GP3 Career Thread
Posted by Diax F1
Round 4 @ Poznan, Poland (75 laps)
The series went back to this Polish circuit for the first 300km race of the season.
By the the results of the practise sessions I felt, for the first time in the season, I had some good chances of getting a good result here. However, those chances went away when I made a crucial mistake coming out of a turn and hit the tire barriers and was forced to retire.
During qualifying I felt the pressure of getting a good result that I kept making little mistakes and making bad setup choices on the suspension of my car. With 3 minutes remaining in the 1 hour session I was 22nd 0.3sec behind 21st. So, on my last try to improve my place on the grid I changed back my setup to a more basic one, and drove like crazy, almost spinning coming out the last 1st gear corner of the track, and improved my lap time enough to put me in 17th place. Not great, but good for boosting morale.
The race turned out to be a wet one. The forecast predicted heavy rain after one hour of race, but at the start the rain was steady and not that hard, therefore I went for wet hard tires.
Like always, under wet weather, I had some difficulties to keep my car off from spinning at the start, making me lose few places, but that wasn't as bad as what happened in the first real breaking point of the track. As the field reached turn 2 some cars couldn't avoid contact, therefore spinning. One of these cars spun right in front of me, and couldn't avoid hitting it and damaging my front wing. So, I was forced to pit a lot earlier than I wanted to, losing a lot of time while doing so. I came out of the pits about 35sec behind the car in front of me. Since I had a fast car under these kind of conditions, I was able to regain a bit of the time I had lost. And thinking that I had a good chance to get to the points if I only pitted just one more time, I delayed the most I could my second pit stop. However, that wouldn't work anyway, because the conditions eventually would get worst, and I would have to pit to change my wet hard tires for monsoon tires. But my race ended before I could do that. As the rain started to fall harder, I started to find it harder to keep the car off from spinning coming off 1st gear corners until in one of them I found it impossible to do so. I lost control of the car and went right into the inside barriers damaging my RF suspension, ending my race 27 laps earlier than I wanted.
Nevertheless, the race would have a dramatic ending. The leading position seemed to be cursed, and in the remaining 20 laps the race saw two leaders spinning, and one having his engine broke with just two laps to go. So, the victory would eventually fall into the arms of the #21-Pro Racing Chevy, from TC2000, and with its teammate finishing also in the points, this team was the second one to clinch a place on the next season's starting line-up along with Acura that proved that its cars perform very well on short races, but on longer ones it has to deal with lots of reliability issues. Here at Poznan both Acuras didn't finish the due to engine failure. Very disapointed for a team that one of its drivers leads the drivers standings by 11 points.
Now the series will take a little brake, before going to Miami, as the organisers are trying to fix some issues in the track surface that could lead into some incidents with the drivers taking some odd lines in order to avoid some bid irregularities in the track surface
BTW, how's the Miami CC line update going Roberto, any news?
Cheers, and good luck on your seasons
The series went back to this Polish circuit for the first 300km race of the season.
By the the results of the practise sessions I felt, for the first time in the season, I had some good chances of getting a good result here. However, those chances went away when I made a crucial mistake coming out of a turn and hit the tire barriers and was forced to retire.
During qualifying I felt the pressure of getting a good result that I kept making little mistakes and making bad setup choices on the suspension of my car. With 3 minutes remaining in the 1 hour session I was 22nd 0.3sec behind 21st. So, on my last try to improve my place on the grid I changed back my setup to a more basic one, and drove like crazy, almost spinning coming out the last 1st gear corner of the track, and improved my lap time enough to put me in 17th place. Not great, but good for boosting morale.
The race turned out to be a wet one. The forecast predicted heavy rain after one hour of race, but at the start the rain was steady and not that hard, therefore I went for wet hard tires.
Like always, under wet weather, I had some difficulties to keep my car off from spinning at the start, making me lose few places, but that wasn't as bad as what happened in the first real breaking point of the track. As the field reached turn 2 some cars couldn't avoid contact, therefore spinning. One of these cars spun right in front of me, and couldn't avoid hitting it and damaging my front wing. So, I was forced to pit a lot earlier than I wanted to, losing a lot of time while doing so. I came out of the pits about 35sec behind the car in front of me. Since I had a fast car under these kind of conditions, I was able to regain a bit of the time I had lost. And thinking that I had a good chance to get to the points if I only pitted just one more time, I delayed the most I could my second pit stop. However, that wouldn't work anyway, because the conditions eventually would get worst, and I would have to pit to change my wet hard tires for monsoon tires. But my race ended before I could do that. As the rain started to fall harder, I started to find it harder to keep the car off from spinning coming off 1st gear corners until in one of them I found it impossible to do so. I lost control of the car and went right into the inside barriers damaging my RF suspension, ending my race 27 laps earlier than I wanted.
