Assetto Corsa Round 7 Road America Race Reports & Screens

I'm revving this car out into the red in every gear because I want to, and other drivers are on half throttle in fifth and sixth and going one and a half seconds a lap faster than me. I could cry..lol ...............

 

I do not get it. Even with early upshifts at about 70 % of rev max, i have a fuel usage of 3.63 liters per lap. Race distance of 18 laps does give 65.34 liters. Even if you could save 10% of by coasting, it will still make you do a pitstop. Laptimes driven average by the fastest man are 2.17.2xx in race, where my average is 1 second slower. I feel a cheat here.

 

Racereport

Road America... Its a nice flowing track designed for fast cars. LMP's shine here. But for some reason the Seat is fun to drive here too.

Due to me being in Germany the whole week my practise time was very limited. Last sunday 1 hour and today 2 full stints.

Free practise;
Having seen the times on the server I was thinking that things would be close, but then Dzintars pulled a 2.16.5 out of the hat. No worries, I can do that in quali mode. The rest of the times were close, but nothing to worry about. Alex was close, but he confided in me that his race pace would be slower. So all was looking good.

Quali;
As soon as the session started I got on track. Fueled for 5 laps because there would not be enough time to do a flying lap, come into the pit and than try another one. First flying lap gave me a 2.16.8 Not to bad, but I could go faster. Then out of the blue Dzintars pulls a 2.15.9... What kind of drugs is this guy on Ah well. After improving my time by a small margin I had to settle for 2nd. No problem because I didn't really wanted pole here anyway. Not that I would have been able to get it today Alex filled 3rd spot, but it felt like he couldn't get a good lap in. I know he can be faster.

Race;
I opted for hard tyres as on this track they kept their grip better than the medium. I had to stick to the plan I had and not get drawn into a close fight. Fuel saving was a premium here. A pitstop would take about 30 seconds, that amount of time could never be gained on track. So the red lights went on, and GO GO GO! We all seemed to have a good start and having the "alien" guys around me gave me (and likely Alex and Dzintars too) the confidence nothing silly would happen in the first few corners. Coming up to the 1st corner I braked a little earlier then I would normaly do just so I wouldn't hit Dzintars car. The gap to Alex behind me was big enough to do that in a safe way. However being on the hard tyres the car drifted wide a bit losing me a couple of very important tenths. The idea was to stay on Dzintars bumper so I could profit from the draft and maybe even overtake him. Allas, it was not to be. The gap was just big enough for me to close up on him, but not enough track to get past. Brake early again. This went on for a few laps, Me close to Dzintars and Alex hot on my tail. Then I lost concentration looking in the mirror (and having my audience mutter and chatter) having me made a small error. Missing the apex of a corner on this track loses you 0.5sec easily. That gave Dzintars the breather he needed and me having to deal with the extending gap to him and Alex breathing down my neck. Don't get drawn in.... STICK TO THE PLAN! up until then we were doing descent laptimes, but since the fuel app wasn't showing anything I had no idea what the fuel usage was. STICK TO THE PLAN! I figured if I kept doing what I did in practise I wouldn't be to far off of where I needed to be on fuel. STICK TO THE PLAN! Then at about 20 minutes into the race the fuel app suddenly showed the number of laps I could do with the fuel I had. It looked safe enough. I figured that since Alex hadn't gone for a pass on me he was on the limit of his grip/speed or he was unsure of his fuel too. Drafting saves fuel Thinking I did not want him to pass me on the final lap I went for a fast(ish) lap. As luck would have it I did a good one just when he made a small mistake. That broke the draft. No more advantage from that. The race went like that for the remainder. I was kind off hoping Dzintars would have to go for a splash and dash, but it was not to be. We finished like that. Dzintars 1st, Roy 2nd, Alex 3rd.

This race was one where the fuel management was imperative. One can say that this is not racing, but let me tell you that it is. If you look at the times we were doing I would call that racing on the edge.

