The most distinguished group of highway scofflaws and degenerates ever gathered together in one place:RDHGP Round 4
Happy New Year drivers, and welcome back to Round 4 of RDHGP S6. This is the rescheduled fixture from earlier in the season started by the technical gremlins at Mosport.
Rouen is always a class act whenever we visit there, and this trip was no different. If I’m honest, I was expecting quite a few incident reports, but in the end, people followed the procedure, cooled off and re-reviewed, and we ended up with no Incident reports arising from Round 3 and so we can approach the extended second half of the season from a nice, clean starting point.
As always, we tend to change track type from previous event to present (in fact it’s no coincidence, we plan to keep you on your toes from race to race), and this time we go from the fast, lush and verdant boulevards of Northern France to a more technical, arid and hostile, but no less exalted, location.
Travelling over 5,500 miles almost due West, we end up on Highway 68 between Monterey and Salinas, California and the historic (which is, after all, why we are all here) Laguna Seca Raceway.
Circuit Notes
Located about 10 miles East of Monterey, and 90 miles south of San Francisco (go Giants), Laguna Seca was constructed in 1957, the original layout being in place from the first event in 1958 until 1988 when the infield section of turns 2 to 5 was added, extending the track from 3km to 3.6km – this was a failed attempt to lure Formula 1 to Laguna Seca. The circuit was changed again – albeit less dramatically – in 1995 adding another 50m and sharpening the final turn into much tighter radius, and allowing the pit entry to be more safely located before this turn. Like almost all of our League tracks, there is a large vertical component to Laguna Seca, namely a 91m/300 foot altitude change from the lowest point to the highest on the circuit.
Laguna Seca should really need no introduction to anyone with any interest in motor racing, either real or simulation. It has held / continues to hold many of America’s most prestigious motor racing events: Champ Car / American Le Mans / Superbikes / MotoGP / Rolex Sports Cars / A1GP.
It also plays host to an event that must be close to the hearts of any GT Legends driver – the Monterey Historics, whose attendance often eclipses the professional events listed above. It is one of the top 3 World Historics gatherings alongside Goodwood & Lime Rock.
A branch of the Skip Barber Racing School is also now in place at Laguna Seca.
Even though it hasn’t been mentioned until now, we are all aware of the 800lb gorilla in the room, the thing that everyone knows about, and is wary of, when Laguna Seca gets mentioned – and that is Turns 7R, 8L & 8aR – The Corkscrew. It will probably come as no surprise to any of you to hear that this section will get some extensive coverage lower down this briefing.
This is actually the shortest track we will visit this season, but because of the layout, the laptimes are similar to some of the longer tracks, meaning this could be one of the longer races in time duration. It’s also the first anti-clockwise circuit we’ve driven this season.
Almost immediately after we leave the (downhill facing) grid, timing bridge and pitlane exit, we approach T1L, a high speed, downhill-crested, dogleg left, which is simple enough to negotiate on it’s own, but acts as a nasty “unsettler”, upping the tariff of difficulty for the rapidly approaching next corner, making the actual braking zone and turn in point blind until you clear T1L.
The approach for T2L, the Andretti Hairpin (depending on your navigation of T1L, of course) requires some serious retardation from your brakes, and good grip as there is no positive camber to help you round its double apex. Patience is required here - too early on the loud button and you will face a struggle to keep the rear in check.
A short blast and then hard on the anchors for T3R, another camber-free turn, tighter than it looks, with a bumpy kerb on the inside edge to unsettle people staying tight, and a waiting sandpit on the outside to ensnare drivers going in too hot.
Hard on the accelerator out of T3R, we come to T4R, a shallower corner, again with no real camber to help you get round, but this is a great corner to get right, as it opens out onto a good length straight, diving under another bridge and down to the lowest point of the track T5L.
T5L is similar the T4R – not overly tight, but it needs a measure of aggression, to keep the speed up, as it feeds onto a long - and all uphill – straight. Any momentum lost will be difficult to claw back going up that hill.
The scenery changes with the left hand side of the track suddenly rearing up to form a cliff on the inside. We dive under another bridge, over a crest that hides the braking markers, and (again) try to take as much speed through T6L as possible as it opens on to the uphill Rahal Straight. The inside of T6L is mostly blind because of that cliff, and the outside has a nasty, away sloping sandpit for those who don’t respect it.
Blasting up Rahal, another bridge approaches, standing atop a blind crest, and we are approaching the defining moment of every Laguna Seca lap – the Corkscrew. Immediately over that blind crest, probably already on the anchors, we encounter a little kink right, T7R, which is another testing “unsettler”, and means that you can’t just set up for the latter Corkscrew sections from halfway down Rahal, you have to give T7R a real measure of respect.
