RD Star Mazda Series - Season 1 (Archive)

Will Marquez · Mar 1, 2011

RACEDEPARTMENT Star Mazda Series

Must be a licensed member.
http://www.racedepartment.com/application-rules/

Season 1

Round 1: Indianapolis Motor Speedaway - Road Course -- March 20th
Round 2: Watkins Glen - Boot -- April 3rd
Round 3: Charlotte Motor Speedway - Road Course -- April 17th
Round 4: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca - May 1st
Round 5: Brands Hatch GP -- May 15th
Round 6: Road Atlanta - Full Course -- May 29th
Round 7: Circuit de SPA Francorchamps - GP Pits -- June 12th
Round 8: Daytona International Speedway - Road Course -- June 26th

*Number of Laps will be posted in race thread
***Dates subject to change

Race Schedule:

Racing Sim: iRacing

Cars: Star Mazda

Setups: Open

Hosted Event Server name: RaceDepartment.com Star Mazda Series

Official Practice: 2 hrs before the event 18:30pm GMT / 1:30pm EST / 10:30pm PST
Registration end is 20:30pm GMT / 3:30pm EST / 12:30pm PST
***Please be in the hosted event server before this time.

Qualification - Lone qualifier (2 continuous hotlaps)
Race - Standing Start
Grid Max - 34 drivers (36 drivers after Round 1)
Fast tows - 1

Points:
P1 - 50 pts
P2 - 40
P3 - 35
P4 - 31
P5 - 30
P6 - 29
P7 - 28
P8 - 27
P9 - 26
P10 - 25
P11 - 24
P12 - 23
P13 - 22
P14 - 21
P15 - 20
P16 - 19
P17 - 18
P18 - 17
P19 - 16
P20 – 15
P21 – 14
P22 – 13
P23 – 12
P24 – 11
P25 – 10
P26 – 9
P27 – 8
P28 – 7
P29 - 6
P30 - 5
P31 - 4
P32 - 3
P33 - 2
P34 - 1

Pole Position: 5 points
Fastest Lap: 5 points
Most laps led: 5 points

Drop Races: There will be two (2) drop races available throughout the season to allow for real life commitments. The RD Star Mazda Staff understand that things may come up but please make sure before signing up that you will at least be able to attend six (6) out of the eight (8) races.

Incidents, Investigations and Penalties:
Please remember, the League staff will only review the first lap of each race as standard procedure - any other incidents must be reported before any review will be undertaken.

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. Send a PM to either Will Marquez, Kevin Watts, Abdul Ahmed or William Nowell. Please give as much information as possible during the report (time of incident, drivers involved etc.)

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. We simply will NOT tolerate any post race finger pointing.

First lap penalty: If a driver causes an incident on the first lap of the race resulting in a major damage to another car, he will start from pitlane in the next race entered.

Blue flag: The driver receiving the blue flag is responsible of moving out of the racing line and give way to the lapping car as early as possible. In most situations, the driver receiving the blue flag will be deemed at fault in case of an incident with a front runner unless the incident is caused by the lapping driver's negligence.

Making contact from behind: In most situations a driver causing an incident by making contact from behind will be found guilty and penalized (a blue flag situation is one of the exceptions).

No Shows: If a driver does not post that they will not be attending a certain race. That will be considered a no show. Two or more no shows and the RD Star Mazda Series Staff can possibly remove that driver from league. Please if you are unable to attend a race, a simple post stating that you cannot attend will suffice.

Glenn Petersen · Mar 21, 2011

I didn't know if I was going to make this race up until that morning. I'm glad I did. As is usual, I didn't get a whole lot of practice in. I used Sam's setup. Thanks Sam. It was very comfortable for me. My strategy for the race was to stay out of everyones way since I struggled keeping the car straight in what little practice I did have. Therefore, I deliberately qualified at the back and just took it easy off the line at the start. That strategy benefited in another way, though. I was able to avoid the early lap carnage. Man, there was a lot of lawn mowing going on.

After a couple laps I made my way to 8th place by just turning steady laps, not fast, just clean. If I could just keep this up for another 20 or so laps....
Riiiiigggghhhttt.
Somebody spun in T3. I saw the yellow flag, but I slowed too late and spun into him. I'm not sure who it was, but sorry for that. My 'aging' reflexes aren't what they used to be. My left rear was damaged and I had to take a tow. In my frustration, I was caught speeding out of the pits and had to serve a penalty.
I finished out the race 2 laps down, but with only one spin later in the race and it was all by myself, so i didn't mess anyone else up.
Looking forward to the next race.

Alan Wilson · Mar 21, 2011

Name : Alan Wilson
Country: Uk
By signing up I have Agreed to the RD Star Mazda Series rules and formats

Kevin Watts · Mar 22, 2011

The RD iRacing Racing Club/Star Mazda Series and the future

The iRacing Racing Club here at RD has been a great success since starting with a series of one-off races and then the MX-5 series. The racing has been close, tough and exciting for everyone who took part. When Will Marquez and I announced the Star Mazda series we intended to carry on where the MX-5 series left off.Our view on racing and officiating the racing club was to be as 'hands off' as much as possible, to let drivers race each other hard but cleanly. This hands off approach appeared to work well with not one driver requiring cautioning about their driving.

Unfortunately after the first race of the Star Mazda series it became clear that there is a need to remind drivers of what is expected of them. Not only were Will and I shocked at what we witnessed during the race but what happened after the race on the server and then what continued on the forums. I'm not sure if some of you were aware but I remained logged in to the iRacing server until it closed. I had started to review some of the incidents I'd seen during the race but part of my time was taken up following the voicechat and text buffer with drivers arguing over incidents. It was made quite clear to drivers how to report incidents and what not to do.Three simple steps so easily forgotten - review, cool off, review again. The kind of post race public chat on the server and in the forums where drivers accused and blamed others for incidents will not be tolerated again. If we have to start suspending drivers from races to preserve the good natured racing seen in past series and events then so be it. This will be the last warning.

Sorry - a simple word, one that seemed very absent from all the communications flying back and fore at Sunday's event.Nobody likes getting caught up in an incident but that one word can,in an instant can make amends and reduce the frustration or anger of another driver. Some of you may feel your race was ruined by an incident but that does not give you the right to ruin someone else's race by you getting wound up and racing recklessly to make up positions.

So far we have had one report for an incident and we are investigating that but we will also be contacting drivers over the next week or so to caution them on their driving for incidents we have witnessed that have not been reported. Due to the nature of the open wheel cars we are racing in this series we saw more drivers making use of the fast tow to reset their cars. This in itself brought about issues with drivers not showing enough care when rejoining the race. Please make use of the F3 display which shows the relative times between you and the cars around you. Generally the blue flags were well observed by everyone but please be aware that as a car lapping another it is your responsibility to make a clean and safe overtaking manoeuvre. It is not the responsibility of the car being lapped to pull over, change its line or slow down. Should you be involved in an incident and your car has spun and is stationary onthe track do not try and move with oncoming traffic moving at speed. I witnessed one driver who had spun drive the full width of the track to turn his car around while other drivers approached at great speed which resulted in another driver hitting him side on. I know as a racer you want to get back racing as soon as possible but if there is a large amount of traffic around you then do not move until the track is clear. Again the F3 view can help you in this situation.

It also became clear that some drivers use a yellow flag incident to make up places. The yellow flag is a sign for drivers to show caution, to slow down, not to gamble on making up places by recklessly charging through an incident. This is not Days of Thunder and you are not Cole Trickle! Just as everyone expects drivers to observe the blue flags drivers should also observe the yellow flag and understand why its being shown. Finally, there is an old saying that races are never won at the first corner but often lost there. This is very true of the first corner but also the first lap .While tyres and brakes are cold and the cars are closely bunched any contact can quickly result in a multiple car incident. We warn drivers at every race to be aware of this and yet at Sundays race there were far too many silly incidents between racers not heeding this advice.

If you've read this far into my post then congratulations, you are well on your way to becoming a respected member of the RaceDeparmtent iRacing Racing Club. Please take on board the advice given, the racing staff do not want to have to take a heavy handed approach to the races here. The events are designed to be fun and enjoyable to everyone. We have a wide variety of racers here from all around the world with different skill levels that brings about its own challenges when racing together but so far we'vehad a lot of fun from the front of the pack right down to the back and we want it to stay that way.

Dazmaniac · Mar 22, 2011

Kev,

I appreciate this thread is probably not intended as a discussion thread, so delete this if you deem necessary.

