120 Minutes of Thunder

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True, I'm not one of those super fast guys, maybe because I'm more cautious which makes me slower. At my personal limit/comfort level with the DP, I think it's pretty stable. If I ever make a mistake, there is always the newly named "2FMSH" to get me out of it 90% of the time.

On a related note, that setup that Jav posted is great. I was turning comfortable 1:45's, now I'm turning comfortable 1:43's after only 10 or so laps with the new setup. Optimal is 1:42.7, so I think with a little practice here and there over the next two weeks I should be able to get to consistent low 1:43's or high 1:42's.
 
left888
I knew the Caddy would have an older age, in fact I thought it would have been 6 or 7 years older. I think the DP is widely chosen for it's blazing speed which is great for skilled drivers. Look out though for the Rookies that will behind the wheel of the DP. :D
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Atleast Rookies will be with Rookies! Yes I'm in that group and at speed it is a handful without question. I want to know what a good lap time for lower classes would be? I know top splits are 1.38-1.39 but I'm not even close really at 1.45.
 
Normally if you are within 3-4 seconds of the fastest guys you can consider yourself one of the lower-middle classers. But it doesn't matter too much in this case anyways because they are doing the splits by qualifying times. I wish iRacing would do splits by qualifying time instead of iRating. This guarantees that you will be grouped with people who are within a second or so of your speed, even if it's a 1:50. The only problem there could possibly be is someone sandbagging their qualifying time, but I don't see that happening in a special event, maybe though.

Just find a pace that you are comfortable at and qualify at that pace. Remember, this is an endurance race, so while speed is important, consistency and not crashing because you are going at 100% of your limit is much more important (IMO at least).
 
superbike81
Normally if you are within 3-4 seconds of the fastest guys you can consider yourself one of the lower-middle classers. But it doesn't matter too much in this case anyways because they are doing the splits by qualifying times. I wish iRacing would do splits by qualifying time instead of iRating. This guarantees that you will be grouped with people who are within a second or so of your speed, even if it's a 1:50. The only problem there could possibly be is someone sandbagging their qualifying time, but I don't see that happening in a special event, maybe though.

Just find a pace that you are comfortable at and qualify at that pace. Remember, this is an endurance race, so while speed is important, consistency and not crashing because you are going at 100% of your limit is much more important (IMO at least).
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The last statement is how I see it too. Hopefully people have patience enough to not rush slower drivers or run them over in lower classes. I just want to finish the race without having tons of wrecks or issues.
 
For a lot of people, myself included, have not done a race of this length. In the past 3 or 4 days I have been practicing going about 85-90% of my top speed for 1 hour. Mind you I too am not the fastest racer and with the Caddy I am in the low 1:54's and I think 1:52 is obtainable for me. In the recent Caddy series I have been qualifying last or near last, yet I have never finished last in a race.

Setting a good pace and reading what others are doing around you always is key. We have all seen the guy that passes at the worst possible place and 3 turns latter he is in the ditch, watch out for them. They usually quit after their 10th crash :D. Some guys are just fast and good, watch for them and usually they will pass without any problems. Keep your line and do not pull over for them, you can make it easy for them without pulling over.

A lot of Rookies are good enough to have a great race but it's the impatient ones that think they are going to win the race on the first corner and end up taking out 4 or 5 cars. The old saying is you can't win on the 1st lap but you can lose on the 1st lap.
 
Endurance races are where it's at! I can't wait until we get day/night transitions and driver swaps! Then we can run some actual long races and be part of a driving team. 8hr, 12hr, and even 24hr races would be possible as special events with each driver taking shifts.

THAT is what will keep me with iRacing forever.
 
superbike81
Endurance races are where it's at! I can't wait until we get day/night transitions and driver swaps! Then we can run some actual long races and be part of a driving team. 8hr, 12hr, and even 24hr races would be possible as special events with each driver taking shifts.

THAT is what will keep me with iRacing forever.
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You know that will be pretty awesome but talk about being non stop. I don't think people will have patience for that long of a race. Granted I think 8 hours could be done without issues.

Now back to the topic, I need to figure out my good pace without over driving. I think overall be careful will be better than trying to be fast.
 
