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Post by Jan Kowalski on Mar 14, 2021 18:47:59 GMT
Suspension damage from a spin which made the car very difficult to drive. Lost it in the chicane before the pits :/
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Post by Kayo "Sideways" Michiels on Mar 14, 2021 20:05:00 GMT
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Post by Wilmer Jonsson on Mar 14, 2021 21:30:13 GMT
Wow it was great to finally be able to race with you guys!
Sadly both my pitstops were handled poorly so I lost some positions that way, but that's racing!
I want to apologize for sending a message during quali, I wasn't read up enough on the rules, sorry! I also want to apologize as I was a bit overzealous at times, leading to a bit of trouble... I hope I can be forgiven!
Hopefully I'll be able to participate in more races!
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Post by Jacob Fredriksson on Mar 14, 2021 22:21:35 GMT
Wow it was great to finally be able to race with you guys! Sadly both my pitstops were handled poorly so I lost some positions that way, but that's racing! I want to apologize for sending a message during quali, I wasn't read up enough on the rules, sorry! I also want to apologize as I was a bit overzealous at times, leading to a bit of trouble... I hope I can be forgiven! Hopefully I'll be able to participate in more races! You did really well! Sorry about the boop in the final corner, was a bit too impatience there. Anyway, it was a real pleasure to share a car with Iquino. He made a great setup so we never had any issues with fuel conservation. Acting as his spotter in the first stint was an interesting experience too, it really motivated me ahead of my own stint in the car. In all, I lost about 10 seconds due to my own mistakes, which didn't cost us any positions in the end. It is very interesting how identical cars can produce such different setups and strategies that spread us out so much. All in all, a great race, and a really fun experience with Iquino. |
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Post by David Sabre on Mar 14, 2021 22:25:16 GMT
Sorry to hear that your engine blew Kayo, I thought that we were going to have a battle. Congratulations to David Jundt and Cezariusz for winning their classes.  In group B it was always going to be difficult with the Porsche, mine seemed to be bouncing around on the bumps. From what I saw it was a good clean start to the race and some close racing enabled me to move up a couple of positions. I was running strongly until I missed my braking and ended up deep in the gravel probably losing around 30 seconds. After that I tried to go fast but stay on the road, a couple of spins but nothing serious and I finished second  . I'm not sure what happened to Brad but he came back to close up at the finish, a few seconds behind. It was hard work and I now have a aching ankle from all of the gear changes. |
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Post by Juha Bos on Mar 14, 2021 23:03:37 GMT
Provisional results, points and replay are available in the results thread: |
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Post by August Watring on Mar 14, 2021 23:08:26 GMT
Man, what a race! Coming in on a one-off to a track that I'm not so fond of in a car I haven't driven before, I am beyond happy with 4th. I ended up spinning and damaging the left side of the car about 10 laps in and took the chance to repair and go on a different fuel strategy. I ended up last after 160 or so seconds of repair but the car was still decent so I put my head down. Before my final pitstop I was 3rd and figured I could be on for a top 5 finish. I ended up chasing down Jason White after his off in the hairpin and was quite happy with 5th. However there were still 30 some laps left before the finish so I just kept my head down. I slowly gained over a minute back on Michael Drechsler until right at the end he pulled in for fuel on the last corner. I didn't expect to just steal 4th by just 7 tenths at the line. I'm sorry to any Group C driver I got too much in the way of. I may have to give this M1 another rip sometime in the future, this was really fun. Thanks for having me!
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Post by Michael Drechsler on Mar 14, 2021 23:10:50 GMT
Oh man, what an abysmal performance from the very beginning to the very end...
...actually, it didn't begin quite that bad, qualifying that is. Some controler file edits and some small suspension geometry adjustments just gave me the right feel and feedback, suddenly that M1 felt like a M1, I finally could surf the car on the limit, directing it where I wanted it to be with minimal adjustments on wheel and pedals. Almost got me under 1.50, almost that is. Felt nice with a full tank too, so with rather good spirit I went into the race. Quickly prepared a sandwich in warmup, gulped down one half saved the other for the pitstop. Oh, there was a driver's briefing, was able to read a few lines, before the grid positions ran down, uh, missed half of it, now what could you miss out other than the usual stuff?