What really narked me (hence my vent at the point my car was rendered immobile) was that we had the usual final instruction from Will prior to the start for folks to take it steady on the 1st lap, yet within the first 3 corners we had 3 separate incidents resulting in cars flying here there and everywhere and a glut of guys having to fast tow back to pit lane.

The race was 26 laps long. You certainly ain't going to win it in the first 3 corners, lol.

I hope things go smoother at Watkins Glen, but I envisage turns 1,2 and 3 there claiming a few victims on the opening lap.

George Pilkington · Mar 22, 2011

Well said Kevin.
George

Abdul Al-Amry · Mar 22, 2011

Well said Kevin

Here is my take I tried to post at the iRacing forums.

Here is a post to try and change the views others have of winning the race at T1 or L1.

Think of racing games just as any other games. You start a mission and see to it you finish it. Playing Halo Reach to finish the first chapter and proceed to another, is Racing games finishing lap 1 hopefully incident free. Proceed to Chapter 2, where you settle in the race and have a race pace you enjoy. Wont help playing Halo Reach in Legendary mode if you aint ready yet. By half way through playing Halo Reach, you are in racing games enjoying your racing with close quarters adrenaline rush with your fellow Racers. Finish the game by finish the race.

The first few seconds leading to T1 with wrecks all over the place must be the shortest way of enjoying the game.

Halo Reach can be replaced by any other game you prefer .

btw Reach single player is fantastic.

Glenn Petersen · Mar 22, 2011

Tis why I qualified last - on purpose. After two laps I was 8th. 8th! Not because I'm fast, we all know that.

But, because of the numerous incidences. I think a lot of people forgot that these are open wheel cars. You HAVE to give each other a lot of room. There is no bumping and touching with these cars. There is a wide range of experience and skill among us. The experienced and skilled driver should account for these variances and adjust accordingly. The inexperienced or unskilled should try to run steady laps and not try anything rash. Even then, shtuff happens. But maybe we can minimize the incidences.
So, this being our first race with this car, let's learn from it, shake it off and have a great Watkins Glen race.

Will Marquez · Mar 22, 2011

+1 Kevin.

The club events in the past, to the RD MX-5 and now the RD Star Mazda League was created for fellow RDers of all abilities to get together in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. The rules are set in place for a reason both in the forums and on track and have been taken from the RD rules and guidelines for racing in club events and leagues. These races are not sprint events. 26 laps is a long race. If everyone shows a bit of patience you will find a way past the driver in front of you or at least battle that driver to pass them as cleanly as possible. Trust me, we do not want to step in but there are gonna be times where incidents do happen on track and that is where sending in your incidents via PM to the Racing Staff comes into play.

Hopefully we all learn from it and move on. Now bring on Round 2 and let's enjoy the remainder of the season.

Phil Hopkins · Mar 23, 2011

I'm new to this venue, and wasn't able to make the first race (looking forward to the Glen), but I did want to say that I appreciate this thread as a display of prompt attention to a potential problem that can re-set everybody into the right frame of mind. Positive management. Thanks.

Lars Strijdonck · Mar 23, 2011

Sad to hear things went down after the race on the chat

+1 keep it friendly fokes. We are here to have some fun.

Will Marquez · Mar 23, 2011

Round 1 Penalties

Warning: Nick Bell for first lap incident with Pedro van Baelen.
Warning: Nathan Robinson cautioned for blue flag and position awareness
Warning: Sam Peacock cautioned for unsafe overtaking of a lapped car.

Anthony Hilton: +10 sec penalty for first lap incident which caused damage to Will Marquez.
John Sydenstricker: +10 sec penalty for first lap incident which caused damage to Scott Malcolm.
Pedro van Baelen: +10 sec penalty for avoidable contact which caused damage to William Nowell.

Next round first lap incidents will be punished with harder penalties if it happens. Please be more patient and show more caution early on.

