Welcome back to Round 4 of the RD Historic Grand Prix, Season 5
It seems to be turning into something of a cliché, but can anyone else believe we’re at the halfway point of the season already? After some excellent racing and a pretty much unanimous thumbs up for Mo I Rana (these things tend to go hand in hand in my experience), we start packing all the Alfas, Abarths, Cortinas etc. into some hefty crates, as we start the first intercontinental trip of our season.
I – for the third consecutive race - received no Driving Incident Reports. I suspect some of the other League Admins will be looking through narrowed eyes at our safety and conduct records, and hating me for it, as compared to some of them, I have so very little do between races because there are never any disciplinary measures I need to take. Their hatred both gladdens my black heart and reflects very well upon you, the gentlemen of the RDHGP.
The next 2 races are deliberately positioned at the (black?) heart of the season as they are (probably) the most familiar tracks this season for RD GTL Club regulars. We have had some spectacular and invariably exciting racing on both of these circuits, in mixed or single car event, on various different layouts, and even across classes, as both tracks scale superbly to accept the most powerful cars.
For Round 4, we leave Scandinavia and Europe, moving west over 3,000 miles and onto a new continent, North America, where we will spend the next 2 rounds. First up, we arrive in another RDHGP Debutant – Canada – and the Circuit Mont Tremblant St. Jovite.
Circuit Notes
Before I go into my normal notes about the circuit, a couple of you gimlet eyed sim veterans might now be sucking a thoughtful tooth and muttering to yourselves “I recognise that flyer design.” It is indeed my tribute to John “BAPOM” Bradley, who has been toiling at the sim race map & programme coalface for 10 years now with his extensive and high quality collection of GPL prog sets. Visit trilon.com/bapom to view the excellence, and possibly grab yourself some posters and/or a nice original desktop from the collection. You could even bung him a few bob if you’re feeling particularly philanthropic.
Circuit Mont Tremblant is in the Canadian province of Quebec, about halfway between the major cities of Ottawa & Montreal. It was built in two sections, the first being the North Loop in 1964, and extended by just over a mile in September 1965 with the South Loop section. The Canadian winter quickly had an adverse effect on the surface, making it very bumpy, so much so that when the Canadian Grand Prix was held there, twice - in 1968 & 1970, of the starting field of 40 cars across the two races, only 16 finished. The circuit operated in its original configuration until 2000 when it was closed for 2 seasons to modernise its safety features in accordance with FIA regulations. You will all be re-assured to know that we are driving the unsafe, pre-regulation configuration.
In common with virtually all of this seasons venues, gradient plays a huge part in the circuit’s character, with the North Loop section a complex and technical contrast to the flowing and high speed South Loop.
A lap of Mont Tremblant starts on a home stretch that is “straight” in name alone. Similar to the previous couple of races, some of the lower qualifiers may find themselves starting on the exit of the preceding bend.
The track gets down to business almost immediately, with T1R arriving almost immediately after the S/F line. It is, in itself, not a tricky corner, being a climbing righthander taken fast, but it is bumpy and any corrections needed here will significantly compromise your approach to the intimidating T2R – Lucas.
This is a blind, crested turn, taken as close to flat out as you dare, under the Lucas bridge. Some cars will need to drop a cog, some will just need a lift, some will be able to go through flat. No matter what your approach, it is all too easy to either:- a) turn in too much and slide off the inside kerbs right across to the outside grass, or b) turn in too late / carry too much speed and just go straight off the outside and onto the grass. This will hamper your lap severely, as T3R looms up just as you are struggling to stop going left, when you need to be going right under full acceleration.
T4R & T5L are The Esses, with T4R actually being able to be taken slightly faster than it appears – but that is a classic deception, as doing that will compromise T5L, and that needs the best possible approach and entry, because it leads onto one of the fastest sections of the track.
Coming out of T5L, the track opens up into a shortish straight with T6L in view, which is a fast curve and can be taken flat out by all of these cars, and then into another short straight section before T7R.
T7R is a fast right hand bend, which will require some braking and probably dropping a gear in most cars, but still taken very fast, and that opens out onto the longest straight section so far before it’s hard on the anchors for T8R.
