2021 FIA Series Race Discussion
- Thread starter GTPNewsWire
- 9,031 comments
- 1,682,961 views
- 595
- Stockholm
What in the actual?
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- 1,049
- Grand Rapids,MI
- HaydenFan69
Just the wheel off the track by a fraction. Enough on throttle to go around. Very much video game logic.
To be fair, IRL Willows is a mess. You do not want to dip a wheel off, let alone spin off for many reasons.
To be fair, IRL Willows is a mess. You do not want to dip a wheel off, let alone spin off for many reasons.
- 631
- East Yorkshire
- Zorzil
Good running up until lap 9 where I got punted off at turn 1, then punted off again on the same lap going around the twisty bit in sector 2 just to add insult to injury... 
Edit - And upon watching the replay, the Porsche that did the first punt finished P5. AAAARRGGGHHH.
Edit - And upon watching the replay, the Porsche that did the first punt finished P5. AAAARRGGGHHH.
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- 189
- United Kingdom
After years of slowly building my way up to a DR A and driving consistently clean...Bang, DR reset after 3 races. Can’t put into words how annoyed I am as every penalty I got contributing to this has been a joke. I honestly don’t think I can bring myself to start over! 
- 631
- East Yorkshire
- Zorzil
Attempt #2 was a complete disaster as well. Definitely done for tonight, this combo is murdering my DR. The Mustang just... argh. The tyre wear on a track like this with a 10x multiplier is just too much to reliably handle. The amount of additional understeer you get each lap is crazy, and I'm not enjoying struggling to get around the bends like this. By the time I finish 7 laps on Mediums, the front left is approaching 50%. If I try to be any more gentle, I can't keep pace.
This time I must have caught a tyre off the track on the exit of the last turn, which almost spun me out and had me on the dirt. Dirty tyres then finished the job through turn 1 even though I went in much slower than normal.
Attempt 1
Attempt 2
This time I must have caught a tyre off the track on the exit of the last turn, which almost spun me out and had me on the dirt. Dirty tyres then finished the job through turn 1 even though I went in much slower than normal.
Attempt 1
Attempt 2
- 1,072
- Behind you
OK going into this one hoping I can just keep on the black stuff, not my favourite track, but not the worst either. No idea what the tre wear for me will be so no clue on the strategy. At least the Scirocco doesn't get dragged of the track as easily as some. Figure it's the norm, good quali go soft. Couldn't get a good time and ended up 6th. Think I'm in a slow one so have to try and finish good. Points are fairly low, but we have 1 D in amongst us C's so not surprising. Well tyre management for me is terrible. I had to 2 stop due to tyre wear, but I managed to cross the line in 7th and I presume 3 idiots didn't use both tyres so I got 4th. Good race, I'm too slow but am noticing my mistakes so that's a good thing I suppose. Only had one off and a little bumpers cars battle that thankfully didn't escalate. My fastest lap was better than 1 guy in front of me and only 3 behind me beat mine, so I'm racing where I should be for now. Really want to do that again, but I know I'll lose points so going to grab those 23 and call it a day.
Overall that was fun and I feel I performed solidly if not exceptionally, getting better though and at least on that track I could keep a top 10 ghost from resetting, which i thought was impressive, don't take much for me though.
Overall that was fun and I feel I performed solidly if not exceptionally, getting better though and at least on that track I could keep a top 10 ghost from resetting, which i thought was impressive, don't take much for me though.
- 1,821
- Turkey
After years of slowly building my way up to a DR A and driving consistently clean...Bang, DR reset after 3 races. Can’t put into words how annoyed I am as every penalty I got contributing to this has been a joke. I honestly don’t think I can bring myself to start over!
View attachment 977300
There is no doubt that your skills will have improved along the way. Chin up and look ahead, you'll be back at DR A before you even know it 👍
- 492
- Texas
- hiortintexas
Willow Springs - Lobby Race - 13 Min race edit
Strategy: 8M/8M/2H
Here is my test race.
