3 races, (2 NA, 1 EMEA) and have nothing pleasant to say. Enjoyed my driving but was not fond of the racing at all. I was the lucky victim of 3 separate pit maneuvers knocking me down to DFL (1 per race). Thanks to poor driving on some (many seem to like the sandboxes) I ended with 2 P8s and a P12.
3 turds to be specific.
I was going to write a complete write up for each race even after cooling down for a few hours I still cannot bring myself to write something "nice". Today's rant has be expressed in earlier posts but I feel it needs to be said again. A trailing car when over passing is responsible to complete the move WITHOUT pushing, ramming, and\or pitting the car in front. Not only are these traits bad but show poor sportsmanship. So I guess I need to find me someone who can teach me the proper way to be a nasty racer - anyone here qualify? If I cannot beat them with speed I may as well beat them being nasty.
Enjoy your racing.
Edit: Write up nearly complete, will post on Thursday.
Nation’s Cup, Round 3, Sardegna Road Course A
Race 1 NA Server
Running the Michelin Pilot Audi on RM tires I pulled out a 9th for qualifying. As I finished I had my first epiphany . . . why not use RS tires for qualifying? This will be corrected in the next race.
Race started pretty good, I hung back for turn 1 knowing there would be carnage – and there was. 2 cars off and another one spun around. This moved me up 1 spot and off we went to the next series of turns. Everything went good until the left hand turn 6 where 3 cars went through (including me) and the 1st pit maneuver of the day occurred. A decent from 9th to 15th was fun with my nose in the wall. Of course at this point all I wanted to do was get back to the group so speed was poured on and the wall bouncing began. It took me 2 laps to realize what was going on and my driving settled down. Epiphany number 2. Another 2 laps and I was back to the rear of the trailing group.
By lap 5 I was wondering what was going on with the large groups of cars pitting changing their tires. I had hardly no wear at lap 5 on my RMs. My practice sessions told me the tires would last to lap 10 so that is where I pitted. Coming out in 13th place allowed me some clean air and probably helped me move up to 11th place at the finish.
When the banner showed up on the screen it showed me as 8th place. Apparently the 3 in front of me did not change tires as required. Although I was given 4 points for an 8th place finish I did get a red arrow down I assume because of my original finishing position.
Race 2 EMEA Server
Running the ’16 Michelin GT-R on RS tires which I pulled out a 12th for qualifying BUT did knock down my time by 1.5 seconds. It was just a faster qualifying field.
This race started just like my 1st one, no big issues as everyone made it through turn 1 without going off into the sand but 2 were not so lucky as both pulled 2 second penalties. For me everything went fine until lap 3 where at the top of the uphill climb where the down shift occurs at the left hand turn had me going from 10th back to 15th again thanks to another pit maneuver at the apex of the turn. Apparently a CLK didn’t downshift and decided to use my left rear quarter as a braking assist. Remembering race 1 errors I went back to racing MY race and by the middle of lap 6 I was passing the back group and up to 12th.
Pit stops started on lap 7 which had me moving up to 7th place and battling with an Austrian driver named WakaWaka. Shout out to them as the racing was awesome between us for a few laps. We exchanged positions every few turns and it showed me the CLK could be beaten. My pit stop came on lap 10 with a big 12th place return to the circuit. At lap 11 I lost my racing partner as they went into the pits for their tire change. No problem as I picked up a German driver who gave me a great time racing for the remainder of the race. I beat him on the same uphill left turn to take 11th where I finished (actually) but was awarded 8th again due to people not completing the mandatory tire change.
One thing I did notice was the were more controller drivers in this race or the lag was weird. A few cars just did not look smooth in turns or down the straights (almost like the steering was being done on a controller). No problems as the racing was great for this race AFTER the pit maneuver event.
Only 3 points but with a DR increase AND a CRB.
Race 3 NA Server
Running the Thrustmaster T300 NSX Concept on RS tires I pulled out a 11th for qualifying.
Back to the home server and a chance to improve on my pitiful 4 points from the 1st race. So lap 1 had 1 off at turn 1, another at turn 2, and I spun myself at the left hand turn at the top of the uphill climb. I went a little wide and the grass assisted in the spin. So at the start of lap 3 had me in 15th place following a slew of racers with penalties. Just drive and there will be places available at the end of the lap. And there were!
On lap 9 I was riding a high in 6th place when I was pushed a little wide on turn 1 putting my right side in the sand causing a removal of all power to retain control. This brought me to the pit stop at lap 10 again bringing me back onto the circuit in 14th place. I finished the race in 13th actually but again was awarded 12th due to tire infractions of another. The NSX was by far the smoothest car of the day to drive.
Too keep my calmness I did not mention the abundant amount of pushing and ramming that occurred during these races. Hopefully this behavior will die down as the season progresses.
As always, enjoy the racing!
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