GTC 65 @ Watkins Glen GP - Thursday 22nd January 2009

[Warren Dawes]

This event was Postponed in December due to insufficient numbers.
Time to re-schedule it.

Time for another GTL fun night, we'll continue the theme of casual fun and trying out the diifferent cars available in GTL.
This time, we use only the GTC 65 cars, but two races using a different car for each race.
We have divided the class into two groups:

American Power: AC Cobra, Chev Corvette, Shelby Daytona, Shelby GT350, TVR Griffith

Euro Finesse: Austin Healy, Ferrari 275, Jaguar E Type, Lotus Elan, Lotus Elite, Mercedes 300SL, Renault Alpine

You must pick one from the American Group for Race 1, and one from the Euro Class for Race 2.


Servername: RACEDEPARTMENT.COM
Password: click here


Class: GTC 65 (Please note car selection rules above)
Track: Watkins Glen GP
Track download: click here

Weather: Dry

Practice: 19:30 GMT 30 minutes
Qualification: 20:00 GMT 20 minutes
Race: 20.20 GMT 2 by 10 laps (exit and re-enter the server for race 2, the Euro Finesse)

Notes:

Important: Please pay special attention to Racedepartment's Golden Rule: If you hit another driver and disadvantage him, we expect you stop and let the other driver regain his position on you. If this costs you many places (eg first few laps) then consider this a penalty for your driving infringement. Doing this shows respect to your fellow drivers and will encourage drivers to be more careful. Please use some care when letting the other driver regain position, do not immediately stop your car on the driving line where it can cause further accidents. Not following this rule will result in your membership of the racing club being terminated at once!










Entrylist:

1. Hans Sneep - Shelby Daytona, Lotus Elan
2. Stuart Thomson - Shelby Daytona Coupe, Lotus Elan
3. Warren Dawes - Shelby GT350, Austin Healey
4. Matt Crouch - TVR Griffith, Jaguar E-Type
5. Andrew Evans - TVR Griffith, Renault Apline
6. Amir Margalit - Corvette & Austin Healey
7. Mark A Warmington - Shelby Daytona, Austin Healy
8. Marty Pierce - TVR griffith/Lotus Elan
9. David Cuthill
10. Manuel Garcia - AC Cobra / Jaguar E type
11. Sandor Baszo - Cars TBD
12. Steven Palmer - TVR Griffith / Mercedes 300SL
13. Yoeri Gijsen - Shelby Daytona / Lotus Elan
14. Gary Lennon - Cobra / E-Type
15. Andreas Loffler - Lotus Elan 26R, Corvette
16. Piotr Misiorek - AC Cobra/Lotus Elan
17. Driver
18. Driver
19. Driver
20. Driver
21. Driver
22. Driver
23. Driver

Reserves:

1. Driver
2. Driver
3. Driver
4. Driver
5. Driver

 

[Yoeri Gijsen]

what car for race 2, Yoeri?

I'll go with the Elan E26

 

[Nigel Atkins]

warren stick me down pls looks like i will have time to drive

haven`t a clue which cars to pick and no time for any praccy so could you be so kind and pick 2 for a GTL noob :hug-right:

 

[Stuart Thomson]

Nige - try the Corvette & the Ferrari see how you get on

 

[Nigel Atkins]

thx Stu

 

[Yoeri Gijsen]

Nige - try the Corvette & the Ferrari see how you get on

The focus clearly lies on "try" here. :laugh2:

 

[Stuart Thomson]

Big apologies to David Cuthill - I didn't expect you to brake that early. I waited, but I guess you had some damage. :disapointed:

 

[Andrew Evans]

man, gtl is a joyfully frustrating experience... like the chick you want that you just can't have!

race 1 i had the tvr.... uncontrollable nightmare... some setup moochen improved it a bit... quallied near the back... but actually managed to get midfield in the early stages.... seemed to be able to keep it all together whilst running in a pack... but once i was on my own... chhhhhrrrkkkeeeeeeeeeekkkkchhhhrrrkkkkssswoooshsmash! for all time....

race 2 was the alpine... finally a gtl car that drives like a car!... except it seems to be the slowest thing out there.... bagged a stationary hans (sorry mate, almost missed ya) in lap 2 or 3 and not long after lost the will to live...

i do love zis game and i'll be back for more... i just need to stop driving them like something from gtre... (also, practice prolly woulda helped - no time at all this week)

muchos cheerios warren... :thumb:

 

[Hans Sneep]

I wait with my race report not happy at the moment will watch the replay first.

