AC Multiclass Abarth500/Mazda MX5@Road America, Wed 10th August 2022

Chris Down · Aug 10, 2022

Very enjoyable race, especially with the different strategies and strengths for the Mazdas and Abarths. The Abarths were 4-5 tenths quicker on the straight, so I tried to ring up my old pal Ernie to do something about it...

...but in the end it turned out I hadn't paid him enough to be that much of a wotter.

Congrats to the podiums, and especially Fulvio who was definitely setting the pace today, well deserved win

My VR onboard:

Dani Martinez(Chechum) · Aug 10, 2022

eN1xes said:
yeah the main challange when u are racing with the abarth apart from racing moskitos in the corners is u have to do the pitstop exactly when the fueltank is almost empty if u pit 1 lap before like Ernie did in this race with full refuell is not enough to finish the race (atleast in this race idk in other tracks mby with some fuel save u are ok)

The worst thing is that I had saved the fuel and calculated the momentto pit stop very well but I just got distracted in the last moment, like if my mind disappeared hahaha congrats for your pace, Fulvio!! Really fast.

And thanks as always to Han for organising these events, very crowded! Good work

Kek700 · Aug 10, 2022

Moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan bleat bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan moan grumble grumble grumble grumble grumble bleat bleat bleat…

Do something about the Abarth fuel consumption.

bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan
grumble grumble groan groan groan whine whine whine whine carp carp carp carp beef beef beef beef whine whine whine gripe gripe gripe gripe bleat bleat bleat

Shed 17 · Aug 10, 2022

Kek700 said:
Moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan bleat bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan moan grumble grumble grumble grumble grumble bleat bleat bleat…

View attachment 590582

Do something about the Abarth fuel consumption.

bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan
grumble grumble groan groan groan whine whine whine whine carp carp carp carp beef beef beef beef whine whine whine gripe gripe gripe gripe bleat bleat bleat

I couldn’t have put it better Ernie, some great side by side racing and a good outright pace but fuel saving is not racing.

Dani Martinez(Chechum) · Aug 10, 2022

Kek700 said:
Moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan bleat bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan moan grumble grumble grumble grumble grumble bleat bleat bleat…

View attachment 590582

Do something about the Abarth fuel consumption.

bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan
grumble grumble groan groan groan whine whine whine whine carp carp carp carp beef beef beef beef whine whine whine gripe gripe gripe gripe bleat bleat bleat

Man, every day you're faster!! Last season I could follow you but now I can see you just 3 turns haha Definitely, the age is just a number

Douglas Aird · Aug 10, 2022

I was pretty dialled in and qualified p7 in a tight qualifying.

Got jumped by a couple of cars at the start by being careful to avoid incidents.

Settled down and got past Kimi on lap 3 then caught Callum and Han going into the uphill last section with Kimi right behind. Going into the last corner I was right behind Callum and moved to the right only to have a coming together with Kimi. Proper spin back onto the track where unfortunately I got in Dave's line and he couldn't avoid me.

Rejoined last and caught a couple of cars three quarters through the lap, got the kink wrong and spun. By reflex I hit the "return to pit" button.

So I was in the pits and almost a lap down, contemplating quitting. However, I gritted my teeth and carried on. I pitted again straight away for full fuel and came out in 18th with everyone up to Han already lapped me.

Han got ahead a lap later but I was then on pace with P7/P8 on full tanks. Put in a lot of good laps with no more incidents.

Once it all shook out at the end only Fulvio and Chris lapped me plus I got ahead of one driver after catching up 70 seconds from my pitstop. So a consolation of sorts but I think I could have been in the mix for 4/5/6 today.

Congratulations to everyone and great 5th for Callum.

Thanks again, Han.

stigs2cousin · Aug 10, 2022

stigs2cousin said:
Too lazy to ribb you, so I´ll just quote myself:

Kek700 said:
Moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan moan bleat bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan moan grumble grumble grumble grumble grumble bleat bleat bleat…

View attachment 590582

Do something about the Abarth fuel consumption.

bleat bleat bleat moan moan moan
grumble grumble groan groan groan whine whine whine whine carp carp carp carp beef beef beef beef whine whine whine gripe gripe gripe gripe bleat bleat bleat

stigs2cousin said:
Why would you do that?