T8R is a fairly wide hairpin, heavily forested on the inside, so you don’t see the actual exit until you are almost there. This is one of the most important corners to get right, as it opens onto the long, long back straight, where the higher powered cars will come into their own. Halfway down this straight is T9L - The Hump, which shouldn’t unsettle most of the cars unduly, but the kerb on the inside can if liberties are taken. It is so shallow as to almost not be a turn, but we’ve seen people come a cropper there by not giving it enough respect.
Once you’ve finished that first climbing section, you go past the South Loop paddock until you reach T10R, one of my favourite corners. It’s a fast corner, and you need to attack it, but too much inside kerb has been known to put cars on their roofs. A short blast of acceleration leads you back onto the North Loop, and the track’s character changes from a free flowing blast into a set of technical corners that pile up one after another after another.
The first of these is T11L, The Gulch. As with so many other corners here, the kerbs are quite heavily sloped, so too much inside kerb will again throw you off the outside of the track, and as the following short straight is steeply uphill, you do not want to be losing momentum here. Following The Gulch and it’s uphill blast is the superb T12L, Bridge Turn.
Blind on entry because of the bridge supports this is a delicate mix of late braking, hard turn in, measured acceleration and rear end control. Once through, it’s another hard acceleration up through T13R – The Kink – which as it’s name suggests is a shallow curve taken under full throttle.
Through there, and it’s up to the penultimate corner, and possibly the hardest corner to get completely right, T14R, Namerow. It’s a steep uphill braking zone on approach, with the actual turn just beyond an unsettling crest, very tight and falling away slightly, so it’s almost blind until you are on top of it. Brake too late, and you’re in the ever patient sand trap beyond the apex. Brake to early, and the incline might almost stop you before turn in. Accelerate too soon, or too much, and it’s very easy to spin, generally right in the path of people who will have very little chance of avoiding you. It’s also possible to drift wide and into the pits, or worse, the tyres delineating the pitlane entry.
Once safely negotiated, you’ve seen the pit entry, so it’s a full on blast to the S/F line, yes?
No. Mont Tremblant has one last piece of lead to slip into the boxing glove if you aren’t paying attention. T15L, Control Tower Bend, needs to be taken under hard acceleration, but drifting too wide on exit on the gas can send you across onto the grass (possibly spinning you), throwing the rear out on the kerbs (so you impale yourself on the inside wall) or straight off into the outside wall (where you’ll be hoping it ends up just being a spin).
The Race Director has some notes for drivers. Please see the track map above for location of Race Direction note:-
· All Corners Without Exception – The kerbs are not deemed as track, therefore 2 wheels must be within the white lines, on the tarmac, At All Times. Again, there are NO exceptions to this rule at any point on the circuit. Any exception to this rule is deemed illegal, any advantage gained by this method must be ceded immediately. Report people deliberately and excessively cutting.
· T2R – Lucas & T3R. This is a high speed section and also quite bumpy. Be prepared - especially near the start of the race when people are often being forced onto non-optimal lines – of drivers losing control through here. It is very easy to get thrown across the track (from R to L) and onto the grass, so if you are on the outside of these turns, your danger will come from your right.
· T10R. The combination of fast corner, and steeply angled kerbs can become an impromptu launch pad for the driver not paying attention. Be aware of drivers suddenly losing control or even rolling the vehicle through this section.
· T11L – The Gulch. The kerb can throw people across the track, and there’s both grass and a wall over there, so you will need to be aware not only of sudden changes in line from people immediately in front of you, but also of people possibly bouncing back onto the track out of control.
· T12L – Bridge Turn. This is the only corner that concerns me with regard to driver conduct. It is easy for someone to run a little wide through T12L, and allow another driver up the inside, where my concerns begin. The acceleration will naturally drift the inside car out, potentially across and into the wider car, pushing them onto the grass. Doing this cynically or deliberately to impede them is simply not on. Cleanly going up the inside and past is fine, but going up the inside and then forcing the outside driver onto the grass by impact is not. I will take a very dim view of any hip and shoulder passes through T12L. If you go in to T12L on a tight line, keep that tight line until the turn-in point for T13R The Kink, as you should be ahead by then anyway. If you are the victim of deliberate contact through T12L and it costs you your position, please report it.
· T14R – Namerow. As described in the track notes, there are a multitude of ways to make a hash of this corner. If you spin, you must wait until there is a safe gap to rejoin the race, irrespective of how many places this costs you.
· All points on the track – General Items
No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
The Track must be re-entered safely so as not to ruin other peoples races.
Car damage must be assessed realistically to know if it is possible to make the pits or not.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There are no new No-show infractions now being levied on Drivers after Round 3.
There is 1 Conduct infraction currently being carried by a Driver.
Andreas Löffler
This infraction will be carried for this race then rescinded. Any further infraction during the period of the infraction (ie this race) will result in removal of qualifying privileges in the subsequent round. Once the infraction is rescinded the driver reverts to a clean record.
3 drivers who were carrying a No-show infraction from Round 2 now have that infraction rescinded.
Sam J. Simpson
Jakub Dylewski
Jakub Borucki
Any further infraction of this type by these 3 drivers from this point on will result in removal from the League.
1 driver removed from the League after a second No-show infraction.
Michal Mroczek
Please remember, the League staff will only review incidents if they are reported to them.
No report = no review.
Please try and remember the incident reporting guidelines: review, cool off, review again. Only after following the above process, and if you are convinced you still need to report it, should you let the League staff know. Please give as much information as possible during the report (time of incident, drivers involved etc.)
Any accusations or complaints aired in the Chat during or after a race will mean a penalty levied on the person complaining or making the accusations, even if a subsequent official complaint gets found in their favour. I simply will NOT tolerate any post race finger pointing.
Liveries
You have chosen your car and livery already, and you must only drive your chosen car at any time during an RDHGP event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHGP.
Scoring System
I have extended the points distribution method down to P20 (75% distance completion required) so people can fight for some points no matter where they are on the track, and hopefully have a season long battle with people around them in the League.
The Distribution is as follows for 100km events :
P1 - 25 pts
P2 - 22
P3 - 20
P4 - 18
P5 - 16
P6 - 15
P7 - 14
P8 - 13
P9 - 12
P10 - 11
P11 - 10
P12 - 9
P13 - 8
P14 - 7
P15 - 6
P16 - 5
P17 - 4
P18 - 3
P19 - 2
P20 - 1
1 point for fastest race lap
1 point for qualifying on Pole
It seems to be turning into something of a cliché, but can anyone else believe we’re at the halfway point of the season already? After some excellent racing and a pretty much unanimous thumbs up for Mo I Rana (these things tend to go hand in hand in my experience), we start packing all the Alfas, Abarths, Cortinas etc. into some hefty crates, as we start the first intercontinental trip of our season.
I – for the third consecutive race - received no Driving Incident Reports. I suspect some of the other League Admins will be looking through narrowed eyes at our safety and conduct records, and hating me for it, as compared to some of them, I have so very little do between races because there are never any disciplinary measures I need to take. Their hatred both gladdens my black heart and reflects very well upon you, the gentlemen of the RDHGP.
The next 2 races are deliberately positioned at the (black?) heart of the season as they are (probably) the most familiar tracks this season for RD GTL Club regulars. We have had some spectacular and invariably exciting racing on both of these circuits, in mixed or single car event, on various different layouts, and even across classes, as both tracks scale superbly to accept the most powerful cars.
For Round 4, we leave Scandinavia and Europe, moving west over 3,000 miles and onto a new continent, North America, where we will spend the next 2 rounds. First up, we arrive in another RDHGP Debutant – Canada – and the Circuit Mont Tremblant St. Jovite.
Circuit Notes
Before I go into my normal notes about the circuit, a couple of you gimlet eyed sim veterans might now be sucking a thoughtful tooth and muttering to yourselves “I recognise that flyer design.” It is indeed my tribute to John “BAPOM” Bradley, who has been toiling at the sim race map & programme coalface for 10 years now with his extensive and high quality collection of GPL prog sets. Visit trilon.com/bapom to view the excellence, and possibly grab yourself some posters and/or a nice original desktop from the collection. You could even bung him a few bob if you’re feeling particularly philanthropic.
