Well that was my first ever league event and despite the technical problems i thoroughly enjoyed it. Great job Bryan and Paul! You guys couldn't have done anything more, it is what it is and hopefully things run smoother next time.
I came to this race with little practice after being away for a week on holiday(damn, missed the club event!) and found myself throughout the week either busy or too chilled out to get myself on track until Saturday evening.
Despite this I was feeling good about Brianza, it's a track i've turned many laps with the F1B and have a setup i'm well used to. It's far from ideal but takes Curva Grande very nicely and I know I can lap consistently with it. So come qualifying I was fired up and ready to go. Reaching 25s was a big ask, but i knew i could do it and I was hoping to pick up a good tow to make sure of it. I was out early in the session like most and searching for a tow. Found one, but blew the lap and decided just to get the hammer down and bang in the laps regardless. Then I was catching Niko after Lesmos and was hoping he would tow me down to parabolica to get me sub 26 and up the grid but he wisely elected to lift and power down his air puncher :'( Fortunately I managed to get it done on that lap anyway! After this I had a few more attempts at improving as things were very tight between us but I just didn't have it in me.
It was enough to give me 6th spot on the grid, so a start on the left side awaited me. All I could think of was getting boxed in and taken out. I really wanted to be on the right side of the grid but better to be on the left than in the middle! Not much to think about though, get going, go straight and see what happens!
Race1:
Onto the grid we went. I kept myself reasonably calm leading up to the start, then the starter horn set me off, my heart was racing before I was!
I reacted well at the start, immediately realised I was going nowhere as Bart and Dave were off the mark fast ahead of me and had Yerke and Bryan to my right. With that I short shifted into 2nd before I even reached 30mph to keep it nice and tidy. Boxed in, so i'll follow and attempt to watch and keep myself safe until things calm down a bit.. Yerke and Bryan tripped over each other and fell back from me, this gave me plenty of space to move but I stuck to the left anyway, thinking about Curva Grande up ahead. Everything was looking great and it really took me by surprise what happened next. When the realisation hit me of what was unfolding in front my adrenaline surged and I warped into bullet time! As Gorka, DJC and Bart got tangled up I lifted (158mph!), jabbed at the brake but I needed to get over out of the way fast so braking was off the menu, the track space got smaller and smaller and I found myself cutting the grass at 140mph. I really thought I was done for anyway and waited to be collected by the spinning deluge of mechanical matter and alien occupants. Somehow I made it (looking at the replay only by about an inch, if even that) through just before Gorka and others slammed into the barrier. Whew! Alive! ...and in 3rd! I couldn't believe my luck.
Lap2 T1: Oops! Not much to say, binned it into the barrier on the outside, in too hot, not really sure what happened, that's probably the problem. A bit too excited and lost concentration. The rampant voting and chat didn't help keep my mind on the race at hand but that was short lived. Felt bad that so many people were wiped out but that's the reality of virtual reality racing. (Wait, what?!)
The car wasn't fit to race to my intended pitstop so I came in early to fix 'er up, change my new rubber for even newer rubber and fuel to the end. The damage didn't take long to repair and I was on my way. A very lonely way! For the majority of the race I had a clear track and it worked in my favour. Marcel lapped me early on and I attempted to follow on before he made his pitstop, alas he was too fast! Around the half way point I was up to 3rd, passing Bryan as he exited the pits. Bryan dropped off with Bart taking his place on 'timer watch' and I cruised home for a cool 3rd still thinking about my incredible luck at the start. Start as you mean to go on!
Race 2:
Sitting at the back of the reversed grid with it all to do, this race looked to be really tough and I wondered what lay ahead of me after the carnage of Race1.
Lights out and i'm off, but no one else appears to be. Off and on the power as cars lag around and back and forth. I don't know whether i'm coming or going and me and John C bump wheels, just one of those things in that situation. I hit the wall on the left and get back on track without any further contact. Not so many accidents this time and it's shaping up to be a much cleaner affair.
Once again I had damage that was dangerous to race for position with, so into the pits at the end of the first lap. Damage, fuel and tyres all taken care of and back onto the track to race to the finish. After the pit I was way down the running order but with a clear track ahead I got my head down knowing that I could still grab some decent points, track positions had me hopeful of getting up into the top 10 when people started pitting.
Same as in the first race, the leader was closing to lap me, this time it was Gorka. He was getting close heading down into Lesmos and I suffered the mother of all lock-ups! My best impression of a smoke machine yet! At the time I noticed Bart taking the lead but hadn't thought that it could have been my doing. Sorry Gorka! I too run with special effects on full, I refuse to turn them off, I really need them to help me know when i'm locking up. Though this time I had to keep them locked out of fear of hitting the armco and it didn't make much of a difference to my tyres. My solution is to sit hunkered down behind the windshield, to the point where I can still see peripheral smoke if someone locks, but it never blinds me. Not realistic, but if you can nullify one 'bug' with another...
Unbelievably I made it all the way up to 3rd and then 2nd for a second! I caught Marcel as he exited the pits and passed him on the start finish straight. This didn't last long, mere seconds as I performed a carbon copy of my off at T1 from race1. Took quite a hit against the barrier but the car was manageable and it wouldn't have been worth the time to repair. After that I just remember having Yerke not far behind me, 6 or 7 seconds, so all I had to do was stroke it home.. easier said than done. On the last lap coming out of the 2nd Lesmos i tagged the end of the barrier with my left rear, which forced me off the track to the left. It felt like a living nightmare as I ran the grassy gauntlet through holographic trees, just waiting for one to smack some sense into me. Luckily I managed to get back to the track and floored it down to para, easy round and home with 3 seconds to spare to Yerke in 4th. Phew!
All in all I couldn't have hoped for a better start to the season(points wise!), just a shame that it came about from so many others misfortune.
The competition is tough and it's going to be quite a ride, i'm sure we'll all have our share of ups and downs ;D
Here's a gif of my start in Race1: