[youtube]http://youtu.be/xzVb6KiK2KU[/youtube]
Welcome to Inside Sim Racing and a special test drive segment. With iRacing latest build, they added the NTM version 5 to many of the older cars. Looking for a place to race for the season, I tried out a bunch of them and they all feel really good, but then came to the Radical SR8.
I think I have found my new favorite car in all of sim racing. I’ve always liked the Radical but with this latest version of the tire model added to it, along with some other tweaks they’ve made, I’m in love with it.
These are some of the other changes made to it.
– Reviewed and improved suspension geometry, shocks, bump stops, anti-roll bars, and steering.
– Updated aerodynamics. Wing is now adjustable in 2 degree increments.
– More accurate ride height sensor locations.
– Updated setups.
Here’s a few more specs on the car if you’re not familiar with it.
Horsepower
380 72 Degree Powertec RPA V8 2.6 Litre, 32 Valve
Transmission
Powertec P tec 6 speed transaxle
Weight
650Kgs which equates to only 1433 lbs
Suspension
Nik” Suspension System, Double Wishbone, Adjustable Coil Overs
Besides it being an awesome feeling car, I remembered that it had a nice community that raced it religiously, provided some great setups and have some great camaraderie going on. I went and looked in the forum section devoted to the car and sure enough, it’s still alive and kicking, and with this report and videos and the updates to the car, I’m hoping to bring more of you into it.
They post a weekly pre race meeting that talks about the track, gives tips and even had videos of a lap around the circuit. Here’s this week for Laguna Seca.
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/3236232.page
Maybe some people don’t want to run an older car like this, but I have to say, with the updates, it makes it feel new and very alive to me. It’s always felt good, but with these new changes, it’s a blast to drive and race.
I mentioned in an earlier test drive that I would be trying to race more this year and this is going to be my home for season one in iRacing.
If you’re looking for a series that has participation in every session, this may not be the car for you. But for someone like me that wants to run in the highest SOF race possible and at a certain time and day, it works out great. There’s also daily pick up racing though and they try to race at these times.
Weeknight pick up races
US & Americas Weekly times (Evening pick up races)
00:45 GMT (4:45 Pacific-7:45) Eastern
01:45 GMT (6:45 Pacific-9:45) Eastern
European Weekly Race Times (Evening pick up races)
17:45 GMT
19:45 GMT
Australian Weekly Race Times
9:45 GMT (7:45 WAUST-9:45 EAUST) (TY David Unger)
Then Strength of Field races go off at these times:
World Radical Challenge (Hot Splits)
Times are as follows
US and Australian “Yankaroos”
01:45 GMT (6:45PM Pacific & 9:45PM Eastern)
(9:45 AM Western Aus &11:45 AM Eastern Aus) (Friday Night for US and Saturday Morning for Australians)
Australian and European “SIRS”
11:45 GMT
13:45 GMT
European and Americas “N.A.C.” (North Atlantic Challenge)
19:45 GMT (11:45AM Pacific/2:45PM Eastern for US) Make sure to check when we switch for daylight savings here in the states
That leads me to the week one race at Canadian Tire Motorsports park, formally know as Mosport.
The races are 25 minutes in length, standing starts and this one in particual was going to run 21 laps. I could run in the mid 1:13 range and hoped that would be good to stay in the top 10.
I practiced a bit for the race and set a qualifying time of 1:13.1 which was a tad off my fast lap, but I felt it was a good place to start. That put me 7th on the grid in the highest SOF race of the week. 22 drivers and a SOF of 3361 which I was at the bottom of with car #21. So I figured, if I can finish here, I should pick up some iRating points and some good points for week one of the season.
Not going to do a full detailed race report here, but will post this whole race on our secondary channel and will have a link here in the description.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/JY79MZx-IBo[/youtube]
On the pole was Mitch McCracken and I was sitting behind Xavier Busoms and Tino Buchheim. Next to me was David Scott who I’ve actually met in person and is one of the guys that helps out with the Radical community. I was actually using a race set that David posted.
Start from my standpoint was very clean and we all filed into position. I think I got on the brakes a tad too much into T3 and the guy behind me wasn’t expecting it and in reacting to it, got crossed up and sent him off course. In watching the replay, it looks like he hit the inside rumple strip and it sent him into the grass.
From there, I just put my head down and tried to stay consistent. I held on to the guy in front of me for a few laps, but then he and the top guys motored away and left me in a battle with Lambert Bring and Antti Neijonen. Those guys stayed glued to my bumper and I was able to keep about a 1/2 second gap on them until about lap 16 or so. At that point, I was able to spread the gap to over 2 seconds and thought if I maintain this, 4th is mine..
That wasn’t going to be the case. Turn 4 before you get to Moss corner is flat out. If you clip the curb on the inside, good luck holding on to it. Well… I did exactly that and spun out, but got lucky; the kitty litter saved me from a date with the armco barrier. That allowed the two guys behind me to catch and pass me along with Gerard Van Langevelde, who had caught them when I pulled away.
So.. After all that work to stay in 4th, I ended up finishing right where I started in 7th. Definitely not disappointed with it since I finished top 10 where I had hoped I would, picked up 65 iRating points and 152 Championship points for the week which puts me 5th after the first race of the season in division 2 and 7th overall.
If you want to find a series that has a great group of guys running it it, with one of my favorite cars in all of sim racing, come join us in the Radical series.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this extended test drive of the Radical SR8 in iRacing and hope to see you out there this week at Laguna Seca.