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BMW M3 E30 "Track guide" - Brands Hatch @ SRR/SRS
#1
This is my attempt at a "track guide" for the BMW M3 E30 at Brands Hatch in the SimRacingRevolution series. As it was discussed on a topic of the forum (to make track guides), i decided to record this while i was making my basic setup for the tyres and so on. There s not much to toy with the setup, so as long as you have the semi-slick tyres, you should have a very similar behavior. It's 1st on RSR's leaderboard with this 1:46.1, 20 min tank and the regular SRS track conditons, but not much competition on it so far and it can be improved, i feel getting into the 1:45 is possible to me, and im sure some could do it.

Anyway, the main difficulty with this car on this track i believe, is finding what gear you should be in, as the 4th is very long compared to 3rd and sometimes you have to make a compromise, especially going into 3rd can often lock your rear as a result of the long gear ratio (and differential), so you have to be very mindful of what you are unleashing on downshifts.






Onto the corner specifics, the tricky ones i think with this combo (i use the app that name them in the video)

Paddock Hill : It's always a difficult corner but with this car it's deadly, basically you want to brake as much as possible with the wheels straight, then start release your brake just a little, turn in, and quickly as you do totally release it or the car is gonna continue to rotate, doesn't end up well. It's very easy to loose the rear on the hill, i did 3 times in a row at the beginning because i had too much steering input and/or i was shifting down too fast (GT3 bad habit), yet it defines a lot of how your laptime is gonna look like in the end and more importantly if you are ending up in the "beach" or not.

Graham Hill : Nothing really special, just make sure to not go on the right curb before you turn in, cause as soon as you do, you will spin the back on it. It's something you shouldn't do with any car, except this one has no TC at all of course, so keep in mind you won't get away with it.

Surtees : Usual technique to me, i like to brake deep into the corner, some might have different approach to it, like squeezing it earlier, otherwise make sure you are in second gear as you cross it, or you will loose a lot of time when going up the hill.

Hawtorn Hill: Brake around the "1" mark or just before the be safe, imo it's very dangerous to downshift into 3rd there, it was unsettling the car for me, and you shouldn't loose time (i compared) if you manage to catch the apex in 4th, which is still a challenge because you are getting massive understeer.



That's all i can think of so far apart from the video itself, i ve put up this quick app layout in AC so there s the gears, names of the corners and time in the middle of the screen, also included two different views of the lap. It's nowhere near perfect but i hope it's at least a decent base to maybe train more effectively for some. Let me know what you think, if it was any help, your grandma is faster and whatnot.
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#2
Great Job!!
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#3
Cheers for taking the time to do this James.
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#4
James,

Thanks for doing this!
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#5
Thanks for taking action following the thread the other day. I'll add some things I've noticed about Brands GP:

Graham Hill Bend:
I find patience on the throttle at exit really helps here. Wait until you can see the exit before flooring it so you don't push wide. I can sometimes gain on someone here if they get on the gas too early and have to feather it on to avoid going onto the grass or spinning. Also turn in fast off gas and brakes as tight as you can without touching inside kerb.

Surtees:
Really important yet tricky turn. I think it has a very late apex so if you commit too soon you end up running wide on exit. Like you said, keep revs high.

Hawthorn's:
I find it best to keep really tight to the inside here. If I go beyond the right third I find I tend to go very wide at exit. Maybe some better camber at the inside? Also it's a really fast entry style corner so you can gain some good time by carrying speed through on maintenance throttle rather than trying to open the exit.

Clearways:
Like Hawthorn's, hug the inside kerb. Let it track out into Clark's. Through Clarks I find I can sometimes overtake if I had good exit from Clearways and I take the inside, cutting the corner. You don't really need to be on the left for Paddock until heading into the braking zone. Even then only 2/3rds of the way to the outside.
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#6
You bring some good points, in Graham Hill i think it's better to break early and probably begin to turn earlier than you would believe but not get on the power too soon. Some obviosities apply well here.. look far ahead at the exit, smooth is fast,..

About Hawtorn bend, there s a bump in the middle of the tarmac, that gives off camber exactly where you need it the most. You can trim 0.1/0.2 by going into 3rd, it's still more risky, it gives a better impulsion negating some of that off camber on the turn in, so as long as you can keep it in control after the downshift it's easier to hang on to the right, this comes down to if comfortable doing it and willing to take the risk. Heel&toe helps a lot with this combo.

There's always the balance to find between what you can do safely lap after lap and where you can trim some time but being more on the limit. It's like the druid hair pin, i try to square it a bit more sometimes and maybe get better exit at the expense of having more likely to catch a slide. Can you do it for like 15 laps in a row..or you are better off just following the curb.

While i m thinking about it, for some reasons the semi slick on this track keep building pressure even after 5-6 laps, so i would say start low, since it's 20min, wear shouldn't be too much trouble if you aren't sliding every turns, some might get into the yellow mid grip in the last couple of laps, otherwise front left takes the most hit. I found 21 LF - 20 LR / 23 RF and 22 RR, worked for me but this is always very dependent on each person's driving style and pace.

