Just realized there might be a few of you not on the email list. New season start tonight!

Servers are set up for the season. Let me know if anything looks out of place. Used dynamic weather for the FR2 series and default weather for the IMSA series. Added layouts to the list below (note VIR full for both series).

Any questions, complaints, or conspiracy theories should be addressed to Art.

Jan 4 FR2.0 Interlagos GP
Jan 11 IMSA Interlagos GP
Jan 18 FR Silverstone GP
Jan 25 IMSA Silverstone GP
Feb 1 FR Leguna
Feb 8 IMSA Leguna
Feb 15 FR VIR Full
Feb 22 IMSA VIR Full
Mar 1 FR Mid O Full
Mar 8 IMSA Mid O Full
Mar 15 FR WG Boot
Mar 22 IMSA WG Boot
Mar 29 FR Road Atlanta Full
Apr 5 IMSA Road Atlanta Full
Apr 12 FR Montreal
Apr 19 IMSA Montreal
Apr 26 FR Mosport
May 3 IMSA Mosport
May 10 FR Zandy GP
May 17 IMSA Zandy GP

IMSA being, Honda HPD, Nissan GTP, Daytona C7 & Riley & Radical.

Interlagos FR2 results posted.

Series results posted at:
http://www.danlisa.com/scoring/season_s ... on_id=6128

Congrats to Trevor and John M on the wins. Good to be back racing again.

Was quickly reminded at how tricky this track is when struggled to get a clean lap in practice. The races were surprisingly clean though. In race one Trevor quickly got around John M and I was happy to stay in John M's draft. There were a few times I could have attempted a pass but John P was right behind me and figured it would just give him a chance to go by. When JM spun John P wasn't long going by and had started to pull ahead when he also spun. From then on just had to keep an eye on Art in my mirrors.

Second race was fairly static at the front with Trevor and John pulling ahead and Art was ever present no more than a couple seconds back. Trevor had an off in Tlast again which let John M through. I had a slide in the same corner on the penultimate lap which let Art close to within less than a second but that just made the last lap a little more interesting.

IMSA series at the same track next week. Is everyone clear on how the $ system works? Think I'll try a C7 or a Riley to start off with.

Interlagos results posted.

Congrats to Dave and Art on the wins.

Season results posted at: http://www.danlisa.com/scoring/season_s ... on_id=6158

Our accountant was up all night calculating costs and earnings to come up with balances for next week. Please Stand by.

Good mix of cars last night. Only one we didn't see was the Nissan. In race 1 Dave and Paul were well out ahead in the HPDs while Art and I tried not to burn the front tires off the C7s. Randy and Trevor seemed to be running close together behind us. Too bad Paul didn't throw a little more fuel in the car, but don't think Dave minded too much.

I switched to the Riley for race 2 and was surprised how differently it drove from the C7. The push was gone, but the gearbox was a little touchy on downshifts (autoblip was off), especially to 1st and 2nd, and it could have used another gear. That said had good fun chasing Randy while we both adjusted to using the clutch, with John P and Jay just waiting for us to screw up. At one point I got around Randy and had a bit of a gap with John P closing in, then had a mis-shift into 3rd and spun letting John and Randy through. Caught Randy again but John was well out in front by this point.

Silverstone GP up next.

The accountant got confused so we hired an engineer. What could go wrong? IMSA balances after the first 2 races (everyone else has $10):

Art McEwen $4
Trevor Mack $9
Dave Janes $3
Ken MacKay $9
Randy Balaberda $12
John Morgan2 $21
John Parsons $15
Paul Machan $4
Jay Barthelotte $24
Thomas Tucker $19

If you don't see your name or your accounting doesn't agree please let us know.

How much money did we start with? I missed the first event ($0), but I recently competed in Race 1 and Race 2 at Interlagos using the Radical ($0).

Interlagos with the Radical was fun...I had some good racing with others.

Not sure if anyone has had an issue with their iRacing updater. My *.exe file appeared to be quarantined and I couldn't update iRacing. Eventually, I simply reinstalled iRacing and the problem went away.

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Jay Barthelotte

Everyone started with $10, so you picked up another $14 during the Interlagos races.

The $ stuff only applies to the IMSA series. The FR2 series is the same as last season.

I didn't have any problems with the updates. Glad you got it sorted out.

Art , myself and I came away with the wins last night. Let me explain...

Art ended up finishing well ahead of everyone in the first race but managed to get a black flag after the finish by turning up the pit exit road. Since the server gave him a BF that he didn't serve it put him a lap down which put him in last in 7th place. After a late night debate, the race committee decided to give him the points back, but as the iracing and scoring sites are somewhat automated he won't be recorded as getting the win. Also as a fine we decided not to adjust the other driver points in that race, so the other finishers get a few extra points ( well ok, the scorer was lazy and didn't want to adjust the other driver points). FWIW there were no shenanigans from McEwen after the finish of the second race.

For the first race grabbed Art's setup (thanks) and added a bit more rear wing. Was good enough to put it on pole but apparently not enough to keep it on the track after the first lap. Had a good scrap with Jay after recovering then spun again trying to reduce the gap to Art. That put me behind Jay, John P and Tom. Tom ran wide in T1 (think he and Jay touched), and then fought past Jay again. Was slowly catching John P but just as the gap was getting down to around 1s he had a spin. After that just kept it on the road as Art was 20s ahead. Then he decided to turn up pit road the wrong way....

Second race Art and Trevor were on the front row just over 100th of a second apart. Was going to sit back and watch Trevor pressure Art into a mistake, but Art had a wobble coming out of the esses on the first lap which let me through, and then Trevor had a spin just before bridge. Art and John P were less that 2s behind after that and that's where it stayed for the rest of the race, give or take a second. Was careful not to throw it away on the last lap which put Art right on my rear wing coming out of the last turn, but that just made for a nice photo finish.

Talk to your accountant and get ready for the IMSA cars at Silverstone next week.

The first race was interesting. I had a good start and found myself in 2nd place for a while. Good racing with Tom and Ken...challenging track.

The 2nd race wasn't as fun. Trevor accidentally hit me from behind in a braking area and that put me at the back.

Then I had an issue with my steering wheel. The force feedback would disappear periodically. Then it got to a point where it wouldn't work on right turns, and my brake pedal completely changed (hard pressure input yielded little to no braking on the brake indicator. I'll look into it tonight...ugh.

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Jay Barthelotte

Remember to pick the right car and not just jump right in like i did last time.

Silverstone IMSA results posted.

Congrats to Jay on the wins.

Jay was setting the pace in the HPD in practice so no surprise when he took pole for the first race. It was a surprise when his car disappeared from the grid just before we went green! Chased Trevor, also in the C7, initially then I got the esses wrong and dropped back a couple seconds. About midway Jay reappeared (apparently he had to go back to the pits to get his wheel working) and by the time we got sorted out Trevor was about 5s ahead. Jay chased down Trevor in the next couple laps and it was static after that.

Second race Jay stuck around for the start, but Trevor went off in T1. Not sure what exactly happened as was watching out for Art in the Radical which launched very well off the line. By the time Trevor recovered he was about 8 seconds back and he slowly chewed away at that gap until it was down to about 4s when the white flag flew. Tip-toed around the final lap to cross just 2s ahead.

The accountant should have the $ amounts for the IMSA series ready shortly after last night's races.

Off to VIR Laquna Seca for the next rounds.

Interesting night...I must have been abducted by aliens during the past week. Silverstone and sports cars are not my forté, so I was surprised at the relative pace. First time I've ever finished on the podium, let alone at the top.

First race...heh, I went to grid on the pole and quickly realized that my force feedback wasn't working. I jumped out...hoping to turn my wheel off and on for a reset (and jump back onto the grid), but realized I ended up back in the pits...having to start from the pit lane! Anyhow, I reset the wheel and left the pits to chase down the field. Somehow, I managed to pass the entire field and win the race. I still need to figure out what's going on with my wheel...tried firmware updates. Time to research more.

Second race was a win from the pole. Trevor had a better start than I and moved in front. At the exit of turn one, he seemed to have clipped the curb at exit and lost the back end. I resumed back into first place and finished there.

With such luck, I actually went online and bought some lotto tickets.

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Jay Barthelotte

Ken: I believe we're off to Laguna Seca for the next rounds.

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Jay Barthelotte

Congrats Jay!

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Yep, Laguna is up next. Please adjust your travel arrangements. Edited the post above.

You sure that wasn't Renee driving last night?

Thanks Scott! Where have you been?




Okay, okay...I admit it, Steve...it was my 9 year old daughter driving last night. Be ready, guys...I'm hoping to get her back next week!

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Jay Barthelotte

No I hope it's you racing next week, so I have somebody to race with if I make it on.

I've been focusing 100% on the official series. Got my iRating up to 6000 at one point; currently hovering in the 5000's.

I'll be back in the league come next season.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Cool...I thought so. I was watching a F Renault race a couple of weeks ago on YouTube and you were in it!

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Jay Barthelotte

FR2 Laguna Seca results posted.

John P and I came away with the wins.

Last night was more about who made fewer mistakes rather than speed. There were a few of us around the same pace but the order seemed to be determined by who stayed on the track. I made a slow start in the first race and was near last by T1, but was in a good spot to take advantage of the collision up front in T3 (just had to dab the brakes to keep from T-boning Art's car as it darted across the track). Was a few seconds back from Tom after that and didn't look like I was going to catch him, but then he started making mistakes and by about the third one I was by. Second race I started from pole but pushed too hard on cold tires exiting T1 and was at the back again. But was soon up to P2 and waiting for a mistake from John P that never came. Gap was fairly steady right up until the last lap when he must have relaxed a bit. Solid run on a track where it's very easy to make a mistake.

Should be interesting getting the IMSA cars around Laguna next week.

IMSA Laguna results posted.

Congrats to John P and Trevor on the wins.

Seems most went with the Radical last night, either due to lack of funds or the likelihood of encountering sand. The notable exception was John P who took the Nissan to victory in race 1. First I'd seen one of these up close and must say that it looks impressive, especially from behind. Also looked quite exciting when it snapped sideways just after launching from the grid and darted across the track. John wasn't long in getting the spots back though, and him coming through was the only notable event during the race as couldn't match Trevor's pace.

Had a bit of a scrap with Tom at the start of race 2 but he must have gotten a course cut at the corkscrew as he suddenly pulled over and let me by on the downhill run. After that Trevor kept a steady 3-4s gap between us for the rest of the race.

VIR full up next.

Ugh...more controller issues. Some could be driver / firmware related, but I've looked at all of that and different settings. If I save a setup and get back onto the track, I have no force feedback so then I have to jump back out, reset the controller, then jump back in. Sometimes when I get back on the track, the brake pedal is different (high pressure required to get any braking force) and I have to jump completely out of the session, reset the controller, then jump back into the session. Lastly, sometimes during right hand turns, the controller loses power and lose FF and all lights. Anyhow, if anyone was wondering why I was appearing and disappearing in the pit lane, that's why! After spending some time during the past week attempting to correct this, I'm really disappointed. I hope I didn't ruin anyone else's race start behind me.

Does anyone else have the Fanatec V2 controller?

Practice #1 went well...my pace was pretty good...then controller issues. Missed Quali #1. At the start of Race #1, I couldn't select 1st gear...eventually, it finally worked...probably just as well as the front of the grid was carnage. Had a good run chasing and passing Art on the last lap in Race #1. At the start of Race #2, same thing...could get out of N.

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Jay Barthelotte

That sound frustrating Jay. Hope you get it sorted out.

IMSA cash balances:

Thomas Tucker $30
Randy Balaberda $23
John Morgan2 $21
Dave Janes $15
Art McEwen $14
Shawn Gayton $13
Paul Machan $12
John Parsons $12
Jay Barthelotte $11
Scott McIntyre $10
Ryan Quinn $10
Brian Gay $10
Keith Lammers $8
Ken MacKay $7
Trevor Mack $5

RF2 VIR results posted

Art and I came away with the wins last night.

First race was a bit dull. There was a crash just behind me in T1 at the start which left about a 10s gap to the next car. So it was just putting in laps and keeping an eye on John P who made a great charge towards the front but ran out of time.

