ARMS iRacing League: Week 05 - Cadillac & McLaren Cup @ Mosport

Yes, that's right... The McLaren MP4-12C is joining our series!

Between races at Okayama this past Friday the league members had a discussion about the new McLaren versus the Cadillac. The general consensus was that, while the McLaren is slightly slower than the Cadillac, it is much more stable and more fun to drive. So we decided to add it to our series!

Going forward, our league races will be mixed-car (Cadillac & McLaren) both running in the same class. You will have the choice to drive either car when you join a session. Typically the Cadillac will be the faster of the two, however the McLaren will allow for greater consistency. The choice is yours and you can change cars race-by-race, if you wish.

The only catch to this is that everyone must purchase the McLaren MP4-12C whether you intend to use it in the series or not. It's a current limitation on the iRacing service. It will not let you join the session if you don't own both of the cars. But it's only $12 to purchase the McLaren and it's well worth owning.

Here's a hot lap of Mosport in the Cadillac (could find one for the McLaren).

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Today I tried out the McLaren at Okayama just to compare lap times with what I was getting in the Cadillac Friday night. My best lap time in the McLaren was only 0.2 sec slower: 1:30.6xx versus 1:30.4xx.

I also noticed that my McLaren best lap was very close to my optimal (like a tenth off), versus the huge gap between best & optimal in the Caddy. To me that signifies that it's much easier to drive the McLaren at its limit that the Caddy. Should be fun!

Oh, and I threw on this paint (found in the iRacing forums)....

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Good call Scott in adding the McLaren option. It should be intresting. This might even up the field a little. At least keep people in races a little longer. With the ABS there should be fewer spins and crashes. The McLaren is very good indeed. Does more of what you expect and less of what you don't. Just a lot of fun to drive really.
But being an old man I think I will stick with an old man's car. I like the the Caddy, it grows on you. Its not that bad if you don't rip the tires off it by pushing too hard early in a race. Very easy to do that given how willingly it spins the tires. And once you do, pitty help you, it becomes a hand full.
But you are right Scott, there may not be much difference in race pace at some tracks. Mid Ohio comes to mind.

Took the McLaren for a spin around Mosport today. I was fully expecting to be 1-2 seconds slower than my Caddy times, considering its a fast high horsepower course. But instead of being slower, I was actually 0.2 sec faster than the Caddy. And my optimal time matched my Caddy optimal.

The two cars may be more equally matched than we initially thought!

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

I was quicker in the Mclaren on my 2nd lap at mosport with it, you can simply be more aggressive with it, it drives more like a real racecar, where the caddy is more like an ice cream truck.

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Paul

I find it drives just like my real race car ...must be the mid engine dynamics?

Very sweet ride!

Stacy

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The fricton circle for my 911 Porsche resembles more of an oblong... I'm either trailbraking or accelerating while trying to get it to turn!

I thought there would be a bigger difference as well. In just 5 laps in the McLaren I did 1:18.3. Much much easier to control. Best time in the Caddy is 1:17.6 , but that was after a lot of laps. In a race it will be a toss up. McLaren might even a little faster unless you are very good in the Caddy. I am a little surprised. It should tighten up the group a lot.

My testing has been pretty positive as well. I haven't done long runs to see if I run in to serious tire deg like I do with the Cadillac (that was killing me...), but I have bettered my times far more consistently with the Mclaren than the Caddy. My mind is made up.

I've run a couple 24 Heures du Fun races in the McLaren and its a blast. Especially with the huge fields... Start from the pits and you'll be battling up through the 50+ car field the whole race. Ha ha!

One thing I've noticed about the McLearn is that it's quite durable. I've traded paint and scrapped walls and it keeps on ticking. Incidents where the Caddy would have been rendered undriveable. It seems they've adopted a more lenient damage model with this car.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

I think it is more a result of the FIAs GT specs, because I have seen the Corvette take some bumps and scrapes that would sideline cars like the Caddy and keep going. I mean, these are cars built to compete in 24 hour enduro events, so the frame would have to be able to take some beating. Its impossible to avoid some contact with 50+ cars on a track like La Sarthe or Spa.

Was a nice surprise to see the McLaren added when checked the schedule yesterday. The racing was much better as could push harder without worrying as much about just keeping the car on the track. Brian W was the only one brave enough to stick with the Caddy, but he was making good use of it (if the cars are as evenly matched at other tracks as they were at Mosport we might want to discuss giving the Caddy drivers a few bonus points for having the skill to handle that tank).

Race started off fairly well, though I was slow off the line which let Brian around and had to keep tight at T1 as Ryan made it alongside. After the spin at Moss was following Brian and Scott and we stayed close for a few laps. Was trying to put some pressure on Scott and after a several laps he ran wide at T1 and then again at T2 which left me to chase Brian. Wasn't making much of an impression until we caught a lapped car at Moss which seemed to distract him into a spin. That left me about 10s ahead of Scott so just managed the gap for the rest of the race.

Put together a few clips for Race 1. If someone has a replay of Race 2 and has someplace to upload it I could put together something for that race.

Hey Stacy! We got TV time! Even backbenchers can make good entertainment.

Thanks for the video Ken! You need to update your Trading Paints though.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Ah, didn't think to check for custom skins. Will do before the next race airs.

Was hard not to give Stacy airtime, he was usually somewhere near the action. Paul on the otherhand seemed to be running solo laps after the first lap so his sponsors will be complaining

Thanks for the vid Ken!

Driving 11/10's doesn't work any better in the virtual world than in real life ...and it seems a tow/pit fix kept putting me back on track in the thick of things.

I will say that trying to keep up with you guys does pay dividends when competing against the rest of the iRacing world though. I thought I'd give the Caddy a go at Mosport last night and was able to charge up the field from 11th to 3rd within 5 laps before getting punted off from behind.

Btw I've only got one lap in ever at Watkins Glen though, so me thinks I gotta get some practice in before next week... (Note that my Ruf spent a lot of time at the Glen before I bought it, including an unfortunate incident involving a chain link fence that maybe i'll recreate next week )

Stacy

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The fricton circle for my 911 Porsche resembles more of an oblong... I'm either trailbraking or accelerating while trying to get it to turn!

Our first races with the inclusion of the McLaren!

Click to enlarge

After deductions were applied for incidents, here's what the series Points Standings look like:

The battle for 2nd remains close with Paul and myself swapping positions yet again and only 5 points between us. Ken overtakes Ed for 5th and the rest pretty much remains the same except for the addition of Shawn to our series. Welcome Shawn!

Rejean LeBlanc joined our league today, so we should see another ARMS member in attendance soon.

Next race is at Watkins Glen; a favorite track amongst many.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR