GT Spec Endurance Challenge - Rob wins the title by only 8 points!

  • Thread starter Thread starter iamsupernasty
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Yo.
Just want to say that at the moment, I'm only about 30% sure to be able to race this Saturday.
I'll let you know asap if i definitely can't do the race.
 
Just finished a 15 lap test race to gauge fuel consumption. Pitted on lap 14 and had used just 50L in that time, so a full tank seems just about perfect for a 28 lapper in the Z. Absolutely going to need tyres though so may slosh in a few extra litres for safety's sake. Don't want to do an 'fbm' and run out.
 
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ROB 256R
Just finished a 15 lap test race to gauge fuel consumption. Pitted on lap 14 and had used just 50L in that time, so a full tank seems just about perfect for a 28 lapper in the Z. Absolutely going to need tyres though so may slosh in a few extra litres for safety's sake. Don't want to do an 'fbm' and run out.
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Sweet! The plan was always to make the Monaco race just short enough that a pit wouldn't be required for anybody, but may be beneficial to some.
 
Litchi
Yo.
Just want to say that at the moment, I'm only about 30% sure to be able to race this Saturday.
I'll let you know asap if i definitely can't do the race.
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No problem Will, you've got perfect attendance so far :) Definately try to let me know in advance if you're a no-go though. Thanks!
 
My chances to race level up to 70% now. Final response Saturday afternoon (morning for you Bill)
 
Thank you guys, i just see the comments :)
As i said, i really like Suzuka, so that's all :p
I don't i would be that fast at Monaco. Evora's and NSX-R will be the winners.
My car is way to heavy for the track. :(
Also, i don't have time at all to play during the week :(, now i'm only playing with you guys during the saturday's. Exams on University are killing me.
C u all on the track :)
 
Hey Fabian, glad to see you're on GTplanet. Hopefully you're right about this not being your best track :)

Ran some laps today. Feeling pretty comfortable with my speed, but not sure what the rest of ya'll are doing :)

It appears I will use exactly 100L of fuel in this race. I'm undecided on whether I'll stop for tires though.

I am pretty confident the results of this race will not be decided until very very late in the race. It looks like it'll be the shortest race of the season on time also, so whoever can keep themselves in a groove for the longest will be in great shape.

Can't wait!

Hope you can make it Will!
 
iamsupernasty
Ran some laps today. Feeling pretty comfortable with my speed, but not sure what the rest of ya'll are doing :)

It appears I will use exactly 100L of fuel in this race. I'm undecided on whether I'll stop for tires though.

I am pretty confident the results of this race will not be decided until very very late in the race. It looks like it'll be the shortest race of the season on time also, so whoever can keep themselves in a groove for the longest will be in great shape.

Can't wait!

Hope you can make it Will!
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Did another half race test yesterday with a different wing setting. Used 51L that time so I think I'm probably gonna need to pit. Would have done anyway because really don't fancy slithering around Monaco on old knackered rubber. It would end badly. The Z can be a handful at the best of times!

Excited for this race! :nervous:

Also, I was thinking maybe we should have an 'official' parked by the chicane after the tunnel for qually? Could be a different person for each group. Maybe you and Jones, Bill? Just a thought.
 
I'll be there tonight but have to jet as soon as the race ends. Luckily this is the sprint race of the season. The absolute best lap i can pull now and have only done it twice, is 1.48.8. Fuel is not an issue but by lap 15, tires are rough. I am over 5 seconds a lap off my pace for the final 6 or 7 laps. Seems like stopping for tires might be the sane move especially with this track which brings me to... damage. I raced alone with damage off for my test run. Would have taken heavy damage at least a dozen times trying to get through the chicane, last turn, the esses after the uphill straight etc... This will be a very dangerous race and i believe there will be a lot of unscheduled pit stops. I dont know how you guys can still drive with damage sometimes but me and my ds3 are crap when damage arises. Good luck to all, be patient and careful this week.
 
ROB 256R
Could be a different person for each group. Maybe you and Jones, Bill? Just a thought.
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We can look at that. I find it kind of distracting to have a car parked there, but we might be able to find a good spot.

Litchi
I'll be there for the race tonight guys ;)
But i need to practice. My last run at monaco was for the WRS Week 93. I can hit good times on this track, but consistency and heavy damages is an other story... :yuck:
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Yep, I don't race Monaco too much either. Ultimately the goal here will be to not crash rather than run the fastest lap time.

Whitey093
I'll be there tonight but have to jet as soon as the race ends. Luckily this is the sprint race of the season. The absolute best lap i can pull now and have only done it twice, is 1.48.8. Fuel is not an issue but by lap 15, tires are rough. I am over 5 seconds a lap off my pace for the final 6 or 7 laps. Seems like stopping for tires might be the sane move especially with this track which brings me to... damage..
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I can get a 47.5 with a perfect lap if my tires are in good shape, but yea that number falls off a cliff as tires wear. Gonna be interesting!

I'll open up a practice room early today.
 
Maybe do some pics of this later with some pit stop statistics. Interested to see who did what.


And is it worth re-evaluating the spec of some of the cars? I personally think the Evora and NSX are still underpowered. In the 4 races so far an Evora has podium'd just once (Rayza 2nd Suzuka) and an NSX never! In contrast the Z is overpowered. I know you balanced the car specs based on single hot lap times (with the Z getting a big spec upgrade last minute) but the Z just makes a far better race car due to it's substantial power/torque advantage. Similarly, the Evora/NSX under perform in the races because they get mugged on the straights.

So how about discussing the possibility of a small power upgrade for the Evora and NSX, and a downgrade for the Z? I have come up with a revised spec for these 3 cars if you're interested Bill?

I know we are only halfway through the series but I think if things stay the same it's not going to be a very exciting second half. The ballast just doesn't seem to be enough of a leveller. Or at least not yet. And maybe having some sort of additional 'series leader' ballast too, wouldn't be such a bad idea? Say an extra 20kg or something?

Thoughts?
 
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I'm not sure about that. Before choose my M3, i almost pick the NSX. It's a really good car, I was quicker with it at many tracks, but it has disadvanges at other tracks like Monza, La Sarthe, for it's weak of power. I tried the Evora and it was very quick too.
I think that any of this cars could have won at Suzuka or Monaco easily.
Now they will have a really hard job at La Sarthe.
 
perrolocomcquee
I'm not sure about that. Before choose my M3, i almost pick the NSX. It's a really good car, I was quicker with it at many tracks, but it has disadvanges at other tracks like Monza, La Sarthe, for it's weak of power. I tried the Evora and it was very quick too.
I think that any of this cars could have won at Suzuka or Monaco easily.
Now they will have a really hard job at La Sarthe.
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The ultimate pace of a car over a single lap and it's ability during a race are two different things.

The majority of the Evoras lap time comes from it's cornering which is fine when there's a clear track but in a race situation when every other car is slower through the corners it's very hard if not impossible to maintain a good lap time. It just seems to go backwards during the races. Gets passed way too easily on the straights then ends up stuck behind cars with less grip in the corners leaving it even more vulnerable. Must be massively frustrating for them. And in my opinion no matter how well they qualify they are never going to be able to stay ahead for a whole race.

By contrast the majority of the Z's lap time (obviously) comes from it's outrageous speed between the corners. And no matter how congested the track is during a race it's nearly always able to go full throttle in these situations. Therefore it can maintain an almost optimum lap time and can overtake/defend easily.

So all of a sudden 2 cars which are very similar over a single lap, are now leagues apart during a race. Tell me I'm wrong?
 
Im kinda of the mind that the cars are prob balanced as well as can be, but putting different human drivers in them and then driving on certain tracks can lead to an apparent perception of imbalance. Perhaps the best way to re-balance the the cars/series would be to just change the remaining schedule; Im thinking perhaps the calendar has favored the FRs too much if anything. The simplest change that may have the biggest effect would be to, say, swap LaSarthe for Tsukuba on the schedule. Now the most FR favoring track would be turned into one favoring MRs the strongest. I dunno, thinkin aloud here. I dont want to judge too much the on-paper results, as there are lots of other factors that can keep a strong car from its likely result that points and podiums alone dont reveal. It would be bad to penalize car A because car B was driven with poor technique, strategy, or luck!
 
That's a good point about different drivers. I get that it's hard to judge cars directly against each other because of this. I'm not disputing that the MR's potential pace is good, it's just in a format that isn't great for racing against higher powered cars i.e. high cornering speed but low straightline speed. I still think the Z needs a power downgrade. It's unfairly fast in a straight line compared to the Evora.

Maybe the no fuel thing made Monaco a bit deceptive. Normally the MR's make up quite a bit of time in the pits which they couldn't do there. Dunno? Too many variables is right 👍
 
ROB 256R
Maybe do some pics of this later with some pit stop statistics. Interested to see who did what.
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I'd love to see some more pics 👍

ROB 256R
And is it worth re-evaluating the spec of some of the cars?
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I don't think it's really an option at this point, not with people already locked into their car choices. What's more, I'm not totally convinced it's necessary.

perrolocomcquee
I think that any of this cars could have won at Suzuka or Monaco easily.
Now they will have a really hard job at La Sarthe.
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Bingo. I still think this is true.

ROB 256R
So all of a sudden 2 cars which are very similar over a single lap, are now leagues apart during a race. Tell me I'm wrong?
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I completely agree with this. I do think it's perhaps possible to drive the MRs in such a way that you can take advantage of it's strengths while minimizing it's weaknesses. You won't win driving the same race as the Z, but you might win driving a different race. We'll see if the different strategies can play out in the rest of the season.