Be very patient in the race as there are just a few places to pass. You see in the beginning how I have a cluster infant of me that I do not want to get tangled in. Further in to the race, I'm passing a Mercedes on lap 7 as he can not defend in turn 1.
I would say turn 1 is where you can pass. I get passed on the outside there. Also coming out of the last high speed turn with an advantage will enable you to take the guy infant of you.
Strategy: 8M/8M/2H
Here is my test race.
Be very patient in the race as there are just a few places to pass. You see in the beginning how I have a cluster infant of me that I do not want to get tangled in. Further in to the race, I'm passing a Mercedes on lap 7 as he can not defend in turn 1.
I would say turn 1 is where you can pass. I get passed on the outside there. Also coming out of the last high speed turn with an advantage will enable you to take the guy infant of you.
- 281
- Malawi
- crusselz
Yeah the Atenza is good on tyres. Didn't push my luck, trying to go too far on the medium compound though.
One and done.
Door number: 11
Qualified: P4 (1:17.568, with no slipstream)
Points: 123
DR: +1,200
The start was terrible, basically 19 cars got held up at the start behind P2, who never got started.
By the time we finally got going, I was up to P2, 7 seconds behind the leader.
Had a good race with a German, in a Jag (i think) he pulled off the undercut and got ahead of me, but he seemed to realise I had a bit more pace, so at some point he eased off the accelerator and let me by.
Ran 6M/8H/5M. Seemed to have similar pace to the guy in P1. Over the duration of the race, only lost a further 3 seconds.
Not the most points, but I'll definitely take it.
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- 2,529
- Scotland
- stpatty
Here's me:After years of slowly building my way up to a DR A and driving consistently clean...Bang, DR reset after 3 races. Can’t put into words how annoyed I am as every penalty I got contributing to this has been a joke. I honestly don’t think I can bring myself to start over!
View attachment 977300
You'll get there.
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- 87,393
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
Won on my alternate anonymous account by a decent distance, and in part thanks to a TT which rammed me off the road in practice so I knew he was going to try the same in the race to anyone he encountered and - sure enough - he smashed the leader after one of my pitstops straight off the road.
6M/1H/5M/6M strategy paid off, with the tiny pit-lane offset of six seconds easily swallowed by some hot in-laps and out-laps.
6M/1H/5M/6M strategy paid off, with the tiny pit-lane offset of six seconds easily swallowed by some hot in-laps and out-laps.
- 51,349
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
I'm thinking of selecting Mustang for next Season. I doubt Big Willow 10x tyre will be a combo.
Seriously, how is the speed in the Mustang( I used it in past FIA events when it was bad)? It's been surprisingly fast and consistent in the last couple Daily Races, at Brands Hatch and now Bathurst.
- 325
- Louisiana
Sorry to see that. It truly sucks. Happened to me as well and like you, took me a long time to get there. From this point on I have decided if my DR slips under 92, I will finish how many ever daily races necessary in last place to get it back to 99. Losing 30,000 DR on an SR drop stings.After years of slowly building my way up to a DR A and driving consistently clean...Bang, DR reset after 3 races. Can’t put into words how annoyed I am as every penalty I got contributing to this has been a joke. I honestly don’t think I can bring myself to start over!
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- 631
- East Yorkshire
- Zorzil
On the straights, I really can't complain with the Gr.4 or the Gr.3. It's been a refreshing change after spending a season in a car with no straight line speed! Straight line speed seems to be one the Gr.3 Mustang's primary strengths, as it had no issue at all closing gaps at Monza when I was in public practice lobbies. I just had an total failure of a race there when it actually mattered.I'm thinking of selecting Mustang for next Season. I doubt Big Willow 10x tyre will be a combo.
Seriously, how is the speed in the Mustang( I used it in past FIA events when it was bad)? It's been surprisingly fast and consistent in the last couple Daily Races, at Brands Hatch and now Bathurst.
Both of them do feel fairly understeery though, even with rearward brake balance. Short corners where you just need to get the line right and floor it aren't an issue, but extended corners will expose it as a weakness. (Did someone mention Big Willow?
