News

Several months have now been and gone since the 09C season started, but what didn't start was a car that RAC had initially planned on racing in that particular season, what was otherwise know as the Mk2B. Very little was brought to light about this car, and subsiquently after several failures with this particular car, it faded into the archives and storage sheds at RAC's headquaters, while the Mk3 RAC GP made it into the limelight.

Now, the previously unseen images of what remains of the original 09C have come to light again, showing what effectively became the blank canvas for what became the now so familiar, black, orange and white scheme of the 09C Mk3, and the current 10A Mk3a RAC GP cars.

For now, the black, orange and white scheme remains, but for how long that will stay around is anybody's guess, with dwindling driver numbers, and lack of activity on the GP front, team owner Chris Jones only available once in a blue moon, Brandon Longworth away on a sabbatical and Carl Dixon nowhere to be seen, that leave's Ian Cumming, the only other team driver holding the fort. What will happen to RAC? no one knows, just watch this space..............

Autobollocks magazine.

Normally, updates to the mod are not newsworthy, but we had to do something a little different for our latest update.

The increasing frequency with which people were having technical issues with our normal update process caused us to put a moratorium on updating for the beginning of the 2010A season.  And we intended to run the whole season with the frozen mod state that was consistent with our full r902 installer.  But recent discoveries about vehicle behavior on certain tracks forced our hand.

So we published an update for r910, which is available via the normal means (updating automatically via the GridMotorsports mod manager software).  But we also created a patch that will convert a clean r902 install to r910:

http://gridmotorsports.com/files/gridmotorsports/gridmotorsports-patch-r902-910.exe

This patch is only recommended for people who are unable to successfully update via the normal process.

Please see the corresponding forum thread for instructions and additional discussion of the r910 update.

We don't foresee any other updates in the immediate future, and intend to run the remainder of the season on r910.  We're busy investigating ideas and alternatives for our update technology that will allow us to eventually resume regular updates and continue to enjoy a dynamic and unique sim-racing environment.

Thanks for your patience.

Members will be pleased to hear that Club Patron and local Midpack aristocrat, Lady Rosetta Ponsonby, is inviting all GMWC members travelling between the flyaway destinations of Australia and Malaysia this week to join her and her consort, Argentinian playboy and retired race ace, Juan-Manuel Fandango, for Cocktails and Canapes at a pre-Christmas gathering and celebration of the club's first podium finish in the GMWC.

The gathering will be held in The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, Singapore and happily, because of her former liason with a Governor of the colony, Lady Ponsonby has persuaded the authorities to rig the race lights 10 months early in the city streets. Hence, anyone wishing to indulge in a little high-speed tomfoolery will be accommodated.

MRDC members will then proceed to Lady Ponsonby's plantation in the Cameron Highlands for recuperation and meditation before departing to Kuala Lumpur for the next round of the GMWC 2010A season.

For those unable to join us for the occasion, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for you and your families.

Members will be pleased to know that as part of the recent Rusyn "Ignorance is not Bliss" scouting tour, we were happy to host a day's visit here at the Aerodrome with members of the Rusyn engineering and test team.

Club engineer, Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson recounted some of the key features of the MRDC-10A that have made it the cheapest choice, sorry, default choice for the GMWC in 2010A, with particular interest being shown in the mediumatised diffusor that Arthur spent so many hours perfecting.

After a brief test drive on the perimeter road, the Rusyn Chief Scout seemed somewhat dismayed by the poise and pace of the club car (for exclusive photo follow this link):

Rusyn Scout Dismayed

Our thanks as ever go to  Mrs Jenkins, who wove her magic with coffee and cinnamon swirls to ensure that the equanimity of the entire party was quickly restored.

Members will be pleased to hear that the MRDC10A's have been boxed and shipped to Adelaide for the opening round of the GMWC 2010A season in a shade over two weeks time.

Drivers arriving at the circuit should proceed to the warehouse and look for the crates marked as shown below.