Nevertheless, the race would have a dramatic ending. The leading position seemed to be cursed, and in the remaining 20 laps the race saw two leaders spinning, and one having his engine broke with just two laps to go. So, the victory would eventually fall into the arms of the #21-Pro Racing Chevy, from TC2000, and with its teammate finishing also in the points, this team was the second one to clinch a place on the next season's starting line-up along with Acura that proved that its cars perform very well on short races, but on longer ones it has to deal with lots of reliability issues. Here at Poznan both Acuras didn't finish the due to engine failure. Very disapointed for a team that one of its drivers leads the drivers standings by 11 points.
Now the series will take a little brake, before going to Miami, as the organisers are trying to fix some issues in the track surface that could lead into some incidents with the drivers taking some odd lines in order to avoid some bid irregularities in the track surface
BTW, how's the Miami CC line update going Roberto, any news?
Cheers, and good luck on your seasons
That's a pity that my homeland turned out to be unfruitful to you, Racer#73.
In fact, sometimes we have really rainy days in Poland. You must have experienced one of them, I suppose.
You're lucky, though, that you haven't encountered any local people protesting against the circuit as people living in the vicinity of the track have been complaining about the noise produced regularly by cars and motorbikes :P
It's EXTREMELY nice to see this thread brought back to life. I couldn't find motivation to start up another season and now we are all here, again with our seasons, hopes and tears. It's nice to know that I'm not the only guy who has grabbed the steering wheel competing for victories
In fact, sometimes we have really rainy days in Poland. You must have experienced one of them, I suppose.
You're lucky, though, that you haven't encountered any local people protesting against the circuit as people living in the vicinity of the track have been complaining about the noise produced regularly by cars and motorbikes :P
It's EXTREMELY nice to see this thread brought back to life. I couldn't find motivation to start up another season and now we are all here, again with our seasons, hopes and tears. It's nice to know that I'm not the only guy who has grabbed the steering wheel competing for victories
OK. This is the race review which I promised
Race 1 - Oscar Galvez Circuit , The Argentine GP
As I previously wrote, I took the pole position. I managed to keep it when the lights went green, having Arnoux and Villeneuve behind. I was afraid of those both as I knew that the Ferrari was a powerful car while Arnoux can be a really tough driver to beat. Luckily, both Ferrari drivers crashed out in lap 3 - Villeneuve and Scheckter. After this Tambay, Regazzoni and Laffite crashed out, too.
I was about 3 seconds ahead of Arnoux but then a disaster happened. I got a puncture. After the forced pit-stop I got back to the track in 17th position. I kept climbing up gaining positions and after another 23 laps I was 2nd some 10 seconds behind Arnoux but then he pitted and I took the lead for the second time that day. Two laps later it was my turn for the planned pit-stop. When I got back I was 4th having Reutemann, Jones and Aronux in front. I easily passed Reutemann and Jones, and when I was approaching Arnoux, his gearbox fell apart. From now on it was only me and the boundless vastness of the circuit. Some four laps from the flag I nearly crashed into Rosberg as he didn't want to let me lap him. I crossed the line as a winner. That was one of the most lucky races I ever had.
The winner - Lauda (me) , 2nd - Jones, 3rd - Reutemann (scoring podium at his home race)
Race 2 - Interlagos, Brazilian GP.
This didn't look easy from the very beginning however, I expected much more from this race. The qualifying session took place in harsh, extremely wet conditions. I made it to the track and set the best time. When, five minutes from the end, I thought it'd be this way I got outperformed by four drivers with Laffite on pole.
The race day was as wet as the qualifying session. I used soft wets and went to racing. The race start was very promising to me as I easily passed both Ferraris in front as well as 2nd Jabouille and Laffite. However, I didn't keep the position for long as Laffite and Depailler who started pushing hard later in lap 1 both passed me and now Ligiers were heading for 1-2 victory. From now my car started to be more and mroe twitchy, I kept losing pace and got passed by majority of the other drivers. I retired with no prospect for scoring.