)That said, if you're used to understeer-prone cars or are comfortable managing your driving style to account for it, I reckon they're fairly well-rounded cars for most tracks.
Edit - Oh, forgot to mention - so far the tyre wear has only seemed like an issue at Big Willow where you literally can't avoid it. Other than that, it's felt like driving smoothly goes a long way to keeping it under control.
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- 1,821
- Turkey
I had completely forgotten about today's FIA race because I wasn't planning to take part anyway. Partly because Willow Springs is the bane of my existence but mostly because I was supposed to be working. However one of my workmates has tested positive for Covid which resulted in a a stay home notice for me. So, stuck at home and with nothing to do I thought to myself "Eh, may as well give it a try."
So, I found myself a practice lobby and did a quick race. Didn't go too badly but turn 6 needs special attention in the Scirocco as it has a strong urge to understeer into oblivion there. When I jumped into the actual race I found myself in this lobby:
So, I was going to race on a track that I hate with a passion in a lobby where I was supposed to be the second fastest. What could possibly go wrong?
Anyway, qualifying demoted me right down to 6th in good old R4M fashion. The top of the grid was being dominated by the FFs, save for an Alfa on pole.
Since I was starting towards the front I decided to save the hard tyre compound for later. This would turn out to be a mistake, but more about that in a bit.
The first lap was unspectacular but towards the end I noticed that the guy in the Audi could not repeat his pace from qualifying as people started to pile up behind him. Also the Alfa served a penalty which temporarily promoted me to 5th. However due to the slowdown I fell back to 7th as other people had more luck navigating around the hindrance. By lap 4 I was the only one left stuck behind the Audi but finally got past in the last corner. Needless to say that this gave the other cars in front an opportunity to build up a lead. Oh well, should've gotten the hard tyres out of the way first.
I misjudged my entry speed for the first corner in the following lap and had to slow down a bit too much. The guy in the Audi did it better and bumped into my side on the exit. Didn't affect me at all but it gave him a 2 second penalty. I kinda felt bad about it but also thought he had it coming for being a rolling roadblock earlier
In the next lap the Slovenian guy in the Corvette bumped me wide on turn 3 but slowed right down to apologize for his mistake. What a great sport! 👍 I pitted at the end of the lap and came out 9th. Not much happened during the next lap, except that I went past a slower Aston Martin. In lap 8 I caught up with a train from position 3 right back to 7. On the following lap one guy went into the pits and some infighting saw me go past into 5th. In lap 10 I gained another position from a Peugeot that seemed to be struggling with its tyres. After that the road in front of me was clear. The train had dispersed and I was free to go at my own pace again. I could see 2nd and 3rd out in front but they had too big of a lead. The final corner of lap 12 gave me the single most terrifying moment of the race when I came way closer to the edge of the tarmac than I wanted to. Just one inch further and I would've spun off deep into the desert, never to return again. Honestly, it was this close. Wiping off the sweat I went into the pits to start my final stint on hards.
I reemerged in 6th with a Cayman and our Slovenian friend having gone past me. Long story short, I caught both of them and finished 4th in one very nice and clean race with a lot of respectful fighting and one hell of a butt clench!
So, I found myself a practice lobby and did a quick race. Didn't go too badly but turn 6 needs special attention in the Scirocco as it has a strong urge to understeer into oblivion there. When I jumped into the actual race I found myself in this lobby:
So, I was going to race on a track that I hate with a passion in a lobby where I was supposed to be the second fastest. What could possibly go wrong?
Anyway, qualifying demoted me right down to 6th in good old R4M fashion. The top of the grid was being dominated by the FFs, save for an Alfa on pole.
Since I was starting towards the front I decided to save the hard tyre compound for later. This would turn out to be a mistake, but more about that in a bit.