PLEASE NOTE: As we are arriving at the event somewhat earlier than expected, the roads will NOT yet have been closed to the public, so please take extra care. Especially when practising at race pace into oncoming traffic.

Mrs Jenkins will be shipping Cinnamon Swirls closer to the date to ensure maximum succulence on the day and as always with the most valuable cargoes, these will be transported by diplomatic bag.

Note that the virtual spectators (think Sims) go to races that turn out to be what they want to see.   Our Grid Sims, or Grims, for example, turn out in larger numbers for races that have close finishes.  They have really really good intuition.  Also, being grim, they like contact.  The management and marshal do not, but the grims do, so races with more contact draw more grims.

These budgets are estimated by the GMWC accounting office and are expressed in the globally recognized currency of Griddies.

The estimation was done by calculating the salary based on DC points, RR, and if the driver has won a feature.  The car cost was based on active status and fault.

Breakdown per driver:

             salary   car    budget
RAC
Ian Cumming	29	13	41
Carl Dixon	15	18	33
B Longworth	-2	32	30
Chris Jones	14	14	28
Shaun Mclean	-5	22	17

SDL
Dennis Loyer	34	15	49
C Cahill	10	0	10

SUPEROO
Josh Gannon	17	21	38
Stephen Bish	0	0	0

Litchfield
Z Litchfield	-3	23	20
E  Baako	-7	13	6

M-Sport
Matt Lewis	54	14	68
A Cochrane	52	15	67
A d Plessis	24	16	40
Brian Gould	8	23	31
Michael Gore	11	17	28
A Dorsett	-9	25	17
D Robinson	-7	16	10
T Castellani	-3	12	9

MRDC
Andy Jones	21	18	39
Todd Thorne	15	15	30
Stuart Barge	0	0	0
Dave Pratt	0	0	0

Rusyn
AJ Weber	67	16	83
Scott Farm	29	15	44
Tom Giangreco	18	11	29
Moe Faster	10	15	25
Stephan Moons	10	0	10

Antares
Celso Jorge	66	13	78
Doug Baggett	25	18	43
Sammy Thiels	24	16	40
Mike Redman	20	17	37
Bill Blalock	17	12	29
Abe Duarte	-2	20	18

M-sport racing today unveiled its 2010A GP contender ahead of what it hopes will be its strongest season to date. Sporting a slightly revised livery the team is bolstered by new drivers who bring with them additional sponsors now displayed proudly on the car.

Fuelled with freebies from new sponsors Krsipy Kreme Doughnuts, staff worked endlessly and the MP010A car underwent a significant development program after the 009C car was found lacking in performance. Along with the teams trademark low CG , a narrower track suspension is featured compared to standard is a brave move but one the team hopes will suit the driving style of the teams drivers. In fact after trying many options and hours of testing, a clear favorite emerged and the Chocolate Dreamcake was by far the preffered choice of the drivers although the glazed lemon filled came a close second. As a side effect to the tortuous testing regime however, a fitness boot camp is required over the next few weks so as not to cancel out that low CG design with driver weight.

Team principle Matt Lewis said "We are highly optimistic with a good design and strong driver line up for this coming season. We have a number of unkowns if the no refuel rules but we are in the same boat as other teams. Testing has shown the car to be equally good to drive with full and low fuel loads. The car is faster than our 009C car but we wont know how we are compared to the competition until we hit the streets of Adelaide. The guys are fired up and ready to launch the attack on that teams title, hopefully challenging for the driver prize on the way"

Just days after the launch of the 10A GMWC GP car, RAC pop up with another surprise, the launch of the newly re-designed GTCC Class C skoda. And along with the GP car, the Skoda has also received a facelift to promote the teams new sponsor, Skyhigh Radio. Unfortunately though, due to a tight submission deadline, only the RAC Skoda will receive the new updated livery, leaving the Class B Panoz and the Class A Proton in the 09C livery, which isn't to dissimilar to the 10A cars. Speculations are making the rounds at all the competing teams in the GMWC/GTCC league that the constant re-designs that are being carried out by RAC are funded by the rarest of white-gold zeppelins that were once the property of SDL team founder Dennis Loyer. Chris Jones, team owner of RAC was unavailable to comment on these speculations, but the teams spokes person merely stated "these very rare zeppelins were donated to the team." No matter which way you look at the current RAC's team car lineup, the designs on them are getting extremely complicated, but are a huge hit for the fans on track.

