RD GT Championship 2017

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Congratulations to Mr. C! Very well deserved championship title, enjoy it while it lasts :cool:

Hopefully next time I’ll get ya. Thank you to everyone, it was an amazing experience! Special thanks to @SweAlex , @Magnus Stjerneby , @Caramidaru Andrei Bogdan and my father for pushing me, discussing setups and coaching me through this championship, wouldn’t be able to perform this good without you guys.

A bit about me and my thoughts about this fantastic league:

I’m a 25 year old dude living in southern Sweden, working in a factory building trusses for a living. Always been a fan of cars and racing and also computers, so why not combine them? I’ve played racing games for about 15 years, but I’ve never done any racing, always been a drifter. But about 6 months ago I grew a little tired of sliding around, and tried some hotlapping in Assetto Corsa with @SweAlex , and then he told me about this awesome game called Raceroom Racing Experience that his brother @Magnus Stjerneby plays a lot, needless to say I was hooked instantly :D I think the drifting has learned me a lot about car control, and I think that is a big part in me getting faster and faster at a pretty rapid pace. Anyway that’s enough about me, now let’s dig into the championship!

Car choice:
It’s simple, number 7 is my lucky number, that’s why my first choice was the #7 Bentley :D

Race 1:

I went in to this with the goal of finishing top 10. Other than that I didn’t know what to expect or to think. I didn’t practice a lot, I didn’t calculate fuel or even think about pit strategies, I just went for it. I managed a 2nd place in the qualifying session, felt really good. But when the race came, I was so nervous I was shaking :D I got a good start but immediately lowered my tempo, I was scared of messing something up, which led to me dropping some positions. Managed to get the pace back up a bit but it was not enough, and then came the pit stop. I put in wayyyy too much fuel, and basically just went on to finish the race, and I finished 6th with about 20litres of fuel left :whistling: I met my goal, but I wasn’t satisfied, and told myself that next time it’s top 4!


Race 2:

Bigger goals this time! Not much more practice but I was feeling a lot more confident and this time I had planned my pit stop and race strategy with my father a long time before the race! It was just a matter of trying to put it in to reality. I qualified 3rd, almost a second behind @Caramidaru Andrei Bogdan and @Adrian Campfield . Race start: I had a good start, but Bogdan just flew away increasing the gap by what felt like 3 seconds each turn :confused: Quickly realized I was never going to challenge him or Adrian, so I set a steady pace and just kept it there. Pretty uneventful race for me. Calculated fuel perfectly and finished with 2 litres in the tank. Confidence grew and I thought to myself that next race I’m gonna finish top 2!


Race 3:

This time I knew already from the beginning that Bogdan is going to obliterate me, so I focused on pit stop and a really steady pace. Set a really good qualifying time putting me in 2nd, 0.7sec behind Bogdan and 1.2sec in front of Adrian. Got an amazing start but as I thought, Bogdan just flew away :grin: I had a really strong pace from the beginning and that really showed, I wasn’t really challenged from behind besides the first lap or two, so I kept on going strong. Finished 2nd over one minute after Bogdan.. So I decided that next race I have to beat him, because it’s Spa and I just have to outpace him there!


Race 4:

I was extremely nervous the whole week leading up to the race. I wouldn’t be able to practice the whole week because I was working late shift, and I knew I had to finish 1st and Bogdan 7th in order for me to take the championship. I did some practice the weekend before the race, but wasn’t really happy with pace. Did some more practice the Friday and Saturday before the race and that was when I really felt fast. Watched a lot of leaderboard times and comparing my hot laps and race pace with everyone I could find. And then me and Bogdan timed our pit stops and we found out I would be about 4-5 seconds faster than him in the pits, so I grinned like a baby inside knowing that if I could just be in front of him when going in to the pits, I was going to have a really good chance of winning the race. Qualifying: I set up my fuel a couple of minutes before the session started, and when it changed over to quali, I instantly clicked ‘Drive’ so that I could get out first and get free space in front of me. Boom. 2:16.032. I did not believe it myself, I had gotten down to 16.5 before but 16 flat?! I was so confident in this time that I just did that one lap, I then fueled up to full tank and went for some warmup laps. Pole position! The nerves got me again and I was shaking the last final minutes before the race start. But I got a good start and managed to keep the first position for a little while. Messed up a little a couple of times and Bogdan squeezed past me, but I knew that if I just stayed close I would eventually get past him again. I thought to myself that ‘this is going to be a reaaally long race if we’re going to keep going like this’ but then he made a mistake and went off the track, which meant I was back in the lead again, and now I could push the lead further and further. The pit stop strategy worked out perfectly and I came out 6-7 seconds in front of him and from there on I just pushed and pushed, making sure I got some room to breathe. Scored my first league win, and man, did it feel good :cool: Didn’t get the championship title but there is always the next one :grin:


This league was a really cool experience and taught me pit strategies and managing a steady pace, I’ll go in to the next one with bigger confidence and bigger knowledge! I’d really like a longer one next time please :D Thank you again everyone that participated and managed this!
 
