2021 ChampCar iRacing Series: Round 12, Mid-Ohio - 9/1/2021, 9/8/2021

[Rapido]

Off to Mid-Ohio, to coincide with the inaugural ChampCar visit to this fine facility we will take the phenomenal VW Jetta to the Chicane config. Manage your weight transfer over the crests and don't get too many off-tracks. 

 

I am also pleased to mention that Team Hugh Jass will be present at the ChampCar Mid-Ohio event on September 11-12 for our first (and only) in-person ChampCar event of 2021. If you will also be there, please stop by and say hi to the team - we'd love to meet some of our virtual grid-mates in person.

 

Session Details

 

• Practice Round 1: Wednesday, 1-September-2021
• Championship Round: Wednesday, 8-September-2021
• Practice Start: 6:30pm ET
• Qualifying Start: 8:30pm ET
• Race Start: 9:30pm ET
• Car: VW Jetta
• Track: Mid-Ohio - Chicane
• In-Sim Practice Session Date: Sunday, 12-September-2021
• In-Sim Practice Session Start Time: 12:00pm
• In-Sim Time Multiplier: 1x
• Weather: Auto-Generated
• Setup: iRacing Baseline with 2.1g Fuel
• Fast Repairs: 1
• License Requirements: Practice Rounds (None), Championship Round (>D2.0)

 

Useful Links
 

ChampCar iRacing Series - League Application

Discord Server

2021 ChampCar iRacing Series schedule

2021 CCiS Broadcast Information Form

2021 CCiS Standings

2021 CCiS Protest Form

Guide to iRacing and Hardware

How to create your own iRacing paints

iRacing Tips and Resources

[mostmint]

ChampCar- well maybe ChumpCar - raced here on an April Monday in 2016 and 2017.  

[Jab31169]

Good practice, the start was kinda jacked, no one was ready for that half lap.

[mostmint]

^ Chris showing up for the practice race

 

Ran decent though still wobbly as usual at the start.  Started P9 and worked my way up to P5, touching P4 before pitting.  Took too many tires and came out P6 but Mark K and I were swapping spots when mistakes were made and I got up to P5.  Put a lot of pressure on Gregg V but he didn't choke I did and had to go offroading to avoid hitting him.  Cost me six seconds and back to P7.  Made a run at Mark K again but just ran out of laps.  Good practice at close racing though. 

[Rapido]

11 hours ago, mostmint said:

ChampCar- well maybe ChumpCar - raced here on an April Monday in 2016 and 2017.  

Ah, I did not know that; that was definitely pre-name change and just as Team HJ were getting started. 

 

Hopefully a lot of new teams get to experience the track for the first time, I know we're looking forward to it.

 

[mostmint]

5 hours ago, Rapido said:

Ah, I did not know that; that was definitely pre-name change and just as Team HJ were getting started. 

 

Hopefully a lot of new teams get to experience the track for the first time, I know we're looking forward to it.

 

Based on the car count this time I think there will be, and also the first 2-day event there.  Still arranging a seat for myself, but either way I'll be there 

[CoachMK21]

As sad as it sounds, last night was my first time taking laps at Mid-Ohio in iRacing.  I did have 3 pace laps 6 years ago in my 350z.  It took me up until the last lap of qualifying to feel like I knew what I was doing.  And even then, I kept messing up the keyhole.  I loved the close racing with Andrew, Gregg, Nick and Ian (for a short time).  It's so hard to pass with a car that has terrible power and even worse torque.  Especially when you're not aggressive.  It appeared I made the correct pit strategy call when I leap frogged Gregg and Andrew, but then proceeded to drive like crap for 2-3 laps and then blow the keyhole and let them both by.

 

Looking forward to next Wednesday.

Edited September 2, 2021 by CoachMK21

[cowboys647]

This is definitely going to be a tough track to pass in the Jetta. 
 

