GP3 Career Thread

it's going to be a hot summer for Benetton now O_O
while Ferrari is already frying

[pics removed]

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2009 05:46PM by R_Scandura.

Cool reading, Roberto.

Three failures in a row. Mhm, when I was simulating year 1995, Ferrari also was so unreliable. I hope it gets better in the remaining 7 rounds.

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and that's all folks!
lacks of upgrades made me struggle for almost all the season. Ferrari improved a lot the reliability since the start but not much boost to compete with Williams and Benetton.
Bit of rest before a new adventure...




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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2009 05:48PM by R_Scandura.

You're 5th. Not that bad at all. Always look on the bright side of life - you're better than your teammate, Berger. It looks that Schumacher was unbeatable again while Hill incredibhly consistent.

What will be your next season?



My 1986 season has been halted for some time but I'll surely give it a go one day. Hate starting things not finishing them.

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finally decided what season to do next: the dreadful 1989.
This is the starting power sharing. I should be driving as Riccardo Paterese
Will be a little slow season as i need to reshape some tracks. expecially cclines. should post some report as i go through the pain... meant so say go through the races



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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2009 09:27AM by R_Scandura.

Wish you all the best


I hope to resume my 1986 season soon. The stopping of the season was caused mainly by the failure of my wheel-gamepad...Luckily, I have just got myself a Logitech G25 wheel and now I'm waiting for the delivery .

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2009 08:45PM by abdelkader.

One of my favorites seasons.

Wish u the best of luck and u have fun doing it.

Keep us posted.

Cheers.

Round 10 @ AutoPolis

As the Korean organizers of Hang Hang Park failed to provide a viable track, the season finale was transfered to AutoPolis, a hard Japanese track that gave me headaches on how to make a fast lap without crashing, escpecially the uphill section on sector 2. And to make things worse, the first 30 minutes of track time there was under wet weather. So, now I had troubles not only try to make sector 2 without crashing, I was also having trouble keeping the car off from spinning under acceleration. In the end, my best laps were 3 secs slower than the fastest cars, but since my mission for the season was complete at Istanbul, which was earning enough points for my team be able to participate on next season's championship, I didn't care about not having the pace. I just wanted to finish the season and advance to the next season, probably with a new team.

The races (17 laps and 33 laps) were filled with carnage.

On race 1, 6 of the 7 DNF's were caused by crashes. As for me, even with all the spinning and going off track I managed to complete the race, even thought I was a lap down from the winner which was one of the Courage Competition cars who was preparing for the big surprise of the weekend.

On race 2 my luck was different as I crashed on lap 2. After race 1, the carnage continued on the 33 laps of race 2. At the start, a few cars tangled, resulting on one DNF, and 4 cars damaged (one of those cars was me). Along the race 7 more cars crashed out, and 5 more dropped out due to technical problems. In the end the race was won by the car driver who won race 1 which turned out to be one of the stories of the season:

Coming to the last round of the season, Courage Competion was last on the team standings, 11 points shy of the 29 (minumum) required to the team be able to take part on the next season's championship. But the team won both races and scored 21 points, more than enough needed. So the most improbable team to be on next season's roster, managed to get in. And the teams Childress Racing and Ford WRT which needed 1 and 2 points respectively came out from AutoPolis scoreless, failing to qualify for the next season.

The Courage Competition driver who won both races started the season finale in last, finished the season in 5th. And the championship (drivers and teams), was won by the Acura team.

So, this season is finally over. It was a long season, and I'm looking forward to what the next season may bring. Especially concerning on what the two new teams will be, and the what tracks will compose the season's 10 rounds.

This is it for this season. And soon I will be posting info about my next season. At least for asking for tracks lol

Cheers.

BTW, how the 1989 season going Rob. Have u done any race yet?

wow, hard job in Autopolis, very finale race there. Just waiting for new season!
btw any issue with the autopolis track? does it needs a fix? an istant carnage is uncommon i have to say.

1989 started but no races yet. i struggled to deal with the stachild jacarepagua so i did it from scratch. just filling a little around to create some atmosphere and will race there

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R_Scandura Wrote:
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> wow, hard job in Autopolis, very finale race
> there. Just waiting for new season!


Very hard indeed let's hope for a more regular season.


> btw any issue with the autopolis track? does it
> needs a fix? an istant carnage is uncommon i have
> to say.

I didn't notice any issues. The cc line was very clean and fast, making me having troubles to keep up with the AI. By what I saw on race 2, the crashes also happened in various parts of the circuit and not just one in particular. I also simulated both races as a preview, and there wasn't as many accidents as it happened on the real race, even on rainy conditions.

