Manufacturers Finale
Managed to get on for an early slot and entered the 1720... only to be disconnected! So went again in the 2000 slot and ended up in what I think was 2nd split (judging by top split DR) with door #4, along with youtubers Eerieisss and BasicOllie. It was a good race, but it really left me kicking myself!
Qualifying was really a mess! First flying lap I got a big slide on through T1, then edged onto the grass through Dunlop so abandoned. Second run wasn't much better, only clocking a scrappy 2:07.1 on my first flyer but managed to get a cleaner run in for the second and into the 2:06s, which while not 'fast' turned out to be good enough for 6th
Starting on softs I was hopeful nobody ahead was on mediums, but gradually closing on a BMW on L1 and seeing a gap developing between him and 4th I decided he was on mediums (he was!) and went for a move into T1 on L2. That one didn't work! At the end of the sector though he put a wheel on the dirt through Dunlop and I inherited 5th with Eerieisss in the McLaren behind me inheriting 6th. A 1.5s gap to 4th needed to be closed, and just over a lap later I was in the slipstream.
Barring a penalty for a Jag, we ran line astern, everyone seemingly realising that the race wasn't here, this was just the opening gambit. With the gap from 1st to 4th at under 2s the leading Audi pitted on L6. My tyres were still in good condition and I was able to take 2nd from a struggling Jag around the outside of the hairpin.
Now the kicking myself part.
I had decided before the race to do a 7s/1h/10m. But running 2nd and taking time out of the leader I was unsure what to do, a glance at the minimap showed I was likely to come out into a big gap so... Do I stay out while my tyres are better? Do I put softs on and run? Or do I do my pre-planned strategy? In the end, I decided to pit if the leader didn't and do my original strategy rather than risk a potentially bad decision on the fly when I'd got myself into such a good position. So into the pits after L7, a lap on hards, mediums fitted L9, all left a 12s gap to the leader with them still needing to pit twice
Basically, I just didn't drive well enough on the mediums. I knew I could do ten laps at mid 2:08s from practice but only hit that time once, I think on L12. The whole stint was a good 4-5s slower than I was expecting, and I finished 3.2s behind the winner in 3rd. In hindsight, the better move would have been to do an 8-9 lap stint on softs. I would have had track position at the front and a tyre eating Jag protecting me (my lap on hards held him up enough for Eerieisss to overcut), but I can't blame my lack of pace on the mediums on the decision to run them. I was just slightly off and didn't execute it properly.
It was however a great race, and four of us had a genuine chance of winning it. A podium finish was a nice way to end the season though, and here's a summary
All races were one and done, so a decent effort I think!
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