The first lap was unspectacular but towards the end I noticed that the guy in the Audi could not repeat his pace from qualifying as people started to pile up behind him. Also the Alfa served a penalty which temporarily promoted me to 5th. However due to the slowdown I fell back to 7th as other people had more luck navigating around the hindrance. By lap 4 I was the only one left stuck behind the Audi but finally got past in the last corner. Needless to say that this gave the other cars in front an opportunity to build up a lead. Oh well, should've gotten the hard tyres out of the way first.
I misjudged my entry speed for the first corner in the following lap and had to slow down a bit too much. The guy in the Audi did it better and bumped into my side on the exit. Didn't affect me at all but it gave him a 2 second penalty. I kinda felt bad about it but also thought he had it coming for being a rolling roadblock earlier
In the next lap the Slovenian guy in the Corvette bumped me wide on turn 3 but slowed right down to apologize for his mistake. What a great sport! 👍 I pitted at the end of the lap and came out 9th. Not much happened during the next lap, except that I went past a slower Aston Martin. In lap 8 I caught up with a train from position 3 right back to 7. On the following lap one guy went into the pits and some infighting saw me go past into 5th. In lap 10 I gained another position from a Peugeot that seemed to be struggling with its tyres. After that the road in front of me was clear. The train had dispersed and I was free to go at my own pace again. I could see 2nd and 3rd out in front but they had too big of a lead. The final corner of lap 12 gave me the single most terrifying moment of the race when I came way closer to the edge of the tarmac than I wanted to. Just one inch further and I would've spun off deep into the desert, never to return again. Honestly, it was this close. Wiping off the sweat I went into the pits to start my final stint on hards.
I reemerged in 6th with a Cayman and our Slovenian friend having gone past me. Long story short, I caught both of them and finished 4th in one very nice and clean race with a lot of respectful fighting and one hell of a butt clench!
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- 189
- United Kingdom
Thanks mate, yeah it sucks. I knew it was a gamble and really thought I’d get round cleanly but had someone lunge and hit the inside of my door and give me a penalty and at that moment I knew I had a reset coming. Will do a few daily race Cs at the back and see where I stand. Blue Moon probably isn’t the best place to relaunch my FIA career though
Manufacturers Cup - Hyundai at Willow Springs.
Had absolutely no expectations for this - my timetrial time was about 2s slower then too time in EMEA and I knew this track is a recipe for carnage.
Then the matching happened and I was thrown in one of the strongest lobbies I have ever been with me being #20. Put a 1.17.4 in quali - enough for P12 on the grid.
My strategy, drive as safe as possible, without any risk and hope that everyone else crashes. Started on Hards, kept a steady pace until lap 4 and then pitted. Got back in P15 but some penalties up ahead and one crash promoted me in P13. Then for the next laps had a nice battle with a Red/White Jaguar driven by an Irish driver - that ended up at the end of the start/finish straight when he had the inside for the pass but rammed in the back of the black Honda which exited the pits. Of course, he got a penalty. Second stint on mediums was pretty uneventful and although I closed the gap to the group in front was not able to make any move. P11 and 153 points - one and done.
Had absolutely no expectations for this - my timetrial time was about 2s slower then too time in EMEA and I knew this track is a recipe for carnage.
Then the matching happened and I was thrown in one of the strongest lobbies I have ever been with me being #20. Put a 1.17.4 in quali - enough for P12 on the grid.
My strategy, drive as safe as possible, without any risk and hope that everyone else crashes. Started on Hards, kept a steady pace until lap 4 and then pitted. Got back in P15 but some penalties up ahead and one crash promoted me in P13. Then for the next laps had a nice battle with a Red/White Jaguar driven by an Irish driver - that ended up at the end of the start/finish straight when he had the inside for the pass but rammed in the back of the black Honda which exited the pits. Of course, he got a penalty. Second stint on mediums was pretty uneventful and although I closed the gap to the group in front was not able to make any move. P11 and 153 points - one and done.
