Announcing NSGP - Fastest Racer alive competition

[peter-27]

Start the replay, then hit F1 to save. The thing is you have to save it from the replay, not from the race.

Ahh i see! Okies cool Still not sure if i'm gonna enter yet or not though

[Alex Reeves]

Ahh i see! Okies cool Still not sure if i'm gonna enter yet or not though

My thought about that is that it's a great way to work out strategy - fuel and tyre loads etc. As well as being one heck of a challenge to set a truly fast time! I have a feeling that the tyre changes particularly will change the OC massively, so a good understanding of the best loadout will be a big advantage.

[peter-27]

My thought about that is that it's a great way to work out strategy - fuel and tyre loads etc. As well as being one heck of a challenge to set a truly fast time! I have a feeling that the tyre changes particularly will change the OC massively, so a good understanding of the best loadout will be a big advantage.

That's true, but the car handling is far different online to offline; and it's hard (at least i find it hard) to switch seemlessly between the two.

If you would have said all times must be set with HRT (the car most like the online car) i'd be more tempted

[przemator]

That's true, but the car handling is far different online to offline; and it's hard (at least i find it hard) to switch seemlessly between the two.

If you would have said all times must be set with HRT (the car most like the online car) i'd be more tempted

yeah i was thinking about it, but then all you have to do to cheat is to modify HRT "skills" in the nsgp.db file. or play career mode and wait for HRT to become 2,2,2 instead of 1,1,1. you know what i mean.

[Alex Reeves]

That's true, but the car handling is far different online to offline; and it's hard (at least i find it hard) to switch seemlessly between the two.

If you would have said all times must be set with HRT (the car most like the online car) i'd be more tempted

It also defeats the purpose of the comp, which is to see who is faster with the best possible car, not the worst! We already know that Alfonso kicks our butt with a bad car, but could he do it with a good car too?

(probably.... but it might be a slightly fairer fight! )

[peter-27]

yeah i was thinking about it, but then all you have to do to cheat is to modify HRT "skills" in the nsgp.db file. or play career mode and wait for HRT to become 2,2,2 instead of 1,1,1. you know what i mean.

Why would i modify HRT skills? :s

[Alex Reeves]

Less than 24 hours to go until round 1 is over - currently there's 2 entries for Bahrain and Australia, and in both cases the result is super close. let's get some more results in!

[peter-27]

Alright, couldn't resist and did Bahrain! Although it's prolly not very good as i made quite alot of mistakes

Might do Australia in a few hours - when is the submission deadline?

[Alex Reeves]

Might do Australia in a few hours - when is the submission deadline?

10am UK time on 1/1/2012. So you've still got 12 hours or so.

[przemator]

Well, we're past the deadline, so lets have some results!

[Alex Reeves]

Round 1 is over! 4 Entries received for Bahrain, 3 entries for Australia.

4 racers at the starting gate....

Newcomer Rodney, who is a bit of a dark horse for the title. Only seen in the last few weeks in the OC land and forums, but has already been compared to the legendary Kos for his sheer lap speed. Obviously a man hwo has been honing his skills in secret for a while...
Przemek Kolowski - NSGPOC winner, can he complete his set of championship rings here? Contantly harassed about his controversial "take no prisoners" approach to online driving, will his cavalier speed prove the deciding factor here?
Peter Santamaria-Woods - NSGP veteran who's been getting better with age, current NSGPOC President, many have been saying it's his time to move from the shadows and take the glory due to him....
SpinDizzy (aka Alex Reeves) - Another NSGP veteran, prominent in early seasons but erratic in more recent times, his online form in recent years has been impacted by geography and rule and timezone changes. Still recognised as a force, can he prove himself again without lag?

Bahrain Race Preview

The longest track on the NSGP calendar, this one is particularly tricky on Tyres because of the lap length and the tight middle section. Soft Tyres are a risk, as they will barely make 3 laps around the circuit, so expect the Hards out for most of the race. The Hards can pull 5 laps if you're super careful, but will anyone try and make a 2-stopper, trading slow laps for reduced pits? The wise money is on a 3-stopper.


Australia Race Preview

From the longest track to one of the quickest. A simple track, but the best performance is also the riskiest, with key corners on the track that can be cut, but at the cost of Tyre wear. Softs are good for 8-10 laps, where the hards can get from 12-15 depending on how hard they are pushed. However tyre wear will cripple times on the street circuit, and the threat of rain is ever present to scuttle a great run.

Race reviews coming soon.....

[przemator]

Oh, so you're going to simulate the race like we were racing together . Wonder if it works. It would be nice to have the best AI result for reference.

