Michelin Pilot Challenge 2024 - Presented by SNAIL
Hosted by PSN: NOVA-0479
Event #2 / Race #1 Recap
Event #2 - Watkins Glen International
Friday, December 13th, 2024
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Preamble:
The grid for Event #2 is set. The only change to the driver roster from Event #1 is
@Fudman420 is out due to a schedule conflict. He was replaced by
@THMP
Qualifying Table:
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@Bologna_Duc took pole position with a blistering 1:51.974. Considering he came into the event with a neutral PP of 650.00 on RH tires, that's a crazy fast time. I spent some time with other drivers in practice lobbies in the weeks leading up to the event and haven't seen a 1:51 until about an hour prior to
@llNovall 's lobby opening up where I believe I saw
@radliffracing put one up on the board. My jaw dropped when I saw that 1:51`s were reachable.
Well done
@Bologna_Duc on getting your best lap when it mattered most.
Event #2 / Race #1
And they're off!! - A great T1 by
@radliffracing allows him to take the lead from
@Bologna_Duc . Another great looking grid.
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Lap #1:
As expected, the 1st time through the Bus-Stop was very congested. I got on my brakes a tad late, touched the wall made light contact with
@Noob01_lmdead and pushed him wide. I waited briefly and we were both able to get back into it with only a few dropped spots.
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Lap #1:
@radliffracing and
@Bologna_Duc running 1st and 2nd a little out of this picture.
@Mac1032763 ,
@JDMKING13 @socalnatv ,
@Kgffy and
@DublDee are running nose-to-tail entering Sector 3.
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Lap #4:
@Bologna_Duc has regained his lead. He's leading a still tight pack a few turns from the end of lap #4.
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Lap #5:
Some slight contact at T1 between
@THMP and
@Bologna_Duc caused
@Bologna_Duc to go a tad wide. He'd re-enter in 5th position.
@THMP is leading and there appears to be a little more space between the cars at this point. In the background,
@llNovall and
@Worst_Driver are engaged in a battle that lasted several laps.
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Lap #5:
@socalnatv slightly touched grass on the outside part of the track entering the last turn and caused a spin.
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Lap #9:
@THMP led the race from Lap 5 until early Lap 9. Very little daylight is visible between
@Bologna_Duc and
@THMP in this pic that captures the moment
@Bologna_Duc recaptured his lead.
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Lap #10:
@DublDee was running in 7th when he lost control at the Bus-Stop. Replay shows that he also got T-Boned by
@Worst_Driver during his spin. He'd fall to 15th before he would gather himself.
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Lap #11:
An unforced error by
@llNovall as he cuts into the Bus-Stop a little too early and touches the wall. He also would lose control would drop to 14th where he'd find
@DublDee .
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Lap #12:
The Bus-Stop is clearly angry today and claims another victim. This time it's
@radliffracing , who is having a great race and just moved into 3rd before getting the Bus-Stop wrong. Being a true gentleman, he let all traffic go by before re-entering the track way back in 16th spot.
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Lap#13:
I was going to leave this pic on the cutting room floor but I got a laugh out of it. After their mishaps,
@llNovall and
@DublDee found each other at the back of the grid and seemed to have a fun couple laps together. But
@DublDee came out of the last turn too hot and clipped the outside wall which sent him for a spin down the pit entry l lane. I'm guessing he was a mere couple feet from triggering the pit-entry sequence and had to get creative to maneuver his way out.
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Lap #16:
By this time, most groups were a little more dispersed. But there's still some head-to-head battles going on.
@JDMKING13 and
@Kgffy are battling for 4th
@Noob01_lmdead and
@CodeRedR51 are battling for 8th
And
@CdnSweetTee and
@llNovall are battling for 11th as shown below.
@llNovall actually passed
@CdnSweetTee on the following straight but gave her the spot back before the finish line. My guess is to atone for them having a coming together in an early part of the race. It's stuff like this that I like about SNAIL.
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Lap #17:
@THMP was running in 3rd but
@JDMKING13 and
@Kgffy were right there to take his place if he made a slight mistake.
@JDMKING13 was in 4th but
@Kgffy (and his controller) put together a fantastic last sector to pass him before the finish line.
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Lap #17:
@Mac1032763 always kept himself visible to
@Bologna_Duc but in the end,
@Bologna_Duc was just too much and never gave up the lead he earned in Lap #9.
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Final Event #2 / Race #1 Results Table:
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Event #2 / Race #1 Broadcast:
Final Thoughts:
- I'll try to get the Race #2 recap done sometimes in the next several days. It is pretty time consuming.
- For those that take a peek at the Race Broadcast through the link above, I'm pretty new to that, they should get better with time.
- Looking for more racing action as we await Event #3 of this series? Look no further than Snail's Sunday Night Spec League.
- It is best to scroll through these with a tablet or laptop.
That's how I interpreted Race #1
-Niagara