- 1,072
- Behind you
- 726
- Rotterdam
- mcl-1974-2
some of my worst experiences in this game were in the previous attempts at Big Willow. once i qualified second, best result ever, only to suffer my first ever disconnection right before the start. . the second time was in the Renault RSO when all was going fine, untill a very frustrated polesitter who made a mistake at the start barged through the field, ramming everything in its way, including me. it was a long trip in the desert when he launched me....
was concidering to give this one a pass as the Peugeot sufferes heavily with tyre wear here and does not go smoothly through the corners, it feels like you are pushing the pad to its breaking point before the car will actually turn!
Decided to do the last slot anyway, was door number 14. did only 1 qualifying lap, was third then and ended fifth in qauly and was happy with that.
Start went okay, was fourth after a few laps and concentrated on managing tyres and staying on track. pit stop strategy was 6M/6M/6H. tyres did better then in my practice races. first laps i was chased by a Viper could barely hold him off, and after the first stop I was chased by an Italian fellow named Zannads (who announced before the race that he was trying to get back to S)
For the rest of the race I was duelling with this Zannads fellow in his AMG. (Who was very annoyingy constantly flasing his lights when behind me ) and a Polish fellow in a TT. I did not really bother to fight them as i was concentrating on staying on track but these two got in some very heated battles right in front of me.
lap 16 Zannads got a penalty and i went past him. In the last lap he was right on my tail again and in the last corner very close but i managed to navigate the corner and finish 4th right behind the Polish TT. An Awesome and unexpected result, very pleased. clean race bonus too!
in the lobby Zannads seemed to be very angry with several drivers and also several drivers were saying he drove dirty. He himself was angry with the Polish TT and odd enough also with me. I asked him why and he sayed that he had the inside of the last corner and because he had to avoid me he finished 8th. Well, i checked the replay and he was more then a car length behind me in the last corner and simply did not make the corner and launched himsef into the pits he was nowhere near my inside. Guess he was just frustrated?
Anyway. happy with the result. Will give BlueMoon Bay a miss though. Good luck to you all, thanks for all your input on this forum and good luck in the next race!!
was concidering to give this one a pass as the Peugeot sufferes heavily with tyre wear here and does not go smoothly through the corners, it feels like you are pushing the pad to its breaking point before the car will actually turn!
Decided to do the last slot anyway, was door number 14. did only 1 qualifying lap, was third then and ended fifth in qauly and was happy with that.
Start went okay, was fourth after a few laps and concentrated on managing tyres and staying on track. pit stop strategy was 6M/6M/6H. tyres did better then in my practice races. first laps i was chased by a Viper could barely hold him off, and after the first stop I was chased by an Italian fellow named Zannads (who announced before the race that he was trying to get back to S)
For the rest of the race I was duelling with this Zannads fellow in his AMG. (Who was very annoyingy constantly flasing his lights when behind me ) and a Polish fellow in a TT. I did not really bother to fight them as i was concentrating on staying on track but these two got in some very heated battles right in front of me.
lap 16 Zannads got a penalty and i went past him. In the last lap he was right on my tail again and in the last corner very close but i managed to navigate the corner and finish 4th right behind the Polish TT. An Awesome and unexpected result, very pleased. clean race bonus too!
in the lobby Zannads seemed to be very angry with several drivers and also several drivers were saying he drove dirty. He himself was angry with the Polish TT and odd enough also with me. I asked him why and he sayed that he had the inside of the last corner and because he had to avoid me he finished 8th. Well, i checked the replay and he was more then a car length behind me in the last corner and simply did not make the corner and launched himsef into the pits he was nowhere near my inside. Guess he was just frustrated?
Anyway. happy with the result. Will give BlueMoon Bay a miss though. Good luck to you all, thanks for all your input on this forum and good luck in the next race!!
- 1,724
- Australia
Pigems
Premium
- 9,215
- Canada
- TT_Pigems
That was a fun race! Couldn’t find a good slip in Q, so I ended up starting P8, just tried to stay smooth and not kill my tires, while staying in the draft as best I could. I might have been able to gain another spot or two if I’d have 1 stopped, but it was a gamble, and I may have finished worse too. Ended up doing 8M/7M/3H in the end I think, not 100% sure though because I thought there was still two laps left when the final lap warning came up.
