Driving Standards
Driving standards during the race were excellent. A lot of patience was being shown by the faster classes, and if ambitious moves were being attempted space was provided. We saw a lot of close racing for position, but it all remained fair and mostly clean. Only 31 incident reports were filed, down four from Watkins Glen.
With the changes made to the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the latest patch, apart from the post-race investigations which were completed on Sunday after the race RC has not been able to review any other incident in detail. This means that these notes will be based on RC’s memory of the race and off the broadcast.
The two most high-profile incidents occurred between the two main contenders in the Sport class: #142 and #178. Both would have been deemed racing incidents had they been reported. The first incident started with #142 attempting to pass on the outside of #178 approaching T5. #178 tries to push out #142 towards the left side of the track approaching the braking zone, but #142 does not yield. The contact loosens the rear of #178 under braking, causing them to run wide through the corner, making contact with #142 and forcing them off the track. This means #142 has to cut across the inside of T6. While on the grass the driver made a reasonable attempt to rejoin safely, but with the reduced grip while off the track they are not able to slow down enough to prevent contact between the two cars when #142 rejoins. Into T7 #142 is still behind, but they are able to complete the pass around the outside of T7 to take the position.
The second incident occurred on the final lap of the race. Once again #142 is attempting to pass #178 around the outside, this time through T14. On corner exit #142 is still alongside but on throttle application the rear steps out and the car spins to the inside into the rear of #178. An unfortunate end to an excellent race-long fight. Overall this battle can serve as an example of a clean, fair fight where overtakes were only attempted if the opportunity presented itself.
A third incident we would like to discuss is the incident involving #8 and #77 during the final SCP, incident 41 on the Race Control Decisions Sheet. A video of this incident is linked down below, kindly provided by Tim Matzke – the video does not include any audio. During the final SCP, both #8 and #77 pitted. #8 has the first pit box and #77 has the second pit box. At the end of the pit stops, #77 leaves their box slightly earlier than #8 and is momentarily ahead of #8 as the two cars pull away from their boxes. However, Pit Exit is still closed and with two other cars already waiting at the exit, #77 correctly stops behind the second car in line. #8 continues to drive through #77 and stops in front of them, alongside the second car in line. When Pit Exit opens, #8 also crosses the line ahead of the second car in line. The correct order would have been the #141 and #142, then either #77 or #248 and then #8. Instead, #8 ended up ahead of #142. #8 therefore illegally gained three spots in the pacing line, and crucially passed #77, ultimately winning the race only 1.2s ahead of #77. Given the small pace difference between#8 and #77 during the final stint, RC decided this incident played a significant role in the outcome of the race and awarded a 5s post-race penalty to #8, demoting them to second place behind #77.
SCP Observations
With the changes made to the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the latest patch, we have unfortunately not been able to review the SCPs in detail. This means that these notes will be based on RC’s memory of the race and off the broadcast.
The slowing down of the overall leader worked well to improve safety car period efficiency. The overall leader could have been more aware of the fact they had to slow down, on several occasions needing multiple instructions from RC before doing so. RC will emphasize for the next race to all Cup teams the importance of slowing down as soon as the SCP starts.
The limits placed on the Pit Entrance Open call using SCL 1 and SCL 2 worked, and no late Pit Entrance Open calls were made. In fact, all four calls were made before the Safety Car had passed SCL 1.
The new EOL procedure resulted in similar issues to the 6 Hrs of Watkins Glen being avoided, however there are still improvements to be made in the timeliness of the procedure. While the penalties were still being issued, there were several cars who had already started to serve their penalties instead of waiting for RC’s call to do so. There was also an instance where cars who did not receive an EOL were not passing cars who had received one and who were serving them correctly by pulling out to the left of the pacing line. In both instances RC could have intervened better by keeping a keener eye on proceedings. Both instances could have also been avoided by a better understanding of the procedure from the drivers in question.
The issuing of the penalties in the order of the cars in the pacing line has added some time to the issuing of all the penalties, especially if there are a handful of penalties to be issued. RC believes this time can be shortened, however the amount of EOLs could also have been reduced during at least two SCPs if cars do not exit Pit Lane while the exit is still closed. Throughout the entire race, the majority of EOLs were for cars exiting a closed Pit Exit.
RC has emphasised internally the importance of getting the text messages for the Pit Lane messages correct. There was an instance during one of the SCPs where an incorrect timestamp caused some confusion for a couple of teams. This was caused by the message being typed but not being sent for another minute. This issue was resolved during the race but it did cause an unnecessary distraction for both RC and the teams involved.
There were also multiple instances of cars receiving an EOL from the sim from a Pit Lane Infraction during SCPs and waiting for cars to pass them on the other side of the track to the pacing line instead of catching up at race speed to the pacing line and waiting there for cars to catch up. If you do get an EOL from the sim during the SCP, you should still catch up to the pacing line normally. If you receive a black flag for passing under yellow from the sim, RC can clear that for you. It is important to note that if you need a black flag cleared you must use the Race Control Bot; RC will not be able to view your team’s text channels during and shortly after SCPs. Some unfortunate issues arose from this problem which lead to needless disqualifications.
In general, RC is very happy with the SCP improvements from the 6 Hrs of Watkins Glen to the 6 Hrs of Spa. The pacing line formed up correctly on the right hand side of the track, drivers followed instructions from RC when they were given them and RC was able to quickly and efficiently work through the procedure which meant that two of the four SCPs where Pit Lane was opened were able to be completed within two Safety Car laps.