- 626
- East Yorkshire
- Zorzil
That was a tough one. It didn't seem so bad when I did a practice race with the AI to get a feel for the tyre wear, but with other people around it felt like a completely different game. Definitely struggled with the nerves on this one.
I was doing well in free practice before the race chaining a lot of 1:17.9-1:18.2-ish laps together but utterly lost my bottle in qualifying. My first lap was a 1:18.556, and my final lap after several quits and restarts was marginally better at 1:18.480 which earned me P12. Time to slap on some Hards and dig in for the long haul.
At the start of the race, the Mitsubishi starting P10 had some kind of major technical issue as they just didn't accelerate. Halfway through lap 1 a message popped up in the chat about the game not handing over control and he quit. On the other hand, I was definitely accelerating.
I took the DBR instead of the Vantage for this round since it's the lighter of the two cars. I didn't actually test the Vantage in proper race conditions but I figured the extra weight would hurt the tyre wear. I knew the DBR was better in a straight line but I've not done any races with it. It definitely caught me off guard a little as I ended up going 2-wide with the McLaren that started P11 into turn 1, with me on the outside.
I ended up fighting with the McLaren over the next few laps, with a free position in the meantime because a BRZ that started P8 binned it in sector 3. We had another BRZ right behind us waiting to pounce... until it got a bit too throttle-happy in the last sector, clipped the grass and spun. I managed to get in front of the McLaren shortly afterwards at turn 1 but it held close and got the inside line at turn 4, taking the position back. The McLaren then went wide through the long banked right allowing me to get in front, only to then lose the position again at the sharp upward right-hander when it did a switchback. Nervous as all hell trying to fight on Hards with this kind of tyre wear but can't complain about some good, clean, hard fought racing. 👍
On lap 5, a Chevrolet binned it at the end of sector 1 from losing the back end so I gained another free position. I've been routinely using TCS1 in GT7 and it's moments like that where I feel it's worth it even though the majority view of it seems quite negative, especially if you're in the higher ratings.
On lap 8, me and the McLaren (who had started dropping me a bit by this point) caught up with a Mercedes with a track limits penalty who ended up being a straightforward overtake in sector 3 as it actually moved over. Looking at the replay, it had absolutely eviscerated a set of Hards and was forced to pit at the end of that lap. The front-right was almost gone when we caught it in sector 2 and completely gone when I passed.
I came in to pit at the end of lap 9, only to then struggle to get used to the fresh Mediums. The Mercedes clearly had better pace over a single lap as it caught up quickly and overtook me on lap 12, but it was shredding the Mediums to bits and got another track limits penalty. The BRZ that binned it on lap 1 also caught me at this point as well, so down to P9 but then back up to P8 from the Mercedes' penalty. The Mercedes' tyres were utterly dead now too, completely unable to keep pace whatsoever.
Going into sector 3 on lap 15, me and the BRZ caught an ailing Supra with a penalty and a bald front-right who moved over - P7. And as a final gift for managing to survive the gauntlet, the Honda that started P3 was just a little bit further up the road, attempting to crawl home on dead tyres and having a nightmare doing it. He couldn't keep it in a straight line, so another free position gained going onto the home straight.
End result, P6 for 201 points which I'm very pleased with.
I'm not sure I feel like I earned it though. I know I did since I managed my tyres and survived where others didn't, but not quite how I'd imagined things playing out...
I was doing well in free practice before the race chaining a lot of 1:17.9-1:18.2-ish laps together but utterly lost my bottle in qualifying. My first lap was a 1:18.556, and my final lap after several quits and restarts was marginally better at 1:18.480 which earned me P12. Time to slap on some Hards and dig in for the long haul.
At the start of the race, the Mitsubishi starting P10 had some kind of major technical issue as they just didn't accelerate. Halfway through lap 1 a message popped up in the chat about the game not handing over control and he quit. On the other hand, I was definitely accelerating.
I took the DBR instead of the Vantage for this round since it's the lighter of the two cars. I didn't actually test the Vantage in proper race conditions but I figured the extra weight would hurt the tyre wear. I knew the DBR was better in a straight line but I've not done any races with it. It definitely caught me off guard a little as I ended up going 2-wide with the McLaren that started P11 into turn 1, with me on the outside.
I ended up fighting with the McLaren over the next few laps, with a free position in the meantime because a BRZ that started P8 binned it in sector 3. We had another BRZ right behind us waiting to pounce... until it got a bit too throttle-happy in the last sector, clipped the grass and spun. I managed to get in front of the McLaren shortly afterwards at turn 1 but it held close and got the inside line at turn 4, taking the position back. The McLaren then went wide through the long banked right allowing me to get in front, only to then lose the position again at the sharp upward right-hander when it did a switchback. Nervous as all hell trying to fight on Hards with this kind of tyre wear but can't complain about some good, clean, hard fought racing. 👍
On lap 5, a Chevrolet binned it at the end of sector 1 from losing the back end so I gained another free position. I've been routinely using TCS1 in GT7 and it's moments like that where I feel it's worth it even though the majority view of it seems quite negative, especially if you're in the higher ratings.
On lap 8, me and the McLaren (who had started dropping me a bit by this point) caught up with a Mercedes with a track limits penalty who ended up being a straightforward overtake in sector 3 as it actually moved over. Looking at the replay, it had absolutely eviscerated a set of Hards and was forced to pit at the end of that lap. The front-right was almost gone when we caught it in sector 2 and completely gone when I passed.
I came in to pit at the end of lap 9, only to then struggle to get used to the fresh Mediums. The Mercedes clearly had better pace over a single lap as it caught up quickly and overtook me on lap 12, but it was shredding the Mediums to bits and got another track limits penalty. The BRZ that binned it on lap 1 also caught me at this point as well, so down to P9 but then back up to P8 from the Mercedes' penalty. The Mercedes' tyres were utterly dead now too, completely unable to keep pace whatsoever.
Going into sector 3 on lap 15, me and the BRZ caught an ailing Supra with a penalty and a bald front-right who moved over - P7. And as a final gift for managing to survive the gauntlet, the Honda that started P3 was just a little bit further up the road, attempting to crawl home on dead tyres and having a nightmare doing it. He couldn't keep it in a straight line, so another free position gained going onto the home straight.
End result, P6 for 201 points which I'm very pleased with.
I'm not sure I feel like I earned it though. I know I did since I managed my tyres and survived where others didn't, but not quite how I'd imagined things playing out...
Last edited:
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Fortunately I finished 10th, so not last 
. By end of lap 10 I gain 2 positions curtesy of two who pit a second time. Another pits next turn and I jump to 4th!!! Only to be shoved by him next turn…and he starts to over break next turns, causing the British diver to catch up. He overtake and last lap see me finishing 6th and 58 points.