Hans

 

[Steven Palmer]

I really want to like this game, but tonight was just a nightmare for me. I need to put some serious mileage on the clock to get to grips with this game.

Race 1 TVR : someone in front of me didn't get away too well and there was a bit of a crash, tried to sneak through but didn't make the gap.Whack. Trundled round the rest of the race without too many drama's and picked up a couple of spots due to others mistakes/spins then on the last corner on the last lap put too much power on and took a bee line for the pit entry. Just about managed to stop before crossing the pit line,swung it round and finished dead last.

Race 2 Mercedes 300SL: Started on the back row, got passed at the start, picked up two places as people dropped out, then trundled round for a few laps before I actually started thinking about my dentist appointment tomorrow? How bizzare. Lost the will to live on lap 4(had a pact with Andrew) and quited out, I could of walked faster than that damn Merc :rotfl:

Thank you Warren for setting this up and all the guys participating tonight.:highfive:

 

[Andreas Löffler]

race one: :second: with Corvette

race two: :first: with Lotus Elan 26R (R = right steering :crazy :wink2:

Nice races guys, had good fun :good:

 

[David Cuthill]

Overall, a bit of an unlucky event for me tonight.

Race 1 - First time racing the Daytona. Hated it a first but then it all just clicked into place and I was loving it and was surprised to get onto the grid in 4th. It all went wrong at turn 5 when Stuart took me from behind (yes - it was painful!) and straight into the barrier. Stuart did wait on me but the car was wrecked so I limped back to the garage but had too much damage to get much further.

Race 2 - Another first in the Austin, which was also a blast to drive. Started 7th and after a clean start I eventually started to pull away with Gary close behind. We were around 4th/5th place mid-race when disaster on the last corner as my rotten old Austin gearbox slipped down two gears instead of one, causing me to spin just after the corner - I really must get that gearbox replaced. Sorry to whoever connected up with me when I was side on. Carrying some damage, I brought her home in 8th.

Thanks Warren.
'Till the next time.

 

[Matt Crouch]

Thanks for the races everyone. Race one was fairly good, apart from the spinny error, there were quite a few people spinning around every so often so ended up 5th ish I think

Race two was a bit mixed. Looking at the replay I think I tried on a few passes which were a lot more ambitious than they appeared in the race, particularly on Hans. Apologies if it caused any trouble. I know we both span in the first lap but on my replay at least we didn't contact, a couple more times I came through where there was less space than I thought. On the plus side I had some close corners with Cherry- er, Manuel Garcia also in the Jag , Finished ninth after continuing my love affair with the barrier on the inside of turn 1 (from the previous mixed class event here)

Thanks for organising, these cars are fun if pretty difficult to be consistent with

 

[Piotr Misiorek]

before both races I've managed to get pole positions but then again in both races I've made very stupid mistakes :loco: so I was forced to make quick recovery and finished only third and second

Bring more GTL events please :wink2:

 

[Amir Margalit]

great racing tonight:eat:
first race was a bit boring . the vette just could not match the cobra so i had to fight hard with pioter but had no answer to his speed .finished 4th.
second race i chose the austin which was fun to drive. i chose the wrong gear ratio and for the race chose long instead of medium gear.
during the race manged at first to climb up to 6th place but then warren had a gr8 pass on me:worship:
i thought the race was over and decided not to push it but then there was an accident between warren and another driver with a lotus . warren hit the lotus and then i regained my position. realy felt bad for warren and actuually lost intrest at the race. my thoughts were about other matters which turned out to be a big mistake.
in the last lap warren who was flying got back to me and passed me right on the finish line( medium gear for warren made the job:rotfl
it was the closest finish i had so far .
realy enjoyed racing again with you guys and grats to the winner.
hope that next time we will have a 70s car event.