My short race recap:

 

Qualy was reasonable, about .5s off the leaders without any draft on my laps. Always hard to tell whether I’m off pace or whether the leaders got a draft in their lap. Started P4 and nearly missed the start getting a beer. Super short pace lap helped me into P2 on the first-ish lap. Everyone should definitely be ready to go right away on cold tires. 
 

First lap got a bump on the rear corner panel right at the apex of T11. Not sure if it was an attempted pass or if I was just a bit slower at the apex than expected. Luckily he hit my front end after which righted me and I only lost a couple spots. A couple laps later I was attempting to make a pass going into T7 and we stayed side by side until at T9 where I felt I was turned into a bit. My front wheel was at his rear wheel and he decided to take the racing line. Lesson learned to maybe be more patient here and don’t expect tons of racing room in the tight stuff. Ended up spinning and coming out ~p10 or so. Got to race with my teammate Charles for a few seconds but I was too aggressive into the chicane and put maneuvered him and came out the worse. An early pit for only 1 gallon and some good laps and I was breaking into the top 7 or so. Came up on a certain green car who gave me SO much room by driving on the outside line of the track through each corner that he put a tire off, then spun on track and collected us both. Then ran out of lap on the last lap and was amazingly able to get it past start/finish. I sputtered at start finish and was able to make it but was ~20s off pace that last lap. Take more than 1 gallon!

[mostmint]

3 hours ago, cowboys647 said:

A couple laps later I was attempting to make a pass going into T7 and we stayed side by side until at T9 where I felt I was turned into a bit. My front wheel was at his rear wheel and he decided to take the racing line. Lesson learned to maybe be more patient here and don’t expect tons of racing room in the tight stuff. Ended up spinning and coming out ~p10 or so. Got to race with my teammate Charles for a few seconds but I was too aggressive into the chicane and put maneuvered him and came out the worse. An early pit for only 1 gallon and some good laps and I was breaking into the top 7 or so. Came up on a certain green car who gave me SO much room by driving on the outside line of the track through each corner that he put a tire off, then spun on track and collected us both. Then ran out of lap on the last lap and was amazingly able to get it past start/finish. I sputtered at start finish and was able to make it but was ~20s off pace that last lap. Take more than 1 gallon!

 

I saw you pass attempt and I actually backed off a bit before you went around as I was not sure it was going to be a good outcome.  Fortunately I had just enough room to avoid contact. 

 

I think we need to tell the driver of the green car he need to stay on the track and stay on the racing line we will find a way past you.  He is trying to be polite but unpredictable ends up in more trouble than not.  I have also heard his racing gear is "primitive" and I think I need to know what that is.  If he using a mouse or joystick we should find him a wheel/pedal setup. 

[David Haines]

Remember there will be a live broadcast by HJBC. 

[David Haines]

Racers, a reminder that it's iRacing new build week and there will be updates to download before you can join the race session. 

See everyone for the first CCiS round at Mid-Ohio! 

[Jab31169]

7.75GB if you pull it all down

[Jab31169]

So the UI wont let me login, keeps giving me checking creds and spinny circle.  Attempted everything recommended online, still not working.  Uninstalled, reinstalling now

 

 

[cowboys647]

I’m getting the same. https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/pkjr46/service_availability_issues_20210908/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

 

[Jab31169]

Why dont these bassholes (iRacing) put an alert up on the main site maybe?  That would of saved me some time

Edited September 8, 2021 by Jab31169

[mostmint]

Using the web interface 

[cowboys647]

Well I only ended up making 1 mistake this whole race. Sorry to Alex and Keith and anyone else I tapped. I ended my half-spin right in the middle of the track so I didn’t really have anywhere to go with cars on both sides. 
 

After that lap 6 ish incident, I pitted and tried to chase Keith but he was flying. Had a great draft battle between Chris and Charles for like 20 laps. Would never gotten past Chris if he didn’t push his entry into the hairpin entering the back straight just a bit too deep. Such a hard track to pass.