Bob Luneski · Mar 24, 2011

I was totally gutted I had to miss the opening race of the season. The good news is that Underdog Racing will be unveiling their new racing engine at Watkins Glen. Exhaustive testing at Indy resulted in a smoked motherboard. Underdog Racing sponsors took the opportunity to rebuild the car from the ground up. Looking under the hood reveals a Sandy Bridge i5-2500K running at 4.8 GHz on an ASUS P8P67 chassis. Supported by 2133MHz memory, 10,000 rpm 6gb/s SATA drive, and ATI Radeon HD 6870 graphics the new car should be a force to be reckoned with. However, not everyone in the Underdog team appears to be impressed. An Underdog Racing crew member who wishes to remain anonymous said "I think the sponsors are idiots if they think this fancy new car is going to make "Back-marker Bob" any faster."

See y'all on the grid!

Pedro van Baelen · Mar 24, 2011

i'm the 1st to say that i was wrong for chatting about some stupid drivers in the chat and forum.
i stil think the same but i'm not going to sent in some inc. i had a lot of fun in the MX5 league
stil the MX5 league was a way off the good racing in the old days when we dit the huge RPM race wtcc league
i hope the Star mazda would be at least the same level as the mx5,

up to next race an hopefully we have all learned a lesson from the first race, i have learn my lesson to shut up

Dazmaniac · Mar 24, 2011

Bob Luneski said:
I was totally gutted I had to miss the opening race of the season. The good news is that Underdog Racing will be unveiling their new racing engine at Watkins Glen. Exhaustive testing at Indy resulted in a smoked motherboard. Underdog Racing sponsors took the opportunity to rebuild the car from the ground up. Looking under the hood reveals a Sandy Bridge i5-2500K running at 4.8 GHz on an ASUS P8P67 chassis. Supported by 2133MHz memory, 10,000 rpm 6gb/s SATA drive, and ATI Radeon HD 6870 graphics the new car should be a force to be reckoned with. However, not everyone in the Underdog team appears to be impressed. An Underdog Racing crew member who wishes to remain anonymous said "I think the sponsors are idiots if they think this fancy new car is going to make "Back-marker Bob" any faster."

See y'all on the grid!

Bob.

Not sure how iRacing ran with your previous rig (racing engine) but I would expect that with the new outfit, you'll be able to get the most out of iRacing in a graphical sense and not see any major hit to FPS.

Since Nov'10, I'm running an i7-960 with a 2GB HD 5970 backed up with 12GB of RAM and get excellent FPS even when there is a trackful of motors.

Enjoy bud.

Lars Strijdonck · Mar 27, 2011

RD Star Mazda Series - Round 2 - Watkins Glen Int'l Boot Config - April 3rd, 2011

Since i have some credits to spare i opened up a pratice session for the next round.
Feel free to join.

Sam Peacock · Mar 27, 2011

well here is what i have so far, a little tricky threw the chicane but pretty fast, il be working on making it more stable threw the week.
I really love this track

John Sydenstricker · Mar 27, 2011

Not sure where to put this so I'll try here. I'm withdrawing from all league and club races that start around the 1900 to 2000 GMT time frame. It just doesn't allow me enough time to prepare for the races after I get home from work at 1520 EST, as my previous races have shown. Hope to see some of you at later races!

Will Marquez · Mar 27, 2011

John Sydenstricker said:
Not sure where to put this so I'll try here. I'm withdrawing from all league and club races that start around the 1900 to 2000 GMT time frame. It just doesn't allow me enough time to prepare for the races after I get home from work at 1520 EST, as my previous races have shown. Hope to see some of you at later races!

Thanks for letting me know John. Will update the signup list now. You've always got a spot on the grid. Hope to see you at future RD events.

Will Marquez · Mar 28, 2011

RD Star Mazda Series - Round 2 Watkins Glen Int'l Boot Config -- April 3rd, 2011

Servername: RaceDepartment.com Star Mazda Series - Round 2
Password: RD Star Mazda Series PW
Track: Watkins Glen International - Boot Config
Car: Star Mazda

Official Practice: 2 hrs before the event 18:30pm GMT / 2:30pm EST / 11:30am PST
Registration end is 20:30pm GMT / 4:30pm EST / 1:30pm PST
***Please be in the hosted event server before this time.

Qualification - Lone qualifier (2 continuous hotlaps)
Race - 21 laps (Standing Start)
Entries - 36
Fast tows - 1

Notes: Must be a RD Licensed member
http://www.racedepartment.com/misc.php?do=form&fid=1/

Read the password and golden rules.
http://www.racedepartment.com/rules-passwords/