GT1, DR A
GVH is a great track so I wanted to run this one, and always planned to do so in the Mazda. Of the 3 choices, it's comfortably my preferred option, being one of my favourite cars in Gr.3.
Slot 1, 183pt Lobby
Practice told me that my qualifying and race pace was consistent if unspectacular, so it was something to work with. I was 1 of just 2 RX-V's amongst a flock of Supra's.
Qualifying; my first lap of a 1:47.4 was surprisingly good for provisional pole. On my 2nd, I was 0.25s up before I fluffed my lines through the chicane, so I ended up 3rd.
Started on Softs, and things were quite busy. A 0.5s pen at the chicane on lap 2 dropped me to 5th, and set the tone for the race. My front left was done by lap 8, as I find it hard to manage tyre wear on pad. Not without massively sacrificing pace anyway. Went 8S/12M/10S, but I copped a 3s pit pen at my first stop
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That put me in traffic costing more time. I saved fuel for the last stint, so I found myself 3rd. But I binned it on lap 28 before the bridge, plus a dead front left meant I was unsatisfied with 6th come the finish...
Slot 2, 216pt lobby
I wanted to go again to right those mistakes, and see what a clean result could bring. Points were pretty irrelevant, so I was running for the enjoyment really.
Both my qualifying laps felt better, my best yielding a 47.3 this time. But in a far stronger room, it meant I was 9th, 1.3s off pole. So here I started on mediums, and ran a 11M/9S/10S.
Race was largely straight forward, with only a single 0.5s track limit pen. For a good chunk I had a Supra to follow, giving me a handy tow down the main straight. Though it's comical how much worse through the twisty sector 2 they are compared to the RX-V. Ultimately it allowed me to work my up a few places early on.
Some minimal fuel saving reduced the damage of taking on fuel at the last stop, so I came out 2nd. A late stopping Supra was charging behind, so I put little effort in defending when they got past on lap 28. It wasn't worth the battle in the end.
Still, a P3 finish more than made up for slot 1, and exceeded expectations. The RX-V was a real treat, and I think more people could have had good results despite its top speed deficit, even in higher lobbies. But I suppose the allure of following the Supra sheep was too great for some /s
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