03-12-2019, 10:57 AM
After a mixed performance in the March last season, I wanted to improve by getting more consistent results and making less mistakes. I did a reasonable amount of laps to prepare, getting to learn the car and track, and as the track's grip levels kept improving, the lap times kept going down. It's a fun track and I hadn't driven here since the Ubisoft days of F1RS/MGPRS2, which must have been some 20 years ago 
I was expecting better lap times, but the grip levels appeared to have dropped a bit in the league server and we didn't improve over the training times. I expected a tough qualifying, and was surprised to see LRT to take the front row. I thought I had pole position with a gap of 0.04, and didn't go out for some final laps, until Antti beat my laptime by 0.01 in his very last lap haha. Good fun.
I got the hang of the car, but one thing I never managed to get right was the tyre management. After 4 laps the inside of the rear left kept heating up and no way to get the temps down. Even doing a 2-stop was going to be a struggle. I was unsure whether I could make it to 12 laps. In all my tests I overcooked the tyres with small slides and couldn't drop the temps anymore. My teammate Antti was doing better in race pace, which meant my driving style just didn't suit the tyres at all. We tried different setup changes on Saturday night for me, but to no avail. I was just going to have to wing it.
With a lighter car and a slightly better start I was in 1st position into T1. I pushed as hard as possible in the first few laps until the tyres would give up to get the biggest possible gap. After that it was tip-toeing around the track, keeping away from any dangerous curbs and avoiding any possible slides. Amazingly I made it to the first pit stop without problems and keeping a reasonable pace. I caught up with Antti before his first stop, but made one vital mistake.
Going into the slowest hairpin I suddenly couldn't turn... the car was just going straight on, I wondered whether I had a puncture or something similar, but then I noticed I was still in 3rd gear... Argh. I spun on the slippery runoff and lost 7 seconds. This meant after my second stop I came out behind Antti again who was apparently struggling on his 1-stop strategy.
There's no "multi 21" at LRT, but I also didn't want to ruin our potential 1-2. I was planning on trying to overtake Antti, but otherwise back off till the end of the race, and see what would happen when the tyres dropped. After 2 laps I saw my teammate sliding off at full speed in the 3rd corner! Noooooooo! Luckily he was able to continue without too much damage, and we had enough lead on P3 to make it to the finish.
Perfect result for the first race, and although we had a pretty dominant win, it definitely wasn't easy. I guess all that practice paid off, and I am very much looking forward to the next race. I do hope the field will equalise a bit, as I was expecting a lot more competition.
I was expecting better lap times, but the grip levels appeared to have dropped a bit in the league server and we didn't improve over the training times. I expected a tough qualifying, and was surprised to see LRT to take the front row. I thought I had pole position with a gap of 0.04, and didn't go out for some final laps, until Antti beat my laptime by 0.01 in his very last lap haha. Good fun.
I got the hang of the car, but one thing I never managed to get right was the tyre management. After 4 laps the inside of the rear left kept heating up and no way to get the temps down. Even doing a 2-stop was going to be a struggle. I was unsure whether I could make it to 12 laps. In all my tests I overcooked the tyres with small slides and couldn't drop the temps anymore. My teammate Antti was doing better in race pace, which meant my driving style just didn't suit the tyres at all. We tried different setup changes on Saturday night for me, but to no avail. I was just going to have to wing it.
With a lighter car and a slightly better start I was in 1st position into T1. I pushed as hard as possible in the first few laps until the tyres would give up to get the biggest possible gap. After that it was tip-toeing around the track, keeping away from any dangerous curbs and avoiding any possible slides. Amazingly I made it to the first pit stop without problems and keeping a reasonable pace. I caught up with Antti before his first stop, but made one vital mistake.
Going into the slowest hairpin I suddenly couldn't turn... the car was just going straight on, I wondered whether I had a puncture or something similar, but then I noticed I was still in 3rd gear... Argh. I spun on the slippery runoff and lost 7 seconds. This meant after my second stop I came out behind Antti again who was apparently struggling on his 1-stop strategy.
There's no "multi 21" at LRT, but I also didn't want to ruin our potential 1-2. I was planning on trying to overtake Antti, but otherwise back off till the end of the race, and see what would happen when the tyres dropped. After 2 laps I saw my teammate sliding off at full speed in the 3rd corner! Noooooooo! Luckily he was able to continue without too much damage, and we had enough lead on P3 to make it to the finish.
Perfect result for the first race, and although we had a pretty dominant win, it definitely wasn't easy. I guess all that practice paid off, and I am very much looking forward to the next race. I do hope the field will equalise a bit, as I was expecting a lot more competition.