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3 Jun 2019, 22:55 (Ref:3907801) | #276 | |||
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Quote:
And the Indycar races at Detroit weren't any better. In race1 14 of the 43 laps (32,55%) were run under FCY. In race2 that was 23 of the 75 (30,66%) In the IMSA race 21 of the 58 laps (36,21%) I understand there's a yellow for the big crash on lap 1, and when cars block the track. However there were also strange yellows for seemingly no reason at all. And ... please SRO, get rid of the Safety Car after FCY ruling. That is plain stupid, and cause more havoc that it supposedly should be solving. Last edited by gert; 3 Jun 2019 at 23:00. |
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4 Jun 2019, 07:34 (Ref:3907817) | #277 | |
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Even without the yellows, I struggle to watch races at Paul Ricard tbh. It's just an awful circuit to watch racing at. I don't understand why ELMS doesn't race at Le Mans Bugatti given the Le Mans links. I'd much rather see Blancpain elsewhere too. But this discussion has been going on for years and nothing changes.
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4 Jun 2019, 07:57 (Ref:3907819) | #278 | ||
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I don't find Paul Ricard too bad personally - until the sun goes down. There's just something about it once it's dark which means that even the usual challenge of watching high-powered headlights zoom about in the dark is made even worse. Possibly the lack of trees/track furniture and reference points, plus a pretty reflective surface? It's just 2 hours of solid glare for the 1000km at the end. Which is a shame, as the racing is pretty decent.
Disappointed for the #54 Porsche - they've been incredibly impressive this season and were on for another comfortable top ten result, probably a 5th or 6th I'd guess. Would have been another real achievement. |
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4 Jun 2019, 08:35 (Ref:3907827) | #279 | |||
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Quote:
At first I was happy they used the full Mistral straight, but the further into the race we got the more I thought the chicane halfway would have been better. Nothing really happened on the straight anaway, and the full length only enabled cars with a higher top speed to pull away, even taking away the passing opportunity at Signes. e.g: Bentley versus the 2 Rowe Porsches. The Porsches were as quick anywhere on the track, and quicker at places where you can't overtake. Come the Mistral the Bentley just got away leaving the Porsche just no opportunity to even try. Of course, that's BOP, but witrh a chicane the Porsches might have been closer at the end of Mistral. All in all that was not a brilliant race, even though it had its moments. |
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4 Jun 2019, 13:00 (Ref:3907871) | #280 | |
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Agree about Paul Ricard being a horrible track for TV. Maybe the worst in sportscar racing. The 6 hours needs to be somewhere else. Not holding our breathe for it.
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4 Jun 2019, 17:23 (Ref:3907927) | #281 | |
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4 Jun 2019, 19:07 (Ref:3907937) | #282 | ||
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The FCY->SC thing is really irritating. It disfigured the Spa 24 last year and every race since. There is zero justification for it, in fact I'd say it makes crashes more likely because bunch starts breed more incidents.
I'm also having an almost complete volte-face about large grid sizes. Until this year I was very much a "more the merrier" fan, but after watching demolition derbies in all the Blancpain races this year and yet seeing 20 cars circulate Laguna Seca for 8 hours without a single incident, I've changed my mind. 49 cars with near-identical performance is too many. 70+ at Spa will be carnage for the first few hours and possibly well into the night. |
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4 Jun 2019, 19:07 (Ref:3907938) | #283 | ||
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Interview with Andrea Caldarelli about FFF's move from Asia to Europe and his double role in the team: https://gt.report/LkPtR
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9 Jun 2019, 08:32 (Ref:3908739) | #284 | ||
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I disagree, with respec. Le Castellet is a fantastic circuit for these cars. Fast, flowing corners with a combo of lines and lively background for the cameras.
As for the darkness, it's always been much harder to pick cars out when there's a big field. Overall nice to see Ferrari and Porsche challenging again. Why is it Bentley are mega strong here and not as good anywhere else? Audi struggling. BOP'd out of it? |
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9 Jun 2019, 16:03 (Ref:3908806) | #285 | ||
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No idea Chunterer, they've been struggling all year. Not sure if its because WRT are over stretched with their DTM program but WRT have not been having a great season. GRT also seem to be struggling too.
