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

 

[Michael Herrmann]

cars that match realy good are also the M3 GTR vs. Spyker C8 Gary runned this on his first ever event he orgenized at Silverstone national i guess

 

[Lee Downham]

^^ ... there were Marcos's in that mix too mate, I know cos I ran one and was slow as hell in it :tongue:
(EDIT: but one of my reasons for suggesting such things is to get away from the "usual suspects" and get folks trying other things for a change ... as I mentioned before, as soon as something like GT Sport is mentioned everyone just runs and grabs a Bimmer, its just predictable and lame, and who cares if it is the fastest etc etc etc, we need to awaken a bit of a sense of adventure in ya buggers and embrace new challenges and experiences :tongue


.... ooooooohhh ... that Silverstone event was entitled "Night Owls racing" or something due to its late start (22:00 GMT I beleive), and thus reminds me of something else I would REALLY REALLY like to see at RD ... a few events that start later, lets say at around 21:00 or 21:30 GMT??

... we never seem to get the kids to bed and get sorted before 21:00 GMT these days, so 20:00 GMT starts are rubbish and I am missing event after event 'cos I know I can't get to the PC in time, and I'll wager there are other dads and late homecomers in a similar position out there!!?

 

[Dave Stephenson]

well if enough of them hollar I'm listening

 

[Ondrej Kapal]

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

well I was thinking about it... but as we have enduro race now again here, and if it will be every month (for example, I'd like to see it) there is no reason for this as was said here before, sprints are more causal and funny with "no strategy needed" - it means that everybody can join and he doesn't have to be sure about tyres, etc. it also means fuller grid I guess (well I have busy Monday, so if I am able to do only one 30 minutes race of two, I am happy I don't think I will participate if it will be for an hour - in my own opinion) ... so thats it

 

[Michael Herrmann]

at the siverstone event Lee only M3GTR and Spyker where allowed it was the verry fist Lenno event with this car versus car format
i remember so exactly as it was my verry last race i did offical for F.E.A.R

 

[Mark Guy]

Start time: for me either 18H00 or 19H00 GMT. with a short practice 20min and a superpole qualify and 2 races.
Weather: I don't mind as I enjoy racing in all weather.
Cars : My favourite are the WTCC cars, but I am starting to enjoy the GT cars very much.
Tracks: It is very difficult to dicide because there are so many great ones. I also think we should have a STCC season as those are great tracks.

 

[Ryan Callan]

Saturday Late Club was very popular as I recall.

10pm UK with GT cars IIRC.

 

[Graham Healey]

I'm for whatever Dave, personally I prefer Sprint as you have another chance if you screw it up..

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 overtaking
- 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 think shorter races tend to bring more casual and fun racing..

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.

To sum up short races encourage drivers to drive too hard, not taking care of cars or tyres, and taking chances, driving closer to the limit than they can do safely, because if they go over and crash there is always race two.

In other words short races encourage unrealistically hard and dangerous driving and penalize drivers that drive carefully.

Pro drivers will win anyway, but longer races would perhaps give tortoises like me more chance against the hares.

 

[Lee Downham]

at the siverstone event Lee only M3GTR and Spyker where allowed it was the verry fist Lenno event with this car versus car format
i remember so exactly as it was my verry last race i did offical for F.E.A.R

Sorry Mikey I F.E.A.R. you are mistaken my friend ... like I said, I drove the Marcos :wink:
http://www.racedepartment.com/previ...port-endurance-silverstone-international.html



BTW There is some truth in the words Graham speaks too ... depends on your mindset I guess, as with all races. What annoys me is I maybe sit and practice for a little while before an event, then I qualify, get to the start after an hour in the seat and then whump .-.-. I am punted off track into the tyres on lap 1 by an overeager pundit ending my race and wasting several hours of my life!
With 2 races then you know you at least have race 2 to go at :wink:

 

[Bob Miley]

What annoys me is I maybe sit and practice for a little while before an event, then I qualify, get to the start after an hour in the seat and then whump .-.-. I am punted off track into the tyres on lap 1 by an overeager pundit ending my race and wasting several hours of my life!
With 2 races then you know you at least have race 2 to go at :wink:

Lee, that can happen in any race. I prefare longer races purely for that reason as it lets me start from the back and see where I finish up. The last few races I have had I have started near the front and been swamped due to being careful and leaving others more room than I usually get left with, in a long race starting from the back means that doesn`t come into it.

I also think these new rankings have a major effect on club races. If someone is not sure how they will do they tend to miss races rather than lose points and if they enter tend to drive more aggressive to gain points. Personally I drive for fun, even in league races, so don`t care what my ranking is, after all it`s just a hobby and a way to relax.

