Well, Sprint race was AWESOME, I was really feeling it, feature race, not so good.

I got too much damage in traffic, pitted to repair, got a stop-go, drove in for stop-go, didn't stop long enough, so I had to pit again, total nightmare.

It was a fun race but a little irritating in the second race where I was hit at the hairpin on lap 1. I also made a faux pa (sp), trying to get back into the race I collected Jack, so sorry for ruining his race.

Best overall result so far. The sprint was ok at the end 6th, worst so far. Didn't have so much practice as i did for the bl1r race it showed as red back tires. Tried to do some fixes for the feature. They didn't work so well but the car was drivable. Best feature so far, no spins and no major mistakes from my part. Good after taste this time. Just would be nice to be higher . Once again great drive from davews and troy. Can't figure out how you navigate through all the traffic so fast and without incidents.

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!!

Quote from Mp3 Astra :

It was a fun race but a little irritating in the second race where I was hit at the hairpin on lap 1. I also made a faux pa (sp), trying to get back into the race I collected Jack, so sorry for ruining his race.

no problem , it happens

First race -

A COMPLETE DISSASTER

Second race -

after being collected by Mike i managed to claw my way back up to 9th and there on made my way back down the field after hitting the wall before the hairpin 2 times in 2 laps bending the front wheel into a nice right hand position , so the car wouldent go left , witch messes me up in t1,2,5,6,8,10,11 , and sorry for the shunt coming into the hairpin ( ive forgotten your name Sorry ) you braked and i just locked up and took you with me , all in all it was a decent ish race finishing 10th , was having a great battle with Dan too but something happend , i think a crash ,
See you at the next race

WOOT Motorsport

Jack

Fairly good sprint race. Got overtaken at the start by Mr McEvoy and spent the next 8 laps trying to get the position back. Jouman was on my backside for a good portion of that so there was a fair bit of pressure. With a couple of laps to go i was right on the 3id car and felt i had a chance of getting him.
I got a great run out the the 2nd to last corner on the last lap, was forced to the outside, but managed to pull off an overtake around the outside of the last bend and grab 4th at the death. Happy with that.

Changed some setting for the feature race. Bad plan Pushed to much early on(not that it got me anywhere :P) and my rears never recovered. I couldn't hold off Troy, it was just slowing us both down so i gave it up after a couple of laps and let him pass, hoping to still grab a podium. Did the best i could on those tires and made it up to 4th.

Not the most enjoyable race ever as i was fighting the car all the time. Happy to score some half decent points and move on to the next round.

Grats to the podium guys.

Well.. Really enjoyed the first race. was close cant really remember who i battled with.

But still found it very messy, even the 2nd race was a mess. Found myself being shunted off more than twice.. even though i found myself going into the back of one car in the hairpin * Sorry Matti *. Other than just having to back down from possition the 1st few laps.

Really starting to lose faith in this league tbh. It's Close .. but sometimes way too close. Being in that RAC i find that most FZ5's dont see the brake lights or something?
And again really tired of getting points for that rev' champ for the 2nd grid, just finding myself at the back in most races now.

I'm gonna stick with it.. but dont know how long till...

Overall there were some great battles in the 1st race.. and even the 2nd

I am suprised it took this long for this issue to raise it's head, I would have thought it would have come to light before now.....

I am talking about the rev champ grid.

Now, you can take 2 views on this.

1) It's doing EXACTLY what it is meant to do, and thats mix the feature race up, you only have to look at the top finishers from each feature race to see it's working, obviously apart from the inclusion of a certain Mr Williams and Mr Leu, who seem to be at the front no matter what happens!!!

2) Driving in traffic is a pain in the arse, and it makes the feature race a chore, and those at the top of the champ standings do their utmost to "force" their way to the front of the feature race in the first couple of laps.

I am straddling between the two, I like the way we get wildcards in the top finishers in the feature race, a certain GFresh springs to mind with an amazing 3rd place finish in round 3.

However, I do find racing in the traffic tough, and seem to get damaged and frustrated in the feature race, but it is satisfying racing in the pack.

I think the differences between the RAC and FZ5 exacerbate things, (I am starting to think that the RAC and FZ5 are less balanced than they ever have been), and last night, the tight track exacerbated it even further.

All I can say is if you aren't enjoying it, and getting too frustrated by it, then don't race, if racing becomes a chore, and unenjoyable, then there is no point.

I think that I have failed, again, to try and make the racing close and exciting, whilst still clean, for the whole grid, which was what the rev champ grid, and similarly the ballast from last season, attempted to do, and any further seasons will drop any attempt to do this, because it just makes things overly complex whilst not achieving the overall goal.

So all I can say is to everyone, in the feature race, try and keep a cool head, try and be respectfull in traffic, and try to enjoy it, I know in the heat of the race things get messy, it happens to us all.

Gah, an utter nightmare for me.

Managed a PB in qualifying and things were looking up, and had a great battle in race 1 with a few of the other FZ5 guys.

Race 2 was a whole different kettle of fish.
It started well enough, but while defending againt Troy coming onto the start/finish straight he caught the wall on the inside sending him across into me, and sending me down the pitlane. I really was expecting to hit the barrier that seperates the pits from the track side-on and go into orbit, but managed to aviod it and go pinging into the pits bouncing of the walls at each side and trying to brake to avoid a penalty, just managed to scrub enough speed before the line.

After that I was dead last, but gaining on the guy ahead. After a few laps I made a pass on I Abbas into the tight hairpin after being able to get alongside when he lost the rear a little in the fast left handers.

Then the curse of SO got me...understeered into the wall which bent the suspension, thuis causing even more understeer and even more bending. I pitted to repair damage, came out and started being lapped by the leaders.