People choose their car knowing what it can do, at least in the cup series where all are ( or at least should be) on equal material.

So if someone can´t drive RWD and chooses the Crabwalker, let him suffer for it.

MFG Carsten

( and yes, maybe I´m holding the simulation value way to high, in the end it´s just a video game)

Dzul · Aug 10, 2022

Seems I missed a spicy race!

When I saw that @Chris Down was on the grid I dropped by his YT channel and found out that he was streaming so I watched bits of the race during the quarter breaks of the match.

And somehow I got to witness some juicy stuff behind the Allan-train!

Thanks Chris! Close racing this time, seeing from the results, great!

The game was tough but fun, ended 1-1 so good for a friendly match, smiles on both sides.

Alfred Wayne · Aug 11, 2022

That first half of the race had me sweating. I've never had to fight that hard to hold p13

Got herded by a couple Abarths at the start and after the first few laps, I guess they felt we were all close enough, so they left us MX5s to race a la safety car

To anyone I was wheel to wheel with, great stuff

, hope I wasn't too aggressive. Had to pull out of 3 wide more than a few times

. Think I was staring at my radar as much as I was starting at the road

Went for the early pitstop hoping I could get back some pace in clean air (would have gone even sooner, but I forgot pitting was a thing as I was so focused on the fight), and I think in the end I made the right choice for my race.

Always enjoy the races around here. Thanks Han for hosting and everyone for showing up. Looks like it's my turn for a summer vacation, so i'll miss a race or two the next week (Han, please don't choose Watkins glen next week

)

HF2000 · Aug 11, 2022

Kek700 said:
Do something about the Abarth fuel consumption.

No way! Fuel strategy is my only chance to get on the podium with you fast guys!

Seriously though, we had a race where fuel economy and tire wear were set so neither car needed a pit stop.

Personally, I like the extra challenges the Abarth brings and because it's a multiclass it's the same for everyone in that class.

And the fuel consumption is on most tracks not a problem, only the ones with long straights.

Kek700 · Aug 11, 2022

Fair comment Han, I will still race flat out, and just not do a fuel saving race and just accept the consequences.

JamKart22 · Aug 11, 2022

JamKart22 said:
Wasn't able to load my race setup after the restart so stuck on tyres with completely the wrong pressures and the car was undrivable. No point slogging round for an hour. Have fun.

I'm curious what happened last night - so I don't do it again!

My recollection is that I left the server after the crash but that I was automatically launched into the restarted server, sitting on the grid with the default setup. It's possible I manually joined but I don't think this was the case.

When on the grid I pressed escape the only options available were to 'exit' or 'go to the pits'. I assumed that 'go to pits' would have done just that and I'd have to start from the pits - as well as maybe incur a 20sec stop-go.

How did other re-join the server? And were you on the correct setup or did you have to reload it? How did you reload a setup without going to the pits?

Kek700 · Aug 11, 2022

I just stayed where I was on the grid, did not move, when the race eventually re-started everything was the same including setup.

HF2000 · Aug 11, 2022

I had a really great race. So much fun with lots of battles and a (almost) winning strategy. From practice the fuel indication was that you could do 12 laps exactly with a full tank. I calculated that the race should be 24 laps so with just a little fuel saving I should be able to get away with one pitstop.
My strategy was from the beginning do a little lift and coast and to avoid the high revs. That worked fine because halfway the first stint I saw that I had enough fuel for 12 laps. Of course I had lost some places to the more aggressive drivers but I stayed calm and grinned when they went into the pits after 11 laps. I then knew that they would need a second pitstop. After my pitstop (0.3l left), I did first the same with lift and coast until I saw about 4 laps to go that the fuel was sufficient and I could go all in. After the other Abarths had their second pitstop I was 3rd of the Abarth right behind Ernie but he was on worn tyres so when he had massive understeer in the sharp left handler after the long straight I could pass him on the uphill left handler. Unfortunately Ernie turned into me and the contact made him go off.
He told me to go on so I could finish 2nd after alien Fulvio.