Couldn’t find a good slip in Q, so I ended up starting P8, just tried to stay smooth and not kill my tires, while staying in the draft as best I could. I might have been able to gain another spot or two if I’d have 1 stopped, but it was a gamble, and I may have finished worse too. Ended up doing 8M/7M/3H in the end I think, not 100% sure though because I thought there was still two laps left when the final lap warning came up.
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- 1,230
- Michigan
- KosmoKazi
2020/21 Exhibition Series - Season 2 - Round 3
Manufacturers Series
Race #3 - Gr4 / Willow Springs International Raceway: Big Willow
The Cayman seemed to have the pace to make this round a good opportunity for points. I put in a decent amount of practice, though I had a hard time nudging my fastest lap down under the 1:16.6 that I put up eventually.
Was way too conservative on my qualifying lap, but with only five minutes, I knew I had to bank at least one reasonable one. But a pathetic 1:18.3 was only good enough for 13th starting position. The plan was to still stay clean, keep it on the tarmac, and hope for a solid top-10 with the points that come with it.
Fun to be matched with @CurbHog too, though it was a bummer to see him have trouble with serial offender that I was worried about myself, when I saw the lobby names.
Started on the M's, with the intent to stay on the track while the chaos ahead of me gifted me a few spots. Was able to get up to 4th place by my second pit stop, when I put on the H's for the last five laps. Came out in 7th, behind a Viper and an Atenza, the Mazda was impossibly slow and held me up on the first stint, so I was surprised to see it in 5th position in the closing laps. Credit to him for a solid one-stop strategy playing out well, I suppose.
I simply kept the pressure on the Viper until the last lap, as he seemed to be working with ragged tires, so he'd either make a mistake or I could wear him down until the last lap. I did finally get him in the first big sweeper on that last lap, setting me up perfectly for the 5th place by simply getting around that slow-as-molasses Atenza.
But after 17.5 laps of very careful driving, I got impatient, and he drove a great defensive line on the inside exit of the last turn, which played right against my very early brake and late apex attack, so in desperation I swerved to the outside, but dropped a wheel... the classic mistake at Big Willow. I saved it and kept it pointing forward to the finish line, but I lost that 6th place I had earned and then another to the traffic behind. A solid 7th finish, but I was sooo close to the top 5 spot, and disappointed that my plan and execution of it was so close to perfect. That's racing. Well done to the Atenza driver, he played it perfectly.
Still tipped my DR to a new all-time high, and the points I earned will probably come in to play before the final count, so satisfied with the result... but MAN! Hate it when you make a little mistake. And if I had qualified better, I would have easily been ahead of the guy, so you get what you earn in racing, as long as no one plays dirty, anyway. Such a fun challenge.
Battling to get past that Atenza in the first stint, opening laps... I made this work in T1, but we'd battle on the last turn as well, and he got the better of that one.
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport '16
Qualified: 13th
Race Finish: 7th (133 pts) (best of the season so far)
Door #10 (+700 DR) (and a new all-time high DR!)
Manufacturers Series
Race #3 - Gr4 / Willow Springs International Raceway: Big Willow
The Cayman seemed to have the pace to make this round a good opportunity for points. I put in a decent amount of practice, though I had a hard time nudging my fastest lap down under the 1:16.6 that I put up eventually.
Was way too conservative on my qualifying lap, but with only five minutes, I knew I had to bank at least one reasonable one. But a pathetic 1:18.3 was only good enough for 13th starting position. The plan was to still stay clean, keep it on the tarmac, and hope for a solid top-10 with the points that come with it.
Fun to be matched with @CurbHog too, though it was a bummer to see him have trouble with serial offender that I was worried about myself, when I saw the lobby names.
Started on the M's, with the intent to stay on the track while the chaos ahead of me gifted me a few spots. Was able to get up to 4th place by my second pit stop, when I put on the H's for the last five laps. Came out in 7th, behind a Viper and an Atenza, the Mazda was impossibly slow and held me up on the first stint, so I was surprised to see it in 5th position in the closing laps. Credit to him for a solid one-stop strategy playing out well, I suppose.