Martin Fiala said:
Congratulations to the winners. Not a great race for me, but not a completely terrible one either I guess (apart from the game freezing for me for like 5 or 10 seconds for no apparent reason about 6 minutes before the end, resulting in a huge crash that ultimately didn't really cost me anything). I spent most of the race alone, which was probably for the best.

And big apologies to @kamackeris and @Steve Le Gallez for that bit of an early-ish braking on the very first lap tonight at the end of the Kemmel straight. I was trying to stay clear of the cars ahead which started braking a bit earlier as well, but it seemed like you weren't expecting me to do that and it resulted in both of you colliding and spinning out :cry: What makes it even worse is that unlike you both, I had nothing to lose or gain, having not participated in the previous races :( I was trying to tiptoe around others for that very reason tonight, and yet I still did damage, if maybe indirectly. Sorry :(
Click to expand...
No worries at all, Martin, these things happen mate
 
First of all I want to thank everyone how has been involved in the RDGTC!


I joined the sim racing for the first time 8/6-2017. (Got Robert Severikangas join at the same time)
So by the biggining of the season I had maby 5-6 club races in me in simracing.
I had a feeling that I was going to be a mid pack driver.
And it was better that I expected.


1st race I was very nervous.
How fast am I?
How do I handle the long 90 min race.
Only did 60 min before.
Worrying about my concentration.


Race No.1 Silverstone

Did a very good start.
Some small mistakes in the beginning and lost some places.
Did a pitstop that I think was my best this season.
I was able to take 4th place. Happy like hell with that result! This season is going to be very fun! :):)


Race No.2 Nurburgring

Did a very good start again.
And then my bad luck came. When Kuismin was 3 wide in to T1. He missed the breaking point and took me for a spin.
Unlucky for me because I felt that I had 3 place in me that race. But manages to take 7th place. Overtake Saussey less then 1/2 lap to go. (I would be really mad if that happened to me)
Was disappointed after the race but a race is 90min and lots of things can happen.



Race No.3 Monza

Felt that I have speed to be in top 4 this time.
Again a very good start.
But lap 2 or 3 I think a missed the breaking in to T1. Run straight ahead thinking it’s the best so I don’t get in trouble.
Bad choice to do that. Got me 2 peneltys.
1 stop and go and 1 drive trough.
Didn’t gain any position.(next time I know better)
My race was ruined!
I managed to drive from last place to finnished 12th place. After the race I was really disappointed on my self for the stupid penalty.


Well well.


Race 4 Spa

This time I really wanted to do the best.
I saw some of you on the leaderboard that it’s going to be a tuff race for me.
Find a really good setup. Even more good on the race day.
First time I used one setup for qualifying and one for the race.
Started P2. 2.16.4 qualifying! I was in front of Bogdan:D
Had a lap that was 0.3 faster but a mistake in the end and no time for another try. How could I be so fast?

The start. My slowest start so far.
But got in to turn one good.
Lost the second place to Bogdan down the hill to eau rouge.
He is bloody fast in that car on the straights :devilish:
Then I was hunted my Myhre all the way. From start to Finnish :thumbsup:
Very good experience for me to feel so much hunted/pressured and not doing mistakes.
Thanks


Last thing.

I want to thank everyone that has been involved this season.


Specially my brother Magnus Stjerneby that had nagging me for years to start with sim racing.
Thanks for all positive thoughts and all the practice and help!

And my friend Robert Severikangas for all practice and help with some of the setups!

And also many thanks to Bogdan that I had the luck to practice with and learning some driving skills from!


Hope to have a lot more fun races with you all! :D
 
That was a fun little season (or 75% of a season for me).

First I have to start with something at the end of the race, I did not slam on the brakes in the middle of the last corner. Like every lap I hit the brakes in between the right and left corner at the new bus stop. But I let go of the brakes in good time before the contact was made. I just feel I have to slightly defend myself after watching the broadcast. With that out of the way...

I wasn't as prepared for the race as the last two, solely due to the small server hiccup during practice, and that I had a game-crash as well pre-race.