The race progressed in a very interesting way. In fact, both Ligiers retired late in the race. Laffite crashed out while Depailler suffered from a transmission issue. Both Renaults blew their engines and retired, too. Ferrari wasn't successful as well, as Villeneuve crashed out in one of the first laps. The consolation for them may be 6th position for Scheckter...not mentioning his finishing 3 laps later than the winner. The race was won by Reutemann who made another quick action climbing up from 10th to 1st place. I think he'll be my nemesis this year. Only 2nd place holder, Jarier came in the same lap as the race winner. Only 6 drivers managed to finish the race. The podium was completed by James Hunt in Wolf who came third.
Winner - Reutemann, 2nd - Jarier, 3rd - Hunt
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2009 06:44PM by abdelkader.
Race 1 - Oscar Galvez Circuit , The Argentine GP
As I previously wrote, I took the pole position. I managed to keep it when the lights went green, having Arnoux and Villeneuve behind. I was afraid of those both as I knew that the Ferrari was a powerful car while Arnoux can be a really tough driver to beat. Luckily, both Ferrari drivers crashed out in lap 3 - Villeneuve and Scheckter. After this Tambay, Regazzoni and Laffite crashed out, too.
I was about 3 seconds ahead of Arnoux but then a disaster happened. I got a puncture. After the forced pit-stop I got back to the track in 17th position. I kept climbing up gaining positions and after another 23 laps I was 2nd some 10 seconds behind Arnoux but then he pitted and I took the lead for the second time that day. Two laps later it was my turn for the planned pit-stop. When I got back I was 4th having Reutemann, Jones and Aronux in front. I easily passed Reutemann and Jones, and when I was approaching Arnoux, his gearbox fell apart. From now on it was only me and the boundless vastness of the circuit. Some four laps from the flag I nearly crashed into Rosberg as he didn't want to let me lap him. I crossed the line as a winner. That was one of the most lucky races I ever had.
The winner - Lauda (me) , 2nd - Jones, 3rd - Reutemann (scoring podium at his home race)
Race 2 - Interlagos, Brazilian GP.
This didn't look easy from the very beginning however, I expected much more from this race. The qualifying session took place in harsh, extremely wet conditions. I made it to the track and set the best time. When, five minutes from the end, I thought it'd be this way I got outperformed by four drivers with Laffite on pole.
The race day was as wet as the qualifying session. I used soft wets and went to racing. The race start was very promising to me as I easily passed both Ferraris in front as well as 2nd Jabouille and Laffite. However, I didn't keep the position for long as Laffite and Depailler who started pushing hard later in lap 1 both passed me and now Ligiers were heading for 1-2 victory. From now my car started to be more and mroe twitchy, I kept losing pace and got passed by majority of the other drivers. I retired with no prospect for scoring.
The race progressed in a very interesting way. In fact, both Ligiers retired late in the race. Laffite crashed out while Depailler suffered from a transmission issue. Both Renaults blew their engines and retired, too. Ferrari wasn't successful as well, as Villeneuve crashed out in one of the first laps. The consolation for them may be 6th position for Scheckter...not mentioning his finishing 3 laps later than the winner. The race was won by Reutemann who made another quick action climbing up from 10th to 1st place. I think he'll be my nemesis this year
. Only 2nd place holder, Jarier came in the same lap as the race winner. Only 6 drivers managed to finish the race. The podium was completed by James Hunt in Wolf who came third.Winner - Reutemann, 2nd - Jarier, 3rd - Hunt
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2009 06:44PM by abdelkader.
abdelkader Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's a pity that my homeland turned out to be
> unfruitful to you, Racer#73.
>
It could have been fruitful if nobody ripped my wing off in the first lap. Anyway, I liked driving there this time. I hope the series go back there anytime soon.
>
> It's EXTREMELY nice to see this thread brought
> back to life. I couldn't find motivation to start
> up another season and now we are all here, again
> with our seasons, hopes and tears. It's nice to
> know that I'm not the only guy who has grabbed the
> steering wheel competing for victories
I stoped posting because no one else was posting anymore. But I'm very glad that this thread is alive again. And like I previously said, it motivates even more to play the game, and it kinda helps when the races don't go the way you want and you feel frustated about it.
Now about your races abdelkader, congrats on your win at Buenos Aires, but at Interlagos i think you should have gone all the way with the prospect that there would be enough retirements for you get at least one point 'cause at times chapionships are won with the help of those little points you earn on those never endind races.
Cheers. Good luck on your future races.
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's a pity that my homeland turned out to be
> unfruitful to you, Racer#73.
>
It could have been fruitful if nobody ripped my wing off in the first lap. Anyway, I liked driving there this time. I hope the series go back there anytime soon.