ROB 256R
Maybe the no fuel thing made Monaco a bit deceptive. Normally the MR's make up quite a bit of time in the pits which they couldn't do there. Dunno? Too many variables is right 👍
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You're right that the no pit stops at this race did even things out. At Sarthe, the FR cars will be loosing 20-30 seconds in the pit stops alone.
 
Sorry I'm late to the party! Been a busy weekend. Great race, as always guys. I always get a warm and fuzzy feeling when there are no complaints to review over the following days. Everyone did a great job of being patient, and Perro did his best impression of Sebastian Vettel as always. Ran a smoking opening lap and let the rest of us battle away. Congrats to him for a staggering three in a row!

I don't believe a spec change is needed. If you look at the updated championship standings, there is definitely an FR in first and second, but the MR's are in 3rd and 4th. I do agree that under normal circumstances the FR's may have an inherent advantage, but I also believe that it's possible there is more potential in the MR cars than what we have seen. Second and Third at Suzuka is a pretty strong showing if you ask me... Besides, you and Perro are really starting to get some ridiculous ballast totals...

Anyway as always I really enjoy racing with you guys! I hope everyone enjoyed the first half of the season, and I'm looking forward to how this all shakes out in 2013!
 
BTW, I'm struggling! Not sure what my issue is. I wish I had some excuse about my sticky brakes or bad wheel mounting, but I got all that fixed lol. You guys are too fast perhaps. :) Maybe I can regroup over the new year and finish on a high note. I suppose we're only halfway through, and while Spa isn't my favorite I do like all the rest. The last spot on the podium is still only a few points away after all :)
 
The voice of reason nasty! The updated standings with dropped scores do make it a lot tighter than it looked before.

With regards your struggling; You ever thought that having a smoke before the race might not be the best idea? :sly: It's hardly known for increasing alertness or reaction times. You can't go wrong with a big cup of coffee 👍 Got me thinking, maybe i have grounds for blaming the chicane incident on Jones on account of the fact he was DUI?

Ok. I'll knock out a few photos of the Monaco race today. Although some people's cars were absolutely battered so they might not make for very pretty pics.


Bit of interesting top speed info with LeMans coming up, and some of it's possibly not what you'd expect.

These are the speeds at which the rev limiter cuts in;

NSX-R - 179
RX-7 - 179
M3 - 177
Z - 172
Evora - 170

Ok, so maybe the Evora is what you would expect. Surprised the NSX-R is up there! With a bit of drafting everyone will be able to achieve these.

I might also have a few questions about what is and isn't an ok part of the track to drive on at LeMans.
 
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ROB 256R
I might also have a few questions about what is and isn't an ok part of the track to drive on at LeMans.
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I think this video is definitely perfect because we used exactly the same track boundaries rule at JGTS 2.

 
Isn't he 4 off at the Chicanes? Is that how they run it at Le Mans? I'm sure you guys discussed it in JGTC?
 
Who cares about Tarmac? I always thought the rule is two tires on or inside the track boundaries (white lines).
 
Yes it is.

We created this text exactly, maybe sounds better to you:

Track boundaries for all races in JGTS 2 are universally defined as follows:
two tires must remain in contact with the tarmac racing surface at all times and within white-line course boundaries. The preceding defines the "track." Curbing/rumble strips, hard surfaces beyond white lines such as concrete, "greencrete", or turf and other run off is not considered to be track. White lines are track and even if you only have two tires on their very edges on the white line (to be reviewed and confirmed by as steward) it will be considered clean.

This rule is, of course, also pertinent to both regular season qualifying and the group qualifying to be held especially for the pre-season event. And this also applies to marked pit lane entry and exit lines. Do not cross them.
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iamsupernasty
Who cares about Tarmac? I always thought the rule is two tires on or inside the track boundaries (white lines).
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It's your race series. You tell us.

I personally think the car in video is climbing over the curbs too much at the chicanes. And to me it looks like he is not staying withing the white line. I think if penalties were on he would probably have got some. Would have been better to do the video using the chasing camera so we could see exactly where the wheels are.
 
Looks to me like he has four tires outside of the lines through both chicane and again on exit of the second chicane. Maybe it's the camera angle?
 
Looks like I made a mistake when calculating the points totals. It's fixed now. Nothing major, but Wander deserved an extra 4pts (Pole at Monaco was wrong awarded, Qualy win at Suzuka was accidentally deleted), and I needed to take 2pts away from Perro (Wanders pole was wrongly awarded). I guess that ruins my theory about MRs being in 3rd and 4th....
 
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iamsupernasty
Looks like I made a mistake when calculating the points totals. It's fixed now. Nothing major, but Wander deserved an extra 4pts (Pole at Monaco was wrong awarded, Qualy win at Suzuka was accidentally deleted), and I needed to take 2pts away from Perro (Wanders pole was wrongly awarded). I guess that ruins my theory about MRs being in 3rd and 4th....
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Wow, i love how i came 6th, 6th, 7th(dropped score) & 4th but im in 8th. Very interesting indeed. I'd just like to re-iterate, I'm still against dropping scores.
 
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