Formula Palmer Audi - Rd 7 - Oulton Park Int.

[real_illusions]

Round 7 takes us to Cheshire in the UK as we head over to the challenging circuit of Oulton Park. More up and downs than a night out in Amsterdam makes this circuit fun to drive and has an interesting addition of having a banked hairpin at the far end of the circuit.

Laps - 17
Difficulty - Hard
Flags - On
Corner cutting and dangerous driving - On

Now for the interesting bits..

Setups - You're only allowed to change the following: gears, downforce and suspension (does not include ride height, camber and roll bars).
Because it is default tyres (50%), there is a compulsory pit stop to be made in the race. Strategy could be interesting, especially if you quick enough to catch back markers.

For qualifying only though, tyre setup is free.

Times are due by April 5th @ 10pm GMT. So you've got 2 weeks to get your racing done.

Good luck and have fun!

:)

[johnny shell]

so I see we'll be mixing it up in the second 1/2 of the season.

interesting :eek:

[real_illusions]

yup

:)

[RaikkonenRules]

H'mm may just be tempted to run a limited schdule starting here if I can be trusted :D

[Adam Sloma]

Pit stop is mandatory or optional?

[RaikkonenRules]

Mandatory ;)

[Adam Sloma]

I dont believe you RR. :D

[Adam Sloma]

I dont need pit stop on 17 laps. At Norisring i run 25 laps on tyres 45%.

[real_illusions]

hehe..but you have to stop..its the rules for this race ;)

i.e - you need to change tyres. Adding fuel is upto you (but not usually needed).

:)

[Adam Sloma]

I know, I know.

[johnny shell]

so, adam, I'm guessing your tires don't make that awful skidding noise through every corner like mine do? nor do they smoke, like mine do? and I bet your tires don't leave black marks on every corner like mine do either, do they?

it seems the fast people's tires always last longer :confused:

[Adam Sloma]

FPA have very good grip even when they are yellow. Problems starts when they are orange. I noticed, that when I used handbrake, tyres wear faster. I dont use handbrake in FPA.

[johnny shell]

the first car hit the track today in preperation for the upcoming FPA race.

Towards the end of the short session, Johnny Shell put on some qualifying tires, hit the boost button every chance he got, and managed a 1:16.04 - good enough for 12th on the codies site - this despite the new limitations imposed on car set-up. Limitation which should tighten up the field by taking out some of the variables, but still give enough lead way to make the cars a blast to drive still.

[Alfa Fan]

Hardly the first car......

Kit-Kat Racing Team have already packed up and left Oulton after completing their race.

[johnny shell]

care so share what your fastest lap of the weekend was?

nice to see you at the track again this round!

[johnny shell]

found some more time last night!

up 7th on codies with a 1:14.23 with my qualifying tires on and generous use of the boost button.

it's strange having a car with some suspension travel. I guess when you lay your cars all the way down like I'm used to doing the suspension can't move much, eh?

[Alfa Fan]

I wouldn't worry about my fastest laps in this series :D

I've long since just been doing this for fun I'm so slow!

FWIW my fastest qualifying lap was 1:17.21 and my fastest race lap was just under 1:18

[johnny shell]

well, so far your second on the scoreboard then :D

we'll make it official - enjoy it while it last!


FPA Series Testing at Oulton Park Int.
1. Johnny Shell USA 1:14.23
2. Jonathan McLead UK 1:17.21

[real_illusions]

Just did a handfull of laps on default settings. hopefully knock a second or 2 of that time with decent gears. The track is alot faster than what it looks like on paper, and with these cars giving alot of grip, you can brake late and throw them around the corners to some extent..


FPA Series Testing at Oulton Park Int.
1. Johnny Shell USA 1:14.23
2. Jonathan McLead UK 1:17.21
3. R_illusions UK 1:18.41

[johnny shell]

just watch that one turn right at the end where the apex is also the crest of a hill!

I must've spun out just after cresting that hill on 1/2 my practice laps until I got the hang of it!

but I like the set-up rules you've emposed. the cars are still fun to drive, but I don't have to spend so much time trying different roll bars and alignment settings.

[Adam Sloma]

1:12.27 on semi-default settings.

[Peter Vuko]

Did my race. Qualified well using the soft tyres but much harder with default tyres in the race. Ran very consistent times & pitted at the end of lap 9. I hope we get a better turn out this Rd. Shame about Sloma!!

[johnny shell]

yeah, I liked the competition he gave the down unders

and I liked that accent of his.

he used all the same words as me (unlike some of you "english" speakers!) but the way he used them was funny.

funny cool

[johnny shell]

UT OH.

I just noticed times are due tomorrow.

the front page of the TRD web site says 4/10... so I may be a bit late.

or, I may be able to get the races done tonight.

either way sorry.

[real_illusions]

oops..my mistake ;) Cant notice every mistake on the website :p :

I'll give you another couple of days Johnny

:)

[johnny shell]

I got it done last night.

that website is awesome though. I look at past results all the time to see what kind of laps I should be shooting for.

I had the race of my life I think!

I was running mid-to-high. 1:16s in race trim practice at best, then all of a sudden my times just dropped to the high 1:15's, and I could run mid 1:16s consistantly. I'm not sure what did - that's the sad part!

I got super lucky with traffic though. I hit a car coming out of the chicane (those cars go so slow!) but only got a warning flag.

I came REAL close to lapping the whole field though.

in my practice race I had an insane crash coming into the pits for the first time. I knew I should have practiced that at least once!

[real_illusions]

results time

only 4 drivers made it to the track. The rest i can only presume are still somewhere in Germany, still held hostage by some german women who weigh about the same as a hippo, and probably smell as bad..

Peter Vuko - 22:06.68 - (1:14.99
Johnny Shell - 22:13.79 - (1:15.36)
R_illusions - 22:29.21 - (1:16.17)
Alpha Fan - 23:01.00 - (n/a)


Jonny keeping Peter within sights right up to the chequered flag. My race was mostly boring but kept out of trouble, and Alpha Fan seemed to get lost round the track, but still finished on the lead lap.

Some changes in the points standings

Peter extends his lead and looks to comfortably to take the championship, despite it been only half way. Johnny jumps up to 3rd, and I jump up to 4th. Alpha Fan also makes his way up, from 10th to 8th.

1. Peter Vuko (2 wins) 135
2. Adam Sloma (2 wins) 106
3. Johnny Shell 85
4. Real Illusions 70
5. RaikkonenRules 68
6. Steven Vuko (1 win) 57
7. BobZee 56
8. Alfa Fan 51
9. Muz (2 wins) 50
10. Neil Adams 38

Next round starts on the 10th at Oschersleben. Again, a few different changes to make things somewhat more interesting. This is going to be fun towards the end, as i struggle to think of interesting ways to change things...dont be surprised of we run in reverse or something for the whole race..come to think of it, that could be fun :p : whos up for that?

:)

[RaikkonenRules]

4 drivers. :( Seems like the series is slowly losing interest.

[johnny shell]

well, why don't you join!

it's a nice series :D

and this is the closest I've even ran to one of the fast guys.

which tell's me peter's stregnth might be in the set up of his suspension allignment ;)

and that my weakness is on throttle control - since this cars are so underpowered they don't require much of it.

[Peter Vuko]

A disappointing turn up!!! Still a win is a win! I must admit I didn't put in much time for practice. I did a 1m.12.92 in qualifying but could not get near that in race trim. Well done Shelly - you are improving all the time! I like the idea of doing some different things - like reverse grid, handicapping etc.. it might bring a few guys back!!!

[johnny shell]

thank you sir :cheese:

[harvick#1]

Since I still have my Audi sitting in my shop only to be collecting dust,

I'll be packing the car up and heading for Oschersleben :)

I will most likely be in the rear because I haven't run a OW car in awhile.

Car #33 for Spike Motorsports