Autobollocks.

2009C saw one of the most incredible championship battles seen in its history, Both GMWC and GTCC drivers titles ended tied on points, number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place results. The primary GMWC title was finally decided in a unique 2 driver sprint race to decide the champion. No sprint showdown was completed for GTCC so fault rating is the deciding factor.

GWMC would like to congratulate the drivers and teams taking away the silverware for 2009C and everyone who contributed to an exciting season.

In summary the trophies were awarded as follows:

GMWC Drivers Championship

Champion - AJ Weber
2nd Place - Celso Jorge
3rd Place - Matt Lew

GMWC Teams Championship

Champions - Antares
2nd Place - Rusyn
3rd Place - A-Tek

GTCC Championship

Overall Champion - Matt Lewis
Class A Champion - Matt Lewis
Class B Champion - Moe Faster
Class C Champion - Alex Du Plessis

The 2010A season kicks off this Saturday with round one of the GTCC featuring Skoda class cars at the small but frantic Knockhill circuit in Scotland. We hope you are there to make 2010A just as succesful as this season.

Just days after carrying out testing in the newly finished RAC-CUMMING-10A chassis, RAC are now officially unveiling the new, slightly re-designed team car, "We didn't want to spoil such a good livery that we designed for the 09C season, so we tweaked it slightly, and made room for our new sponsor, Skyhigh Radio" comments team owner Chris Jones. "We, as a team hope, along with the re-designed chassis, and now the slightly tweaked livery, the car will be better than ever, and ill probably have my hands full if Ian continues at his current level of progress he's making."

RAC have had their fair share in bad luck over recent season's, and are in some serious need of a good haul of points in the up and coming 10A season, and the teams goal has not changed, to be the first british team in the league to snatch the team championship from the dominant Antares. So with Chris, Ian and Carl all set for the start, and Brandon joining in hopefully mid way through the season, if not sooner, could the GMWC 10A season be the season for them? Who knows what could happen.

Autobollocks.

The default GMWC GP car is built under license from MRDC and is very similar to the MRDC-10A. In fact, it is completely setup compatible and will have identical behavior. The only difference is that since these league cars are also available for school usage, GMWC has decided to trade away some pit tech in favor of nanotech suspension.

2010A is another spec engine season for the league, so all the variety is in the chassis.  And there is a lot of variety.  Every option has been exercised across the league, so this little tech summary will be with respect to parts.

Aerodynamics

Clearly, the flexible front wing was the favored option, but for the first time a team has optimized around the simpler fixed front wing.  SUPEROO's plan for the GSR4a may be to qualify up front and walk away from the field so they do not have to pass anyone, at least for position.  Or maybe this is an accounting decision because they cannot afford to keep replacing those expensive flexible front wings.

The diffusors are nearly evenly split between narrow and medium, with no takers on the wide variant.

Suspension

The base gp suspension layout is dominant, likely due to it not increasing the cost of the car.  However, one team, RAC, has opted to retain their tried and true kpi suspension.

An new feature for suspensions this season is construction material, with every available material being used across the league.  Antares is  using the expensive nanotech, and Rusyn and Litchfield are using the brittle carbon fiber, MRDC is using the bendy polymer, and everyone else is using basic steel.

Pit Technology

The research into pit technology has made faster pit stop possible, but apparently that technology was deemed too expensive by all teams.  The most tech used is level 3, the maximum used last season, by SUPEROO, MRDC, Litchfield, and Rusyn.  Level 2 is being used by SDL, Antares, and M-Sport.  RAC has simply drafted some unemployed ex-A1GP pit crew to implement level 1.

Third Spring

Last season only one team used the third spring, but apparently other teams took notice, because this season there is a pretty even split between teams using a third spring and not.

In Car Adjustability 

Once again, only one team chose this (brake bias): Rusyn.

Center of Mass

This is all over the place, with all sorts of mixes of centers and ranges.  The most fore mass reachable by any car is 0.52 (aft) by RAC.  The most aft is 0.58 by SDL.

Advanced Materials (CG height)

The most aggressive cars with materials are M-Sport and SUPEROO, both reaching a CG height of 220mm.  The lowest tech entries are Rusyn and MRDC with 232mm each.

Track Width

While most teams stood pat with the default track of the last couple of seasons, two teams, M-Sport and RAC, jumped on the opportunity to try to recapture an aspect of their dominant chassis models of old formula seasons.  Time will tell if these narrow tracks will work as well on the current short wheelbases as they did on those old long wheelbases.  One team is venturing where no team has gone before -- wider tracks.  Litchfield has gone with a rear track at the maximum allowed, 1800mm.

Brakes

A variety of brakes are in use, with the most notable observation being the general increase in the use of nanotech brakes.  Is this a sign of inconsistent carbon brakes in 2009C, or are teams pushing the aerodynamic edge trying to get brake ducts a couple of clicks lower?

Members will be pleased to hear that the club has secured a new equipment sponsor for the 2010A season.

.555 Fitness Bootcamp is a personal training organisation par excellence and so well aligned with the mission of Midpack, you might think we're making it up. .555 is of course decimal for Five Ninths and there's where MDRC drivers are heading - step 5 of  the 9 in Hoss's simracing guide, also known as 100% pace.

The extra backing has allowed us to forge ahead with club development :

The livery is done, see the Livery Guide for customisation opportunities

The club history is done - see the Club History page for more.

The first issue of the Setup Pack is starting development.

Thanks as ever to Mrs Jenkins who has secured a new supply of cinnamon swirls, nearly 10% larger than last seasons, so well done Beryl !

Andy Jones

Club President

RAC have been almost invisible on the GMWC radar over the last month or so, with what seems like very little is being done to conceive their 10A contender, this however is not the case. RAC have been hard at work developing what is otherwise known as the Cumming chassis, named after the highest finishing driver in RAC's driver lineup (Ian Cumming) at various locations around the world, Suzuka, Spa and Silverstone are to name a few.

RAC had started off the 10A program with 4 potential designs, and after thorough vetting, a finalist was picked, which then spent many an hour on the simulated wind tunnel and at RAC's very own test track at Pembrey, South Wales. Testing was then handed over to Ian Cumming for further testing at Silverstone before heading abroad to Europe, then finally Suzuka where team owner, Chris Jones joined in on the action after a prolonged period of inactivity. So after weeks of testing and chassis adjustments, RAC's 10A contender is ready and waiting for the off, Chris Jones took the new freshly painted 10A for a spin around Suzuka for a promotional task, which soon ended in disaster. "Suddenly out of nowhere a golden Zepplin appeared on the track, and I swerved to avoid it," says team owner Chris Jones, "thankfully though, the car only suffered minor damage."                          

Those who are quick to spot, will have noticed that the team car design aint changed from the 09C season, though there are minor changes that have been made, Skyhighradio (www.skyhighradio.co.uk) have jumped onto the band wagon and have signed up to RAC as their prime sponsor for the 10A season, and these subtle changes make a huge difference in the way the car looks.

"09C was a good season for the team, not so for me, but the biggest improvement was made by Ian. And I think the 10A car will build on the success of the 09C car, and hopefully see a victory had by one of the drivers."

Autobollocks.

