SR4L F2 Fun Race League Rnd 5 Race Reports

[Fergy]

An action packed night, a lot of contact and hard racing. Add your race reports or in my case apologies here. It was a tough nights racing.

Great turn out, loads of action. Looking forward to reading your reports.

[Paul Swire]

Quali

Had a terrible time, with no practice of any kind on this track with the F2 I was struggling to even complete a flying lap. Eventually managed a 0:57 which put me last on the grid which I didn't mind not knowing the track fully.

Race 1

Started from last place on the grid. Managed to get a clean start and avoided the crash on turn 1 and turn 5 so managed to gain a few places. I had planned to pit early to avoid the rush mid race so pitted on lap 6 which went well with a 47 sec stop. But then after leaving pits I over did it on turn 1 with cold tyres and spun out and ended upside down on the racing line just as one of the fast leading packs came round the corner. So sorry to all that got involved I know Mel was one of them .

I managed to get the car back on the track and was limping my way around the track trying to keep out of the way of the rest of the pack as they were lapping me. I went the last lap on the grass to get to the finish.

Race 2

Again starting from the back of the grid. I got a good start and had managed to make a few places after lap 1, but then on lap 2 I spun out and managed to lose a front wheel, so had to limp back to the pits for a 303 sec stop . Me an Neela had our own private three wheel race back to the pits Once out of the pits which seemed forever I just kept lapping until the finish and managed to finish with no other issues.

Race 3 Reverse Grid

Started on front row P2 got a great start and managed to get round turn 1 without any incidents was going well until end of second lap and was bumped from behind by Bryan (Get you back next time ) this spun me out and I was down to 14th, but managed to get away with no damage. So carried on until my planned pit stop which was lap 6 again this time a 51 sec stop. Carried on after pitting with no major incidents and managed to finish 11th.

Very pleased with the outcome with three finishes, and again sorry to all that I collided with.

[Neela]

I felt like a punching ball in this 3 races

Qualy: I did a 1.55 something and was happy with that

1 race:
A couple of guys crashed in front of me. I tried to brake hard but crashed into a just landing guy. Someone crashed me from behind and my suspension was broken. I was last but I still could drive with a broken suspension until pit and finished 9th.

2 race
First lap I got hit hard by Mel, flew over the fence and the car was undrivable anymore. Somehow I managed to drive on the grass. I saw Paul in front of me on the grass and followed him to the pits. I Was staying there for 190 sec.
I was last again after pit but managed to get on 14th position. I saw Mel again behind me. He tried to overtake me on the inside of a turn. So he hit me again and I spun into the wall. The last laps I was driving with a broken suspension again.

3 race
I was on turn 3 on first lap when I was flying somewhere over the fence again.
JP came off the track and hit me in that way. I could not find a way out of this and decided to give up and watched a movie.

All in all race one was good result but not much fun in race 2 and 3. That's online racing for you...

[vittorio]

General:
In contrast to Monaco, I had alot of respect racing at Monaco and knowing how difficult it will be i practiced alot. This time i thought it won't get that hard and i practiced far too little
-> This wrong judgement is the reason for my bad performance.

Qualification:
Didn't care too much for a fast lap. Instead i did again practice a pitstop, and changed gearing -> wrong decision to change something so shortly before the race

Race 1:
My driving was a total mess. Drifting all the time, always on and over the limit and still or because of that slow. Finally made a mistake and lost a wheel. Seeing Neela performing way better, i watched her driving style and everything was very clean, in fact i was impressed. I recalled again what Sir Jackie Stewart said about style and young F3 and F2 drivers: "A catastrophe in the making".
So my strategy was set for the next race: driving calm and clean.

Race 2:
Driving calm and clean now and everything was way better. Then i noticed some laps before finish that Nikos is 17 sec in front of me! Tried to drive calm and clean and faster, but couldn't catch him.
Still happy with the result.

Race 3:
There was a crash in front of me on the straight in lap 1, hardly managed to avoid a collision but i didn't have my car under control and was spinning. Unfortunately hit Nikos behind me. Sorry for that!
I had to repair the car -> 200sec pitstop, but finished the race.

[Lecram]

Tough tracks this, some similarities with Monaco like hard to overtake and walls close by at some points.

Neela teammie, sorry to hear about your tough luck in race 2 and 3, hope the movie was nice Well done race 1 8)

Qualify went fine, lots of traffice with this great turnout but no problem.

I had a reasonable start from P1 and was able to pull away, not taking too much risks. I went for my stop after 9 laps, got out after 51 secs and almost immediately met Jason who, after most had pitted, was in P1. I knew he still had to stop but he wasn't going to let me pass, no matter what I tried, even a dangerous move at the final corner wasn't enough. Meanwhile Gorka was getting closer and I even saw David Cruickshank appearing in my mirror while desperately holding on and trying not to run in to Jason. Finally at lap 18, Jason did make his stop and I drove to the win from there.