After negotiating T7R, you will be hard on the brakes, and you’ll suddenly see the track totally disappear on the left hand side, and a wall rapidly approaching you straight ahead. This is T8L the huge, precipitously downhill first part of the corkscrew. Tuck the nose in hard, before throwing your car off the cliff, and immediately turning right for T8aR, accelerating as hard as you dare through the Corkscrew exit.
A downhill blast follows into the tightening T9L – Rainey. Some drivers will try and drift round here, but there is, as always on this arid landscape, a big sandpit waiting on the outside for those who are over eager.
Again flatout and downhill for the heavily positive camber of T10R, where you are able to carry more speed than the corner initially promises, and out onto the last straight, blasting slightly uphill past the pit entry, and then hard, hard on the brakes for the last corner – T11L. Very tight and with kerbs, walls and sand waiting for the driver who does not treat it respectfully enough, shooting out onto the S/F straight after a good T11L is a fitting end to a lap at Laguna Seca.
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.
Pitlane - you must use the pitlane correctly, exiting the pitlane on the straight before T3R, not cutting across onto the main circuit before T2L.
T2L – Andretti - This corner, especially on the first lap, will be tricky due to the heavy braking zone, cold tyres, vehicle proximity and T1L making the approach blind. Reckless accidents here will be punished heavily if reported. As always, be aware in Lap 1, of people as you turn in here, it will be slower than on susbsequent laps and very, very crowded.
T3R – As mentioned above, this is a slowish, simple-ish corner, but if you go off into the sand, make sure you rejoin safely. If that means coming out of it in last place - so be it. Take your medicine, and don’t ruin someone else’s race.
T6L – Like T3R above, the issue is not the corner itself, but subsequent rejoins after mistakes. Do not rejoin blindly.
T7R, T8L & T8aR – The Corkscrew. This is a dangerous section, and probably not worth describing any more than we all already know it, but at the same time, do not cut the inside of T8aR, and be aware that people may have differing lines to yours depending on vehicle.
All points on the track – General Items
No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
No Chat during the Quali or Race except by Race Control for information.
You may put your lights on if you are on a timed Qualifying lap to inform people in front of you. If they themselves are on a timed lap, they are not under any obligation to move for you.
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.
The pitlane exit must be used for it's entire length, cutting across onto the main circuit to drive T2 is not allowed.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There are no incident reports arising from Round 3.
There are no drivers serving infractions
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.) Accident reports made within 24 hours of race completion will be ignored.
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
Points are scored 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
Happy New Year drivers, and welcome back to Round 4 of RDHGP S6. This is the rescheduled fixture from earlier in the season started by the technical gremlins at Mosport.
Rouen is always a class act whenever we visit there, and this trip was no different. If I’m honest, I was expecting quite a few incident reports, but in the end, people followed the procedure, cooled off and re-reviewed, and we ended up with no Incident reports arising from Round 3 and so we can approach the extended second half of the season from a nice, clean starting point.
As always, we tend to change track type from previous event to present (in fact it’s no coincidence, we plan to keep you on your toes from race to race), and this time we go from the fast, lush and verdant boulevards of Northern France to a more technical, arid and hostile, but no less exalted, location.
Travelling over 5,500 miles almost due West, we end up on Highway 68 between Monterey and Salinas, California and the historic (which is, after all, why we are all here) Laguna Seca Raceway.
Circuit Notes
Located about 10 miles East of Monterey, and 90 miles south of San Francisco (go Giants), Laguna Seca was constructed in 1957, the original layout being in place from the first event in 1958 until 1988 when the infield section of turns 2 to 5 was added, extending the track from 3km to 3.6km – this was a failed attempt to lure Formula 1 to Laguna Seca. The circuit was changed again – albeit less dramatically – in 1995 adding another 50m and sharpening the final turn into much tighter radius, and allowing the pit entry to be more safely located before this turn. Like almost all of our League tracks, there is a large vertical component to Laguna Seca, namely a 91m/300 foot altitude change from the lowest point to the highest on the circuit.
Laguna Seca should really need no introduction to anyone with any interest in motor racing, either real or simulation. It has held / continues to hold many of America’s most prestigious motor racing events: Champ Car / American Le Mans / Superbikes / MotoGP / Rolex Sports Cars / A1GP.
It also plays host to an event that must be close to the hearts of any GT Legends driver – the Monterey Historics, whose attendance often eclipses the professional events listed above. It is one of the top 3 World Historics gatherings alongside Goodwood & Lime Rock.
A branch of the Skip Barber Racing School is also now in place at Laguna Seca.
Even though it hasn’t been mentioned until now, we are all aware of the 800lb gorilla in the room, the thing that everyone knows about, and is wary of, when Laguna Seca gets mentioned – and that is Turns 7R, 8L & 8aR – The Corkscrew. It will probably come as no surprise to any of you to hear that this section will get some extensive coverage lower down this briefing.