Anyway, the next race will not only decide who will win this series, but a lot of positions have not ben decided yet. I'm hoping for a big field to end this series with a bang.

 

@ everyone, please read this thread https://www.simracingonline.co.uk/threads/the-fuel-issue.3080/

 

Very good post in that link Roy. Hats off. You can explain things very well.
Still I don't get the fuelsavingstyle of racing with these sprintcars. Nice for the guys who can make it to the end on one tank but this rules out everyone else who can't (if I understand it correctly) because if you do have to box you are no longer in the running for the big points.
It also leads me to think your battle with Alex, as written in your amusing report, could have been even more intense than it was now.
Not wanting to bash on the series at all here. Please don't think that. Just something that is difficult to wrap my head around...
Also too bad this series is not longer broadcasted. How come? Always love watching touring car racing.

Anyways good luck to all in the finale.
Tim

 

Tim, the main reason for the small time gap at the end of the race between Alex and me was because he opted to use the medium tyres while the hards were the best option for this track. Other than that we had the exact same plan. I knew from talking to him before the race he was planning on drafting as much as he could to gain that extra advantage. That's why he had a little bit more fuel left at the end of the race than me.

Now about the length of the races. Like I said several times before, I asked all the regulars if they liked the 40 minute format. All but one said to keep this format.
Now have a look at real racing. There is almost no series out there that doesn't have a fuel restriction. In F1 its 100kg of fuel. In the TCR series cars are only allowed a set liters of fuel too. In GT/Endurance racing the regulation states cars are only allowed to have a fueltank of a certain size. In all these series/races fuel management is a part of the racing.
And in my view it adds to the emersion of the racing.

 

Very disappointed to read there are a lot of doubters. If any of you would be willing to find out how it's done I would be happy to show any of you. I finished with 1L left, here's my Ptracker. http://managerdc6.rackservice.org:50865/sessiondetails?playerInSessionId=4480#

Lap number Lap time S1 S2 S3 Pit lane time Pit time Valid Cuts Collisions (car-to-car) Fuel Aids
1. 02:26.159 00:49.419 00:48.100 00:48.640 - - no 0 0 (0) 94.1%
2. 02:18.035 00:41.294 00:48.065 00:48.676 - - yes 0 0 (0) 89.0%
3. 02:17.541 00:41.240 00:47.665 00:48.636 - - yes 0 0 (0) 83.7%
4. 02:17.745 00:41.103 00:47.569 00:49.073 - - yes 0 0 (0) 78.6%
5. 02:17.906 00:41.292 00:47.790 00:48.824 - - yes 0 0 (0) 73.4%
6. 02:17.558 00:41.159 00:47.719 00:48.680 - - yes 0 0 (0) 67.6%
7. 02:17.064 00:41.182 00:47.407 00:48.475 - - yes 0 0 (0) 62.2%
8. 02:18.222 00:41.629 00:47.939 00:48.654 - - yes 0 0 (0) 57.2%
9. 02:18.222 00:41.350 00:48.244 00:48.628 - - yes 0 0 (0) 52.1%
10. 02:17.263 00:41.039 00:47.683 00:48.541 - - yes 0 0 (0) 46.7%
11. 02:17.913 00:41.221 00:47.889 00:48.803 - - yes 0 0 (0) 41.6%
12. 02:17.659 00:41.346 00:47.668 00:48.645 - - yes 0 0 (0) 36.0%
13. 02:17.498 00:41.082 00:47.726 00:48.690 - - yes 0 0 (0) 30.3%
14. 02:17.289 00:41.119 00:47.524 00:48.646 - - yes 0 0 (0) 24.3%
15. 02:17.402 00:41.121 00:47.465 00:48.816 - - yes 0 0 (0) 18.4%
16. 02:17.487 00:41.349 00:47.429 00:48.709 - - yes 0 0 (0) 12.4%
17. 02:17.290 00:41.084 00:47.588 00:48.618 - - yes 0 0 (0) 6.5%
18. 02:20.977 00:41.352 00:48.447 00:51.178 - - yes 0 0 (0) 1.6%