Yeah, work on being consistent, establish markers for yourself in each corner "brake here", "start turn in here", "hit apex here", and just go through each marker in your head through each lap. Yes it will get a little boring after two hours, but it will help to keep you focused.

As far as your pace, establish those markers and then go through several laps and find the pace where you can go through without an incident and take it from there. Remember, most people are impatient, even in 2hr races, so you can bet at least 20% of the field will not finish the race due to crashing out. So as long as you can finish at your pace, you'll do well.

Oh and join some of the ISR open practice sessions, that will get you accustomed to the speed of the other cars on track and the general behavior in multi-class sessions.
 
superbike81
Yeah, work on being consistent, establish markers for yourself in each corner "brake here", "start turn in here", "hit apex here", and just go through each marker in your head through each lap. Yes it will get a little boring after two hours, but it will help to keep you focused.

As far as your pace, establish those markers and then go through several laps and find the pace where you can go through without an incident and take it from there. Remember, most people are impatient, even in 2hr races, so you can bet at least 20% of the field will not finish the race due to crashing out. So as long as you can finish at your pace, you'll do well.

Oh and join some of the ISR open practice sessions, that will get you accustomed to the speed of the other cars on track and the general behavior in multi-class sessions.
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I've worked on getting those down, turn 1 actually really throws me off but I usually hit 5th for few seconds then start slowing down which I don't turn in sharp enough.

During those session I keep trying to lay down fast laps, not steady laps and there are usually few A or B class drivers while I'm in rookie.
 
Wilbur
I've worked on getting those down, turn 1 actually really throws me off but I usually hit 5th for few seconds then start slowing down which I don't turn in sharp enough.

During those session I keep trying to lay down fast laps, not steady laps and there are usually few A or B class drivers while I'm in rookie.
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Since it won't let me add to my first post, I went over the weekend and did mod to my brake pedal since I'm using stock DFGT wheel/pedal. The squash ball is hard but is alot better feeling which I don't lock up brakes.
 
Don't worry about your speed in the open practice sessions, you'll pick up speed in your personal test sessions. The open practice sessions are there to give you ideas of what others are doing but mostly they are there to get you to learn how to drive in traffic that will be both much faster and much slower than you.
 
superbike81
Don't worry about your speed in the open practice sessions, you'll pick up speed in your personal test sessions. The open practice sessions are there to give you ideas of what others are doing but mostly they are there to get you to learn how to drive in traffic that will be both much faster and much slower than you.
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I guess I forget all that, and the times I've been on haven't had ton of guys in them. It seems I over drive and can't get a lap in without spinning.
 
For endurance racing, you want to get into a rhythm up until the last 25% of the race. Then you can push harder as the race nears the end. Not that you shouldn't still race for position early on, but if someone catches you and you aren't able to shake them, they're probably going to be faster than you for the next hour...let them by. Same for trying to pick up a spot on a slightly slower car. Take your time and just stay there for a while. Hopefully he'll get the same idea and let you by or you can wait to capitalize on his mistakes.

That also applies with multiclass traffic. You should be able to wait for the right time to pass a Cadillac.
 
Eric.
For endurance racing, you want to get into a rhythm up until the last 25% of the race. Then you can push harder as the race nears the end. Not that you shouldn't still race for position early on, but if someone catches you and you aren't able to shake them, they're probably going to be faster than you for the next hour...let them by. Same for trying to pick up a spot on a slightly slower car. Take your time and just stay there for a while. Hopefully he'll get the same idea and let you by or you can wait to capitalize on his mistakes.

That also applies with multiclass traffic. You should be able to wait for the right time to pass a Cadillac.
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I know what you mean! I won't be a guy to really push an issue in pass or holding someone up, I prefer to be clean even if I was done dirty by same driver. It will test my patience for sure, and tomorrow I think I'm going to just few laps to just lay them down. Even if I'm 1.48, it will atleast keep me from wrecking.
 
Put a few days' time into getting a setup working for the CTS-VR. Decided to compare with my Lime Rock Park setup (which seems to be fantastic at Lime Rock Park). Turns out its pretty fantastic at Watkins Glen too.

1'50.571 available on iSpeed.
 
