Spec 5 World Tour - Zandvoort 10/31/24
Last minute decision to join this race and my pace showed it. Still had an epic battle for P16 in the closing stages:
https://www.youtube.com/live/Ba9j7V1Bpw ... OkEC&t=427
iRacing broadcasts
Moderators: MostMint, wxo, Fred32v, Basement Paul, ttamrettus
Re: iRacing broadcasts
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
ChampCar iRAcing 2024 - VIR North
Racing tonight with the FWD no ABS/no traction control Renault Clio - coverage start around 9:10 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qh0Es41pTs
Racing tonight with the FWD no ABS/no traction control Renault Clio - coverage start around 9:10 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qh0Es41pTs
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
VIR North turned out decent. My practice time was hampered by a practice race that was in the rain, along with no assurances the weather for the practice race would be the same as the race itself. The drive is so different its like preparing for two races and I didn't want to put that kind of time in.
Needless to say I was surprised when I qualified P2. Decent race though I made a couple mistakes and shuffled myself back before finishing it out P6. Up to 6th in points with one race to go.
Then on a whim I did this Spec 5 race at VIR the next night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWrC24VrybE
It was on the VIR grand course so I was quite rusty on the additional infield sections. Still had an epic battle with Rui (pro driver) who has been in contention to win the league before. Made a clean pass on him early in the race which was quite satisfying. Not much camera coverage though - ended up 5th in open and P19 (of 26)
Needless to say I was surprised when I qualified P2. Decent race though I made a couple mistakes and shuffled myself back before finishing it out P6. Up to 6th in points with one race to go.
Then on a whim I did this Spec 5 race at VIR the next night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWrC24VrybE
It was on the VIR grand course so I was quite rusty on the additional infield sections. Still had an epic battle with Rui (pro driver) who has been in contention to win the league before. Made a clean pass on him early in the race which was quite satisfying. Not much camera coverage though - ended up 5th in open and P19 (of 26)
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
XSLR season 8 P3 trophy arrived today!
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
-
Basement Paul
- Posts: 3526
- Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 9:27 pm
- Location: In the dirt.
Re: iRacing broadcasts
Better than Kuhnle, both in quality, and the fact that you actually got it...
Nice work!
-BP
Nice work!
-BP
Re: iRacing broadcasts
Thanks. Reminds me a bit more of the ChampCar trophies than the drag racing trophies. I should also mention it’s laser cut metal. It’s just over a foot wide too.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
Last Thursday I made a last minute decision to race with Spec-5 league with the ND MX5 at Summit Point. https://www.youtube.com/live/aYM1fgj2-t ... eZ8TBBZ8UM
Set my personal best with this car/track combo and only managed to qualify P29 of 30! Would have been P30 but the last guy accidentally qualified on rain tires. Made a good amount of progress in the last 1/3 of the race, but nowhere close to winning open class.
I only had about an hour of practice, and had to make up fuel calcs by hand.
Next Wednesday 12/11 I'll be doing the CCiS 2024 season finale at Sebring. Coverage starts 9:20 PM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJyLIhMcm0A
Once again the teal metallic makes the cover shot for the video. I'm P6 in points right now with drivers close around with a chance to move up 1 or down 3 depending on the outcome.
Set my personal best with this car/track combo and only managed to qualify P29 of 30! Would have been P30 but the last guy accidentally qualified on rain tires. Made a good amount of progress in the last 1/3 of the race, but nowhere close to winning open class.
I only had about an hour of practice, and had to make up fuel calcs by hand.
Next Wednesday 12/11 I'll be doing the CCiS 2024 season finale at Sebring. Coverage starts 9:20 PM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJyLIhMcm0A
Once again the teal metallic makes the cover shot for the video. I'm P6 in points right now with drivers close around with a chance to move up 1 or down 3 depending on the outcome.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
Today I'll be racing at Monza with Spec-5 - season 16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0_FcYF9z8 coverage starts 9:25 PM. I'll be in open class and probably near the back lol.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
New season of Cross Series League Racing AKA XSLR. Season 9 Race 1 at Knoxville with the 410 sprint cars.
Broadcast starts at 7:30 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkmG-SAWjDI
I heard recruitment is up. Only top 15 cars make the main in dirt ovals, it is possible tonight there will be over 15 so some drivers may not get there.
Sprint car tidbit: The 410 is the engine displacement. There are also 360 and 305 winged sprint cars in iRacing.
Updated paint scheme for my sprint car (first 4 races of the season):
I've practiced with some of the new drivers I am not confident I can make the top 3 this season. I've put some effort into learning how to drive these sprint cars. On a freshly regraded track I can run with the best of them but adjustments need to be made every couple minutes and I struggle with consistency on the more worn surfaces.
Broadcast starts at 7:30 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkmG-SAWjDI
I heard recruitment is up. Only top 15 cars make the main in dirt ovals, it is possible tonight there will be over 15 so some drivers may not get there.
Sprint car tidbit: The 410 is the engine displacement. There are also 360 and 305 winged sprint cars in iRacing.
Updated paint scheme for my sprint car (first 4 races of the season):
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
XSLR Season 9 Race 2 USA International
Broadcast starts Sunday 2/23 7:30 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc8VtK94wrs
XSLR Season 9 Race 1 Knoxville Race Report
This race had 13 drivers which is just one more than the start of season 8. Considering the conflict with the Daytona 500 that is running late and we started on dirt oval which is not as popular as the paved circuits.
I've been spending some time learning how to drive this car. It's pretty much the penultimate sprint car - 410 cubic inch engine making 900 horsepower. The thing has only one forward gear. Also the top wing is adjustable - as the track wears in it makes sense to move the wing back in order to maintain rear grip. The tradeoff is as the wing moves back it moves up which adds drag on the straights.
On a fresh surface at this track you run the whole lap at WOT with no brakes. The best way to go is to keep the car as straight as possible. Also try to drive the car in the corners on the right rear - which means that tire needs to be in the graded dirt. On a fresh track you can run where you want so you keep the car low in center corner. As the track wears in the car needs to move up to the edge of the fresh dirt. Eventually corner exits wear down and you need throttle control to get through there.
One of the challenges here is practicing the worn down tracks. All the unofficial practice events had a lot fewer cars which means less track wear. My laps times have been dropping off a lot as the track wears. The track is fresh at start of practice, and it is reset at the start of qualifying. I'm getting better at figuring out how much wear there will be during the heats, consolation and the main based on car counts. In solo test sessions I can set the track wear condition so with knowing the expected wear I can practice at that range of wear. I figured this out a bit late so I didn't practice at the 50-80% track wear and it showed in my late race lap times.
Anyway I got a surprise when the league owner was running late and I had to do the driver meeting.
As far as the race itself I was a bit distracted during practice since I was scrambling to prepare to run the driver meeting. Then during qualifying I forgot to mute the voice chat and I lost a couple tenths trying to drive with idle chat in my ear. I was unable to win my heat race, and after an average performance in the consolation race I ended up starting P8.
The first part of the race I did pretty well as I had practiced at the track conditions at the start. People made mistakes and by mid race I was 4th. I had a nice cushion to the car behind but the inevitable FCY came out and bunched up the field. From there I gave up a couple spots but a wreck up front took out a couple drivers and I was able to hold my spot.
Overall a good result for race 1.
Broadcast starts Sunday 2/23 7:30 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc8VtK94wrs
XSLR Season 9 Race 1 Knoxville Race Report
This race had 13 drivers which is just one more than the start of season 8. Considering the conflict with the Daytona 500 that is running late and we started on dirt oval which is not as popular as the paved circuits.
I've been spending some time learning how to drive this car. It's pretty much the penultimate sprint car - 410 cubic inch engine making 900 horsepower. The thing has only one forward gear. Also the top wing is adjustable - as the track wears in it makes sense to move the wing back in order to maintain rear grip. The tradeoff is as the wing moves back it moves up which adds drag on the straights.
On a fresh surface at this track you run the whole lap at WOT with no brakes. The best way to go is to keep the car as straight as possible. Also try to drive the car in the corners on the right rear - which means that tire needs to be in the graded dirt. On a fresh track you can run where you want so you keep the car low in center corner. As the track wears in the car needs to move up to the edge of the fresh dirt. Eventually corner exits wear down and you need throttle control to get through there.
One of the challenges here is practicing the worn down tracks. All the unofficial practice events had a lot fewer cars which means less track wear. My laps times have been dropping off a lot as the track wears. The track is fresh at start of practice, and it is reset at the start of qualifying. I'm getting better at figuring out how much wear there will be during the heats, consolation and the main based on car counts. In solo test sessions I can set the track wear condition so with knowing the expected wear I can practice at that range of wear. I figured this out a bit late so I didn't practice at the 50-80% track wear and it showed in my late race lap times.
Anyway I got a surprise when the league owner was running late and I had to do the driver meeting.
As far as the race itself I was a bit distracted during practice since I was scrambling to prepare to run the driver meeting. Then during qualifying I forgot to mute the voice chat and I lost a couple tenths trying to drive with idle chat in my ear. I was unable to win my heat race, and after an average performance in the consolation race I ended up starting P8.
The first part of the race I did pretty well as I had practiced at the track conditions at the start. People made mistakes and by mid race I was 4th. I had a nice cushion to the car behind but the inevitable FCY came out and bunched up the field. From there I gave up a couple spots but a wreck up front took out a couple drivers and I was able to hold my spot.
Overall a good result for race 1.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
race night: 2025 ChampCar iRacing round 1: Indy with the ND MX5
https://www.youtube.com/live/TZZDRshtUL ... XWwdXhb1hS broadcast should start around 9:20 PM
https://www.youtube.com/live/TZZDRshtUL ... XWwdXhb1hS broadcast should start around 9:20 PM
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
this Sunday 3/9/25 8:10 PM back to XSLR season 9 for race 3 at Kokomo. very small track and wears in quickly so it should be interesting as the preferred line should change to the low line
https://www.youtube.com/live/lMwugZYsP0 ... RgdsOw5wvM
https://www.youtube.com/live/lMwugZYsP0 ... RgdsOw5wvM
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
XSLR Season 9 Race 2 USA International race report
Qualified P4 of 16, which put me P2 in heat 2. With little fanfare I was able to hold P2 in my heat and advance directly to the main starting P4. The wheels came off on lap 7 when I was exiting T4 and there was a stopped car up by the wall and I just caught it with the left rear and crashed. I probably should have risked that the car was not too damaged, but I pitted to use a fast repair and came out P14. From there I worked my way into the top 10 fairly quickly, but was unable to make a lot more progress and ended up P8.
CCiS 2025 Season Race 1 Indy race report
Race 1 I did not prep too much since this is one of the most highly attended races of the season. It did not disappoint – with 49 cars taking the start. I managed a decent qualifying time but still ended up only P28.
I ran in a line of cars for a while but the lap times were not as good as I could run by myself. I wanted to pit right away. Since fueling requirements say I can get a 4 tire change for free, and tire grip is definitely an issue, I couldn’t pit super early. At lap 10 I decided I would make the pit.
This paid dividends quite quickly as I had clear track and set my fast lap on lap 13. The only bad part about this strategy is the leaders were closing me down. I was able to stay ahead til lap 17 but they were saving fuel so there was some time lost as they were getting past. Had some back and forth the last several laps, ending up P19. I had a shot at P18, close enough to make a pass into T1 on lap 34. Nick is plenty quick and I didn’t want to try to keep him behind for almost 2 laps. Unfortunately I got quite loose at the end of the back straight and lost a couple seconds, ruining the last lap duel. Anyway it was nice to have a clean race but I expect this will be a drop week.
XSLR Season 9 Race 3 Kokomo race report
Kokomo is a 1/4 mile dirt oval that wears in quickly. Has banking but not enough to run WOT for the most part – it can be done but not sure its the fastest way around
On a fresh track the top line is definitely fastest, but once the lap times up there drop to about 12.0 the lower line is better.
I experimented with a throttle stop – basically not running the car more than about 85% throttle. This really helped reduce tendency to lift the front on corner exits. I set my fast lap in this configuration. With track speeds being low I decided to leave the wing max forward to keep weight forward, figuring the aero was not as important. Also more rear grip means easier to pull the front wheels.
One of the big challenges with dirt oval is we finish practice with a well worn track then only have 2 laps to qualify on a fresh track. The driving line and approach are way different and it usually take me more than 24 seconds to get dialed in. Still managed a P3 qualifying effort in a field of 14.
In the heat race I started P2 and was able to maintain that P2 which put me through to the main – no B main required. I had a moment there as Adam and I made contact early but somehow it didn’t affect my car or my line.
We were expecting a lot of carnage and while we had some, there were only 3 FCY which was pretty good considering 14 cars on this small track and the wide range of skills. From a P3 start I was able to hold my position for 10 laps until second first FCY. Then I had some issues with control, and dropped spots. On the third FCY at lap 15 I decided to do a fast repair since I had already been hit 3 times and came out P11. Quickly moved up to P7 but lost one of those when an accident unfolded in front of me on lap 25. Final restart from P8 I had a good race with Jimmy but he tagged the outside wall on the last lap to move me up one. Adam had a penalty so I finished up P6. I had higher expectations but considering mistakes I made when the field was bunched up I can’t complain.
Running P4 in points at the moment.
Up next is the last dirt oval race of XSLR season 9 at Eldora. This is a super speedway of dirt ovals. Broadcast at 8:10 PM Sunday 3/16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiuFXm8jiE8
Qualified P4 of 16, which put me P2 in heat 2. With little fanfare I was able to hold P2 in my heat and advance directly to the main starting P4. The wheels came off on lap 7 when I was exiting T4 and there was a stopped car up by the wall and I just caught it with the left rear and crashed. I probably should have risked that the car was not too damaged, but I pitted to use a fast repair and came out P14. From there I worked my way into the top 10 fairly quickly, but was unable to make a lot more progress and ended up P8.
CCiS 2025 Season Race 1 Indy race report
Race 1 I did not prep too much since this is one of the most highly attended races of the season. It did not disappoint – with 49 cars taking the start. I managed a decent qualifying time but still ended up only P28.