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29 Jun 2019, 18:29 (Ref:3914815) | #286 | |
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Got Blancpain GT World from Misano on. They're doing the whole SC after a FCY thing to bunch them up again.
And I have to be honest, the commentators are being intentionally dense and it's becoming very frustrating to watch. We're under FCY and one car has caught another because the limiters are set 1mph or so apart. Watson then says the car behind should slow down to make the gap again, so he hasn't taken advantage and it's stupid they've caught another car under FCY. Whilst they're discussing this, the SC is at the head of the field. Which is why they're all closing up. So not only were they wrong, they were completely ignoring that the gap was always going to disappear because of SROs use of the SC. Commentating isn't easy but Addison seems to be catching Watsons stupidity at this point. If you were new to this and trying to watch it, you'd be very confused. |
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29 Jun 2019, 19:08 (Ref:3914821) | #287 | ||
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Addison wasn't there, hes at Oulton Park for BTCC
I agree with you though. |
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29 Jun 2019, 19:12 (Ref:3914823) | #288 | |
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You're right, it'll have been Bruce Jones I guess. They've stopped identifying themselves during the broadcast and I just assumed. The commentators have probably forgotten their own names by this point. Watson certainly has no idea where he is.
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2 Jul 2019, 10:29 (Ref:3915464) | #289 | |
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Spa 24hrs full entry list at noon today
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2 Jul 2019, 11:10 (Ref:3915466) | #290 | ||
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I only see the test day list so far:
https://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/...-spa--test-day excluding the guests and British GT tests, about 50-55 cars there. Pro Honda looks strong, extra GPX Porsche and R Motorsport Aston. 3 or 4 KCMG Nissans (can't work out if #39 is an entry?). |
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2 Jul 2019, 11:12 (Ref:3915467) | #291 | ||
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2 Jul 2019, 12:31 (Ref:3915482) | #292 | ||
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Quote:
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2 Jul 2019, 13:26 (Ref:3915490) | #293 | ||
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Another day another bout of bad luck for GRT. Mirko crashed the #63 during this afternoons test session.
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2 Jul 2019, 15:45 (Ref:3915511) | #294 | |
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It is the first time again without the 2 or 3 random Porsche GT3 Cups that were doing this race?
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2 Jul 2019, 16:31 (Ref:3915520) | #295 | |
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72 cars, shows some series still can provide more than a full grid
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2 Jul 2019, 17:49 (Ref:3915528) | #296 | |
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2 Jul 2019, 18:56 (Ref:3915534) | #297 | ||
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In principle 72 cars round Spa is just a jaw-dropping, awesome prospect.
In practice given the recent history of Blancpain events this is going to be a demolition derby for some hours. I'm guessing 2 hours of safety car before midnight and ~50 cars still running at dawn. As an aside, 1630 is much too late for the race start. The Spa crowd is a hard-drinking one at the best of times and the prospect of large groups of lads drinking all day before the race even starts is a little off-putting. Sorry to sound like a grumpy old man. I hope I'm wrong on all the above. |
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2 Jul 2019, 19:37 (Ref:3915539) | #298 | ||
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Interesting. The Historic Spa 6hrs has well over 100 starters most years, and yes, there are SC periods, but it’s never a demolition derby. No doubt the whole grid of Blancpain cars are more evenly matched on lap times, plus the drivers (mostly) don’t own the cars and have to pay for repairs......
Impressive entry list, so hoping to catch some of the race! |
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2 Jul 2019, 20:15 (Ref:3915544) | #299 | ||
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Quote:
As a non-drinker, I don't mind the late start but it will make it a long day the next day. I've never understood getting rat-arsed on Saturday, knowing you have a long day of dehydration and loud vehicles ahead of you. |
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2 Jul 2019, 20:47 (Ref:3915556) | #300 | |
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Nobody knows what God's plan is for the race, but a whole lot of people will guess that we will have long periods of safety-car.
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