Last year when I took part in this race it was something really special, and this year was no different.
I had no idea the race was on, until I saw Furi's room in open lobbies. I quickly messaged him to see if you had yet started, and after a brief exchange I went to change the oil of the Ferrari. I hadn't really driven it after the last race, so I had really limited time to get used to it again and tweak the setup.
The start was something truly special. Waiting in line for the race to start was really tense, and though I almost spun immediately after starting, it only added to the mayhem. People were cheering and laughing on their mics and the atmosphere was fantastic.
The race itself was a battle right from the start with braunracing88 and Neljack. I stared with the medium tyres, thinking I'd get them out of the way as soon as possible, but that meant I was really struggling to keep up with everyone's pace. I immediately forgot about the fact that this was a 3 hour race, and so did others as we were taking huge risks, going side by side into Indianapolis etc. After a while I managed to stabilise the gap at around 30 seconds, and we were going at a really similar pace with JoeOfTheFire who was leading right from the start.
After going 12 laps on the mediums. I pitted at the same time as JoeOfTheFire, but took on much less fuel than him. That meant I was right on his tail when we exited the pits and that started the battle of the century. Every lap we were trading positions several times and pushing 100%. Eventually I managed to break the chain he had on me, by making a really risky move overtaking a GT Corvette into the Porsche curves. Just entering the first left hander, I snuck by on the outside and that meant JoeOfTheFire got held up really badly.
After this the gap stabilised at 2 seconds. Every other split Joe would take 0,2 out of me, but on an another sector I would take it back. This back and forth trading was really exhausting but it just shows how much both of us were pushing. After a while, the effects of my shorter fuel stop started to become obvious, the tyres were still fresh, but I was running out of fuel (who would've thought the soft tyres would last longer than the mediums, that's some GT-logic there
). I dived into the pits for the Ferrari to get its drink, and finally fueled the correct amount: 75+ litres for a stint.
After this, it was a race of numbers. Constantly monitoring the gap and trying to get past GT-cars as fast and as safe as possible. Big up to all the GT-drivers for being really professional and easy to pass. I made through the race with no big incidents (apart from clobbering DriftKing a few times and the lag incident with TDZ, sorry about those).
Coming to the end of the race, the Ferrari had lost its top end, again! Typical italian reliability
. As Furi could see, it was really slow on the straight (it wasn't very fast to start with as I didn't have time to set it up). After the race the oil was black and the car was missing 40 horsepower.
After such an exhausting 3 hours, it was great to come home with a victory once again. All race we were running such similar pace with Joe, it was all about one mistake to win it or lose it. I used all my power of will to try and not make one, and this time I succeeded.
A big thanks to Furi for organizing this very special race once more. Maybe I'll be back next year.
Ps. Stay tuned for video footage of the race.
Rest in peace, Allan Simonsen.
Was still able to watch most of the rest of the race - until the microwave caused a short circuit while making dinner! Got the PS3 back working again and caught the end. Again, congrats to the winners. Especially to fellow Ferrari driver OK8. Great job, man.
. I hardly made any secret of it in the race lobby how was this not picked up on before? 
Hope I can make it! If not I will still pop into the room to watch the race! 👍
👎 I should got out of the way. Neljack, glad to see that you will be at Monza, and to both Orama and Chris, here's hoping you make it too. Now as for me at Monza, most of the time, I will be in the first chicane tire barrier, and I will be the guy standing at the side of the track cussing it out. 🤬 
Joe!