 

[Marty Pierce]

great fun with the legends. Im not very fast in these cars but love to race them.
Race 1 in Tvr was a handful. Ended up in 7th

Race 2 was easier to drive the lotus elan but the lap times were similar. Was in 2nd most of race till Piotr caught me around lap 9 and got by to take 2nd. Well done catching me after your early spin Piotr. Finished in 3rd The Elans were the fastest in the group I wasn't. Again great fun thanks Warren

 

[Warren Dawes]

Lots of fun again and a nice group to race with.

Race 1:
Chose the GT350 since it was about as American as I could get. Unfortunately, I was the only one and it was totally uncompetitive with most of the others who went with very fast cars. Qualified near the back and expected a lonely race, being left for dead. Pretty much how it went, but for different reasons. Off the line I was following Mark, but there was thick smoke everywhere (American rubber being burnt). Suddenly out of the fog, Mark swerved left to reveal Yoeri's Daytona prone across my path. The Gt350 doesn't stop fast and I hit him heavily and spun around (sorry Yoeri). By the time I got the beast turned around and going again, almost everyone had gone. Now it really was going to be lonely. Had fun though, playing "dodge the Daytona's", as many spun, then passed me, and spun some more. Finished P9 in the end.

Race 2:
Much more enjoyable, just loved the Healey which surprisingly I could lap faster than the GT350 :rotfl:.
Qualy in P9, not bad since I was no match for the gaggle on Elans dominating the front. But I had some cars around me that were similar, so it would be closer this time.
Dropped a few spots early as Amir in another Healey and Manuel in a E Type Jag got past. Had some great racing with Manuel who kept grabbing me at the end of the long hill climb. I finally opened a gap to Manuel and set after Amir. I managed to slip past Amir and was settling in for a long close battle with him, when disaster struck. Exiting the last turn into the main straight, I was confronted by David's Healey across the track right on the driving line. I swerved right and was set to miss him, but he drove forward just at that moment and crossed my new line, resulting in a big crash. Poor Manuel was behind and couldn't avoid me, so we had another crash and I was spun around. From then I was expecting another lonely run, but Hans was pushing me hard from behind (well done Hans, really liked that) so I was pushing harder. With 4 laps to go, I could see Amir in front and I was really settling into the Healey by now (just loved driving it), so I pushed it to the limit. This setup a great finish. I caught Amir on the last lap, and managed to get a great exit out of the last turn to just pip Amir on the line. Finished P5.

Good to see a nice roll up again, I hope we have a thriving GTL community here now and look forward to more fun racing.

Posted a piccy of our finish for Amir.

 

[Gary Lennon]

Front row start with the Cobra and me and Piotr initially looked like we got terrible starts with a little leap forward and then bogging,but the beast quicky leaped into life and we both blasted clear down to T1 and the chase was on,very difficult hanging on for the first couple of laps then Piotr had disaster at the end of the straight with an offski,from then on it was all very quiet to the end.
Race2 in the E Type was looking like a struggle...qually 7th of 14,which is plumb in the middle by my maths.....yikes..got a much better getaway and leaped 2 places from the lights down to T1,all nice and clean there and up the hill to the straight and i think 3 cars blasted past me? ,settled in for what was looking like a long hard soul destroying race,but the guys ahead all conspired amongst each other to fall off the track handing me place after place...main good chase with David C until his spin at the final turn,then it went all quiet like race one but in 4th this time,enjoyed both races,GTL still has the smile-factor for me,and i always like the atmosphere at GTL events,the whole 60's gentlemen racers thing seems to spill over from the sim to us IRL :good:.
Many thanks Warren and RD,looking forward to more old banger racing .

 

[Warren Dawes]

i do love zis game and i'll be back for more... i just need to stop driving them like something from gtre... (also, practice prolly woulda helped - no time at all this week)

Yep, these cars are much more difficult to drive than the sophisicated modern EVO cars. It does take some getting used to, especially in the overpowered beasts, but once you understand them (practice and experience helps a lot), they become much more fun. Races are as much about car control as racecraft, just something different. To me, it is a great change and variety from EVO, and usually the GTL mob are a great friendly and clean driving bunch (probably because you are trying so hard just to keep the beast on the track.

I'd reccommend all newcomers to get used to driving the Cortina and Alfa first. Then it becomes a bit easier to adapt to the overpowered monsters.

 

[Amir Margalit]

Lots of fun again and a nice group to race with.

Race 1:
Chose the GT350 since it was about as American as I could get. Unfortunately, I was the only one and it was totally uncompetitive with most of the others who went with very fast cars. Qualified near the back and expected a lonely race, being left for dead. Pretty much how it went, but for different reasons. Off the line I was following Mark, but there was thick smoke everywhere (American rubber being burnt). Suddenly out of the fog, Mark swerved left to reveal Yoeri's Daytona prone across my path. The Gt350 doesn't stop fast and I hit him heavily and spun around (sorry Yoeri). By the time I got the beast turned around and going again, almost everyone had gone. Now it really was going to be lonely. Had fun though, playing "dodge the Daytona's", as many spun, then passed me, and spun some more. Finished P9 in the end.

Race 2:
Much more enjoyable, just loved the Healey which surprisingly I could lap faster than the GT350 :rotfl:.
Qualy in P9, not bad since I was no match for the gaggle on Elans dominating the front. But I had some cars around me that were similar, so it would be closer this time.
Dropped a few spots early as Amir in another Healey and Manuel in a E Type Jag got past. Had some great racing with Manuel who kept grabbing me at the end of the long hill climb. I finally opened a gap to Manuel and set after Amir. I managed to slip past Amir and was settling in for a long close battle with him, when disaster struck. Exiting the last turn into the main straight, I was confronted by David's Healey across the track right on the driving line. I swerved right and was set to miss him, but he drove forward just at that moment and crossed my new line, resulting in a big crash. Poor Manuel was behind and couldn't avoid me, so we had another crash and I was spun around. From then I was expecting another lonely run, but Hans was pushing me hard from behind (well done Hans, really liked that) so I was pushing harder. With 4 laps to go, I could see Amir in front and I was really settling into the Healey by now (just loved driving it), so I pushed it to the limit. This setup a great finish. I caught Amir on the last lap, and managed to get a great exit out of the last turn to just pip Amir on the line. Finished P5.

Good to see a nice roll up again, I hope we have a thriving GTL community here now and look forward to more fun racing.

Posted a piccy of our finish for Amir.

my new screen saver for this week. thx warren:yo:

 

[Stuart Thomson]

I hadn't really been keeping tabs on the signups that much as was surprised to see so many Daytonas on the grid.

Race 1 - I quallied about 7th or so, got a good start and drive out of T1, was up to about 4th, and then 2 corvettes went either side of me up the hill. Which was nice.

Got a really good entry into the Loop and was closing on David C down the chute. Unfortunately, he braked earlier than I was expecting and I couldn't slow enough to avoid him (the downside of those dirty great lumps of horsepower). I didn't hit him particularly hard, but with the cars being what they are, it was hard enough to spin him and stick him in the wall :disapointed: I waited for David by which time I was pretty much last, but he immediately let me through again so I guessed he was badly damaged. Felt pretty sick about that to be honest. Got my head down and did some chasing, and started taking places back as the cars showed their teeth to the unwary or overly relaxed. More than a few outbrakes themselves towards turn 10 coming out of the Boot and ended up in the gravel. Finished in the points.

Race2 - Was shocked how quick the Elan was relative to the other cars. My only previous experience online was in a single make event, where the playing fields is level. There were already 5 Elans in the race, so I jumped out and got in the Alpine. I know this car really well, so hoped it's handling would make up the time it lost on the straights. Quallied about 9th, with a decent time, even if the lap that got it was ragged. The group ahead of me was full of Jags (the Jag Hags someone said earlier in the day ) & Healeys and I was just about hanging on to their coat tails for about 4 or 5 laps. I was behind David again and closing up through the twisty bits, and going backward down the straights. Eventually, the aggressive approach I needed to keep up made me get my clog down a bit too early coming out of T10, and into the wall I went. A few earlier spinners in their faster cars went past and I was back down in 10th, which is where I stayed for the rest of the race.

These cars all still have so much character and charisma about them, they are a joy to drive. Thanks for organising this Warren - mucho grins as always.

GTL - onwards & upwards :good: