iRacing ChampCar 2021

Information about upcoming races, swap meets & shows

Moderators: MostMint, wxo, Fred32v, Basement Paul, ttamrettus

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MostMint
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iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

The 2021 season is announced.

https://forum.champcar.org/applications ... p?id=20234

All the details:
https://forum.champcar.org/topic/22136- ... -schedule/

While it is not at all clear if the competition is increasing, based on my improved skills I'm targeting a season top 10 finish with a stretch goal of top 5 in points. We'll see if I can sneak in a few top 5 finishes later in the season as well.

They have dropped the Solstice and added VW Jetta TDI to the mix - so I get to drive a FWD which should help me as well.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Fred32v
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021 v01 Road Atlanta

Post by Fred32v »

This was the first race of the iRace Series for 2021.It was being held at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
on Wednesday February 10th and I wanted to be there. I took my mask and sanitizer and was off.
Road Atlanta is in Braselton, Georgia, about 750 miles from home and an 11-hour drive or
a 1.5-hour flight to Atlanta where I had a rental car scheduled for the 60-mile trip to the track.
The weather was great, 66 degrees and partly cloudy. The track at Road Atlanta is 2.52 miles with 12 turns.
The MostMint car qualified 19th in a field of 47. It was really difficult finding a good location to take pictures.
I took several but I think these 7 tell the story of #50’s part in the race.
Qualifying 19th field of 47
Qualifying 19th field of 47
Mustang Pace Car
Mustang Pace Car
#50 Pace Lap
#50 Pace Lap
GREEN FLAG!
GREEN FLAG!
#50 Hard on it!
#50 Hard on it!
#50 Drafting
#50 Drafting
Checkered Flag Finished 19th
Checkered Flag Finished 19th
After the race I went back to the garage to congratulate the team and especially the driver
for running a clean error free race with no on track problems.
#50 qualified 1.635 seconds slower than the top qualifier and there were 17 cars packed in between them.
#50 ran as high as 12th, after the pit stop it finished 19 out of 47 cars.
It was a very tight field and #50 finished on the same lap as the winner. Good job!

It was a good fun outing, but now it’s time to head back to Atlanta and the flight home.
I can’t wait to go to VIR for next month’s race.
Fred32v
GMC Canyon Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 V6!
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MostMint
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

Road Atlanta is fun and fast. Zihao set the pace sub 1:38 is ridiculous. He actually has an NC Miata in real life which might explain some of it. None of us could touch him.

I put a lot of practice in and had run 1:38.8 in practice but the best I could muster was 1:39.1 in qualifying and 1:39.7 in the race.

It was not the most eventful race, but that is not a bad thing! I had no major offs, only one slowdown penalty (1.2 seconds) for cutting a corner, and no contact. I used a bit less fuel than expected and so I put in less during the pitstop, yet still the guy who was 3 seconds behind and pitted one lap later made it out ahead of me after we both pitted. We traded places twice but then I realized he had a blag flag for unsafe pit exit so I just followed til he went in to serve his penalty. I also ended with .4 gallons so I overfilled by .2. FYI 2.7 gallons took 13.6 seconds to fill so you can see why putting in the minimum needed saves time. I also went for no tires as I recently learned that tires and fuel take longer than just fuel. There is some time savings to doing both but not enough to offset the time lost in my opinion. Also this season they give us more initial fuel so I could run 2/3 the race on initial fill.

Going into the last lap I was P20 and no one close, and it appears someone must have run out of gas - though I don't recall passing them.

So race 1 nets 20 points, and puts me 19th overall in the standings. The points take is a bit lower than my average for last year - but the car counts drop off later in the season making it easier to score points, so it is hard to compare. Overall car count was up from 34 last year to 47.