Circuit Mont Tremblant is in the Canadian province of Quebec, about halfway between the major cities of Ottawa & Montreal. It was built in two sections, the first being the North Loop in 1964, and extended by just over a mile in September 1965 with the South Loop section. The Canadian winter quickly had an adverse effect on the surface, making it very bumpy, so much so that when the Canadian Grand Prix was held there, twice - in 1968 & 1970, of the starting field of 40 cars across the two races, only 16 finished. The circuit operated in its original configuration until 2000 when it was closed for 2 seasons to modernise its safety features in accordance with FIA regulations. You will all be re-assured to know that we are driving the unsafe, pre-regulation configuration.
In common with virtually all of this seasons venues, gradient plays a huge part in the circuit’s character, with the North Loop section a complex and technical contrast to the flowing and high speed South Loop.
A lap of Mont Tremblant starts on a home stretch that is “straight” in name alone. Similar to the previous couple of races, some of the lower qualifiers may find themselves starting on the exit of the preceding bend.
The track gets down to business almost immediately, with T1R arriving almost immediately after the S/F line. It is, in itself, not a tricky corner, being a climbing righthander taken fast, but it is bumpy and any corrections needed here will significantly compromise your approach to the intimidating T2R – Lucas.
This is a blind, crested turn, taken as close to flat out as you dare, under the Lucas bridge. Some cars will need to drop a cog, some will just need a lift, some will be able to go through flat. No matter what your approach, it is all too easy to either:- a) turn in too much and slide off the inside kerbs right across to the outside grass, or b) turn in too late / carry too much speed and just go straight off the outside and onto the grass. This will hamper your lap severely, as T3R looms up just as you are struggling to stop going left, when you need to be going right under full acceleration.
T4R & T5L are The Esses, with T4R actually being able to be taken slightly faster than it appears – but that is a classic deception, as doing that will compromise T5L, and that needs the best possible approach and entry, because it leads onto one of the fastest sections of the track.
Coming out of T5L, the track opens up into a shortish straight with T6L in view, which is a fast curve and can be taken flat out by all of these cars, and then into another short straight section before T7R.
T7R is a fast right hand bend, which will require some braking and probably dropping a gear in most cars, but still taken very fast, and that opens out onto the longest straight section so far before it’s hard on the anchors for T8R.
T8R is a fairly wide hairpin, heavily forested on the inside, so you don’t see the actual exit until you are almost there. This is one of the most important corners to get right, as it opens onto the long, long back straight, where the higher powered cars will come into their own. Halfway down this straight is T9L - The Hump, which shouldn’t unsettle most of the cars unduly, but the kerb on the inside can if liberties are taken. It is so shallow as to almost not be a turn, but we’ve seen people come a cropper there by not giving it enough respect.
Once you’ve finished that first climbing section, you go past the South Loop paddock until you reach T10R, one of my favourite corners. It’s a fast corner, and you need to attack it, but too much inside kerb has been known to put cars on their roofs. A short blast of acceleration leads you back onto the North Loop, and the track’s character changes from a free flowing blast into a set of technical corners that pile up one after another after another.
The first of these is T11L, The Gulch. As with so many other corners here, the kerbs are quite heavily sloped, so too much inside kerb will again throw you off the outside of the track, and as the following short straight is steeply uphill, you do not want to be losing momentum here. Following The Gulch and it’s uphill blast is the superb T12L, Bridge Turn.
Blind on entry because of the bridge supports this is a delicate mix of late braking, hard turn in, measured acceleration and rear end control. Once through, it’s another hard acceleration up through T13R – The Kink – which as it’s name suggests is a shallow curve taken under full throttle.
Through there, and it’s up to the penultimate corner, and possibly the hardest corner to get completely right, T14R, Namerow. It’s a steep uphill braking zone on approach, with the actual turn just beyond an unsettling crest, very tight and falling away slightly, so it’s almost blind until you are on top of it. Brake too late, and you’re in the ever patient sand trap beyond the apex. Brake to early, and the incline might almost stop you before turn in. Accelerate too soon, or too much, and it’s very easy to spin, generally right in the path of people who will have very little chance of avoiding you. It’s also possible to drift wide and into the pits, or worse, the tyres delineating the pitlane entry.
Once safely negotiated, you’ve seen the pit entry, so it’s a full on blast to the S/F line, yes?
No. Mont Tremblant has one last piece of lead to slip into the boxing glove if you aren’t paying attention. T15L, Control Tower Bend, needs to be taken under hard acceleration, but drifting too wide on exit on the gas can send you across onto the grass (possibly spinning you), throwing the rear out on the kerbs (so you impale yourself on the inside wall) or straight off into the outside wall (where you’ll be hoping it ends up just being a spin).
The Race Director has some notes for drivers. Please see the track map above for location of Race Direction note:-
· All Corners Without Exception – The kerbs are not deemed as track, therefore 2 wheels must be within the white lines, on the tarmac, At All Times. Again, there are NO exceptions to this rule at any point on the circuit. Any exception to this rule is deemed illegal, any advantage gained by this method must be ceded immediately. Report people deliberately and excessively cutting.
· T2R – Lucas & T3R. This is a high speed section and also quite bumpy. Be prepared - especially near the start of the race when people are often being forced onto non-optimal lines – of drivers losing control through here. It is very easy to get thrown across the track (from R to L) and onto the grass, so if you are on the outside of these turns, your danger will come from your right.
· T10R. The combination of fast corner, and steeply angled kerbs can become an impromptu launch pad for the driver not paying attention. Be aware of drivers suddenly losing control or even rolling the vehicle through this section.
· T11L – The Gulch. The kerb can throw people across the track, and there’s both grass and a wall over there, so you will need to be aware not only of sudden changes in line from people immediately in front of you, but also of people possibly bouncing back onto the track out of control.
· T12L – Bridge Turn. This is the only corner that concerns me with regard to driver conduct. It is easy for someone to run a little wide through T12L, and allow another driver up the inside, where my concerns begin. The acceleration will naturally drift the inside car out, potentially across and into the wider car, pushing them onto the grass. Doing this cynically or deliberately to impede them is simply not on. Cleanly going up the inside and past is fine, but going up the inside and then forcing the outside driver onto the grass by impact is not. I will take a very dim view of any hip and shoulder passes through T12L. If you go in to T12L on a tight line, keep that tight line until the turn-in point for T13R The Kink, as you should be ahead by then anyway. If you are the victim of deliberate contact through T12L and it costs you your position, please report it.
· T14R – Namerow. As described in the track notes, there are a multitude of ways to make a hash of this corner. If you spin, you must wait until there is a safe gap to rejoin the race, irrespective of how many places this costs you.
· All points on the track – General Items
No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
The Track must be re-entered safely so as not to ruin other peoples races.
Car damage must be assessed realistically to know if it is possible to make the pits or not.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There are no new No-show infractions now being levied on Drivers after Round 3.
There is 1 Conduct infraction currently being carried by a Driver.
Andreas Löffler
This infraction will be carried for this race then rescinded. Any further infraction during the period of the infraction (ie this race) will result in removal of qualifying privileges in the subsequent round. Once the infraction is rescinded the driver reverts to a clean record.
3 drivers who were carrying a No-show infraction from Round 2 now have that infraction rescinded.
Sam J. Simpson
Jakub Dylewski
Jakub Borucki
Any further infraction of this type by these 3 drivers from this point on will result in removal from the League.
1 driver removed from the League after a second No-show infraction.
Michal Mroczek
Please remember, the League staff will only review incidents if they are reported to them.
No report = no review.
Please try and remember the incident reporting guidelines: review, cool off, review again. Only after following the above process, and if you are convinced you still need to report it, should you let the League staff know. Please give as much information as possible during the report (time of incident, drivers involved etc.)
Any accusations or complaints aired in the Chat during or after a race will mean a penalty levied on the person complaining or making the accusations, even if a subsequent official complaint gets found in their favour. I simply will NOT tolerate any post race finger pointing.
Liveries
You have chosen your car and livery already, and you must only drive your chosen car at any time during an RDHGP event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHGP.
Scoring System
I have extended the points distribution method down to P20 (75% distance completion required) so people can fight for some points no matter where they are on the track, and hopefully have a season long battle with people around them in the League.
The Distribution is as follows for 100km events :
P1 - 25 pts
P2 - 22
P3 - 20
P4 - 18
P5 - 16
P6 - 15
P7 - 14
P8 - 13
P9 - 12
P10 - 11
P11 - 10
P12 - 9
P13 - 8
P14 - 7
P15 - 6
P16 - 5
P17 - 4
P18 - 3
P19 - 2
P20 - 1
1 point for fastest race lap
1 point for qualifying on Pole
