Testing at Goodwood. In 1965.

 So the Lola is brought to the Goodwood estate for a spot of testing, and immediately there's a problem. I don't really know this track all that well. It's a subtle track with lots of different types of right handers. So the car is a little bit soft, bu I really need to get this track right in my head before I start mucking about with the setup. Definitely don't need fifth gear on the straight. 

Season 38: GT cup: Round 1 at Riverside (28 laps)

So we kick off the season at Riverside, and nice to see 16 drivers take to the track.  Most of us are in Lolas for the first race.  Maybe the track suits that car more but I think the Ferrari is slightly faster and didn't want to use one up for the first round.  Managed to get into the 1.43's at the end of qualifying but only good enough for third behind Tristain and Raoni.  That will have to do.

Surprised at the start with the car bogging down a little, I guess we're carrying a lot more fuel than usual.  Everybody played it safe into turn 1 and as it shook out I ran third behind Raoni with Tristain comfortably in the lead.  Alain Maurice was behind me in one of the few Ferrari's.  I could see Raoni having a few slides here and there and on the second lap he skated wide in turn 7 and I could take 2nd spot.  The gap to Tris steadied at around 4-5 seconds for a few laps and I thought maybe I could start to reel him in a little.  But around lap 10 it seems Tris decided to get on with it and started pulling away.  He was driving really hard, even throwing the Lola into the slower corners, and I couldn't really match his pace.

I was safe in second, and also noticed as the race wound on I started to pick up some understeer in the slower corners.  I suspect in testing I was more aggressive with pitching the car around, sliding the rears and keeping them hot.  In the race I may have been a bit more careful and hence not heating the rear tyres as much.  Anyway it was controllable.

So that was really it, I did have a silly quick spin and touched the fence in the difficult braking into turn 8.  I was on the wrong line and got caught out.  The car wasn't really affected and it didn't cost me that much time.  So the race ground out to the end.  Not a spectacular race but I'm glad I survived and got some good points.  Concerning about how quick Tris is though.

Open - Drivers Championship (scoring)
Rank	Drivers	PP	Total	Vehicle
1	MagicArsouille (FT)		50.0	Lola T70 MkIII	50.0
2	Mark Jones (FT)		43.0	Lola T70 MkIII	43.0
3	Alain Maurice (FT)		37.0	Ferrari 330/P4	37.0
4	Cookie (FT)		32.0	Lola T70 MkIII	32.0
5	Enrique Farina (FT)		28.0	Lola T70 MkIII	28.0
6	EvilClive (FT)		25.0	Ferrari 330/P4	25.0
7	Markus Friedrich (R1)		23.0	Lola T70 MkIII	23.0
8	philippe GIRARD (FT)		21.0	Lola T70 MkIII	21.0
9	Doni Yourth (FT)		19.0	Lola T70 MkIII	19.0
10	fpolicardi (FT)		17.0	Ferrari 330/P4	17.0
11	Phil Thornton (R1)		15.0	Lola T70 MkIII	15.0
12	Rainier (FT)		13.0	Ferrari 330/P4	13.0
13	francesco (FT)		11.0	Lola T70 MkIII	11.0
14	Pete Bennett (FT)		9.0	Lola T70 MkIII	9.0
	PaulV (FT)
	GregT (R1)
	Raoni Frizzo (R1)

Testing at Riverside

Preparing for the new season, I've chosen the Lola to start with. It's a nicely agile car for this track. I'm not the biggest fan of this track but this car is really a lot of fun and makes it better. 

Season 38 - Sportscars - Lola vs Ferrari Cup (UKGPL league championship)

Well, after a few years hiatus the UKGPL organisation has setup a new league series for Saturday mornings (NZ time) featuring the Lola and Ferrari sports cars from 1967.  These are both terrific race cars and I am really looking forward to this series, particularly as there are some fantastic race tracks that have been selected.  Here's the official breakdown:

Car set: 1967 Sports Cars - Lola T70 MK III and Ferrari 330 P4 onlyDate: Every second Friday from 15th January 2021
Time: No later then 9:00pm UK Time (30-60 mins practice, race starts at 9:30pm)
Race Length: 50 minutes
Damage Model:  Intermediate
Server: UKGPL08_60fps
Race List: IGOR
Divisional Moderator: Cookie

Calendar:

Date	Day	Time	Mod	Track	Folder	Laps	Download
15/01/2021	Friday	21:00 GMT	67SCx	Riverside International Raceway 1966	riside66	28	Link
29/01/2021	Friday	21:00 GMT	67SCx	Goodwood 1965	goodwd65	35	Link
12/02/2021	Friday	21:00 GMT	67SCx	Stardust 1967	stardust	28	Link
26/02/2021	Friday	21:00 GMT	67SCx	Dundrod 1965	dundrod	13	Link
12/03/2021	Friday	21:00 GMT	67SCx	Spa 67	spa67	13	Link
26/03/2021	Friday	21:00 GMT	67SCx	Brands Hatch 1967	brands67	30	Link
23/04/2021	Friday	21:00 BST	67SCx	Road America 1971	roadamer	20	Link
07/05/2021	Friday	21:00 BST	67SCx	Hockenheim	hockenhm	24	Link
21/05/2021	Friday	21:00 BST	67SCx	Isle of Man	AAIOM	2	Link
04/06/2021	Friday	21:00 BST	67SCx	Le Mans Sarthe Night	nbsarthe	14	Link

Handicapping

"Works" drivers will carry a weight penalty in the form of extra fuel. "Works" status will be declared by the divisional moderator at the start of the season.

So 10 rounds, and each car has to be driven 5 times but drivers decide at which track. I am designated a works driver, so will be driving with the extra fuel penalty. I've already installed the brake light patch so that's not an issue. Something that might be an issue is the race at the Isle of Man track. It's a wonderful and challenging track, but I think my old PC might not be able to run it, it's so graphics-hungry. That's something to ponder.  What a calendar - Dundrod, Spa, Rd America, Isle of Man and the finale at Le Mans.