 

[Ryan Callan]

People shouldn't miss races if they are afraid of losing points - as long as they finish they won't lose a thing.

And if people are conistently driving aggressively, for God's sake refer to the organiser - we keep pushing it - standards will not improve if people cannot see any consequences for their actions.

 

[Péter Bártfai]

You know what I miss? The US Muscle cars! Only had 1-2 races with those! Also the Caterham CSR200, those cars are easy to handle and perfect for a fun race, just like the Minis, but still something different. And the Formula BMW-s!

And for the format, I really liked the events with 3 short races on different tracks! The only downside is that you have to learn several tracks if you're not familiar to them!

As for the enduro vs sprint thing: I think we need them both! (and not only these 3 hour enduros, but 1-1,5 hour ones as well!)
They're completely different! Sprint races are all about pushing & overtaking, while enduros are more about perfect driving and not making any mistakes! In my opinion finishing an endurance race in a good position is also more rewarding!

Edit: Some event ideas:

1. Caterham CSR200 @ 3 short tracks, starting @ 19:00 GMT, 10 min practice, 10 min superpole quali, 20 min race for each track. Weather: Dry; Tracks: STCC tracks f.e.: Mantorp Park, Valer, Karlskoga

2. US Muscle endurance race @ Road America, starting @ 19:00 GMT, 20 min practice, 20 min quali, 1h20min race, Weather: Changeable

3. Formula BMW sprint races @ Okayama, start: 19:00 GMT, 15 min practice, 15 min quali, race: 2x25 min. Weather: Changeable

 

[Neil Gault]

prefer the longer races myself, anything from 45 to 90 mins. Hate these 25 minute sprints, just can not see the point of spending time practicing then qualifying just for a 25 minute race, sometimes you spend more time in prep for the race than the actual race takes. You loose the whole aspect of car management and pit stop strategy which makes it a bit sad.

 

[Freddie Besems]

I do agree with Neil.

a race must be long enough that it can be usefull to have a pit stop strategy. (no mandatory)

practice qualifiyng shorten to 15 min. and superpole, gives more racing time.

 

[Lee Downham]

I do love both sprints and endurance, and tbh tend to work better at endurance (probably cos I am not so quick) ... my argument for sprints is that for last minute sign ups on a Monday evening they require less setup and practice, and as there are 2 bites at the cherry with 2 races, then everything does not have to be so spot on as it does with endurance ... and if someone does whack you in T1, then you do not lose so much and get a 2nd race.
This does not give people an excuse to drive like idiots either ... if they do they should be reported etc etc and omitted from further events if such actions continue. Whether it is a sprint or an endurance, people need to drive with respect and care - end of story.

My Monday night requirement is just that if I am free (which for the past few weeks I have sadly not been), then I just jump in practice, learn the track and get a marginal setup and have a no pressure laugh with some friendly folks ... adding an endurance tag to the whole thing makes setup and strategy more important, which means more practice, which puts more pressure on the whole event as there has been more time invested by many people, which changes the whole face of things ... Mondays can be serious enough without the need for more seriousness :tongue:

This is of course just one man's preference ... I just want a couple of friendly fun races in the GT's or similar on a Monday where I can jump in last minute and don't need to practice much beforehand as I don't tend to have this time ATM ... hence my reason for petitioning for this lot in the first place.

Maybe you could do "Mystery Monday Madness" where no car nor track is announced till a couple of hours before an event - then there is no big setup and its just a case of jump in and drive with next to no practice nor setup so we are all on a pretty even footing??


RD should feature GT and other types of endurance races, and sometimes on a Monday that is cool too ... and as Neil said, they are a whole different beast and require a whole different approach, and as I said ... I tend to work better at them anyways so have nothing against them whatsoever

 

[Ross Balfour]

Like the Mystery idea. Also how about Ferrari vs Porsche's mod? I remember I did a few events with them way back last year and they were soo fun and the racing was really really close.

 

[Péter Bártfai]

In general I think we should have 1 or 2 days, that have a variable event: i.e. every week there's a different class to race! Ferrari vs Porsche, Escorts, Saleen Mustangs... or the default cars: Muscles, Prod. cars, FBMW, Caterhams, WTCCX, F3000...
More variety = more fun (at least for me)

 

[Gary Ludlum]

What about Minis vs. WTCC cars ?

 

[Dave Stephenson]

late night racing is back, there will be no fixed format for this time slot and as there are no classes with anything else all combos are fair game. First event will be a visit to Sweden in the Caterham CSR200.

http://www.racedepartment.com/europ...-csr200-knutstorp-monday-31st-may-2010-a.html

 

[Ondrej Kapal]

I'd like to see it on Saturday, as Monday evenings are out of my possibilities