I was just getting in the way really, and had no chance of improving my position so I parked in the pits and went downstairs for a cigarette. I rejoined for the last couple of laps and finished 8 laps down.

The reversed championship grid is one of the things i find most appealing about this league. You actually get to see a lot of overtaking.

If people are getting too pushy then dish out penalties. They will soon stop.

I got stuck behind the two Shark cars for far longer than i thought i would and was getting a bit frustrated. Had a few nibbles but it took a couple of laps before i could make a clean pass. Thats racing for you Patience is required.

I cant see a problem with it personally, but I've only been here for two rounds and havent really witnessed anything that bad, though im aware that some silly accidents have happened.

Overall the reverse grid is a great idea and keeps the races exciting. People just have to show a little restraint sometimes.

Quote from The Moose :

If people are getting too pushy then dish out penalties. They will soon stop.

Any reports are looked at in detail, and if deemed neccesary, penalties are given.

Quote from danowat :

Any reports are looked at in detail, and if deemed neccesary, penalties are given.

Aye. I wasn't trying to tell you how to run your league I didn't quite mean that the way it probably sounded.

Nah, no worries mate, all I was saying is, unless people report it, or I am witness to it during the race, I won't go looking for things, I don't like viewing the races with my executioners hat on, and would prefer that if people think something is out of order, they take a stand and speak up.

FTR, I always enojy the racing, even when I am having a complete mare, even when it's tough and frustrating, I enjoy it, because it's exciting, getting to the end of a race and thinking, damn that was tough, dripping in sweat and wondering where the last 45mins went!!.

I think the old statement, you can't please all the people all the time, rings true.

Quote from danowat :

I think that I have failed, again, to try and make the racing close and exciting, whilst still clean, for the whole grid, which was what the rev champ grid, and similarly the ballast from last season, attempted to do, and any further seasons will drop any attempt to do this, because it just makes things overly complex whilst not achieving the overall goal.

Steady on Dan, I wouldn't call it a failure. There are varying degrees of success but this is not a failure. Face it, there is no ideal solution for what you are seeking (close racing). At least this method encourages people out of the top 5 to still turn up.

I think what I meant to say was, that I have failed to achieve the seemingly unachieveable

^ What he said.

It is still great fun and the reversed championship standings grid makes for some interesting fights.

It is the nature of the 2 cars that the braking points/lines are different in some places, and this can take you by surprise sometimes. I find it is always better to overcompensate for this rather than not leave enough room and have an accident (this is possibly why I am slow as hell, and never pass people).

The only race I haven't enjoyed so far was last night, and that was purely down to me not getting to grips with the combo. Maybe the lower turnout had something to do with this...if there were more guys running at about my pace then it might have been a little better for me. Still, no fault of anyone elses, especially the organisers.

No dont get me wrong Dan, its just that even tho ive scored points i keep on getting them so no matter what i find myself near the back on the grids.
The only thing thats annoying me is the constant shunts off the track.
okey contact happens.. yes..

Like i said im gonna stick with it .. and i dont find it a chore.. but when it comes to making up 2 places , then being hit off losing 4 .. then it will be

Quote from danowat :

I think that I have failed, again, to try and make the racing close and exciting, whilst still clean, for the whole grid, which was what the rev champ grid, and similarly the ballast from last season, attempted to do, and any further seasons will drop any attempt to do this, because it just makes things overly complex whilst not achieving the overall goal.

Gotta disagree I really enjoy the feature race. The reverse grid makes the races really eventful and i certainly hope to see it also in the future. Have always liked the tight fights when starting from the back. I think i figured out the right tactic for the RAC for the reversed grid this last race. I've been a bit too aggressive in the two earlier ones as i was trying to use every opportunity to pass. This seems to end up badly when up against the FZ5 as it is quite a bit heavier resulting the RAC spinning from the lightest tap. This just means that not to jump in head first for every opening like you would with same class cars. This last race i thought in the beginning to take it easier and it seemed to work .

I love the feature race! Not just because I consistently start at the front but because it also gives me something to do and gives me a chance to hold up all the championship contenders and really make them angry.

I agree, I love the action of the reverse grid. It will cause more paintswapping, that is almost inevitable, especially on such a tight track.
I think you just got unlucky, Adam, and come on, we've had some nice fights throughout the season, no?
I do apologise, I was one of the more then 2 that tapped you in the chicane, I really had no intention of outbraking you, there just was more traffic then I had expected... I waited for you to pass me again, in doing that Jward got passed, but we did get him back no? Sorry again :/


As for the FZ5 'disadvantage', I think it is overrated, Dave and his gang drove the FZ last season and he was as quick as the fast RAC drivers. The utterly fast just chose the RAC this season, so the RACs are in front.
(still feels good to be the first FZ driver though )

Quote from lococost :

I think you just got unlucky, Adam, and come on, we've had some nice fights throughout the season, no?
I do apologise, I was one of the more then 2 that tapped you in the chicane, I really had no intention of outbraking you, there just was more traffic then I had expected... I waited for you to pass me again, in doing that Jward got passed, but we did get him back no? Sorry again :/

No I really did have a great time battling you. It was really close, just one tap too many all around Thanks for the apology.

It's just someone else..

Quote from adamlfs :

It's just someone else..

Please adam, if you feel that way report, if you don't want to report, just pm me.

My race report is on the team site, http://www.triple7racing.net/content/view/153/1/

Congrats to all! See you at the next round

Where can I find the stats?

nice report but why is my car always in a crash pic , last race my car was in the pic when Gavin was taken out now look in the background on the 3rd pic theres my pink fz stuck to mikes rac

Anybody got the replay's for this round? I didn't save them this time around and would be nice to check the action once more . Thanks in advance.