rF2 1.5h GT3 Club @ Bathurst - Sat 28th June

[Frank]

I had the most heart stopping moment today in the race.
Luckily I had cat like reactions

The white car in front of you was me, I was also very close to hitting him.

 

[Davy Lauwereys]

I think we should really start considering rolling starts here guys... as these 30+ grid standing starts are just to mental...yesterdays massive pileup at the start of the race because of a silly move at the front of the field was just...well there no words for it really
Theres guys stalling, or not paying attention, then theres guys overheating their engines on the grid so if/when you do get away unharmed you are blazing into a wall of smoke... it just isn't terribly safe lol, theres a reason they don't do standing starts in sportscar racing afterall
Maybe it's because the damage isn't all the way up, that people take more risk then they would usually do? But then again even with that low damage,we didn't even get half the field home...

i would think RF2 would have an automated rolling start?

some footage of the carnage from further at the back..

 

[Frederic Schornstein]

I think we should really start considering rolling starts here guys... as these 30+ grid standing starts are just to mental...yesterdays massive pileup at the start of the race because of a silly move at the front of the field was just...well there no words for it really
Theres guys stalling, or not paying attention, then theres guys overheating their engines on the grid so if/when you do get away unharmed you are blazing into a wall of smoke... it just isn't terribly safe lol, theres a reason they don't do standing starts in sportscar racing afterall
Maybe it's because the damage isn't all the way up, that people take more risk then they would usually do? But then again even with that low damage,we didn't even get half the field home...

i would think RF2 would have an automated rolling start?

some footage of the carnage from further at the back..

It has an automatic rolling start, but it is pretty much rubbish. The only real possibility is to use a manual SC and start the formation lap after the "standing start".

/edit: Watched the video now and I thought "Mhh T1 is fine what should go wrong?", but then a mega crash on a straight what?
I had an overheating problem once at the start myself and the hold was pretty long. As soon as I line up I don't use the throttle until the 3rd red light.

 

[Markel Viota]

I think we should really start considering rolling starts here guys... as these 30+ grid standing starts are just to mental...yesterdays massive pileup at the start of the race because of a silly move at the front of the field was just...well there no words for it really
Theres guys stalling, or not paying attention, then theres guys overheating their engines on the grid so if/when you do get away unharmed you are blazing into a wall of smoke... it just isn't terribly safe lol, theres a reason they don't do standing starts in sportscar racing afterall
Maybe it's because the damage isn't all the way up, that people take more risk then they would usually do? But then again even with that low damage,we didn't even get half the field home...

i would think RF2 would have an automated rolling start?

some footage of the carnage from further at the back..

I was the Audi number 2 that overtakes in turn 1... Look at how I finished lol

PD: I also think in races like this is necessary a rolling start, in order to avoid a first lap like this one... ;D

 

[Davy Lauwereys]

I was the Audi number 2 that overtakes you in turn 1... Look at how I finished lol

I think, damagewise, most got away lucky, i didn't have any damage from that ( a flying horsie coming through the windshield later on is what did me in lol), but if you look at how it starts, it is so avoidable and unnessecary .that i think with a rolling start cars would be abit spread out more to avoid this sort off stuff.

 

[Joao Fernandes]

One other thing is people need to be careful when there are yellow flags. They exist for a reason and sometimes people don't even slow down.

 

[David O'Reilly]

@Davy Lauwereys. I agree on the rolling start.
Packing 32 cars in for a standing start is just a big risk.
In fact the pole sitter could act as safety car.
Formation lap then at an agreed point he starts to pull a gap eg at Bathurst exit of Murrays corner (final turn). No one races till they pas that point type of thing.
Too many peoples races were compromised at T1.
Another option in a long race like this is to get a 3 sec gap between rows on the formation lap.

 

[Dennis]

Thanks for the feedback guys

@Davy Lauwereys.
In fact the pole sitter could act as safety car.

Yes, we will do this in GT3 races in the future.
In addition it will be single file + no overtaking before start/finish.
If you spin on formation lap, you will have to queue in at the end of the grid.

Not sure what happened with the fuel, maybe that settings is bugged in the current build.
We'll investigate it for next race.

 

[James Maskell]

Great race. Enjoyed every lap of it on this amazing track. Big thanks to all of you.

Took 1st place at start and with good straight line speed managed to keep it for the first few laps. Then Marcal had some kind of incident and the gap started to grow. I didn't make big mistakes in the first half of the race which ensured me a big lead I could maintain to the end of the race.

EDIT: This could have ended way worse

If that was about 25mins from the end that splitter was mine haha, i hit an invisible wall right there. Go to 1:48:15 in the RD stream video and you will see me collide with the invisible wall and leave my splitter behind haha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VbLHG2VLEjA#t=6498

 

[Daiman Patel]

@Rolf Just, @Diego Rodriguez: is there a reason why you could not attend the race (on Saturday 28th June), and did not sign out from the event? Please remember to leave a note if you will be unable to participate at least 1 hour before the practice session begins. Repeatedly not showing up can lead to license removal, as per the rules.

 

[Daiman Patel]

As Dennis said, thank you all very much for the feedback, and also for joining the race! And thanks for making the grid as big as it was - 32 guys on a server, for a club race, was pretty impressive! We hope you all enjoyed yourselves - by the sounds of it, the majority of you did, in spite of a few incidents.

I certainly enjoyed driving - the practice session, qualifying, warm-up, and the formation lap... before it all went horribly wrong! I said to @Ricardo Edelmann that if / when I crash out of the race then I would join him in the commentary booth - he responded with "don't even bother starting racing, because we both know what will happen". Inevitably, Sod's law struck even before I had completed a single race lap, which was incredibly annoying as I was rather pleased with my pace - it had certainly come along from Wednesday evening, which was the only time I had practised before Saturday morning / noon. I think my speed and times were good enough to run at least in the middle of the pack. However, it wasn't to be. And I must admit that it was almost entirely my fault. So I would like to apologise to @Stefan Erxmeyer and anybody else that got caught up in that all mighty first-lap incident. I was beside Stefan, going down the straight after the first corner, but had two wheels on the grass. In hindsight I should have pulled out, but instead decided to try and get my wheels off the grass; unfortunately the gap wasn't as wide as it looked, and I misjudged the width of the GTR's rear. I clipped Stefan, and sent us into a spin, which in turn caused the pile up. So once again, I would like to say that I'm very sorry about this; hopefully I didn't destroy anybody's race. I was down and out - sent back to the garage for leaving the circuit boundary, tried to resume, but my car was having none of it. I've definitely learnt my lesson for next time - I was just way too eager to pass, but need to take my time.

So I decided to join Ricardo in the commentary booth, as promised, and had a blast. It was a great race to watch, and fun to commentate on. Hopefully those of you who watched / have seen the broadcast enjoyed it; Ricardo did a fantastic job, despite having a few technical issues with rF2.

And last, but not least, thank you @David O'Reilly for all of the hype and stories that you provided in the run up to the event! Also, cheers for the setup advice - it was very much appreciated. Congrats to you on your podium finish, as well as to @Aleksi Kivelä and @Frederic Schornstein on a brilliant race. And a well done to all of the race finishers. We'll see you next time.

 

[David O'Reilly]

Bathurst Reports soon.....
We have just had a phone call from the offices of
"The Blown Diffuser"
It seems that their principal Endurance Reporter David O'Brundle has only just sobered up after being invited to the Figjam Racing teams after race party to celebrate their 05 Marboro 911 GT3's shock podium.

We are told that a race report of sorts will now be forthcoming.
We can expect to hear the inside stories of cheers and tears from the Mountain.
-Rumours of a possible 1000km or 6 hours Epic.
-Apology and controversy
and of course how this intrepid reporter managed to pick the pole and the podium (until Marsal went sightseeing on Skyline) in the pre race issue.

 

[David O'Reilly]

@Ricardo Edelmann and @Daiman Patel
I discovered the broadcast last night and watched it through.
You guys did a super job. Great work. New UI touches such as passes showing automatically adding a touch of professionalism.

