ORCA DTM-SPEC GERMAN GRAND PRIX! Events complete

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I seem to have been able to log in all of my accounts by around 4AM EST today. I will probably be there in a bit. Cut me some slack, though, folks; I've been going solid for about 32 hours now.
 
Marcus Garvey
I will probably be there in a bit. Cut me some slack, though, folks; I've been going solid for about 32 hours now.
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Nope, not cutting you any slack, sorry. :sly:

I'm in the lounge, feel free to join. Just gonna try out some different cars, nothing specific planned.
 
I don't have any of those particular cars at the moment, but I'm on my way to cruise around nonetheless.
 
Had some fun testing the vintage Japanese cars yesterday, these cars have a lot of character and are really fun to race door-to-door. I had the restrictions set at 325pp, FR, CS but I think 320 or 315 would balance things even better. With the new PP classifications things are a little skewed so we were testing cars ranging from 313-325pp but all were turning very similar lap times at SSR5 Clubman and GVE. But there were a couple cars that stood out which is why I think 320pp would help even things out a bit more. Either way, we found six cars that all turned lap times within a couple tenths of each other and fared very well together under race conditions.

Toyota 2000GT '67
Nissan Fairlady 2000 '68
Toyota Celica XX 2800GT '81
Nissan Skyline HT 2000GT-R '70
Nissan Fairlady 280Z-L '78
Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R '73

I was low-to-mid 1:11's at Clubman and low-to-mid 1:24's (I think) at GVE. I think these cars would do better at smaller tracks, although they all seemed to have plenty of gear for straightaways. There were a couple cars we tested that were way slower, but I presume they would be quickly abandoned should anyone try one. Only one car we tested was faster, the '71 240Z, but I think it might be brought closer to the others at the lower PP restriction. If it's still slightly faster, perhaps we could let the guys at the back of the pack drive it to make their day a little more enjoyable.

Feel free to test these cars and others on your own and let me know if you see similar results. There were only three of us during the races yesterday but we still had great fun with them. The driving experience for each of them is very unique but they are easy/fun to drive hard, very competitive with each other and make for a really nice looking field of racers. :drool: At this point I think these would be the perfect group of cars to try out my new triple-header format with so start dusting off your classics and getting them out of your garage and ready for some racing. 👍
 
RDAardvark
I can send you one of the cars Marcus...
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I'll have them all in a couple of days between sending them from another account and cycling the used car dealer. I appreciate the offer, and if anyone else is in need I will be glad to help once I've got the lineup sorted.
 
Yesterday I took most of my vintage Japanese cars to the shop and after oil changes and engine rebuilds it looks like 320pp is going to be the sweet spot for these cars. It appears that this class of cars has been mostly overlooked by the recent PP changes so we shouldn't have to do any drastic changes.

I'm going to do things like we did with the Touring Cars, but with some modifications to the race procedure. I'll schedule two main races in about a months time and in the weeks leading up to these main events we will hold practice race sessions on Tuesdays and Saturdays (and perhaps other days) to get prepared for the big race(s). This will give everyone a chance to try different cars and decide which suits their driving style best. One change that we'll see is that the practice races will likely take place at a variety of circuits, perhaps even multiple circuits in one night. I got a bit tired of lapping around Nurb GP/F for a month straight, and I'm sure others did too, so this will avoid that.

The big change is going to be to the format on race day(s), and I hope this will lead to a more balanced field and better racing for everyone. We will do three races, a short, medium and longer race. The first race will be a quick one, 5-8 minutes. The second one will be a bit longer, 12-15 minutes, and the final race will be the "feature" and last about 20-30 minutes. But rather than score them as individual races they will all be combined to count as one big race that's broken into three segments and the overall winner will be the driver with the best average finishing position over the three races. After the first race the top two or three finishers will receive a "success penalty" and will have to reduce their engines ~5PP (pending testing). After the second race another round of "success penalty" will be issued to the top two or three finishers (if one of the top finishers from the first race finishes in the top spots again they will incur another PP reduction). So by the time we start the third and longer race the field will be a little better balanced among the drivers in the room (at least that's the theory). Since the finishing position of each race counts towards the overall win it should give people plenty of motivation to do their best in each race and not sandbag to avoid the PP reduction.