This is actually the shortest track we will visit this season, but because of the layout, the laptimes are similar to some of the longer tracks, meaning this could be one of the longer races in time duration. It’s also the first anti-clockwise circuit we’ve driven this season.
Almost immediately after we leave the (downhill facing) grid, timing bridge and pitlane exit, we approach T1L, a high speed, downhill-crested, dogleg left, which is simple enough to negotiate on it’s own, but acts as a nasty “unsettler”, upping the tariff of difficulty for the rapidly approaching next corner, making the actual braking zone and turn in point blind until you clear T1L.
The approach for T2L, the Andretti Hairpin (depending on your navigation of T1L, of course) requires some serious retardation from your brakes, and good grip as there is no positive camber to help you round its double apex. Patience is required here - too early on the loud button and you will face a struggle to keep the rear in check.
A short blast and then hard on the anchors for T3R, another camber-free turn, tighter than it looks, with a bumpy kerb on the inside edge to unsettle people staying tight, and a waiting sandpit on the outside to ensnare drivers going in too hot.
Hard on the accelerator out of T3R, we come to T4R, a shallower corner, again with no real camber to help you get round, but this is a great corner to get right, as it opens out onto a good length straight, diving under another bridge and down to the lowest point of the track T5L.
T5L is similar the T4R – not overly tight, but it needs a measure of aggression, to keep the speed up, as it feeds onto a long - and all uphill – straight. Any momentum lost will be difficult to claw back going up that hill.
The scenery changes with the left hand side of the track suddenly rearing up to form a cliff on the inside. We dive under another bridge, over a crest that hides the braking markers, and (again) try to take as much speed through T6L as possible as it opens on to the uphill Rahal Straight. The inside of T6L is mostly blind because of that cliff, and the outside has a nasty, away sloping sandpit for those who don’t respect it.
Blasting up Rahal, another bridge approaches, standing atop a blind crest, and we are approaching the defining moment of every Laguna Seca lap – the Corkscrew. Immediately over that blind crest, probably already on the anchors, we encounter a little kink right, T7R, which is another testing “unsettler”, and means that you can’t just set up for the latter Corkscrew sections from halfway down Rahal, you have to give T7R a real measure of respect.
After negotiating T7R, you will be hard on the brakes, and you’ll suddenly see the track totally disappear on the left hand side, and a wall rapidly approaching you straight ahead. This is T8L the huge, precipitously downhill first part of the corkscrew. Tuck the nose in hard, before throwing your car off the cliff, and immediately turning right for T8aR, accelerating as hard as you dare through the Corkscrew exit.
A downhill blast follows into the tightening T9L – Rainey. Some drivers will try and drift round here, but there is, as always on this arid landscape, a big sandpit waiting on the outside for those who are over eager.
Again flatout and downhill for the heavily positive camber of T10R, where you are able to carry more speed than the corner initially promises, and out onto the last straight, blasting slightly uphill past the pit entry, and then hard, hard on the brakes for the last corner – T11L. Very tight and with kerbs, walls and sand waiting for the driver who does not treat it respectfully enough, shooting out onto the S/F straight after a good T11L is a fitting end to a lap at Laguna Seca.
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.
Pitlane - you must use the pitlane correctly, exiting the pitlane on the straight before T3R, not cutting across onto the main circuit before T2L.
T2L – Andretti - This corner, especially on the first lap, will be tricky due to the heavy braking zone, cold tyres, vehicle proximity and T1L making the approach blind. Reckless accidents here will be punished heavily if reported. As always, be aware in Lap 1, of people as you turn in here, it will be slower than on susbsequent laps and very, very crowded.
T3R – As mentioned above, this is a slowish, simple-ish corner, but if you go off into the sand, make sure you rejoin safely. If that means coming out of it in last place - so be it. Take your medicine, and don’t ruin someone else’s race.
T6L – Like T3R above, the issue is not the corner itself, but subsequent rejoins after mistakes. Do not rejoin blindly.
T7R, T8L & T8aR – The Corkscrew. This is a dangerous section, and probably not worth describing any more than we all already know it, but at the same time, do not cut the inside of T8aR, and be aware that people may have differing lines to yours depending on vehicle.
All points on the track – General Items
No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
No Chat during the Quali or Race except by Race Control for information.
You may put your lights on if you are on a timed Qualifying lap to inform people in front of you. If they themselves are on a timed lap, they are not under any obligation to move for you.
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.
The pitlane exit must be used for it's entire length, cutting across onto the main circuit to drive T2 is not allowed.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There are no incident reports arising from Round 3.
There are no drivers serving infractions
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.) Accident reports made within 24 hours of race completion will be ignored.
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
Points are scored 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
.
