rec.autos.simulators

I've just finished a full race at Spa, and was wondering what the best
pit-stop strategy would be...
        I qualified in first place (1.51.873) and finished the race 16s ahead
of Schumacher in the Intermediate level.
        I decided to do 2 pit-stops, one in lap 14 and the second in lap 24.
These were my "normal" lap times and subtotal times:

        Laps  1 to 14   1.58.xxx        27min32s
        Laps 14 to 24   1.59.xxx        19min50s        +25s(?)
        Laps 24 to 44   2.01.xxx        40min20s        +25s(?)

        Theoretical total time =     1hr27min52s

        I say theoretical because I'm not counting my trips to the gravel,
backmarker overtaking laps and etc...

        Now I've been trying to work out if 1 stop or 3 stops would be any
better, and this is what I get more or less:

        Assuming I could lap 1.57.xxx on average with a 3 stop strategy:

        Laps  1 to 12   1.57.xxx        23min24s
        Laps 12 to 24   1.57.xxx        23min24s        +25s(?)
        Laps 24 to 36   1.57.xxx        23min24s        +25s(?)
        Laps 36 to 44   1.57.xxx        23min24s        +25s(?)

        Theoretical total time =     1hr34min51s

        Assuming I could lap 2.01.xxx on average with a 1 stop strategy:

        Laps  1 to 22   2.01.xxx        44min22s
        Laps 22 to 44   2.01.xxx        44min22s        +25s(?)

        Theoretical total time =     1hr29min09s

        What do you guys think? Is this more or less valid? So for Spa 2 pit
stops is better?!
        I suppose this doesn't take into account that the more often you pit
the more cars you have to overtake and vice versa, and that maybe you
could do better times with fresher tyres and less fuel, or not as the
case may be...

        Any comments?
--
Bruno Schleich Pt/Lx

You mentioned trips to the gravel..... :-)

Three stops means you need to push harder in order to work the car and
benefit from your fast setup - this means more chance of having an off
and losing time. 1s per lap faster is no good if you spin into the
gravel - even only once means you've lost all that time.

OTOH, running three stops means that if you DO lose a wing, you can
coincide the repairs with a tyre/fuel stop and not lose so much time.

Try working the pit stops by your crashes and repairs, until you're
confident of running a full distance without crashing.

Cheers!
John

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