RaceDepartment Historic Club Series Season 9 Round 2 – Leave the gun, take the cannoli.
Welcome back to Round 2 of the RDHCS Season 9. Round 1, based on the comments and experiences of several drivers in their reports, was a good opener to the season. It’s difficult to guess what the upcoming season holds for us based on just the one race, especially with the tracks changing so radically from race to race, but I think the GP Strecke established that pretty much all cars can runs with and against pretty much any other car given half a chance. The top 3 were in a different class, but we all know that the 3 in question are always going to be right up top anyway, but then we have 3 or 4 groups coming in very tightly spread (for instance places 10-14 inclusive <5 sec apart) all containing a mixed bag of vehicles. I think this bodes well for the season.
So does the respect and courtesy that I witnessed from drivers in the early corners, and throughout the race. I saw people leaving room on insides and/or outsides of corners as they weren’t sure where people were. One of my pet hates is people apparently picking their line, and then suddenly weaving across to take another line, without any real care of who might be where around them. We all do this for fun, so let’s not spoil the races for ourselves and others by imperviously diving across where and when we want to just because we can’t see anyone at that moment.
Also, there have been some slight changes to the standing rules, so please take the time to read all the way down to the bottom of the briefing.
As is always the case, I aim for contrast between events, so we will trade a wide open F1 venue for a small, short, relatively claustrophobic Club and Motorcycle circuit, and the event with the highest lapcount of the season barring the double length finale.
Moving 550 miles south east we go from the village of Nuerburg to the province of Perugia, specifically the municipality of Magione on the eastern shore of Lake Trasimeno, and the Autodromo dell’Umbria in Italy.
Circuit Notes
Located in the centre of Italy approximately half way between Rome & Florence, Magione was home to a pilgrim house built in the Middle Ages by the Knights Templar. It was later turned into an abbey and fortified in the 14th century.
The track began life thanks to some local friends who had already formed a racing team – Scuderia Hornbeam – and wanted somewhere to test, practice and race. The track opened in 1973 as the Autodromo di Magione, and was one of the smallest in Italy at just 1.65 km. The beginning of the track was so technically demanding though, that it soon became nationally known, and its central location making it readily accessible. Despite the small size (just 12 pit stalls and starting slots initially) it would regularly hold a full grandstand of nearly 3,000 for events.
Due to some financial difficulties in 1979, Scuderia Hornbeam sold the circuit to a consortium of local Automobile Clubs (Perugia, Terni etc.) and renamed it the Autodromo Dell’Umbria. During the 1980’s, there were some additional layout modifications to allow the already short course to be split down further into smaller layouts to allow karting. In the 1990’s the track was extended to its current 2.5km length, which is what the gentlemen of the RDHCS will be battling upon.
A lap of Magione begins on a relatively short and closely packed S/F straight, and begins that technical opening to the lap. Braking will need to be hard for T1R – Curve Traliccio as it is a fairly slippery hairpin, and the outside of the track is not where you will want to be. Traction is low, and there will be lots of traffic as you try to rejoin.
A short squirt of acceleration before more hard braking into T2L – Curva Vecchi Box. This is a mirror image of Traliccio, another 180 degree hairpin opening onto a short straight. Like T1L, it is again important not to overshoot or get too greedy with these opening turns, as you will lose way more time being aggressive than being slightly circumspect in your approach. Another short squirt of power on the mini straight, followed by another hard braking zone for T3L – Curva Esse Tornatino.
The first non hairpin we approach in the lap, and it’s a tricky 90 degree left hander. It’s taken fairly quickly, but there isn’t any space beyond it to get things right. It isn’t inherently tricky in and of itself, but if you get this one wrong, or get unstable or have to take a compromise line through it because you locked up, you will be in all sorts of pain when you approach T4R – Tornatino.
A very, very tight hairpin, this is right up there with the best patience testing corners. You have to wait, and wait, and wait some more before you can finally get on the power to get out of this one. The corner is so very tight that there will – by necessity – be a variety of lines being taken due to the nature of the cars. I can’t imagine the Alfas will be taking the same sort of line as Neil’s Vette, for instance. Let’s all try and be careful and patient in here.
A very short straight follows Tornatino, and here is the point on the lap that the heavy, powerful cars will have been aching to reach, T5R – Curva Muro. By the standards of the lap up until this point, this is a relatively quick, relatively shallow, relatively fast turn, and more importantly, it opens out onto the back straight. Not hugely long by any means, but in the context of this circuit it’s a moment to take a breath and get your foot down.
All too soon for some cars, you will be needing to brake gently, feather the throttle and drop a gear (or 2) for T6R – Curvone. This is the fastest corner so far, but after the brief respite of the preceding straight, it feels like you are back at work again. Take a nice early turn in and drift across the inner apex, and line the car up under gentle acceleration for the unnamed T7R.
