Michelin Pilot Challenge 2024 presented by SNAIL
EVENT #1 / RACE #2 RECAP
Season Opener - Event #1 - Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Friday, November 15th, 2024
Preamble:
Sorry for the delay in getting my recap for Race #2 out. This week got away from me a little bit.
There was a little more contact in this race. Nothing with bad intentions but it seemed we had more door rubbing in T1 and at the chicane. When going through the reply to put this recap together, I noticed, in lap 2 or 3 of T1, with several cars bunch together, I made contact with
@cesarr64 and we went into the grass. Apologies for that
@cesarr64 .
Event #1 / Race #2:
Lights Out:
It's light's out at Road Atlanta and with the reverse grid procedure in effect, it's already three wide at the front between between
@radliffracing ,
@cesarr64 and
@Kgffy.
Lap 1:
For the most part, the first time through the eses went alright.
@Fudman420 would go off slightly and drop from 7th to 16th but this wouldn't be too much of a setback for him. He'd be back at mid-grid in short order. At the front,
@Kgffy has similar thoughts that
@JDMKING13 had in the 1st race.
Lap 2:
Groups of cars are already forming. The top 3 broke away slightly. Then there's a group of 5 being led by
@radliffracing that also features
@socalnatv ,
@CdnSweetTee ,
@DublDee and
@llNovall .
Still on lap 2 and a couple seconds back is another group led by
@Bologna_Duc , currently in 9th, followed by
@Worst_Driver ,
@Mac1032763 , myself,
@JDMKING13 and
@Fudman420 .
Lap 3:
On T7 of Lap 3,
@socalnatv 's Corvette lost its grip and he would again go for a spin. Unfortunately, he decided to retire the car at this point.
He parked himself in a safe spot and showed great restraint in not jamming this photographer's camera down his throat.
Lap 4:
On the straight after the eses,
@CdnSweetTee is running in 6th spot followed by
@DublDee and
@Noob01_lmdead and we can see the other Corvette of
@Bologna_Duc also go for a spin.
@Bologna_Duc would drop from 9th to 15th.
Lap 4:
Approaching the last chicane on Lap 4, we had the season's 1st caution.
@radliffracing thought he had a run on
@llNovall and got on his brakes far too late. He would hit
@Kgffy as he was entering the chicane.
Unfortunately, some of the trailing cars would also be impacted as they hit the brakes and some were accidentally rear ended.
@CdnSweetTee would also end up in the sand. Ultimately, caution would be called for about a lap and the action was able to resume.
Lap 6:
@Mac1032763 must have liked
@DublDee 's line coming out of T1 on Lap 6. In the background,
@Fudman420 and I are engaged and would spend a few laps together.
Lap 6:
At the front of the grid, there isn't much separating the top 5.
@Wetroadracer leads
@CodeRedR51 ,
@llNovall ,
@Noob01_lmdead and
@Worst_Driver .
Lap 9:
The top 5 are still battling but their order changed slightly.
@JDMKING13 is running 6th with myself and
@Fudman420 chasing him.
Lap 9
LEAD CHANGE
On the downhill after the chicane,
@Wetroadracer touches grass and goes off. Our new leader,
@CodeRedR51 takes the lead and
@Worst_Driver moves into 3rd place.
Lap 14:
@CodeRedR51 is still our leader but his hands are getting sweaty and
@Worst_Driver is hardly letting him take a breath.
Pressure is mounting. Every time
@CodeRedR51 looks in his mirror, all he sees is the Rothmans Racing logo that is on
@Worst_Driver hood. I've found myself in this position many times during our Sunday Spec League races and I think my fellow Sunday D1 drivers (looking at you
@socalnatv and
@DublDee ) would agree with me and tell
@CodeRedR51 "Sorry buddy, but
@Worst_Driver ain't going nowhere".
Lap 16:
@CodeRedR51 is still doing a fine job at the front. Meanwhile,
@llNovall and I have been going toe-to-toe for multiple laps by now. Our battle would go on until the very end and we exchanged positions several times. I'd get him on the straight, but him being a better technical driver would mean I couldn't create space for myself in the first 2 sectors. In fact, the grid currently contains multiple 2-man battles. Not shown here is
@Noob01_lmdead &
@Bologna_Duc in a fight.
@Fudman420 &
@Wetroadracer in a fight and
@JDMKING13 &
@Mac1032763 in a fight.
Lap #18:
@CodeRedR51 , coming out of T7 just touches the grass which slows him up slightly. That's all
@Worst_Driver needed. He would get his man and move into 1st place with 3 laps to go. A valiant effort
@CodeRedR51 !
Lap 21:
@llNovall and I aren't giving anything away for free. Positions are still being exchanged but I also touch grass exiting the chicane.
@llNovall goes through into 3rd place and would hang onto that spot on the podium. Upon reflection, maybe with a little more experience I'd managed to hang on. But the fact is that I raced these last 10 laps with a huge smile on my face.
Lap 22:
A sight I've seen on many Sundays.
@Worst_Driver is a pro and takes the checkered flag. But as this picture shows,
@CodeRedR51 always stay close and had himself in a position to take the spot of
@Worst_Driver had slipped up.
Race #2 Final Results:
Race #2 Broadcast:
In Conclusion:
The vibe in the chat afterwards is that it seemed that everybody had a blast. It's a great start to the season.
@Worst_Driver leads the championship with 62 points.
@JDMKING13 and
@Mac1032763 (making his debut in a
@llNovall series) are tied in 2nd with 52 points.
@llNovall in 4th place with 47 points. And I tie between myself and
@CodeRedR51 for 5th place with 46 points.
Lastly,
@llNovall you showed appreciation for the efforts I put into my Race #1 recap but all of us appreciate the time and effort you've been investing in these series. Nobody does it better.
That's how I interpreted Race #2. Apologies if you saw it differently.
Thanks for your patience & see you at the Glen.
-Niagara
Edit: Added Final Results Screen Prints