Welcome to Round 5 of the RDHGP S4
Welcome back to the 2009 RDHGP S4, and the first event after the mid season break – Happy New Year to you all. Zolder was another contrast to the previous tracks, and again, an overall successful event. There was obviously extensive discussion of track cutting rules and regulations, and because of an Incident Report, 2 drivers had times penalties levied against them. I hope that these were the last penalties I have to levy due to cutting this season.
The 2 drivers involved have been informed well ahead of this announcement and to be fair, the cutting was more like trying to sneak the odd fraction here and there to close gaps, and while this still breaks the rules, it’s less of an offence (IMO) than the alternative of deliberately cutting in close proximity to take or retain position, which I personally take more seriously due to the potential for accidents.
I also hope that, despite some of the rumblings and intimations I heard after Zolder, we don’t get too many people thinking seriously about dropping out of the League if they think that they haven’t picked the fastest car, or their car has been too unruly up until this point. I deliberately took a slight gamble in the scheduling by stacking the first half of the season with some of the more technical circuits, hoping that people in the less nimble cars would be able to focus on where their cars might shine, ie in the second half.
Three out of the next 4 circuits will suit some of the “other” cars better, where they can make the best of their attributes. To this end, I hope that people continue to soldier on, especially with our Le Mans grand finale on the horizon.
Anyway, looking upwards, ever upwards, we are still in Europe for Round 5, moving from Belgium to Italy, and the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
Circuit Notes
Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello is situated (perhaps unsurprisingly) in the Mugello region of Tuscany, in northern Italy. Situated just 30km from Florence, it is surrounded by the Apennine watershed, which provides a varied and imposing landscape as a backdrop.
Mugello is one of those circuits where, no matter what other challenges it can provide, its character is dominated by a single feature. Laguna Seca has the Corkscrew, Spa has Eau Rouge, Brand Hatch has Paddock, and Mugello has that enormously long, uphill, engine bursting, brake cooking, slipstream generating S/F straight. Ferrari use it as one of their F1 test tracks, and it regularly holds World SBK, Moto GP & DTM Championship events, only missing out on hosting the first A1GP race of the 2008/09 season due to delays with the car development.
It has also run the Mugello Grand Prix since 1920 utilising multiple formulas, with some famous names being victorious – Depailler, Jabouille, Daly, Palmer, Zanardi and even Alfieri Maserati in 1922.
While that straight dominates Mugello, there are enough twiddly bits to keep the power boys honest and the handling boys interested. The RDHGP’s spread of vehicles always means that we will see some unexpected cars behaving above the form book.
After that long straight, with no doubt some cars seeing some rev limiter action, we enter the uphill braking zone for T1R, San Donato. This is the tightest and slowest corner on the track, but as you will find, ‘tight’ and ‘slow’ are all relative. Let’s just say that San Donato is no La Source. I expect this to be a favourite and classic “late brake up the inside” overtaking spot.
We enter a series of Ess bends separated by medium length straights, T2L Lucco & T3R Peggio Secco are standard 90 degree corners which lead onto a straight down to the much faster T4L Materassi & T5R Borge San Lorenzo. The danger here is carrying too much speed through and into the gravel awaiting the overexuberant right footed. T6R Casanova dives down to T7L Savelli, the downhill entry making it very easy to go off and into quite a hard wall.
Coming out of Savelli we come to the climbing T8R & T9R double apex of Arrabbiata1 & Arrabbiata2. Approaching the next corner, T10R Scarperia, I hope you have been counting the corners or at least you know where you are on the track, as visually it resembles T12R very closely. The only problem with that is that both corners need completely different approaches. T10R is the first part of an Ess, with T11L Palagio forming the other part, whereas T12R (Correntaio) is actually a Hairpin.
On exit from Correntiao, you are accelerating hard through the high speed Biondetti Ess (T13aL & T13bR) and approach the wide, almost 180 degree T14L Bucine. This relatively simple corner takes on huge importance for the lap as it leads back onto that >1km long straight.
The Race Director has (unsurprisingly) some notes for drivers. Please see the track map above for location of Race Direction note:-
· All Corners Without Exception – The kerbs are no longer 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.