Next race will debut the Jetta in this series - my first FWD iRacing! Also I'll be upgrading my crew chief to give me countdown to pit box and to automatically fuel the car with just enough gas.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Fred32v
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021 v02 VIR

Post by Fred32v »

This was the second race of the iRace Series for 2021.It was being held at the Virginia International Raceway – VIR
on Wednesday February 24th and I wanted to attend. So again, I took my mask and sanitizer and was off.
VIR is 550 miles from home, a 9-hour drive or a one-hour flight to Raleigh-Durham where I was picked up at the airport
by my good friend and fellow TireSmoker WXO who was waiting for me in his Trailblazer SS for a quick 70-mile ride to VIR.
The last time WXO and I were at VIR it was for a 24-hour race, this race was only 1-hour so no hotel accommodations were needed.
The weather was pretty good, 87 degrees but a little cloudy. The VIR track itself is 1.61 miles and has 8 turns.
WE were there to watch the race, but more specifically to cheer for the #50 MostMint race team and their new racecar, a VW Jetta.
Finding a place where we could get pictures of the action was very difficult. I only took 17 and most were a long way off, here are my best 10.
VIR Sign
VIR Sign
WXO & his SS
WXO & his SS
Qualified 18th
Qualified 18th
Parade lap
Parade lap
GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!!
GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!!
#50 early
#50 early
#50 under Oak Tree
#50 under Oak Tree
WXO & Fred32V
WXO & Fred32V
#50 passing
#50 passing
Checkered Flag
Checkered Flag
Official Top 20 finishers
Official Top 20 finishers
After the race WXO and I went back to the garage to meet with the team and give the Jetta a closer inspection.
Again, the car was clean with no damage. #50 qualified 18th and was only 0.848 seconds off the top qualifier,
when the checker flag fell it was 17th in a field of 34 competitors. The Jetta will live to race again. Great job!
After that it was time for WXO to take me back to the airport and my flight home.
I thanked WXO for his company hoping we can do it again sometime in the future for real.

I am looking forward to Version 3 at Daytona next month.
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

The VIR south course is short and the Jetta is not that fast. It is also quiet we should run them at tracks with super low noise tolerances.

I put in a lot of practice laps, and my lap times were about .5 behind the leaders. Race day turned out to be extremely hot and I had to recalibrate to the reduced grip and power, which cost me some time to the leaders.

The race turned into basically a long conga line, and I felt I was being held up - indeed I was lifting and braking early in some cases. So I pitted early - on lap 7. This turned out to be a mistake. It put me out in clean air but with no draft I was a solid .5 slower per lap. Oops. Exiting the pits in P31, I was able to work my way up to P16 but Simon caught me and there was no way I could hold him up for 8 minutes so I ended up P17.

Also used the crew chief app to fuel the car. I think he put in less than I would have, but I still ended up with .8 gallons left over. I can only guess the higher temps improved the fuel mileage. This car only needed 3.8 gallons to make an hour of racing! Refueling rate is quite slow so I lost at least 10 seconds there.

Nonetheless I executed my racing line well - had no offs and no slow down penalties.

I ended on the lead lap, 70 seconds behind the leader - almost matching my best of 68 seconds. I was concerned I would get lapped due to the short lap times. After two races I have 42 points and am 15th overall. Can't win championships with this kind of performance but top 10 still on the table.

I was also able to obtain some pics from the track photographer, unfortunately all but one are too big for Tiresmoke site to upload.
IMG_6168.JPG
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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wxo
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by wxo »

Thanks for the photos, Fred. Good times together.
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021 v03 Daytona

Post by Fred32v »

This was the third race of the iRace Series for 2021.It was being held at
The Daytona International Speedway – Daytona on Wednesday March 17th
and I wanted to be there. So again, I took my mask and sanitizer and was headed out.
Daytona is over 1000 miles from home, a 15-hour drive or
a four-hour private jet flight to Daytona International Airport, which was literally right
next to the Raceway. A very quick taxi ride to Gate 40 and I was in.
The weather was perfect for racing, 70 degrees and a little cloudy.
The Daytona Road Course is 3.54 miles long and has 11 turns.
I was there to watch the race, but more specifically to root for the #50 MostMint race team
and their racecar, a Street Stock Car. Finding a place where I could get pictures of the action
was very difficult, much walking, this place is huge. I only took 22, here are my best 11.
Pre Race stats
Pre Race stats
#50 Ready to Race
#50 Ready to Race
Pace Car off
Pace Car off
Green!  1st turn
Green! 1st turn
Stay right!
Stay right!
Clear, clear!
Clear, clear!
13th after Pit Stop
13th after Pit Stop
#50 on the Banking
#50 on the Banking
Checkered flag  (ahead of the winner)
Checkered flag (ahead of the winner)
Heading for #50's checker flag, last lap pass
Heading for #50's checker flag, last lap pass
Official results
Official results
As usual after the race I went back to the garage to meet with the team and give the Street Stock Car
a closer look. Sweet paint job! The car was clean with no real damage. #50 qualified 17th with
a time of 2.02.109 for a lap and was only 1.5 seconds off the top qualifier, when the checker flag fell
it was 17th in a field of 45 competitors and still on the lead lap, gaining 2 spots on the last lap.
At one point #50 was as high as 13th. Great job! After that it was time get back to the airport and my flight home.

I am looking forward to Version 4 at Road America later this month.
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

The last lap pass looks good, but the guy I was passing was out of gas! Great pics. I did not see most of that when I watched the replay.

Qualified P17 as Fred32v mentioned, and after dodging the lap 1 melee and giving up a few spots I settled in around 16th.

There were three big mistakes I made that ended up with unscheduled full stop of the car:
Lap 4 turn 1, too close to guys in front and I spun out focusing on the gap instead of letting up on the brake. Got hit once in the LR as I was perpendicular to the track. Lucky it wasn't worse and there was no repairs required.

Lap 20 pit in, I had a run on a guy coming of NASCAR turn 4 and I went to pit entrance. Unfortunately the guy decided to pit as well but further down and I lost control trying to avoid him on the way in. Was running 16 before the pit sequences started and came out 19th.

Lap 27 or 28. At the apex of turn 6 before going back on the speedway section I got inside too far onto the gravel. I corrected but then got back to the gas too fast and it went all the way around. This put me back to P23. With 3:21 left in the timed session I was still P23. At the start of the last lap I was still P20 (I think anyway), but three cars ran out of gas and I ended up P17. The leader was closing in and then on the last trip through the bus stop I got a 1 second slow down. I burned off .9 of it trying to time the acceleration right but had to slow right before the start finish to burn off the last .1 and I beat the leader across the start finish by about a second.

I spent over 400 laps between the practice and the race. I never could get the bus stop sequence close to where the leaders are, I just don't have the car control.

Moved up to 13th in points.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021 v04 Road America

Post by Fred32v »

This was the fourth race of the iRace Series for 2021. It was being held at Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin
on Wednesday March 31st and I planned to be there. So again, even though I’ve had my shots I still took my mask
and sanitizer and made the trip. Road America is over 500 miles and an 8-hour ride from home. Flying did not make since,
so I drove my Canyon and followed the #50 MostMint team. We left Tuesday and arrived in Sheboygan that evening
where we spent the night at the Quality Inn, about 10 miles from the track.
Wednesday found the crew and #50 pit side and ready, weather was a little warm for racing, 83 degrees and a little cloudy.
The Road America track is 4.03 miles and has 14 turns. I was there to watch the race, but mostly to support the #50 MostMint
race team and their racecar, a Street Stock Car. Finding a place where I could get pictures of the action was not to hard,
just a little walking, this place is nicely set up. I took 28 photos, here are 12 that will give you some idea about the race.
#50 qualified 12th
#50 qualified 12th
#50's cockpit
#50's cockpit
Prerace car & Pit Crew
Prerace car & Pit Crew
Parade lap
Parade lap
Truck off!
Truck off!
#50 under green flag
#50 under green flag
Pit for service and tires
Pit for service and tires
Late battle with #12
Late battle with #12
catching #16
catching #16
#50 heading for the Checker Flag
#50 heading for the Checker Flag
Time for a photo opportunity
Time for a photo opportunity
Official Top 20
Official Top 20
After the race I went back to the garage with the team and give the Street Stock Car a once over. The car was relatively clean
with just a little damage from the bumping and sliding through the grass. #50 qualified 12th with a time of 2.36.137 seconds
for a lap and was only 2.949 seconds off the top qualifier, when the checker flag fell #50 was 17th in a field of 29 competitors
and still on the lead lap. Not bad. Then the car was loaded up and we went back to the motel for a good night sleep and the drive home.

I am looking forward to Version 5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway late April.
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

I did 346 laps at Road America including the race. The temps were blistering hot for April in Wisconsin. In the past real life events there is more likely to be snow than heat. Nonetheless we had to race.

Qualified P12 of 28 cars. Unfortunately I got punted on lap 1 on entry to turn 7 by my friend Troy no less. After contact I was sitting perpendicular to the track with the front of the car on the line, so it was a harrowing set of seconds waiting for the rest of the field roaring by. I did get a glancing hit but it was serious. I emerged 26th. I'm guessing about 10 seconds lost but will confirm after watching the replay.