[smithk1]

It has been quite a while since I've been able to participate in CCiS and tonight was a good race to jump back in.  Had a poor qualifying session, but got a good feel for the car and track.  Started 14th and had a good battle with Gregg during the opening stages.  After the stop, I played the role of "rabbit" for Neil and let him through so I could get a tow and out run the guys behind us.  That was the start of a 20 minute battle to close out the race.  I don't think we were more than .8 seconds apart during that time.  I thought I had a chance on the last lap, but got off on my shifts and ran on the limiter through turns 4 and 5.  I hope to make the rest of the season for some more close battles!

[Jab31169]

Yea was good fun!  Had a fun time running.  Had a netcode/bump with @mostmint after our mirrors touched tips.  Mid O is tough, I wasn't any good though any of the corners that felt like double apexes.  Was fun last laps running with @cowboys647 at the end, one peek in the mirror and I lost my trip to the booth.  See you guys next race!  I guess practice really did pay off

[mostmint]

Unofficial points standings (best 8 of 12):

 

We still have 21 drivers eligible for the participation award, and 5 of those have met their participation requirements in the minimum number of chances

 

Position	Points		Name
1	373		Alex Albert
2	362		Mark W McCormack
3	332		Nicholas Love3
4	318		Justin Hall
5	307		Keith Carlson
6	281		Simon Foweather
7	257		Ian Giebeler
8	227		Andrew Cossick
9	226		Charles Kowalczyk
10	222		Chris Kniseley
11	214		Mark Krueger
12	207		Troy Isadore
13	203		Neil Hancock
14	198		Tim Weyer
15	197		Aaron Thorp
16	193		Alex Koffard
17	190		Jay Sofianek
18	187		Bradley Dailey
19	180		Shane Cameron
20	180		Scott Grinnell2
21	170		David Warden2
22	152		David Palermo
23	150		Gregg Vandivert
24	149		Clinton Ford
25	144		Christopher Flamion

Edited September 9, 2021 by mostmint

[Jab31169]

I’m gonna be one short 

[CoachMK21]

I feel like I was a rolling road block last night.  I qualified way higher than I deserved to be.  I had a pretty solid lap with a draft from Gregg and the field was SO tight in qualifying.  I know I was holding up several guys behind me.  I just couldn't get in a good rhythm and drove way too defensively, which of course made me slow.  Some really good close racing overall and I can't be too upset with a top 10.

[mostmint]

That was the most disappointing top 10 finish

 

Put a lot of work into prepping for this one.  I’m still a solid second off the fastest and I want to close the gap.  After the practice race being at 84 degrees air and 109 track temp I practiced that.  At the end I got so frustrated as I could not find any more time, so I went back to the cooler temps.  Prescient move.  I was so surprised in practice when I PR’d getting to 1:39.8

 

My qualifying had a lot of wobbly laps as adjusting to the first lap or two on cold tires was difficult.  As it was I qualified P4 on the same row as Alex which is quite the accomplishment for me.  As much as he dislikes the Jetta it is more like my backyard, as is this track. 

 

Come race time I was a bit slow on the start – apparently not mentally prepped for a ¼ lap warmup and I gave up a spot right away.  Still settled in to P5 and got the groove going.  I was just started to get a bit of a gap to P4 when Nick spun out and took out Alex.  With a slight lift and the seas parting followed by an early trip to the pits for Keith I was in P2!  Well that lasted about 2 turns and I went wide at the keyhole letting Chris by.  So I followed him.  I had enough pace to hang right on the bumper.  Took a couple laps to realize what that pain scheme was lol.  Made a few little mistakes but had some draft and pace to regain.  Slowly I was watching P4 get further back and I was thinking I’d just ride it out, then Charles got up to P4 and started closing the gap.  After a few laps of this Chris went wide in the keyhole and I had a chance to make a move that I took.  We went side by side down the back straight and made door to door contact twice.  Still need to watch the replay but Chris is thinking net code as a light touch should not have done much damage.  Anyway I think I missed my braking point and so I went off and hit the wall on the other side of China Beach.  I was hot! 

