RDHGP S5 - Round 3 - Arctic Circle Raceway Mo I Rana - 27th May 2010

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Stuart Thomson

The Stoat Without Fear ™
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Welcome back to Round 3 of the RD Historic Grand Prix, Season 5

As you will (hopefully) find regularly this season, Round 2 was a deliberate contrast to the preceding round, a short complex track in comparison with Jops’ straights and sweeps. It was a very intense race, virtually no let up within the lap, and I was surprised that we had a relatively low attrition rate. My apologies go to Predrag & Kris, though – I missed that “shelf of doom” that you both got stuck on during all my testing.

There was some very good racing right the way through the pack, the vehicles mixed up pretty well, belying again the worry of one car dominating. I will make special mention of Gary, who took his lumps manfully in the most ill-matched car & track combination of the season. He kept going until the end, knowing that future tracks will suit him far better. Like Switzerland before it, I’m declaring that Sweden joins the ranks of classic RDHGP venues.

There were some discussions after the race regarding light flashing, chatting etc. and I hope that all positions were listened to and reasons for any and all decisions were made clear to any and all interested parties.

I - again - received no Driving Incident Reports for which I can only commend the gentlemen of the RDHGP.

I won’t be reminding you again of the items I outlined for Round 2 – there was a major drop off of potential and actual issues, so you have definitely taken the points on board – another reason for my thanks.

For Round 3, we leave Sweden, but remain in Scandinavia, moving north some 700miles, 1,100km to the Arctic Circle Raceway at Mo I Rana in Norway.

moirana.jpg



Circuit Notes

The Arctic Circle Raceway is situated (perhaps unsurprisingly considering the name) just 20 miles South of the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway. It is a 2.3mile / 3.7km track, with a total altitude change from lowest point to highest point of over 100feet / 31m. It is also one of only 2 tracks in our season to run anti-clockwise.

ACR first opened in 1995, and retains the original layout to the current day. Due to it’s extreme Northern location, it has the possibility for 24 hour racing in full daylight because of the midnight sun during the Norwegian Summer.

It is a relatively fast track, generous in width all the way around, allowing a multitude of racing lines to be employed. It places emphasis on high speed sweeps rather than tight turns, but like all the best tracks, it uses gradient to add another degree of difficulty to what appear at first glance to be simple turns. It doesn’t have a jump like both Jops & Knutstorp, but the gradient is extremely cannily used and means that over late braking or over eager acceleration can easily result in loss of control through the corner, or more importantly on exit.

Mo I Rana starts with a good length straight with the S/F line about 50% of the way along. The grid boxes are not particularly tightly packed, which means that some of the lower qualifiers may find themselves starting on the exit of the last hairpin. The straight is long enough on a normal lap that you will be at very nearly full speed as you approach T1L.

T1L drops away and to the left, and is in itself not a tricky corner. However, it is immediately followed by the climbing and slightly off-camber T2R, so any over indulgence or overambition through T1L will result in a severely compromised T2R, which you can ill afford as it exits onto an uphill straight, where all possible momentum is needed.

T3L needs to be attacked as aggressively as possible, as it is another uphill turn followed by another uphill straight, but then it’s hard on the anchors for T4L. This is the highest point on the track, and is a heavily cambered, cresting hairpin. A good laptime needs T4L to be handled well and cleanly, because the exit begins a long decent under hard acceleration, and any time lost in T4L will be very hard to make up.

The downhill section following T4L begins with a short squirt and into T5R, which some cars will be able to take flat out, and once negotiated, the downhill section continues through T6L, which is really just a kink taken flat out and poses no real problem.

The hard acceleration continues down to the T7R & T8L, the Esses. These are very high speed Esses, guarded on the outside by some very sticky sand. At the end of that straight is one of the best corners on the track, T9L. This is a heavily positive cambered turn that, if you get right, feels glorious, but as with so many of the ACR corners, anybody taking liberties will be punished by sudden loss of grip, compromising their times quite badly. T9L is followed by another downhill straight, which leads up to one of the more testing corners, T10R.

T10R needs to be taken fast, but to be quick through here is difficult, as the fairly high inside kerb will throw you across the track and into the waiting sand if you go too tight. Another downhill straight and you arrive at T11R, the lowest point of the track. Another medium speed, slippery corner, it leads you into the penultimate straight where you start climbing again, before standing on the brakes for the final corner T12L.

A climbing hairpin, it’s difficult to defend if someone is closing in behind you, as it allows various lines through at near optimum speed, so it’s always a test, right to the end of the Race, and complacency will be punished.

moir_lod_z27.jpg



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.
  • T1L & T2R. This is a high speed section and one of the few places on the lap where the track narrows and funnels the pack. People could easily drop a wheel onto the sand and suddenly spin. Be aware of people around you, and of the racing line, as there is a lot of lateral movement through this section
  • T7R & T8L – Esses. The temptation is to straight line these Esses as it is a very fast section of track, but 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 throw people across the track, so you will need to be aware of sudden changes in line from people immediately in front of you.
  • All points on the track – General Items
    No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
    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 are 3 “No-show” infractions now being levied on Drivers after Round 2.

Sam J. Simpson
Jakub Dylewski
Jakub Borucki

These infractions will be carried for 1 race and then rescinded. Any further infraction of this type after that time will result in removal from the League.

There is 1 Conduct infraction being levied on a Driver after Round 2.

Andreas Löffler

This infraction will be carried for 2 races and then rescinded. Any further infraction during the period of the infraction will result in removal of qualifying privileges in the subsequent round. Once the infraction is rescinded the driver reverts to a clean record.

Please note the difference in the infraction types, and subsequent punishments if further breaches occur.

2 drivers who were carrying a No-show infraction from Round 1 now have that infraction rescinded.

Fernando Rees (subsequently retired from the League)
Michal Mroczek

Any further No-show infractions will result in removal 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 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
 
Also, double check the fuel calculations - I think the track itself is way out (the Abarth shows as not making the distance on a full tank if you take the in game garage figures) - XD, if you have it, is much more accurate.
 
The track is not bad at all, mix of all types of turns, fun to drive. On the other hand, visually it's one of the simplest and ugliest track for GTL ever. :cool:
And I didnt find appropriate ditch. :frown: I just want to know what could happen to me on this race. Somebody mention an ash cloud, I bet it will hover above my car during the race, and descend on me sweetly and with style later in race. :cool:
 
It's true to say that Mo I rana is not overly blessed in the looks department, but that's quite a way down my list of priorities if I'm honest.

It's all about the racing, and once you're in the thick of the race, who's looking at the scenery?
 
Yesterday I did more than 100 laps on this track, and I think I managed to run really competitive lap times, but my wife said this morning "... oh and please don't forget, you take the kids to the theater on Thursday evening". So I have to miss this round. Have fun guys!
 
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