Members will be pleased to know that the recent run of poor weather did not spoil the testing organised for today on the perimeter road of Midpack Aerodrome. Unseasonal sunshine greeted Club President Andy Jones and other club drivers as they gave the brand new MRDC-10A their first runs out. Club Engineer Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson looked on as anxious as any expectant father, but he needn't have worried. All vehicles made at least one circuit of the airfield before needing any major engine rebuild work.

Thanks go to Mrs Jenkins for providing coffee and cinnamon swirls throughout the event.

After the motorsport world was rocked recently by such well kept secret news bombshells such as Alonso going to Ferrari and Mercedes buying into Brawn, GMWC today equally has its own well kept, not even in the slightest rumoured or discussed news headline.

Today the press world was shocked at a hastily called conference at M-Sport HQ when the following announcement was made

“Earlier today the M-Sport team fully acquired the remaining assets of the A-Tek motorsport team in a move to form one of the strongest squads to field on the 2010A grid”

The assembled press were so shocked by the well kept secret that absolutely no response whatsoever was initially made, although well humoured journalists jibed with “tell us something we don’t know” type comments.

Former A-Tek CEO Antony Cochrane was on hand to explain “Last season a small core of drivers parted with another team and came knocking for drives at M-Sport. Matt Lewis at the time was very supportive but wished to see new teams on the grid. He agreed to provide customer cars and thus A-Tek racing was born. Halfway through 2009C though things were not going and well and we nearly folded the team there and then. Once again M-sport stepped in to help and encourage A-tek to continue even though we went on to beat them to 3rd in the Team title. Our foray into team management was over however so the natural step was to merge our teams assets with M-sport”

M-sport CEO concluded “We welcome A-tek into the fold of M-sport racing and its fitting that something we helped build comes home to strengthen our team. Anthony and Alex Du Plessis join the great roster we already have and we believe we can finally mount a serious challenge on the Teams Championship. 2010A is shaping up to be an exciting season for us and we cant wait to get going”
 

Members will be pleased to hear that yesterday's meeting at the club house was both well attended and well received.

Newly appointed Club Engineer, Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson gave an illustrated talk entitled

"What I've been hiding in my sheds"

In 30 minutes of discourse that were by turn rib-tickling and intellectually baffling, Arthur took us through the design of the 2010A MRDC car.

You can find more details of what he said on the noticeboard in the garage, or here

MRDC-10A Introduction

All members are invited to take a spin in the prototypes that Arthur has left in the garage to see where today's technology can take us. Any member who wishes to register as a "Sporting Member" to drive a club car for the 2010A season is reminded that the deadline to get your application in is fast approaching. The Equipment Secretary is of course keen to know how many cars we should be ordering from our suppliers.

To summarise the car's feature (and many of you will know, I'm not really technical) Arthur told me:

- at the front of the car, to ensure good running in traffic, he's optimised the flexitating flaps

- at the rear, to give excellent downforce, he's mediumatised the diffusor

- to give maximal adjustability, he's increased the weighty wigglio adjuster at the heart of the car

and in a major coup for the club, Arthur has managed to secure enough sets of super-high tech StopU Anchors for everyone. So very well done, Arthur.

Argentinian playboy, retired race ace and club test driver, Juan-Manuel Fandango has pronounced the car "Good Enough" and now Arthur will be submitting the design for the annual Order of the Shed competition, to be awarded to best race car of 2010 built in a shed. Arthur hopes to join other legendary winners of that title, the likes of Colin Chapman and Ken Tyrrell, so we wish him luck with that.

Thanks to Mrs Jenkins as ever, for providing the coffee and the cinnamon swirls at the clubhouse. Anyone wanting assistance in taking the prototypes for a spin should drop a note in the club pigeonhole.

Forum

2009C

The final round of the GWMC draws to a close this weekend and we see a repeat at the top with AJ Weber and Celso Jorge battling for the title. At this point last season the question was, can Celso take his first title or will AJ add to his extensive tally? And so we arrive at the final round of 2009 with the same question on everyone’s lips however this time Celso has the upper hand and AJ will certainly need to claim the win and fastest lap to defend the title… pressure is certainly on.

