rec.autos.simulators

Can someone give some realistic lap times to aim for??? Come on post your
best times. To be able to win races I guess I need about 1m07 ish. Seems
pretty tough as I can't see many places to save time. Has anyone got any
hints for this course so I can shave a couple of seconds (!!!) of my lap
times....

Cheer,

Rich

I'm currently working on a GPL driving guide which will probably be
ready sometime next month. Until then all I can say is "Practice".

Cheers!
Graeme Nash

http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk
ICQ# 11257824

1998 Xoom GP2 League Champion

Kylami -  1 : 32 . 97
Mexico - havent done
Monaco - 1 : 46 . 12
Monza - 1 : 37. 22
Mosport - 1 : 35 . 54
Nurburg - 11 : 01 . 09
Rouen - 2 : 16. 59
Silverstone - 1 : 44. 02
Spa - 4 : 03 . 80
Watkins - 1 : 59 . 08
Zandvoort - 1 : 39 . 63

The tracks I have only practiced on are Nurburg and Watkins, and Spa, so
those times arent competitve but the others are fairly alright for a
beginner I would think

good luck
Macca

Go to http://homepages.nat.fr/~estori85/index.html or some other hotlaps
site to see what kind of laps people are doing. Get the replays and
compare them to yours. (I look at speeds at specific points, usually at
the end of straights and the minimum speed in corners).

--
Anssi Lehtinen

Kyalami 1:29
Silverstone 1:31
Nurb 10:59
Monza 1:33
Spa 3:59
Glen 1:10

Most of these times are in the Coventry using Alisons setups, except
Silverstone which is in the Lotus using Dave Mansells settings, still
faster at the Glen in the Coventry though *damn*

practice practice!
--
Mike Buckley    

WWW:    www.toastyhamster.freeserve.co.uk

Now let me give you some tips....

T1 : Don't brake too much, try going into the corner at 125mph, dropping
down to
~118mph just beofre apex. Start accelerating out of T1 to T2 and try not to
sacrifise
speed to track position. Steer the car with the throttle to make it turn
into T2 and get
on the power as soon as possible. If you get it right, you'll just miss the
hay bales on
the right side of the track (you're in 4th gear through T1 and T2). Shift to
5th on the
entry to T3 and stay on the throttle ! You don't want to lift there, believe
me :o)
Exit speed should be about 150mph (a bit more).
Coming into T4, start braking just as you pass the add-table on the left.
First brake in
straight line (gently there) , then just before you can see the apex of the
corner, turn in
HARD - scrub of that speed, and if you're lucky (when you master it, it's
easy) you'll
hit the apex and slide to the outside where you release the throttle (try
not to go under 85mph)
a bit for better turn in for exit and start accelerating, no mistakes there,
T4 is cruical for 1:04's,
so you better stay in 3rd gear there and make it a long gear. You'll need to
have stiff front and
enough clutches (usually 3) to do it properly - exit speed should be about
135mph when the
guard rail ends on the left. Now you have the straight and T5, nothing fancy
there, just flat out :o)
Now comes the hardest part of the track.... T6,T7,T8.....
You'll have to find a comfortable braking point into T6 (try to trail brake
into it) so you can accelerate
through T6 to T7 as soon as possible - and try to stay as close as possible
to the apex in T6.
Now you can stay in 3rd or can shift up to 4th gear. Start braking into T8
just as T7 ends, you can
trail brake if you wish, straight the car (stay in 2n gear) and accelerate
down to the finish....
Congratulations ! If you did it properly, you are in low 1:04's ;o)

Tadej Krevh
// http://members.xoom.com/LotusRacing/

With the Lotus, I finally broke in to the 1:04.xx range the other day,
in a qualifying run online. Sort of surprised me; I'd been in the mid
1:05s until that. (WG is by far my best track)

But if you can do consistent 1:07's, you will win most races- because
most people at the Glenn (like Zandfort, Kyalami, Spa, etc.) make
mistakes. I've won twice at Spa (and I suck royally at Spa, for some
reason)- only because I didn't make big mistakes. I mean, one guy did
(in a race I didn't win) a 3:17.xx... my god, I don't know how these
people are doing it.

Well, I wish I had the replay from my run then. The damn machine
crashed when I came off the track. At least the screen froze on my
times screen (and I knew I did something in the mid 1:04s from the
placard on the track)

Anybody else notice GPL crashing a lot when in Online mode, normally
when entering the main racing screen? Never has happened in non-online
use, but is quite the horror in online.

Oh yes- I see someone has broken in to the 1:03 range at WG. And who
else... but the incredible W. Woeger!

I must admit, I have never improved a setup I've ever touched- in any
simulator. I've only made them worse! No knack for it whatsoever. SO I
generally use... W. Woegers! And most of his setups seem to be mighty
similar to each other, at least on the tracks I'm most on.

But the setups don't give you speed, the driving is still the deciding
factor. The main reason I use them is because I want to use something
can be confident can do a fastest speed, versus me designing my own
and wondering where the plateau on my setup is, (wondering if it just
my driving or the setup that is poor).

Woeger has some incredible times, and having raced online a few a few
races he was racing, he certainly lives up to his speedy repution.

Now, does Joystick really make a big a difference? and if so, then
why? Perhaps real cars should have a stick!

Hehe, try Brabham and see where it'll get you ;o)It's the hardest car to drive
IMO, but it can be very fast on twisty circuits (1.26.29 monaco)

I don't know where and who you race, but al lthe times I was at the Glen,at least
consistent 1.05's were needed for a win.

Nope, just when I want to return to Windows it sometimes freezes...

Yepps, he's damn fast :o)

And I'm yet to experience that ;o)

IMO, they are helpfull when exiting corners and flooring it. It has got less
physical travell and you can apply lock-to-lock quicker - which helps you
stabilize car with full throttle and you don't have to ease off, but ofcourse it
takes a hell lot of practice :o))

Tadej Krevh
Lotus Internet Racing
http://members.xoom.com/LotusRacing/

<...>

I don't mean scheduled races- I mean just average races hosted at
VROC, of which I have seen many with nobody qualing in the 1:05s. And
even when they can, or no-time guys in the back can, generally it is
one of those tracks where big mistakes get made, and either you or the
guy next to you ruins your race. ANd losing 5 or 8 seconds on the
grass, or at the start in the pileup, or doing "Shift-R" with 3 laps
to go, often means that someone doing consistent 1:07's (that is,
staying out of trouble) wins.

I must say, in the past month people have been getting better, though.
There was a time when I just couldn't lose there or Monza; now there
are guys that get out of sight, and don't make big mistakes, and I am
very happy with a podium.

Mistakes- gotta love 'em (when you aren't hating them). Is it not
thrilling when some guy who had 8 seconds on you is suddenly coming up
on you from behind?! With one lap to go?!

<...>

He was out of sight of me at Monza so fast I couldn't believe it (and
I qual there the mid 1:28 range). I eventually won the race; I figured
he got bored up there and disconnected, because I certainly never saw
him again.

But you still need to have pedals, right? My understanding is that
these amazing speeds you and he get relies to some extent on having
the brake and throttle axis separated- is that right? I have a T2, and
have only been racing with them on the same axis (don't know how to
separate them). I wish I did.