Welcome back to Round 7 of the RD Historic Grand Prix, Season 5
The penultimate round of the season, and I can’t quite believe it’s nearly all over…again. I trust that the Silverstone event came as an entertaining contrast to the preceding tracks, lots of high speed drifty turns along a very gently contoured track, instead of the hard braking, hairpins and hills of some of the other recent tracks. I suspect that there were certain drivers who had been waiting for this sort of circuit, and now can’t wait to get into the long, long straights at Bathurst. Before they do, however, there’s the little matter of our penultimate venue.
We hop across the Channel 480 miles, 20 miles less than the Proclaimers were willing to walk, to South / Central France, and Clermont-Ferrand, home of the Circuit d'Auvergne, or Charade.
Please note – we are using the 2009 layout of this track, so please check your installations to make sure you have the latest one. http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtl-tracks-17/charade-2009-updated-version-1127/
Circuit Notes
Like the modern Spa-Francorchamps, and - probably even more apropos - the modern Nuerburgring, today’s Charade is a vastly shortened modern iteration of one of the old Grand Prix circuits run in the late 50’s to early 70’s. Circuit d'Auvergne at Clermont-Ferrand hosted the French Grand Prix 4 times - 1965, 1969, 1970 & 1972, and had a major role in the John Frankenheimer film “Grand Prix”. An 8km long road course, known for it’s undulating nature and gradient changes, some drivers (notably Jochen Rindt) even complained of motion sickness, and deliberately wore open faced helmets in case of any inadvertent…unpleasantness. The part that is no longer used was omitted due to it being very difficult to create extended run-offs, and being naturally rocky (it’s built on the side of an extinct volcano), several tyres being cut by the sharp stones, and a driver being hit in the eye with a loose chipping, ending his F1 career.
The new layout of Charade is approximately half the length (4.050km vs 8.055km) but has (depending on your interpretation and numbering) between 16 and 20 corners, so it’s a very busy circuit, no real chance to rest in a lap, and it includes what I think might be the tightest and slowest corner in our season. Maybe Hårnålen at Knutstorp or Namerow at Mont Tremblant are comparable, but it’s a close thing.
A lap of Charade begins on the slightly downhill grid, facing T1L, a very fast, but very wide 90º turn, which should not cause any real issues at the race start as velocities will not be unmanageable through here. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for T2R, Manson.
Manson is approached at full throttle down the straight, and then it is hard on the brakes for this right handed hairpin. The circuit narrows here, funnelling cars together, and then spitting them out onto the downhill straight that follows.
T3aR & T3bL is a high speed flick, easy to get wrong, easy to induce a cut, easy to unsettle the car. Out of there, and the track climbs to T4L, an uphill 90º with the extremely sneaky T5R waiting just beyond the blind crest to ensnare the unwary or over eager right foot.
Another short blast up to T6R, another crested turn, but this time under braking rather than acceleration. The crest makes it all to easy to lock up as the car goes light over the crest, and you need to be in control as waiting just beyond is T7aL & T7bR.
T7aL goes further around than you initially expect, then drops away just as you want to get on the accelerator, as it open into the shallow T7bR, itself opening onto another downhill straight.
T8R is a hairpin approached at, or nearing, top speed, braking needs to be done early, as it is another downhill braking zone, and the turn itself is hugely off camber so you need to control where the nose is pointing before applying power. A short blast uphill and into T9aL & T9bR, Virage de la Ferme.
This corner is tricky, as the first – left – portion can be taken quite aggressively, but that does impair the second sections exit onto yet another downhill straight, whereas the inverse means that compromising the first section to get good drive out of the second section leaves you vulnerable to an opportunist pass.
Again at or near top speed for yet another downhill braking zone into the 180º T10L, Le Petit Pont. This is another off camber turn, although not as extravagant as T8R.
Accelerate for a short squirt uphill before heavy, heavy braking for T11R. This is the very tight 180º I mentioned at the top of the Notes. This corner is like the Grand Hotel / Loews / Gare hairpin at Monaco, but going uphill rather than down. Once out of there it’s a very steep uphill blast to blind T12L. This is a crested turn, so any overeagerness either on turn in, or on right foot will be found out, but getting this corner right feels glorious.
Another short blast down to T13L, an apparently standard 90º, but again slightly off camber, so there is a degree of difficulty added to keep you honest. Out of there, and you arrive at the 180º T14R – Tertre de Thèdes. This is another test of patience, as once clear of here it’s a blast to T15L, a shallow turn that is inviting and begging to be drifted across the apex.
Finally, there’s another flat out dash, past the pitlane entry, to yet another downhill braking zone for the final turn T16R – Virage Rosier. There are several lines through here, so drivers need to be aware of where people are around them in this area. The walls are very close here, so any accidents may well be race ending.
On the power as early as you dare here, down the S/F straight and across the line.
A busy and technical lap, Charade manages to pull off the trick where lots of the sections, and somehow most of the straights and their braking zones, all seeming to be downhill, but there seem to be very few, and quite short, climbing sections.
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. Please report people who are deliberately and excessively cutting.
T2L - Manson. This turn will be busy and crowded throughout the race, but on Lap 1, ALL drivers need to be extra cautious. There are vast differences between braking distances, agility and acceleration power across the RDHGP field, so you will need to know who and what is around you. Lap 1 incidents through carelessness or selfish driving will be penalised accordingly.
T3aR & T3bL. Very easy to misjudge this section, especially as the tyre grip alters throughout the race. The kerbs can unsettle cars going across them, so be aware of that, and cars that drift off to the right and try and recover the track from the grass.
T11R. This hairpin is very, very slow, so there will be congestion around here until the field spreads out a little, so again, no careless or selfish driving through here, please.
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.
There is to be NO post race chat until the last running driver has crossed the line for the final time.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There are no new No-show infractions now being levied on Drivers after Round 6.
Bob Hutchins raised a Driving Incident Report against Ryan Callan in Round 6.
The Report against Ryan Callan was closed without any penalty as a Racing Incident.
--------------
1 driver who was carrying a No-show infraction now has that infraction rescinded.
Manuel Spierenberg. Any further infraction of this type by this driver 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
The penultimate round of the season, and I can’t quite believe it’s nearly all over…again. I trust that the Silverstone event came as an entertaining contrast to the preceding tracks, lots of high speed drifty turns along a very gently contoured track, instead of the hard braking, hairpins and hills of some of the other recent tracks. I suspect that there were certain drivers who had been waiting for this sort of circuit, and now can’t wait to get into the long, long straights at Bathurst. Before they do, however, there’s the little matter of our penultimate venue.
We hop across the Channel 480 miles, 20 miles less than the Proclaimers were willing to walk, to South / Central France, and Clermont-Ferrand, home of the Circuit d'Auvergne, or Charade.
Please note – we are using the 2009 layout of this track, so please check your installations to make sure you have the latest one. http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtl-tracks-17/charade-2009-updated-version-1127/
Circuit Notes
Like the modern Spa-Francorchamps, and - probably even more apropos - the modern Nuerburgring, today’s Charade is a vastly shortened modern iteration of one of the old Grand Prix circuits run in the late 50’s to early 70’s. Circuit d'Auvergne at Clermont-Ferrand hosted the French Grand Prix 4 times - 1965, 1969, 1970 & 1972, and had a major role in the John Frankenheimer film “Grand Prix”. An 8km long road course, known for it’s undulating nature and gradient changes, some drivers (notably Jochen Rindt) even complained of motion sickness, and deliberately wore open faced helmets in case of any inadvertent…unpleasantness. The part that is no longer used was omitted due to it being very difficult to create extended run-offs, and being naturally rocky (it’s built on the side of an extinct volcano), several tyres being cut by the sharp stones, and a driver being hit in the eye with a loose chipping, ending his F1 career.
The new layout of Charade is approximately half the length (4.050km vs 8.055km) but has (depending on your interpretation and numbering) between 16 and 20 corners, so it’s a very busy circuit, no real chance to rest in a lap, and it includes what I think might be the tightest and slowest corner in our season. Maybe Hårnålen at Knutstorp or Namerow at Mont Tremblant are comparable, but it’s a close thing.
A lap of Charade begins on the slightly downhill grid, facing T1L, a very fast, but very wide 90º turn, which should not cause any real issues at the race start as velocities will not be unmanageable through here. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for T2R, Manson.
Manson is approached at full throttle down the straight, and then it is hard on the brakes for this right handed hairpin. The circuit narrows here, funnelling cars together, and then spitting them out onto the downhill straight that follows.
T3aR & T3bL is a high speed flick, easy to get wrong, easy to induce a cut, easy to unsettle the car. Out of there, and the track climbs to T4L, an uphill 90º with the extremely sneaky T5R waiting just beyond the blind crest to ensnare the unwary or over eager right foot.
Another short blast up to T6R, another crested turn, but this time under braking rather than acceleration. The crest makes it all to easy to lock up as the car goes light over the crest, and you need to be in control as waiting just beyond is T7aL & T7bR.
T7aL goes further around than you initially expect, then drops away just as you want to get on the accelerator, as it open into the shallow T7bR, itself opening onto another downhill straight.
T8R is a hairpin approached at, or nearing, top speed, braking needs to be done early, as it is another downhill braking zone, and the turn itself is hugely off camber so you need to control where the nose is pointing before applying power. A short blast uphill and into T9aL & T9bR, Virage de la Ferme.
This corner is tricky, as the first – left – portion can be taken quite aggressively, but that does impair the second sections exit onto yet another downhill straight, whereas the inverse means that compromising the first section to get good drive out of the second section leaves you vulnerable to an opportunist pass.
Again at or near top speed for yet another downhill braking zone into the 180º T10L, Le Petit Pont. This is another off camber turn, although not as extravagant as T8R.
Accelerate for a short squirt uphill before heavy, heavy braking for T11R. This is the very tight 180º I mentioned at the top of the Notes. This corner is like the Grand Hotel / Loews / Gare hairpin at Monaco, but going uphill rather than down. Once out of there it’s a very steep uphill blast to blind T12L. This is a crested turn, so any overeagerness either on turn in, or on right foot will be found out, but getting this corner right feels glorious.
Another short blast down to T13L, an apparently standard 90º, but again slightly off camber, so there is a degree of difficulty added to keep you honest. Out of there, and you arrive at the 180º T14R – Tertre de Thèdes. This is another test of patience, as once clear of here it’s a blast to T15L, a shallow turn that is inviting and begging to be drifted across the apex.
Finally, there’s another flat out dash, past the pitlane entry, to yet another downhill braking zone for the final turn T16R – Virage Rosier. There are several lines through here, so drivers need to be aware of where people are around them in this area. The walls are very close here, so any accidents may well be race ending.
On the power as early as you dare here, down the S/F straight and across the line.
A busy and technical lap, Charade manages to pull off the trick where lots of the sections, and somehow most of the straights and their braking zones, all seeming to be downhill, but there seem to be very few, and quite short, climbing sections.
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. Please report people who are deliberately and excessively cutting.
T2L - Manson. This turn will be busy and crowded throughout the race, but on Lap 1, ALL drivers need to be extra cautious. There are vast differences between braking distances, agility and acceleration power across the RDHGP field, so you will need to know who and what is around you. Lap 1 incidents through carelessness or selfish driving will be penalised accordingly.
T3aR & T3bL. Very easy to misjudge this section, especially as the tyre grip alters throughout the race. The kerbs can unsettle cars going across them, so be aware of that, and cars that drift off to the right and try and recover the track from the grass.
T11R. This hairpin is very, very slow, so there will be congestion around here until the field spreads out a little, so again, no careless or selfish driving through here, please.
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.
There is to be NO post race chat until the last running driver has crossed the line for the final time.
Incidents, Investigations and Penalties
There are no new No-show infractions now being levied on Drivers after Round 6.
Bob Hutchins raised a Driving Incident Report against Ryan Callan in Round 6.
The Report against Ryan Callan was closed without any penalty as a Racing Incident.
--------------
1 driver who was carrying a No-show infraction now has that infraction rescinded.
Manuel Spierenberg. Any further infraction of this type by this driver 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
Thumbs up mate.