>
> It's EXTREMELY nice to see this thread brought
> back to life. I couldn't find motivation to start
> up another season and now we are all here, again
> with our seasons, hopes and tears. It's nice to
> know that I'm not the only guy who has grabbed the
> steering wheel competing for victories
I stoped posting because no one else was posting anymore. But I'm very glad that this thread is alive again. And like I previously said, it motivates even more to play the game, and it kinda helps when the races don't go the way you want and you feel frustated about it.
Now about your races abdelkader, congrats on your win at Buenos Aires, but at Interlagos i think you should have gone all the way with the prospect that there would be enough retirements for you get at least one point 'cause at times chapionships are won with the help of those little points you earn on those never endind races.
Cheers. Good luck on your future races.
Racer#73 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It could have been fruitful if nobody ripped my
> wing off in the first lap. Anyway, I liked driving
> there this time. I hope the series go back there
> anytime soon.
Cool to hear that
>
> I stoped posting because no one else was posting
> anymore. But I'm very glad that this thread is
> alive again. And like I previously said, it
> motivates even more to play the game, and it kinda
> helps when the races don't go the way you want and
> you feel frustated about it.
You can say taht again. For the pretty much similar reasons I'm here right now.
> Now about your races abdelkader, congrats on your
> win at Buenos Aires, but at Interlagos i think you
> should have gone all the way with the prospect
> that there would be enough retirements for you get
> at least one point 'cause at times chapionships
> are won with the help of those little points you
> earn on those never endind races.
>
> Cheers. Good luck on your future races.
Oh...Your wishes didn't come in force, unfortunately :/
Race 3 - Kyalami, South African GP
I entered the qualifying session ,made one flying lap and easily took the pole for the race. However, the session took place in drizzling rain which turned into heavy rain. I was lucky enough to make the best lap early on when the tarmac was still relatively dry. 2nd - Jones, 3rd - Depailler.
The start of the race was extremely good to me. I kept the pole and made a reasonable margin between me and Jones. Meanwhile, Villeneuve passed Depailler and Jones and started pushing hard. They were all making the fastest laps another after another but I still was in the lead, even increasing the margin...but then James Hunt who had some problems, and whom I was going to lap, made my life hard which let Villeneuve to get so close to me I could feel his breath on the neck. A while later he passed me and now I was chasing Villeneuve for another 20 laps. When he pitted I regained the lead as I still had some laps to cover before my planned pit-stop. In lap 22 I got a transmission failure which disappointed me a lot. The race ended up with a great battle between both Ferraris which was eventually won by Scheckter, keeping Villeneuve 2nd. The podium was completed by Alan Jones. Luckily, Reutemann retired early in the race as he blew the engine so I didn't lose too many points to the leaders of the standings. I'm now 4 points behind Reutemann and 3 points behind Scheckter and Jones.
The winner - Scheckter, 2nd - Villeneuve, 3rd - Jones
-------------------------------------------------------
> It could have been fruitful if nobody ripped my
> wing off in the first lap. Anyway, I liked driving
> there this time. I hope the series go back there
> anytime soon.
Cool to hear that
>
> I stoped posting because no one else was posting
> anymore. But I'm very glad that this thread is
> alive again. And like I previously said, it
> motivates even more to play the game, and it kinda
> helps when the races don't go the way you want and
> you feel frustated about it.
You can say taht again. For the pretty much similar reasons I'm here right now.
> Now about your races abdelkader, congrats on your
> win at Buenos Aires, but at Interlagos i think you
> should have gone all the way with the prospect
> that there would be enough retirements for you get
> at least one point 'cause at times chapionships
> are won with the help of those little points you
> earn on those never endind races.
>
> Cheers. Good luck on your future races.
Oh...Your wishes didn't come in force, unfortunately :/
Race 3 - Kyalami, South African GP
I entered the qualifying session ,made one flying lap and easily took the pole for the race. However, the session took place in drizzling rain which turned into heavy rain. I was lucky enough to make the best lap early on when the tarmac was still relatively dry. 2nd - Jones, 3rd - Depailler.