I ran in a line of cars for a while but the lap times were not as good as I could run by myself. I wanted to pit right away. Since fueling requirements say I can get a 4 tire change for free, and tire grip is definitely an issue, I couldn’t pit super early. At lap 10 I decided I would make the pit.
This paid dividends quite quickly as I had clear track and set my fast lap on lap 13. The only bad part about this strategy is the leaders were closing me down. I was able to stay ahead til lap 17 but they were saving fuel so there was some time lost as they were getting past. Had some back and forth the last several laps, ending up P19. I had a shot at P18, close enough to make a pass into T1 on lap 34. Nick is plenty quick and I didn’t want to try to keep him behind for almost 2 laps. Unfortunately I got quite loose at the end of the back straight and lost a couple seconds, ruining the last lap duel. Anyway it was nice to have a clean race but I expect this will be a drop week.
XSLR Season 9 Race 3 Kokomo race report
Kokomo is a 1/4 mile dirt oval that wears in quickly. Has banking but not enough to run WOT for the most part – it can be done but not sure its the fastest way around
On a fresh track the top line is definitely fastest, but once the lap times up there drop to about 12.0 the lower line is better.
I experimented with a throttle stop – basically not running the car more than about 85% throttle. This really helped reduce tendency to lift the front on corner exits. I set my fast lap in this configuration. With track speeds being low I decided to leave the wing max forward to keep weight forward, figuring the aero was not as important. Also more rear grip means easier to pull the front wheels.
One of the big challenges with dirt oval is we finish practice with a well worn track then only have 2 laps to qualify on a fresh track. The driving line and approach are way different and it usually take me more than 24 seconds to get dialed in. Still managed a P3 qualifying effort in a field of 14.
In the heat race I started P2 and was able to maintain that P2 which put me through to the main – no B main required. I had a moment there as Adam and I made contact early but somehow it didn’t affect my car or my line.
We were expecting a lot of carnage and while we had some, there were only 3 FCY which was pretty good considering 14 cars on this small track and the wide range of skills. From a P3 start I was able to hold my position for 10 laps until second first FCY. Then I had some issues with control, and dropped spots. On the third FCY at lap 15 I decided to do a fast repair since I had already been hit 3 times and came out P11. Quickly moved up to P7 but lost one of those when an accident unfolded in front of me on lap 25. Final restart from P8 I had a good race with Jimmy but he tagged the outside wall on the last lap to move me up one. Adam had a penalty so I finished up P6. I had higher expectations but considering mistakes I made when the field was bunched up I can’t complain.
Running P4 in points at the moment.
Up next is the last dirt oval race of XSLR season 9 at Eldora. This is a super speedway of dirt ovals. Broadcast at 8:10 PM Sunday 3/16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiuFXm8jiE8
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: iRacing broadcasts
XSLR Season 9 Race 4 Eldora Race Report
Put in a decent amount of practice for this track. After practicing at various track wear levels I decided a throttle stop would help me with this track as well. What I learned is 92% throttle was just as fast on clean track as regular full throttle but at higher track wear of 40% plus it was way easier to drive with a little less horsepower.
11 cars total, did not have a great qualifying effort, though I was able to move up a spot in my heat race to get a P4 start in the main. During the warmup it was obvious that track wear in a live event is different than when testing at a preset wear level. The exit of T4 on the low line was really slippery in this event. I was able to make an adjustment and run just a slightly higher line getting the right rear off the shine and that really helped bring the lap times down.
I lacked overall pace to get to the podium and ended up P5.
The season is best 13 of 16. This being week 4, the iRacing scoring system now automatically drops your worst three races, which puts me in P5.
Up next is CCiS racing the BMW M2 at Daytona. Broadcast is Wednesday March 19 evening starting 9:10 PM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub124BH8HrE Note: the car will be brown because I really think it drives like crap.
Put in a decent amount of practice for this track. After practicing at various track wear levels I decided a throttle stop would help me with this track as well. What I learned is 92% throttle was just as fast on clean track as regular full throttle but at higher track wear of 40% plus it was way easier to drive with a little less horsepower.
11 cars total, did not have a great qualifying effort, though I was able to move up a spot in my heat race to get a P4 start in the main. During the warmup it was obvious that track wear in a live event is different than when testing at a preset wear level. The exit of T4 on the low line was really slippery in this event. I was able to make an adjustment and run just a slightly higher line getting the right rear off the shine and that really helped bring the lap times down.
I lacked overall pace to get to the podium and ended up P5.
The season is best 13 of 16. This being week 4, the iRacing scoring system now automatically drops your worst three races, which puts me in P5.
Up next is CCiS racing the BMW M2 at Daytona. Broadcast is Wednesday March 19 evening starting 9:10 PM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub124BH8HrE Note: the car will be brown because I really think it drives like crap.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]