Warmup lap got underway, my side of the grid got away a bit slow, hmkay. There is still plenty of track ahead for the guys to fetch up. If it just wasn't up to me to do a classic Frentzen move: losing your car, because you're out of your rhythm for going slow, so I went off going into T3, the lefthander before Ford curve, where I got stuck in the gravel pit and lost a lot of time getting out again.  I'd like to point out most, if any at all of the gravel pits didn't exist in 1984! Now AMS was complaining for me being not in the right grid spot, which I hastily tried to regain again, but then the speed of the warmup lap was to high. Exiting the Veedol chicane, I was told I am relegated back to the line for being to slow, but by then, I already had passed a few cars. A little late, don't you think? Split second decision for an extra stroll through the pitlane to be out of the way of the others, I had to wait an extra half minute the end of the pits, but what's half a minute, if you got approximately 3 hours ahead of?
Once underway, the first positions came rather quick, but then I got slower, and constantly being lapped didn't make things easier. But with the fuel being burned away and me getting the right swing, I came up to a decent speed, and probably not having the cleanest of all races, I could close the gap to Jason White. That was quite satisfying to be right under his big rear wing! I studied him for a while, and it seemed, I had an advantage on the brakes and turning in. When traffic opened up an opportunity, I went besides him, but was maybe a little to eager and locked up for once! Ended with a dent in my drivers door and the car pointed in the wrong direction, and Jason taking the scenic route! I hope that stunt didn't damage his car!  But it was the time my car really went well, and soon I had that six seconds reclaimed, but I wanted to take it a little slower this time. Traffic once again helped, and when a larger group of cars came upon us, I was able to dive to his inside at the Dunlop turn and get away with it, but I had to squeeze the car very hard for the next few laps! But when It was time for the pitstops, I had opened up a 12 second gap. And Jason pitted at the same time, so that position remained for the moment. Woo-Hoo! I added 85 litres of fuel, that should be enough to get me over the time. Leaving the pits I soon had a good rhythm again, and I was much closer to the car in front of me - Brad or August, and I was on a similar speed. Now that half second from over an hour earlier did hurt. What also hurt was mode the Rothman's cars were underway. First inspection of the right rear suspension took place at about the 1:47 mark, and I was hit two more times in the same spot by the blue and white cars. Yes, the suspension was bent the first time, you didn't have to make sure it was!  Also a bit of a surprise was the speed of the Lancias, I don't know what the problem was, but they could barely pass me on the straights, had to break surprisingly early and cornering speed through the slower parts wasn't impressive either - I almost ran into the side of one when I was passed, and my second visit to the gravel pit involved one, too, having distracted me for not making a pass, because a Porsche jumped us both. Another 20 seconds gone. I had another short off later going into the Veedol chicane when I got tired and everything part of my body was aching. That lead to the cars in front of me slowly running away, and Jason slowly creeping up again, but other than the incidents mentiond, my driving was pretty solid, sometimes the lines included a bit of the green stuff, but else no spins, no major runoff and a pretty consistent rhythm as long as I wasn't bothered by traffic. And the 3 hour mark was getting closer...
...2:58...
...2:59...
...3:00...
...3:01, next time its over...
...not?
That's when I realised the race wouldn't end after 3 hours, but 110 laps for the leader. And now my calculation was ... tight! Extremely tight, to be precise. It was most likely mentioned in the driver's briefing the race goes a full 110 laps for the leader...
...that could still work out or not...
...it should actually just do it, me on lap 97, and the leader 12 laps ahead of me, bit under 4 litres, good for 2 more laps...
...lap 98, still enough for a lap, some short shifting and coasting to help stretch the margin. Jason getting quickly closer, but if my maths are right, I shall keep the position...
...leader passes the line, no message the race is over, dammit, another lap! Seems I have to take the bitter pill and do a splash & dash.
While I'm busy disabling repairs and tire changes while entering the pits, there suddenly pops up the checkered flag symbol. Gosh, its really over and my maths were right in the end?? Phew! AI races through the pit lane and plays a bit of bumper car reentering the track, but what the heck its over...
