The second stop was due to no experience on real world fuel efficiency (boost was 2 or 3 as I recall). I downloaded and got set up just yesterday, and only got to practice briefly late last night along with guod. We shared setups and tuned them to taste, and it looked like 1 stop would be cutting it close if I had any issues. And guod and I both figured there would be issues, I told him I bet an early one and if I could survive it my best hope was to run away right there as others struggled.

But I could not ensure that, even though it did happen. So my 2 stop strategy was built to allow for very likely damage at some point during mid race, without fouling a delicate 1 stopper timing. As it turns out, I do not think I ever spun the car, nor did I ever hit anything. Ironic. In your screenshot, I believe I drove between (or did I go outside?) that loose tire and the overturned car, just fitting through unscathed. And in the end, I was stuck with my 'safe' second stop with 4 gallons left in the tank and 9 minutes left on the clock.

As it says in the first post:

Although Steve and Goon stopped after 14 or 15 laps, I had calculated and tested my fuel to last 17 or 18 laps. This is with boost 2. I'm not sure why Steve and Goon pitted then (maybe they were running higher boost).

Clearly 15 laps is cutting it close for a one-stopper if you are to turn 28 in the race, but I was entirely comfortable with one-stopping after 17 laps, had I not destroyed my car...

After talking it over with Doug, both classes will remain for our remaining races. This is structured as a Le Mans Series and I'd like to keep it that way, which means driving safely and effectively with two classes of cars on track. Future races will most likely have less attrition as well (Eau Rouge at 100% damage proved to be a sure killer). If some of the GT drivers would like to move to LMP, that is permitted. Your GT points will be retained and you will start from scratch in the LMP category. In fact, if you're feeling crazy, you may even drive stints in a GT car and an LMP car during a race (but keep in mind that the rule about a max of two drivers per car remains in effect, so you'd better plan carefully).

The large interest in the GT cars is noted and SimHQ will consider it when planning future series.

32 images from todays race
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2618475/Round_1_SimHQ_Le_Mans_Series_S.html#Post2618475

You guys provided lots of photo ops.

Sorry I missed the Formation Lap. I am a noob to race sims (this would have been my first race) and I didnt have the TS hooked up correctly. I hope to try again next race with the same car.

Cheers Joe. I thought that was what it was but just wanted to check explicity as it felt like there was some confusion.

The manual gears went ok for me. Still the occasional lapse and over-rev but all in all I felt I started to get the hang of them. Sadly I can't make the fun series races in order to practise my technique so I'll just have to keep thrashing out laps. If anyone fast wants to share their telemetry it'd be a big help. I mananged to knock 2 seconds off my lap time watching your replay of how fast it was possible to take Eau Rouge.

Is there any way of fixing the tyre temp and wear for offline practise purposes? I've always felt slightly warey of pushing the car too hard in practise because if you fall off you lose tyre temp, so I can't practise going progressively quicker in corners until I find the optimal speed.

SimHQ 2008 LMS Round 2: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Date: Sunday, November 23rd
Qualifying Time (GT cars): noon EST
Qualifying Time (Prototype cars): 1215 EST
Race Start Time: 1240 EST
Track Distance: 3.62 km (2.25 mi)
Race Length: 4 hours
Damage: 25%
Time Compression: 1x
Mechanical Failures: Time-scaled

Base setups:
R8 setup - TBA
Joe's DBR9 setup - PB of 1:19.25x



Track Facts
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was built in 1962 and originally utilized 15 turns with a chicane between T1 and T2. The course remained unchanged until 1990, when an optional straight was added to eliminate the chicane; this is the circuit layout used by most races today.

Mid-Ohio is a twisty and challenging circuit, featuring large elevation changes and portions of the circuit that require turning while slowing down. Cornering grip is at a premium, leading to a setup that uses high downforce. Overtaking locations are minimal, with the entrance to T4 being the only clear opportunity.

The SimHQ Race
Although most real racing events at Mid-Ohio take place in the daylight, the SimHQ race will start at 4:30pm game time, resulting in dusk and night race conditions. We are racing on a VLM track with beautiful lighting transitions, but it can be hard to locate some of your braking references as it gets darker. Be sure to practice in appropriate lighting in order to prepare yourself for the race.

Round 2 of the series will be considerably more of an endurance challenge than our short race at Spa was. 4 hours of blind apexes with two car classes, as it gets darker and darker, could take its toll. Remember that driver swaps are permitted for this series, and that only two drivers per car are allowed. A 25% damage setting will mean that a lot more cars should finish the race, as there will probably be a lot fewer race-ending offs.

Just like real races, the start line for our race will be located just after Turn 3. This will make for a much safer start than the cramped straight between Turns 12 and 13. We will run a full formation lap plus a portion of a second before the green flag is given.

Expected Prototype laps: ?
Prototype fuel endurance: ?
Expected Prototype pit stops: ?

Expected GT laps: 179
GT fuel endurance: 34 laps
Expected GT pit stops: 5

I drive a 1:19.9x last night using my Spa setup with minimal modification. I changed the rear wing from 5 to 7, tweaked the gearing, and lowered the boost from 2 to 1. After Spa's engine failures I am worried about engine endurance. At Spa SteV8's, 3-hour engine failed after about 45 minutes. At Mid-Ohio the 3-hour engine life will be normalized to 4 hours, which means SteV8's engine needs to last more than 5 times as long. Throttle percentage isn't as high at Mid-Ohio, of course.

any guys looking for drivers?, i wouldnt mind a go with someone