SPa Race reports

[deecee52]

Some excellent racing on a brilliant track with some great drivers , very enjoyable .

Race 1
Made a good start but then cocked it up by making poor choice of line into La Source this allowed DJ through , got a run on him through Eau Rouge and got alongside on the striaght but couldnt complete the pass , we stayed this way through the next 3 corners but then Keeper got inside of me at Bruxelles and I had to give best to him at turn 9 , phew that lap got my heart rate up

Lap 2 I got a run on Keeper through Eau Rouge and made a pass on the striaght , chased DJ down and managed to do the same on the next lap , after that I just tried to stay on the black stuff as I could make no impression on the guys ahead , I managed to inherit 3rd place when Anti threw himself at the scenery so I was pleased with the result .

Race 2

I thought I had made a jump start so stood on the brakes then the gas this allowed DJ passed , watching a replay I actually got it dead right it was my best start yet DOH .

Shot up to La Source and was concentrating on Ratus who was alongside I then misjudged my braking and ran into DJ (sorry DJ):mad: , tucked in behind him and managed to get a run on him through Eau Rouge , my car was mighty through there even when the tyres were cold , passed him on the striaght and then slowly pulled away , again I could make no impression on the guys in front so it was just a case of staying ontrack .

[Fergy]

Struggling. The early morning starts aren't my best friend, I seem to be making a lot of mistakes. I had a good start in race one, I think I move from 13th to 8th or 9th pretty quick before driving off the track down the back straight. Not sure what I was thinking, it was looking like a good battle with Rick and Tobias.

Race 2 saw some mayhem at the start and it was poetry in motion as I managed to miss everyone and get my self well placed. But again made a bad mistake putting me last after a pit stop. Had some fun clawing my way back to 14th if that's clawing:p

It's Karma for starting the championship so late with daylight savings finishing on April 4 it's a tough run home for me if I'm to have some fun racing. Maybe vegemite on toast is the key before next race

What get's me up in the mornings is the great turn outs. Averaging over 20 drivers per race so far this season and a very classy field I think we can all be proud of our efforts thus far. Simply fantastic.

[Edvvc]

Had a very good race day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I started my setup development with my Bathurst set which let me take Eau Rouge well and then tweaked the diff to get the right balance.

Quali went smoothly which put me on pole. The races also had few events as I managed to keep the lead, and it was exhilarating putting the car through its paces while managing tyre temps.

In Race 2 JP was following closely almost the whole time, and towards the end my car was feeling loose and he was getting closer each lap through sector 2. On the penultimate lap I slowed slightly in Blanchimont passing a back marker and JP went wide and spun. This took the pressure off so it was then a matter of putting in safe laps until the finish. Looking forward to the next round.

[Keeper]

After a solid 6th-place qualifying performance, I had only an average reaction in race one, which is unusual for me as typically I'm one of the best off the line (ever since the GPL days!), so had to pretty much hold station. Coyne was the only person who seemed to get Eau Rouge better than I could, which allowed him to get both me and DJ as he mentioned. I don't have his pace anyway, so I wasn't too concerned. DJ had a bit of a scruffy lap which allowed myself and Ratus to catch him, but I had to spin it in the bus stop when DJ got it sideways on entry, otherwise I'd have clobbered him. Lost the spot to Ratus and was too far back to make anything happen.

But then my final lap I had a massive delta on my best time so made the mistake of hotlapping. Got it a bit wide and into the gravel. Unfortunately the track maker neglected to put the gravel material into the track's TDF, so it acts as ice and I was destined for the wall at high speed.

That put me in 11th for the start of race two. A typical good jump off the line so I was able to get one row, but nowhere to go after that. I got hit from behind at La Source which pushed me into a gap I didn't want to take, but got through the Rasi/Ratus accident at Eau Rouge safely. A couple laps to get around Bayford and I was into a distant 5th. Unfortunately had to give it up to Rasi on the final lap as I got a little scruffy myself and couldn't maintain enough gap like I thought I might. Still, 6th place is pretty good for me, so I'm pleased.