Great racing from everyone as far as I could see. I hope all of you had an enjoyable race. It's great to have such a filled grid.
Congrats to the podium and thanks all for joining.
Next week ~~Watkins Glen~~ don't know yet. I shall see if I can find another track where the Abarth can match the Mazda.

gearwhine · Aug 11, 2022

JamKart22 said:
I'm curious what happened last night - so I don't do it again!

My recollection is that I left the server after the crash but that I was automatically launched into the restarted server, sitting on the grid with the default setup. It's possible I manually joined but I don't think this was the case.

When on the grid I pressed escape the only options available were to 'exit' or 'go to the pits'. I assumed that 'go to pits' would have done just that and I'd have to start from the pits - as well as maybe incur a 20sec stop-go.

How did other re-join the server? And were you on the correct setup or did you have to reload it? How did you reload a setup without going to the pits?

I just left and re joined. I did it quick and found myself in the pits then quickly dialled in my setup. I think if you do not press the race button you can still pit without being forced to start there. I learned that the hard way.

JamKart22 · Aug 11, 2022

gearwhine said:
I just left and re joined. I did it quick and found myself in the pits then quickly dialled in my setup. I think if you do not press the race button you can still pit without being forced to start there. I learned that the hard way.

Thought I'd found every way to screw up a race but this was a new one for me

HF2000 · Aug 11, 2022

I've decided for Bathurst next week! One of my favorites. Nice straights and twisty mid sector! Probably the track where the sector times of the cars will differ the most.

Need fuel savings for the Abarth? Do not know yet. Too much mid-sector understeer with worn tires? Do not know yet.
But for sure a great ~~men/mice~~ Abarth/Mazda track!

I wish it was Wednesday already!

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/multiclass-abarth500-mazda-mx5-bathurst-wed-17th-august-2022.245232/

maxilogan · Aug 11, 2022

Had a pretty good quali for my standards, also because I had the whole time (sometimes I can join relatively late and just do 3-4 laps). Just one tenth to try to beat Han, but I wasn't able to do it

I was ready for a blazing fast start and to gain some places but the server crashed. Once rejoined, I found I didn't save the setup (I did press the "save" button but I later realized that as my "base setup" was off I wanted to overwrite it and most probably I simply didn't confirm the overwriting), so I had to re-dial tyre pressure and fuel quantity for the race and pistops, and this led me to most probably being late to the start or do something wrong, as I found myself starting from the pit. Therefore, one of the highest peaks of the evening was hearing an astonished @HF2000 Han saying "Filippini is leading the race?"

but it was obviously too good to be true, and while it lasted too short, it was a sweet sensation anyway

From then on, I tried to recover as best as I could, first catching for the last places (it was really fun!!), but then I made an error and lost lots of time and found me together first with @Douglas Aird (really sorry for that kink spin, it could've been a really nice battle for a few laps) and then with @davejevons with which I avoided the initial and usual start scratch only to find him later on. It was a fierce battle for the last third of the race, lots of fun, different strengths albeit both on the same car so it was a continuous alternating positions and trying to overtake. In the end my shoulder started to ache and my focus was gone already (one hour is a lot for my poor concentration capabilities

) so Dave was able to finally took over for a well deserved 14th place.

I hoped it could've been better i it wasn't for the pit start but it's been lots of fun, much more than in other races so no complaining!

Apologies for not joining the post race chat, and for not being able to sort out the scratches outcome, but it was the first time that I used the new computer and I didn't had the time yet to configure and connect the webcam+microphone which remained connected to the work laptop. Apparently the mike in the headphones wasn't working correctly so, while I heard everybody, I wasn't able to give any audio feedback.. PTT was enabled, yet no sound even in the test.

See you next week!