Race 2 I got away better, pulled a little gap, made my stop, ran thru traffic and won again, this time without much trouble.

Race 3 was interesting. I had a clash with John Cook while passing him inside T1 which got us off track. Sorry bout that. Lots of cars to pass and I got up to Yerke who made it hard to pass but he spun out eventually. I also missed my box, had to reverse which costed a lot of time. P2 with DjC miles ahead. Good enough for me and a well deserved win for David Cruickshank.

Cheers,

[1959nikos]

Whenever you see a report from Vittorio, there is always 'I hit Niko'. Well..

[1959nikos]

1 race:
A couple of guys crashed in front of me. I tried to brake hard but crashed into a just landing guy.

Yes I know, I got a 304 pitstop for that, I was 'the just landing guy'

[Craven Morespeed]

Just before the quali started I had to leave. Family stuff. I would have wrecked half the field anyhow lol. Nice turnout.
CM

[gorgias1976]

A nice weekend for me despite race 3 bad result. I was expecting a really difficult event as sparks were quick here and winged sparks unreachable. But things ended better than I feared.

Qualyfing
-------------
I made my 52.8 in the early part of the session and got a CTD when returning to garage. Decided that time was enough, that was all I could take from my Eve car. I feared that time could bring me to 5th/6th place, but luckily it was enough for 3rd.

Race1
--------
Made a good start and for a moment I was ahead of DjC in second place but the distance to turn 1 is short and he had the inside line so there was no chance to get past him. The rest of the race's first half was a battle trying to cut some distance to DjC who was about 3-4seconds ahead. After pitstops I found myself in second place and David was 3 seconds behind me. I then witnessed for several laps the battle between Marcel and Jason. It was a fierce battle, Marcel trying to look for gaps but Jason was good defending his position. That allowed me to catch them and to David to approach me.
I once went wide at the turn before the jump and lost a lot of speed, David couldn't avoid me and gave me a little push from behind were he spun.
That left me for a secured place behind Marcel's battle with Jason. At a moment, after Marcel tried to pass him at the final curve they lost a lot of speed there. That put me right behind their slipstream. For a moment thought about attacking them at the straight but then though it better and decided a threesome had a big risk in ending in turn1 disaster, so I eased off and kept behind them.
Almost at the end of the race Jason went for his pitstop and that gave me second place in finish line.

Race 2
---------
Did a nice start from first row but DjC did better so we entered parallel to turn1. We did a little tire kiss and he took the worst part of it. As race settled Marcel was in his flying spark while I was trying to avoid Bryan to catch me. At lap 9 I was wide again at the turn before the jump and Bryan catched me, making a good inside move at the next curve and passing me. Then I went for my scheduled pitstop and after a couple of laps I saw Bryan was 16sec behind me (later he told he almost run out of fuel and lost a lot of time trying to get to pits). So that left me for a comfortable second half of the race and ending again in second place.

Race 3
--------
Start was difficult. for the first half of the first lap I had a very big drop of frames (too many cars in front in this track) then things went back to normal. After a few laps I found I was already in third place which surprised me (probably due to many incidents at first laps) behind DjC and Yerke who were out of my sight. I then received the visit of Marcel who wanted to pass me. We battled for a couple of laps and then saw him disappearing for an early pitstop. In order to defend my position I decided to pit early too (so I could try avoiding Marcel from overtaking me). I then found Marcel was already in pits (repairing?). As my 47sec pitstop started he left, so I knew I was about to leave pits some seconds ahead of him.
After my pitstop I also found Yerke had lost a lot of time somewhere and I found myself again in second place behind a far away DjC. I was happy about this, but happyness didn't last for long, as a couple of laps later lapping another driver I went wide at the curve, hitting a tire pyle and loosing my front left wheel. I then slowly went to pits in case my crew could repair that. They did, bit it took them 304 secs, so I just left the pits in time to do the final lap and at least take a couple of bonus points for finishing.

(sorry for the short speech ;D )

[vittorio]

Whenever you see a report from Vittorio, there is always 'I hit Niko'. Well..

Do you drive in a parallel universe? In my universe this was the first car contact in the last 9 month and because of a crash immediately in front of me.
Well, i know you want to fool me (with success)

[1959nikos]

Whenever you see a report from Vittorio, there is always 'I hit Niko'. Well..

In my universe this was the first car contact in the last 9 month and because of a crash immediately in front of me.
Well, i know you want to fool me (with success)

9 months? I fell in a time warp?