The start of the race was extremely good to me. I kept the pole and made a reasonable margin between me and Jones. Meanwhile, Villeneuve passed Depailler and Jones and started pushing hard. They were all making the fastest laps another after another but I still was in the lead, even increasing the margin...but then James Hunt who had some problems, and whom I was going to lap, made my life hard which let Villeneuve to get so close to me I could feel his breath on the neck. A while later he passed me and now I was chasing Villeneuve for another 20 laps. When he pitted I regained the lead as I still had some laps to cover before my planned pit-stop. In lap 22 I got a transmission failure which disappointed me a lot. The race ended up with a great battle between both Ferraris which was eventually won by Scheckter, keeping Villeneuve 2nd. The podium was completed by Alan Jones. Luckily, Reutemann retired early in the race as he blew the engine so I didn't lose too many points to the leaders of the standings. I'm now 4 points behind Reutemann and 3 points behind Scheckter and Jones.
The winner - Scheckter, 2nd - Villeneuve, 3rd - Jones
2009 E.R.L. - round 2: Barcelona
The friday practises started with the best intentions after the previous race debacle, but too soon I discovered how I needed more than that. In the early session I went on track to simulate a long run but after only 5 laps the only 'run' I simulated has been the one to come back the the pits after an engine collapse when up the Campsa. At the end of the day I was full 1.5 sec behind the leader with many setup troubles and a huge problem with tyres duration.
Qualifying reflected the trend but a good tyre set let me sit in 3rd place on the grid reducing the gap more than I expected but my real pace was the one shown on friday. The good news was that my opponent has been involved in the trafic of the 20 mins session and got only a 9th place.
At the start I applied the strategy and easily took the lead down to turn 1 tryig to run away the more I could waiting the others to hunt me as the tyres had ended their life. The which happened at lap14 when in 3 laps i fell in 3rd again with my teammate leading and both Kronos cars right behind me. Things seemed anyway to turn better when both opponent cars fell in disgrace as my main rival had a suspension failure after 3 consecutive tackles on my back at La Caixa trying to pass and his teammate quickly fade out in performance. The race went on without emotions with me consantly losing 1 second each lap from my teammate til the moment I jumped on the last chicane for three laps in a row at lap51/53 risking to fly on the wall. The 1-2 was still possible but the presage of the previous laps turned into a nightmare as with only 5 laps to go I had an electrical problem that screwed off the TC pointing me straight when flat out in the long turn 3. Not a good sensation there. Avoided the big crash on the barriers but my race ended there in the sand. The steering wheel simply died. My teammate won the race with an abyss behind him and now the matter seems serious.
Though I feel a little 'Kimized' with lot of preaasure for the nr 1 in my nose and a teammate pushing as hell.
Next round at istanbul in 2 weeks and by the past years experience I think this nightmare is nothing compared to what I'm going to face there... x_x
-------------------------------
The friday practises started with the best intentions after the previous race debacle, but too soon I discovered how I needed more than that. In the early session I went on track to simulate a long run but after only 5 laps the only 'run' I simulated has been the one to come back the the pits after an engine collapse when up the Campsa. At the end of the day I was full 1.5 sec behind the leader with many setup troubles and a huge problem with tyres duration.
Qualifying reflected the trend but a good tyre set let me sit in 3rd place on the grid reducing the gap more than I expected but my real pace was the one shown on friday. The good news was that my opponent has been involved in the trafic of the 20 mins session and got only a 9th place.
At the start I applied the strategy and easily took the lead down to turn 1 tryig to run away the more I could waiting the others to hunt me as the tyres had ended their life. The which happened at lap14 when in 3 laps i fell in 3rd again with my teammate leading and both Kronos cars right behind me. Things seemed anyway to turn better when both opponent cars fell in disgrace as my main rival had a suspension failure after 3 consecutive tackles on my back at La Caixa trying to pass and his teammate quickly fade out in performance. The race went on without emotions with me consantly losing 1 second each lap from my teammate til the moment I jumped on the last chicane for three laps in a row at lap51/53 risking to fly on the wall. The 1-2 was still possible but the presage of the previous laps turned into a nightmare as with only 5 laps to go I had an electrical problem that screwed off the TC pointing me straight when flat out in the long turn 3. Not a good sensation there. Avoided the big crash on the barriers but my race ended there in the sand. The steering wheel simply died. My teammate won the race with an abyss behind him and now the matter seems serious.
Though I feel a little 'Kimized' with lot of preaasure for the nr 1 in my nose and a teammate pushing as hell.
Next round at istanbul in 2 weeks and by the past years experience I think this nightmare is nothing compared to what I'm going to face there... x_x
-------------------------------
Looks like lady luck isn't being kind with us these last couple of days. 3 posts in a row to report retirements... Ouch!
Let's hope for better luck on your next races.