...wait a second, why does it suddenly shows me in 19th position, when I was in 18th all the time? Margin about a second? AAAAARGH!!!!!!  Must be most satisfying for Jason, but I'm really mad at myself. First for missing out the race goes the full distance, and then for taking another 5 litres away, even though I guessimated at the pitstop it could be tight considering the remaining distance, then for not being in the right frame when I came to calculating the remaining distance. To add insult to injury, it would have still worked out under my original plan, but that was when I calculated with 1.85 litres per lap and a laptime of 1.54, but as the car went better than anticipated, I got 1:52s with closer to 1.9 litres per lap...
...oh well, at least I finished a race again, after quite a while. Maybe that's the better way to look at the whole race.
Edit: just read that it was August who just snitched my position, not Jason! Congrats mate, sometimes you just gotta pick up what others throw away  |
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Post by Jason Whited on Mar 14, 2021 23:45:49 GMT
Well, in the end, I ended up in a gravel trap at T1 and called it quits...but given the issues I've had this week I wasn't really expecting to finish anyways. Pedal springs breaking, phantom button presses on my wheel (ongoing issue...less than 1 year old TS-PC and the damn thing has already given me more trouble than the old TMX did in 4 years of heavy use  ) Anyways, a pedal upgrade is imminent for me and hopefully I get the strange wheel issues sorted with TM soon, so properly fixing these pedals was not high on the list of priorities. I moved clutch spring to throttle and sacrificed clutch in the process (which I hated doing, but temporary so it is what it is) Anyways...nothing spectacular from my seat. A really clean and well driven start by everyone it seemed!  My car was never going to be a factor here, but it was surely fun to drive and stable enough for the most part. I should have thought more before saying I'd take my season ride for this one, given the rules and the one offs available, but the day the thread unlocked I completely forgot and so I announced my presence in my full time ride and started working with it. Last night, I nearly asked if I could move to one of the [now free] one off cars. However, I was pretty much sure it was against the rules because I'd already claimed my regular car, so I didn't do so, even knowing my car was way down on ability. I'm quite glad I made that choice, and I got to have nearly a full hour of fun battling back and forth with a few different cars. Bruno Chacon and Dave Miller, in particular, provided some fun and exciting laps. Thanks for the clean racing guys, it made what might have otherwise been a not so great experience really fun and satisfying, even considering my end result. And, that's about all I really came to say, though here I am writing paragraphs again (could you please just get to the point next time...LOL) Want to thank ISO admins while I'm here, and everyone and anyone involved in putting this series together and keeping it in order.  Hopefully, at some point this season I can find a point here or there, but we'll see. Either way, I enjoy driving these Group C cars and the challenge of maintaining them over a race length is tough, but very rewarding when I get it right. See you all at the next race...thanks again to all involved!  |
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Post by Juha Bos on Mar 15, 2021 0:13:55 GMT
No Jägermeister livery for me this time. Instead of alcohol my car was advertising coffee machines.
Noth that it slowed the car down much. I lined up fourth, which is where I roughly hoped to be. I won and lost a few places in the opening laps while staying among the lead pack, but the pace felt good. By lap 11 I was up to third.
That was as good as it was going to get. I wasn't slow, but gradually I lost time David Jaques and David Jundt. Unless something happened to them, a win wasn't on the cards. It looked even worse when not only they, but also the Coxon/Nilsson 956 turned out to be better at fuel saving.
Despite making my fuel target, it could end up badly if they had fuel to spare a the end and I didn't. Richard got hit in the pits so his car wasn't a factor any more. Third place was still mine though after the first round of stops, and the biggest threat was now Tim Hille.
Throughout the second stint, I held on to third. I pitted again, and was still third with a healthy lead over Tim. I then squandered most of it by spinning, my only mistake of the race. Tim got closer so I tried to get away without turning up the boost. I kept some in reserve should he put in a final dash, but it wasn't even necessary.
Third place is nice. However, I really need to do something about fuel efficiency. First though, there's Diepholz, everybody's favourite track.  |
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Post by Luciano Rocha on Mar 15, 2021 5:03:18 GMT
Spectacular race though quite tiring. I expected a better result than the 11th conquered but with such a long race I already feel the winner in completing it. I spent the whole race managing fuel and unfortunately I had an accident in the last stint that left my car a little crooked. Even so, I had a sensational dispute with Dave Miller that was very fast on the straights. Also a bit of a surprise was the speed of the Lancias, I don't know what the problem was, but they could barely pass me on the straights, had to break surprisingly early and cornering speed through the slower parts wasn't impressive either -
Lancia's problem is that fuel consumption is high, which forces us to run at low turbo pressure.