I simply kept the pressure on the Viper until the last lap, as he seemed to be working with ragged tires, so he'd either make a mistake or I could wear him down until the last lap. I did finally get him in the first big sweeper on that last lap, setting me up perfectly for the 5th place by simply getting around that slow-as-molasses Atenza.
But after 17.5 laps of very careful driving, I got impatient, and he drove a great defensive line on the inside exit of the last turn, which played right against my very early brake and late apex attack, so in desperation I swerved to the outside, but dropped a wheel... the classic mistake at Big Willow. I saved it and kept it pointing forward to the finish line, but I lost that 6th place I had earned and then another to the traffic behind. A solid 7th finish, but I was sooo close to the top 5 spot, and disappointed that my plan and execution of it was so close to perfect. That's racing. Well done to the Atenza driver, he played it perfectly.
Still tipped my DR to a new all-time high, and the points I earned will probably come in to play before the final count, so satisfied with the result... but MAN! Hate it when you make a little mistake. And if I had qualified better, I would have easily been ahead of the guy, so you get what you earn in racing, as long as no one plays dirty, anyway. Such a fun challenge.
Battling to get past that Atenza in the first stint, opening laps... I made this work in T1, but we'd battle on the last turn as well, and he got the better of that one.
Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport '16
Qualified: 13th
Race Finish: 7th (133 pts) (best of the season so far)
Door #10 (+700 DR) (and a new all-time high DR!)
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- 1,049
- Grand Rapids,MI
- HaydenFan69
Just turned my system on to check the race times. 3 minutes before the next race. Might as well.
- 2,983
- Nowhere
- TheSweeney_
After a solid start to the season, with decent results in Rds.1 and 2 at combos I didn't expect to perform well; more from myself than car performance really, I knew Rd.3 at Willow was a good opportunity for me and the NSX given past results. As much as I despise the track!
Practice suggested a 2-stop was my best bet, 1-stop was close in overall time but I didn't like nursing dead tyres, especially if being caught.
1st Attempt - Slot 1
After a small DR hit last week at Monza I wasn't sure what to expect, finding myself #11 in a 187 point lobby. Qualifying went well, lap was good enough for 4th (17.4 I think?) <1/2 a tenth of 2nd, with 2nd-5th covered by less than 0.15s! Race started calmly, pole-sitting 86 was a sitting duck on the straights early on, but the 4 of us (86, TT, 650s and myself) managed to gap those behind. Then a 1sec pen for the P2 TT allowed me to take P3, where things were status quo for the next few laps, as the 86 pulled away. Felt a 7M/7M/4H strategy was most viable, tyre management is not my forte on a DS4!
All was well after the first round of stops, though the TT overtook on L8 for 3rd, with minimal resistance on my part, after stopping a lap earlier. 3 of us were still close together, with the 86 well up the road now. Then my race unraveled, briefly forgetting about the effect of dirty air in the dreaded last turn, dropped half wheel into the sand and around she went into the desert. Rejoined P8, before pitting a lap early (L13) and dropping to P9. Caught a trio of cars struggling on old tyres, overtaking a Viper for P8 around the outside at T2 in a nice clean battle, but the penalty system saw otherwise, coping us 1sec for the slightest of touches...dropped to 9th again. Managed to get back past the struggling Viper on L17, but it was too late to catch those ahead. Frustrating race all-in-all.
2nd Attempt - Slot 2
A slight DR increase saw me now door #17 in a 191 point lobby. Quali was strong again with a lap good enough for P3 (1:16.9), not enough to oust the TT's in 1st and 2nd (only FF's in the lobby too). Race begun cleanly & cautiously on cold tyres on L1, but a minor mistake in the left after Balcony allowed a Viper in P4 to slip by. This helped to an extent, allowing me and a fellow NSX behind to get the tow for the next few laps as the TT's disappeared up ahead. Stopped on L7 once more, with the P3 Viper doing the same. The other NSX behind caught up after pitting a lap later, I eventually let it past after Rabbits Ear as it got alongside, keen not to lose time battling. The 3 of us continued, though I dropped back a little as the laps cycled. Then a mistake for the Viper allowed the other NSX to slip by, but wasnt quite enough for me to get by as it recovered.
The two of us started losing ground ahead, so pitted L13 again for hards trying an undercut. It worked, jumping the Viper just on L14. The German NSX in P2 went long, but myself and the Viper locked ourselves in battle, great fun but cost us time, so the other NSX came out just in front after pitting. We remained in slip-stream distance of one other for the last 4 laps, I couldn't get past or even alongside the Viper for P4, so P5 it was in the end. Brought us a tidy 159pts and a nice 1.4K DR haul for the day, something I'll 100% take 👍. The racing was clean and very respectful across both slots, only one person finished with a red S in both lobbies, so fair play to all involved.
Naturally I forgot to save the replay from the last race, so thats a d'oh on my part.
Practice suggested a 2-stop was my best bet, 1-stop was close in overall time but I didn't like nursing dead tyres, especially if being caught.
1st Attempt - Slot 1
After a small DR hit last week at Monza I wasn't sure what to expect, finding myself #11 in a 187 point lobby. Qualifying went well, lap was good enough for 4th (17.4 I think?) <1/2 a tenth of 2nd, with 2nd-5th covered by less than 0.15s! Race started calmly, pole-sitting 86 was a sitting duck on the straights early on, but the 4 of us (86, TT, 650s and myself) managed to gap those behind. Then a 1sec pen for the P2 TT allowed me to take P3, where things were status quo for the next few laps, as the 86 pulled away. Felt a 7M/7M/4H strategy was most viable, tyre management is not my forte on a DS4!
All was well after the first round of stops, though the TT overtook on L8 for 3rd, with minimal resistance on my part, after stopping a lap earlier. 3 of us were still close together, with the 86 well up the road now. Then my race unraveled, briefly forgetting about the effect of dirty air in the dreaded last turn, dropped half wheel into the sand and around she went into the desert
. Rejoined P8, before pitting a lap early (L13) and dropping to P9. Caught a trio of cars struggling on old tyres, overtaking a Viper for P8 around the outside at T2 in a nice clean battle, but the penalty system saw otherwise, coping us 1sec for the slightest of touches...dropped to 9th again. Managed to get back past the struggling Viper on L17, but it was too late to catch those ahead. Frustrating race all-in-all.2nd Attempt - Slot 2
A slight DR increase saw me now door #17 in a 191 point lobby. Quali was strong again with a lap good enough for P3 (1:16.9), not enough to oust the TT's in 1st and 2nd (only FF's in the lobby too). Race begun cleanly & cautiously on cold tyres on L1, but a minor mistake in the left after Balcony allowed a Viper in P4 to slip by. This helped to an extent, allowing me and a fellow NSX behind to get the tow for the next few laps as the TT's disappeared up ahead. Stopped on L7 once more, with the P3 Viper doing the same. The other NSX behind caught up after pitting a lap later, I eventually let it past after Rabbits Ear as it got alongside, keen not to lose time battling. The 3 of us continued, though I dropped back a little as the laps cycled. Then a mistake for the Viper allowed the other NSX to slip by, but wasnt quite enough for me to get by as it recovered.
The two of us started losing ground ahead, so pitted L13 again for hards trying an undercut. It worked, jumping the Viper just on L14. The German NSX in P2 went long, but myself and the Viper locked ourselves in battle, great fun but cost us time, so the other NSX came out just in front after pitting. We remained in slip-stream distance of one other for the last 4 laps, I couldn't get past or even alongside the Viper for P4, so P5 it was in the end. Brought us a tidy 159pts and a nice 1.4K DR haul for the day, something I'll 100% take 👍. The racing was clean and very respectful across both slots, only one person finished with a red S in both lobbies, so fair play to all involved.
Naturally I forgot to save the replay from the last race, so thats a d'oh on my part
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