Anyway from there I had no major mistakes and ended on the lead lap 1:47 behind the leader. I had one harrowing experience where a regular who is typically faster than me wrecked in front of me on exit of turn 5. After hitting the wall he came back across the track and I had to take to the grass to avoid it.

The street stock at Road America is a big challenge - mostly right hand turns where car is set up to turn left, and the high temps made it super slick. You could see this in the race coverage as many of the leaders made mistake after mistake. The practice race was also hot so I had practiced in it and knew what I was up against.

Seeing the car on the coverage I noticed the hood was tweaked slightly - still need to find out where that happened. There was slight contact during my lap 1 off track excursion but no optional repair happened in my mid race pit stop so no measurable damage.

We have about a month until the next race.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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MostMint
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

ChampCar promotional video on their iRacing league.

https://youtu.be/VAkQIo9jql8

Alex Albert does most of the talking. I get a mention in the video.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

We race the Jetta TDI in ChampCar iRacing League. Here is a video from Mid-Ohio real life with the same Jetta:

https://youtu.be/SeNFuBY-kok
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Fred32v
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by Fred32v »

This was the fifth race of the iRace Series for 2021. It was being held at Charlotte Motor Speedway
in Concord, North Carolina on Wednesday May 5th and I wanted to attend. So again,
I took my mask and sanitizer and made the trip. Charlotte is over 500 miles and an 8-hour ride from home.
Flying did not make since, so again I drove my Canyon and followed the MostMint 2 car Racing team.
We left Tuesday and arrived in Concord that evening where we spent the night at the Hampton Inn,
about 2 miles from the track.
Wednesday found me, #5, #50 and the crews pit side and ready, weather was warm for racing,
81 degrees and partly cloudy. The Charlotte track is 2.24 miles and has 12 turns.
I was there to watch the race, but mostly to support the two-car team of #5 and #50 MostMint race
and their racecars, VW Jettas.
There were very few spectators and I had complete access to the Grandstands which helps with my picture taking.
I took 28 photos, here are 12 that will show some of the race.
#50 out to qualify
#50 out to qualify
Qualifying
Qualifying
Pre-race pit prep
Pre-race pit prep
Pace car off
Pace car off
Green, green, green
Green, green, green
#50 on the move
#50 on the move
#5 currently running 22nd
#5 currently running 22nd
#50 in action
#50 in action
#5 Color close up
#5 Color close up
#5 cruising
#5 cruising
Checker Flag
Checker Flag
Official Top 20
Official Top 20
After the race I went back to the garage with the team and give the Jetta cars a once over.
The cars were really clean with just a little damage from the bumping and sliding through the grass.
#50 qualified 14th with a time of 1:35.016 seconds for a lap and was only 1.696 seconds off the top qualifier,
when the checker flag fell #50 was 8th in a field of 30 competitors and still on the lead lap. Solid improvement.
The #5 Jetta qualified 26th with a 1:38.381 and finished 28th retiring early. Then the cars were loaded up and
we went back to the Hampton Inn for a good night sleep and the long drive home.

Preparing for Version 6 at Watkins Glen in 2 weeks.
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

Charlotte Roval is a very unforgiving place to race. Not much runoff and concrete barriers everywhere. Yes they have SAFER barriers but the Jetta is very malleable. What this means is that attrition is a factor.

I put in over 500 laps including the race itself so I was about as prepared as I can be. In practice I ran a 1:34.4 which was about a tenth from my best. Then in qualifying I could only manage a 1:35.1 or so - though I still started ahead of Troy!

On lap 1 I made the gauntlet of the chicane and turn 1 with no issues, but I tagged the inside wall on turn 6 as the car turned in better than I expected. I ended up giving up several positions as guys were faster in the early going, yet the attrition up front really helped me move forward. I made no other contact with anything the rest of the race, and did manage a 1:34.7 during the race.

I had a good race going with David Palermo for a few laps but then he missed turn 1 and tagged the wall pretty good. Pretty sure the pic with the black car in front of me was him. Same with Scott Grinnell, except he made a mistake in the back straight chicane and I was able to get by on the speedway section as he lost a lot of momentum.

At this point I was P8 and Troy was P7 if I recall correctly. He was ahead of me pretty steady at 5 seconds. We came into the pit at the same time and it was the same 5 second gap going out. Put in 2.1 gallons of diesel and right side tires.

