinced of the necessity of two different races, a sprint and a longer one, whats the point? We sprint during quali anyway, maybe Im missing something here.
I say the system we have has proven ok.

Also I think the idea of having shorter seasons has problems:
-We dont have enough time to learn the cars
-We dont have enough time to build skins
and more importand
-We dont have enough historic cars to change from season to season.

The most importand decision now is to decide car quickly, so we have time to build skins and teams.

I gather we want to stick to historics? After all that is what we are well known for.
If we stick to historics our choices are:

1) OWs
1a) Redo the Fs, F3 F2 F1
2a) Do Klaasvh and Navigator's Matra mod http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/20...E-Matra-F1
a very good mod, try it if you havent

2) Bathtubs
2a) Howstons
3a) Lola T280

of the above I vote 2a or 3a.

On the other hand if we are not very picky of what we call historics, we could always do 92 season mod http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/20...-by-car%29
full field, skin ready and very nice to drive, I had a thriling night with them at Nords the other day.

If I had to chose among those option I'd go for a F1ASR92 Formula 1 season (we could try to drive as many as posible the same tracks they raced).

By the way. Do these cars have different performance depending on the car you chose or do they behave equal?

[1959nikos]

By the way. Do these cars have different performance depending on the car you chose or do they behave equal?

This version of the mod is advertised League friendly, all cars have same performance afaik.
I think at final version they will be different.

[gorgias1976]

Then I was very slow when I joined once at a public server (I just hoped it was the minardi) :'(

[Hedlund]

Haha I'm very slow with those 92 formulas too Gorka... I can't drive "modern" open-wheelers. I don't know if it's because of setup, my G27 or lack of skills but the car always turns around when accelerating using like 10% of throttle. I hate that feeling that one can't correct oversteer...if the rear wheels spins it's over in 0.1 second lol I have problems with the brake too. In all modern rf2 open wheelers it feels like I can never ever use more than 50% of the brake pedal. But well, I guess the 92 formulas are a little easier. I haven't tried them in a long time now.

Maybe we could test the 92 F1's some night? I don't think we should drive the EVE/Spark F3/F2/F1 again. I want to like the 92 mod...

I really really wish we had an early-mid 70's F1 car for rf2 The 79 mod is ground effect era but because of the black screen bug I don't think it's an option.

[deecee52]

I am really liking the sound of the 92 mod now ;D ;D ;D ;D

[gorgias1976]

After some testing last night with the 92s Formulas I really think we need to test them to see if it matches our community.
They are lovely to drive, super fast, give a 100% inmersion on the driving, but...... the problem I see is that races could be over by lap 5.
What I mean is that maybe half the grid may have already crashed by that lap, maybe getting stuck on the gravel or damaging the car against the barriers. I feel the car has a tendency to lose the rear at specific situations, even with an understeer configuration.

The reations is as if you turn more and more your wheel when at the limit, instead of increasing the understeer you get a sudden extra front grip which can unsettle the rear. If it happens at quick corners it can be controllable, but if it happens at a slow corner while accelerating it's very easy to have a sudden oversteer, over-react to avoid the spin and crash the opposite wall.

I would like to know if I'm the only one who gets that sensation.
Maybe working with the car setup and rubber on track can change that car reactions.

[jerry 33]

my 2 cents..

I like the ideas presented above, especially the one of doing some fun events with some of the mods you are considering for next year. that way you will get a feel for what the cars are like. my choice as of now would be the lola, I really liked them. nikos is right, SR4L is known for being vintage, but I believe you can do whatever you want to do. you can't please everyone, so make sure you please yourself.
(but daves idea of anything that rikard doesn't like might be good for the rest of us : sounds pretty good )
on length of races - for us that need "personal pitstops" in endurance races, I kind of like having not that many of them. like I said, coming from my point of view - it would be eaiser for me. :-[
would also like to see some more races from over on this side of the pond. the glen, mid-ohio, laguna seca, road America - there are even more to choose from. not wanting to overrun the series, just enough to spice it up a bit..
just my views...
seeeeeeeeee ya --- jer

[gorgias1976]

After a morning test in Abu Dhabi the more I'm driving the 92 F1 the more i like it. Nevermind being fast or slow, it feels great driving it, so demanding but on the same time so rewarding. Default setup feels nice to drive.