That hairpin is going to get ugly. Pick a braking point that isn't dependent on the signs being there...

Managed somehow to do a "Banzai!"(*) hot-lap of .28 even, carrying wayyy too much gas for a ten lap sprint. Must learn better braking technique.




(* To those who think all my laps are this style, you may be right! )

I was'nt going into this race with any expectations and did very little practice. I used LC's set up and it was great I just added an extra rear wing.

anyway I Qualified near the back which was fine. this twisty circuit is a handful.

I made a few spots up after turn 1 with a few going wide. I then made a few spins here and there but had some great close racing with amk and weasel @ 1 point I think I had a train of cars behind me.

Weasel Keeper and I had some great scraps and both of us trading positions until the last few minutes when weasel spun he was faster than me and I was doing all i could to try and keep him behind.

taking 3rd was a great surprise and pleasure considering my lack of practice and general dislike of the track but as the race went on I enjoyed it more and more.

Smooth Is Fast is open for practice at Birmingham Club.

Birmingham Club in these cars is like Monaco in F1 cars, only there's a bit of runoff. I had to switch from my sequential shifter to paddles because 20 gear changes every 28 seconds was destroying my right shoulder.

My fastest time was 1:27.500. Not sure how Col. Kurtz is predicting race laptimes in the 26s and 27s, since I can't figure out how to get much faster. My pace for the one-hour race will probably be in the 27.8-28.2 range in an attempt to avoid punting myself into the tire barriers and damaging the car. Is everyone running max wing here? (i.e. 3/12) Or is there any advantage to be gained by cutting down on that?

I'm struggling with rear tire overheating, especially the left rear. It seems a fast lap requires a bit of rear end sliding around the hairpin, but if I do that a few laps in a row the temperature starts to climb too high. I plan on running hard rear tires in the 1-hour race to keep it under control. If people are behind me hopefully they will stay there even if I'm being slightly conservative. If I'm trying catch up, though, it's going to take some restraint to not push through the hairpin every lap.

There's no real place to overtake here except for the hairpin, and the preceding chicane makes getting alongside someone there an iffy proposition; there's really only one fast line on the run to the hairpin, and that's on the outside of the turn. The straights are too short for drafting, the corkscrew is full of deathly tire barriers. Barring mistakes from anyone in front, it will be really hard to get by anyone on this track in these cars. I think I'll sit back and wait for the carnage.

Pit entry and pit exit are extremely dangerous at the speeds we will be running. Look out. 130+ laps of turning right...

Cripes, Joe, why don't you give it all away?


Hard tires, check! Fastest laps I've run were with hard on all four corners, this track rewards a good drifting turn, and anything less than hard melts to puddles in twenty laps. As for the cold right rear, maybe a bit of wedge ala NASCAR, but I've yet to try it.

Lots of rear wing, check! Gotta keep the backside planted on braking and the Turn 1-2 chicane.

Heavy brake bias forward? Mandatory for this fool! (edit: NOT, 65/35 working)

Drop the final gearing a LOT from defaults, not just a little. This is two quick drag races with quirky launches. Rev limiter should be flashing in 5th at the braking point for the corkscrew. I tried setting ratios for 6 gears, just too danged much shifting for too little gain.

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast". I accidentally did this, turned two 27.5 and small change laps. Startled me so much I spun clockwise through the corkscrew next pass...

Why do I see this car as a perfect match for Adelaide and/or Surfer's Paradise?

I just tried this car/track combo. Did a little setup tweaking, using a 2/7 wing, and gearing to work 2nd through 5th gear. My best was a 27.51, but lots of 27.7s. Soft tires up front, Mediums in back. Just playing around, though...

dont think I can make it.

That made me laugh for real! I find myself also startled at a great lap at times and do about the same thing...crash into something because I lose all concentration and just say "yippee!".

Ran a few laps and got to :27.7. My prediction...pure carnage. A Lupo race with high performance McLarens...lol. There's a way to carry speed going into the esses, but if someone hits a barrier there's no avoiding them. Yikes!

Also...is the server set on a very short practice period...or maybe a continuation with the AIs running the show? I joined up vs 3 AIs and the practice timer was at around 2:00s.

*edit* yeah, 5 minute practice. Not much time to get a setup working, and if you go into a race with 3 AIs then nobody else can get on to practice.

Yeah, a longer practice would be appreciated during the week, Chip. Maybe an hour.