Sim Racers 4 Life - T290 Season - Round 2 - Mid-Ohio - Reports

[1959nikos]

Second race at the calendar, great attendance, great race, Swire was better than me here, ohh how I hate Swire, please report how much you hate opponents here gents.

[Harri Mac]

Mid Ohio Demolition Derby, oh, I mean race.

1st race. All I can really say is 140 seconds in the pits. 140 SECONDS IN THE PITS. That was enough time to see you all pass the finish line twice before I got out. I was determined not to DNF so didn't despite being 2 laps down. I did 17 laps on the same set of tyres because I didn't want to pit again. I don't recommend it.

2nd race. Finished 15th, it exactly was where I thought I'd be, I'm happy with that.

Doffs hat and bows low, "until next time we meet gentlemen."

[Ricknau]

Great first race for me. Unremarkable finish (P11) but great racing with Dan and Jerry and others. Made at least one pass for position. Wheel to wheel a few times.

Then race 2. Same thing. Great wheel to wheel a few times. Made a couple good passes. Climbed to P5 with others going off track. Then pitted after lap 10. Wiggled and rotated my old achy wrists and once again popped my G** D*** keyboard which put up a black screen with race going on in background. This time I couldn't get the live screen to come back. Arrrrgh! > DNF

That keyboard WILL be relocated from now on!

[1959nikos]

That keyboard WILL be relocated from now on!

Last days I realised that when I post something, half post was missing.

Then I saw half of my keyboards cable was missing!!

I really wonder how the thing worked at all, I MUST replace it.

[Paul Swire]

As usual no practice time for me.

Quali

Was at the back of the grid as expected about 6 seconds off the pace so wasn't expecting anything more.

Race 1

Starting from the back of the pack, watched a few spin out on the first corner so dropped back and drove by, so gained a couple of places. After second lap noticed that Gorka and Harri had both been lapped by me? Was holding my own and managed to stay out of trouble until Gorka was trying to unlap himself and we touched at the start straight. Both spun out and then got going.

I was holding a lead of 7 seconds on Nikos and my aim was to beat him, on the 14th lap I was touched again by someone trying to over take me on the last corner, this didn't end well. I was spinning across the track and people just missing me. Decided to ESC before I caused a pile up. Race over for me.

Race 2

Started from the back again, after the first lap found myself upto 15th place . Was having a great race and managing to keep my place. Decided to pit early on lap five to avoid the rush, came out in 19th place. As the others pitted over the next few laps I was in 14th with one of the Hedlund's behind me 8). managed to keep my place for a few laps before I had a train behind me pushing me down the track, I tried to brake as late as possible on the long straight to keep them behind and that went wrong the the train went rolling by. Rejoined the track in 18th place and managed to keep that to the end. Even managed to lap Nikos on the last lap Really enjoyed this race.

Well done all.

[bullwinkle]

Qual had my PB and was 11 wow but ok.

Race one very slow start and never really made it up good race was fun but should have been better.

Race two got a better start and avoided wreck in T1 but the car felt really hinkey for the first 5 or 6 laps and I went off road a few times and fell to the rear got a little back but disappointing for me.

See ya during the week.

[1959nikos]

Even managed to lap Nikos on the last lap Really enjoyed this race.

Sleep on it, it wont happen again

[jerry 33]

had a great week going, Tuesday was on with 5 guys and 4 of us were running in the 25's - I thought, it could only get better from here - I was wrong! never had that feel again. I deleted all of my Logitech wheel file and re-installed - NOPE!
I qualified 12th.... I felt that was the best I could do....
first race - got a good start - LOT of good racing, finished 10th - for me that saved my second race cause I had pole....
(sorry Paul, that was me that tapped you in last turn - I was trying to lap you for about a lap and I seen you look like you was going to move out of racing line so I dove inside - I was committed, and you did not move - hence tap. sorry again....)
second race - as pole sitter I gave the order of "No Passing".. you guys DIDN'T Listen! so, I slipped and slidded and with every smoke and mirror trick I could use - finished 7th..
all this was good, considering I had no feel at all........ Mid-Ohio helped me there - anywhere else and I would have been toast.
thanks again to all that make it happen......
Sad Note :-\ ole Bullwinkle will have to miss some of the up coming races - I hope not many - Hurry Back Tim!