It was a real pleasure to sort of act as the "unofficial local host" and do what I could to add hype and context to this race.
It was a Hollywood ending to manage a podium as well on such a grid and I am still on a high.
I wont be surprised if the Blown Diffuser adds some more to the above.
Well done all who helped and all who raced.

 

[Andre Gaida]

I looked at the replay man.. You breaked 150 or 200m before the braking zone on the racing line (just watched it). @Frank van Oeveren was on the correct braking spot, but had to go off the brakes to avoid you. You can be lucky, if he doesn't protest you. I certainly will for another incident and I have never protest someone in a club race...

So thats your opinion. I did not break hard, only so much that he can pass me easily because i did not want to fight and used the outer right lane to let enough space,I knew everbody will overtake on the left lane because nobody overtakes at the outer lane before or in this corner, he only tried to overtake me and that was the reason the lift his breakes and was to fast in the corner entry. But the overall intention was to let him pass as fast as possible. I thought it will be an advantage for him and i did it in good purpose. Sorry for the accident it was not my intention to let him crash.

 

[Marc]

Hey guys,

just want to give some feedback on saturdays race as this was my first organized rF2 Race ever and my RD debut.
I had a good time racing with you guys, nice and fair all over the race. After setting a top 10 time in practise (don`t know exactly how fast) i was really surprised that i`m not way off the pace. Sadly got some mistakes in qualy and ended up in the mid 20th.
Race itself was not that bad, spun 2 times, hit some walls, not that bad overall, was been ok for me, haven`t had much training so...
Apologies to two guys out there who may got in trouble cause of me up in the mountains. Saw it 2 times in my mirrow that ppl came close to my bump and spun, again, sorry but i tried to make some space as soon as possible...
Last couple laps were nice while i had the battle for 4th right in front (around) of me and could kept their pace, even with a lot of fuel on board.

Looking forward to race with you guys again in the future!

 

[David O'Reilly]

So thats your opinion. I did not break hard, only so much that he can pass me easily because i did not want to fight and used the outer right lane to let enough space,I knew everbody will overtake on the left lane because nobody overtakes at the outer lane before or in this corner, he only tried to overtake me and that was the reason the lift his breakes and was to fast in the corner entry. But the overall intention was to let him pass as fast as possible. I thought it will be an advantage for him and i did it in good purpose. Sorry for the accident it was not my intention to let him crash.

Andre I did not see the incident and therefore have no opinion. Nor am I an official here.
But based on your post, as a fellow racer I will draw your attention to the following paragraph from the racing rules linked in the original post.
Do not alter your line or braking for a faster car behind you. Unpredictable moves have a way of ending the race for both of you. Let the faster car dictate when and where to initiate a pass, and only then assist by easing off of the throttle.

 

[Andre Gaida]

Andre I did not see the incident and therefore have no opinion. Nor am I an official here.
But based on your post, as a fellow racer I will draw your attention to the following paragraph from the racing rules linked in the original post.
Do not alter your line or braking for a faster car behind you. Unpredictable moves have a way of ending the race for both of you. Let the faster car dictate when and where to initiate a pass, and only then assist by easing off of the throttle.

You are right but Rfactor2 is very rigid in giving a stop and go penalty very fast and i think if i had not reduced my speed, he never got a chance to overtake me until the first long straight after the starting grid. So i Stop and Go was safe for me without reducing speed Furthermore it looked very easy in the rearview for him passing me, because there was so much space and i did not altered my line. He had enough time to break the distance was not very close, but he decided to overtake me and was to fast for the corner There were so many overtakes in this corner in contempt of fighting for position and it was possible to do that without going off with adapted corner speed. If he went i little bit slower throught the corner by breaking earlier and or harder, nothing happend.

 

[Frederic Schornstein]

You are right but Rfactor2 is very rigid in giving a stop and go penalty very fast and i think if i had not reduced my speed, he never got a chance to overtake me until the first long straight after the starting grid. So i Stop and Go was safe for me without reducing speed Furthermore it looked very easy in the rearview for him passing me, because there was so much space and i did not altered my line. He had enough time to break the distance was not very close, but he decided to overtake me and was to fast for the corner There were so many overtakes in this corner in contempt of fighting for position and it was possible to do that without going off with adapted corner speed. If he went i little bit slower throught the corner by breaking earlier and or harder, nothing happend.

