RaceDepartment Historic Club Series Season 9 Round 7 – I don’t want to be rich, I want to be effluent!
Welcome back to Round 7 of the RDHCS Season 9.
I don’t know how global the Marmite brand is across the assorted nationalities of the RDHCS drivers, but for those of you not in the know, it’s a tangy yeast extract spread, generally served on toast, and it’s (borderline genius) advertising angle is that you either Love It or Hate It. With that clunky explanation out of the way, I can now say that Yas Marina was definitely a “Marmite” circuit. I was certainly in the “Love It” camp. As per my post-race account, apologies to Roland (and anyone else who got caught in it) for our touch, I should have been more aware.
There was also some more slightly spiky post-race chat about incidents. There is an incident reporting procedure, and if you choose not to avail yourself of it, then that is your choice, but that does mean you will not get anything looked at, and as per the rules always stated in every briefing, no finger pointing post-race. I stress this again now because I am not around for this Race, and want everything to be smooth for Knut.
Moving 7,000 miles South-East, we swap camels for kangaroos, sandals for thongs and falafel for a barbie as we go Down Under to Australia, specifically South Australia and the Adeliade Street Circuit in its 1988 incarnation.
Circuit Notes
As Jimi Hendrix once qualified one of his songs, this is a Slight Return to Adelaide 88, as it has previously done its duty as one of the Test Event venues for Season 8, only now it gets it’s stripe as a full venue with this round of Season 9.
Adelaide is the capital of the State of South Australia, and the 5th largest city in Australia. Named after Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (consort of William IV) it was founded in 1836, designed by Colonel William Light close to the River Torrens in a grid layout interspersed by wide boulevards and large public squares, and has been voted most liveable city in Australia for the past 2 years. I’m sure Warren will have something to say about that.
Adelaide has hosted 11 F1 Grand Prix events from 1985 to 1995, as well as an American Le Mans Series race on New Year’s Eve in 2000. This was the last race to be held on the longer (3.78 km) version of the course, the one upon which we will be racing (shown in black on the track map). It now holds annual rounds of the Australian V8 Supercars series, but now only using the shorter 3.2km layout. “Our” layout includes a couple of more interesting non-90° bends and slightly extends the back straight over the shorter layout.
Adelaide starts with a good length straight with the S/F line about 50% of the way along. The straight is long enough on a normal lap that you will be at very nearly full speed as you approach T1L, T2R, T3L – The Senna Chicane.
The approach to Senna drops away into downhill braking, and the starting complex is quite a different proposition to what we normally encounter in League races. It’s a virtual kerb-only Esse consisting of a couple of very bumpy kerbs that serve to funnel the wide open spaces of the straight into a much tighter line. There is a Cut Track over the right hand kerb if you don’t make the turn without sufficient attempt to drive it properly, and a wall on the inside if you try to go too far the other way. Instant Stop 'n' Gos can be awarded by the track (and have been in the past) in T1 for flagrant cuts and position gains.
T2R is much easier in itself, but a poor T1L will do all the damage to your line through T2R and severely compromise your lining up for the important T3L, which is why, even though it’s a fair way on from T2R it’s still classed as part of Senna.
T3L is important as it represents the start of the first part of open track on the lap, and a good exit from here can give you a chance of a move on someone with a lesser exit. This is particularly important as the subsequent 3 corners pretty much guarantee remaining in place, all 3 being 90° corners with little or no scope overtake without there being some help for the overtaker (intentional or not) by the overtakee.
T4R – Wakefield has a bumpy vitual kerb on the outside which can upset a car too eager on the accelerator. You get enough time to get the car pointing the right way before braking again for T5L.
T5L is a standard 90°, no real secret to it, and no real advantage to be made by any unusual lines through it. Just keep it neat, tidy and stay out of trouble. A quick squirt of gas and it’s back on the anchors for T6R – Flinders Street.
Flinders St. has a very similar profile to Wakefield, but is of far more import on the lap because it opens up onto the longest piece of straight so far on the lap. Get a good safe entry into Flinders amnd then absolutely nail the exit as best you can, and past the the exit for the short layout on your right hand side, building up speed before just coming over the brow of a slight rise and dropping down into T7L – Hutt Street.
Hutt Street is a much shallower Esse than we’ve encountered so far, and much higher speed too. A dab of brake, maybe even just a feather on the throttle will be enough to get your nose into Hutt Street, and once you do, it’s back on the accelerator through T8R, a great corner when taken at speed, and then it’s back on the brakes for T9R – Rundle Road.
Rundle is defined again by bumpy virtual kerbs that allow some leeway between themselves and the wall. This is a double edged sword in that taking too many liberties here will likely cause you to have to recover just when you need stable acceleration. Get up a good head of steam on Rundle and then just brush the brake/lift/feather and throw the nose across T10R, the junction of Hackney Road and Dequetteville Terrace.
T10R has a free standing Virtual kerb on its outside left boundary, and there is a Cut Warning lying out there for people who treat it’s placement with abandon. It’s very important to get a good T10R, as it opens up onto the long Brabham Straight. You reach top speed on here, before standing hard on the anchors for T11R – Dequetteville Hairpin, the slowest corner on the circuit.
Accelerate hard out of the Hairpin, treat T12L as part of the straight before again standing hard on the brakes for the sneaky T13L, which has the double threat on being uncambered, and having the hard wall right up against the outer track boundary.
Accelerate hard out of T13L, again treating T14L as part of the straight. T15R is a variable corner, depending on what car you are in. I’d expect the Escorts & Alfas to be taking T15R flat out, the Nissan’s and maybe Beemers with a feather & the muscles with a lift.
Whatever car you are in though, you need to get yourself lined up properly for the final corner T16R – Mistral Hairpin. This is a fairly wide and long hairpin, allowing for different approaches, but as always, getting on the gas too early will necessitate some recovery or remedial action from drivers.
Out of Mistral, it’s a flat out blast along the home straight, across the S/F line and onto a new lap of Adelaide 88.
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.
T1L & T2R – Especially on Lap1. The funneling effect of T1L makes this very difficult, especially on cold tyres. Drivers need to be fully aware of where people are, what approach they and others are taking and drive accordingly. The bumpiness of the kerbs is another factor to consider, and people who find themselves hung out on the right hand side of the track facing the kerbs with the Cut beyond it might try (although I don’t endorse this behavior of course) to throw their car back towards the track proper. Be aware of people around you, and of the racing line, as there is a lot of lateral movement through this section. Also 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 8 – the double length finale. The difference between this and previous tracks this season is the corner type, especially coming out of the Start.
T7L & T8R – Hutt Street. The temptation is to attack these Esses as it is a fast section of track, especially compared to the multiple 90’s preceding it. All drivers need to make sure that 2 wheels are kept on the track at all times. Please report any persistent and deliberate cutting through this section.
T10R – The kerb can give you a cut on the outside if you don’t respect it, throw people across the track if they don’t get the line right and have too many revs on, so you will need to be aware of sudden changes in line from people immediately in front of you.
T13L – This is a very sneaky corner, and if people get it wrong, they are likely to end up with their face in the wall, with their rear end sticking out across the track. It’s quite narrow there too, so you need to be aware of other people’s lines and behaviours. Drivers in the wall cannot just back out either – Safe rejoins are mandatory.
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 incidents from Round 6
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. Again 2 No-Shows 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 7 of the RDHCS Season 9.
I don’t know how global the Marmite brand is across the assorted nationalities of the RDHCS drivers, but for those of you not in the know, it’s a tangy yeast extract spread, generally served on toast, and it’s (borderline genius) advertising angle is that you either Love It or Hate It. With that clunky explanation out of the way, I can now say that Yas Marina was definitely a “Marmite” circuit. I was certainly in the “Love It” camp. As per my post-race account, apologies to Roland (and anyone else who got caught in it) for our touch, I should have been more aware.
There was also some more slightly spiky post-race chat about incidents. There is an incident reporting procedure, and if you choose not to avail yourself of it, then that is your choice, but that does mean you will not get anything looked at, and as per the rules always stated in every briefing, no finger pointing post-race. I stress this again now because I am not around for this Race, and want everything to be smooth for Knut.
Moving 7,000 miles South-East, we swap camels for kangaroos, sandals for thongs and falafel for a barbie as we go Down Under to Australia, specifically South Australia and the Adeliade Street Circuit in its 1988 incarnation.
Circuit Notes
As Jimi Hendrix once qualified one of his songs, this is a Slight Return to Adelaide 88, as it has previously done its duty as one of the Test Event venues for Season 8, only now it gets it’s stripe as a full venue with this round of Season 9.
Adelaide is the capital of the State of South Australia, and the 5th largest city in Australia. Named after Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (consort of William IV) it was founded in 1836, designed by Colonel William Light close to the River Torrens in a grid layout interspersed by wide boulevards and large public squares, and has been voted most liveable city in Australia for the past 2 years. I’m sure Warren will have something to say about that.
Adelaide has hosted 11 F1 Grand Prix events from 1985 to 1995, as well as an American Le Mans Series race on New Year’s Eve in 2000. This was the last race to be held on the longer (3.78 km) version of the course, the one upon which we will be racing (shown in black on the track map). It now holds annual rounds of the Australian V8 Supercars series, but now only using the shorter 3.2km layout. “Our” layout includes a couple of more interesting non-90° bends and slightly extends the back straight over the shorter layout.
Adelaide starts with a good length straight with the S/F line about 50% of the way along. The straight is long enough on a normal lap that you will be at very nearly full speed as you approach T1L, T2R, T3L – The Senna Chicane.
The approach to Senna drops away into downhill braking, and the starting complex is quite a different proposition to what we normally encounter in League races. It’s a virtual kerb-only Esse consisting of a couple of very bumpy kerbs that serve to funnel the wide open spaces of the straight into a much tighter line. There is a Cut Track over the right hand kerb if you don’t make the turn without sufficient attempt to drive it properly, and a wall on the inside if you try to go too far the other way. Instant Stop 'n' Gos can be awarded by the track (and have been in the past) in T1 for flagrant cuts and position gains.
T2R is much easier in itself, but a poor T1L will do all the damage to your line through T2R and severely compromise your lining up for the important T3L, which is why, even though it’s a fair way on from T2R it’s still classed as part of Senna.
T3L is important as it represents the start of the first part of open track on the lap, and a good exit from here can give you a chance of a move on someone with a lesser exit. This is particularly important as the subsequent 3 corners pretty much guarantee remaining in place, all 3 being 90° corners with little or no scope overtake without there being some help for the overtaker (intentional or not) by the overtakee.
T4R – Wakefield has a bumpy vitual kerb on the outside which can upset a car too eager on the accelerator. You get enough time to get the car pointing the right way before braking again for T5L.
T5L is a standard 90°, no real secret to it, and no real advantage to be made by any unusual lines through it. Just keep it neat, tidy and stay out of trouble. A quick squirt of gas and it’s back on the anchors for T6R – Flinders Street.
Flinders St. has a very similar profile to Wakefield, but is of far more import on the lap because it opens up onto the longest piece of straight so far on the lap. Get a good safe entry into Flinders amnd then absolutely nail the exit as best you can, and past the the exit for the short layout on your right hand side, building up speed before just coming over the brow of a slight rise and dropping down into T7L – Hutt Street.
Hutt Street is a much shallower Esse than we’ve encountered so far, and much higher speed too. A dab of brake, maybe even just a feather on the throttle will be enough to get your nose into Hutt Street, and once you do, it’s back on the accelerator through T8R, a great corner when taken at speed, and then it’s back on the brakes for T9R – Rundle Road.
Rundle is defined again by bumpy virtual kerbs that allow some leeway between themselves and the wall. This is a double edged sword in that taking too many liberties here will likely cause you to have to recover just when you need stable acceleration. Get up a good head of steam on Rundle and then just brush the brake/lift/feather and throw the nose across T10R, the junction of Hackney Road and Dequetteville Terrace.
T10R has a free standing Virtual kerb on its outside left boundary, and there is a Cut Warning lying out there for people who treat it’s placement with abandon. It’s very important to get a good T10R, as it opens up onto the long Brabham Straight. You reach top speed on here, before standing hard on the anchors for T11R – Dequetteville Hairpin, the slowest corner on the circuit.
Accelerate hard out of the Hairpin, treat T12L as part of the straight before again standing hard on the brakes for the sneaky T13L, which has the double threat on being uncambered, and having the hard wall right up against the outer track boundary.
Accelerate hard out of T13L, again treating T14L as part of the straight. T15R is a variable corner, depending on what car you are in. I’d expect the Escorts & Alfas to be taking T15R flat out, the Nissan’s and maybe Beemers with a feather & the muscles with a lift.
Whatever car you are in though, you need to get yourself lined up properly for the final corner T16R – Mistral Hairpin. This is a fairly wide and long hairpin, allowing for different approaches, but as always, getting on the gas too early will necessitate some recovery or remedial action from drivers.
Out of Mistral, it’s a flat out blast along the home straight, across the S/F line and onto a new lap of Adelaide 88.
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.
T1L & T2R – Especially on Lap1. The funneling effect of T1L makes this very difficult, especially on cold tyres. Drivers need to be fully aware of where people are, what approach they and others are taking and drive accordingly. The bumpiness of the kerbs is another factor to consider, and people who find themselves hung out on the right hand side of the track facing the kerbs with the Cut beyond it might try (although I don’t endorse this behavior of course) to throw their car back towards the track proper. Be aware of people around you, and of the racing line, as there is a lot of lateral movement through this section. Also 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 8 – the double length finale. The difference between this and previous tracks this season is the corner type, especially coming out of the Start.
T7L & T8R – Hutt Street. The temptation is to attack these Esses as it is a fast section of track, especially compared to the multiple 90’s preceding it. All drivers need to make sure that 2 wheels are kept on the track at all times. Please report any persistent and deliberate cutting through this section.
T10R – The kerb can give you a cut on the outside if you don’t respect it, throw people across the track if they don’t get the line right and have too many revs on, so you will need to be aware of sudden changes in line from people immediately in front of you.
T13L – This is a very sneaky corner, and if people get it wrong, they are likely to end up with their face in the wall, with their rear end sticking out across the track. It’s quite narrow there too, so you need to be aware of other people’s lines and behaviours. Drivers in the wall cannot just back out either – Safe rejoins are mandatory.
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 incidents from Round 6
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. Again 2 No-Shows 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
) which was great satisfaction. I had perfect start as always (I am so disgusted to say that... But I find my starts extremely successful in every race - but I assume it's because I am the only one who push the throttle all the way down trough the field??? ). The lack of practice was minimal, I was really happy with myself. But it showed up differently later in the race.
