Quote from Bean0 :

Just a thought from me.

How about requiring CTRA Bronze license to race in the series ?
It really isn't hard to obtain, and should prove tht people have experience of racing in a field of cars.

Interesting idea. The LFSBC put itself out there to be the league that drivers go to first, before places like CTRA, though. What do you need to get a bronze license

Sorry for double post.

Quote from Technique :

Good points Tom. I was probably out of line with that statement. I watched a few replays from some of the bigger racing leagues and there appeared to be a couple of mouse users that seemed to do fine.

The green flag overtaking probably has more to do with the poor restarts than "slower" drivers.

Nah I don't think it was out of line. I hadn't thought about the green flag idea too hard but of course it does allow overtaking of slow cars much earlier, so I'm all for it now. If only I could race on Sunday evenings!!

Keyboard and Mouse driving should be allowed i think. It's not an enforceable rule and it discriminates against the exact audience we're out to attract - beginners. Plus, look at round 1 at blackwood, final lap, Jack and Marlboro had an awesome dual, right on the limit, and Jack uses a keyboard.

Green Flag message = overtaking allowed is perfectly reasonable but it must be made absolutely crystal clear as it's not the normal procedure in high profile racing (F1, Indycar etc). You could put in on the screen with the green flag message eg; Green Flag - Full race conditions now - Overtaking allowed NOW - GO GO GO!!!!.

Pace car at a consistent pace ala Technique is a good idea, both in that it reduces the "accordian effect" of spreading out on straights and bunching up at corners, and also, if the safety car was doing 49mph on the pit limiter all the way round, less laps would be needed, as a lap would take ages.

I'm dead serious about the password hidden in the rule book. Just put a short sentence half way through the red flag procedure for instance, in bold. Anyone who asks what the password is will clearly not have read the rules before trying to join [DR] Server 1. Don't use the word "password" either as people could open the rulebook and search for "password". If they're that bothered about racing with us they'll find it.

Last edited by TomMK, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 12:40.

It seems like a few of the better drivers here have found the cup frustrating in terms of the attitude of a few poorer competitors. Some have even left. So for series 2, maybe there should there be some sort of qualification process, where you have to demonstrate both a good knowledge of the rules and decent racecraft. How fast you are wouldn't matter of course.

Some ideas:

• Have a qualification event where the race director throws difficult scenarios at the drivers that test their knowledge of the rules and racecraft. For example, tricky combo of track and car, safety car at random intervals, a reverse grid etc.
  
• Hide the password to [DR] Server 1 in the rulebook, at the bottom.
  
• A written test where you PM the answers to the admins

Sounds pretty draconian so I don't know how it would go down with new entrants but we can't have guys like kipsus, tg44, eveningstar all leaving because theyre fed up with "whats the safety car" nonsense.

+3

Stop as far down the pit lane as possible is the norm in other leagues i believe.

Quote from BenjiMC :

If your league is only a sprint series then there no point in SC periods really, only for a race start if anything. I would only use SC periods for races lasting at least 30 mins or more.

I would tend to agree (but having been only a spectator this series can't really comment with any authority). However, deko, our race director, likes using SC's, so giving back the laps seems logical and fair.

As for extra fuel consumption, just stick an extra 15% in the tank, or, if you're man enough, take the gamble .

What if there are several safety car periods?

Simplest way is to give back all SC laps. Everyone knows where they stand then.

For short races like these that makes a great deal of sense. Good suggestion I think. Is it easy to do mid-race?

Treat 'em mean deko!

If you go back over the list of offenses that have been given penalties you get this list

Avoidable incident
Deliberate aggression
Chat (minor/major)
Shortcutting course to gain position
Name not on numberplate
Not giving place back that was gained illegally
Leaving early
Ignoring red flag
Overtaking during yellow flag
Not keeping up during SC
Overtaking during SC
Poor driving during SC
Too close during SC

So you lot have pretty much broken every rule in the book. Well it's what they're there for...

Of those above, only "avoidable incident" is ambiguous. The rest should have clearly defined penalties as you have done for SC periods.

Last edited by TomMK, Tue 4 Mar 2008, 16:29.

I'd like a single, stickied, post-race thread, with the replay attached or linked in the first post. I watch them at work and it can be hard finding some replays, and the ones on megaupload are blocked for me, so attached would be nice.

