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Grrrr! I qualified where I thought I would but I felt my set-up was very stable and I would be able to run consistent laps. It was and I did.

I lost a lot of places on the start but being a 90 minute race I did not mind. I knew as long as I was consistent I could make up places.

I got up to third after passing the car ahead of me and within a lap Coak and I met in a most unruly fashion. I was passed but gathered back up and chased down P3 again.

While I was doing that I saw that Solomon and Bock were losing a lot of time to me. At one point Bock was +30 seconds ahead and Solomon +20 seconds. By the time Bock ducked into the pits he was 20 seconds ahead and Solomon was only +8, I could see him at the end of the front straight, Kemmel, Pouhon, Campus, Blainchemont and the Bus Stop.

I knew if I remaind consistent I had a very good chance at P2 and possible hunt down Bock as his tires seemed to be going away much faster than mine were later in the first stint. I pitted four laps after Bock to give me four more laps on good tires in which I could return to the hunt.

Then the damn pit stop. It refused to highlight what I needed. I spent 30 seconds in the pits before I knew I was not going to get a stop in, came back out and ran another lap and went back in. No joy...

I had fun but it was frustrating that I was running my race, very few track limit violations, and one unfortunate incident with Coak (that really had very little effect overall), but could not close the deal.
Sorry about that - I try to stay out of the way of faster drivers. The blue flag alert always causes me to tense up.
 
Although I think Spa is a more physical track than say Road America, I noticed we had a few more no shows and DNF's. I would like for your feedback as to the *Special* Multiclass 90 minute races as to understand what, if anything, I can do to ensure we can get larger, more diversified grids.
I realize last minute real life comes in, and I am not busting anyone's stones. Just want to bring the best variety. Thanks.

90 minutes too long?
Three classes too many?
Cars, Track or combo just wasn't my thing?
 
I feel like it was all circumstantial. Could be wrong though. I personally love the 90 min races!
Even though I raced, it was a last minute decision to proceed because with a 90 minute race in the eastern time zone it was about 11:30 by the time I shut the computer down. Plus, I'm so wired from the race it takes me an hour to get to sleep and I have to get up at 4 AM. Makes for a very long and grueling day when I'm up that late the night before. Us old folks need our sleep more than you yung'uns;)
 
After several practice runs with and without pit stops I made the decision to just add a splash of fuel and front tires only. It was a logical decision based on the fact that in these practice runs my fronts were at about 60% at the 45 minute point and the rears were still in the low 80% range but it was a BIG mistake. The balance of the car was way off and I had major problems trying to control it in all but the easiest corners and it caused a few spins and some close calls throughout the second half of the race. I had to drop my speed by 1 to 2 seconds per lap just to try to keep it on the track so the 17 seconds I saved by not changing the rears, cost me probably twice that in lap times plus the additional time spent doing 360s and slamming into walls.
After not taking tires in this race and changing only two in a previous event, I found I will always do four or NONE as I found the car more unstable than any advantage of having two of the 'more' worn tires replaced.
I forgot if it was you, I apologize, but someone had mentioned that the amount of fuel has no effect on how the car reacts in regards to the amount of weight. Is this indeed true, as I feel sometimes the mid, and in particular the rear engine cars feel more balanced to me with more fuel. Have I been imagining things...again?:redface:
 
amount of fuel has no effect
Well, it could be my imagination but I can definitely go faster with less fuel and the balance of the DMD changed (at least in my mind if not physically:rolleyes:) as the fuel load went down. My setup seemed to be best with about 40 liters of fuel. So I would say it changes but I guess we would have to ask the devs to get a straight answer.
 
Keep in mind folks that there's DRS available for those cars, make sure to bind it to your wheel and practice driving with it during practice session (without any limits of usage). During the race its 3 uses per lap if you are a second or less behind another car
 
@David DeGreef I like having a 90 minute race once in a while! Gives a chance for things to sort out and get in the groove. Also makes consistency more important which is a big part of racing. I'm older than most if not all on here and I like the challenge.
Maybe two classes is better since we don't really have grids that are that large. I'm slow in all of them but prefer the fast cars since I get to pass someone now and then!!:cool:
 
After not taking tires in this race and changing only two in a previous event, I found I will always do four or NONE as I found the car more unstable than any advantage of having two of the 'more' worn tires replaced.
I forgot if it was you, I apologize, but someone had mentioned that the amount of fuel has no effect on how the car reacts in regards to the amount of weight. Is this indeed true, as I feel sometimes the mid, and in particular the rear engine cars feel more balanced to me with more fuel. Have I been imagining things...again?:redface:
It wasn't me but I heard the comment. I haven't seen any empirical evidence either way and I don't drive consistently enough to be able to tell if the fuel load is making any difference or not. I would think that it's only relevant to the top tier "aliens" where every thousandth of a second counts. I just play it safe by running quali with a light fuel load and fill the tank for the race start to save time on the pit stops. If no pit stop required I calculate the required fuel load and add 2 laps worth.
 
Well, it could be my imagination but I can definitely go faster with less fuel and the balance of the DMD changed (at least in my mind if not physically:rolleyes:) as the fuel load went down. My setup seemed to be best with about 40 liters of fuel. So I would say it changes but I guess we would have to ask the devs to get a straight answer.
What I usually do is run practice with a near race fuel level to see fuel consumption and tire wear. At qualification I reduce the fuel to last the 10-15 minutes I want to run. I am generally a second quicker. I am asking @Alex Hodgkinson if the weight and behavior of the car is related to amount of fuel on board?
If the answer is no...I truly am imagining things.:cautious:
 
……. The blue flag alert always causes me to tense up.
I hear you there, that's why I went with the P2 class.

I lost a position on the start but got it back on lap 2 I think. Later after BP was off playing in the sand or something I had a 6 second lead over him that was shrinking each lap, then with a 3 second gap on BP I caught a GTR3 car heading into Eau Rouge and had to slow down until we hit Kemmel. After I cleared the GTR3 and moved left heading for Les Combe, BP startled the heck out of me as I forced him off the edge of the track as he blasted by me.
The last 20 minutes of the race I was starting to lose the edge and started making more mistakes, spinning in Les Combes after over cooking it passing a slower car, almost spinning in La Source several times and braking too late and almost running off Chicane. Ended the race in 4th a minute and 10 seconds behind 3rd, and I think I only made one pass on track from my 7th starting position.
My neck and shoulders were a little sore after the 90 minutes.

KO
 
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