[Hedlund]

QUALI
I saw Robert doing a 1:23.3 yesterday, and today I managed to do a 1:23.2 in the practice session before qualy, so I expected that both of us were capable of high 22's. But probably rubber was on it's top so I could only manage a 23.1. That was enough for pole position but I felt far from safe, with Rob only 2 tenths behind. But it's a tricky track and it's difficult to improve and at the same time easy to overdrive.

RACE 1
Got a very good start from the rubbered side and while Robert had to try to keep guys behind him, I could take full advantage of the racing line through first corner and got a small gap instantly. I knew Robert is capable of doing same laptimes as me so that gap was a relief. It stayed that way and increased a bit during the first stint. I pitted one lap earlier than him and when he exited pits he had lost a lot of time I think, so I could drive totally relaxed whole second stint

RACE 2
Once again got a really good start, and could almost overtake DJ in front of me. Then something happened at the front, so I had to brake hard to avoid bumping into DJ.. We countinued and we spent the first laps behind the both Run Lola Run-drivers, and behind me was Coyne, and Robert I think. Pretty much driving on rails because overtaking is so hard. Eventually DJ managed to overtake Bauer but I could not get past. Towards the end of lap 4 I decided that an early pitstop was the right thing to do. I re-joined on an emty track and could push for 2-3 laps. Gorka who also had pitted early or made a mistake was right behind me, but after the long straight he apparently forgot to brake and ran just past me in full speed :o Then I catched Tim but managed to overtake him after 1 lap behind and some misunderstanding between us. A couple of laps later DJ came out from the pits and there was a couple of seconds between us, with 8 laps to go or something. I thought it was a nice challenge to try to catch him, but was not sure if he was the leader or not. Later, the last guys pitted and so we were 1st and 2nd. But then DJ went into the pits again for a drive through, to just give me the victory : Well that was kind, but I had preferred a fight. Probably I would not have been able to catch him on my old tires. Better luck next time mate

So that is 4 in a row for me, and I have to admit I have been really lucky in the reversed grid-races ;D And great to see my team mate take his first podium (I think?). Good job!
Thanks for hosting Paul. Everything ran smoothly and without problems. See you at Zandvoort, really nice track.

[edwin]

quali:

managed to become 8th which was good enough for me.

Race 1:

After the spin of Gorka i was in 7th spot behind Andy i think and that went on for several laps. We kind of had the same pace and Dan Minges behind me made a mistake at one point so i didn't have to fear him anymore. Went for my pitstop at 9th lap and 2 laps after that pitstop i was in 6th position. Lap 14 i encountered Nikos and in the second to last turn (long righthander) i saw Nikos going wide and thought he gave me room to pass. How wrong i was because he came back in and we touched (it was the kiss you asked for Nikos ) came back on track with Cookie right behind and from then on it was a fight till the end. We touched several times but imho it was fair till the end and John had the better move in the last lap taking 6th spot leaving me behind in 7th. But i was a happy camper 8)

Race 2:

This was the one i will never ever forget........me thinks :
I was behind Andy and Dan and had a great start. Went for the gap between Andy and Dan, and they sandwiched me not knowing i was there......i think this was my fault so sorry all who became victim of that incident at the start.
After that i was in 3rd spot behind Cookie and Jerry and we stayed that way for a few laps, at that time i thought i could be faster than them but i didn't dare to overtake them.
At one point DJ came up from behind and overtook me and i thought my teamie would follow instantly but he didn't. As i know now he went for his stop. John made a mistake at t2 and there i was in second spot all of a sudden (i think Jerry made his stop by then but to be honest i'm not sure).
After that i never really got threatened again and ended in 3rd which was my first ever podium finish in a championship league event. I'm still shaking and drinking whiskey to evaluate what happened tonight.

To me this one was unforgettable, thank you all and again sorry for the mayhem i started at the start of the race.

Thanks Paul, great job done like always.
Same for all who do their thing for making this happen.

[rob.hedlund91]

(Firstly, I want to say thanks to my brother who made a new skin for me, how I wanted it to look like. From now on my Lola is the brown marabou- chocolate with wheels and I will eat some marabou before the races this season, as a warm up).

I joined the server just when the qualifying started, I should've practice a little earlier because it's nice to have a sort of warm-up some laps, but it turned out as I expected though. Did a 1:23.3 which wasn't far at all from Rikard's 1:23.1 Pole time.