As always, another fantastic event of a sensational category! Congratulations to all and thank you for allowing us to enjoy this championship. 
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Post by Alberto Ibanez on Mar 15, 2021 8:41:47 GMT
Been a quite busy week for me in real life and it showed both in lack of pace and clear judgement. Me idiot completely forgot when thinking about the fuel that I woud be lapped many times by the C class leader and no way I would have to go the full 110 laps. So in the last moment I put fuel for a two stop race and did some small changes in setup, only to realize the big mistake once in the grid. It was doomed from the start due to needing an extra long two minutes stop than the rest of my group, so my main objective was to be out of the way and not interfere. But I was obviously quicker on low fuel so for some laps I debated whether to try to gain an advantage to somehow offset the extra pitstop, and passed August to try to open a gap, but then my left knee started aching as it usually does when road racing (Too much pressure on the left pedal to brake) and lost concentration, so I let him pass again and started thinking what to do in the situation. A gravel trap I entered after a brain fade took the decision for me, and out of motivation I quit. Need to do something about the braking for the next enduro, I can road race for about one hour but then it becomes annoying. If I make the brake softer I lose feel and can't deccelerate properly, and if it is hard enough I get pain the in the knee. Catch 22 it seems  |
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Post by Grant Riddall on Mar 15, 2021 9:11:58 GMT
8th for me and dad which was what we had aimed for! Qualifying was intense and very close with the top 3. Well done to Richard though for a great lap!
I’ve injured my right foot so we decided I’d do the opening stint and my dad to do the rest.
Start of the race was cautious but by lap 5 I was struggling with applying the acceleration so I started falling down the order. Also went with softs at the front and mediums at rear which was a big no no, car wasn’t the most easiest to drive. Had a huge sigh of relief once I pitted and finished my stint. Dad then took the car hone for an 8th place
Well done to Jundt, absolutely top of endurance racing. How you guys are so quick making fuel is beyond me! Well done however!
Now to start praying my foot eases for Spa!
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Post by Tim Hille on Mar 15, 2021 10:03:39 GMT
I am very happy about the race. I had a lonely and steady drive to the flag and more important for the first time this year a race without any bad luck or big mistakes from my side
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Post by Bruno Chacon on Mar 15, 2021 10:46:25 GMT
My goal for this race was to test my ability, to know if at my age I could handle such a long race on a fast track, full of curves and traps (I went to the gravel 2 times).
As Luciano Rocha said, Lancia's frustration is its consumption. The Lancia is very fast on straights and relatively safe when cornering, but the obligation to use the booster always low makes its acceleration very often very slow.
Start of a smooth race, avoiding getting involved in incidents but that did not mean that the disputes did not happen. I was trying desperately to follow Luciano's pace with the other Lancia and that was Dave Miller with a surprisingly fast Lola, we played very gently a few laps until I had to give up the position, Mr. Miller was in one of those inspired days and nothing held him back. Then Jason Whited, after a walk on the gravel, hit the chair dance and it was a dispute with a lot of respect, because Jason knows exactly how I drive and it was a shame to abandon him, as this dispute could go on for much longer.
After making some mistakes Bouchard stayed behind and managed to reach me, the Ford C100 was noticeably more stable in the corners, but his approach was extremely aggressive, already causing a contact in the first charge and I decided to give up the position to ensure that the car did not suffered more damage.
At the end of the race, I managed to reach the C100 again and after overtaking it, I received a very severe troll, I managed to avoid contact in the first charge but in the second, I was pushed off the track.
At that point in the race, I was already completely exhausted and, certainly, he would pass me because his pace was better than my pace. I just had to take the car to the end of the race, slow down my pace to a safe way and finish the race.
At the end, it was difficult to get out of the cockpit due to the pain I felt, my feet hurt a lot but today I woke up well. Fortunately!
