Finally got around to writing my first three race reports:
Manufacturers - Interlagos Gr.4
Strategy: 9M-9S
After a horrible run in the GR Supra Interlagos race, I was not holding much hope for this race. Sure enough, I qualified 16th behind
@05XR8,
@D_Dragline and
@SmellMyCheese. Not good, but I knew that the Citroen's good tyre wear would allow me to undercut a good number of drivers.
On lap 1, Dragline and a Nissan both went wide at turn 4 on cold tyres, leading to both coming together on exit and resulting in Dragline losing control. Dragline wound up punting the Nissan off trying to regain control, while an unlucky Cheese collected Dragline and spun into the wall as a result. Dragline got a 2 seconds penalty for hitting the GT-R while I jumped up to 13th from the carnage.
However, I would get a 2 second penalty myself when I tried passing the 86 in 12th. Getting the run on the 86 out of Juncao, I tried taking the inside to make the pass, only to realise too late that I was about to cut the pit entry's runoff and had to push the 86 to the outside to avoid hitting the pit wall.
What really ticked me off was that he nearly pushed me into the pit wall instead of letting me have the space. As a result, I saw red and blamed the 2 second penalty on him, perceiving that he blocked me down the home straight.
Dragline and I serve our penalties together, with Dragline overcooking his entry into turn 4 and unintentionally pushing off Cheese.
Now back down to 16th and still furious about the incident, I set about to clawing back the lost places and settling my score with the 86. With the 86 holding up the pack, I jumped two places on lap 3 diving up the inside on turn 1.
I prepared to repeat the exact same move on the Aston between me and my nemesis on lap 4, only to realise that he was doing the same to the 86. I moved even further inside to avoid hitting the Aston. To the Aston's credit, he saw me coming and let me through instead of turning in. I ended up hitting my nemesis wide by accident and snatching 12th off a very unhappy 86.
With my score settled, I pulled away from my nemesis and the pack and turned towards making up ground on the cars ahead.
The next couple of laps were spent catching up to the next pack ahead. Heading into lap 6, I passed a Chinese Lexus before passing a clearly struggling Spacedust in his FF Megane towards the end of Sector 2.
The next car ahead was a Japanese McLaren who turned out to have dubious driving standards. He held me up in the second half of lap 7, before moving under braking and turning into me despite me clearly signaling my intent to dive up the inside.
With the McLaren caught on the outside, the Lexus and I slipped through, with the Lexus overtaking me into turn 4. We both pulled away from the McLaren and as I was reaching the end of my stint, I stayed behind the Lexus on my in lap.
We caught up to an unwelcome sight: the Indonesian BMW that punted me off back at Autopolis Short. This time round, the BMW had punted the Lexus wide into turn 1 on lap 3, with the Lexus having his attempted revenge backfire the following lap. However, karma would claim the BMW as he understeered wide out of Mergulho on dead Softs and spun off into Juncao.
I boxed for Softs from 7th while the Lexus stayed out for one more lap. Coming out 15th with a clear track ahead, I got my head down to clock some fast laps.
The undercut worked perfectly, as I was back up to 8th after the round of stops and still had no traffic ahead. I would catch and pass two cars towards the end of the race: a Corvette grappling with worn Softs and multiple track penalties, and a VW whose Softs had gone straight off the cliff and down to Atlantis. The latter's poor exit out of Bico de Pato allowed me to steal the inside into Mergulho and hang him out to dry while I claimed 6th for a solid 136 points, finishing ahead of Spacedust, Dragline and Cheese despite starting behind all three. One and done.
Nations - GR 86 at Autopolis
The Asia server decided to completely wet the bed and send nearly half the lobby to the disco, leaving behind 11 survivors. I took full advantage of that by bottling the final two corners on my first flying lap and going into the gravel on the inside of the final corner, completely trashing my qualifying and going straight to the back.
But with all Rapture survivors guaranteed to get triple digit points, I was willing to hang back and hopefully make up places from fights ahead of me.
My plan didn't work.
Throughout the race, I only made up one place from a grey 86 running into the gravel at turn 12 on lap 2. I could see the pack ahead of me, but my slow pace and an ill-timed comeback from the grey 86 left me hopelessly adrift after I had dispatched my opponent for good. I reeled in the pack somewhat on the final lap, but it was not enough and I came home 10th for a lowly 113 points.
See that white car in the distance? That's how far behind I was on the final lap.
With the worst personal best lap of the entire lobby and the server meltdown, I decided to fold and call it a day.
Manufacturers - Sardegna B Gr.4
Race 1 was a dumpster fire, from a certain Doctor ruining my final flying lap by punting me off at the left turn before the Carousel to people not bothering to brake early for Sector 2's hairpin. I got punted into tapping a unlucky 86 into the gravel at the hairpin, before getting sent into the gravel myself on the penultimate lap. I got so mad I forgot to downshift for the double left kinks on the final lap and went off again, dropping from 12th to 17th.
Despite setting a lap half a second faster in Race 2's qualifying, I ended up starting 16th again. At least I could hope to make up places from the mayhem, if Race 1 was anything to go by.
The start was scruffy, as I braked a lot later than the Aston and 86 ahead, forcing me to try and thread the needle between them.
I ended up banging doors with the Aston, then the 86. Not a great start, but at least the three of us stayed on track and I got a place off the 86.
Then another Aston behind us drove into the 86 on exit, sending both spinning off into the wall. That probably explained why the 86 accepted my post-race apology so readily - he was mad at the other Aston.
I tucked in behind the green Aston for the rest of lap 1, before lining up a dive up the inside to take 14th. With 2 places in hand, I focused on chasing the pack ahead, taking 13th off a Jag that went off at the final two corners and was slow down the home straight.
Another two places were gained from a TT taking himself and the Mustang ahead off at Sector 2's hairpin. I think the Mustang was driven by
@pennanton, but I'm not sure. He definitely did not have a good time in this race.
On lap 4, the polesitter Corvette hit the throttle too early out of the Carousel, running wide into the gravel and spinning. That promoted me to the top 10, albeit with the aforementioned Jag still hot on my tail.
On lap 5 at the hairpin, another Jag turned in on a Mazda and got a slow exit, allowing me to just get ahead by the double left kinks. Fortunately for me, the Jag backed out and conceded 9th.
On lap 6, I tried going round the outside of the Mazda at turn 1, but nearly got sent into the gravel on exit and had to back out. The Mazda pulled away from me, despite my efforts to try and close the gap. By this point, I had gotten away from both Jags and was promoted a place from the race leader getting sent to the disco.
By lap 10, the Mazda had gotten into a fight with a familiar GT-R from Interlagos, allowing me to reel both in as I spectated the 4WD duel ahead.
One lap later, the Mazda ran into the GT-R taking a middle line into the hairpin, sending the latter wide and handing me 7th, which was where I finished for 125 points.
I'm tired, so I'll save the Maggiore and Red Bull Ring reports for another day.
🤣.
I've been busy with either returning to work, real life racing things, projects to be picked up, or getting drunk in NYC. 
To be fair though the people I join in on a group chat for these on a consistent basis is what keeps me coming back, otherwise I'd be yelling at Iberians in iRacing or being a full time Pokémon trainer 
anyhoo 17 cars. 2 Genesis(me +1), 5 RSR, 1 Corvette, 1 RCZ, 2 Atenza, 2 AMG, F Type, McLaren, Lexus and suprise just 1 Supra. Might have been good nevermind.