[~IsR~ Jason]

My first ever League races! My primary focus was to maintain good racing etiquette, and to do myself justice with my pace. I was happy to achieve my objectives.

Qualifying went well. I'm fairly new to these F2s but gradually improved in Practice and was able to do 53.1 which I was really pleased with. 5th on the grid.

1st race was the least eventful for me. I was able to get a good lead on those behind me but couldn't keep up with Marcel, Gorky and, I think, one of the Davids. Was concentrating so hard that I found myself in the lead due to not having pitted, Marcel was hot on my heels after his exit from the pits. Driving a defensive line was costing me a second or two per lap but I enjoyed the discipline required for a good five or six laps before I pitted on the penultimate lap. Emerged from the pits in 4th and drove to the line happy to not have made a berk of myself!

2nd race was more eventful. Started 4th on the Grid and was 3rd by T4. I felt really comfortable and was confident I'd be able to challenge Gorky for 2nd but before I knew it I made a really unnecessary error and just slid off at T2 on lap 4 or 5. Rejoined the track in 6th or 7th I think. Christ, I was mad with myself! Anyway, no damage so I cracked on and was able to make a few overtakes. Pitted and emerged behind Bryan who was 3rd. Caught him up and was able to get level going into T1 but I don't think he knew I was there on the inside. He turned in, we were both on the limit, and I was knocked off the track. Rejoined with bad damage and finished the last few laps as best as I could in 5th I think.

Last race was a bit strange. I was starting near the back but I was able to gain a few places on first lap and decided to experiment by pitting on lap 2 to see if I could get a clear few laps while everyone else was slowed by traffic. I scuppered my own plan by going off into a barrier and getting damage on lap 3 having already pitted. What an idiot. Anyway, despite having to correct the car contstantly, even on the straights, I was able to gain places throughout the race eventually finding myself in 3rd and thats where I finished. Despite a really stupid error, I was really pleased with this because I kept the car on the track and still did respectable lap times despite the damage.

Overall, I really enjoyed my initiation and I learnt a lot. Looking forward to the next League race. Thanks everyone.

[Lecram]

I then found Marcel was already in pits (repairing?). As my 47sec pitstop started he left, so I knew I was about to leave pits some seconds ahead of him.

I also missed my box, had to reverse which costed a lot of time.

I pitted early because I was losing time behind you. I didn't have any damage. I had requested the stop 2 laps earlier but they were not ready until I passed pit entry (typical) so I had to drive another lap. I then missed my box because the team found a sunnier spot to work in, that's probably why they weren't ready in time :

[Fergy]

Qualifying
I elected to run the F2 without wings and was aiming to put the car around 4th on the grid. That didn't work when my 53.3 put me 8th but I was confident I could race well here. Great to see new comer and young gun JP qualify so well.

Race 1
The race started poorly, Mel and I went for the middle of the track and connected. The chain reaction took out JP, sorry. I came out of that second last but with a clear track ahead to do some serious chasing. I had some good mini battles with Cookie, Yerkee and with some luck managed to finish 5th.

Race 2
Starting from 5th I started well and had some luck at the expense of DJC when he and Gorka touched in T1 putting me into 4th. A nice three way battle developed between Gorka, Jason and myself with Jason running wide letting me though eventually in to 3rd. The next 7 laps is what it's all about, a great chase behind Gorka until on lap nine he ran a little wide on T6 giving me a chance to go though. Top class driving by him to have such great awareness given my move was slightly risky.
I was so caught up in the battle I forgot to come into the pits and crossed the start finish line with 2 lts of fuel. Plan B... get to the top of the hill asap and roll into the pits. Luckily it work although I lost a lot of time.
I came out of the pits and basically drove straight into Dj at T1, inexcusable for me and a poor effort, sorry Dave
A few laps later Jason had caught me and was flying, we also touched in T1 and he came off second best. Looking at the replay it's a 50 50 but I could have given him more room like Gorka did me. Sorry Jason.
Finished in 3rd but missed a chance to fight for second via a brain explosion.

Race 3
Took it easy at the start and tried to stay as inside as possible in T1. I managed to miss a lot of action and make a few places but unfortunately on the last corner I took out Alex, Sorry.
This forced an early pit stop so I filled up with enough fuel to make it to the end. It seemed to take about 3 laps for the car to settle with the extra weight and after that if felt normal.
With 5 or 6 laps to go I meet my sparring partner DC. It was a great fight, I could catch him on the straights and he would pull away corners although I was making ground slowly.
Right behind him on the last lap and with not harbour in sight I had some luck when he went to the left of Paul coming onto the last straight and I went to the right giving me a little more momentum and 4th place.