Matt Lewis and Anthony Cochrane will be fighting for 3rd place, both of whom were never in title contention having not contested all the cups. Also in distance of that 3rd place with a very credible performance this year is Ian Cumming ,who is set for his highest points finished for the RAC team.

In the Team title race, Antares once again look set to clinch the crown but a valiant effort from Rusyn has kept them on their toes. Based on current performance, A-tek look set to knock M-sport out of the top three.

2010A

And so on to 2010 and what looks like one of the most interesting off season shake ups for a while. Much like F1 the Grid Motorsport see’s new teams, departures and a refuel ban.

Of what little there is confirmed from the silly season will be that new boys MRDC will join the grid led by ex SDL driver Andy Jones, with an interesting concept to team management. Litchfield Dynamics have a bolstered squad with their first expansion from a one car team.

SDL’s fall from grace though looks set to continue from the once great team as its owner struggles to find time and funding for the SDL project. With Andy Jones already moving on to form his own team, will others follow? Certainly the Seattle factory will be hanging onto faith for the possible return of star driver “C” at some stage during the 2010 campaign. Another team owner struggling to make the grid is Chris Jones; however his team drivers have done a good job to keep the RAC banner flying. 

Of the current top four, Antares, Rusyn, M-Sport and A-Tek no changes have been revealed and stability is expected to continue. Rumours of a merger between M-sport and A-tek have surfaced however they remain just rumours.

GTCC

The GTCC series draws to a close in Cleveland in two weeks, but the news is all about the revamped series which will commence before the end of the year. 

Aimed at increasing popularity and the fun factor the series will reduce to two car classes, B and C. GTCC promoters are confident this will retain the attraction of a multi class series but retain strong competition across the classes even with low field numbers. whilst retaining an element of arrive and drive accessibility. So in summary GTCC will feature 

• Unchanged class B cars with possible additional types to compliment the Panoz and Porsche (reports of Chevrolet and Spyker truck sightings have emerged from resident nearby GWMC HQ)
• Class C car consolidated to Skoda only with 200bhp engine spec
• Unchanged GTCC raceand points format

GMWC Off season

So after the hangovers subside after the end of season Party, what’s on the agenda?

Well with the core GP series taking a month long sabbatical, there’s plenty to keep the competitive juices flowing. 2009C GTCC finals will be held in Cleveland followed the week after by a showcase for the revamped mid week racing series. In December we have a welcome return of the highly entertaining and competitive Skoda series which as a bonus now contributes to the points for the 2010A GTCC series.

So plenty of change and some exciting times, we wish the title contenders well for the final GMWC round and look forward to seeing as many drivers on track for the off season action.

For immediate release

Seattle WA, Novemer 12, 2009 - Oh how the mighty have fallen. The once powerful SDL has sunk to a new low. Customers have been complaining recently of sparse factory support, shoddy workmanship and the late deliveries. Apparently it's going to get worse before it gets better. Sources within the SDL customer base have reported to Foxy Sports News that SDL has informed them that in these financially strained times, as a cost cutting move, for the foreseable future, SDL cars will be sold in kit form only. One annonymous customer had this to say: "We pre-ordered SDL's DLR5, the chassis they've developed for the 10a season. What we got was a crate full of suspension members, rolls of carbon fiber, a 20-gallon bucket of resin and some mimeographed instruction sheets. Not even photocopies...mimeographs! At least we're getting a decent buzz off the manual. On top of that, it turns out the car they sent is a DLR4 chassis with a coupon for a free upgrade when the DLR5 chassis is released. What kind of service is that? I swear, I'm about ready to get a labotomy, buy a crate of bannanas and join the Rusyn collective!"

Officials within SDL had no comment at this time, stating that Mr. Loyer, owner and team primary, was on extended holiday and all would be made clear upon his return.

Susan Sweets - Foxy Sports News