The problem there is, that it is a blind corner and you are doing 270+ kph and you dont expect a slow car there. He was already on his normal breaking point before he realised, that you were slower. He was on maximum deceleration, but as you braked earlier he would have rear ended you. That is the reason why you don't brake on the racing line. Go off the line or just drive your race, thats why the rules are how they are.

I have no problem with drivers maybe costing me 3 seconds, but being predictable and not causing me any big problems.

I think we should stop now as we shouldn't discuss incidents here.

Just take a good look at the rules before the next race there aren't many.

 

[Davy Lauwereys]

You are right but Rfactor2 is very rigid in giving a stop and go penalty very fast

Blue flags( a.k.a. the "courtesy" flag)) are not mandatory in sportscar/endurance racing... guys honestly, understand this ! It is quite an important part of sportscar racing... no need to freak out over a blue flag and do stuff you wouldn't otherwise, you will not get a penalty !
Just keep your head on, and when it is safe, facilitate a pass if he is that much faster then you.

 

[David O'Reilly]

The “Blown Diffuser”
Bathurst Review​

The race promised to be a classic.
We saw an international field of 32 in exotic GT3 machinery. Entrants included the BMW Z4, Mercedes SLS, Audi R8, Nissan GTR Nismo GT3 (Godzilla), Porsche 911 GT3, Lamborgini Gallardo, Audi R8 (LMS & Ultra version), Ferrari F458, Ferrari F430, McLaren MP4-12C GT3.
We asked our principal Endurance Car reporter David O’Brundle (previous winner of the Halfords Staff Go Karting Xmas party) to give his synopsis.

Qualifying: Mt Panorama reveals her secrets over many laps and some talented newcomers were humbled by this iconic track. We saw a delta of over 5 sec across the grid. The top 3 were right on the bookmakers favourites. Aleksi Kivelä, Marçal Bonet Andreu, Frederic Schornstein.
Freddy complained of not feeling at one with his Audi R8 after Friday’s curtain raiser in the Lola Rebellion racing LMP1 cars. Aleksi in the Ferrari 458 had learned the track and was unsure of how competitive his pace was until quali. Marçal Bonet Andreu showed that if you can handle the topography of Laguna Seca it stood you in good stead for Mt Panorama. Yuri Kasdorp shocked himself with P5. But could he keep it together? Local driver O’Reilly was only fractions off his race fuel PB with a high 2:05 but that relegated him to P13

Start: This reporter predicted lap 1 would cause some tears and we did. After what seemed like ages as all 32 cars formed up they were off and soon to know Hell corner. A pileup at the early part of Mountain straight occurred and several drivers were involved.

The early laps: were hectic with the fastest building a gap, the mid pack trying to stay safe and some entering the pits after lap 1 damage.
Sometimes accused of being parochial and myopic the locals were interviewed by Murray Walker in 1987 whilst doing his research on the race. When he asked how the Holden and Ford camps viewed the international teams they said “they’re a bunch of Chardonnay swilling wankers mate”.
The crowd on the mountain were straining to find a Holden or Falcon on the 32 car grid. 10 laps in as the race settled down the word went across from Sulman Park to McPhillamy park. “There’s a Brock Perkins car here”. The local 05 Marlboro 911 GT3 entry in its tribute livery had been spotted. They started to get into the mood. One diehard Ford fan on hearing the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 was heard to say “that one at least sounds like a proper car but where are the back doors?”. Then “Godzilla” was spotted (the Nissan GTR Nismo) and we now had a race to watch.

Strategy: CAMS officials had applied the rules to the letter and parc ferme “was park ferme right!” The two-stop teams started to pit as early as lap 12. The one-stop teams then moved up the ladder for a time. The two stoppers would re-join on fresh tyres and push hard. The one-stoppers then doing their best to keep their rythm and pace on deteriorating rubber in the crucial few laps prior to their one planned stop. The maths of one versus two stops was very close so it boiled down to choice and making your choice work.