I know how we all want things to be as realistic as possible when we drive, so I decided to take the realism to another level this time. You see, in real life you can't just take your GT car to the track you will race on the next weekend, camp out there the whole week and practice practice practice. So I decided to treat it like it was when I was racing in real life. I went to the track, and had to wait for the official practice.
So in all my races this season, I had not done one single corner on any of the tracks with a GT car in the R3E before the official practice started. To add to this, I am not a guy who know stuff about setups. So I went default all the way, with only some changes to the fuel load.

Fully aware that this would put me on the back foot against the majority of the field, I didn't have any expectations at all for this season, and I know you could see it during practice and qual as well, that I steadily got faster and faster as I got experience with the car and circuit.

I am sure I could've had better results if I'd done an hour or two with testing before the races, but I really wanted to treat it like real life. And to be honest, with the exception of RDLMS which is a major team effort, I cannot remember the last time I've had so much fun in a league. When I spent relatively little time on, it doesn't matter so much what the results are, and I find myself enjoying every fight much more :)

And there have been loads of fight this season, but especially at Spa. 3 wide through the Bus Stop, almost 4 wide at the Kemmel Straight. And no contact at all. It was an amazing experience battling with @PaulH @Joeks @JoelK @HO7DOG and @metaDp in the Belgian forest! :)
 
John Grainger Championship Trophy
​
RDGTC Champion I might be a chump but strangely it brings me a smile each time I think of that, first wins and the first championship and like I said on the broadcast with all my thoughts and heart I want to dedicate it to John, he was part of Walk Racing and we had many many moments on TS/Phone and he was crazy hard working and helped me with my simracing passion, also want to give a special thanks to Robert Taplin for keeping tabs on it, thanks @robt100 .

Been with RaceDepartment since 2009, was banned at one point, was an admin for a short period and I liked to think that me and RD are in a love relationship, we might think differently sometimes, I might burst out in flames but if I am wrong I apologize and we always have fun together, seems fitting to win my first ever championship at RaceDepartment, my simracing home!

Round 4 - Spa - so many feeelings.....

Practice:
I really wanted to practice a lot for this round cause I really wanted to win it too, did 1h and a bit in first week after Monza and then another hour in the week of the race and in both occasions 1h was not nearly enough to get the grips with track - car combo, Camaro sucks big time at Spa, asked help from @PresidentSmug and he only did 10min and said it was useless, I was feeling very "confident". I knew I was going to arrive home either Sunday morning or late Saturday night and luckily it was the later, Sunday I tried and tried to get a good setup and use every trick and crazy ass setup I could think off but I was still going to be slower in race pace than @Robert Severikangas by at least 0.2/lap, and I was expecting bellow 5th in Q session as for me to do a 16 in Q session it would have had to been one mega lap with the setup I had.

Qualifying:
Did 16.7 and for the life, in me, I could not improve and it was very very demoralizing when Robert did in lap one 16 flat, I was like, well this will suck.....then @SweAlex sweeped in 2nd and I was expecting to go downhill from there, @Anders Myhre was close but with extreme luck I stayed in 3ed, race strategy was set and was very grateful for 3ed.

