Bit of a late review on yesterdays final Manufacturers round. Was genuinely looking forward to this, I thought Maggiore Centre was a fun, wacky track to end the season in Gr.3. That said I'm the type of sadist who really enjoys tracks like Tsukuba and will race just about anything on them
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Nevertheless I went into this one knowing the high fuel and tyre multipliers would play into the strengths of the NSX nicely, providing I could drive it well enough.
Attempt 1, Slot 3
First attempt didn't go too well, was door #16 in a 198pt lobby so it seemed quite stacked. I made a mare of qualifying, and didn't really get a lap representative of what I managed in practice, so started 10th on softs. First lap was iffy at best, coping a 1s penalty for just breathing on the bumper of a Porsche in front. Neither of us affected, but my race was hampered there on in. Was alone for most of it, but a miscalculation on fuel meant I had to pit two laps earlier on L22 for hards. P9 it was in the end.
Attempt 2, Slot 4
Knowing I was capable of more, I went again. This time door #13 in a 197pt lobby, so there was plenty to play for. Qualifying went much better, with a 43.4 putting me 6th on the grid. It initially looked like I'd be 3rd, but a trio of cars jumped ahead in the final seconds. That said, bottling a lap where I was 0.1s up didn't help.
More than happy with 6th though, again starting on softs. A 3-stopper was the plan once more, and after surviving the start the race was largely quiet and uneventful really. Went 8S/8S/8S/2H, with a small addition of fuel on my penultimate stop. After running as low as 8th in the early stages I jumped 4 places by lap 24. Superior fuel economy allowed me to come out ahead of a gaggle of cars, and two late spinners gifted us places.
Came across the line for 4th, and 0.7laps of fuel left suggested I could have fuelled less. Not that the result would have changed I don't think, 3rd was 4s ahead in the end, but I'll happily take that points haul to end the season 👍.
After sitting out last season for a break, this one went really well truth be told. I had my best FIA outing in the main 2020 season, but I in theory went one better, in terms of points and results per race. It may have only been a short exhibition, but managing to increase DR again gave me a better opportunity for more points. Since retiring from dailies, I must admit sport mode has been much more fun for me, with FIA
generally producing better races. And like many others here, I find the hints, tips, strategies and guides put out by those here and elsewhere, very useful
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