RaceDepartment Historic Club Series Season 10 Round 2 – If you tolerate this, then your Round 3 will be next
Welcome back to Round 2 of RDHCS S10. There has been long and well documented commentary after Round 1, something that always happens once we see how the vehicle set and driver mix shapes up. I won’t waste your time and go over that again - we all know exactly what’s been said, and with what intention – so let’s look forward to the next challenge that the season throws at us.
We stay in Europe for Round2, moving 1,130 miles due North from Portimao to Aberffraw, North Wales, and the 3.38km International layout of the Anglesey Circuit.
Circuit Notes
Anglesey Circuit (or Trac Mon in Welsh) is set on the west coast of Anglesey, overlooking the Irish Sea and Snowdonia mountain range beyond, and provides us with a challenging and exciting circuit set in a beautiful location. The circuit was completely redesigned in 2006 from the previous version, and the only philosophy in play was to utilise the topography and setting to maximise the enjoyment and challenge of the track. The TV programme 5th Gear regularly uses the 1.5 mile Coastal layout for its “Shoot Out” section of the show. The 2.1 mile International that we are using is the longest available in the complex, and provides multiple challenges within its compact footprint.
Like Portimao, the track is constantly changing gradient throughout the span of a lap, but unlike Portimao, we do not have the wide open spaces of Portugal to navigate.
The S/F straight at Anglesey is much tighter than Portimao, and from the exit of the last turn is a pretty short run into T1L - Turn 1. As the turn starts, the track is traversing a hill, but by the time you exit the turn, you're going up hill. Nothing is too steep, but it does remove any helpful camber that might be there. In addition, the inside is protected by the tyre barrier guarding the pitlane, so turning in early and extra tight to negate that adverse camber is a non-starter, and this barrier also obscures the exit, making picking your line fairly tricky.
A short blast uphill and then hard on the brakes for T2R - The Banking. As the name suggests, there is some pretty hefty (for this circuit at least) positive camber through this hairpin turn, and it allows for some fairly early application of throttle, the banking helping to keep your car in line. You exit The Banking downhill onto the straight, and approach T3R - Church.
This is a medium-high speed bend, try to breathe on the brakes rather than stamp on them, keep your momentum up on a feathered throttle and ease your way through here, getting back onto full chat as early as possible, because there is a long stretch of full acceleration following the exit. The next section is flat out, starting gently downhill, and then climbing up and left through 2 gentle tightenings, the second one slightly crested to make it blind and to throw you left, just when you need to be stable and on the right hand side of the track for the heavy, hard braking zone for T4aL - Rocket1.
This is the tightest corner on the circuit, which has its own obvious difficulty tarrif, but the entry to Rocket1 is gently uphill and then falls away steeply at the apex and through the exit to make it even trickier. Just to make it even harder, you only have a second or two after exit before you are braking hard again, this time downhill and into T4bR - Rocket2. This is a hairpin that traverses a hill, again taking camber off the track just when you would like some, and so you keep it neat and tidy, blast up out and back uphill.
Get on the anchors hard for T5R - Peel. This is blind and crested, making it very tricky to attack, so keeping stable through here will be quickly than any gung-ho approach, as there are bumpy kerbs and slippery, dusty grass on the outside for those who don't respect Peel's dusguised trickiness.
Once out of Peel, accelerate downhill towards T6L - Seamans, and again beware of the downhill entry removing camber. The corner looks very inviting to attack, but goes on longer than expected, so average speed ends up being lower than anticipated. Accelerate hard out of Seamans, onto the Tom Pryce Straight, braking hard and early for T7R - The Hairpin. This is similar looking to - but tighter and less banked than - T2R, so do't get fooled into thinking you can attack it the same way. Get everything slowed down neatly, turn in early and gently roll back onto the throttle, down the gentle slope.
Brake hard, past the pitlane entry, and into T8L - Bus Stop. Like Turn1, the pits are very close to the apex, so it's obscured on the inside line, doesn't allow for any leeway on the tighter line, and is (of course) off-camber. Neatness is again order of the day. Once safely through, get hard on the gas for that short S/F straight, acorss the line for another lap of Anglesey.
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 - this can be people in front of you trying to gain an advantage, or people behind you trying to cheat to catch up.
T1L - Turn 1 - Especially on Lap 1. Be aware of people as you turn in here, it has the possibility to cause huge problems if drivers don’t respect each other. Be aware that any incidents caused by reckless or over aggressive driving in Turn 1 during the first lap will be dealt with severely. The tyres of the pitwall mean that there is a potential for cars to strand themselves across the line if they go too tight.
