A little report, I went alone, although some people from GT5rs were also coming, we did not meet up.
I went to look for the RJN team first thing when I arrived.
The first paddock booths were filled with smaller cars, Kia ProCeed, Renault Megane, etc...
A bit further I came across the KTM X-Bow, Aston Martin (but with the British Aston Martin champtionship there, they were all over the place.) Going up the higher F1 Pitlane, I turned around to see an RJN truck and found it so had to return.
I had taken the plan not to mess up the preparation and go and talk to the Lucas and Jordan after the race.
Nevertheless they looked very relaxed, Alex was running around, talking to the team, as was Lucas, near his car that seemed to be in preparation:
No sign of Jordan.
I talked to people that looked like they were not involved in the preparation, generally tourists like me, but I found 1 really dedicated RJN fan.
I first looked a bit around while the cars for another championship were going round the track, already very impressive, although I believe half the Power of the GT4 Cup.
Also in the F1 pits there were the cars for the British GT Championship (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Mosler, etc...), whoow beautifull.
Coming back it seemed that the racers were still relaxed, I found Lucas testing the spare car and doing some PR with the dedicated fan I met earlier:
Then I went to install myself to look at the race, with earplugs in, I could not follow the race a lot. However there were different incidents. From the start Lucas had lost a lot of places and also Alex and Jordan did not seem to do very well.
Picture Lucas in 5th
Compared to what I expected there were a lot more interventions of the pace car, it seems that the next stand was pushed and went into a spin and that Jordan was pushed of the track at a certain moment, I saw the damage, just some scratches at the back, but it explains why they suddenly lost a lot of ground in the race.
Picture Alex Jordan in battle
Lucas was one of the first to go in the mandatory pits stop. A few laps afterwards they stated that he had lost more then 30 sec there compared to the other drivers.
The race continued and I moved around the track to get different angles with my camera.
When the race ended I first took pictures of the RJN cars coming in and went to the RJN stand as quickly as possible, to find it still abandonned. It seems the cars were parked near the hairpin.
Cars after race.
The first I saw was Lucas coming in, helmet still on, but with the name all over the suit, easy to know who it is.
When the helmet went off a complete red head appears, it seems the heat (25°C full sun) did get to the drivers, but clearly too a big sense of disappointment. When the rest of the team arrived there were some serious discussions about the mandatory stop, it seems that Lucas was not able to start the car, where he was doing everthing like he would normally.
Pic of Lucas after race
Next Alex arrives and starts discussing with Lucas, to my surprice it was much like our online chat after online races:
* Man that black Aston Martin touched me 4 times this race.
* Yes their first racers is clean, but the other guy just bangs into everyone.
Where did he hit you?
* Twice in the back.
* Did you spinn out?
* No just slipped a bit on the back.
* He did make the other Aston spin of the tack.
* It does not surprise me, be careful when he is close to you, you know there is also this other guy that ....
Lucas and Alex talking about punters
Then the RJN team started looking for Jordan, who I had not seen yet. Alex and some others left, it seem to find Jordan. Lucas starts to change and the team starts to break down the stand and put everthing in the truck. This combination was unfortunate, since the changing Lucas seemed to be exposed a bit more then expected when the truck was opened to put some things in. It is not a luxurious world this GT4 cup racing.
Car of Lucas at the preparation:
A bit later Jordan arrives, someone grabs him, he does a phonecall and disappears up to the official building.
Jordan Tresson
In the mean time it seems that Alex came back and he is discussing his experience with the team. The car was better then any time before. The steering issue (if remember correctly oversteer) of the qualifications was gone, even if nothing was changed to the car. Alex though or the car really likes the tires that were put on for the race, or Alex has a psychological prejudice for the car with these tires. The breaks were good, you could hit them very hard, at lower speed needed to come off a little or the wheels would still block.
Lucas (LO) seemed a bit more relaxed now, so I (VF) approached him:
VF: Hello I'm Vince_Fiero from GTPlanet, I followed the GT Acadamy this year on the forum.
LO: I remember the texts you translated.
GTPlanet is a great place to find all this information together and it is great to see a community with this kind of enthousiasm.
VF: I saw GTPlanet mentioned on your site.
LO: Not clear where you saw it, but I'm ready to support GTPlanet more.
It is good to see people that are interested in our performance and follow up on what we are doing.
Jordan is doing such a good job with the site, it is always a joy to go to GTPlanet.
I also got some contacts with Playseat recently, they are now mentioned on my outfit.
VF: Yes I noticed it before the race.
LO: Did you already meet Jordan face to face?
VF: No I'm only on GTPlanet since a year, I did not get to meet up yet.
It seems there was some trouble with the race.
LO: Yes it is quite frustrating, I had trouble starting the car at 3 occasions this weekend during the stop in race 1 and during the start and the stop in race 2.
We are the 3rd fastest team, but till now we only were able to get in 5th and 7th place.
VF: It was better then in Silverstone.
LO: "Weird look back."
VF: Well there the second team did not finish any race in Silverstone!
LO: Yes we need to solve the issues with the gearbox and the starting.
It is the second race of the year out of six and we did not put any good results. Two out of six races have passed and we are a lot behind on our real capacity.
Like in Silverstone at a certain moment I passed 12 cars before me, we are sufficiently fast, but the results did not follow till now.
VF: You are still racing in the 350Z?
LO: Yes, I'll have to ask how the team sees this go forward.
I prefer to drive this car till the 370 gets all issues solved.
VF: Yes the 350Z seems competitive at this time.
LO: Yes it still is.
VF: There are not a lot of people around here at the track today.
LO: That is when there is no combination with GT and GT3 competions, there is a lot less interest of the large public. There are still some races like this coming up, but at other occasions like the Nueburgring, it will be different again.
I also can not wait for GT5?
VF: What class is that you are now racing the GT4 Cup?
LO: No Gran Turismo 5, it is going to be so great.
VF: I'll be back at the Nuerburgring!
LO: Hope to see you there
In the mean time Jordan had come back.
He discussed a bit with the team, did some camera work and ran to look at the Aston Martin that had crashed. When he walked back I shook hands with Jordan (JT) while we discussed the shame it was of the heavily damaged Aston Martin.
JT: Bound to happen was the conclusion a gentlemen driver at to speed to drive 14th took over at 3rd position. It would be better when he drives at his ability, the difference between the first and second driver of the team is too large.
VF: Maybe he brings in the money for the team?
JT: I hope he does at least that, but it is dangerous for everyone on the track.
From the interview with the cameraman (CM) I got the next things:
CM: How did the race go today.
JT: Except for my incident it went better. I had to move out and brake. With Alex it went better too.
CM: There was hasle in the pit lane, how did you handle,it seems there was an issue with the radio:
JT: Yes there was trouble with the communication, the point where you decide to come in is far away from the pit, I should have warned a round before.
CM: What is the trophy about that you are holding:
JT: It is the trophy for the best novice that I received for the race yesterday.
======================
It was a great morning at Spa-Francorchamps and it is fantastic that Nissan-Playstation offers this possibility to talented drivers.
:tup:
