United Racers League - Season 2!

[scottydog]

United Racers League - Season 02

Just four days from the end of its debut Season is over, United Racers League launches Season 02 featuring a bold move and hopes to score a massive hit.

After a successful first Season, where URL produced a thrilling package of cars and track that delivered much on the hands of their members, Season 02 is ready to kick ass - and kick harder. With the likes of Porsche 956 and Ferrari 458 joining the grid alongside seasoned 911 GT1-98 and Lamborghini Gallardo, URL promotes a championship that provides both hardcore challenge and introduction to online sim racing at once.

Teams are formed now by members of different classes, with one driver coming from the hardcore URL-1 rank at the wheel of the high speed Porsches, and one from the casual/rookie URL-2 rank, an entry level aimed to rookie drivers, with driving aids available fitted to Gallardo and 458 Italia.

Physics, realism and driving pleasure

URL pays great attention to the challenge of driving, and Season 02 marks another bold move: after successfully debuting their own set of physics on Season 01, URL improved the URL-2 machine and teamed up with Miguel "Chronus" Margarido, one of the members from Independent Rebels Group, the guys behind GTR2 Reborn Project, to produce the custom-spec URL-1 physics that make both 911 GT1-98 and 956 very exciting and challenging to drive cars. Powered by URL engines, those 1.110kg cars can reach speeds close to 300kph on high speed tracks, with a unique feel that only Reborn was able to create.

Speaking about this physics, the man responsible for them, Chronus:

As Porsche have it, the "legendary Porsche 911 is the longest production run sports car of all time".

In 1998, Porsche decided to develop an entry for the GT1 category, having produced a car with bodywork which looked rather like a traditional sports prototype, instead of a normal GT1 car. And certainly, not the "common" Porsche 911 either, sharing the front end with the regular 911 and the back end with the 962.


This car was light, aerodynamically advanced, featuring a downforce producing body and short diffuser set from the rear axle to the back end (as regulations required).


Modelling this car required different (higher) figures for the downforce produced by the splitter/body/rear wing/diffuser configuration. This car features slightly lower inertia values due to its construction type (carbon monocoque) and innovative figures for brake disks and wheel/axle inertias. It was modelled according to GTR2 Reborn principles, but also having in mind the needs of the URL league in regards to tire wear and heating.


It is a demanding car - lots of grip at high and low speeds, but requiring lots of finesse when approaching mid and low speed corners. Demanding, but rewarding, as it is powerful and fast, sporting a rather direct steering. It will be very punishing for those drivers that rely on medium slides - departure from its envelope of standard driving can be sudden, but above all, tires will heat up considerably (grip drops acutely) and wear out quite fast (drivers must, more than ever, plan ahead their stints).


How to be successful with this car? Simple enough: be smooth and let it dance.

URL Administrator Fernando shares his view on this partnership and thoughts about the coming Season:

This is a very important moment for URL. For the first time we are using a Reborn physics set, one that was custom made for us. Driving the URL-1 car is a wonderful surprise: it is very sensitive to setup changes, a really tough yet pleasing car to drive. One of the premises on our League is all cars perform exactly the same, so we required it as well: the 956 from Group C will perform just as fast as the 911 GT1-98, with physics made with the latter in mind. One of the key aspects of them is Reborn set of tyres, with a fantastic feeling suited to our League by heating and wear values we required for Sporting reasons. The way they wear out and punish abusive driving will definitely give those guys with Jenson Button-like driving style a huge advantage. Being our first co-op work with ChronusI'm very happy with the way the handling was made, we expect this partnership to last for a long time, and work on Season 03 will begin soon.

URL-2 drivers who team up with a URL-1 one will definitely be in good hands. It is not a common practice for online Leagues to pay attention to drivers who are either new to sim racing or don't have a steering wheel. Everyone is welcome - as long as he/she drives cleanly and fairly. The decision to have the teams made of both classes is to give URL-2 drivers the opportunity to learn from their teammate and have someone to ask for help and support. To win the Teams' Championship both drivers will need to deliver, and that's a good reason for the most experienced one to help his teammate, and hopefully give him the push needed to become the next star.

The first of 10 races of the new Season is in one month from now, Jan. 20th, at the famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Join United Racers League now and become part of this community!

We already have strong, established fields at URL (as some of you will well know), but this season we have taken a huge step forward in quality in order to try and make the fields and community even stronger! Please come and check it all out!

[phntomF16]

scottydog,

This looks exciting! I just registered on the forum (as phntomF16). As soon as I'm approved I'll download the All-in-One Pack and get started!

By the way, are URL races Forced Cockpit?

Phantom

[dartguy]

Hi Kelly!

Glad you joined! No forced cockpit. And a cool tire concept for league racing. Plus a really good group of guys.

[shakaxd]

Hey Kelly, welcome onboard! I just manually accepted your registration, you should have received an email with verification key... if you do just ignore it, you won't need it now

Thx Jon, kind as usual

[phntomF16]

Downloading now. See ya Friday!

[phntomF16]

Great race, guys! The changing conditions and incoming rain showers made it even more challenging I'm looking forward to the start of Season 2!

[lunatic]

great race indeed. my name was "bigfudge" in the race.

[shakaxd]

Absolutely epic race, though I was thrown out by my ISP with just some 14, 15 laps to take the flag

Great debut for Phantom and impressive job by Berger, who surely lived up to his reputation!

Full race results: here
Race thread: here

[Nocunox]

First licence sessions for new comers to season 2 is less than a week away so come and join in. Because if your not there your missing out.