Saw a guy named Roberto Montero tearing it up in the CTSVR tonight. Fastest lap of 1'48.7 or so. I asked if he'd share his setup and he did. Then I ran a 1'49.9 with an off-track, and a clean 1'50.177. That setup was only holding 2 gallons of fuel and using minimum tire pressures. I feel like even up to 26psi is better, at least before they get heated up. Now that I know I can get a 1'50.xxx quali lap I need to see what kind of pressures to use for the race.
 
Sure, I'll put it on racesetups in a little while. Its a pretty easy to drive set, and I may have picked up some time just watching him. Looked like staying in 4th through the bus stop is better, and not using 3rd gear at all.

Edit: Setup posted below
 
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Here it is. Full credit to Roberto Montero. Its a pure quali setup complete with 2.1 gallons of fuel. Like I said, I was getting a little better response out of it with more tire pressure. I don't know at what point it starts getting worse yet, but I think 26psi front and 24 rear felt pretty good for a few laps. A race setup is probably going to start 3-4 psi lower and provide for even pressures once up to temp. When I had 20psi all around, the tires were getting up to around 27psi.

http://www.racesetups.com/view/850
 
Times are getting better and better and I still feel I can take another 1/2-3/4sec off and still be safe just with some better lines through a couple turns. Down to a 1:42.351 best and a 1:41.668 optimal. If I can get consistent high 1:41's I will be very happy. That won't get me anywhere near the top split, but with my consistency I should be able to do well in my split.


Anyone else thinking about starting from the pits? I think if I start anywhere from the 3rd row or back I might just start from the pits to avoid the obligatory lap one heroes that all sim endurance races seem to get. But then I have to start behind all the Cadillacs too and navigate through them an extra time. Still debating.
 
I plan to start on the grid and take it really, really easy until traffic breaks up. Hopefully have the inside line into T1, otherwise I'll definitely lose a lot of spots staying as wide as possible.

How's the fuel situation in the Riley? iSpeed says I'm using about .9 gallons a lap in the CTS-VR, so I should be able to do 22-24 laps each stint, looking at just over 60 laps total, so two stops.
 
Eric.
I plan to start on the grid and take it really, really easy until traffic breaks up. Hopefully have the inside line into T1, otherwise I'll definitely lose a lot of spots staying as wide as possible.

How's the fuel situation in the Riley? iSpeed says I'm using about .9 gallons a lap in the CTS-VR, so I should be able to do 22-24 laps each stint, looking at just over 60 laps total, so two stops.
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I thought it would be a few more laps? I guess it depends on each split too.

I'm unsure of where to start too, guess it depends on where I qualify at anyway. You also got to count few of those Caddy drivers over driving first few corners. I think the bus stop will get a few people on first lap more than turn 1.
 
There's some 80min races today for the DP and Mustang for anyone who wants to get more practice in the DP but in a racing environment.

With max fuel on the DP I should only have to pit once. Tire wear has been minimal in testing, so i should be OK.
 
It takes less time to get tires than fuel. No reason not to change them on your stop.
 
17-18 gallons of fuel should be a solid 1 stop for the 120 on the DP.
 
Into the 1:41's finally. Optimal 1:41.1

Was watching Darin Gangi do some 1:39's and I just can't do what he does, he is on the limit everywhere, I just can't be comfortable at anywhere near that pace. He brakes for the bus stop right around the 100 marker, I brake between the 400 and 300. But his car is squirming everywhere through it, mine is perfectly smooth. Guess that's why I'm not an alien. LOL
 
superbike81
Into the 1:41's finally. Optimal 1:41.1

Was watching Darin Gangi do some 1:39's and I just can't do what he does, he is on the limit everywhere, I just can't be comfortable at anywhere near that pace. He brakes for the bus stop right around the 100 marker, I brake between the 400 and 300. But his car is squirming everywhere through it, mine is perfectly smooth. Guess that's why I'm not an alien. LOL
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I've watched few of those top guys, and they are always braking hard. It just feels so unsteady to me to do that too. I brake around same point as you because it seems very easy to lose it getting into bus stop.
 
Yeah I looked at Roberto Montero's laps last time. He just does a bunch of outlap-hotlap-reset-repeat things, and for like 13 laps his average was in the 1'48s. I wonder what the high times for race fuel with ~12 lap old tires is going to be. I actually set my fastest lap of the last session (nothing to write home about, a 1'50.x) 17 laps into a set of tires on race fuel.
 

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