"We're now on the 73rd lap and the next one will be the 74th."
The GPL Pit Stop System
How does the GPL Pit Stop System work? Well, having decided how many Rounds to compete on your Entry Form, you can sit back and wait for your Pit Stop Signal. When it arrives, it will have attached to it a Pit Stop Proposal Form. You can use this form to tell me which Driver you wish to drop, who to replace him with and how many more Rounds to compete until your next Pit Stop. Remember, your Strategy is not set in stone for the whole season whatever you nominate on your Entry Form.
And what of the penalties themselves? Well, the underlying principle is to use penalty points to mimic the effect differing refuelling strategies have on a Formula 1 car's speed during a race.
Basically, they are broken down into three elements. Firstly two are applied at each Pit Stop, a fixed Basic Penalty of 150 points plus a variable Strategy Penalty, calculated at 15 points for each Round you nominate until your next Pit Stop. Secondly, throughout the season a Round-by-Round Penalty is applied. This is calculated at every Round at 5 points for each Round until your next Pit Stop.
Let's have a look at some simple examples:
In the diagram above, the green columns show the Round-by-Round Penalty diminishing at successive races, the pit boards the Pit Stop Penalties. Along the bottom is the running total, leading to a total penalty of 515 points for this imaginary season.
You can see in this fictitious 10 Round season our Player has opted on their Entry Form to contest three Rounds before making their first Pit Stop. At this first Pit Stop, they then opted to have a second Stop after Round 6, in other words after another three races. This resulted in a Pit Stop Penalty of 150+(3x15) points. Having "fuelled" for three more Rounds, you can also see the Round-by-Round Penalty goes back up to 15 points (3x5) at Round 4. The second Pit Stop works similarly, except the Player "fuels" to the end of the season by opting for four Rounds.
You can see the affect this early Pit Stop has on the total penalties in the shape of an additional 50 points by season's end. The Pit Stop actually costs the same, as there are still two Rounds "in the tank". However, although this early pitting costs more in the long run it does theoretically give the Player a better Team for two extra Rounds. Of course, if their Team is still shockingly bad, there is nothing to stop our Player taking a second Pit Stop to follow the original example shown above.
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In this second diagram we have a Player on a conservative One Stop Strategy, again in a fictitious 10 Round season. Total penalty for the season is 375 points, somewhat cheaper than the Two Stop Strategy we just looked at. This of course has to be balanced against a change of only one Driver throughout the season compared with two of the two-stopper.
I mentioned earlier that your strategy is not set in stone and provides a flexible approach to pits stops. Consider then what would happen if this Player felt they had to Pit Stop early due to the dire performance of their Team.
Summary
There is a difference of around 250 points between typical one stop and three stop strategies. Clearly, it is better start with as much "fuel" as you can, then run until the "tank" is empty and minimize the length of any Pit Stops you do make. Unfortunately I am (as yet) unable to simulate track position in the GPL, so some of the advantage the real Formula 1 guys get from "running long" is lost!
How many Pit Stops you make is obviously up to you, but the more you make generally the greater the penalty but the more scoring potential you have; don’t forget that at each Pit Stop you can include another Ace.