Skid_Marc_

Staff member
Admin

Preparation for the fifth event of the iRacing Special Events calendar is upon us!

This event will feature a LOT of night driving, so I'm expecting a low team-count, and a high driver-count per team. You will need to take extra care when driving this track at night. Saying it's dark may seem like stating the obvious, but this track has almost no track lighting around 99.9% of it's circuit. Be prepared to put a lot of night time practicing in for this event. Expect your times to be slower at night. Loosing 10-15 seconds, or more, per lap is COMPLETELY acceptable. Do not sweat the lap time. Focus on learning the track and becoming comfortable with the few visible ques available on track. Make sure to give a lot of space and care to other drivers, as well.

I'm sure some people will be sitting this one out, and that is okay, too! Hope to see more people at Le Mans!


This is a team event. Two Drivers Minimum!

Track: Nürburgring Combined - Gesamtstrecke 24h - 15.77 miles (25.38km) - 170 Turns
Date: May 3-4, 2019
Race Times:
Saturday 01:00 GMT (Friday 20:00 EST) / Saturday 13:00 GMT (08:00 EST)
Race Length: 24 Hours

Sim Start Time: 15:00
Warmup: 30 Minutes?
Race Start Time: ~15:40?
Race Length: 24 Hours
Sim Sunset: 21:00
Full Dark: 22:00-06:00
Sim Sunrise: 07:00
Weather: Dynamic
Incident Limit: 240



GT3



Nejtun Cameron @Nejtun - 2250​
Jes Colman @Jes_971 - 1747​
Matthew Holmes @Brainling - 1717​
Hans Mohr @ShadniX - 2202​



Debra Bennett @Deb - 1755​
Ken Lindberg @Kenadian - 2541​
Marc Gammack @Skid_Marc_ - 2879​
Michael Moran @Hydromani
GT3 Cup

John Beatty Jr. @QuadroMan1
Noël Lüneburg @Noodleguitar
Bedo Magardichian @Bedo
MX5 Cup
The above schedule will have an "Availability"

Official car list hasn't been finalized yet. Currently only 5/7 car slots are used for a total of three classes. There is some talk on the forums about possibly adding a fourth GT3 car (the BMW?) and maybe the Mustang (PogChamp), but we know how well iRacing listens to the community. Official iRacing post won't be up until next week, so we'll see.




**Please read!**
Drive Time and Team Registration

SCHEDULE

The above schedule now has an "Availability" tab!
  • Please put an "X" in the hours which you are available to drive during the race!
  • Please add the number of consecutive stints you are willing to drive (1, 2, or 3) in the bottom row of the chart!

Band of Others' #PracticePals occurs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 01:00 GMT (20:00 EST)!
If you can't make PracticePals, use this thread to plan practice sessions, share setups changes, and keep up on other team happenings. Please note that just adding your name in this thread does NOT guarantee a seat in the actual race. You MUST show up to group practice sessions before the event! The final teams will only be made up of drivers that practice and actively participate in this thread! Planning for these events usually goes into the final week before the event, but the sooner we can confirm everyone who is racing, the sooner we can finish the schedule and finalize paints!
 
Last edited:

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
It's not a bad idea to consider the Mazda as a viable option for this event. The comment has been made that it's easier to navigate at night given extended reaction times in this car.

If you are indeed considering the Mazda I ask you please state your interest immediately as we do not have a livery for this vehicle.

To re-iterate what @Skid_Marc_ stated, I've driven this track at night in VLN and it's pitch black. Your headlights do not penetrate the dark that far so you have to know either instinctually where to put the car or be in a position to react to sometimes severe changes in inputs with minimal notice.

I was 10 seconds/lap slower whereas @Deb was only a few seconds/lap slower when compared to daylight conditions. This demonstrates quite clearly how much this track relies on experience during the nighttime hours.

@Deb obviously knows this track better than I ever will.

The other thing to consider is eye strain and possibly muscle fatigue. Personally, my eyes were burning and my hands were near cramping given how tightly I was gripping the wheel trying not to die.

...but, having said all that, a lot of Teams will likely crash out at night. I wouldn't worry too much about that as if it's gonna happen there's no place more likely than here.

Please don't let this influence your decision to drive or not because crashing has happened to all of us. These events are about Team and Community building more so than fear of failure.

If people are interested it may not be a bad idea to create Teams closer to event time based off Track comfortability and likelihood of incidents during nigh hours?
 

Deb

Moderator
First choice for me and @Bedo would be the AMG, but can drive the Ferrari or the Mazda, where ever we need to fill in to make a team. To me the Mazda is kind of boring and you are always defending, so it would be my last choice of the three. Oh, if they put the BMW in, could drive that as well.
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
It's too early to commit to any car but to start I'm gonna see if I can get the Audi around the track.

Do we maybe wanna put up a practice session tonight? Perhaps one that starts off at least reasonably light and ends in total darkness?
 

Noodleguitar

Moderator
I understand we have to be flexible regarding team setup with such a difficult and long race.

My preference is still probably the Porsche, it's just awesome that you can get away with throwing it around the Ring like a maniac. I also think the Mazda is really fun to drive, especially against other Mazdas, but you will get overtaken so many times by every other class that the likelihood of getting taken out is pretty high, even if you do everything right yourself. If they add the Mustang that might be interesting to drive. Its suspension should be able to take the curbs and it is all about smooth driving (and being a bit careful out of slow corners).

Sunset at the Nürburgring is around 20:00 local (GMT + 2, 14:00 EDT). We will be driving in darkness for about 11 hours o_O
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
I'll commit to the Mercedes AMG GT3 as it's the car I'm most competent in around here.

I managed to get into the mid 14's on the VLN 5 wing setup @Deb.
 
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ShadniX

Core
Porsche provisionally, in an attempt to entertain Nejt. I'm slow af in it, though. I'll run the next VLN race on Saturday with it as a test.

If that fails, I'm up for any other car, except the Audi (tried that car around the track in a test server session once - it just isn't for me).
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
If that fails, I'm up for any other car, except the Audi (tried that car around the track in a test server session once - it just isn't for me).
I can't even make it half a lap in the Audi around here. It looks like the only time I'll be able to drive that car is if it's super flat with no real curbs.
 

Nejtun

Moderator
I am done trying to keep the Porsche alive around Nurb, I am going to wait until the end of the week when the IRacing staff member ( can't remember his name ) said he would finalise the cars. None of the current line up takes my fancy so I am hoping the BMW gets put in. Meanwhile i am going to give the Audi a run and see what that is like.
 

Kinger

Core
I am done trying to keep the Porsche alive around Nurb, I am going to wait until the end of the week when the IRacing staff member ( can't remember his name ) said he would finalise the cars. None of the current line up takes my fancy so I am hoping the BMW gets put in. Meanwhile i am going to give the Audi a run and see what that is like.
Listens for @ShadniX weeping over this decision. (Guessing that’s not actually happening. LOL)
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
I am done trying to keep the Porsche alive around Nurb, I am going to wait until the end of the week when the IRacing staff member ( can't remember his name ) said he would finalise the cars. None of the current line up takes my fancy so I am hoping the BMW gets put in. Meanwhile i am going to give the Audi a run and see what that is like.
Good luck with that, the Audi is brutal around here.
 

Skid_Marc_

Staff member
Admin
Going to put up night session at the Nurb tonight, probably within 20 minutes (around 7:30 EDT). Be in TS shortly.
 

Brainling

Hardcore
I got about two laps in last night, but the meds my doctor has me on for an infection caused me to get super nauseous in VR so I had to stop. I'll probably start practicing in earnest once the final car selection is announced.
 

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