Drivers Meeting Notes: Road One International

Mike Tyler · 06-10-2008, 11:50 AM

Champion Motorsports Série Internationale Du Mans Driver Meeting Notes

EVENT: ILMS 4-Class Series Round 8

Date: 19-June-08

Venue: Road One International

Server ID: Champion ILMS

Server IP: 69.28.242.218

ILMS Mod Version: 2.1

ALL DRIVERS MUST HAVE VERSION 2.2 (plus the v2.2 BMW Patch) INSTALLED FOR THIS RACE!
Make sure that you test your version 2.2 installation BEFORE you try to join the server Thursday night! Administrators will not be available to assist those who have not made the effort to test their updated ILMS installation and connection before race night!

Série Internationale Du Mans version 2.2

Also, make sure you have the latest skin pack to prevent mismatches when you join the server:

Champion Motorsports Add-On Skins Pack: 25-May-08

EVENT SCHEDULE:

Official Practice: 8:00 PM Eastern (120-minutes)

Qualifying: 10:00 PM Eastern (15-minutes)

Warm Up 10:20 Eastern (5-minutes)

Race: 10:30 PM Eastern

Race Length: 90-minutes

Special Notes:
The Orange Zone Policy has been reinstated and will be in full effect for this race. For the full details of the reinstatement please read the following post; Reintroduction of the CMS Orange Zone Review Policy

This is the full-four class event and we want to remind everyone to be patient with one another. This track is certainly wide enough for good side-by-side racing, however there are still a number of sections where it will be too dangerous to make a pass attempt. EVERY DRIVER shares a responsibility for ensuring clean passes, nevertheless the driver initiating the pass attempt, which is also the driver with the best view of the situation, still bares the primary responsibility for ensuring a safe pass.

Ultimately it comes down to a series of checks and balances. How much are you willing to risk someone else’s race for your own advantage? Each driver needs to have a realistic understanding of his or her own abilities as well as the abilities of the driver he or she is trying to overtake. Having said that, there is a point at which regardless of how well you know a driver and how good each driver might happen to be, that you still cross the line by doing something that simply comes down to a poor decision or the fact that you are taking too much of a risk.

We need EVERYONE to start refocusing, and rededicating themselves to making sure their passes will be clean and without incident for each and every race!

ATTN: LM-P2 Drivers:
This is one of those tracks where the GT1 cars may very well be able to outpace you on the long straights. The average horsepower for the GT1 cars is 640 BHP, while the LM-P2 average is 588 BHP. This 52 HP difference will be very apparent on the straights and on the long climb up to the top of the hill. The LM-P2 cars still have far superior braking and much better cornering speeds, however for the P2 drivers the challenge is in finding the right place to make a pass.

Obviously the most likely scenario will be a pass under braking after a medium to long straight, but only if you are close enough behind the GT1 car as you approach the corner that you can do so safely! If you are unable to complete the pass before the entry to the corner you should continue to brake offline and allow the GT1 car to pull ahead of you naturally. DO NOT try to duck in behind the GT1 car at the last second as you will most-likely be fully unprepared for the differences in braking distances between the two classes of cars.

Orange Zone:
The Orange Zone for this Road One International has been established from the starting grid though the exit of turn 3:

Formation Lap:
This is a very long track with dramatic elevation changes. Drivers should take it easy for the first three-quarters of a lap, especially when driving through the esses at the top of the hill. This is a narrowest section of the track and any undue swerving in an attempt to preheat your tires or brake pumping in order to preheat your brakes through this area of the track may cause unnecessary accidents.

Any driver who causes an accident during the formation lap will be penalized for the infraction in accordance with the rules and regulations.

2.3 When standing starts are in effect, a formation lap will become part of the start procedure. During the formation lap the pole-sitter will set a pace fast enough to put some heat in the tires but slow enough that the field can negotiate the course safely in close quarters and not become strung out around the circuit. The pole-sitter should gradually slow well before the last turn prior to the start in order for the field to close ranks. All other drivers will follow the pole-sitter in single file and in qualifying order during the formation lap without leaving large gaps between the cars.

2.3.1 Any driver who causes a formation lap incident due to excessive weaving, braking, spinning of tires or purposely making contact with another driver will face discipline.

In addition to these rules a reminder was posted as part of the formation lap discussion earlier in the season that the ability to pre-heat your tires during the formation lap is limited. As a result it is very unlikely that anyone will be able build up enough heat in their tires up to get them up to their full operating temperature of 230°F (110°C). Therefore excessive weaving is discouraged in order to help avoid any formation lap incidents.

Generally an “incident” is regarded as contact made between two drivers. However all drivers are expected to maintain full control of their cars during the formation laps. While solo incidents during the formation lap are generally harmless and perhaps an embarrassment for the driver, all formation lap incidents, including solo incidents are frowned upon by the administrative staff.

Drivers are also encouraged to pre-heat their brakes during the second half of the formation lap. This is easily done by simply dragging your brakes during the latter half of the formation lap. Sudden and/or repeated stops are not necessary! This is another reason why the formation lap should be conducted in single-file because it gives each driver plenty of room for maneuvering should they need to avoid making contact with the driver in front of them.

And finally as the formation lap rules state; The pole-sitter should gradually slow well before the last turn prior to the start in order for the field to close ranks. BTW: This really in your best interest because the the more spread out the field is, the longer you’ll will be sitting on the grid waiting for the rest of the grid to form while your brakes and tires continue to grow colder and colder.

Race Start:
The starting grid for this track has plenty of lights, which are located on the left side of the track.

Even though there are plenty of lights the admins continue to recommend that you turn on your HUD display at the start of the race and toggle to the 'race time clock' menu. The character space used for the race clock will be blank just prior to the start of the race. At the moment the race starts the clock will appear and begin to count down since this is a timed event. Use the appearance of this clock as a virtual ‘green light’ to mark the start of the race.

The race time clock menu prior to the start of the race…

The race time clock menu once the race starts…

Remember, when the clock starts, so does the race.

SPECIAL CAUTION AREAS:
TURN 1
Even though we shouldn’t really have to say it, it never hurts to remind everyone of the difficulties of the first turn at the start of the race, especially given the nature of turn 1 on this particular track. The first turn is configured as a steadily decreasing radius, sort of like a nautilus shell that spirals inward on itself. This means that most of the drivers up front will be trail braking and continuing to gradually slow as the turn gets tighter and tighter.

What this means for the drivers following is that you will be entering the turn at one speed, but will be quickly forced to slow even more and much sooner in order to keep from running into the cars ahead of you. Therefore we encourage everyone to take their time and make sure that they get through the first turn cleanly and without knocking some other unlucky driver off the track. And if you haven’t already done so you may want to consider adjusting your brake bias slightly in order to help you better maintain control of the car while braking during this turn.

TURN 5
Even though the end of the Orange Zone is at the exit of turn three there are still a couple of cautionary areas that we need everyone to be aware of.

After you exit turn three you will begin a long fast climb towards the top of the hill. After you pass under the bridge you will be approaching a very sharp corner at a very high rate of speed. – REMEMBER; Your tires and brakes will be cold! In fact your tires may be very cold due to the length of the track and the subsequent length of time needed to complete the formation lap, align the cars on the grid and start the race. - Therefore everyone should approach this turn using extreme caution.

This is a long race and there little to be gain here, but a lot to be lost. Furthermore the gravel outside of this particular turn is very deep and sticky so by the time you get out you will most likely have lost at least half a lap or more in time and distance. Plus you will be located at the furthest point on the track away from the pits, save for the starting grid and the area just past the pit entrance, so you may wind up with a very long crawl back to the pits for a lengthy repair. - Remember the new pit stop model?

TURNs 6, 7A & 7B
The next cautionary area is the esses at the top of the hill. This section of the track is very narrow and very slow AND… very, VERY unforgiving.

During the opening laps the track will be crowded and despite how wide the rest of the track might be there is very little chance of successfully negotiating this section of the track in a 2x2 formation. Besides being narrow the track is also bordered by some fairly large and potentially unsettling curbs. Therefore we want everyone to err on the side of caution here during the opening laps because during the next 70-some-odd minutes we will all have plenty of time and opportunity to get to know these walls very well.

Pit Entrance & Pit Lane Speed Limit Boundaries:
The pit entrance and pit lane speed limit boundaries for this track are not very well marked. Everyone should be aware that the pit entrance lights are actually set some distance before the pit lane speed limit boundary. Although there are certain features and land marks that you can use to help determine where the speed limit boundaries are located, such as the end of the fence on the right at pit entrance and the Dodge car hauler on the right at pit exit, basically the pit lane speed limit boundaries are denoted by the start and end of the dashed lines on the track surface. Do NOT be fooled by the cones! The cones near the pit entrance mean nothing! The speed limit boundary starts at the dashed lines!

Good luck everyone and Happy Racing!