GPL: Monza Question

The Speed Channel was replaying Grand Prix (the movie)and I noticed that the Monza scene contained footage of the banked section of the track. However in GPL the banked section is closed. Can you get on the banked section and secondly was it used or not used in 1967? thanks Ken in Ottawa

Unfortunately no you cant get on it. And to answer your second question no it wasnt used in '67. I would love if someone used the track editor (when it gets further along...nice progress so far though) to make the banked version. However that could be several years away. I guess were just gonna have to wait.

>The Speed Channel was replaying Grand Prix (the movie)and I noticed >that the Monza scene contained footage of the banked section of the >track. However in GPL the banked section is closed. Can you get on the >banked section and secondly was it used or not used in 1967? You can't, and it wasn't. The oval section of the track hasn't been used in a GP event since '61, IIRC. The makers of the film probably thought it would look cool (and it did :) At least in the German dubbed version, you can hear the announcer in the background saying something like "the banking was not used for the nimble 1.5l cars, but the 3l cars of this year are more sturdy and can take the extra stress". _Grand Prix_ is not a historical recreation of the '67 season. There is no way to get on the oval track in GPL. I should know, I tried it more than once. ;) There have been rumours that an early in-house Papyrus version of Monza allowed you to get on the banked part, but I guess that was just wishful thinking. Anyway, if you look at the footage in the _Grand Prix_ movie, you'll see that the track there is extremely bumpy. The GPL engine, great as it is, can't model this kind of short bumps. Therefore, a recreation of the oval section in GPL wouldn't be entirely satisfying anyway. -- Wolfgang Preiss \ E-mail copies of replies to this posting are welcome.

Ken, Although the banked portion of the Monza circuit was last used for F1 racing in 1961, from what I have read other races held there continued to use the banked track until 1969. Whether or not it's historically accurate or modelled well in the sim, I would love to have the banked track open for racing in GPL. Mark McMillan

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>The Speed Channel was replaying Grand Prix (the movie)and I noticed >that the Monza scene contained footage of the banked section of the >track. However in GPL the banked section is closed. Can you get on the >banked section and secondly was it used or not used in 1967? >thanks >Ken in Ottawa

Grand Prix is a great movie for entertainment value, but not for those who want perfect historical acuuracy! Another fairly serious error for those of you who have either been lucky enough to visit the track in real life, or raced it in GPL, is the several shots in the movie showing cars passing under the old banking on the back straight at the same time as cars passing over them on the banking. This would require the front straight to be divided in half as the banking reenters the course as you know it in GPL right where the guardrail ends on the left coming out of the Parabolica. (The old banked section is entered at the bannered off road just past the pits on the front straight.) If straight is not divided you would have a "freeway merge" in front of the pits with cars at extremely high speeds exiting the old banked portion and cars accelerating from a "relatively" low speed exiting the Parabolica. (As if driving one of those beasts wasn't already dangerous enough!)

The straight was not physically divided and cars coming off the banking did, in fact, "merge in" with cars on the inner (exiting the Parabolica) section. However, in practice, it was unusual for a merging situation to occur due to the extreme width of the circuit at this point coupled with the fact that the speed of a vehicle exiting the banking was far higher than that of a vehicle exiting the Parabolica. >Grand Prix is a great movie for entertainment value, but not for those who >want perfect historical acuuracy! Another fairly serious error for those of

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>you who have either been lucky enough to visit the track in real life, or >raced it in GPL, is the several shots in the movie showing cars passing >under the old banking on the back straight at the same time as cars passing >over them on the banking. This would require the front straight to be >divided in half as the banking reenters the course as you know it in GPL >right where the guardrail ends on the left coming out of the Parabolica. >(The old banked section is entered at the bannered off road just past the >pits on the front straight.) If straight is not divided you would have a >"freeway merge" in front of the pits with cars at extremely high speeds >exiting the old banked portion and cars accelerating from a "relatively"

low >speed exiting the Parabolica. (As if driving one of those beasts wasn't >already dangerous enough!)

>The straight was not physically divided and cars coming off the banking did, >in fact, "merge in" with cars on the inner (exiting the Parabolica) section. If you merged, or crossed the line dividing the track, You Are Cheating. I assume that out of the pits you had to go around the banking first, when you exit the banking, you are on the left side of the straight so you stay left and go towards Curve Grande, some time later you exit parabolica on the right side of the straight, you stay right and enter the banking. Cheers, Mark