RD GP Championship 2014

[Jamie]

What a race! Definitely the toughest one yet, was on the limit every lap thanks to @Chris Stacey ! First couple of laps was intense as hell! Congrats Chris & @Justin for making it on to the podium and hope everyone had a good time!

@Jamie Pyatt I really your issue gets sorted! It has to be one of the harshest bug ever!

As always thanks Chris and @Sniper for organizing!

Thanks Sun. I'm cool about it . Think I'm getting as much pleasure about having a laugh with all the guys. Would like to put together one race meeting though. That would really top off the experience.
Well done to the podium finishers. Well done to all for a really clean race.
Thanks to the organising committee. Can't finish last now James and Rhys have snatched it
Regards
CASPER

 

[Chris]

Qualifying: 2nd
Race: 2nd

Qualifying felt very good. I got a great banker lap in on my first run, with only marginal time to be found. Managed to find around 2 tenths on my second run, however it wasn't enough for pole, which I just missed out on by 0.18 seconds. Very close hard fought battle, great lap @Sun Levi!

At the start I managed to get a good start and gained a bit on Sun, but wasn't close enough to take the lead into the fast sweeping T1. I was trying to be very careful in the opening few corners after last week, because I knew that if I could get through unscathed then I'd have a shot at the podium.

Somehow Sun managed to find a few tenths per lap almost every lap, and felt like he was almost cruising from my perspective because I was pushing really hard from about lap 8 onwards as I got in a groove, yet Sun kept managing to pull a couple of tenths out of the bag each lap to extend the lead.

Very happy with second place, hopefully I can go one better at the next race... Spa! 19 adventures, because the word "corner" just doesn't do it justice.

Shout out to @Joao Alves on his first race finish! Been a rocky ride so far, but you've finally managed to bag some points! Good stuff mate

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

i will be back next season.

Don't count on it.

It such a poor reason to pull out because you are "losing motivation". How about the league organizer that has put all his free time in facilitating you to race here?

That's exactly the only thing you need to do: show up and race and obviously that's already too much to ask (3 out of 5 missed). So consider yourself not welcome for our leagues.

We too lose motivation with such absence reports.

 

[zAmboni]

Qual: 4
Finished :10

With all of the changes in the game it is hard to compare any kind of lap times from the last time I ran the same combo several months ago. I didn't get my pre-race nap so I was a bit tired for the event (although I stole a half cup of the wife's coffee and that helped! [don't normally drink coffee])

Even in practice it is hard to tell just how your pace compares to everyone else's time. Is that race setup/quali setup? Full fuel? low fuel? My practice times were mid pack so I really wasn't expecting too much.

I was really surprised when I saw 4/whatever popup when I finished my first qualifying run. Surely that wouldn't stand! On my second run I added a notch of wing just to see what it would do and I was on pace for maybe a 2:03.x lap, but I botched it in the last two corners. But the 4th for qualifying held! I ended up keeping the added notch of wing for the race because the track grip was a bit lower than I thought it would be for the race.

At start I was on the inside (UGH!), didn't feel like I had the room to move to the outside line, so I knew I probably would swing wide at T1. Through T1, I tried to keep it inside and in the mirror it looked like I was clear of @Frank, but we touched. My sidepod showed a slight bit of damage and my rear wing may have been a light tint of yellow, but nothing major. Car seemed to have lost a little top end speed, but I wasn't sure if it was due to the damage or the additional wing I added.

I tried to keep in contact with Sun, Chris and Justin, but they were slowly pulling out because of my slower top speed. @David Armstrong was keeping me honest behind me. After a few laps, it looked like I had a comfortable gap, but then I was wide on exit of the hairpin and straddled the kerb with the car bottoming out. In practice, I was able to get off of it easily, but this time it spun the car when I came off the kerb . After rejoining, I was closing the gap on Frank and @Noel Spence, but then I caught the outside kerb on club and went off.

Calmed down and put together a few more good laps and then spun after hitting the kerb coming out of copse and ended up 10th. Happy with my pace, disappointed in the result....but hopeful I can eventually get a top 5 result in the final races

 

[Justin]

First and foremost, having done the calculations: even if Sun doesn't get a single point over the next 2 races, he can not move from 1st place. He has 50 points to gain for obtaining a worse result, so even if I won next week the points difference wouldn't change. And as it is already over 50 points of difference now, even if he scored another 0 at Monza and I won he'd still have enough points to stay in first.