I had three slowdown penalties - all in the front straight chicane. If you hop the curb on the right you have a 3.3 second slowdown. That big one cost me as I was starting to catch up to Troy and could have maybe pressured him for another position.

I lost a spot to Tim Weyer who was nowhere before the pit, but only 1.5 seconds behind me after the pit. He was a faster qualifier that had to use his fast repair early so it was just a pitstop cycle as to why I had not seen him there before. I held him off for a while, but there was too much race left and when I ran a bit wide once I let him by rather than make a mistake mirror driving.

So P9 is a good result. In raw finishing positions my best was P8 last year at VIR south but that was with only 18 cars. In this event I finished with less than 1/3 of the field in front of me. Overall I was 1:27 behind the leader, which means he was only 8 seconds or so behind me as I took the white flag, so my lead lap streak continues! Mark McCormack was our winner, and he is in a different league than the rest of us - he had a 15 second lead on P2. If he not in the race then I would have been 1:12 behind the leader which is just 2 seconds from my best.

Tonight I started practicing at Watkins Glen. I am a solid 4+ seconds than I was last year with the same car at the same track. This time I practiced at 80 degrees air temp, not sure about lat year's temps. The tire model has changed since last year which I have experienced already with this car so I know that is part of it. I've signed up for Virtual Racing School app and have been logging telemetry with it. I'm working with Mark McCormack - we can use this tool to see how I perform compared to him and where I can improve. After a year I'm far enough along I think I can benefit from some coaching.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Re: iRacing ChampCar 2021

Post by MostMint »

https://youtu.be/1wtUULfmYvY

Really stepped up my game for Watkins Glen. This is the first car/track combo that was a repeat over last year. It's a fast track too so kinda similar to Nelson Ledges. Added Virtual Racing School to my arsenal of learning tools, and got help from the points leader to learn where I could improve. We both run the same track in the same conditions and then compare telemetry. That got me about a second a lap. Also the guy second in points helped me with qualifying by giving me a car to draft. The draft is significant with this car at this track.

In all 30 cars started and I qualified P10. In terms of carnage this race was a polar opposite to Charlotte. Even though there is not a lot of runoff the track flows better and the little runoff there is helps quite a bit. Fairly quickly after the start we all got single file. Within about 4 laps I had gotten passed by a car or two and struggled to keep the draft. There were three cars just about 2 seconds ahead and you really need 1.5 or less to get the draft. I was hanging though and people behind were not catching. This pattern continued for quite a while. One of the leaders got kicked off and joined the pack just ahead of me. The side by side scrambling kept me in range but still not getting close enough for a lot of help.

Then about 15 laps in I went for my pit stop. Was planning 3.2 gallons and four tires. On pit entry my crew chief app says I only need 2.1 gallons so I switch to 2 tires and I'm off. I am very concerned right away that this is not going to work - though within a lap or so of exit a guy gets by me and rather than pass back I just follow. I'm like .4 second back. Every time up the climbing esses I can short shift to 5th and lift some on the back straight. I drafted and drafted. I was just a bit faster than him and maybe bump draft we could have collectively been faster but I need to save fuel. This went on for a while but guys behind were catching us slowly. When they did another guy got by and he became the car I followed. Well with under three to go I could so I was probably 1/2 lap short so I started backing off. It was sad to drop out of the scrap there were four of us.

So I am 15th and there is a 13 second gap to 16th. When I take the white flag the telemetry tells me I can make the one lap so I get back up to speed. Bad idea. As I'm coming up to turn 9 there is still .2 of lap left and car starts to sputter. Much like the Saturn out of gas the best it can do is about 60 mph. So as I am sputtering down the front straight the guy behind catches and I end up P16.

It was a fun race. Had some legit side by side racing and people who used to be way ahead are now not catching me. I had no slowdown penalties, no offs to speak of. This car and track combo is pretty good - maybe the best in the series.

I finished 1:14 behind the leaders which is just four seconds off my best. Could have easily beat that if I had just taken another .5 of fuel. iRacing fueling increments are not that fine so the only way to get 2.6 is to order 3.2 and cut off delivery before you get it all.

Despite the imperfect performance I am now in P10 in points. Gets me nothing but satisfaction of knowing how I measure up against this group of racers.

Also did my first custom livery for another driver - we'll see if Fred32v got any shots of the Whamo car.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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