I might not even be able to make it back home for the race, anyway going to the lab a bit on a track is never useless.
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#7
Well that was a bit of a crazy race, and probably my saddest win. Got the pole, which is actually a disadvantage on Brands Hatch, sitting in some kind of hole, the left line is much more flat and less off camber, etc... anyway after a difficult first lap we were in close battle with Andrea for the whole race, heading to an epic last lap finally closing into the half second or so, then...backmarker comes in the way T1, they crash, i dodge it somehow but it was close.

As i ve already said, too many times wins are decided by people who don't respect blue flags. I don't even understand the point trying to race the leaders like that. If you are being lapped in a 20min race on a circuit like Brands Hatch, it means you are on average 10 sec slower a lap, there s not single point doing it except risking more incidents and screwing other's races. I really feel for Andrea, i don't know what would have happened in the last lap between us but ive lost some races like that, it's extremely frustrating when you ve worked all the race, each lap, tenth by thenth sometimes, trying to build a small gap, or even just maintaining it and in a split second all is ruined by something you can't control. It's just a game but frustrating, and you do that in a real competition, your racing licence will only get you to play cricket the next day.

Anyway, apart from that, i hope the race was good fun for everybody and the guide was helpful to some. T1 wasn't the carnage i envisionned (it happened T2  Big Grin ) but lot of people still crashed there during the race i think. I see Will didn't do too bad, into top 10 i believe? with some strong players ahead. The car is really a blast, very analogue, demanding, you can't cheat it, this could be a really enjoyable daily series i think.

Vallelunga next? I ain't doing any guide, i would need one myself, i have very little knowledge of this track  Smile
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#8
Man I really hope this car gets used at a time suitable for Europe next season, +1 for a daily series pls Mr SRS Wink
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#9
Yes James I finished 10th. There was some great battling going on between 7th and 12th, all really close. Was great fun.
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#10
I recorded this a few minutes ago while trying out the car for tonight's race at Road America, so really basic but should give at least some references for the braking and to avoid the most obvious mistakes. It's always a good way to improve to put into thoughts what you should do or have done looking back at your laps which is something even real driving schools will suggest you to make, so it's a good way to train for me as well.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs0Am1Wi5ME


Quick rundown

Turn 1: Brake before the "2" mark, the sign is difficult to see, try to find your own landmark. Squeeze it as much as possible (so unlike my lap..) the car tends to run wide on the exit

Turn 2: Important one, brake at "2", get on the gas in 3rd as early as possible since there s a long straight ahead

Turn 5: "4" mark for the brakes, give it everything you got for about half of the braking zone, preferably in line, then start to easy it up, down to 3, keep the 3rd for a little while and some stream of brakes up until you are really close to the apex, only then go to 2nd at this point, so you don't upset the balance too much.
In general with this car, releasing some of the brake halfway will give you better braking, i mean more than with any other car, this is simply due to high ABS intervention set at 1 (that's max in AC) that you cannot change in the setup, so you want to try to just get away of the ABS treshold as quickly as possible, braking is more effective and you get more directionnal control of the car.

Turn 6: "1" mark under the bridge, probably not recommended to floor it right away, easy and progressive on the power and steering

Turn 7: Should be able to take this one flatout, turn early and smoothly. In the case you feel you are going to overshoot it, just do a little lift, but no brakes or you might loose it and spin. Turning early should prevent all that.

Turn 8: Exactly as turn 5, except mark "2", just before isn't bad to be safe, make sure to not have too much steering as well when getting on the throttle, especially if you are heading a bit wide on the pavement.

Carousel: Tricky as usual, there are several ways to do it, i find that holding it on the right quickly is probably safer with this car, as soon as you start to feel understeer, easy some throttle, depending how you are at that point you can make a little lift (not too abrupt or you rear is gonna get loose, but also can help you a little to turn), then while looking far head at the exit, you should be able to get on the gas as soon as you can see the grey pavement on the right.

Kink: Flatout like turn 7, turn in early and steady, it's easy to misjudge how well it's gonna track out in the end (just like i did heh), so remember to keep steering a little until you are completely out of this corner and don't go run in the grass.

Canada corner: Brake well before "3", no downshift in 2nd until close to the apex, easy on the power, might have to countersteer a bit otherwise.

Bill Mitchell Bend: No particular difficulty there, i keep the 3rd for a long time since if you get into 4th you are actually going to decelerate while turning and going up hill at the same time which is too much for this car in 4th, that is really too long and the powerband is very linear (more rev more power, and little torque)

Turn 14: Brake just before the grey pavement on the left, then quickly move your eyesight onto the apex and exit to judge when you can go full throttle, also very important due to the long finish line straight, as any difference is gonna stack up in the end. I would say getting close to 150 Km/h (sorry no mph) under the bridge, means you should have done it right.

Fuel: At least 26l (always depend on your pace or if you heel&toe, faster means you are usually more often on the throttle = more fuel)


I really don't know what's a good lap there with this car since there are no serious times on RSR leaderboard. I guess around 2.40 is decent but feel free to post your times.



edit: im not sure why youtube videos don't show on the forum lately (or it's just me)
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