[Ratus]

Altough i had a some problems, once again a great race evening with you SR4L Gentlemen!
Couldn't realy find a good setup, especialy passing Eau rouge. Should of practice more.

Race 2:
After having a good start from Position 5 (i think) and heading in the lower part of eau rouge i suddenly noticed a contact with a other car. It was Antti Rasi i hadnt see or hear. Driving with a FOV of 35 on one 32" Monitor hadn't see him. I would of let more space if knew he was there, possible we would of passed together (at least) the entry in lower part. Maybe that wasn't a spot to overtake in first lap but after watching the replay i think i would of try the same. Luckely my car turned without any collision and damages.

Then cathing up again with the race i had nice laps close behind Tobias Schaugg in his snake skined car, we had about the same pace. My car seemed to have more grip in the "slower" turns but i struggeld with the "ramp chicane" and Eau rouge. Eventually i got that one fast and Tobias a bit slower, so i managed to pass him at the end of the straight. Finding the right spot to overtake wasn't easy.

Getting to the end of the race i catched up to Dan Bayford in sight distance but the race ended and i finished P9.

Grats to the winner Ed, the podium and all finishers. Realy nice done! This time the speed of the midfield pilots and Antti Rassi's pace impressed me.
Big thanks to the organisation and the twitch stream cameraman (who makes this?), i always enjoy watching these after races. Nice camera work!

cu on track in Laguna Seca
Ratus

[DJCruicky]

It's a plugin that Gorka uses while streaming. Yupp, it's very good.
I was looking for you on the last lap in my mirrors, but there was no 'Last Lap Ratus' from you this time .

[J-P SImard]

Race 1 I managed to pass Rati and keep him behind to then take my pace and towards the end of the race I gained confidence and I felt that I could maybe fight with Ed in the main race

Race 2 I managed to hang on to Ed but he was too fast for me to try anything but like he said I felt him slow down a bit towards the end and I was able to come really close to him, maybe try something.

Unfortunately when we passed someone a lap behind I got caught overspeeding behind them and put the wheels in the grass which made me spun. Fortunately I was able to leave and my damaged car I managed to finish 2nd. A little disappointed but I still had a lot of fun.

Well done Ed, it's a great battle.

[Ricknau]

In the last few races it seems Tobias, myself and Dan are fairly well matched. This held true at Spa as well. In race 1 we finished a very close 7-8-9 respectively. In race2, exiting the Lap1 La Source bumping-and-tapping, Dan edged ahead of me with Tobias just ahead of him. But the trio was broken up when Tobias got unlucky in the Eau Rouge shemozzel. So it was me chasing Dan for 8 laps, lagging about 0.5 to 1.5 seconds behind. Then at the end of lap 8 Dan missed the Bus Stop entry and cut across the grass to retake the pavement. He then drove directly through the pits in what must have been a self imposed penalty allowing me to edge ahead of him in the run to Eau Rouge. (Good sportsmanship Dan. I doubt I'd have gotten past in straight racing.) After challenging a few times on lap 9 Dan seemed to ease off a little on lap 10 allowing me to finish a very nice (for me) P7. In the end Tobias had closed the big gap he suffered at the start and probably would have made my race difficult if not for his bad luck.

I'm enjoying the racing since laying out a few seasons. Looking forward to Laguna Seca.

[lamer of fortune]

It is really fun racing these cars. First race went rather well without dramatic events and I could start at P7 which I hoped to somehow defend in the race. The hope rather quickly disappeared in Eau rouge when Att and Ratus got into an argument and I hit the wall in the attempt to stay away from the mayhem. I continued at P14 there. From then on I just tried to firmly hold the wheel and leave making mistakes to the others. Atti passe mke rather soon and Ratus stayed behind me longer than I thought i wuld be able to defend. Still i could climb up a few positions and finshed P10. It was a great race evening again and I am lokking forward to the next round. Due to rather high worload I cant do as many practice laps as I like but fortunately the Porsche settings do not need to be changed that much between races. At least it feels like that to me. It is more like adapting to how the car drives than the other way round.