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Post by Alberto Ibanez on Mar 15, 2021 11:07:36 GMT
I can't help doing another comment given what Bruno just said. When we set up this series, we knew we had slower or more senior drivers here who would be suffering too much from long races in demanding quick cars (Me included), so we reserved the Group B for those with less victories and who would be likely having an easier time in the slower cars. Unfortunately, the aura and myth around the powerful group Cs seems to have been too big to resist and we have now some drivers suffering in Group C with no chances to fight for points or good results and having a hard time. I hope that after the two first races -one sprint and one enduro- people start seeing the picture more clearly and get thinking about switching class to have an easier time. If any of you would like to switch to Group B, let us admins know and we will see about arranging it, I understand the Porsche 930 is not liked by many but we could certainly do something about the M1s if you feel comfortable in them.
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Post by Bruno Chacon on Mar 15, 2021 12:05:52 GMT
I can't help doing another comment given what Bruno just said. When we set up this series, we knew we had slower or more senior drivers here who would be suffering too much from long races in demanding quick cars (Me included), so we reserved the Group B for those with less victories and who would be likely having an easier time in the slower cars. Unfortunately, the aura and myth around the powerful group Cs seems to have been too big to resist and we have now some drivers suffering in Group C with no chances to fight for points or good results and having a hard time. I hope that after the two first races -one sprint and one enduro- people start seeing the picture more clearly and get thinking about switching class to have an easier time. If any of you would like to switch to Group B, let us admins know and we will see about arranging it, I understand the Porsche 930 is not liked by many but we could certainly do something about the M1s if you feel comfortable in them. Not to detract from your comment, yes, I suffered a lot in the final laps of the race, I can handle Lancia well, since until halfway through the race my lap times were compatible with my teammate's least 20 years younger. I made a big mistake at the beginning of the race, starting with soft tires and with the rear wing in position 2, I corrected that at the pit stop and my lap times improved a lot. The effort I made was great, because I completely opened the passage for the fastest cars, getting to lose up to 5 seconds per lap. I don't think the cars in group 5 are easier to drive and, from what I saw, all the drivers in group 5 were drinking with the knife in their teeth. I saw more group 5 cars leaving the track than group C cars. |
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Post by Alberto Ibanez on Mar 15, 2021 12:58:52 GMT
Well Bruno, I doubt much that a Group C Lancia is easier to drive than an M1, and you ending in the gravel twice seems to confirm there is not a lot of difference, but the important thing you have be aware of, is that doing the same efort in an M1 could have given you a podium and a close fight with not one but many other cars in the class. In Group C you were just saving fuel 5 seconds behind the leaders, and fighting off aspirated engine cars as you say. But hey, to each his own. If you are happy with the Lancia, keep it.  |
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Post by Dave Miller on Mar 15, 2021 13:10:52 GMT
Well that was certainly a very fun race for me in the Lola Driving it you can tell that its a car built with Le Mans in mind as it's very slippery and actually quite stable at high speeds. Unfortunately for me there aren't really that many really high speed sections on the Nürburgring GP circuit so the car was a bit of a handful at times. In my favour though was fuel, thanks to that slipperiness and DFV Power Fuel was not a problem for me, I could go flat out for the whole race with at least 70l in reserve, I certainly noticed a few of the faster cars getting noticeably slower and slower down the straights as the race went on. I had some good fun battles with both Bruno and Luciano in the Lancia's, have to say I didn't envy them as both those cars looked particularly nasty to drive at times. Group C is defiantly my favourite kind of racing car, so I'm absolutely looking forward to the next one, even if the track is on the 'Interesting' side. |
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Post by Bruno Chacon on Mar 15, 2021 13:13:33 GMT
Well Bruno, I doubt much that a Group C Lancia is easier to drive than an M1, and you ending in the gravel twice seems to confirm there is not a lot of difference, but the important thing you have be aware of, is that doing the same efort in an M1 could have given you a podium and a close fight with not one but many other cars in the class. In Group C you were just saving fuel 5 seconds behind the leaders, and fighting off aspirated engine cars as you say. But hey, to each his own. If you are happy with the Lancia, keep it. I feel more comfortable driving a group C than a car in group 5. The important thing for me is the pleasure of driving, a good position or a podium are not so important for me at this age and yes, being able to finish the races and mainly not disrupt the races of others. Yes Alberto, I am happy with Lancia and without wishing for a Porsche. As long as I am not disturbing others, I will always try to be competitive. I can say that all these efforts that I have made have been extremely rewarding and that make me happy in the midst of so many real-world woes. |
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Post by Jules Bouchard on Mar 15, 2021 15:45:36 GMT
Sorry for the contact Bruno at the chicane. I wasn't planning on passing there but it seemed like you braked very early and I had nowhere to go but inside. Unfortunately, there was no room there.