In the end, the carnage made the race more interesting to watch. It was fun to watch other cars, apart from me, to make mistakes, go off track, and drop out. I wish i could see more action like this in the future 'cause some races tend to be very dull.

From a "realism" perspective you could say it was the season finale, some drivers needed good results, couldn't take the pressure and crashed. My favorite was when one Fords tried to outbrake another car at turn 2, lost the rear and crashed into the wall.

Cheers

ok then, great!

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Season 5 began with two new teams in the roster. Jordan, who came back to an open wheel series with its first F1 sponsor (7Up) and an odd engine deal (Daewoo), and the DTM team from Jöest Racing, supported by Audi.

The 10 round schedule will see 4 tracks come back to the series after hosting a least one race in the 3 first seasons as none of the tracks that hosted a race in the previous season will host a round this season. 5 will make their debut, including Taupo which will be the only track hosting two rounds this season.

As for me, I will be staying for the third consecutive season with Peugeot Sport Germany.

Bahia Blanca Airbase hosted the first round of the season, as one of the repeat tracks. A track where the cars reached 360/370kph at the end of the front straight.

The weekend was not that bad, but the races turned out to end in disappointment for me.

During the free practice sessions I kept gradually improving my performance to end my qualifying runs in the top 3 for both races (3rd for race 1, and 2nd for race 2)

Race 1 (19 laps):
I started 3rd but I soon passed the two cars in front of me to stay in the lead for at least 7 laps until I made a mistake and spun in the crazy fast turn 1 as I was worried about my car constantly touching the ground at the end of the front straight at 350kph. I rejoined the race in 17th but it didn't matter as my car broke down with oil pressure issues a couple of laps later. It was the first time I retired by a broken down car after mile and miles of constant reliability. It is also worth mention that the new teams surprised everyone by taking the pole (Joest) and the win (Jordan) for this race

Race 2 (38 laps):
I started 2nd but this time I didn't get to lead as my car was heavy 'cause I was going to go all the way without pitting. And as the car was heavy I had more trouble braking, especially after the long straights which made me lose time, however on lap 3 I made the same mistake on turn 1 that I did on race 1 but this time I couldn't keep my Peugeot off the wall and damaged my suspension. I retired right there.The #6 car from Lola MasterCard Peugeot grabbed the win.

In the end I lost my chances to get the first points of the season, but I still have 16 races until the end of the season starting with a 71 laps race at Circuit Bugatti at Le Mans.

This is it for now.

Cheers

PS: Is anyone else doing any season?

I really hate it when I make the same mistakes in the very same track in the very same corners. I believe it's frustrating to you, indeed.

I'm currently in 1986 F1 season but for the time being it is paused as I'm more into touring car racing and getting used to my steering wheel which I bought after ages of using the gamepad and the keyboard.

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I'm doing a semi-fictional series at the moment. Semi because I use a number of real-life driver names, teams and also pretty much the series format of GP2, i.e. the feature/sprint idea, reversed grid and GP2 points system. A feature I added myself is that only the top 8 teams in the constructors standings have a spot for next season, the other three weill be replaced. Adds a little more excitement

I'm currently in season 2, the first one was an 8-round season which Pastor Maldonado won. I had a lot of average results except for a Feature win from pole in Donington and ended up 7th in the points.

Season 2 has been extended to 10 rounds, which Spa and Cairo International joining Valencia Street, Donington, Oschersleben, Mugello, Vila do Conde, Brno, St. Etienne and Barcelona. Three rounds are still ahead, starting with Brno. Bruno Senna leads the championship comfortably, I myself had poor reliability throughout the season but recovered to 8th in the points with 10 points at Oschersleben (4th/3rd).


NB: Posts like the one by Racer#73 make for a good read, so keep them coming guys!

Hi again!

Jackal Wrote:
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> A feature I added myself is that only the top 8 teams in the
> constructors standings have a spot for next
> season, the other three weill be replaced. Adds a
> little more excitement
>

I have this 10% rule, i.e, a team to earn a spot for the next season has to finish the current season with at least 10% of the total points that a team can get at the end of it. This means that on an 18 race schedule (like my current season) the total number of points that a team can get during the whole season is 324 points, and for a team to earn a spot on the next season roster has to finish the current one with at least 32 points (10% of the total). I made this rule in order to take advantage of the variety of cars and teams that have been painted for this game. With so many cars available it would be a shame if I just used the same cars over and over again. So, with my 5th season underway there are only two teams which have been present in every race since the start of my fictional series.



Now, round 2 @ Le Mans - Bugatti Circuit (71 laps).

For the first time in its history the series went to France.