Some benefits to this format:
- If you have an early incident your day/evening is not ruined.
- Avoids hot-lapping by yourself on the track since we will bunch the field up twice.
- Allows people to race as their schedule allows (can just race in first two if necessary).
- Gives a feeling of points racing but all wrapped up into one event.
- Gives incentive to continue to push because gaining one more spot in the first race could make all the difference after all three races are tallied.

We could also do a reverse grid for the second and third races but I fear that a reverse grid and a PP reduction may be too much of a penalty, although I think having both would really be the best way to have closer pack racing. Maybe we just do reverse grid for the final, longer race? I'm quite excited to try this new format, and to race these vintage Japanese cars. 👍
 
Naptown25rs
^^^

If only I were properly equipped...
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(Insert obligatory "that's what she said" joke here)

I signed up. It's almost too late in the evening for me but if we're done around 10pm that should be fine.
 
BrandonW77
(Insert obligatory "that's what she said" joke here)

I signed up. It's almost too late in the evening for me but if we're done around 10pm that should be fine.
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Definitely wont be much past 10 if at all. Takes 9-10 mins per lap. we will go green at 9pm sharp or lil before if all are in the room. :)
 
This sounds good Brandon. These cars and the format idea are just what would get me interested in ORCA again.
 
TB7! Good to see you!

I will likely be in the lounge this evening and shakedown a few of these. Perhaps put a lap or two in for Owens' event as well. Likely around 8 if anyone would like to join.
 
TrackBound7
This sounds good Brandon. These cars and the format idea are just what would get me interested in ORCA again.
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I hope so, would be good to have you back! I think this idea has the potential for a lot of fun. It may not be super-serious or super-realistic but it should be super-entertaining for anyone who participates, and that's my goal.

Trying to be serious or ultra-realistic is fine and good but in most cases (at least in our group) it just leads to a spread out field where most people spend most of the event driving around by themselves and the same couple of guys win all the time. I hope that changing things up will prevent those things from happening and allow everyone from the front row to the back row to have an enjoyable time (maybe not battling for the win, but at least battling with somebody!). I don't think my "new format" is anything that hasn't been done already, it just hasn't been done in this group.


Marcus Garvey
TB7! Good to see you!

I will likely be in the lounge this evening and shakedown a few of these. Perhaps put a lap or two in for Owens' event as well. Likely around 8 if anyone would like to join.
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I'll be on around 7-8pm, and I'll need your help to determine the PP "penalty". I'm a fairly consistent mid-packer and you're a fairly consistent front-rower so we'll set some lap times and then start shaving PP off of your car until we find a nice balance. 👍
 
Sounds great. I've acquired the 280, the '73 Skyline, the Toyota 2000, and I'll have at least another one of the lineup after the switchover this evening.
 
Im super fired up for the Japanese cars, I only have one question. Why are the side view mirrors so far up? My idea is that since objects in mirror are closer than they appear, you move the mirror farther away and now objects in mirror are where they should be. Also the 'Mericans should have put 5-speeds in muscle cars because its a lot cooler to roll in a Cuda than a Fairlady. But really these cars are soooo fun to drive and will make for great races.
 
Torzilla
Im super fired up for the Japanese cars, I only have one question. Why are the side view mirrors so far up? My idea is that since objects in mirror are closer than they appear, you move the mirror farther away and now objects in mirror are where they should be. Also the 'Mericans should have put 5-speeds in muscle cars because its a lot cooler to roll in a Cuda than a Fairlady. But really these cars are soooo fun to drive and will make for great races.
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:lol: I haven't seen you this fired up since we talked about jump tracks with flaming hoops! But I don't think moving the mirrors would make the objects appear at their normal size, I think it would have the opposite effect actually. But I do wish we could see those mirrors from cockpit view......I really do!

It is interesting to see the difference in gear boxes between these cars and 'Merican cars from the same era. A '69 Camaro runs out of gear at about 40mph and could never race in stock form on a track that has any kind of a straightaway. But the Japanese cars have plenty of gear, on tracks like Clubman SSR5 and GVE, which both have decently long straights, I'm not even close to the rev limiter. This is a good thing as it make more tracks accessible. 👍

After some quick testing with Marcus last night I think we have the PP penalty figured out. After the first race the top two finishers (perhaps top 3, depending on size of the crowd) will reduce their cars by 4pp which should take approx. a half second off their lap times. After the second race the top two will reduce their cars by 3pp. This way if one of the mid-pack guys makes his way to the front for the second race he won't be penalized as much since he normally isn't as fast as the usual top runners. Also, if a driver finishes in the top two for the first and second race his second penalty is less severe and will only end up 7pp down to the rest of the field.