The race was fun, the car is consistent (not a huge difference between full/low fuel), but I am a bit disappointed at not finishing 11th (10th after Thim's DQ). I was +20 seconds ahead of Rocha/Miller after the first stop but I just locked up the brakes too much going into a turn with not a lot of runoff. Went straight into the barrier and lost the front cover, which severely reduced front downforce. I ran like that for some very punishing laps, losing position to Rocha and Miller. The car was good again after fixing the body damage but by then it was too late to catch them.
Looking forward to Diepholz.
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Post by August Watring on Mar 15, 2021 16:05:29 GMT
Edit: just read that it was August who just snitched my position, not Jason! Congrats mate, sometimes you just gotta pick up what others throw away I was shocked to see you just pull into the pits as I saw the checkered flag drop. That 4th in class was all yours. I need to stop making these unforced errors and having to do recovery drives but I'm not gonna complain with a drive like that. |
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Post by John Thim on Mar 15, 2021 16:37:14 GMT
My longest ever race and a DQ. Sorry for that.
I did'nt realize how much I would have saved backing off wich would have worked.
Was 5 laps short in the end. My splash and dash however would have been deemed legal in my calculations if I had only taken on 3 laps of fuel since I pitted 3 laps earlier in my stints? However I did take on 5 (and therefore + 2 laps).
Amazing pace at the front.
Concrats!
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Post by Richard Coxon on Mar 15, 2021 16:42:19 GMT
You was 3L over the allowed amount. Harsh i know, but that's the rules.
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Post by John Thim on Mar 15, 2021 21:26:49 GMT
Ok. Well, it was fun either way.
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. I'm not sure what happened to Brad but he came back to close up at the finish, a few seconds behind. It was hard work and I now have a aching ankle from all of the gear changes.
I'd like to point out most, if any at all of the gravel pits didn't exist in 1984! Now AMS was complaining for me being not in the right grid spot, which I hastily tried to regain again, but then the speed of the warmup lap was to high. Exiting the Veedol chicane, I was told I am relegated back to the line for being to slow, but by then, I already had passed a few cars. A little late, don't you think? Split second decision for an extra stroll through the pitlane to be out of the way of the others, I had to wait an extra half minute the end of the pits, but what's half a minute, if you got approximately 3 hours ahead of?
But it was the time my car really went well, and soon I had that six seconds reclaimed, but I wanted to take it a little slower this time. Traffic once again helped, and when a larger group of cars came upon us, I was able to dive to his inside at the Dunlop turn and get away with it, but I had to squeeze the car very hard for the next few laps! But when It was time for the pitstops, I had opened up a 12 second gap. And Jason pitted at the same time, so that position remained for the moment. Woo-Hoo! I added 85 litres of fuel, that should be enough to get me over the time. Leaving the pits I soon had a good rhythm again, and I was much closer to the car in front of me - Brad or August, and I was on a similar speed. Now that half second from over an hour earlier did hurt. What also hurt was mode the Rothman's cars were underway. First inspection of the right rear suspension took place at about the 1:47 mark, and I was hit two more times in the same spot by the blue and white cars. Yes, the suspension was bent the first time, you didn't have to make sure it was! 
Must be most satisfying for Jason, but I'm really mad at myself. First for missing out the race goes the full distance, and then for taking another 5 litres away, even though I guessimated at the pitstop it could be tight considering the remaining distance, then for not being in the right frame when I came to calculating the remaining distance. To add insult to injury, it would have still worked out under my original plan, but that was when I calculated with 1.85 litres per lap and a laptime of 1.54, but as the car went better than anticipated, I got 1:52s with closer to 1.9 litres per lap...
) Anyways, a pedal upgrade is imminent for me and hopefully I get the strange wheel issues sorted with TM soon, so properly fixing these pedals was not high on the list of priorities. I moved clutch spring to throttle and sacrificed clutch in the process (which I hated doing, but temporary so it is what it is)