From the beginning the track turned out to be suitable for my driving style, which could be seen in the practice sessions results where I got a 2nd and 1st places in each one. However, for 60 minutes qualifying session rain arrived to Le Mans, and with just one opportunity to make a flying lap on a less wet surface I failed to make a clean lap, dictating my starting position there, which was last. After the first 5 minutes of qualifying the track conditions got worse, and no one could improve their times and beat my teammate for the extra point for the Pole.

On race day, the weather got better and the sun shined for the 300km race. My race strategy was to stay calm and try to take advantage of the retirements or mistakes from the other cars, my team chose a two stops for tires and fuel strategy, like the majority of field did, but it wouldn't turned out be the winning one as you'll see ahead.
About the race itself I don't have much to tell. During the majority of the race, I earned some spots from other cars excursions through the gravel and retirements. I could have been faster with a bit more of confidence but I was afraid to spun out or run off the track. Nevertheless, I was making a steady race, just went one time off track, but I didn't lose much time to the car in front of me. Like it happened in many races before I was last but this time it wasn't a humiliating last, like being lapped by the leaders and keep going of track... This time I was a steady last with the cars in front of me not very far. Lap after lap my confidence was rising, probably ending up rising too much because on the last lap with my Michelin tires already worn out I made the stupidest mistake I ever made while playing this game (Stupid, stupid, stupid). On the last lap, while accelerating coming out of Le Musée I lost control of my Peugeot powered car and crashed into the wall, failing to finish the 71 lap race by half a lap. What a stupid mistake! The positive way of seeing this mistake is that I was already going to finish last so I didn't lose any place, but it would be more moralizing for me if I could say that I brought the car home without a scratch... In the end the race was surprisingly won by the #7 Pro Racing Chevrolet car, who went for a one pit stop strategy and won 4secs ahead of my teammate.

Now the series head to South Africa, to the hilly track of Matarka.

Cheers. How are your seasons going?

wow, that must be really humilliating to say that wasnt humilliating :p

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"If in doubt, Flat out."

Amazing. I'd smash my PC if I crashed out in the final lap.
Anyway, my 1986 season is frozen...and I don't know when I'll resume it :/ I still cannot get accustomed to my G25. As I can play other games with the wheel, I'm completely unable to find the right groove for GP3. I keep spinning off, etc. I'd like so much to finish that season but at this stage it's pointless.

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Well...my 1986 season won't be finished for sure :/ I had to re-install my operating system and, as a result, the saves as well as the Race Manager files have gone to heaven to have eternal rest :/

Anyway, I think it was a sign from God. From the very beginning I felt unable to keep up with the rivals. I lacked power and consistency...

TO MAKE THINGS OFFICIAL: "Frank Williams decided to fire Nelson Piquet due to inconsistency on the track and underperformance in the 1986 season. Piquet, aged 34, will not race this season anymore and is now considering joining other racing series than F-1".

Now seriously - I don't know which carset to choose now. I would have chosen WTCC 2008 if we had had all the tracks for the series. For the same reason I will not choose Champ Car 2007.

At this point the choice is still in progress. If we had Pau, Okayama, Brno and Puebla - WTCC would be my choice for sure.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2009 10:23AM by abdelkader.

there are Pau and Okayama Ti-Aida. Purpleracer made a piece of art with Pau and in my site you can find the cc-line fix eventualy. Same for Ti-Aida. Get the copy from Diego Nogueira and put the layout fix from my site. Puebla does not exist but can use Mexico City which is all gained. Or better Pundidora Park - Monterrey which is a funny track.

and yeah it's a shame nobody made Brno

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2009 01:48PM by R_Scandura.

R_Scandura Wrote:
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> there are Pau and Okayama Ti-Aida. Purpleracer
> made a piece of art with Pau and in my site you
> can find the cc-line fix eventualy. Same for
> Ti-Aida. Get the copy from Diego Nogueira and put
> the layout fix from my site. Puebla does not exist
> but can use Mexico City which is all gained. Or
> better Pundidora Park - Monterrey which is a funny
> track.
>
> and yeah it's a shame nobody made Brno

Thanks for the info. I checked the 2008 calendar on a first-in-line site and it said "Okayama". I actually forgot that it's the same what TI Aida, which of course I have. One down.

One more thing. I have just found Brno!!! Guess where I found it...in the OLD DOWNLOADS SECTION. Although it's beyond my understanding, some files are still downloadable up there. The track was made by Thomas Stuhrmann, or actually converted from GP2.

I'll check your site for the update and hope to get my GP3 restored soon.

<EDIT> SWEET JESUS!!! I also have downloaded the rest of Stuhrmann's package...and found Puebla, too!!!

I'm being speechless.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2009 02:34PM by abdelkader.