Let's plan a test race to see if this concept works anywhere close to how I picture it. I think a week from this Saturday would be good (Feb. 2), give everyone a bit of time to get their cars prepped. Normal time of 3pm EST. 👍 We can do some testing this weekend if anybody will be around. I'm sure some of us will be watching the Rolex 24.
 
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I'll have trouble making the 3pm time slot on Saturdays. GT300 series is green at 4pm. :(

If Tuesday nights are still a go. I'm in like Flynn.
 
So if I read things correctly, 320 PP and CS tires are going to be the starting point for all cars?
 
FWIW I've got all these cars and willing to gift anyone that so desires one they don't have.

I'm going to send some cars, paints, and stuff over to ORCA so you can distribute Chrome paints, train horns, and such to racers that need stuff. As well I'll send over some 60's tickets.

I need a 68/69 ticket too.
 
Naptown25rs
So if I read things correctly, 320 PP and CS tires are going to be the starting point for all cars?
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Correct. At 320pp I believe at least 5-6 cars will be eligible and competitive. +/- even a few PP eliminates a couple cars and I'd like to have as many cars eligible as possible. I might open it up to all "vintage" (1985 or older) cars and not restrict it to just Japanese. I think there's only one other car that really fits the bill (Merc 300SL) but it's right on pace with the other cars.

OwensRacing
FWIW I've got all these cars and willing to gift anyone that so desires one they don't have.

I'm going to send some cars, paints, and stuff over to ORCA so you can distribute Chrome paints, train horns, and such to racers that need stuff. As well I'll send over some 60's tickets.

I need a 68/69 ticket too.
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I need a level 12 ticket if you have one.
 
BrandonW77
Correct. At 320pp I believe at least 5-6 cars will be eligible and competitive. +/- even a few PP eliminates a couple cars and I'd like to have as many cars eligible as possible. I might open it up to all "vintage" (1985 or older) cars and not restrict it to just Japanese. I think there's only one other car that really fits the bill (Merc 300SL) but it's right on pace with the other cars.



I need a level 12 ticket if you have one.
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I may have one... I'll check.
 
I can send you a level 12 ticket this evening, Brandon.

Owens, I'm failing you this time as the only 'Year' tickets I have are '65-'67. I can send some items over to the lounge as well for prizes.

The only car I don't seem to have available in stock form is the Fairlady Roadster. The Celica I will obtain as a prize for one of the A-spec challenges, but if anyone has a spare unmodified Fairlady I would be appreciative if someone could copy me one.
 
Double post due to lovely connectivity.

Might as well use it for something, so here's a random picture.

0605_friday.jpg
 
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BrandonW77
Are you gonna join us for some Vintage Japanese action?
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When was this a question? Low HP cars = I'm in. What time is it anyway? I have "most" of the cars.

I just checked and I don't have a level 12 ticket (11 and 13 though :boggled: )
 
Did you try CM tires? When I tried those cars ages ago, it seemed like a better fit for those.
 
carracerptp
When was this a question? Low HP cars = I'm in. What time is it anyway? I have "most" of the cars.
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Haven't seen you around much lately so just figured I'd check. Didn't know if you had fully switched to ayeRacing yet. :sly:

Times will be the same as the Touring Cars were, 8pm EST on Tuesday and 3pm EST on Saturday.

dsgerbc
Did you try CM tires? When I tried those cars ages ago, it seemed like a better fit for those.
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I'll give them a try. I'm sure they're fun on CM tires but I usually go for what will produce the best racing, not necessarily the funnest racing. It's pretty easy to drive them hard on CS tires, but they'll still bite you if you're too rude with them.
 
Marcus Garvey
No relevance. I just figured it would be more aesthetically pleasing than a blank post.
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Lets be honest. That is Me driving and Marcus side karting. He wasn't sure if I'd be offended so he refrained from mentioning it. ;)

I must say we was quite the team.
 
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