T4aL / T4bR - Rocket. There is every chance of multiple lines being taken through here by the different car types, if you are genuinely side by side, ie there's some overlap just hold your side of the track. If you take Rocket1 tight, take Rocket2 wide, and vice versa. Don't swoop across to try and be tight on both corners because 2-into-1 won't go. There will be no chance for anyone to get out of the way, or for both to through cleanly. Racing room must be given, and this is the area where it'll be most important.
T5R - Peel. This is a very easy corner to lose control over the bumped apex under acceleration (or indeed brakes), so be aware as you approach for stranded vehicles suddenly becoming visible.
Also - we have a wide performance disparity in various areas of the track. The lighter, grippier cars cannot just throw themselves recklessly at a marginal gap and expect people to get out of their way. Likewise the heavier, more powerful cars can't just drive their lines oblivious to others around them and not expect to be challenged. As long as things are clean and legal, you will be fine.
Racing Room must be given to all drivers – and this works both ways. Divebombing into and across a corner denies people the chance to make the corner correctly just as much as someone obliviously (or deliberately) cutting the nose off of another driver who has achieved partial overlap fairly.
All points on the track – General Items
Drivers may put on their lights (and keep them on) during a timed qualification lap, so other drivers know to get out of the way when safe to do so.
No lights are to be used or flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the Race Session.
No Chat during the Quali or Race except by Race Control for information.
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.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There were no Incident Reports, and everyone fulfilled their Attendance Satus correctly.
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 RDHCS event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHCS.
Reporting Attendance
I will be sending a PM with the round password to all Signed-Up drivers. I will also be running an “Attendance” post. If you are definitely driving, you need to “like” the post. If you are NOT driving (or if you are unsure of attendance) you must post a reply to say so. If there is no response, or if a response is posted after 2 hours before Event start time (ie 1800 London time) on race day, it will be treated as a "will attend" status, and any absence will be deemed a No-Show. 2 No-Shows will mean removal from the league.
Scoring System
Points are scored down to P25 (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 :
P01 – 30 pts
P02 - 27
P03 - 25
P04 - 23
P05 - 21
P06 - 20
P07 - 19
P08 - 18
P09 - 17
P10 - 16
P11 - 15
P12 - 14
P13 - 13
P14 - 12
P15 - 11
P16 - 10
P17 - 9
P18 - 8
P19 - 7
P20 - 6
P21 - 5
P22 - 4
P23 - 3
P24 - 2
P25 - 1
1 point for fastest race lap
1 point for qualifying on Pole
Welcome back to Round 2 of RDHCS S10. There has been long and well documented commentary after Round 1, something that always happens once we see how the vehicle set and driver mix shapes up. I won’t waste your time and go over that again - we all know exactly what’s been said, and with what intention – so let’s look forward to the next challenge that the season throws at us.
We stay in Europe for Round2, moving 1,130 miles due North from Portimao to Aberffraw, North Wales, and the 3.38km International layout of the Anglesey Circuit.
Circuit Notes
Anglesey Circuit (or Trac Mon in Welsh) is set on the west coast of Anglesey, overlooking the Irish Sea and Snowdonia mountain range beyond, and provides us with a challenging and exciting circuit set in a beautiful location. The circuit was completely redesigned in 2006 from the previous version, and the only philosophy in play was to utilise the topography and setting to maximise the enjoyment and challenge of the track. The TV programme 5th Gear regularly uses the 1.5 mile Coastal layout for its “Shoot Out” section of the show. The 2.1 mile International that we are using is the longest available in the complex, and provides multiple challenges within its compact footprint.
Like Portimao, the track is constantly changing gradient throughout the span of a lap, but unlike Portimao, we do not have the wide open spaces of Portugal to navigate.
The S/F straight at Anglesey is much tighter than Portimao, and from the exit of the last turn is a pretty short run into T1L - Turn 1. As the turn starts, the track is traversing a hill, but by the time you exit the turn, you're going up hill. Nothing is too steep, but it does remove any helpful camber that might be there. In addition, the inside is protected by the tyre barrier guarding the pitlane, so turning in early and extra tight to negate that adverse camber is a non-starter, and this barrier also obscures the exit, making picking your line fairly tricky.
A short blast uphill and then hard on the brakes for T2R - The Banking. As the name suggests, there is some pretty hefty (for this circuit at least) positive camber through this hairpin turn, and it allows for some fairly early application of throttle, the banking helping to keep your car in line. You exit The Banking downhill onto the straight, and approach T3R - Church.
This is a medium-high speed bend, try to breathe on the brakes rather than stamp on them, keep your momentum up on a feathered throttle and ease your way through here, getting back onto full chat as early as possible, because there is a long stretch of full acceleration following the exit. The next section is flat out, starting gently downhill, and then climbing up and left through 2 gentle tightenings, the second one slightly crested to make it blind and to throw you left, just when you need to be stable and on the right hand side of the track for the heavy, hard braking zone for T4aL - Rocket1.
This is the tightest corner on the circuit, which has its own obvious difficulty tarrif, but the entry to Rocket1 is gently uphill and then falls away steeply at the apex and through the exit to make it even trickier. Just to make it even harder, you only have a second or two after exit before you are braking hard again, this time downhill and into T4bR - Rocket2. This is a hairpin that traverses a hill, again taking camber off the track just when you would like some, and so you keep it neat and tidy, blast up out and back uphill.
Get on the anchors hard for T5R - Peel. This is blind and crested, making it very tricky to attack, so keeping stable through here will be quickly than any gung-ho approach, as there are bumpy kerbs and slippery, dusty grass on the outside for those who don't respect Peel's dusguised trickiness.
Once out of Peel, accelerate downhill towards T6L - Seamans, and again beware of the downhill entry removing camber. The corner looks very inviting to attack, but goes on longer than expected, so average speed ends up being lower than anticipated. Accelerate hard out of Seamans, onto the Tom Pryce Straight, braking hard and early for T7R - The Hairpin. This is similar looking to - but tighter and less banked than - T2R, so do't get fooled into thinking you can attack it the same way. Get everything slowed down neatly, turn in early and gently roll back onto the throttle, down the gentle slope.
Brake hard, past the pitlane entry, and into T8L - Bus Stop. Like Turn1, the pits are very close to the apex, so it's obscured on the inside line, doesn't allow for any leeway on the tighter line, and is (of course) off-camber. Neatness is again order of the day. Once safely through, get hard on the gas for that short S/F straight, acorss the line for another lap of Anglesey.
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 - this can be people in front of you trying to gain an advantage, or people behind you trying to cheat to catch up.
T1L - Turn 1 - Especially on Lap 1. Be aware of people as you turn in here, it has the possibility to cause huge problems if drivers don’t respect each other. Be aware that any incidents caused by reckless or over aggressive driving in Turn 1 during the first lap will be dealt with severely. The tyres of the pitwall mean that there is a potential for cars to strand themselves across the line if they go too tight.
T4aL / T4bR - Rocket. There is every chance of multiple lines being taken through here by the different car types, if you are genuinely side by side, ie there's some overlap just hold your side of the track. If you take Rocket1 tight, take Rocket2 wide, and vice versa. Don't swoop across to try and be tight on both corners because 2-into-1 won't go. There will be no chance for anyone to get out of the way, or for both to through cleanly. Racing room must be given, and this is the area where it'll be most important.
T5R - Peel. This is a very easy corner to lose control over the bumped apex under acceleration (or indeed brakes), so be aware as you approach for stranded vehicles suddenly becoming visible.
Also - we have a wide performance disparity in various areas of the track. The lighter, grippier cars cannot just throw themselves recklessly at a marginal gap and expect people to get out of their way. Likewise the heavier, more powerful cars can't just drive their lines oblivious to others around them and not expect to be challenged. As long as things are clean and legal, you will be fine.
Racing Room must be given to all drivers – and this works both ways. Divebombing into and across a corner denies people the chance to make the corner correctly just as much as someone obliviously (or deliberately) cutting the nose off of another driver who has achieved partial overlap fairly.
All points on the track – General Items
Drivers may put on their lights (and keep them on) during a timed qualification lap, so other drivers know to get out of the way when safe to do so.
No lights are to be used or flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the Race Session.
No Chat during the Quali or Race except by Race Control for information.
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.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There were no Incident Reports, and everyone fulfilled their Attendance Satus correctly.
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 RDHCS event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHCS.
Reporting Attendance
I will be sending a PM with the round password to all Signed-Up drivers. I will also be running an “Attendance” post. If you are definitely driving, you need to “like” the post. If you are NOT driving (or if you are unsure of attendance) you must post a reply to say so. If there is no response, or if a response is posted after 2 hours before Event start time (ie 1800 London time) on race day, it will be treated as a "will attend" status, and any absence will be deemed a No-Show. 2 No-Shows will mean removal from the league.
Scoring System
Points are scored down to P25 (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 :
P01 – 30 pts
P02 - 27
P03 - 25
P04 - 23
P05 - 21
P06 - 20
P07 - 19
P08 - 18
P09 - 17
P10 - 16
P11 - 15
P12 - 14
P13 - 13
P14 - 12
P15 - 11
P16 - 10
P17 - 9
P18 - 8
P19 - 7
P20 - 6
P21 - 5
P22 - 4
P23 - 3
P24 - 2
P25 - 1
1 point for fastest race lap
1 point for qualifying on Pole