Anyway recovered as best I could and nursed my broken car to the pits.  Got the fast repair and pit service and back at it. 

 

Still had decent pace though pretty far back.  After the pit sequence was over I found myself behind Mark in P9.  I was clearly faster but he had good exit speed from the keyhole and good enough exit speed from the carousel I was kind of stuck.  I sent several clear signals I was back there but he did not want to yield.  So at one point I got a run going into madness and we were side by side going into turn 9.  Well I braked a bit too late, we had side to side contact and I pretty much bumped him off the track.  The live broadcast was onboard my car when this happened.  Fortunately he did not spin or wreck.  Sorry Mark – totally my fault.  In retrospect I should have given that spot back but I still had red mist from the earlier incident so I wasn’t thinking about it at the time.  After that I started making my way toward P7 and P6 but I had one slow down in there and basically ran out of laps. 

 

So I notched my fourth top 10 in a row, and even with the off and limp back to the pits I ended up 48 seconds behind the leader a new personal best.  Its going to be fun in the off season to see how much I can improve my iRating. 

 

Also watched the broadcast @David Hainesand I will answer the question “How close does the Jetta drive to the Saturn?”

The Jetta is probably 75% similar to the Jetta in terms of driving.  Differences:

·        The Saturn is not as fast as the Jetta.  I have run the Saturn at Mid Ohio in real life (though pre-wing and other mods) so my best guess is the Jetta is about 8 seconds faster per lap.  Don't know the UTQG rating on the Jetta tires but might be lower than 200

·        The Jetta front springs are so stiff the thing bounces so easily and the Saturn – while firm up front – does not pogo if you hit a curb. 

·        The Saturn is LOUD.  So loud.  The muffler said the sound would be “moderate” but Saturn engines are known to be exhaust sound amplifiers. 

·        The Saturn brakes better than the Jetta, but limitations of no feel in the game make it hard to do exact comparison.

·        The wing helps reduce errors with lift throttle oversteer, and it will let you carry a lot more speed in situations where you have to reduce throttle while cornering.  I don’t notice the Jetta to be particularly bad at lift throttle oversteer

Responding to other broadcast comments:

·        Not even the Saturn has teal on the interior.  Note the teal accent on the driver gear!

·        This FWD has its quirks with a low shift point, super quiet, buckboard suspension, but it’s the only FWD we can reasonably use in this series and FWD is how I grew up doing endurance road racing so I vote it stays!  IMO Mid Ohio is not an easy place to pass with equal cars no matter what

·        You might also consider the skill differences between FWD and RWD.  Precious few FWD vehicles in iRacing

·        Mid Ohio is a difficult place to pass no matter what in equal cars IMO so this is not just the Jetta 

Edited September 10, 2021 by mostmint

[CoachMK21]

I just watched that section with me and Andrew.  At least the commentators didn't just openly say I was in the way.  Just that I took a defensive line....a lot.

 

As for the Doritos comment, they are the best...my favorite!

[cowboys647]

On 9/9/2021 at 10:29 PM, mostmint said:

That was the most disappointing top 10 finish

 

Put a lot of work into prepping for this one.  I’m still a solid second off the fastest and I want to close the gap.  After the practice race being at 84 degrees air and 109 track temp I practiced that.  At the end I got so frustrated as I could not find any more time, so I went back to the cooler temps.  Prescient move.  I was so surprised in practice when I PR’d getting to 1:39.8

 

My qualifying had a lot of wobbly laps as adjusting to the first lap or two on cold tires was difficult.  As it was I qualified P4 on the same row as Alex which is quite the accomplishment for me.  As much as he dislikes the Jetta it is more like my backyard, as is this track. 

Very impressed with your pace in qualy. I came out maybe 2-3 seconds behind you and figured I could catch on and get a draft for a lap soon. Maybe 6-7 laps later and I was still 2 seconds back! You definitely had a really good pace and good to see you getting up there to the front.