well first off, that was an experience of a lifetime
getting to meet such friendly and cool people was probly the highlight of the whole ESWC
~ but getting to describing the racing, ill try my best without adding too many excuses for myself
(1) ~ All the training me and Dan did before the event, went straight down the drain, as we found out that Mild tire wear in Arcade mode = Strong tire wear in Lan mode.................
- so on the spot, me and Dan had to change Fuji, Deep, Laguna to Softs
(2) ~ Qualifying ~ i would have set a 1'48.9xx on the first qualy... exactly like dan's time, but messed up the final chicane...
- Round 2, i was on pace for a 1'48.8xx twice ~ but tried to extract time in 130R of all places causing me to go wide, and messing the final chicane on the other try
(3) 1st race of the ESWC, i was in the group of 3 thinking i would go through with ease...
- i chose Mediums for Fuji not knowing if softs could last, and my 2 other competitors were on Softs, I HAD TO RACE SOOOOO HARD because the first race coulda bit me in the ass so badly, so on the final lap i made the decision that i would need to be in 3rd on the final straight.... and i drafted 2nd to the line just beating him in time.... thank god
(4) Racing against Snake was a blast
- Capitan, he could pull away on cold tires, but for some reason Capitan was magical for my tires, i could go a whole extra lap ~ and he would lose 2 seconds on his Bad tire lap, eventually at the line i was only
+.135
- Suzuka, Snake was on Softs with Supra which was quicker but i never practiced it, I chose Mediums with the Zexel ~ and was really lucky Snake went wide on spoon's exit on lap 3, giving up the time he gained and allowing me to stay within his draft untill he pitted, and i went another extra lap
~ this was one race, where the reffing was bull****, as Snake went wide at 130R the first time, when i allowed him to take the inside knowing he would have a bad entry and would most likely go wide, which he did without lifting basically....... the 2nd time, i was following him into 130R and just under pressure he took the corner without lifting as well and going wide..... both occasions No PENALTY or gesture from a Ref
i did end up winning the race tho.... his tires were dying
- Laguna, me and Snake battled bumper to bumper the first 7 laps trading positions many times very cleanly as well, i got into the lead but made a mistake on the left leading to the corkscrew and went wide, allowing Snake to pull a gap ~ but 2 laps later, Snake did the exact same mistake as me... then we were close again bumper to bumper
~ there was also another occasion where Snake coulda had some sort of ref decision when he went wayyyyyyyy wide on the right hander leading to the last corner, he never lifted ~ and possibly gained a little time as well.... but i chased him down into the final corner on the final lap, and just touched enough dirt on exit not giving me enough exit speed to pass ~ although it woulda been really to close to call
+.1xx this race
(5) Deep forest, Intense 3 way battling going on in the opening laps, DunnoHate spun on the exit of the final corner on lap2 and almost went into the pits, but was lucky to hit the wall at the start of the pit... then me and Dan were battling for a good 6-7 laps bumper to bumper swapping positions on the main straight into the first corner a 2-3 times..... with something like 4 laps left in the race, i was still on Dan's bumper, but at the double left at the bottom of the hill i underestimated the extra speed due to the draft, and went wide in the middle of the corner touching the grass and spinning, so i was now in 3rd with still a big gap to DunnoHate, then a lap after this spin ~ on the final corner the ****en Rumble strip Spin sent me directly into the pits without any chance of catching the spin.... so i came out in 4th place and this was the major turning point of my chances into the Finals
-Capitan, i hit rock bottom after the 1st race result, and my mind was shut-off, during the warmup lap, i musta spun 6 times ~ and it almost felt as tho i was ready to give up
~but with nothing to lose as my moto for this race, i was able to push to the extreme, falling behind into 4th after the first corner didnt help either
~Dan and Carter pulled away by 3 seconds during the openning laps, this was when i just went insane with how quick i was attacking the hill, and the final 2 corners making up .4xx a lap on the leaders,
then my concentration gets RUINED, because the ****en wheel came off the table, and i was soooooo concerned about pushing start instantly, i lost .5 by driving with 1 hand in the air, untill the Ref finally came, Where i pushed start eventually, was while i was in countersteer motion already for the first of the final 2 corners....................... so when i fixed the wheel and continue'd from that spot, i had no way in remembering the exact counter-steering posistion ~ i went wide and had to brake majorly to avoid smoking the wall, and lost a good chunk of what i made up during my extreme pushing....
-Carter was on Softs, and pit 1 lap b4 me and Dan, Dan's tires started to wear near the end of his stint, but like i said earlier Capitan was a magical track on tire wear for me, so i caught upto Dan entering the pits 1 second behind
-exiting the pits, here was when a penalty could have easily been handed to Carter, but ofcourse nothing was given to him......... Dan had the inside of the fast kink as he just exited the pits, Carter was coming full speed into the kink without even thinking of the car on the inside
HIT the bridge at full speed basically, and never even gave back any time he gained
he should have slotted in between me and Dan.....
-Dan and Carter then pulled a small gap on me again during the cold tire laps... but as they were battling, i pushed to the extreme again, and caught them quite quickly
-Dan on the 3rd last lap maybe... then went wide on the exit of the first corner, almost losing it ~ catching it tho, but was slow.... this is when i passed him and led infront of him for a bit,
-next lap, Dan tried passing on the inside of me on the right hander leading upto T1, his attempt failed when he did get into the inside and i gave him the room, but he got into the side of me a bit, and caused himself more trouble then it did me....
-i then started to pull away, and was catching Carter very quickly as he was on dying tires
-i eventually finished
+.135
(6)Fuji, before the race started, me and Dan knew it was going to come down to whoever finishes ahead of eachother, and we didnt expect DunnoHate to do anything about this, But once the race started, Dunno was in the mix with me and Dan, and for the whole duration of this race it was a 3 way battle for 2nd, with so much on the line.........
- there were 3-4 occasions on the final 2 corners of the track, where Dan felt i was bumping him, but he was leaving alot of room on the inside each and everytime ~ and the bumps were at such a small difference in speed, it never made too much of a difference, they were nudges
- i eventually made a 3 car length gap on Dan and Dunno hate on something like the 3rd last lap.... But with Dan and Dunno in the slipstream they were coming in very quick, i had a lead ~ so i decided to take the first corner just a tad bit slower then normal.... and then i got nailed by Dan sending me into the grass on the exit, i was trying to turn back into the track, but it wasnt turning in ~ so i had to goto the left till i got onto the run-off concrete to beable to turn back in...
- Dan eventually got Red-flag'd for this contact, which caused me to think i was finishing ahead of him and i was totally fine.....................
- so i was still chasing DunnoHate after he gap'd me a bit after the contact, going to the first corner on the final lap, under braking my rear had a wiggle causing me to correct and i had to aim for the inside ~ almost T-boning DunnoHate............ we barely had contact it seem'd but i felt it was a questionable move down the inside, even tho it wasnt purposely done......
so i let off the gas to give up whatever time i could have caused DunnoHate to lose..........................
THIS WAS MY 2nd MAJOR ERROR ON MY PART, WHICH COST ME THE FINALS as on the final straight i wasnt in the slipstream to get 2nd....
- then there was a 3 way tie............ and i dont need to explain anymore....
now after writing all this, it just reminds me how ****en stupid i was.... and i only have
MYSELF to blame...................
~Final Race, i will allow Dan to explain what happend.... because i want to be there next year
