Sorry folks, I think armageddon has started, might also be my fault.
Hyperbole aside, Group 1 rounds at Le Mans have always been a nightmare combo for me. They never go even remotely well, with me typically coming in the bottom 3-4 or such. Somehow today though...
Qualifying was annoying. I wasn't on the best lap ever, but it got completely compromised at Indianapolis by a Porsche 919 who had racked up 4.5s worth of penalties, probably had damage and was hanging around on the racing line as 3 people came roaring up behind him. Why people don't just get out of the way, quit back to the pits or something after that is beyond me. What on earth is left to salvage after that? I started P9, although potentially could have been P6 or so without the Porsche's interference.
The start, oh boy. I knew I was going against the grain in the Hyundai but I wasn't expecting to outrun P8
and be side-by-side with P7 into turn 1. All perfectly clean though, I'm honestly impressed and it was a real pleasure. Would give everyone involved a pat on the back if I could.
The Hyundai's straight-line speed quickly came into question on the Mulsanne as the Group C mob went into slipstream overdrive. Things started getting a bit hairy into the first chicane but I survived, now back down in P8. The run to the second chicane was painful, dropping me back further to P11.
Indianapolis saw a Nissan go off and I managed to slip up the inside to take the position at Arnage as it rejoined. The last sector was quite tricky as my strengths suddenly came into play, getting right back on top of the Group Cs as things started going sour at the Ford Chicane. A Brit got punted through it by a South African which reset him backwards, and I was briefly running in P8 at the start of lap 2 on the run down to turn 1, alongside a French Nissan. The Nissan backed out of the Dunlop Chicane, but I think he knew he'd be annihilating me down the Mulsanne anyway so...
I was still in P8 by the first chicane after passing the South African and watching the Frenchman pass both of us. From here the race started to settle down as P9 and P10 fell away and I closely followed the Frenchman all the way until lap 8. He'd pull away down the straights but I'd be right back up his bumper through the twisty sectors. As his tyres were starting to die, I could feel he was definitely starting to really impede me through the twisty sectors but there was no way I could get in front. I dove into the pits and (being completely honest) was giggling a bit knowing I was about to unleash the Hyundai's secret weapon - near non-existent tyre wear!
I skipped the tyre change as my tyres were still extremely good condition, filled up and rejoined into a nice clear gap. Exactly what I had hoped for. I'd love to know what the Frenchman was thinking as he emerged from the pits the following lap to see me a few seconds up the road.
From there I was lapping in free air until the end in P5, although I had to start pushing quite hard for the last 3-4 laps when I noticed someone closing up on the extended radar. (Dear Polyphony, please let us see deltas in VR...) The Brit that had been punted and reset was rapidly gaining on me, going about 2s/lap faster. Thankfully I managed to just about keep him out of slipstream range and keep P5 to claim 219 points. 🥳
It might not even be a podium, but that's effectively a win in my eyes with my track record in mind, especially going off-meta (for the dry) as well.