Closing stages of the race
Marçal Bonet Andreu had an incident on top of the mountain which saw him end up parked on top of a marshall’s post and outside the barriers. The eager locals got on the radio and reported him for exceeding the track limits.
The Podium seemed set. Aleksis Ferrari F458 in P1 with a big gap, Frederic had driven the Audi R8 back into contention and taken P2. Kevin Cox in his BMW Z4 had made his 2 stop strategy work well and had bested O’Reillys 05 Marboro 911 GT3 and Kevin now owned P3. Sadly with a podium sewn up he had heavy contact to his car’s rear end on top of the mountain and was hit and destroyed whilst damaged on track.
This promoted the 05 Porsche to P3 but things were far from relaxed. Stefan Erxmeyer in “Godzilla”, the Nissan GTR Nismo GT3 was in hot pursuit after a very strong drive. Stefan was a victim in the opening lap “kerfuffle” and put his head down and drove hard making his way back up the field. The gap with 6 laps to go was approx. 9 sec. O’Reilly was trying to concentrate with the shock of a potential podium. Stefan with nothing to lose and P3 up for grabs was “on it”.

By the final lap he was on O’Reilly’s gearbox (it is in the back in a 911 you know). He made a big move into Caltex Chase using the top speed of the Nissan. O’Reilly saw it coming and “parked it on the apex” owning the inside line and making Stefan take the long way around. Stefan pulled it off but two cars into the exit of Caltex Chase will not go, and there was the slightest of contacts from O’Reilly’s front splitter to Stefan’s rear bumper spinning his car. One corner from home and it seemed decided. But no, in scenes reminiscent of “The Love Bug”.O’Reilly spins on the final corner, goes to rejoin and hits Stefan’s car. Stefan spins and is facing the wrong way 20 metres from the line. O’Reilly crosses and the rear engine car claims P3. We understand that O’Reilly has apologised to Stefan who in a great example of sportsmanship is fine about it.

Post-race Interviews.
We spoke to James Maskell who said “it was a great race but a bit upsetting that I had the pace to grab P3 and was attacking the car in front and making big gains but hit an unseen wall. My splitter nearly took out the winner Aleksi.”
We asked Daiman Patel for comments on his move from racer to commentator. He said “ I have to be frank, I needed to be more patient than I was on lap 1 and I paid a big price, sadly other drivers did too. Hopefully my gig as co-commentator helped to make up for it”.
At least one car hit a “Roo” (kangaroo) which are a real problem in the dusk and dawn periods here. It’s the only place in the world where a marshall might radio to warn “Kangaroos at Turn 5”

Special Mentions:
Drivers who could have easily taken a podium were it not for incidents include (to mention just a few) Marçal Bonet Andreu, Kevin Cox and Stefan Erxmeyer.
Some impressive new talents emerged in their first ever RD event. We won’t name you all. We hope to see you again.

Rumours: Insiders have said that “TV figures went through the roof, Twitter went into meltdown and dads grabbed the remote control to tune in”. Sponsors have been heard to be queuing up to get involved in a rumoured a “Big One” a Club or official league race of a reported 1000 km or 6 hours. We can reveal that RDTV have already secured the TV rights for that one.
Key figures will not publicly confirm or deny the rumours. The closest we got was a key team manager saying “imagine it 6 hours overnight and with weather”.
One front running team was asked for their level of interest in such an event. “I think we have the depth of driver and engineering talent to podium in that one”.
The race had its share of controversy. Differing interpretations of what a blue flag meant or didn’t mean, same with yellow flags. Some angst over the fixed fuel strategies. CAMS officials have agreed that certain small refinements will be considered in the parc ferme and starting procedures. Overall the teams and drivers enjoyed the race and hopefully via the magic of Youtube many viewers will also.

David O’Brundle seemed to have an inside knowledge and we asked him how he managed to make such spot on calls about both the Start and 1st lap events and the Podium predictions. He is keeping tight lipped about his sources and also about rumours circulating that offers are in the pipeline for his own motoring show or even a GT3 seat.
In the meantime enjoy the Youtube Video and spread it around.