Finally got around to posting the remaining Season 1 race reports....
Manufacturers - Spa Gr.4
In hindsight, I probably should have practiced more for this race, because I fell short of improving on the 100 points from Laguna Seca in the first three races.
I qualified 8th in Race 4 with a time 7 tenths better than my Race 1 quali time, showing how little practice I did. All I had to do was stay in the top 10 to improve my score.
Having learnt from the previous three races that cold Hards were prone to wheelspin when starting in the Bus Stop, I briefly turned on TCS 2 for the Bus Stop before turning it off down the home straight. I should have kept TCS on for La Source, because I wound up spinning my tyres on exit and allow the Taiwanese Aston behind to close in and pass me into Les Combes.
However, the Aston proceed to hit both bollards at Malmedy, giving me enough of a run to pass on the inside into Bruxelles.
Things got worse for the Taiwanese, as I had to catch a brief slide on entry into Pouhon, forcing the Taiwanese right behind me to back up and get passed by a Hongkonger in another Aston into Campus. Hitting both bollards in the second half of Campus proved to be the fatal mistake for the Taiwanese, as a Japanese Aston (who had been called out as dirty in warm-up) got the run on the Taiwanese before slamming the latter into the dirt into Stavelot and sending him spinning into the gravel.
The Japanese then tried barging past the Hongkonger into the Bus Stop, only for the Hongkonger to return the favour on exit. My shoddy start, combined with the shenanigans happening behind me left me in no man's land for the entire race, only gaining one place from an AMG that ran wide and spun at the kink before the Bus Stop. I cruised to 7th for 128 points.
Nations - German Civil War at Nurburgring GP
If there is one thing the Hamilton Time Trial taught me about Nurburgring GP, it is that I am horrendous at negotiating Sector 1 and the Chicane consistently. Unsurprisingly, I was not even close to beating my scores from Big Willow or Tsukuba. The best result I got was in the final race with a heavily diluted lobby with three B rank drivers and a sky-high target of a top 2 finish to improve on my points.
Strategy: 7H-7M
Livery by Yasjiro_TCX_mzsm
Starting 8th after the polesitter got sent to the disco, I got one place from a Japanese AMG that went very deep into turn 1 and another place when a Malaysian AMG came together with a Beetle on exit at the Chicane, allowing me to take 6th off the AMG.
However, my gains would be short-lived, as I ran wide at turn 7 on lap 2 and nearly got shoved off by the same guy that blocked me at Laguna Seca. The ensuring battle dropped me back down to 8th behind the Malaysian. Trapped behind the bickering AMGs, I got divebombed by another Beetle into turn 3 on lap 3. The Beetle collided with me before hitting the throttle too hard and spinning himself out.
The Malaysian then decided that he had enough of the blocker's argy-bargy driving and drove himself and the blocker off at Warsteiner, handing 6th back to me.
With 5th well out of reach, I spent a couple of laps on my own before being caught and passed by a Thai BMW at the Chicane on lap 5. I got back past the following lap when the Thai got a slow exit out of turn 4, allowing me to hook it round the outside of turn 5. After fending off the Thai at the Schumacher S, I got a penalty from the enigmatic track limits of the Chicane, sending me back down to 8th on my in lap.
Taking the Mediums, I came out 9th behind the Thai and a Beetle. The Thai ran deep into turn 3, prompting me to take a narrow-to-wide line through turns 3 and 4 to retake 8th.
That was followed by a dive up the inside of the Beetle at turn 7, compromising him enough to take 7th. That became 6th when I just barely passed the Malaysian just exiting the pits. As these three cars were all on Hards, I had no trouble pulling away, taking one final place off a late stopper to finish 5th for a useless 133 points. Disappointing, but it was a good race nonetheless.
Manufacturers - Sardegna A Gr.3
Strategy: 6M-9S
I went into this race needing 7th or better to improve, with a good qualifying placing just 2 places short of my target.
The GT-R that started ahead of me seemed to be off the pace, pushing me to find a way past quickly. That opportunity came on lap 2 at turn 9 (the braking zone after the inflatable arch), when the GT-R braked a lot earlier than I expected, forcing me to react by taking the inside into the corner and making the pass.
Penalties being served up ahead gave me 7th and a battle with a black/gold Mustang over 6th on lap 4. We spent most of the first sector side by side, with the pony car coming out ahead out of the left/right combo of turns 4 and 5 and pulling away.
On lap 6, an Atenza managed to catch up to me and pass me on the inside into turn 1. Since I was on my in lap, I conceded 6th and pitted for Softs.
I spent the second stint on my own, taking places from others serving their stops. By lap 12, I was in 8th, just one place short of my target. But with 7th well down the road, hitting my target seemed impossible... until the black/gold Mustang from before ran just a little too wide out of the penultimate corner on the penultimate lap, hitting the wall and spinning down to 9th.
With the Mustang's mistake, I came home 7th to bag 135 points, while the Mustang clawed back one place on the final lap to finish 8th.
Final Standings for 2021 Season 1
For Nations, I finished 6th in the domestic rankings and a surprising 159th in Asia. I was not expecting to get a top 200 ranking, though that was probably due to my good result in Mini Madness.
As for Manufacturers, I finished 4th within Citroen (behind three A+ drivers) and 517th in the region.
I'm really happy with these results, especially with my new best point finishes in both Nations and Manufacturers.
! Unless we win the first!