[Alex Reeves]

Bahrain Race

Lap 1, we're off! All racers starting on Hard tyre, fuel loads suggest a first run of 4 laps. So very consistent tactics so far, although this track with the new tyre rules really only supports a 3 stop strategy. End of first lap, it's Rodney as a surprise leader, ahead by .003 seconds of Peter Santamaria-Woods (PSW). Przemek is a further 2 tenths beind, with SpinDizzy having a slow start, already a second behind the leader. Has the veteran had his day?

PSW pulls the fastest lap on lap 2 to sneak ahead of Rodney, these two have now pulled out a .5 second gap - looks like a race of two pairs, Prz holding .5 of a second on Spin. Lap 3, Rodney strikes back with the first sub-57s lap of the race to take the lead back, and holds that lead by the slightest of margins for lap 4. Rodney emerges from pit lane just .006 ahead of PSW. In the battle behind, Spin pulls out a 57.178 to haul himself back into contention after a slow start, and pulls a good in lap to emerge from the pits in P3. Game on!

All racers have stuck with Hard tyres for their second stint, seems strategy is consistent here for a 4-4-4-3 run. Rodney is super quick on Lap 5 to pull away, but PSW fights back on lap 6. Prz is struggling to get the new tyres working, and 2 average laps allows Spin to move over a second ahead. Rodney pulls out a cracker on lap 7 to pull away again, and as they come out of the 2nd pitstop has a lead of just under half a second. These two have a 3 second gap on the back pair, Spin made a bad mistake on lap 7 but still emerges half a second up on Prz.

Times (after lap 8)
Rodney 8 H 7:56.148
Peter Santamaria-Woods 8 H +0.462
SpinDizzy 8 H +3.691
Przemek Kolowski 8 H +4.209

Laps 9-11, all racers are matching each other's pace, tyre management becoming key here. Lap 12, PSW's superior tyre management gives him blistering speed on his in lap, plus a perfect pitstop gains him .8 of a second. He emerges in the lead for the first time since lap 2, with a .026 second lead! It's anyone's race! But what's this? Both the leaders have chosen the conservative Hard tyre for their final stint, not wanting to risk a last lap blowout. Desperation kicks in at the back - still 3 seconds behind the leaders, both Spin and Prz have gambled and put the Soft Tyres on for the final stint! Will the added grip gain those vital seconds? Or will they fly too close to the searing Bahrain sun, and burn on the final corner?

Lap 13, PSW sneaks slightly further ahead wih a 58.347 against a 58.500. But watch your rear mirrors, the Soft Tyres are working! Spin pulls out a 57.347 to gain a full second back! Prz is again having problems getting the tyres to work and falls away. Lap 14, PSW responds with his fastest lap of the race, a stunning 57.145 on the Hard tyre. Rodney can't get this set going, putting in a disappointing 58.300. But those soft tyres are thrashing behind! Spin pulls a 57.177 to close to .7 of a second on Rodney, and Prz finally learns where seventh gear with a fastest lap of 56.364, the fastest of the race.

Final Lap
PSW - 14 H 13:49.515
Rodney - 14 H +1.334
Spin - 14 H + 2.013
Prz - 14 H +2.186

The last lap was the fastest of the race! Prz's tyres were feeling the heat, but he still managed a 57.227 to finish. Spin kept his tyres better and clocked his fastest lap at the end, a 56.878. Rodney recovered from his lap 14 lapse to also clock his fastest lap, a 56. 906. But PSW held on strong with a convincing 57.177 to claim the chequered flag and win the Bahrain GP!

Final Results
Peter Santamaria-Woods 15:46.694
Rodney +1.061
SpinDizzy 1.712
Przemek Kolowski 2.234

Fastest Laps
Przemek Kolowski 56.364
SpinDizzy 56.878
Rodney 56.906
Peter Santamaria-Woods 57.145

Points
PSW - 25
Rodney - 18 + 1 = 19
SpinDizzy - 15 + 2 = 17
Przemek Kolowski - 12 + 3 = 15

PSW claims the Bahrain GP. Interesting fact, the order for fastest laps was the exact reverse of the race result! So a reward for consistency over speed. Less than 3 seconds between all racers, close race! Full results in the attachment for the stats geeks.
Bahrain_result.csv

Australia coming shortly!

[przemator]

I misread the rules (again!). I thought it was mandatory to use both tyre types. It's disappointing that it isn't. If I sucked in BHR, I'm gonna be DEAD LAST in Australia :d.

[peter-27]

Wow, didn't realise you were gonna do results like this ... that's pretty cool!!

I tried to enter Australia twice but had rain both times so didn't bother in the end. Surprised i won Bahrain though - awesome