14-04-2019, 10:01 PM
Eventful, to say the least.
When I joined the server a few days ago to get some practice in, all on my lonesome, after I was done I checked the server time sheets expecting to be outside the top 10, as surely everyone had had a slipstreaming lap. I was third on the list. Say what? Some more practice and I was second. I had to assume that no one had been getting a draft in any practice yet.
Then came race day and an unexpected pole position. Usually I can never find a draft, or never get one that doesn't cause all time to be lost later on. In this case, I had a draft past Stuart but then lost all that time when he drafted past and took the inside into the first Lesmo. But then I got it back and more overtaking him back into Parabolica, with an additional draft for a moment on the way out from another car that as I recall headed into the pits. My best non-tow lap would have put me 4th on the grid though, so finally I began to think, heck, maybe I'm genuinely rather quick. Weird!
I knew my long second gear would be a problem at the start and it was. I fell back to 5th into Curva Grande. Heading toward Parabolica, I was taken by surprise at the early braking up front. Had to swerve to avoid hitting DJC but of course couldn't brake in doing so. Drove into the sand and fell back to 12th. Well, there goes that race, I thought.
But quickly I worked my way back up through the field. On lap eight or so I took over 4th braking into Lesmo 1 with 3rd place Ed right in front... then the big server burp happened. It seemed on my screen that Ed had gone wide into the corner. I went low, then Ed's car magically slewed across the track and wiped me out. I smashed the inside barrier a few times and was left with a car that really didn't want to turn right, which is a Bad Thing at Monza, to be sure.
I was back in 11th again, with a damaged car, and the field spread out. Oh well, I thought. There goes that race for sure this time!
But still I was catching cars, and made my way back up to 4th before the pit stop, after a little back-and-forth with Ed until he had a tank-slapper behind me in Curva Grande. I was just seconds behind a podium place heading into and out of the pits. I got into 3rd pretty quickly after the pit stop and set off in pursuit of Daniel Tani in 2nd about seven seconds ahead. Looked like I was going to get to him but then caught Bruce at the entrance of the Lesmos and lost over two and a half seconds. Then I was trying to drive qualifying laps (albeit on worn rubber) to reduce the gap again, while realizing I had 10 liters too much fuel in the car, which wasn't helping. I may have been able to get within drafting range right toward the end, at the rate I was going, until I pulled an Albon out of the second Lesmo. Smacked up the car some more. Then the goal was just not to lose the podium result. And I didn't! My first podium other than I think a reverse-grid affair in the F2000s, perhaps...? or the Spark?
So, I'm rather pleased at that.
When I joined the server a few days ago to get some practice in, all on my lonesome, after I was done I checked the server time sheets expecting to be outside the top 10, as surely everyone had had a slipstreaming lap. I was third on the list. Say what? Some more practice and I was second. I had to assume that no one had been getting a draft in any practice yet.
Then came race day and an unexpected pole position. Usually I can never find a draft, or never get one that doesn't cause all time to be lost later on. In this case, I had a draft past Stuart but then lost all that time when he drafted past and took the inside into the first Lesmo. But then I got it back and more overtaking him back into Parabolica, with an additional draft for a moment on the way out from another car that as I recall headed into the pits. My best non-tow lap would have put me 4th on the grid though, so finally I began to think, heck, maybe I'm genuinely rather quick. Weird!
I knew my long second gear would be a problem at the start and it was. I fell back to 5th into Curva Grande. Heading toward Parabolica, I was taken by surprise at the early braking up front. Had to swerve to avoid hitting DJC but of course couldn't brake in doing so. Drove into the sand and fell back to 12th. Well, there goes that race, I thought.
But quickly I worked my way back up through the field. On lap eight or so I took over 4th braking into Lesmo 1 with 3rd place Ed right in front... then the big server burp happened. It seemed on my screen that Ed had gone wide into the corner. I went low, then Ed's car magically slewed across the track and wiped me out. I smashed the inside barrier a few times and was left with a car that really didn't want to turn right, which is a Bad Thing at Monza, to be sure.
I was back in 11th again, with a damaged car, and the field spread out. Oh well, I thought. There goes that race for sure this time!
But still I was catching cars, and made my way back up to 4th before the pit stop, after a little back-and-forth with Ed until he had a tank-slapper behind me in Curva Grande. I was just seconds behind a podium place heading into and out of the pits. I got into 3rd pretty quickly after the pit stop and set off in pursuit of Daniel Tani in 2nd about seven seconds ahead. Looked like I was going to get to him but then caught Bruce at the entrance of the Lesmos and lost over two and a half seconds. Then I was trying to drive qualifying laps (albeit on worn rubber) to reduce the gap again, while realizing I had 10 liters too much fuel in the car, which wasn't helping. I may have been able to get within drafting range right toward the end, at the rate I was going, until I pulled an Albon out of the second Lesmo. Smacked up the car some more. Then the goal was just not to lose the podium result. And I didn't! My first podium other than I think a reverse-grid affair in the F2000s, perhaps...? or the Spark?
So, I'm rather pleased at that.