Monday Night Racing!! What would u like to see?

[Eric. K]

Title is pretty self explanatory. I am listening to input on what you guys like to race on Monday nights
1. Start time
2. Weather
3. Cars
4. Track

 

[Eric. K]

arf you crazy man you damp track that will be a killer in race 2

It will dry out quickly and it will be moist...

 

[Lee Downham]

^^ think there is too much of an addiction to messing with weather files here :tongue: :wink:

 

[Eric. K]

^^ think there is too much of an addiction to messing with weather files here :tongue: :wink:

Arent u guys bored racing on always the same dry track? You have done that for years now. Changing the weather is almost like racing on a new track. I understand people not liking a completely random weather, but since I am announcing the forecast it makes things much more realistic.

 

[Lee Downham]

I do find mixed weather interesting ... occasionally ... but a bit more selectively (esp in terms of track choice), and not every race you run.

The thing is, I don't know how many other ppl are like me but sometimes I just want to have a quick and easy to prep for fun race ... in dry conditions its easier to just cobble a setup together quickly and jump on a server and race without spending a long time prepping. Mixed conditions mean that a lot more prep is to be done if you wish to complete the race or stand any chance of doing well in it.

Actually, I often do really well in the rain having taken some of my few wins and pole positions in wet or mixed conditions ... but I would also say that Sachsenring '67 has a high enough difficulty factor and definitely a high enough mortality rate (esp so in the high speed extremes) ... plus many people do not know the track or maybe do not have lots of time to run setup work, and with such "in between" moist conditions its going to be treacherous as you are probably going to have to run slicks cos wets will disintegrate, but then soften things a little to cope (??).
... so I guess what I am thinking/saying is that IMHO all this will put many people off, esp as there is a high chance that people will not even complete the first lap, let alone 20 minutes or however long the races are ... so I personally think this is counter productive if you are trying to boost numbers.

Also ... as you are not posting weather files up front or putting a server up well in advance, many people cannot test such conditions out prior to Monday when the server is running ... I know this is a similar situation in RL, but in RL you generally drive one make / series of car and know how to handle and set up your car better when the conditions get mixed or wet. With dry conditions people can test a car and track combo easily and get a setup together whenever they have time, with or without a server running.

If it were dry, I personally might consider running this fairly blind, but as it stands I have NGP tonight, RDTCC on Sunday, I do not have any time to even think about testing these conditions out.

I am just telling it like it is from how I see things and how my life works. Its probably different for others, but often I just wanna have some fun, with good chance of finishing and some good close racing and stuff (check my rankings, I have too many DNF's mainly due to other ppls errors already, so readily adding more is not great for the karma) ... so if the prep effort and risk of crashing is too high, then I am probably gonna spend my racing time more wisely. :wink:

Please take this as constructive feedback and not negative criticism mate, as that is how it is meant ...

 

[Nigel Atkins]

Arent u guys bored racing on always the same dry track? You have done that for years now. Changing the weather is almost like racing on a new track. I understand people not liking a completely random weather, but since I am announcing the forecast it makes things much more realistic.

i`m not a fan of standard in game wet races but last nights damp F1 race was fantstic and i think you got the weather spot on and i`m looking forward to the next one at Sacs

 

[Dave Stephenson]

I like the different weather settings, true I think there is a place for standard dry races also, but mixing it up does present new challenges on a regular basis which I welcome with open arms.

 

[Eric. K]

I have not been running all wet races. I did a hot race at Bahrain, cold at Spa, slightly moist around the Green Hell and now mostly dry at Sacs (I said it will rain a little bit at the end of the race 1).

There is a thread a page or so ago where people complained we ONLY have dry racing at RD. I am trying to change that and mix things up a little.

 

[Ross Balfour]

Just an idea, we could have a randomiser on a number of racing club members that are interested in running on Monday nights, the randomizer lands on that one person and their desired track, car and weather can be chosen. Therefore everyone is pleased and it's a less job for the racing staff in a way.

Each night can be called:
"Downham's Night" (Then again this could be confused with something else eh Lee )
"Balfour's Night" etc.etc.

 

[Glenn Petersen]

Eric, if you're talking about monday nights in the USA, I think that Eric Nelson has hit the nail on the head regarding the GT class. He's doing a great job of alternating between Sport and Pros and he also seems very thoughtful in his choice of tracks for the class. I wouldn't mind to have the mandatory pit stop thrown in and I always enjoy variable weather but I like it where it changes and keeps you guessing.... I like the strategy more than just the pain of driving in heavy rain. He moved our start time back to 9:45 which works perfect for me. This is the one event each week that I'm planning on attending.

