Another early fun run in the MX-5. Again, didn't aim high for this one, but unwittingly bettered my previous-best Free Practice lap (1:13.662) by over two seconds in decidedly less ominous conditions (1:11.439).
17:00 Nations EMEA
19-car grid with 18 starters, including Wifi Password and the Irish Fanta car from the previous round. Had zero issues getting out onto the circuit on time, following two French cars and a South African around under cloudy skies. Was amazed to reach the top early on with a 1:11.578, which after a bit of shuffling, sunshine and slipstream improved further to a 1:11.176. With just over two minutes to go, it looked like I had snatched provisional pole, though ultimately the Fanta car pipped me by exactly three-hundredths. Still, my first front-row start in GT7 Sport Mode; what were the odds of converting that to a top-3 result?
The lack of practice brought up plenty of surprises for the race itself; not least the 10-lap distance and the grid start. Didn't have the best reaction off the line as I didn't expect the lights to go out as early as they did, but crucially we held the inside for the first corner and managed to maintain our position for the first few laps. Followed the Fanta car around as closely as possible while the pack behind squabbled, but lost touch with him on Lap 3 after a particularly sketchy moment through Turn 4. This opened the door for another Irish car (number #420) to hunt and get past me on the inside of Turn 8, once I was convinced that he would try to dive past anyway. Now I was the second car in a train of six, my next-biggest threat being the grey MX-5 right behind. Not for long, though, as on the next lap he is sent spinning into the Turn 4 tyres following a tap by another red Roadster.
At around this time, I'd begun pressuring the second Irishman myself. Seconds after the grey car's demise, he cuts too far across the Turn 5 apex and picks up a 0.5-second penalty. He tried his absolute hardest to keep me behind, but it wasn't enough for him to stop me retaking 2nd on the straight by the half-way mark. Now it was a case of doing the same and denying the #420 every chance of sneaking up the inside. The timer flashed purple as I began setting fastest first (and at one point, second) sectors, the pressure once more mounting as the #420 got right close to my bumper a few times. At Turn 8, my defensive driving ends up costing him a good exit and leaves him vulnerable to a Frenchman in a black and yellow, semi-TC-spec MX-5. The #420 is pushed aside at the final turn, and it's the Frenchman's turn to pressure me right to the end.
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Did have a few more slides and tentative moments during this phase, but our defensiveness paid off. The gap between myself and the Frenchman shrunk to just over two-and-a-half tenths entering the final lap, but contact between him and the battling #420 behind allowed us to break away. By the back straight, it had grown back to around 1 second, at which point I knew I'd done enough to take home 2nd.
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First Sport Mode podium of the year, first online podium in GT7 and an extra 235 points to go with my earlier 4th-place finish. The most interesting thing about the second half was that despite the pressure, we were consistently lapping in the low-1:12s and able to dial in the purple sectors I mentioned earlier. Could've had a chance to score more points had I not dropped a wheel onto the grass and been targeted by an aggressive Peugeot in a Daily C last night, but I'll take what I've been given. Considering I had no idea that today's combo had a different start procedure and ran a longer distance than the other one I tried, I'm especially chuffed with this. Can we go one better in Manufacturers tomorrow, perhaps?