This week I'll maybe work on my next round at Miami. Very tight and slow track. The key there will be qualifying as it is almost impossible to overtake at that street course. Although this kind of track suits my driving style, my main problem will be the walls being so close.
Cheers and good luck to you all.
Let's hope for better luck on your next races.
This week I'll maybe work on my next round at Miami. Very tight and slow track. The key there will be qualifying as it is almost impossible to overtake at that street course. Although this kind of track suits my driving style, my main problem will be the walls being so close.
Cheers and good luck to you all.
hey guys, sorry for my late message back. That Belini Grip patch is really fantastic. I love it. thanks for the tip !
I once again have some questions. im still driving 10% races. and i want to go to 25% (currently busy with a 1951 season and those cars are quite a bit slower so 25% would take much more time then with 1980 onwards :p.) Anyway back to the question :p
From what point on, does the CC make pitstops? cuz im trying to figure that out. Hope you guys can help. And i also hope you guys get some luck back !
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If in doubt, Flat out."
I once again have some questions. im still driving 10% races. and i want to go to 25% (currently busy with a 1951 season and those cars are quite a bit slower so 25% would take much more time then with 1980 onwards :p.) Anyway back to the question :p
From what point on, does the CC make pitstops? cuz im trying to figure that out. Hope you guys can help. And i also hope you guys get some luck back !
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If in doubt, Flat out."
hmm, thanks for the info :D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If in doubt, Flat out."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If in doubt, Flat out."
Race 4 - Long Beach, The US GP
The qualifying session ended up with a domination of Ligiers as Laffite took the pole ahead of Depailler. I took 6th position which wasn't bad. The race day was heavily wet and it didn't look it was going to be dry for a moment. The start was quite a hectic one. I managed to get through to 3rd position but I got stuck behind Laffite who was making a huge margin still increasing the gap and behind Depailler. Behind me there were Jabouille and Villeneuve fighting for position which ended badly for both of them as they crashed into each other and retired. Scheckter was quite ambitious and took 4th position climbing up from 10th. Due to the heavy rainfall that day the drivers, another after another, started to lose grip and most of them crashed out including Scheckter, Piquet, Andretti and Jones. Laffite and Depialler were having an internal conflict on the track which helped me decrease the gap and get close to them. Meanwhile, making use of all the retirements, Jochen Mass managed to climb up to 4th from 18th (!). Depailler hit Laffite in the rear tyre which resulted in the latter's close encounter with the barrier and retirement. Now it was only Depailler, me and Mass still fighting for points. Depialler was driving slower as he pitted a few laps before I did and his tyres were deteriorating faster. Besides, at the end of the race the sun started to come out and the tarmac was getting dry. I took intermediates and had advantage over Depailler who finally dropped back to third, giving in even to Mass...I have won the race and must say that was one of the biggest thrillers ever in my GP3 experience.
Now I'm the WDC leader with 5 points clear of Reutemann. Luckily ,none of the top drivers managed to score any points.
The winner - Lauda, 2nd - Mass, 3rd - Depailler
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2009 01:07AM by abdelkader.
The qualifying session ended up with a domination of Ligiers as Laffite took the pole ahead of Depailler. I took 6th position which wasn't bad. The race day was heavily wet and it didn't look it was going to be dry for a moment. The start was quite a hectic one. I managed to get through to 3rd position but I got stuck behind Laffite who was making a huge margin still increasing the gap and behind Depailler. Behind me there were Jabouille and Villeneuve fighting for position which ended badly for both of them as they crashed into each other and retired. Scheckter was quite ambitious and took 4th position climbing up from 10th. Due to the heavy rainfall that day the drivers, another after another, started to lose grip and most of them crashed out including Scheckter, Piquet, Andretti and Jones. Laffite and Depialler were having an internal conflict on the track which helped me decrease the gap and get close to them. Meanwhile, making use of all the retirements, Jochen Mass managed to climb up to 4th from 18th (!). Depailler hit Laffite in the rear tyre which resulted in the latter's close encounter with the barrier and retirement. Now it was only Depailler, me and Mass still fighting for points. Depialler was driving slower as he pitted a few laps before I did and his tyres were deteriorating faster. Besides, at the end of the race the sun started to come out and the tarmac was getting dry. I took intermediates and had advantage over Depailler who finally dropped back to third, giving in even to Mass...I have won the race and must say that was one of the biggest thrillers ever in my GP3 experience.
Now I'm the WDC leader with 5 points clear of Reutemann. Luckily ,none of the top drivers managed to score any points.