Second race nipped Art for pole just as qualifying ended, but the grin left my face when I jumped the start (was fiddling with something and when caught the colour change out of the corner of my eye and dropped the clutch). Was 3 seconds ahead when entered the pits, but about 15s behind after the stop and go. Thought would have fun fighting through the field but seemed as soon as I got near the car ahead they would have an off.

Looking forward to running the IMSA cars here next week.

Fun car, challenging track. Not going to complain about controller issues...even I'm tired of that.

During practice, the conditions were cloudy and I had to bring up my tire pressures.

I started the first race without force feedback. I was going to pit, but I ended up in 2nd place and decided to try to 'ride it out'. After 8 laps or so it started to fall apart and that was it! lol

2nd race...same thing...no force feedback. So I jumped out and started the race from the pit lane. My pace was pretty good. Ken was just catching me a bit, then I made a mistake and he caught up. I ruined his rhythm and the gap was back. But then as I was chatting with him about it, I lost my concentration and went wide at the tough right hander at the end of the long back straight and he got by. But then someone else was went off (Thomas?) and I passed him.

Should be interesting with the sports cars, next week.

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Jay Barthelotte

Jay, it sounds like it's time for a http://www.armsinc.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=14653

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Ha! If I see a [Buy it now] button during one of my Fanatec fits of rage, I'd probably hit it...lol.

This week, i've already tried a couple of settings changes, without progress. I'll start an iRacing forum thread. In the meantime, i've got two cars ready to race at VIR filled with race fuel (so I shouldn't have to make any changes that would cause the loss of Ff in the cockpit.

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Jay Barthelotte

Good idea. The Hardware forum on iRacing is a great resource. I'm sure the community will be able to help you out.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

IMSA VIR results posted

Jay and I took the wins last night. Good to see David Kelly and Keith the podium.

A lot of radicals in the field again last night. Jay had some money to burn so he used it on the HPD and put it to good use taking pole by about 6s. The only time we saw him was at the start when the Honda was a little slow off the line so there was a swarm of radicals around him in T1, but after a few turns he was out front and well away. Trevor added to the excitement by parking sideways in the middle of T1 on the second lap. While I was trying to avoid T-boning him (a 0x contact), Art darted by. Chased Art down a lap or two later and got alongside when he ran wide exiting T3. I was wondering how we were going to get though that slow twisty section 2-wide when I saw his car bouncing over the curbs in the mirrors. He kept me honest for a few laps and then must have had a problem as he dropped back. Was just putting in laps after that though was a little concerned when the spotter came on and said 5 laps of fuel left around lap 7. Lap 10 and he said 2 laps left and hadn't seen the white yet! Started short shifting and had 0.3 gal when the white flag came out, and had been using 0.4 a lap. End of the back straight the engine started to sputter and it died completely when was along the pits, but there was enough speed to coast down to T1. Art (using the setup I'd shared) has a similar story but it starts a few hundred yards earlier.

Race 2 and Jay was now broke so was in a Radical as well. Opening laps had me sandwiched between Trevor and Art (the gap ahead and behind was almost equal for those first few laps), then Art started to drop back (lost the tow?) but I was able to stay with Trevor. We had a great race, even traded spots a few times. Though I did dive bomb him once into T1 (wasn't planning to, just missed the marker a bit), and pushed him wide. I slowed on the back straight to let him by but then had chance to do it the right way into T1 the very next lap. Final lap I'm right on his tail coming through the fast sweepers, thinking it would be a drag race on the back straight, but his car veered off on the last sweeper. Turns out he had a stuck throttle. Not a great way to end what had been a fun race. (BTW noticed that with 6 gal of fuel I ended the race with 1.0 gal left, so 5 should have been enough Art. )

Mid Ohio up next.

Last night was fairly uneventful. I didn't touch my car setups, so no controller FF issues!

For the 1st event, I picked the HPD...great car. Pole and the win...boring.

For the 2nd event, I picked the Radical and hadn't spent any time in it. Poor quali in 7th. I had a good start in the race and was in 5th. The C7s started to catch me halfway, but they were having issues with understeer so this made the turns a great opportunity. This made the race very fun and entertaining. I finished a respectable 4th in the Radical.

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Jay Barthelotte