If anyone would like to re-run part of the race or even look at my replay - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XeER12tduFN_eBrdy2_p-lZpW18ncZOc

I would be more than happy to talk you through it. I had nothing to gain at the end, I tried all race to find enough pace to take 2nd place but knew with the championship standings it was of no benefit to me take any chances knowing in 3rd anyway. The reality in yesterdays race was none of us were racing each other, we was all racing the fuel gauge. Whoever managed the fuel the best was going to take the podiums.

T1 for me was 6th gear
T2 - 5th
T3 - 4th
The rest of the corners were 5th or 6th. I was watching a few guys pull 3rd for turn 1 so it's clear where I was saving. Being able to draft Roy enabled me to get an extra few litres which I planned to deploy ay the end of the race. The mediums were the wrong choice for the late attack I had planned.

 

Hey man, you're probably right. It ll have more to do with my viewpoint probably as I haven't participated yet in such races were fuelmanaging is so important. Anyway, just to be clear: not a doubter about the fuelcheating here.

 

Hi guys, thought i would weigh in seeing as i did not pit. First great race, shame i couldn't hang on to the top 3 but Sean stuck it down the inside ( nice move) so i had to follow for a bit, which didn't bother me really as i could draft and save some fuel. I am a bit dissapointed that the word cheat has been used, racing isn't just about how fast you are but how you manage your car and your racecraft. Clearly RD America was going to be a high fuel usage race so every bodies first thought should be ' can i finish without pitting'? . This leads to fuel usage runs, and adjusting your driving style to get the most out of your fuel. I noticed a lot of people rev the F**K out of the car, its not needed. Short shifting, drafting and lift and coast all add up in the end, also on the fly fuel calcs are essential. So before people start saying people are cheating like 'i'm so fast how can i possibly be beaten without people cheating' you need to analyse your driving style. Anyway, im on ptracker so feel free to scrutiinise all you like. here is my race also. https://mixer.com/L3NST4R?vod=73097424 .. watch and see how my style differs to yours. I finished with 2.2 L of fuel left. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

 

Merry Christmas, James !!!!

 

Ok I had a go at only using 5th and 6th gears ( in the race I used 3rd three times ) and went 4 tenths faster than i did in the race. So its about knowing the cars torque range. Im still learning lol.
Also can someone tell me were the SRO home page backgroud is from? Rallycross? Snow?

 

This season's biggest eco race
I trained from Thursday for this race. Because the situation on overall is that any of 3 pretenders can win this championship. I found perfect trajectory really fast.
But I spent a lot of time on fuel saving. I forgot about it, because on Knockhill and Brno you don't need to think about fuel saving..
Time 2:16,.. I reached on first evening of trainings, but I needed 3,3l fuel for lap! That's too much for race, you need max 3,05l for lap.
I begin driving every corner with higher gear, all track I used only 5th and 6th gear, 4th I used only for braking. And bingo, now I needed only 3,0l for lap. And now I need to repeat that perfectly only 18 times.
Qualification: I drove one incredible lap 2:15,897, that's my best lap there.
Race: I had a great start, I switched gears quickly and on the first corner I could drive on ideal lane. On first laps I needed to switch my brain to eco mode, so these were
not too good, but after 4th lap I got used to it, then everything went as planned - get safe predominance, switch autopilot and wait when these 40 min. is gone.
It was a pleasure to spend this evening in a nice company!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

p.s. "What kind of drugs is this guy on" - Roy, no drugs, only little bit Whiskey before the race

 

Haha, I couldn't resist

 

Just to mention Alex Bonners point. I don’t think anyone has any doubt that even if there was not a fuel issue that the front three would be still first, second and third. My point was more about the mid field runners. Not for the first race did some good racing end when drivers one by one went to the pits at different times. I was in a good four way race with about 5/6 laps to go, but the pit stops ended all the racing for me over the final laps as I and the other competitors pitted. Just think we should take a poll for season four and see what the grid thinks. 35 min race, 45 min race, or a mandatory single pit stop or leave it as it is.

