60+ Racing Adventures-2nd Round at Monza

60+ Racing Adventures-2^nd Round at Monza

The 2^nd Round of the 60+ Racing Adventures League for drivers age 60 and older ran Wednesday, 6/21 at Monza, running the Grand Prix layout, running the Pro Mazda.  29 drivers qualified for the first session with several drivers breaking below the 1:50 lap mark.

Turns out that starting on the Pole at Watkins Glen and Monza may not translate into an advantage. The long straights at both tracks make drafting a major factor.  In fact, Pennsylvanian Donald Strout having earned the Pole Position in both events failed to even earn a podium in either.

  

One distinctive aspect of the 60+ Racing Adventures League is rules regarding safe passing and “corner rights”. Close racing into T1 at the start at Monza often leads to incidents—here the drivers showed respect and restraint with a “clean start” in both sessions.

It was not long however until the close and fiercely competitive racing began.  John Unsbee lost control in Ascari on Lap 1 and was launched by unavoidable contact from John Morgan. Richard Coulombe looks on.

Antonio Reis, starting in P3, was able to follow polesitter Strout on the inside line into T1, moving ahead of Jos van de Ven. Strout held him off for Lap 1 but on Lap 2 failed to do his best in Ascari, enabling Antonio Reis to draft him on the following straight. Strout pulled behind Reis entering Parabolica and committed an error, running into Reis, taking both cars out of contention.

Canadian Steve Carkner, starting from P8 in the first session took the Checkered Flag, beating out Jos van de Ven by inches—0.04 seconds. Jos, from the Netherlands had started the race on the front row in P2. Carkner’s teammate, Floridian Mark Robertson joined Carkner and van de Ven on the Podium. Robertson had started in P6.

After Strout and Reis were taken out of contention, the race turned out to be a battle between Jos van de Ven and Steven Carkner. Carkner played it cool and let his teammate Bill Lawrence duke it out with van de Ven for much of the race, but on lap 14, Carkner asserted himself and took the lead. Jos van de Ven retook the lead on lap 15, and Carkner passed again into T1 on the last lap and was able to hold off Jos for a near photo finish.

In the second session, or “second chance” race that includes all the drivers from the first session except the top 3 finishers, Strout again set the pace and earned Pole with a margin of 0.44 seconds over Bill Lawrence. Lawrence, from Canada and a teammate of Carkner, however gave their team the second win of the day, beating out Antonio Reis from Portugal by only 0.9 seconds. Strout, Lawrence and Reis had been in a three-car battle for most of the race, but Strout lost control in the Curve di Lesmo, allowing Nevada’s John Unsbee to take 3^rd place at the finish. According to Strout, “Lawrence and Reis were relentless and I could not shake them. Filling my mirrors constantly, I got rattled and just decided to let them go, and follow them until the last lap. I had figured I had a bit of an edge over them going thru Lesmo, Ascari, and Parabolica and while following them, I kind of sized them up.  My intent was to execute a pass on one exiting Lesmo, and passing the second one going into Curva Parabolica, but I made an error in judgment and lost control. An old man’s mistake! These tracks where the draft is strong makes strategy very important, but I did not have the skill or temperament to pull off what needed to be done. Definitely not my best day!”

Lots of close racing at Monza and lots of battles for position behind the four cars mentioned in P1-4. Remigio di Pasqua and John Morgan raced wheel to wheel for much of the race until Morgan spun in Ascari.  Close behind (in the photo) was Jay Freels and Jim Oliver.

After two events, the Team of Carkner, Lawrence and Robertson have a substantial lead over the Team of John Unsbee, Jim Oliver, Michael Key and P J Salley.  Not far behind in third place in the Team Championship is the Team of Bruce Poole, Joel Martin and Jay Freels.

The series maintains a Driver Championship and a Team Championship.  Team assignments are determined by the League Organizer to pair up 3 or four drivers that together have a “fair” chance compared to other teams.  In other words, less experienced or accomplished drivers are paired with the more experienced so each team is deemed to have a “fair” chance to win the Team Championship that pays $100 to the Winning Team, $50 to the 2^nd Place Team and $25 to the 3^rd Place Team for the Season.

Steven Carkner is leading in the Driver’s Championship, followed by his teammate Bill Lawrence. Third in the Driver’s Championship is Andrew Fidler, winner of the Watkins Glen event who suffered computer/internet issues at the Monza event.

The next event for the 60+ guys is at Lucas Oil (IRP)—a short track oval with little banking and a regular venue for the real life Pro Mazda series.

60+ Racing Adventures Debuts at Watkins Glen

The 60+ Racing Adventures League kicked off it’s 12 race Season 3 at Watkins Glen (Classic Boot) with live broadcast and Youtube video by RaceSpot TV on Wednesday, June 14. (760 YouTube views as of 06/15/17)

The winner in the first “Group 1” race was UK’s 61 year old Andrew Fidler from Sheffield.  Starting from P3, Fidler stayed in the lead pack for the entire race and managed to hold off Canada’s Bill Lawrence for the win. He dodged a bullet early in the race tangling with Italy’s Remigio Di Pasqua on the first lap. The contact spun Di Pasqua who collected Scott Dick, ending Dick’s race.

Racing was super close and competitive. On lap 10, with Bruce Poole (57) leading the 4 car pack of leaders into T4, Polesitter Donald Strout (8) went off into the grass and hit the wall, ending his race.  Fidler (20) and Lawrence (6) would pass Poole to take the lead soon after.

The 60+ Racing Adventures League is limited to drivers 60 years old or older. The terms “Geezer” or “Grandpa” is taken a badge of honor and many have a great deal of real life and sim racing experience.  These guys can be quick, even though their reaction time cannot match that of a 25 year old.  (The lone qualifier pole time set by Strout for the race at 1:42.03 compares favorably with the 2016 iRacing Time Trial World Record of 1:42.63.)

The format for the series is during each event there is a 30 minute Group 1 Race, followed by a “second chance” 30 minute Group 2 Race open to all except the Top 3 Finishers (Podium) in the Group 1 Race.

Racing in the Group 2 race was also full of close, exciting racing as seen here as the lead pack of Donald Strout (yellow/white), John Unsbee (yellow) and Mark Robertson (red/white) fly thru T5. Strout and Unsbee were wheel to wheel—inches apart at 100+ mph. Strout would go on to win the Group 2 Race.

The series maintains a Driver Championship and a Team Championship.  Team assignments are determined by the League Organizer to pair up 3 or four drivers that together have a “fair” chance compared to other teams.  In other words, less experienced or accomplished drivers are paired with the more experienced so each team is deemed to have a “fair” chance to win the Team Championship that pays $100 to the Winning Team with $50 to 2nd, and $25 to 3rd for the Season.

Team #9 is known as the Turtle Italian Team—shown below with Gianni Raspaldo and Paolo Bonasera in team colors.

The leading team after the first race of the season at Watkins Glen, with 49 points is Team #1 comprised of Bill Lawrence (Canada), who finished 2^nd in the Group 1 race, along with Steven Carkner (Canada- P4 in Group 1 Race) and Mark Robertson (Florida-P11 in Group 2 Race) Close behind with 44 points is Team #7 comprised of Bruce Poole (Canada), Joel Martin and Jay Freels (both from Texas)

Mark Robertson (43) and Stevcn Carkner (75) of Team #1 aka SBM Sim Racing , also with Bill Lawrence (6) above.

     

The next race for the league is Monza on 6/21. The next RaceSpot TV Broadcast for the series is Wed, July 12, 19:00 GMT at Laguna Seca.

60PLUS Racing Adventures Season 3 (2017)

A Sim Racing Series for "serious and seasoned" drivers, age 60 and older. Goal is first class competition with demonstration of car control mastery and mutual respect for others.

Brought to you by Friends and Patrons of the League. Team Championship Prizes provided personally by Series Administrator in support of the work by the Chaplains of Team RFC for the real world of Motorsports.

Series 3 in 2017 will be a 12 race, "spec" series running one car: the iRacing Pro Mazda--a purpose built, open wheel, winged formula car, capable of 0-60 mph acceleration in less than 3 seconds and a top speed of 150+ mph, as well as cornering forces in excess of 2G. In addition, all drivers are required to run the same custom engineered "balanced" setup provided by the Series Engineer, optimized for each track.

The new format is based on two man teams racing separately, but combining their points for the Team Championship. (There is an individual Driver Championship also.) Team Members are assigned by the Series Administrator with the goal of pairing drivers that "together" are as equal in "potential" as possible. A very fast driver paired with a less advanced one for example. 

Each "event" will include two race sessions: Group 1 and Group 2 according to the outline below.

All drivers will attempt to qualify in the first session.

If the field is less than 40 drivers, all will take the grid in the Group 1 race. At the end of the Group 1 race, all but the Top Three (the "Podium) will be eligible for a "second chance" in the Group 2 race. 

If 40 or more drivers attempt to qualify for Group 1---then, only the Top 20 will grid for the Group 1 race. Those not qualifying for the Top 20 Group 1 race will enter and race in the Group 2 Session that starts immediately after the Group 1 finish. In this case, the Top 20 Group 1 racers will NOT enter the Group 2 race--Group 2 will be reserved for those who did not qualify for the Top 20 Group 1 race. 

(The Group 2 Session actually "opens" for practice as of 20 minutes before the end of the Group 1 race. Just like Group 1, there is 20 minutes or practice, 10 minutes for qualifying, and a fixed number of laps, 30 minute race. During our Broadcasted races, the Top 3 Finishers of Group 1 (the "Podium") will remain in the sim and will be interviewed by the announcer/s while Group 2 is qualifying.)

In other words, there will always be two Sessions, Group 1 and Group 2. All drivers will enter Group 1 for qualifying. The field for Group 1 will depend on the number of drivers who attempt to qualify.  If less than 40, then Group 2 will be a "second chance" for the entire field except the Top 3 finishers (the "Podium") from Group 1. If 40 or more, then Group 1 will be the Top 20 qualifiers, with the balance racing in Group 2. 

The purpose of this format is to prevent a few drivers and teams from dominating the competition, by giving everyone the best possible opportunity to do their best and score points. It will also prevent the field from being too large for the short track ovals. The "best" outcome from either Group 1 or Group 2 races will count for Driver and Team Championships.

More than 12 teams have already committed, with more expected to be added before the season opener. (Driver backgrounds range from those with less than a year of racing experience to some that have competed years ago in NASCAR Winston Cup and SCCA and IMSA sanctioned pro racing. Several are also "alumni" of Wyatt Gooden Coaching and/or Alex Simpson's Apex Academy. Drivers are primarily from Europe and the Americas.) 

The 12 race series will include 10 road courses and 2 oval events. The final event of the season will be a 2 hour endurance race at Sebring with the Team Members driving the same car for double points, with each driver driving half the event. The Season begins on June 14 at Watkins Glen.

All events are on Wednesdays and open for practice at 18:30 GMT, with Group 1 Racing beginning at 19:00 GMT, and Group 2 Qualifying at 19:30, followed by the Group 2 Race at 19:40. (There is a 4 hour difference to EDT and 5 hours from EST to GMT.) 

On the second Wednesday of each month, the racing will be broadcast live by RaceSpot TV:

June 14,     Watkins Glen

July 12,      Laguna Seca

August 9,   Road America

RaceSpot TV – Awesome Sim Racing Broadcasts

The 60PLUS concept was originally conceived by the Series Administrator, Donald Strout after completing research on the effects of aging on performance in real life and sim racing, as well as on-line gaming.  Research indicates a significant change in reaction time and speed of cognition with age. These changes place the older driver at a significant disadvantage when racing against younger drivers, even though the older competitors may actually have a significantly higher level of car control mastery. In addition, Strout felt that there were a significant number of drivers who were frustrated by overly aggressive driving that resulted in excessive car contact, often ending a competitor's race prematurely.

The 60PLUS concept, evolving over the first 2 seasons, is designed to address the issues of aging and contact avoidance---making racing competitive, fair, and fun for drivers from age 60 to 90. (This is a rapidly growing demographic in sim racing.) This includes drivers with a wide range of driving skills and experience above a certain level of competence necessary for the advanced and very fast Pro Mazda. The major League rules include a detailed description of the protocols of safe passing when racing "close" with a specific definition of "Corner Rights" and "Racing Room". These protocols along with the :"Golden Rule" of "treating others as you would expect them to treat you" are strictly enforced bv the Series Stewards.

Those interested in joining the 60PLUS Racing Adventures Series should go to the League tab in iRacing and apply for membership or PM Donald Strout for more info. 

Here is our logo:

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Many Thanks for Support from Friends and Patrons of the League

Broadcasts and iRacing fees of/for the Leagues races are paid for thru the gracious support of Friends and Patrons...

For S3, 2017

Richard Arwood                  $20

Jos Van de Ven                    $30

Bill Lawrence                      $50

Richard Coulombe              $30

Mark Lison                          $20

Jose Carlos Campodonico   $25

Bruce Poole                         $30

Joel Martin                          $30
John Morgan                       $50
Jim Oliver                           $20

Many thanks to all.

Professional vs Amateur Racing

Very quickly in iRacing, it is easy to identify two major "groups" of drivers.  Each group includes drivers with a wide range of skill levels.  What indentifies the members of each group is their "philosophy" about racing.

The vast majority of participants in iRacing have never participated in a real life auto racing event. Their "experience" and knowledge is based on their observations of professional racing.

Participants who have some real life racing experience generally have raced in amateur events.

There is a very big difference between Professional Auto Racing events and Amateur Auto Racing events.

Professional Auto Racing events are run for the entertainment of a paying audience.

Amateur Auto Racing events are run for the entertainment of the participants.

Drivers in Professional Auto Racing are highly rewarded, with fame and money when they win. And, the sanctioning body knows that an entertaining race is a competitive one--so aggressive driving is encouraged, within the limits of reasonable safety.

Drivers in Amateur Auto Racing, for the most part are only rewarded by "having fun" and "being better" than the other guy.

Real problems occur in Amateur Auto Racing when: A) Drivers assume that the "correct" competitive behavior is what they see in Professional Racing; and/or B) When the incentive of "being better" than the other guy causes driver behavior that interferes with the "having fun" of the others they are racing against.

This is a real problem for iRacing. Their "solution" is a combination of a performance or outcome based "iRating" and a "Safety Rating" based on collisions with other cars and offtrack excursions. The system "allows" the new participants to compete like they think racers do (as they witness in Pro Racing) but over time a large number of drivers drop out and lose interest because of a very high level of car contact that ruins outcomes.

Many of these "discouraged" drivers choose to race in iRacing Leagues that often have rules requiring more "polite" driving. Plus, when repeatedly driving with the same guys, people tend to exhibit more care and respect.

Still, there is that lingering difference in attitudes--some guys still see racing the way that Pro Drivers do. To them, racing is a "battle" or a "fight".  Others just want to have fun and drive as fast as they can. These "amateur gentlemen" are annoyed by actions that are seen as unnecessarily reckless.

The solution is strict rules, agreed to by all participants; rules that are enforced by stewards who watch behaviors and all action of the participants.