Thanks for asking btw.... I know you care to get this stuff right and it shows. You've done a great job!

I agree with Jarrod. These MOnday night GT races are turning out to be real fun. As usual, the racing is clean and competitive. There were a bunch of us on TS which was great! We're thinking of getting some skins to spice up this exciting class. We'd love to see more guys show up Mondays and join us.

 

[Bjorn de Haas]

19:00 gmt seems to be a good start time. But instead of a long hour practise make it a short one like 15-20 minutes.
I would love to see some dtm or gt cars.
The weather should be changeable or maybe we can check the weather update and look at the real time weather on that location and run that weather type.

 

[Lee Downham]

^^ is there a snow option?

 

[Dave Stephenson]

Snow would be amazing

I should be doing monday nights now, there are some good ideas on here so I'll be drawing in them, will try and drop a few classics in from the past too, so keep any ideas you have comming, all suggestions are welcome

 

[Eric. K]

19:00 gmt seems to be a good start time. But instead of a long hour practise make it a short one like 15-20 minutes.
I would love to see some dtm or gt cars.
The weather should be changeable or maybe we can check the weather update and look at the real time weather on that location and run that weather type.

BTW, I have already been running very short practice with 15mins super pole... and DTMs

Snow is not an option Weather forecast is...

 

[Bjorn de Haas]

the weatherforecast gives us something extra i think.
Like in real racing you always have to take the weather in acount

 

[Eric. K]

So, Dave culd pick the track, the car and show a link to the forecast from here -> http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/SPXX0015

 

[Eric Nelson]

i am totaly with Lee on this but have something funny to sugest what i would like to see hopefully next week ;D
19:00 gmt Xtremes @ Sachsenring'67 with Airtemp around 29° and tracktemp around 34° to 37°

you have lost your mind!................................he he he he he

 

[Dave Stephenson]

Guys I've been toying with the idea of running longer races in the GT events maybe doing 1 race of 45-60 mins in length instead of two 30 minute races format we are racing at the moment. Personally I think a longer distance race is better for these cars - particularly thinking of the Pros here, and it would also bring in some element of strategy with possible pitstops required etc...

Thoughts Please

 

[Ross Balfour]

I'm for whatever Dave, personally I prefer Sprint as you have another chance if you screw it up, and the Top 8 reverse rule means theres a mix up up front. But as long as I dont get a minidump I dont care

 

[Caramidaru Andrei Bogdan]

HMM..i;m with Ross on this "whatever" ..i will surely lose on longer races cause i don;t now to take care of my tires,and in two race format more overtaking then in a longer one....so it's like this

SPRINTS - more avortaking
- if u screw up first race,u have a chance in second race
- more close racing
LONGER - this is good for PRO drivers (not me)
- u can include strategy here
- PRO drivers will have huge lead

i don;t care..as long it's racing

 

[Lee Downham]

I think shorter races tend to bring more casual and fun racing, and maybe also encourages more late sign ups for events - if the setup sucks it does not matter quite so much as it does when you have longer endurance events, so there is less pressure to do a lot of prep / practice too - which suites me big time ATM.

Like others said ... 2 x race formats allow more room for error too, ie you crash in one, you get a 2nd bite at the cherry in the other.
EDIT2: I personally like the reversed grid thing ... it means that the fast blokes have to work harder in race 2 and gives some of us ambitious chaps a better chance at making the podium.

BTW ... I posted this in your Abu Dhabi thread ... probably better here:

I just had an idea for a series or races ... pick one absolutely classically fun track (Limerock would be perfect), then have several races (eg. one each week OR over the course of a week maybe?) but using a different class of car for each. Just having one track to learn that would mean its just a bit of setup and a lot of fun!!?

Something Gary Lenno tapped into when he was organising stuff too was single car stuff using the lesser well driven machines (like the Sunred, Gillet, etc) which was great fun too.

EDIT: You could also do a grid of 2 similar cars that are similar in terms of overall speed, but very different in terms of character - another classic Lenno event used GTC BMW Z4 versus GTC Aston Martin DBRS9 at Mid Ohio - lorra fun.