The winner - Lauda, 2nd - Mass, 3rd - Depailler
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2009 01:07AM by abdelkader.
Yo guys I'm currently racing the 1997 season on GP4, hope its cool that I post my story here.
I am driving as Jean Alesi but it has not been a great season for me so far. I have had very bad reliability, having car failures in a number of races, on a number of occasions when I have been in the points.
I drive 80% races, use tweaker for more realistic damage and use a set of track specific performance files that I have for 1997 to try to keep some accuracy to my season, so far they have been pretty accurate so that's good
My best results this year have been a 2nd in Spain and a 3rd in Australia. I have only finished 2 other races and both times they where out of the points so only have 12 points
My next race is Silverstone, hopefully I will be able to do well there and can get some points for my team, as at he moment we only have 17 points and are likely to fall further behind Mclaren looking at how they did towards the end of 1997.
We're currently in a battle for 3rd in the Constructors Championship with Mclaren and Jordan, Jordan have had a good few races recently and have caught us up pretty quickly.
I'll post my table of results up some time soon, maybe after Silverstone
Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions
I am driving as Jean Alesi but it has not been a great season for me so far. I have had very bad reliability, having car failures in a number of races, on a number of occasions when I have been in the points.
I drive 80% races, use tweaker for more realistic damage and use a set of track specific performance files that I have for 1997 to try to keep some accuracy to my season, so far they have been pretty accurate so that's good
My best results this year have been a 2nd in Spain and a 3rd in Australia. I have only finished 2 other races and both times they where out of the points so only have 12 points
My next race is Silverstone, hopefully I will be able to do well there and can get some points for my team, as at he moment we only have 17 points and are likely to fall further behind Mclaren looking at how they did towards the end of 1997.
We're currently in a battle for 3rd in the Constructors Championship with Mclaren and Jordan, Jordan have had a good few races recently and have caught us up pretty quickly.
I'll post my table of results up some time soon, maybe after Silverstone
Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions
ahah if you find a place to overtake in Miami please let us know
anyway i did the new ccline in a way to leave a couple of 'holes' is some turns but you need a furious traction to fill them before the opponent covers the position.
for the slipstream i think it should be a combination of these parameters:
16384 ; air resistance?
128 ; subtracted from diff between field_e2 of 2 cars and then compared to speed of first car
17061 ; tyre wear
64768 ; added to car.field_108. related to cc grip factor
i susspose incresing the air efficience you should brake right under the other car and the car fied should do something too. also tweak the tyre wear in a way to let the tyres survive more than 5 laps etc etc, suggestions welcome
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anyway i did the new ccline in a way to leave a couple of 'holes' is some turns but you need a furious traction to fill them before the opponent covers the position.
for the slipstream i think it should be a combination of these parameters:
16384 ; air resistance?
128 ; subtracted from diff between field_e2 of 2 cars and then compared to speed of first car
17061 ; tyre wear
64768 ; added to car.field_108. related to cc grip factor
i susspose incresing the air efficience you should brake right under the other car and the car fied should do something too. also tweak the tyre wear in a way to let the tyres survive more than 5 laps etc etc, suggestions welcome
-------------------------------
Racer#73 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @ abdelkader
>
> Congrats on your win on epic conditions in the
> worst place possible for that to happen. I just
> hope that on race day at my race, at Miami,
> doesn't happen a tropical storm, or everyone will
> have a lot of trouble keep the car on track.
Yeah. That was quite an epic race. I hope you're not gonna use an umbrella in Miami
Meanwhile, I made another report on my latest race
Race 5 - Jarama, Spanish GP
I made only one flying lap in the qualifying session but it was enough to outperform Laffite by 1.3 sec. I knew that the race would be mine if something bad didn't happen. When the race started I kept the pole position constantly accelerating and increasing the gap between me and the rest. Around 16th lap, right in front of the pit-lane entrance, I got an information about a water leak in my car. I pitted, got the car repaired and got back to the race. I was, luckily as hell, still in the lead. Shortly after taht Villeneuve's engine broke down and he retired another time this season. Scheckter wasn't giving up. He was going third and pushing hard but still unable to nail Laffite. It was another time when both Renaults retired. This time due to engine and suspension failures. The race was rather dull and extremely easy to me. The only thing I can complain about is performance of some drivers. I happened to lap Tambay twice, every time having hard time with him. I think he needs a word or two with me
The winner - Lauda, 2nd - Laffite, 3rd - Scheckter
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2009 01:05AM by abdelkader.
-------------------------------------------------------
> @ abdelkader
>
> Congrats on your win on epic conditions in the
> worst place possible for that to happen. I just
> hope that on race day at my race, at Miami,
> doesn't happen a tropical storm, or everyone will
> have a lot of trouble keep the car on track.
Yeah. That was quite an epic race. I hope you're not gonna use an umbrella in Miami
Meanwhile, I made another report on my latest race
Race 5 - Jarama, Spanish GP
I made only one flying lap in the qualifying session but it was enough to outperform Laffite by 1.3 sec. I knew that the race would be mine if something bad didn't happen. When the race started I kept the pole position constantly accelerating and increasing the gap between me and the rest. Around 16th lap, right in front of the pit-lane entrance, I got an information about a water leak in my car. I pitted, got the car repaired and got back to the race. I was, luckily as hell, still in the lead. Shortly after taht Villeneuve's engine broke down and he retired another time this season. Scheckter wasn't giving up. He was going third and pushing hard but still unable to nail Laffite. It was another time when both Renaults retired. This time due to engine and suspension failures. The race was rather dull and extremely easy to me. The only thing I can complain about is performance of some drivers. I happened to lap Tambay twice, every time having hard time with him. I think he needs a word or two with me
The winner - Lauda, 2nd - Laffite, 3rd - Scheckter
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2009 01:05AM by abdelkader.
Race 6 - Zolder, Belgian GP
The qualifying session was partially lucky for me. After completing one lap I got a water leak which needed repairing. I made it to the track and set 3rd best lap. The pole for Villeneuve, 2nd for Jabouille. The race itself started with my quick start as I managed to overtake Jabouille and Villeneuve. I managed to maintain 1st position only for one lap as I got passed by Villeneuve. Initially I didn't want to push too hard as I raced at Zolder before and knew that the track may sometimes surprise you a lot. Then, however, I decided to put all my eggs in one basket and started pushing extremely hard. I noticed that the margin that Gilles had made already started to melt down and I kept getting closer and closer. Around lap 9 I managed to overtake Villeneuve at the last corner of the track. The remaining part of the race was just a battle for 2nd position as I was driving like a devil. I passed the finish line 1 lap before Scheckter and Villeneuve. It was another time when Jabouille didn't finish a race. This time due to engine failure. To sum up, the race was dull from lap 9 until the final lap.
The winner - Lauda, 2nd - Scheckter, 3rd - Villeneuve
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2009 06:27PM by abdelkader.
The qualifying session was partially lucky for me. After completing one lap I got a water leak which needed repairing. I made it to the track and set 3rd best lap. The pole for Villeneuve, 2nd for Jabouille. The race itself started with my quick start as I managed to overtake Jabouille and Villeneuve. I managed to maintain 1st position only for one lap as I got passed by Villeneuve. Initially I didn't want to push too hard as I raced at Zolder before and knew that the track may sometimes surprise you a lot. Then, however, I decided to put all my eggs in one basket and started pushing extremely hard. I noticed that the margin that Gilles had made already started to melt down and I kept getting closer and closer. Around lap 9 I managed to overtake Villeneuve at the last corner of the track. The remaining part of the race was just a battle for 2nd position as I was driving like a devil. I passed the finish line 1 lap before Scheckter and Villeneuve. It was another time when Jabouille didn't finish a race. This time due to engine failure. To sum up, the race was dull from lap 9 until the final lap.
The winner - Lauda, 2nd - Scheckter, 3rd - Villeneuve
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2009 06:27PM by abdelkader.
An update on my season guys, I finished second at Silverstone behind Schumi who won,Wurz was behind me in 3rd, Villeneuve only finished 9th after going off and Jan Magnussen scored his first ever point finishing 6th
Germany wasn't so good for me as I had a transmission failure that put me out of the race when I was running 5th
But Gerhard won for the team which is great, Benetton have scored 20 points in the last 2 races, that's more than we've scored up to that point in the season, so we are looking good for 3rd in the constructors on 37 points, Mclaren are behind us with 28
Hungary next and I'm wondering If I'll see a Damon Hill victory
Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions
Germany wasn't so good for me as I had a transmission failure that put me out of the race when I was running 5th
But Gerhard won for the team which is great, Benetton have scored 20 points in the last 2 races, that's more than we've scored up to that point in the season, so we are looking good for 3rd in the constructors on 37 points, Mclaren are behind us with 28
Hungary next and I'm wondering If I'll see a Damon Hill victory
Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions
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