There is a "cost" to this solution and a dilemma. The "fighting battlers" far outnumber the "amateur gentlemen" and the lure of "being better" than the other guy is so powerful, that often actions are rationalized as being "fair competition" when they lead to finishing in a higher position. The aggressive "winner" gets an emotional "high" and is anxious to return for another dose--the "victim" is often highly discouraged and often loses interest and drops out.

iRacing has another form of competition that the "amateur gentlemen" should find attractive. There is no other driver "battling" to slow you down, so that he can finish ahead. It is truly that the faster car posts a better time. It is called a Time Trial and pehaps is the most under-rated and under-promoted part of iRacing.

New Series--60PLUS Open Cockpit Series

Season 2 of the 60PLUS League will be called the 60PLUS Open Cockpit Series.

Let's make it an ADVENTURE!!


The first race will be at Road America on Wednesday, January 25 at 18:30 GMT.

There will be 10 races: 8 on Road Course; 2 on Ovals.

There will be four cars participating:

Pro Mazda

Formula Renault 2.0

HPD ARX01c

Dallara DW12

All cars will be run with fixed setups developed by Donald Strout.

The two oval races will be Phoenix (Oval-closed Dog Leg) and the finale at Indianapolis. They will be single class/car events of sufficient length and fuel allocation (60 laps) to require a pit stop for fuel and will be run using the Dallara DW12. We will use "lucky dog" feature.

The Road Courses will be run as Multi-Class/Car events with two cars: Low HP and High HP running in the same event. (See below).  Driver selects to run EITHER in Low HP "class" or High HP "class" for the whole season.

Each class will have a 3 driver Podium and Series Champion.

The Low HP Class drivers will run the DW12 on the ovals, but will be scored separately. So on the ovals there will be two podiums and points allocation for the top 10 positions in each class.

Schedule:  6 tracks same as Season 1, 4 new tracks this Season 2.

Jan 25...Road America:   Formula Renault 2.0 and HPD ARX01c

Feb 1....Watkins Glen (Classic Boot): Pro Mazda and Dallara DW12

Feb 8...Phoenix Oval...Dallara DW12 (Race Length requires pit stop)

Feb 15. .Daytona Roval:  Pro Mazda and HPD ARX01c (Race Length requires pit stop)

Feb 22..Mosport: Pro Mazda and Dallara DW12

Mar 1...Sebring: Formula Renault 2.0 and HPD ARX01c (Race Length requires pit stop)

Mar 8..,Monza GP: Formular Renualt 2.0 and Dallara DW12

Mar 15.SPA (Classic Pits):  Pro Mazda and HPD ARX01c (Race Length requires pit stop)

Mar 22.. No race--practice and coaching for Nurburgring

Mar 29.Nurburgring Nordschliefe:  Pro Mazda and HPD ARX01c (5 laps--no pit stop)

April 5..No race--practice and coaching for Indy.

Apr 12..Indianapolis 150: Dallara DW12 (Race Length requires pit stop)

On the road courses, the Low HP Class cars will always have "RIGHT OF WAY".  In other words, the Low HP Class drivers will drive their "normal" racing lines at all times. The overtaking High HP driver must be slightly ahead of the overtaken Low HP Class driver (in other words where the Low HP Class driver can see him with a single monitor.) at the "turn in point" in order to claim "corner rights"--Ideally passes of slower cars should be completed before the the "turn in point".

Slower cars may provide the courtesy of slowing slightly on the straight to facilitate a safe pass. But, THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT.  Never "move over off the racing line to make room"...And,,NEVER slow on corner exit!  BLUE FLAGS ARE "ADVISORY ONLY".

It is the responsibility of the faster car to modify his racing line to execute a safe pass without interfering in the slower car's race!!!!  The slower car has no responsibility other than driving his normal racing line, maintaining control and avoiding contact in the corner if a safe "legal" pass is made by before the turn in point.

Race Cars really do FLY!

FR 2.0 at Lime Rock, cresting hill

Pro Mazda at Lime Rock,, cresting hill with a bit more DF