So Sun, the title is 100% yours. Congrats on a being a deserving champion mate!

Anywho, my race.

Qualifying: 3rd
Race: 3rd

Pretty happy with the result.

I had some concerns over my pace in practice. I knew I was looking at about a second a lap deficit to Sun based on the practice we did on the server on Friday, and I honestly thought that due to my normally poor qualifying efforts a mid-pack finish was happening here.

I focused heavily on qualifying runs during practice to try and fix my qualifying pace issues this season and it really did help. After setting a really decent banker on my first run my second got me a high 2:03, which surprised me even if I was half a second off Sun and Chris. I screwed up my last run but I had that coming as I was taking all the risks with the kerbs with nothing to lose as I knew finding half a second just wasn't happening.

My race was just about the most boring race for a podium placing ever. To be honest having a nice and easy drama free race while still getting a decent points haul is a blessing after most of my races have been much more hectic. I was on the top 2's pace in the first half of the race as I was also pushing to gap Fred and David behind. I tried to push to try and get within slipstream territory of Chris around lap 9, but once he and Sun started pushing into the 2:03's I decided to protect my position, as I knew flirting with the kerbs here meant trouble and I wasn't throwing a podium away due to them.

Congrats to Sun and Chris on excellent drives for 1st and 2nd, and thanks to Chris and Tony for setting up the event and server as always.

Now that Sun has the championship, maybe the rest of us might have a shot at actually winning a race.

 

[Chris]

Nice catch Justin, and a well driven race by you, I had to be careful not to spin myself because I didn't have much of a gap to you!

With that said,
SUN LEVI is the 2014/15 RD-VFAC World Champion!


Congratulations Sun, and well deserved!
5 races, 5 wins, 3 poles and 4 fastest laps of the race. Dominance in every sense of the word.

 

[Chris]

Round 5

Driver: @James Scanlan
Rule Breach: Article 4.1 of the RD League Regulations. Failure to provide notice of absence entirely, and an invalid reason provided as to why attendance was not met.
Penalty: Expulsion from the RD-VFAC and racing license suspension.

Driver: Catalin Sasu (@Dexter)
Rule Breach: Article 6.5 of the RD League Regulations.
Explanation: Sasu's microphone was not on mute, or push-to-talk, despite being a requirement for the league. This enabled all drivers on Teamspeak to hear constant shouting coming from Sasu's microphone. He was asked twice during qualifying and several times during the race to mute his microphone, all of which were ignored.
Penalty: Based on previous indiscretions in both league and club racing, and now this most recent rule breach, the stewards have exercised their right to expel Sasu from the RD-VFAC.

Driver: @Rhys Gardiner
Explanation: Provided an invalid reason to withdraw from the RD-VFAC.
Penalty: Removal from league (as per request), and license suspension.

 

[Chris]

Round 5 result is now finalised.
Championship standings

 

[Noel Spence]

good on you sun well deserved , as for my race everything was looking good for my best finish so far , but i had a coming together with frank which put an end too that , not sure who,s fault that was , and jeremy i do not know if you hit me or not you kept on disappearing then reappearing but i did not feel anything ,congrats too the pods and cheers too chris and tony ,again and jeez i hope you fix your problem jamie thats crap

 

[Sun Levi]

Thanks guys! Didn't actually realise it until now absolutely enjoyed every race so far! Very happy with the results 5 wins but 2 was due to absolute luck Still, a great way to experience my first league!

Still looking forward to the last 2 races! and again a big thanks to RD, @Chris Stacey, @Sniper and everyone who joined the league, you guys are awesome!

 

[Jack]

Congratulations Sun Well Deserved Bud

 

[Aidan Keranen]

Took the night to catch myself, still really pissed over it though.
Was never in the groove at Silverstone, a track that I like: yet clearly struggle to drive. Qualifying was about par for the course, nothing too different.
At race start I was overly cautious. Starting from 14th, probably the most cautious I have ever been. I lost two spots, but wasn't worried as we approached Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel, thinking that I had a good chance to attempt a move down the Hangar straight. Thus, moving out to give myself a bit of room for a better exit through Chapel, I caught the left front tyre on the curve, and to use a saying of Tony's: exit stage left.
Collision with the wall, pit stop later and hey presto I am 30 seconds behind the field and losing a small amount each lap. Safe to say a lot of pride was swallowed and a lot of expletives said.

But I will move on, a big congratulations are in order to Sun for his championship, and I guess a small apology to everyone last night, I usually would stick around a bit and chat, but my god I was so filthy with myself I needed to get out of it. On to next round!

