Round 9 Results - Road America Pro Sprint

The technical quality of the S397 GT3 cars was irritating me now after two 60 minute SPRINT races with seemingly everybody in the field having to run on either "pace car" or the next leanest setting. I ran almost the entire race on the leanest fuel setting ("safety car") and backed off on the final lap to cross the line with 0.3 liter of fuel remaining this weekend @ Road America. I tried short shifting on a higher fuel setting but that was slow and still used more than my target consumption.

I reviewed the various real world GT3 series to prove again that 60 minute races are pretty common but I dug deeper to discover that, bewilderingly, the real world GT3 series HAVE MANDATORY PIT STOPS and often TWO DRIVERS for a 60 minute race but that does not explain our fuel consumption malady because refueling is prohibited.

From the 2019 SRO GT3 rule book:

racb.com/images/2019_-_Blancpain_GT_Series_-_Sporting_Regulations_with_cover.pdf2019040553_1554457193r.pdf

20.5 Case D for Competitions with two one-hour races.
a) A mandatory pit stop for changing drivers and all 4 tyres is to be carried out during each of the 2 races.
The car must cross the pit entry line from 25:00:00 after the Official start of the race until 34:59.99 after
the Official start of the race. Only one driver change may take place during the race. Any pit stops taken
before the start of the pit window will not count as the mandatory pit stop.
b) For single-driver cars according to Article 13.1.3, a minimum pit stop time between pit entry and pit exit
may be applied which must be adhered to. If applicable, this time will be published in a Bulletin from the
Stewards of the Meeting at each event.
c) If the Safety Car is on track or a Full Course Yellow period is in operation at the time when the pit window
is scheduled to open (25:00 after the start of the race) the pit window will be delayed. When the green flag
is shown at the end of the SC or FCY period, the pit window will open immediately. The pits will then
remain open for 10 minutes for the mandatory stops. Any pit stops taken before the start of the new pit
window will not count as the mandatory pit stop. Should the Safety Car be called on track, or a Full Course
Yellow period be declared, during the pit window, the race director may extend the time of the pit window
by a time between one and three minutes.
d) If the Race Director decides for any other reason than given in clause c) above that the pit window cannot
be opened at the scheduled time then he may take the decision to delay the pit window. In this case, the
Teams will be informed via the monitors and the radio. A new pit window will be communicated, which
will be given in terms of the time remaining in the race. Any pit stops taken before the start of the new pit
window will not count as the mandatory pit stop.
20.6 Pit Stop Time for Sprint Races
A minimum pit stop time may be imposed for the Pro-Am and/or Am Categories for Sprint races. In this
case, the pit stop time will be issued in a Bulletin from the Stewards. Any car whose pit stop time is less
than the given time between pit in and pit out will be given a penalty by the Stewards of the Meeting.


37.2 Refuelling for events run according to Case D

Refuelling is forbidden during the races and in the qualifying practice session

I have the impression that the Studio 397 team consults racing teams and constructors for highly technical stuff but they themselves know nothing about cars or can't perform simple calculations nor design simple testing protocols as they can't seem to get the simple shit right. Soft tires can go for an hour (!) but the fuel can't .

I have no faith that S397 will ever fix it correctly so I propose that we consider a hybrid of the real world rules with a mandatory stop as decreed by SRO above but allowing refueling which would open up some strategy while moving us closer to real life for these cars.

Next up is Watkins Glen where I'd expect to use more fuel than either of the RAs. We'll have the Twin Sprints first which will give us a maximum fuel consumption number a week ahead of the Pro Sprint.

Congrats Mike on the win.

I did some quick calculations just before the race where I realized a full tank of gas was not enough at full power race pace. I determined the race should be 28 laps and I was using more than a gallon per lap, I would have to pit. Now my history with pit stops in races has never been good so had to change my strategy. Start of race I was at full power the first part of lap 1 to establish a position which ended up 3rd with Hutty and Pat already pulling away, so backed it down to pace car mode which I had never used before and wasn't too bad. After a few laps I noted I was using only .99 gallon a lap, so I could make to the end now. Also seen that Tom was just hanging back so figured he was doing the same as I. After Hutty blew his engine and Pat was leading then he had a moment in the kink, I caught right up to him but he again took off and pulled away. Now I was certain that he would have to pit, good for me. Along in the race Mike was pulling up to me but he had a moment that dropped him back. After Pat pulled into the pit I was now leading with a 1.7 second lead over Tom and looking like I could turn the engine up which I did. a lap or so later the car did a big slide spin off the last turn and Mike and Tom went by, damn! So threw it away and recovered to take 3rd before Coffey passed me.

As I already said I try to avoid pitstops so not in favor of mandatory ones but either way works for me.