· Start / Finish Straight. This straight is incredibly long, and allows for some very fast speeds to be achieved, especially by use of slipstreaming. Because of this, all drivers should be reminded that weaving is not allowed, and that only one move is allowed from the car in front to defend your line. Weaving to deny a slipstream opportunity is also not allowed. If there are more than 2 cars in a group, the same moving rules apply to a car that is ahead of any other.
· T1R – San Donato. This is a prime overtaking spot, and so drivers should be aware of what’s around them at all times. As always, it is incumbent upon the overtaking driver to do so safely.
· T5R – Borge San Lorenzo. The exit of this corner is very tempting as it opens up onto the descending approach to Casnova under hard acceleration. It is easy to drift wide here, and so you should exercise caution as there is not a lot of grip off the track, and easy to spin.
· T13aL & T13bR – Biondetti. As this is a fast chicane, and able to be straightened easily, all cars must have 2 wheels between the white lines throughout this section. The kerbs are NOT deemed as track, therefore “2 wheels on the tarmac at all times”.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
After round 4 there was an Incident Report filed by a driver, and after investigations were carried out, 2 10-second Penalties levied, both for persistent cutting.
10 second penalties were levied upon :-
Peter Gog
Amir Margalit
As a result of those penalties, the Results for Round 4 were altered slightly, you can see the net effect in GPCOS. There are NO penalties carried forward for these drivers to Round 5, their penalty has been served.
There are no new no-show penalties pending from the Zolder event.
5 no-show penalty infractions are currently being served (races left in brackets):-
Simon Bacon (1)
Stuart Neal (1)
Arkadiusz Kotarski (2)
Lee Madden (2)
Matt Crouch (2)
This type of infraction will be carried for 4 events, after which time they will be rescinded. A further infraction will result in expulsion from the League.
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.)
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 RDHGP event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHGP.
Scoring System
I have extended the points distribution method 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 (double for the 200km event):
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 (not double on 200km event)
1 point for qualifying on Pole (not double on 200km event)
Welcome back to the 2009 RDHGP S4, and the first event after the mid season break – Happy New Year to you all. Zolder was another contrast to the previous tracks, and again, an overall successful event. There was obviously extensive discussion of track cutting rules and regulations, and because of an Incident Report, 2 drivers had times penalties levied against them. I hope that these were the last penalties I have to levy due to cutting this season.
The 2 drivers involved have been informed well ahead of this announcement and to be fair, the cutting was more like trying to sneak the odd fraction here and there to close gaps, and while this still breaks the rules, it’s less of an offence (IMO) than the alternative of deliberately cutting in close proximity to take or retain position, which I personally take more seriously due to the potential for accidents.
I also hope that, despite some of the rumblings and intimations I heard after Zolder, we don’t get too many people thinking seriously about dropping out of the League if they think that they haven’t picked the fastest car, or their car has been too unruly up until this point. I deliberately took a slight gamble in the scheduling by stacking the first half of the season with some of the more technical circuits, hoping that people in the less nimble cars would be able to focus on where their cars might shine, ie in the second half.
Three out of the next 4 circuits will suit some of the “other” cars better, where they can make the best of their attributes. To this end, I hope that people continue to soldier on, especially with our Le Mans grand finale on the horizon.
Anyway, looking upwards, ever upwards, we are still in Europe for Round 5, moving from Belgium to Italy, and the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
Circuit Notes
Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello is situated (perhaps unsurprisingly) in the Mugello region of Tuscany, in northern Italy. Situated just 30km from Florence, it is surrounded by the Apennine watershed, which provides a varied and imposing landscape as a backdrop.
Mugello is one of those circuits where, no matter what other challenges it can provide, its character is dominated by a single feature. Laguna Seca has the Corkscrew, Spa has Eau Rouge, Brand Hatch has Paddock, and Mugello has that enormously long, uphill, engine bursting, brake cooking, slipstream generating S/F straight. Ferrari use it as one of their F1 test tracks, and it regularly holds World SBK, Moto GP & DTM Championship events, only missing out on hosting the first A1GP race of the 2008/09 season due to delays with the car development.
It has also run the Mugello Grand Prix since 1920 utilising multiple formulas, with some famous names being victorious – Depailler, Jabouille, Daly, Palmer, Zanardi and even Alfieri Maserati in 1922.
While that straight dominates Mugello, there are enough twiddly bits to keep the power boys honest and the handling boys interested. The RDHGP’s spread of vehicles always means that we will see some unexpected cars behaving above the form book.
After that long straight, with no doubt some cars seeing some rev limiter action, we enter the uphill braking zone for T1R, San Donato. This is the tightest and slowest corner on the track, but as you will find, ‘tight’ and ‘slow’ are all relative. Let’s just say that San Donato is no La Source. I expect this to be a favourite and classic “late brake up the inside” overtaking spot.
We enter a series of Ess bends separated by medium length straights, T2L Lucco & T3R Peggio Secco are standard 90 degree corners which lead onto a straight down to the much faster T4L Materassi & T5R Borge San Lorenzo. The danger here is carrying too much speed through and into the gravel awaiting the overexuberant right footed. T6R Casanova dives down to T7L Savelli, the downhill entry making it very easy to go off and into quite a hard wall.
Coming out of Savelli we come to the climbing T8R & T9R double apex of Arrabbiata1 & Arrabbiata2. Approaching the next corner, T10R Scarperia, I hope you have been counting the corners or at least you know where you are on the track, as visually it resembles T12R very closely. The only problem with that is that both corners need completely different approaches. T10R is the first part of an Ess, with T11L Palagio forming the other part, whereas T12R (Correntaio) is actually a Hairpin.
On exit from Correntiao, you are accelerating hard through the high speed Biondetti Ess (T13aL & T13bR) and approach the wide, almost 180 degree T14L Bucine. This relatively simple corner takes on huge importance for the lap as it leads back onto that >1km long straight.
The Race Director has (unsurprisingly) some notes for drivers. Please see the track map above for location of Race Direction note:-
· All Corners Without Exception – The kerbs are no longer 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.
· Start / Finish Straight. This straight is incredibly long, and allows for some very fast speeds to be achieved, especially by use of slipstreaming. Because of this, all drivers should be reminded that weaving is not allowed, and that only one move is allowed from the car in front to defend your line. Weaving to deny a slipstream opportunity is also not allowed. If there are more than 2 cars in a group, the same moving rules apply to a car that is ahead of any other.
· T1R – San Donato. This is a prime overtaking spot, and so drivers should be aware of what’s around them at all times. As always, it is incumbent upon the overtaking driver to do so safely.
· T5R – Borge San Lorenzo. The exit of this corner is very tempting as it opens up onto the descending approach to Casnova under hard acceleration. It is easy to drift wide here, and so you should exercise caution as there is not a lot of grip off the track, and easy to spin.
· T13aL & T13bR – Biondetti. As this is a fast chicane, and able to be straightened easily, all cars must have 2 wheels between the white lines throughout this section. The kerbs are NOT deemed as track, therefore “2 wheels on the tarmac at all times”.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
After round 4 there was an Incident Report filed by a driver, and after investigations were carried out, 2 10-second Penalties levied, both for persistent cutting.
10 second penalties were levied upon :-
Peter Gog
Amir Margalit
As a result of those penalties, the Results for Round 4 were altered slightly, you can see the net effect in GPCOS. There are NO penalties carried forward for these drivers to Round 5, their penalty has been served.
There are no new no-show penalties pending from the Zolder event.
5 no-show penalty infractions are currently being served (races left in brackets):-
Simon Bacon (1)
Stuart Neal (1)
Arkadiusz Kotarski (2)
Lee Madden (2)
Matt Crouch (2)
This type of infraction will be carried for 4 events, after which time they will be rescinded. A further infraction will result in expulsion from the League.
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.)
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 RDHGP event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHGP.
Scoring System
I have extended the points distribution method 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 (double for the 200km event):
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 (not double on 200km event)
1 point for qualifying on Pole (not double on 200km event)