T7R is a curve rather than a corner, and can be attacked without too much fear – as long as you remember that the inner kerbs can upset you, and drifting wide will stick you in the wall. As earlier with Esse Tornatino, you need to get this right because of what follows. T8R – Curva Monte Sperello is another quick corner in the context of this track, a medium speed corner that can be attacked within reason, but also a real sucker punch if you get too carried away with the preceding turns.
Successfully navigating Monte Sperello, it’s a short burst of loud pedal before getting hard on the anchors for the complex that closes the lap, another short and brutally tight set of technical corners that close the lap. T9L – Curva Zampini, T10R – Prima Esse and T11L – Seconda Esse effectively become a 3 legged compound corner, all tight 90 degrees, and all with potentially suspension upsetting inner kerbs. These corners cannot be attacked with impunity, they need to be respected, as do all the drivers going through here. It’s narrow, and visibility because of the 90 degree turns might be misleading, so just try and be aware of what is around you.
Seconda Esse opens out onto the S/F straight, but at less than 50% of the length of the short back straight, it’s a fleeting respite at best before you cross the line and start another lap of Autodromo dell’Umbria.
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. The worst offenders from previous seasons have not signed up, so I hope that this will be a non-issue this season.
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.
T1R – 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, probably with a “no quali” penalty for Round 2.
T4R – Tornatino. This WILL be tricky. Don’t divebomb the inside of the corner as people won’t see you coming and have nowhere to go, or just drive into you and be surprised. Conversely, don’t plonk your slow moving car across the inside apex and expect no-one to be on the outside of you. If you go in tight, STAY tight. If you go in wide, DON’T dive across to the inside after your apex. There is limited real estate, and no-one has a divine right to be everywhere at once. You made your choice by your entry, so choose one or the other and stick to your guns. Also, if you go off here, you need to rejoin safely. You cannot just dive back onto the racing line whenever you feel like it.
T10R – Prima Esse. The pit entry is on the outside of this tight turn. Be aware of the cones, and if you miss the turn don’t just use the pir entry tarmac to fire your car back onto the track. You will be coming at 90 degrees to people and they will not see you. This is another case of any rejoin being made safely.
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 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 reported issues from Round 1
There were no no-shows in Round 1
As a change from last season, and as a result that I am personally reminding you of each race with the new posts and the PM for passwords, 2 no-shows will mean removal from the League, whether they are consecutive or not.
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
As GPCOS seems to be down, 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 race start time on race day, it will be treated as a No-Show. 2 No-Shows - consecutive or not - will mean removal from the league.
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
Welcome back to Round 2 of the RDHCS Season 9. Round 1, based on the comments and experiences of several drivers in their reports, was a good opener to the season. It’s difficult to guess what the upcoming season holds for us based on just the one race, especially with the tracks changing so radically from race to race, but I think the GP Strecke established that pretty much all cars can runs with and against pretty much any other car given half a chance. The top 3 were in a different class, but we all know that the 3 in question are always going to be right up top anyway, but then we have 3 or 4 groups coming in very tightly spread (for instance places 10-14 inclusive <5 sec apart) all containing a mixed bag of vehicles. I think this bodes well for the season.
So does the respect and courtesy that I witnessed from drivers in the early corners, and throughout the race. I saw people leaving room on insides and/or outsides of corners as they weren’t sure where people were. One of my pet hates is people apparently picking their line, and then suddenly weaving across to take another line, without any real care of who might be where around them. We all do this for fun, so let’s not spoil the races for ourselves and others by imperviously diving across where and when we want to just because we can’t see anyone at that moment.
Also, there have been some slight changes to the standing rules, so please take the time to read all the way down to the bottom of the briefing.
As is always the case, I aim for contrast between events, so we will trade a wide open F1 venue for a small, short, relatively claustrophobic Club and Motorcycle circuit, and the event with the highest lapcount of the season barring the double length finale.
Moving 550 miles south east we go from the village of Nuerburg to the province of Perugia, specifically the municipality of Magione on the eastern shore of Lake Trasimeno, and the Autodromo dell’Umbria in Italy.
Circuit Notes
Located in the centre of Italy approximately half way between Rome & Florence, Magione was home to a pilgrim house built in the Middle Ages by the Knights Templar. It was later turned into an abbey and fortified in the 14th century.
The track began life thanks to some local friends who had already formed a racing team – Scuderia Hornbeam – and wanted somewhere to test, practice and race. The track opened in 1973 as the Autodromo di Magione, and was one of the smallest in Italy at just 1.65 km. The beginning of the track was so technically demanding though, that it soon became nationally known, and its central location making it readily accessible. Despite the small size (just 12 pit stalls and starting slots initially) it would regularly hold a full grandstand of nearly 3,000 for events.
Due to some financial difficulties in 1979, Scuderia Hornbeam sold the circuit to a consortium of local Automobile Clubs (Perugia, Terni etc.) and renamed it the Autodromo Dell’Umbria. During the 1980’s, there were some additional layout modifications to allow the already short course to be split down further into smaller layouts to allow karting. In the 1990’s the track was extended to its current 2.5km length, which is what the gentlemen of the RDHCS will be battling upon.
A lap of Magione begins on a relatively short and closely packed S/F straight, and begins that technical opening to the lap. Braking will need to be hard for T1R – Curve Traliccio as it is a fairly slippery hairpin, and the outside of the track is not where you will want to be. Traction is low, and there will be lots of traffic as you try to rejoin.
A short squirt of acceleration before more hard braking into T2L – Curva Vecchi Box. This is a mirror image of Traliccio, another 180 degree hairpin opening onto a short straight. Like T1L, it is again important not to overshoot or get too greedy with these opening turns, as you will lose way more time being aggressive than being slightly circumspect in your approach. Another short squirt of power on the mini straight, followed by another hard braking zone for T3L – Curva Esse Tornatino.
The first non hairpin we approach in the lap, and it’s a tricky 90 degree left hander. It’s taken fairly quickly, but there isn’t any space beyond it to get things right. It isn’t inherently tricky in and of itself, but if you get this one wrong, or get unstable or have to take a compromise line through it because you locked up, you will be in all sorts of pain when you approach T4R – Tornatino.
A very, very tight hairpin, this is right up there with the best patience testing corners. You have to wait, and wait, and wait some more before you can finally get on the power to get out of this one. The corner is so very tight that there will – by necessity – be a variety of lines being taken due to the nature of the cars. I can’t imagine the Alfas will be taking the same sort of line as Neil’s Vette, for instance. Let’s all try and be careful and patient in here.
A very short straight follows Tornatino, and here is the point on the lap that the heavy, powerful cars will have been aching to reach, T5R – Curva Muro. By the standards of the lap up until this point, this is a relatively quick, relatively shallow, relatively fast turn, and more importantly, it opens out onto the back straight. Not hugely long by any means, but in the context of this circuit it’s a moment to take a breath and get your foot down.
All too soon for some cars, you will be needing to brake gently, feather the throttle and drop a gear (or 2) for T6R – Curvone. This is the fastest corner so far, but after the brief respite of the preceding straight, it feels like you are back at work again. Take a nice early turn in and drift across the inner apex, and line the car up under gentle acceleration for the unnamed T7R.
T7R is a curve rather than a corner, and can be attacked without too much fear – as long as you remember that the inner kerbs can upset you, and drifting wide will stick you in the wall. As earlier with Esse Tornatino, you need to get this right because of what follows. T8R – Curva Monte Sperello is another quick corner in the context of this track, a medium speed corner that can be attacked within reason, but also a real sucker punch if you get too carried away with the preceding turns.
Successfully navigating Monte Sperello, it’s a short burst of loud pedal before getting hard on the anchors for the complex that closes the lap, another short and brutally tight set of technical corners that close the lap. T9L – Curva Zampini, T10R – Prima Esse and T11L – Seconda Esse effectively become a 3 legged compound corner, all tight 90 degrees, and all with potentially suspension upsetting inner kerbs. These corners cannot be attacked with impunity, they need to be respected, as do all the drivers going through here. It’s narrow, and visibility because of the 90 degree turns might be misleading, so just try and be aware of what is around you.
Seconda Esse opens out onto the S/F straight, but at less than 50% of the length of the short back straight, it’s a fleeting respite at best before you cross the line and start another lap of Autodromo dell’Umbria.
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. The worst offenders from previous seasons have not signed up, so I hope that this will be a non-issue this season.
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.
T1R – 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, probably with a “no quali” penalty for Round 2.
T4R – Tornatino. This WILL be tricky. Don’t divebomb the inside of the corner as people won’t see you coming and have nowhere to go, or just drive into you and be surprised. Conversely, don’t plonk your slow moving car across the inside apex and expect no-one to be on the outside of you. If you go in tight, STAY tight. If you go in wide, DON’T dive across to the inside after your apex. There is limited real estate, and no-one has a divine right to be everywhere at once. You made your choice by your entry, so choose one or the other and stick to your guns. Also, if you go off here, you need to rejoin safely. You cannot just dive back onto the racing line whenever you feel like it.
T10R – Prima Esse. The pit entry is on the outside of this tight turn. Be aware of the cones, and if you miss the turn don’t just use the pir entry tarmac to fire your car back onto the track. You will be coming at 90 degrees to people and they will not see you. This is another case of any rejoin being made safely.
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 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 reported issues from Round 1
There were no no-shows in Round 1
As a change from last season, and as a result that I am personally reminding you of each race with the new posts and the PM for passwords, 2 no-shows will mean removal from the League, whether they are consecutive or not.
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
As GPCOS seems to be down, 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 race start time on race day, it will be treated as a No-Show. 2 No-Shows - consecutive or not - will mean removal from the league.
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