Race 1- Made a good start but Cruickshank from behind managed to bite and get stuck there for some laps, it was a little unstable and I made a few small mistakes (including oversteer and late braking) in the beginning of the race, and when I say beginning I mean the first 2-3 laps. Then the following laps before pits, I managed to push a little bit more as I wanted, but to catch Rikard was going to be hard. He had a gap and raced perfectly but I could see him ;D until he turned into the pits one lap before me, I realize the fight for the victory was gone cause now in 9th lap my tires was getting worse, but still surprisingly ok. So I finally went into pits in the end of that lap, 26 sec pitstop. While standing there changing tyres I notice someone right behind me, hungry for a pitstop (in the same box as mine). Then it seemed like he was frustrated so he pushed from behind. If I would have been pushed away from my pitbox because of someone who's not having enough patience to wait, my race would have been thrown in a trashcan. Luckily that didn't happen this time but anyway honestly that isn't fair. There's just nothing to do but wait, I know it's frustrating but whatever. (or does anyone know if this actually has happened before? Could it happen?) ???
After that I had fresh tyres, was big difference now so I could improve my laptimes, still it was traffic to handle of course but I kept going as smooth as possible every lap. Finished 2nd behind Rikard, pleased with the result but knew my pace could have been much better.

Race 2- Started pretty good again, and I tried to overtake at least one before the first corner. Realized that wasn't possible so I fell behind again, me and some guys in front had to brake there when 2 or 3 others clearly made a mistake and crashed into the concrete wall. After this, it was going nice and smooth for a while, think I took over 2 places up to 8th. Now in 4th lap Rikard was in front of me in 7th I think. From 1st to 7th, it looked like a train at this time. I approached this train and I noticed I was braking a little too late compared to the guys in front, so by mistake I just touched rikard there, luckily he didn't spun and could join the train again with no problem. In this little messy situation I noticed Coyne was close behind me while braking, he had to avoid me but spun instead :/ Sorry for that messy stuff guys.
A few laps later, disaster striked, the exit of turn 2 I crashed into another guy who was standing on the track, who obviously had made a mistake and spun.. Wasn't lucky enough to avoid him. A got a suspension problem by this. Later same lap, I made a stupid mistake myself. I had planned for a overtake but got too close, had to avoid him, spun and crashed into the wall pretty hard. Now the damage was heavier and really offending.. The car wanted to turn to the right so I had to focus on how to keep my steering wheel right the rest of this race. Made a pitstop, didn't repair the damage and just tried to finish the race. Was going ok but I couldn't go fast at all, later I got stuck in a position where I had to made a choice for fighting 2 others or not, knew it was risky to me and them because of my damage, but at same time I had to catch as many points as possible, finally I took over some positions and finished 13th.

So, all in all, I had looked forward to Mid-Ohio but it didn't turned out as I wanted. That's not very strange either cuase I found a very nice setup last week and noticed at liveracers, that I had done more than 400 laps of practice over this 1-2 weeks of time before the race. So I was well prepared. I'm satisfied over my 2nd position in the first race, but not satisfied over my desicions and disasters in the second race. Better luck next time. Anyhow, see you!

[deecee52]

Qually

Went out early but could not achieve the times I did in practice , tried again but still couldnt match my practice times so settled for 6th .

Race 1

Got a good start but couldnt make use of it as these cars are so wide , followed Ramon for a few laps , I knew I could lap faster but passing here is hard , did an early pitstop to see if I could get the undercut and this worked for me , couldnt match the guys in front so I monitored the gap back to Ramon and managed to keep him away from my draft and finished in a surprising 4th .


Race 2

Started ok just tried to keep my nose clean , survived the first corner ok , lap 2 I saw Rik coming so I opened the door hoping he would spread the cars out in front of me , lap 3 entering turn 2 I got hit from behind which pushed me into the infield , managed to rejoin safely but lost a lot of places , decided to try an early stop again but got myself a stop/go so that didnt work out .
Came out on clear track so just pushed , 3 laps from the finish I caught Steve but my tyres were shot so all I could do was show myself and hope he made a mistake , unfortunately any mistakes he made were small and I couldnt gain an advantage so I had to follow him home in 9th

Great racing all and good fun .

