UNC Motsorports Round 5 Debrief
Qualifying: I was really struggling for pace here, after hearing of potential 1:06s I was weary for a good round only hitting flat 08s in practice. After some time playing with the GTRs setup, was able to pull a 1:07.7 to secure 5th in class.
5th
Race 1: Had an okay start, GTR is Magic off the line, wanted to stay as much in grasp with
@mustafur and
@Ph1sher as I could even with their mega pace. Was all a bit awkward back of lap 1 into the eases (the room quality I suspect not helping) but received a tap from
@NW48 out of the final corner resulting in spinning.
Letting the field pass I set off to try catch the back of Group A. With NW hot on my tail I was struggling to find a way past the Mustang of
@Matvex which is so fast down the straights. NW eventually passed about 6 laps in gaining on me being held up slightly and we both then were able to pass Matvex after he had gone wide into turn 4.
A nice little battle following NW up to our pit stops which he pulled away before stopping. I lost of a lot of ground in the pit stop to NW and was on my own for the remaining laps. Unfortunately Ph1sher had to retire from the race, leaving me third place and some valuable points.
3rd
Race 2: Not sure why Mustafur left the lobby before the start, but had me starting from 2nd. Got a huge jump on NW's Corvette and lead the first 8 laps as everybody seemed to hold each other up, and a few incidents I had seen in the replay.
It wasn't long before Mustafur and NW began to catch up to me, Mus first with his mega pace. Being patient and waiting for an opportunity to pass me, I was wary. I tried to hold him off for as long as possible before giving him room for an eager run into turn 1 from draft. NW was soon on the hammers and passed me after I clipped the wall out of turn 4. A great battle managing to gain 2nd position back thanks to some Group B traffic. Mustafur pits on lap 10 so I followed, making big ground into the pits, I rejoined ahead of him, unfortunately not gaining on NW the next lap after his stop.
Was a great battle between the top 3, I had a lot of fun being sandwiched between the two of you and of course Mustafur eventually passed me after a couple back and for the while trying to attack NW on lap 16. The leaders then pulled away a bit for the last 4 laps, yet again finishing up in third (If NW's win is official).
3rd
The races were a lot of fun overall and I was happy to gain valuable points for my championship rebound after missing a couple rounds. I was sorry to see some people leave the races for various reasons and for network issues to not even be able to join.
Congratulations to
@mustafur,
@NW48,
@LITTLEBLACKO and
@Jordiehamz for their respective wins!
I'm looking forward to Nurburgring (now the next race) as I feel the GTR can do well there and I should be able to find a friendlier setup with some more track knowledge, but as always a few guys are always quick so I hope I can be competitive over a single lap in qualifying to have confidence. Although it's the first of our GP's, and I'm a lot stronger in long distance, I can be very consistent and love some strategy. It shall be interesting
.