Race:
The strategy was FULL ON ATTACK mode from corner 1 and get into the lead as in my crazy mind I was thinking that I will have a better consistency than Robert and maybe stretch out a lead of 5-6sec so I can still be ahead after pits....good strategy if I say so myself....bad implementation tho...
Knew most of the people will jump on the inside and I know that at Spa, in turn, 1 lap 1 outside line can work especially if you are in the Camaro and 3-4gear the car pulls like crazy, came head to head with Alex but I pulled ahead by Eau Rouge and away I went after Robert.
Immediately I saw that I was losing more than expected in S2, big double apex left and double rights before the back straight, also the flat-out(all most all cars) left-hander before the last chicane, only in the corner alone I was losing 0.3 to Robert, I was taking it at around 135km/h and he was over 150...each lap I had to recover that 0.6-0.8 in 3 corners, last chicane, T1 and Eau Rouge and for that to happen I had to push extra extra hard.....Last chicane and T1 it was a bit easy to get time from Robert, I was braking later and my car pulls harder from the slow corners but Eau Rouge again Robert was flat-out and I had to lift massively to take it, so even tho I had 6-7km more top speed we where dead even ...
At the beginning, I think Robert was a bit shy and I passed him once then he passed me straight back and on the start-finish straight I was going towards the outside preparing T1 and Robert from the middle of the track was doing the same and immediately I dive on the inside and took P 1 again, also the pass on the outside on Robert into Eau Rouge, O man I thought the race will be over there. That lap looked good and after 2 laps leading I saw that at least I can keep him at arms length but trying to get a good exit for the back straight and looking too much behind to see how close Robert will get I went into the sand.....lost 2sec and P1, all of the first stint every single lap and corner was overdriving, pushing like mad to get back to him but I was never that close, the gap ranging from 2.5sec to 0.4, at that point in the race I think the race pace was similiar just little mistakes from both of us made the difference.
Entered pits and overshoot my pit stall, had to reverse but I forgot I was in neutral, damn that was a stupid moment, lost 2-3sec easy with that and then the long ass refueling and like all season long I did my math wrong and put 20L extra, as I finished the race with 20L so maybe, just maybe without those mistakes I would have been close to Robert after pits.
Cudos to Robert for pitting right after my pit, as my out lap and first 2 laps where pretty fast, when I saw the gap at 6sec I was like...man....big mountain to clime, I could not recover 2sec in stin1 how I am going to recover 6....pff, tried to put some mega laps but gap was the same and then I gave up, to many track warnings with my "mega laps" and I wanted the championship, with a potentianl drive trough and 6th place only 16sec behind, ufff the risk was not worth it.
Slowed right down the pace and did clean laps and was on cruise mode, in the meantime @SweAlex was hunting me down, from 11-12sec he went pretty fast too 5-6sec and he was as fast as me and Robert, pushed a bit the last two laps so he would not get very close in case I do some dumb ****...
P2 and championship, I admit I was a bit disappointed but I got over it pretty fast, was a bit emotional after the race as many many things where going through my head, from memories with John to dumb thoughts like "Ohh so this is how it feels like to be relieved and win" also my simracing "career" off forgettable 8 years and so and so on
I want to thank a few people, @Bram Hengeveld @Dave Stephenson @Remco de Wildt for the beginning 09 and so on, the commentators and the background people who made this very good league, too @Kenny Paton and all others for busting my balls when I say I am slow, know you can believe me sometimes at least that I am slow :)), to @Robert Severikangas @SweAlex and all the Scandinavian simracing mafia that joined RD.
Big congratulations for all Scandinavian drivers, @Robert Severikangas for 2nd in the standings and not wanting to cast a shadow on the other Scandinavian drivers but equal to my championship I rate @Anders Myhre performance in that heap of crap of a car, mate I really doubt I could have had such a brilliant performance, good job and hope you take shitty cars in the future also :)

Thank you


 
Last edited:
Caramidaru Andrei Bogdan said:
John Grainger Championship Trophy
​
RDGTC Champion I might be a chump but strangely it brings me a smile each time I think of that, first wins and the first championship and like I said on the broadcast with all my thoughts and heart I want to dedicate it to John, he was part of Walk Racing and we had many many moments on TS/Phone and he was crazy hard working and helped me with my simracing passion, also want to give a special thanks to Robert Taplin for keeping tabs on it, thanks @robt100 .

Been with RaceDepartment since 2009, was banned at one point, was an admin for a short period and I liked to think that me and RD are in a love relationship, we might think differently sometimes, I might burst out in flames but if I am wrong I apologize and we always have fun together, seems fitting to win my first ever championship at RaceDepartment, my simracing home!

Round 4 - Spa - so many feeelings.....

Practice:
I really wanted to practice a lot for this round cause I really wanted to win it too, did 1h and a bit in first week after Monza and then another hour in the week of the race and in both occasions 1h was not nearly enough to get the grips with track - car combo, Camaro sucks big time at Spa, asked help from @PresidentSmug and he only did 10min and said it was useless, I was feeling very "confident". I knew I was going to arrive home either Sunday morning or late Saturday night and luckily it was the later, Sunday I tried and tried to get a good setup and use every trick and crazy ass setup I could think off but I was still going to be slower in race pace than @Robert Severikangas by at least 0.2/lap, and I was expecting bellow 5th in Q session as for me to do a 16 in Q session it would have had to been one mega lap with the setup I had.

Qualifying:
Did 16.7 and for the life, in me, I could not improve and it was very very demoralizing when Robert did in lap one 16 flat, I was like, well this will suck.....then @SweAlex sweeped in 2nd and I was expecting to go downhill from there, @Anders Myhre was close but with extreme luck I stayed in 3ed, race strategy was set and was very grateful for 3ed.