 

I only now realized I never wrote up my recap for my own race.

I surprised myself with a 6th-place qualification ahead of Roel and Larry. At the start I was stuck on the outside and they both passed me through T1. I was still a bit sore from being punted out of the Audi TT race on Thursday, so my main focus was on keeping all my body panels straight and making it to the end on fuel, and so I didn't challenge them for those places. I also knew figured they'd be faster than me anyway. I then got the draft on Larry out of T2 and down the long straight, reclaiming 7th. Roel had a moment under the Corvette bridge but it wasn't enough for me to catch him. So by the end of lap 1 I was already focusing on fuel numbers and settling into 7th to find a race pace.

We continued comfortably through laps 2 and 3 with Roel 6th, me 7th, and Larry 8th, separated by about a second. Of course I wanted to catch up but I was just as happy that I was keeping a fairly decent gap to Larry. I figured if I could just maintain that pace, and those intervals, we could cruise around until someone needed to pit, and I could jump ahead.

On lap 4, Roel caught up to Sean. They were nose to tail until the end of the lap, when Sean went wide at Thunder Valley and the battle was on. Roel made the pass in the final corner but Sean got the over-under going onto the front straight, and they were door to door all the way to T1. I had to fight my urge to be a spectator to this fantastic battle and try to make up some ground while still conserving fuel. Sean took the position back in T5 with a great inside move. We settled down for laps 5 and 6, with Sean 5th, Roel 6th, me 7th, Larry still filling my mirrors in 8th. On lap 7 Roel was able to close again and restart the fight with Sean, and I had a front-row seat to watch (and get closer). They ended up going door-to-door around the entire Carousel, but made slight contact approaching the Kink, forcing Sean into the outside grass and allowing me to close the gap even further.

I got a great slipstream effect coming out onto the front straight, and Sean and I started lap 8 side by side. Neither of us surrendered an inch going into T1, but I was so gunshy from previous races that I turned too sharply away from him into the turn and ended up putting two wheels all the way over the curb and into the grass, which didn't help my exit. I stayed inside and was about to go for it again in T2, when...

Oops. Larry had wasted no time in catching us both while we were battling, but then either missed the brake point into T2, or didn't expect us both to check up when we did to give each other room to go side-by-side through the corner. Their contact sent them both off the track in T2 and allowed me to make my escape. I was now almost five seconds back from Roel but now had a nine second gap back to Rob, who had assumed 7th place following the incident. Roel continued to pull away slowly over the next few laps, so I just settled back into comfortable fuel-saving pace (even making up a bit extra to account for the battle with Sean) and waited to see who might need to pit. The car felt great and my pace was decent enough to keep Roel in sight, so I was feeling pretty good about the race already.

THAT'S NOT THE LINE THROUGH TURN FIVE Lap 14 was... uh... not the best.

On lap 15 I got my only strategic pass of the race, as Roel dove into the pits for a splash. That put me in an unfathomable 5th position with a 10 second gap to James in 4th and about four laps left in the race. I was now in a huge bubble and could basically hotlap it alone for the rest of the race, as long as I maintained my fuel conservation. At the white flag the gap had fallen rather suddenly to 8 seconds and I thought maybe James was in some fuel trouble. The gap was only five seconds as I approached the final corner...

...but that's where it stayed, with James hanging onto 4th and me crossing the line to round out the top five. Given my usual pace and performance this result was as good as a win for me, and I'm that much more excited to return to the track where it all began for me in SRO... the wild green hills of Spa.

Thanks to everyone for taking part in the race.