Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you:RDHGP Round 6
I don’t know about you lot, but I’m out of breath now, what with all the RDHGP events we’ve been running recently. It’s confirmed to me that bi-weekly is definitely the correct interval for these races – they deserve some decent interval and build up, most especially because of the vast differences in cars, and the way that we program the season, generally requires some preparation. Two complete races and no incident reports is a good thing, although there were still a few too many incidents, all accidental but some avoidable, for my liking.
For this leg of the season, we trot over 7,200 miles West, staying in the southern hemisphere, leaving Queensland on Australia’s Gold Coast and traversing the Indian Ocean, and ending up halfway between Johannesburg & Pretoria and the Original, 1967-1985 layout of Kyalami Park.
Circuit Notes
Kyalami (“my home” in Zulu) is the premier circuit in South African motorsport, having hosted multiple South African Grand Prix, taking over from the East London Circuit once the F1 cars became too powerful to run there safely. The first race there was held on January 2nd 1967, with Pedro Rodriguez winning in his Cooper-Maserati, although this was in a field that did not yet contain the formidable Lotus 49 with it’s brand new Cosworth DFV engine, the Eagle Weslake with its huge V12, nor indeed any Ferraris.
Kyalami was also the site of one of F1’s darker moments, when in 1977 Welsh driver Tom Price came over a crest and hit a marshall carrying a fire extinguisher, causing both to be killed.
Political sanctions stopped the South African Grand Prix from 1985, and during this time, the circuit was rebuilt in the early 1990’s. This redevelopment meant that many famous elements of the original track were eliminated.
Due to the pulling power of the RDHGP, we will be running on the wonderful original 4.1km circuit, and what may be the highest average speed race of the season. Certainly, there will be many drivers looking forward to this race after some fairly complex circuits in previous outings.
A lap of Kyalami begins facing the Dunlop Bridge, and a long, downhill straight, which flattens and then begins to rise just as we stand on the anchors for T1R, Crowthorne Corner. The corner continues to rise and then crest into a blind apex, and will probably see some of the gaps opened on the preceding straight by the powerful cars being closed as the lighter cars can brake later and get through the turn under more throttle.
Slithering out of Crowthorne on the edge of adhesion, it’s a quick blast to T2R – Barbeque Bend. Fast, but negatively cambered, this is a crucial turn as it opens onto the second longest section of full throttle on the lap. Powering out of Crowthorne the track drops downhill and through the fearsome T3L – the Jukskei Sweep, normally taken at full chat, but with a high earth wall on the outside of the exit for those not giving it the respect it deserves.
Through Jukskei, the track flattens out, before you approach one of the technically trickier turns on Kyalami, T4R – Sunset Bend. There is a large earth wall on the inner side, making the exit blind, and as this is a relatively fast bend, that blind exit makes it harder to gauge the correct speed and turn in point.
Exiting Sunset there is a short uphill spurt until the hard braking zone for T5L – Clubhouse Bend. Clubhouse is a standard 90° bend, but is slippery on the exit, meaning patience is required to avoid a power-on induced spin. It leads onto a short straight before some more hard braking for T6L & T7R – The Esses.
The Esses at Kyalami are another “Corkscrew” type of turn, dropping down through the first part, and flattening out during the second section, but these are a bit further apart than at Laguna Seca & Birubi, so able to be handled slightly differently. T7R in particular is heavily positively cambered allowing the throttle to be opened quite aggressively, and it leads up the hill to T8R – Leeukop Bend.
Leeukop is a wide radiused hairpin, the Armco on the inside making the apex and exit blind at entry, but getting this corner right is normally the make or break for most laptimes, especially for the lower powered cars, as it opens onto the 1.5km long straight. Any time lost through Leeukop will be impossible to regain until the next lap.
Exiting Leeukop, the straight rises uphill, and through T9R – The Kink – where you throw the nose at the inside of the apex, full on the throttle and hope it grips enough for you to exit onto the S/F grid and under The Dunlop Bridge to start another lap at Kyalami.
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.
T1R – Crowthorne - This corner, especially on the first lap, will be tricky due to the heavy braking zone, cold tyres, vehicle proximity and high speeds. As always, be aware in Lap 1 of people as you turn in here, it will be slower than on susbsequent laps and very, very crowded. The different car types will also have very different cornering strategies – be aware of people around you.
T5L – Clubhouse. As mentioned above, this is a slow, simple corner, but be aware of the possibility of people spinning their car on the throttle. If they do, you may end up with nowhere to go, so be prepared.
All points on the track – General Items
No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
No Chat during the Quali or Race except by Race Control for information.
You may put your lights on if you are on a timed Qualifying lap to inform people in front of you. If they themselves are on a timed lap, they are not under any obligation to move for you.
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 no incident reports arising from Rounds 4 & 5.
There are no drivers serving infractions for no shows – I have stopped awarding infractions here, and will simply deny any application from constant no-showers for any future Seasons.
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 RDHGP event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHGP.
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
I don’t know about you lot, but I’m out of breath now, what with all the RDHGP events we’ve been running recently. It’s confirmed to me that bi-weekly is definitely the correct interval for these races – they deserve some decent interval and build up, most especially because of the vast differences in cars, and the way that we program the season, generally requires some preparation. Two complete races and no incident reports is a good thing, although there were still a few too many incidents, all accidental but some avoidable, for my liking.
For this leg of the season, we trot over 7,200 miles West, staying in the southern hemisphere, leaving Queensland on Australia’s Gold Coast and traversing the Indian Ocean, and ending up halfway between Johannesburg & Pretoria and the Original, 1967-1985 layout of Kyalami Park.
Circuit Notes
Kyalami (“my home” in Zulu) is the premier circuit in South African motorsport, having hosted multiple South African Grand Prix, taking over from the East London Circuit once the F1 cars became too powerful to run there safely. The first race there was held on January 2nd 1967, with Pedro Rodriguez winning in his Cooper-Maserati, although this was in a field that did not yet contain the formidable Lotus 49 with it’s brand new Cosworth DFV engine, the Eagle Weslake with its huge V12, nor indeed any Ferraris.
Kyalami was also the site of one of F1’s darker moments, when in 1977 Welsh driver Tom Price came over a crest and hit a marshall carrying a fire extinguisher, causing both to be killed.
Political sanctions stopped the South African Grand Prix from 1985, and during this time, the circuit was rebuilt in the early 1990’s. This redevelopment meant that many famous elements of the original track were eliminated.
Due to the pulling power of the RDHGP, we will be running on the wonderful original 4.1km circuit, and what may be the highest average speed race of the season. Certainly, there will be many drivers looking forward to this race after some fairly complex circuits in previous outings.
A lap of Kyalami begins facing the Dunlop Bridge, and a long, downhill straight, which flattens and then begins to rise just as we stand on the anchors for T1R, Crowthorne Corner. The corner continues to rise and then crest into a blind apex, and will probably see some of the gaps opened on the preceding straight by the powerful cars being closed as the lighter cars can brake later and get through the turn under more throttle.
Slithering out of Crowthorne on the edge of adhesion, it’s a quick blast to T2R – Barbeque Bend. Fast, but negatively cambered, this is a crucial turn as it opens onto the second longest section of full throttle on the lap. Powering out of Crowthorne the track drops downhill and through the fearsome T3L – the Jukskei Sweep, normally taken at full chat, but with a high earth wall on the outside of the exit for those not giving it the respect it deserves.
Through Jukskei, the track flattens out, before you approach one of the technically trickier turns on Kyalami, T4R – Sunset Bend. There is a large earth wall on the inner side, making the exit blind, and as this is a relatively fast bend, that blind exit makes it harder to gauge the correct speed and turn in point.
Exiting Sunset there is a short uphill spurt until the hard braking zone for T5L – Clubhouse Bend. Clubhouse is a standard 90° bend, but is slippery on the exit, meaning patience is required to avoid a power-on induced spin. It leads onto a short straight before some more hard braking for T6L & T7R – The Esses.
The Esses at Kyalami are another “Corkscrew” type of turn, dropping down through the first part, and flattening out during the second section, but these are a bit further apart than at Laguna Seca & Birubi, so able to be handled slightly differently. T7R in particular is heavily positively cambered allowing the throttle to be opened quite aggressively, and it leads up the hill to T8R – Leeukop Bend.
Leeukop is a wide radiused hairpin, the Armco on the inside making the apex and exit blind at entry, but getting this corner right is normally the make or break for most laptimes, especially for the lower powered cars, as it opens onto the 1.5km long straight. Any time lost through Leeukop will be impossible to regain until the next lap.
Exiting Leeukop, the straight rises uphill, and through T9R – The Kink – where you throw the nose at the inside of the apex, full on the throttle and hope it grips enough for you to exit onto the S/F grid and under The Dunlop Bridge to start another lap at Kyalami.
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.
T1R – Crowthorne - This corner, especially on the first lap, will be tricky due to the heavy braking zone, cold tyres, vehicle proximity and high speeds. As always, be aware in Lap 1 of people as you turn in here, it will be slower than on susbsequent laps and very, very crowded. The different car types will also have very different cornering strategies – be aware of people around you.
T5L – Clubhouse. As mentioned above, this is a slow, simple corner, but be aware of the possibility of people spinning their car on the throttle. If they do, you may end up with nowhere to go, so be prepared.
All points on the track – General Items
No lights are to be flashed at any stage, under any circumstances, during the race.
No Chat during the Quali or Race except by Race Control for information.
You may put your lights on if you are on a timed Qualifying lap to inform people in front of you. If they themselves are on a timed lap, they are not under any obligation to move for you.
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 no incident reports arising from Rounds 4 & 5.
There are no drivers serving infractions for no shows – I have stopped awarding infractions here, and will simply deny any application from constant no-showers for any future Seasons.
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 RDHGP event. Every driver has a unique livery in this season of RDHGP.
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
