Second 2021 outing in the Lexus (fourth if you count the two Gr.2 Daily Cs I did a while back), and another case for it as a worthy challenger against the Godzillas. Made one attempt in the 17:00 EMEA slot which proved to be more than enough for me in the late summer heat.
17:00 Nations
Turned up to my lobby as the highest-ranked of the four RC Fs (driver door #1), in a split also containing 'Wifi Password' at the wheel of one of two Hondas. Expected a tough qualifying session and it didn't fail to deliver: first lap was a 1:21.978 which put me towards the back. Thought there was plenty of room for improvement, so went out again with a faster out lap and surprised myself with a 1:21.572, just under five-hundredths off my best in test lobbies. Started around three-tenths off the pole-sitting GT-R in 9th place.
Knew from testing that grip on cold and worn tyres was going to be a recurring issue, but soon found out that the longer fuel-burning process would help me out considerably in those areas. As I later found out in my replay, everyone went out on Hards except for the #7 AVT Nissan starting right behind me. Given how much time one-stoppers lost in the lobbies I took part in, I doubt he would've got any more out of that softer compound.
Set brake balance to -4 and spent the first couple of corners following the #17 Makita GT-R around. Kept to the outside entering Remus, which allowed me to survive a lunge from the #7 as the #11 Honda (not 'Wifi Password') spun out of 4th over the yellow rumble strip. Had intended to stick with my tactic of using fuel mixes as traction control, but was forced to abandon it upon catching up with the #10 GT-R just before Rindt. Soaked up more pressure from the #7 as we all took to the inside kerb of Turn 10; the #10 and #7 both picking up penalties. Took 7th from the #10 and held him off long enough until he picked up a second penalty a few laps later. Gained a couple more places through separate incidents involving the #4 and #8 Nissans; the #8 managing to save a 360-degree spin after touching the gravel coming out of Schlossgold. Both were running 2nd at the time these happened which begs the question... was that position cursed during this race?
Meanwhile, the understeer started kicking in half-way through Lap 6, forcing me to briefly set brake balance to -3 for the run through Würth. Switched to -3 permanently when the sensation worsened on Lap 10, by which time I was not too far off the three cars now fighting for 2nd. The gap between myself and the recovering #8 car was starting to erode, however, so my main priority was getting the Lexus home in 5th while making as few mistakes as possible. Only one braking error into Remus (Lap 14), which was pretty good considering that was what kept compromising me during this stage of the test lobbies.
Two laps from the end, the #19 and #17 scrap again for 3rd, the #19 almost losing it out of the final corner. Kept a sensible distance from that pair just in case fireworks kicked off, which did work out to some degree as I was able to get close to the #19 when he got bogged down at Schlossgold. Trouble was that after being gifted 6th by the #8, the #15 BFR GT-R also got himself into the mix. At Remus, he braked late and gave me a light nudge, though for a while I was able to hold him at bay despite getting boxed in behind the #19. Entering Schlossgold for the final time, I positioned myself in the centre so that the #15 had to go the long way around the outside. Went side-by-side through Turn 5, but decided to back out, leave the #15 room for Rauch... and watch as a vicious bout of oversteer sent him fishtailing into a D1GP-style drift!
This completely caught me out by surprise, and in avoidance I backed out to allow him the space to recover through Würth. Unfortunately, the back of the #15 stepped out as he hugged the kerb, and just as I thought I could safely power past around the outside... bam! Straight across my right-front and into the kitty litter! Dropped to 7th while recovering from the collision and the resulting trip over the grassy verge, livening up what had turned out to be a largely processional meeting.
Third time in two FIA races that I got tangled up in someone else's misfortune, but again I'm not too bothered about losing places in that way. Felt more gutted for the #15 driver as he started further back and was clearly finishing stronger with the way he kept eating into my gap. Other than that, another consistent, and mostly trouble-free run in Gr.2. Really impressed with how much more stable the Lexus felt in the second half compared to test lobbies, which might have had something to do with the brake balance settings and lighter fuel load.
Unless I get tempted to do the finale at Laguna Seca (which could still yield promise given my form in the Manufacturers Gr.4 combo), this might wrap things up for my Nations Cup run this season. I couldn't have felt happier with my scores this time out, especially given the combos and the total number of races I attempted to get to these numbers. Should be exciting to see where I stand in the final UK and EMEA rankings once the points have all been added up...
And as for the #7 Nissan? Well, he never really recovered from that penalty; towards the end, he spun out on the straight and promptly retired after languishing near the back. Guess we'll never know if he was planning to pit all along....