Good job guys

While I can't speak for Jack, it's got to be a yes. Only the top drivers should be forced to move on.

Quote from J@tko :

Strangely enough, I was thinking of something like this the other day. However, it's far and away beyond my oranising capabilities and relies on long-term commitment from drivers, which is not possible.

Jack is right, a multi-class cup would require a great deal of organisation and, i think, goes against what he started out to achieve in the first place. This is where you cut your teeth at racing. Once you've had a go, you move on. Being the top driver at the beginner cup series after series is not what we should be aspiring to!!

Something we could do - and this is a bit out-of-the-box - is form some kind of partnership with a major race series that us beginners "graduate" to after achieving some success here at the LFSBC. That way were not hanging round preventing true beginners from a chance at winning, nor are we cast out after a single season on our own. We get to know people at the LFSBC and it would be nice to carry on racing with them in future. It also takes away the organisational burden as the series we would join is already up and running. In return, they would get a nice constant stream of eager, decent drivers entering their series.

win-win?

Good choice of cars available - front wheel drive, 4 wheel drive and rear wheel drive all together.

Quote from kipsus :

kipsus - kipsus - R4,R5 and maybe R6,R8

50 entries - congrats

Quote from TAYLOR-MANIA :

I just don't understand why some cars are accepted to be pitted and why others are not & worthy of a SC or even a race stoppage.

The rulebook states that the Safety Car may be deployed after "an incident", which is ambiguous. So I think it would be good to come up with a nice clear definition of what constitutes an incident worthy of a safety car. Off the top of my head I'd say it should be something like "A car that has come to rest on or near the racing line that is unable to move". So a car bins it in a dangerous position, informs RC, RC decides its an incident, deploys SC, allows a telepit, removes SC. If deko decides the SC is not needed, he allows the telepit to happen and keeps the race going.

Last edited by TomMK, Mon 18 Feb 2008, 14:24.

I think there's 2 things to say here, one is that deko and Jack are new to this, learning as they go and making some inevitible mistakes as they go. As long as they're learning from them, there's nothing wrong with that, and so we shouldn't criticise. Theyre doing it for nothing, for our benefit.

Secondly, to respond to your comment, yes, deko does seem a bit safety-car-happy, as it were. I didn't think it was necessary in this round. Maybe something to look at.

Quote from dougie-lampkin :

Are graphics cards tied to any particular motherboard, or are they universal? If it would fit my PC, I would love it! I have a Dell Dimension 5100 if that helps...

There are 2 different types of slot that you plug a graphics card into, one is called AGP and the other is called PCI-Express (or PCI-E for short).

The card I have spare is an AGP type. From looking round on the net I believe the Dimension 5100 requires a PCI-E card , so its no good.

Sorry (applies to J@tko too, consider my wrist slapped)

Last edited by TomMK, Fri 15 Feb 2008, 15:49. Reason : Told off by J@tko :)

Quote from dougie-lampkin :

The graphics card, I have none

I hope to get one soon, but I had to get a laptop recently which took a chunk out of my fund...

I have an ATi 9600 which you are welcome to, would you like it?

dougie - whats the weakest part of your pc - I'm thinking about taking mine apart and selling the bits on ebay to finance a new guitar, I'd happily sell them to a fellow LFSBCer at a (only slightly ) reduced price

ha ha yeh i agree. We've got some good guys organising this though so expect things to become easier to as they get time to spend on tidying up etc. The rulebook, for instance, is a great way to clear up the various threads discussing the rules / scenarios.

Quote from petercollins :

what number am i?

You're 39. See the "Applications to join thread" for everyone's numbers.

Can someone send this to me as I don't have access to rapidshare at work

Sorry for digging up and older thread, but I've just downloaded and watched the round 1 replay at work (hadn't seen it yet) and WOW! What a great race. J@tko and Marlbro - just wow! The last lap had Villeneuve/Arnoux written all over it, I was on the edge of my seat! Absolutely epic. MistaTea was very consistent. A good win for him. Dekojester needs to keep a bit quieter ( =haven't seen Race 2 yet so he may be there). Just a massive to those involved, wish i'd have been there.

The championship is progressing nicely now, with the publishing of an official rulebook yesterday.

Just a reminder to all beginners to get themselves registered on the Beginner Cup for a great introduction to competition racing .

and from me regarding various bits and bobs