Again it was a great turn out. I don't know of any other 60's comp getting the numbers we do.
It was a hard track to race, I too was surprised just how hard, harder than Monaco imo as there was so much traffic to contend with you really had to concentrate the full 20 laps. Well done to SR4L competitors.

Hope you guys and gal enjoyed it, see you in sunny Palm Beach.

Fergy

*Edit, I hit Alex Baumann in race 3 which was my fault. Sorry to Alex.

[gorgias1976]

I then found Marcel was already in pits (repairing?). As my 47sec pitstop started he left, so I knew I was about to leave pits some seconds ahead of him.

I also missed my box, had to reverse which costed a lot of time.

I pitted early because I was losing time behind you. I didn't have any damage. I had requested the stop 2 laps earlier but they were not ready until I passed pit entry (typical) so I had to drive another lap. I then missed my box because the team found a sunnier spot to work in, that's probably why they weren't ready in time :

I almost missed my pitbox too, luckily it was not as close to the entry as yours and, even missing it by a full car after heavy braking, pitwork started just where I stopped (In warmup pitbox was supposed to be at the end of the pits)

[Paul_Ceglia]

Wow, some really good reports, i missed out

[deecee52]

This weekend for me is best described as character building

Qually went ok for me and netted me 4th so I was right behind the resident aliens .

Race 1

Got a good start and managed to stay with the big 3 until lap 4 , then my nemesis struck , I hit the inside curb of the last turn hard , this threw me across the track and wiped the suspension off the front left , fortunately I had enough control to keep the car straight and not go back onto the track and spoil the race for others . didn’t try to repair as I didn’t think it was worth it, so spent the race watching Marcel and Jason have a ding dong battle which was brilliant to watch .

Race 2

Got a good start and made up a few places and tucked in behind JP , was comfortable following him as we were lapping quickly and new I would pass him on the pitstops as I was leaving it until lap 12 to get track position , drafting him into the last turn he braked suddenly (I think he was pitting) and I had to swerve to avoid contact , this threw me into a spin and I collected the barriers which damaged the car , it was still capable of lapping at a reasonable pace so carried on to my planned pit and didn’t repair , pit stop went ok , I came out and worked up to speed and got into 7th place , then my comp crashed!!!!!!! GRRRRRR

Race 3

Sat on start line waiting to go and discovered I had no steering , I had forgot that unlike the G27 the fanatic has to be loaded manually , big panic but fortunately got it done before race started , made a good start but as I turned into turn 1 discovered I had no FF , this distracted me enough to make me miss my brakes and tap Mel who spun off as did I (sry Mel) , got going and drove carefully until I got used to no FF made a few places until my pitstop then discovered that my assigned pit request button was not working , had to just go into pits and hope it wasn’t going to be too slow , pitstop was going well then JP arrived and we discovered that we shared the same pit , he pulled in front of me but when I came to leave even on full lock I hit his rear (sry JP) after that the race went well I was holding 4th with Bryan breathing down my neck , unfortunately on the last lap I got baulked by a back marker on the last 3 corners and Bryan got the run on me and passed me approaching the line so I ended up 5th .


Here’s hoping my next event gets better

[Fergy]

I've had a similar problem DC, it's happened a few times where I've gone on track and the ffb is not there. I'm always checking now although your problems sounds different as you started the wheel in game. You did amazingly with no ffb, it takes some getting used too. Well done anyway, I enjoy our battles

[giorgetto giaguaro]

Started on 10th position after a 54.6 but i didn't care too much of starting position, as always my target was to finish the race without mistakes.

Race1:
Fortunately didn't get involved in any of incidents, so i got some precious positions. It was a clean race till 16th lap, where, after 3rd curve i was looking back cause there was a lapped car that was getting closer to me, when my view returns to cockpit there was a turned car in front of me that i didn't manage to avoid. Fortunately my follower was too far from me and my position was safe

Race2:
Got a good start but at the first corner was a bit wider and lost 4 position. After that it was a clean race but at last lap i went out of fuel. Trying to finish the race get bumped from behind at the last corner (don't know who he was) and didn't cross the finish line.

Race3:
Started on 7th position, after 3laps i was 3rd waiting for aliens to come, and so it was. After the pits dance i was 7th, then someoneretires in front and that gaves me an other good position. Unfortunately at Tthe final lap a little mistake makes me lose 2 positions and finish 8th.

It was an other great round, can't wait for next roud!

[gorgias1976]

I've uploaded the first race from my onboard camera. Watching it, it has showed me that:
- This track was restless, constantly battling the wheel and very little time to rest in the main straight
- The battle between Marcel and jason was fierce and lasted 8 to 9 laps (right after I came out of pits in half race to almost the end)

[youtube]uATlmGEMgRc[/youtube]

By the way, is there a posibility to insert youtube videos in a bigger frame? the default one is quite small.