 

[Chris]

Silverstone proved to be a tougher than expected race on both man and machine. It also saw Sun Levi claim the title in commanding fashion, however there's still plenty left to fight for in the championship, and what better place to host this armwrestle for positions than the magnificent Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium: The Jewel in the Crown.

General Information:
Date: 07/02/2015
Server name: RACEDEPARTMENT.COM RD-VFAC
Skin Pack: DOWNLOAD
Password: Sent via TeamSpeak
Virtual Time of Day: 14:00
TV Broadcast Replay Cameras: DOWNLOAD

Server regulated driving assists:

• Traction Control = OFF
• ABS = OFF
• Stability Control = OFF
• Auto-Clutch = OFF
• Damage = 100%
• Fuel usage = 100%
• Tyre wear = 100%
• Starting Track Grip = 90%

Session Schedule:
Booking: 20:00 AEDT (30mins)
Practice: 20:30 AEDT (45mins)
Qualifying: 21:15 AEDT (15mins)
Race: 21:30 AEDT 12 Laps
*AEDT = GMT+11


Technical Notes & Track Briefing:
Track Length: 7.001 km (4.35 mi)
Top speed: 225 km/h (140 mph)
Turns: 19 in total. 9 right, 10 left.

Track Map & Red Zone:
Red Zone
The red zone for the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps applies from the start line to the exit of Turn 1 where the pit exit line finishes. This applies only for the first lap of the race. Any incidents that occur in this area will be looked at automatically, and may be penalised more harshly. Remember, be competitive, but don't ruin someones race on the first corner of the first lap.

Pitlane Entry
When driving into the pitlane, you must remain within the white pitlane entry lines at all times (Practice, Qualifying and Race sessions).

Pit lane Exit
Drivers must not exceed the white line on the exit of the pit lane which guides you safely back to the racing line, at any point during the event (P, Q & R).

Track Limits
Drivers must maintain at least two wheels within the white lines at all times. Drivers who breach track limits regularly during the race and gain a lasting advantage, will be penalised. Particular areas of concern that will be closely looked at during qualifying and the race are as follows:

Turn 4: Raidillon
Cutting the white line (highlighted in red) at the top of Raidillon by placing more than two wheels on the inside of it, is not permitted.

Turn 9: Rivage 2
Drivers can carry significantly greater speeds by running wide on the exit of Turn 9. There is slippery astro-turf on the run-off, however, it is not enough to off-set the time gained by running wide. As a result, placing more than two wheels over the white line is not permitted.

Turn 14: Stavelot
Similarly to Turn 9, drivers can gain a lot of time by running wide and carrying more speed on the exit of Turn 14. This is not permitted.

Turn 17: Blanchimont
On the entry to Blanchimont, time can be gained by taking a wider entry line. Putting more than two wheels over the white line on the entry to Blanchimont allows drivers to take a line of even less resistance due to the wider entry point, which means they'll carry greater speed through the corner. This is not permitted.

Finally:
As per league regulations:

• You are expected to attend. Unless you report absent in the absentee thread with a legitimate excuse.
• During qualifying and the race only clear and concise alerts will be tolerated.
• If you're caught talking more than that during qualifying and race sessions, you will be penalised.
  • Set your microphone to "Push-to-Talk" in TeamSpeak settings:
    

• If you're involved in an incident, dont rage, just report it via PM according to the accepted format and it will be independently reviewed.

 

[Sun Levi]

Looking forward to the race! and the battle for 2nd place in the standings

 

[Chris]

Onboard start + First lap.


RD-VFAC | Round 5: Silverstone | Onboard first lap by Chris Stacey on RaceDepartment

 

[Chris]

*Update track limit notes, Turn 4: Raidillon.

 

[Jeremy Talbot]

This is what happened when I hit Noel. Love it! Spoken again to my ISP, hopefully technical will get back to me with a result but I'm not holding my breath.

Sorry about the widescreen, recorded from triples

 

[Chris]

This is what happened when I hit Noel. Love it! Spoken again to my ISP, hopefully technical will get back to me with a result but I'm not holding my breath.

Sorry about the widescreen, recorded from triples

Hopefully you're able to get your connection stability sorted out, because it's pretty hectic when it goes off the boiler haha

 

[Jeremy Talbot]

Hectic is one of the more polite words that I use when that happens

 

[Chris]

*Added pitlane entry protocol.