Semi Final:
GTP_timeattack vs. GTP_RPM Winner: GTP_timeattack (2-0)
Let me first start off by saying, WOW, what a pair of races we had
Our battles were just as intense as I expected, especially being that we had so much on the line. We had progressed all the way to round 7, which was some 5 months since the start of this Championship...so failure was not much of an option or outlook for me.
Looking back, the outcome could have easily gone in RPM's favor, who had great pace and drove as cool as ice like always
Both of us drove extremely consistent, mistake free races. The finish of race 1 was separated by .05, as RPM used my tow to almost pass me before the finish line
The second race really looked to be in RPM's favor half way through the last lap, until he left the door open through the chicane and allowed me to regain the lead.
I believe I can thank my game plan for coming out on top though, as well as not showing my cards until the late stages of the race. Even though I believed my pace was a few tenths quicker then RPM's, I knew being at Fuji this advantage would be negated due to the long straights and nice tow the driver behind receives down the straights and also through the corners. My game plan coming in was to take it easy up until the last lap, especially in the first race where Ian really had no idea of what my strategy would be. The winner is not decided on who is ahead on lap 3 but who crosses the line first at the end of lap 5, so I tried to put myself in a position to go into the last lap with the lead and then lay the hammer down. Most of my prior laps reflected me not taking the lead even if I could, although on lap 2 I took the lead in an attempt to not make my strategy look too blatantly obvious
Video from Race 1 👍
Race 1
Lap 1: Ian started on pole, so I let him take the lead without question the entire first lap.
Lap 2: I took over the lead on the straightaway as we went onto lap 2. Unfortunately as we exited turn 2, we were making ground on a straggler ahead that was driving quite erratically. Approaching T3, the long right hand sweeper, I predicted the stragglers loss of control well enough to make it through without issue. Unfortunately for Ian, he had no where to go as the RX-8 loss control and came down on him. Luckily, the contact had little to no affect on Ian's stability, as he continued to put pressure on me.
Lap 3: Going into lap 3 I let Ian regain the lead so that I could get back to my strategy of staying behind, yet still putting pressure on him to try and force a mistake. Of course my attempts didn't have any affect on Ian
At the exit of the last corner I blatantly (swerved and pulled the e-brake) made it look as if I got a bad exit out of the corner, so that I could once again stay behind going onto lap 4.
Lap 4: A pretty uneventful lap, that saw me put in a solid 1'51.8 behind Ian as I started picking up the pace through the last sector to get back into the lead for lap 5.
Lap 5: Now it was time to follow through with my strategy and put the hammer down. As I got RPM's tow and drafted by him after the start/finish line, I let off the throttle a bit just prior to hitting our braking points going into T1. I wanted to ensure that I had the ideal position to take the lead out of the T1, as I figured that's where the race would be won. RPM continued to chase me up to the chicane, where I would say he managed to make up a bit of time under braking as we approached the chicane. I had a solid run through the chicane, so now it was really time to turn the heat up and give it everything I had through the last couple of corners, without overdriving the thing of course. The two corners after the chicane I nailed perfectly, which gave me just the last corner to get a nice drive through. I ended up missing the apex by a foot or two at the last corner and saw that Ian was hot on my heels. As we exited the last corner, I pulled to the inside of the straightaway, which was probably just enough to prevent RPM from getting a strong enough tow to beat me to the line. And boy was it a close one! I ended up crossing the line just .05 before Ian...
Race 2
Now it was 1-0 in favor of me, myself needing just one more win to advance to the Finals, and Ian needing to win the next two races to avoid elimination. The pressure was certainly on him more than me, but I still knew that he could pull off two wins in a row if I even had the slightest hiccup.
Unfortunately I didn't record this race, so it's a bit hard to recall exactly what happened throughout the entire race, but I'll make a summary and highlight some of the key parts of the race. Hopefully Ian will post a video of this race when he gets a chance, as it was a epic battle that really came down to the wire 👍
The first couple of laps were fairly uneventful, as I sat back for the most part once again. We had to deal with a few more stragglers in this one than in our first race though. Exiting the chicane on lap 3 or so we encountered a straggler that was once again lacking any type of car control. Ian was in the lead and made it by cleanly, while I tried to go around the guy, he lost control and spun into me, which of course gave me a penalty...luckily it was only a 2 second penalty though
Lap 5: Going onto lap 5 I got a nice run exiting the last corner and passed RPM approaching T1. We were pretty close to being side by side as we hit our braking marks, with RPM on the outside and me on the inside as we entered. Being that I hugged the inside, my run exiting T1 was less than ideal. I looked back and saw that Ian was making ground on me quite quickly, and was likely going to make a pass/move going into T2. Ian got a half car ahead to the inside before hitting the braking zone going into T2, so I respectfully let him take the lead, which wasn't at all part of my game plan.
At this point I had to give it everything I had to try and make a move prior to the chicane, if I wanted any chance of winning race 2. I got a perfect run going through the T4 and was able to pull up just about even with Ian as we approached the entrance of the chicane. Ian stayed to the inside as we hit our braking points, while I was stuck on the outside, the long way around. I managed to hit my braking points perfectly and made it stick well enough on the outside that Ian decided to let me through as we made the left (switchback) through the chicane exit. After I made a clean pass on Ian, I once again put the hammer down through the last few corners and nailed them just about perfectly. As we approached the last corner, I could hear Ian really working his tires as he tried to catch up. Luckily I didn't crack under pressure and got an ideal run out of the last corner. I believe Ian had a slight bobble at the exit which cost him any chance of using my tow to make it past before the finish line. I believe I ended up winning by a tenth when it was all said and done. Man it was a close one though! That last lap really had me on edge, especially once Ian passed me out of T1 and threw me off my game plan.
Big thanks to RPM for giving me such a great race and quality competitor
I have a lot of respect for Ian on the race track, as he is probably one of the most feared 6-axis drivers around 👍 I'd also like to thank all of the stewards for helping out in our race...thanks guys!
Maz...you better get ready!
👍
I can't wait to see what's in store for the next update, and more importantly Stage 8 of the Championship. Hopefully we get a race at Suzuka in order to really test our skills
May the best man win
The pressure will DEFINATELY be on after we complete the first race and one us must win the following in order to stay alive...can't wait 
If you and EL_ZISSOU want to race the same as the final for thrid spot Im more than happy to let you both do so 