[shakaxd]

Registration for Season 2 started today and 5 teams (10 cars) already signed up. Join us

[scottydog]

So far we have 17 racers signed up for this season with quite a few more expected before round 1 at Laguna Seca on the 20th January. There's still plenty of great cars available so it's not too late to sign up. So far the numbers are looking good for us to have a strong multiclass grid (a rarity in GTR2 leagues it seems) for this season - come and be a part of it!

We're running a couple of Non Championship races this week to warm up for the championship, with a race at Magny Cours on the 11th and at Enna Pergusa on the 13th. We welcome any newcomers to come and take part in these races and dip their toes in the water. It should be a blast so i hope we will see some new faces there.

More info below, and at our site www.unitedracersleague.com:

[scottydog]

A couple of screenshots of some of the new cars in action, from Wednesday's Non-Championship race at Magny Cours:








More pics in this thread - i can't post shots of every car we run (and we run several) here, so check it out!!

[scottydog]

The season starts on FRIDAY!! Hope to see all our regulars and hopefully even more new faces on the grid at Laguna Seca.



It's all set to be a close and intense race. More info here!

scotty

[scottydog]

Friday's race results can be found in the table below and the thread here!



Also see this thread for the race video, complete with some frankly awesome graphic overlays courtesy of Fernando (aka shakaxd), preview below:



Race report (thanks to Ferrari Man 009):

Season 2 has finally arrived, and what better place to start at than Laguna Seca. This challenging circuit in warm, sunny California is the perfect backdrop to start what should be a great season of Multi-Class action.

In qualifying, Fernando showed why he is still the favorite for the URL1 championsip with a time of 1:16.661, a whole second faster than Edgecrusher. Following those two were Raider, John Sportelli, BigFudge, Tibone and Chronus.

In the URL2 category, it was closer between Scotty and Nocunox, with only 0.4 seconds separating them. Zkarz was 3rd, ahead of Mansell, Sparkie, Ferrari Man, Kraygon and Alex Rhaan.

At the start, Fernando and Edgecrusher were side by side into turn 1, with the Brazillian leading. All cars got away well, and the only incident was between Kraygon and Zkarz, with the latter car being pushed off the track. Corkscrew was always going to cause incidents, and it didn't take long. Tibone amongst the spinners on Lap 1.

Over the first 5-10 laps, it was very close between Scotty, Mansell, Nocunox and Sparkie at the front of the URL2 class, with the other 4 URL2 drivers all struggling at Corkscrew and other parts of the track.

In the URL1 class, Fernando was building a nice lead over Edgecrusher, with John Sportelli, Raider and Big Fudge fighting for 3rd.

Lap 4, and a HUGE Multi-Class crash, Alex Rhaan hit the wall and spun into Tibone, who crashed into the URL2 driver. Tibone recovered to the pit, while the Hendriks driver retired. At the same time, Zkarz also retired thanks to an Engine faliure.

Between Lap 5 and Lap 9, the race settled down, with the only main battle being between Raider and John Sportelli, which ended when the Pacwest driver spun on the 3rd to last corner, handing the place to the Englishman. During this time, Mansell had over-worked his tyres and pitted for fresh rubber, dropping him to 5th in class behind Nocunox, Sparkie and Ferrari Man.

Lap 11, and John Sportelli suddenly retired for an unknown reason. Meanwhile, Tibone was at war with the Corkscrew, with the corner winning as Tib went for another trip through the gravel. Chronus also retired around the same time also for an unknown reason.

Lap 13, and Fernando with an 8 second lead collides with Kraygon and damages his car in the process. Edgecrusher manages to reduce the gap and has the Brazilian in his sights. This also forces Fernando into an early stop for repairs, which cost him dearly towards the end.

As we approached the half way stage and with drivers racing with worn tyres, the errors grew in frequency. Mansell, Kraygon, Big Fudge amongst those who took trips through the gravel.

Further down the field, Ferrari Man's stop has dropped him 35 seconds behind Mansell and 5th in the URL2 class.

Lap 17, and Edgecrusher pits, but his stop took a lot longer than Fernando's which enables the Brazilian to extend his lead.

Lap 21, and Kraygon goes off at Corkscrew and, as he rejoins, crashes straight into Fernando, who will have some damage at the front of his car. The handling issues as a result of this will have given Edgecrusher a lifeline.

Lap 26, and Fernando locks up at the Corkscrew, goes straight on, and loses nearly 10 seconds to Edgecrusher. The Denso Driver was now right behind Fernando and the Grandstand finale was set. For the next 5 Laps, he would try to pass the Brazilian, who sucessfully resisted his attack every time.

At the end of Lap 32, Edgecrusher passed Fernando into the last corner, however, the Brazilian wasnt finished yet, and with a brave move up the inside of Turn 1, re-passed Edgecrusher and resumed the lead. Turn 4, and Edgecrusher put a bold move on Fernando, surely a sign of intent for the season as the Denso driver went up the inside of his West rival and ran the Brazilian out of room. It was a great overtake, and one that could prove decisive in the championship.

It was a fantastic win for Edgecrusher, with Fernando only 5 seconds behind him. Raider, 72 seconds behind Edgecrusher, was the only other driver to go the distance in 3rd. Big Fudge was 4th, a lap down. 5th to 9th places were earned by the URL2 drivers, with Scotty winning, meaning Team Denso took both wins in America. Nocunox was 2nd, ahead of Sparkie, Mansell and Ferrari Man. Tibone was 10th in the URL1 (5th in class), with Kraygon completing the finishers.

John Sportelli, Chronus, Zkarz and Alex Rhaan all failed to finish.

[scottydog]

Race 3 results here.

[scottydog]

Round 4 results:





Congratulations to John Sportelli on an excellent first win!