Big thanks admin your doing great job

[gorgias1976]

Qualy
-------
After being all week out of rFactor2 it took me some laps to start getting comfortable with the car. Lap after lap I was improving my laptimes. In the final attempt I was about to improve 2 tenths but finally ruined it at the last sector. My laptime was good enough for a third place just 2 thousands ahead of DjC.

Race 1
--------
Braking for turn 2 I got hit from behind and went straight to the wall getting damage both front and rear. Had to go for repairs (alongside Harri) and wait for 134 seconds there. Got out 22nd and two laps down. That was the end of the story.

I was holding a lead of 7 seconds on Nikos and my aim was to beat him, on the 14th lap I was touched again by someone trying to over take me on the last corner, this didn't end well. I was spinning across the track and people just missing me. Decided to ESC before I caused a pile up. Race over for me.

That was my fault Paul, I was trying to outlap myself and miscalculated the gap.

Race 2
---------
Something wierd happened at the start. The two cars ahead of me didn't move at all (don't know if real or game/server related). That caused a little of mayhem, touches and time lost.
Starting 21st my only posibility was to do an early pitstop and then manage the tires. That is what I did and it proved to be working until Rik came out of his pitstop. I decided to take some of his draft on the backstraight to keep close to him (and to the podium) but forgot to brake earlier to compensate the higher speed I was carrying. As I say I was about to give him a push I went for an evasive move. Just before hitting him I released brakes and move to the right to avoid him and brake again. Sadly that meant to get to the gravel and lose a big amount of seconds.
The next 10 laps I had to drive with a little damage on the front and squared front tires recovering some positions while on the same time Ramon was 1.5 seconds behind me coming quite fast.
Due to front tires being damaged I started getting understeer and I tried to comensate moving the brake balance 2 points to the rear. That seemed to help a bit.
Finally finished 5th which was not bad considering both races.

[jerry 33]

some "just to says"
I feel for you rick - that is just the worst way a race can end! tuff luck! :-\

I know there are reports above of mishaps - but at a place like mid-ohio - I think we all did very well! there is a lot of close - clean racing up and down the field from the veterans to the newbie's.

I like Edwin's report cause you can just feel the enthusiasm of how great it feels to break thru! Congrats Ed!

and - in real life - that IS exactly how races are at mid-ohio! great place, beautiful place, great track surface, it looks like racing heaven, but it is HELL to pass there. follow the leader and join the train!

[donrandom]

All in all – two great races for me!
Considering that it was my first finish in 2016 after a "disconnect from server" during the Nordschleife race and disaster in the first race in Bathurst (due to wheel disintegration). Since also Andi didn't bring the big points home in Bathurst, it was also a great to have earned some points for the RLR Team in Mid-Ohio

Q // I was more than satisfied starting from P5 although I was off by 0.6 from my PB. anyway, even with a PB I wouldn't have gained another place.

R1// I had a good start keeping David behind me and keeping out of trouble. Dave was smart pitting early and doing an undercut. My pitstop was not perfect and I got stuck a bit in traffic. David did just the right thing, respect! However, I finished 5th and I was very happy with that.

R2// Start (from P6) was tough. The guys ahead tried to go 3 wide into T1, which obviously didnt work. I kept out of trouble and went ahead, but soon DJ managed to overtake me. Round 2 (or 3?) was when everything went out of control. My teammate Andi spun onto the grass in T2 in front of me. Even worse, we touched when he tried to rejoin the race track. No bad feelings, but I guess it looked a bit odd on TV. Half a lap latter I got turned from the back in the Carousel. Again, I had to find my way back to the race track. From then on I had a decent race finishing 6th.

Looking forward to Zandvoort!

[sdancourt]

First race of the Champ, still a very hot summer here in Lima, but we make our first points.

Qualy: Not a good setup and a very slow pace, P18.

Race 1: Just calm an avoiding mistakes to get a P14. Enough for this track.

Race 2: Starting in P12 and taking advantage of T1 mesh, went in P5 at a moment, finish P10. Very good for me.

See you at Zanvoort

[Hedlund]

I made a lap comparison video for top 10. Mid-Ohio quali. Quite interesting!

https://youtu.be/d7Z6Zd9PX_8

[bullwinkle]

very cool

[gorgias1976]

nice

[edwin]

I made a lap comparison video for top 10. Mid-Ohio quali. Quite interesting!

https://youtu.be/d7Z6Zd9PX_8

Wow