Race:
The strategy was FULL ON ATTACK mode from corner 1 and get into the lead as in my crazy mind I was thinking that I will have a better consistency than Robert and maybe stretch out a lead of 5-6sec so I can still be ahead after pits....good strategy if I say so myself....bad implementation tho...
Knew most of the people will jump on the inside and I know that at Spa, in turn, 1 lap 1 outside line can work especially if you are in the Camaro and 3-4gear the car pulls like crazy, came head to head with Alex but I pulled ahead by Eau Rouge and away I went after Robert.
Immediately I saw that I was losing more than expected in S2, big double apex left and double rights before the back straight, also the flat-out(all most all cars) left-hander before the last chicane, only in the corner alone I was losing 0.3 to Robert, I was taking it at around 135km/h and he was over 150...each lap I had to recover that 0.6-0.8 in 3 corners, last chicane, T1 and Eau Rouge and for that to happen I had to push extra extra hard.....Last chicane and T1 it was a bit easy to get time from Robert, I was braking later and my car pulls harder from the slow corners but Eau Rouge again Robert was flat-out and I had to lift massively to take it, so even tho I had 6-7km more top speed we where dead even ...
At the beginning, I think Robert was a bit shy and I passed him once then he passed me straight back and on the start-finish straight I was going towards the outside preparing T1 and Robert from the middle of the track was doing the same and immediately I dive on the inside and took P 1 again, also the pass on the outside on Robert into Eau Rouge, O man I thought the race will be over there. That lap looked good and after 2 laps leading I saw that at least I can keep him at arms length but trying to get a good exit for the back straight and looking too much behind to see how close Robert will get I went into the sand.....lost 2sec and P1, all of the first stint every single lap and corner was overdriving, pushing like mad to get back to him but I was never that close, the gap ranging from 2.5sec to 0.4, at that point in the race I think the race pace was similiar just little mistakes from both of us made the difference.
Entered pits and overshoot my pit stall, had to reverse but I forgot I was in neutral, damn that was a stupid moment, lost 2-3sec easy with that and then the long ass refueling and like all season long I did my math wrong and put 20L extra, as I finished the race with 20L so maybe, just maybe without those mistakes I would have been close to Robert after pits.
Cudos to Robert for pitting right after my pit, as my out lap and first 2 laps where pretty fast, when I saw the gap at 6sec I was like...man....big mountain to clime, I could not recover 2sec in stin1 how I am going to recover 6....pff, tried to put some mega laps but gap was the same and then I gave up, to many track warnings with my "mega laps" and I wanted the championship, with a potentianl drive trough and 6th place only 16sec behind, ufff the risk was not worth it.
Slowed right down the pace and did clean laps and was on cruise mode, in the meantime @SweAlex was hunting me down, from 11-12sec he went pretty fast too 5-6sec and he was as fast as me and Robert, pushed a bit the last two laps so he would not get very close in case I do some dumb ****...
P2 and championship, I admit I was a bit disappointed but I got over it pretty fast, was a bit emotional after the race as many many things where going through my head, from memories with John to dumb thoughts like "Ohh so this is how it feels like to be relieved and win" also my simracing "career" off forgettable 8 years and so and so on
I want to thank a few people, @Bram Hengeveld @Dave Stephenson @Remco de Wildt for the beginning 09 and so on, the commentators and the background people who made this very good league, too @Kenny Paton and all others for busting my balls when I say I am slow, know you can believe me sometimes at least that I am slow :)), to @Robert Severikangas @SweAlex and all the Scandinavian simracing mafia that joined RD.
Big congratulations for all Scandinavian drivers, @Robert Severikangas for 2nd in the standings and not wanting to cast a shadow on the other Scandinavian drivers but equal to my championship I rate @Anders Myhre performance in that heap of crap of a car, mate I really doubt I could have had such a brilliant performance, good job and hope you take shitty cars in the future also :)

Thank you
Click to expand...
Ty for the kind words m8. If the z4 gets more even with the others in the update i will for sure use it, love that car!
 
Standings after R4.jpg
 
GT3.jpg

Featuring every single officially licensed car and track from the 2018 Blancpain GT Championship, RaceDepartment will replicate the worlds best GT championship in it's entirety!

With epic sponsors and prizes on offer (stay tuned :whistling:), this will represent the return of the world's best GT racing at the forefront of the world's largest SimRacing website! Featuring teams, driver swaps, fully dynamic weather and time of day transitions, and of course the epic 24 hours of Spa! And of course all of it being live-streamed to the world with professional broadcasting and live-stewarding. This is set to be the most immersive, realistic and demanding league racing experience to date!

Obviously with the development of Assetto Corsa Competizione still ongoing, the 2020 RaceDepartment GT Championship will commence soon after the scheduled release of the full game in Q1 2019, or once we deem the simulator to be fit for purpose!


Excited for the new season of league racing? We are! Got any burning questions? Fire away!
For all the news and discussion of the 2020 RaceDepartment GT Championship, and Assetto Corsa Competizione, stay tuned to RaceDepartment.com!
 
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