Missed the first slot in GT1 by 5 seconds today which meant i had to go for the second slot. AMG again.
Qualified in 7th which i was happy with. Planned for a 13H-10M-10M.
Race start went quite flawless, made up 2 places into 5th. There was some going back and forth from 8th and below due to slower drivers struggling with wheel to wheel racing which gave me and 6th a lot of room. Guys in front of me were on mediums so they slowly drifted away in the first stint. Dude behind me in a NSX was clearly also on hards as we went consistenly from 1 to 2 seconds of intervals. At lap 12 he passed me as i was struggling with worn hards. I stayed close to him though and i was in 3rd due to those on mediums pitting but i pitted on lap 13 to switch to mediums.
I also refueled and left the pits in 12th. I didn't think much about it but this was already a sign that quite a few that started on hards were going for a 1 stop. On lap 16 i was promoted into 10th due to the Honda from earlier and someone else pitting. That lap i also passed a Supra struggling on worn tires so that meant 9th place. On lap 18, three guys on hards pitted. Again, i was oblivious to the fact that these guys were going for a one stop. I was in 6th now. 2 laps later i'm in 4th due to others pitting again. I was right behind an Italian in a Porsche that started in the top 5 on mediums and cleanly overtook him. He then pitted and another top 5 medium starter also pitted which means i'm in 2nd on lap 23.
I was pretty confident that i was going to get a top 5 finish if i kept up this consistent pace. I pitted at the end of that lap and was suprised to see myself in 10th. I was sure a lot in front of me still had to pit but in reality, these guys were doing one stops on hards. So i leave in 10th with the Porsche from earlier behind me. He's also on mediums as he did a M-H-M. He overtakes me with a divebomb and not risking any damage, i dodge out of his way. I'm now in 11th. During the final stint, we both overtake two others and stay close to eachother. As we creep up on the one stoppers about 7 seconds ahead of us i slowly realise these guys aren't pitting anymore and i have to give it my all if i want to overtake them.
Unfortunately, from lap 27 untill the finish, i was stuck between two Italians in Porsches that were not happy with eachother, one of them being the guy from earlier. While they were fighting, i snuck in between them which gave me 8th position. Porsche behind me was pissed and rammed me at one point which meant rear aero damage, but also front aero damage as i was proppeled into the Porsche in front. That Porsche didn't want to give up his position and kept trying to force me off the track when i was close to overtaking. At this point the race was coming to an end and I realised i wasn't gonna catch up to the one stoppers anymore due to these guys. This made me pretty frustrated honestly, as this was the moment that 1: i realised the one stoppers had outplayed us and that 2: these Porsches ruined any chance for a top 5.
I finish in 8th with less than 0.100 on the guy in front.
I mean, it's better than my GV round were i finished in 10th. And kudo's to the one stoppers. Talked to them in the chat afterwards about it and they revealed their strategy. All pitted on lap 18 to refuel and get new hards, then finish the race. But once again, can't help but feel some frustration that these Porsches slowed me down by driving like idiots. I couldn't participate in the 3rd slot so that was my only race today. This Manu Cup was one hell of a drive though. Onto the last round of the Nations Cup!