@Globato44 Hey, I was in your lobby too. It's cool to learn there was so much GTP representation in this race!
I can't say things went so terribly for me. In fact, I had what probably is the most satisfying result for me in Sport Mode so far.
Whilst viewing the race details during the warm-up I completely ignored the track conditions before the timer counted down and began qualifying on the slicks. Relieved to know that exiting teleported me back to the pits with no time lost, I switched to the intermediates before settling on full wets.
Amidst all this confusion I saw I had just over nine minutes to make it around the whole circuit to begin a flying lap so I got on with it. I re-passed a few cars, so knew I made a good choice tyre-wise (at least for now) and made it with about thirty seconds left on the clock.
Soon, I was in no man's land with a clear, drying track ahead of me. The original starters were long gone, almost done with their laps. The full wets saw me through the lap. It didn't feel that spectacular but I kept it tidy. I was astounded to read that my split time was over two seconds up on the provisional pole along Dottinger Hohe, where in another twist, the heavens opened again.
Sliding through the final corners, I lost time but not enough to stop the upset I'd cause, stealing pole in the dying seconds of qualifying. What a thrill!
I believed my pole to be a bit of a fluke under the changing conditions, so had modest expectations going into the race. I was convinced that I'd be passed and fall back into the mid-pack before long. The rain fell just like it had at the beginning of qualifying, so the question was whether to stick or twist with the tyres during preparation. I've got to credit
@Zorz here, I read his earlier post and doubled down on the full wets, assuming that the car would be predictable for at least the first two laps. And lo and behold, it was.
A 0.5s penalty for my nearest challenger for the lead gave me some breathing space after the first lap (which saw him fall from 2nd to 9th along Dottinger Hohe - this race was really
that close), and I extended my lead to six seconds by the end of the second.
But the track was drying fast, and my full wets had some serious wear that tempted me into boxing for slicks as well. I knew my race would unravel in spectacular fashion if these conditions continued. Then I saw my rain light come on again and, miraculously - it began to rain!
I knew I was in uncharted territory and would have to nurse my wets, but at least I knew it was a better compound to be on than the slicks. The Ferrari behind chewed up my lead but it wasn't enough. I kept calm and save a few missed apexes and wall brushes I took victory by just over a second.
Relief and elation washed over me as I crossed the line. I'm absolutely loving competing in this Manufacturers' Cup, what a thrill this game can be sometimes!
. Half-way round our flying lap it started to rain, and just before I hit the Carrousel it was aquaplane conditions. Made for a bizarre sight of us all bunched in a group, barely holding on with cars going off track. I copped a 3s pen for a car that un-ghosted in front of me, so my lap was only good enough for 13th.
