Well, that was, uh...something.
Slot 1: Qualified 7th, which became 5th at the end of the opening lap when someone ahead was punted off, and the punter got a penalty that they served at the end of the lap. After that I was in a train for several laps with a Citroen GT just in front and a 4C just behind me. We eventually caught a GT-R who I then passed after they served a bus stop cut penalty, moving me up into 4th. Then on Lap 6 for some reason the 2nd curb at the bus stop grabbed my car and sent it spinning into the median, costing me the spot to the 4C and dropping me back to 5th. the GT-R I'd passed earlier after they served their short cut penalty then nearly got past me as I got back up to speed, but I held the spot into T1. I stayed there for another couple laps and was pulling away from the GT-R when I got a short cut penalty at the bus stop, finally losing the spot to the GT-R, dropping me back to 6th. The WRX that had been punted off in front of me on Lap 1 then caught and passed me at the West Horseshoe and put me back down to where I started in 7th. I got by the GT-R again on the banking, and caught and went by the Subaru just before T1, only I'd only just barely cleared him before braking, and I braked earlier than he was expecting, so he accidentally punted me wide and dumped me back to 7th...
Then the same lap, the Subaru inexplicably completely missed the bus stop and tried to rejoin near the exit, killing the momentum of all 3 of us and earning himself a 2s penalty. By now, a Peugeot VGT that had been rapidly catching us was now on our collective tails. Me and the GT-R both moved around the outside of the Subaru to overtake it, and the VGT tried to go between us and the WRX, while I'd also begun moving down to try to overtake the GT-R. Our lines converged and the VGT got squeezed between me and the WRX, but somehow the WRX got the worst of it and wound up being speared into the outside wall right as it had begun serving its penalty. Now I was back up to 6th...actually, 5th because someone ahead pitted! Then, someone else ahead spun at the exit of the West Horseshoe and promoted me back up to 4th!
I overtook the GT-R...again...headed into the bus stop to put myself on the provisional podium, before the VGT from earlier blew by me on the run from the bus stop to T1, putting me back into 4th. For the rest of the race (this was Lap 12), I just sat in the VGT's slipstream and took the opportunity to save a bit of fuel and hopefully attack at the end.
My chance came exiting the bus stop for the final time, with only a banked turn between us and the finish line. The VGT messed up the exit of the chicane, which allowed me to pull alongside, but the VGT easily accelerated ahead of me again in spite of his poor exit. At the same time, ANOTHER Peugeot VGT that had been between 1 and 1.5s behind me for several laps apparently had the best run that was physically possible through the bus stop because he was all over both of us and poised to easily pass and take 3rd. At the same time, I moved back to the inside of the first VGT to try anything to keep whatever position I could. At the same I moved over, the VGT that had been in 3rd ran out of fuel, causing me to make contact with his left rear, which sent him into the other VGT on the outside before eventually spinning. Feeling terrible because I thought I caused the wreck (I didn't know he had run out of fuel and was unexpectedly slowing as a result), I tried to slow down before crossing the finish line, and in fact the VGT that was about to overtake us both did finish ahead of me on track for what should've still been 3rd, but he picked up a penalty for being hit by the other VGT as it was spinning and finished 6th. That meant I finished 3rd, the VGT that was originally in 3rd finished 4th, and the VGT that SHOULD'VE had 3rd finished 6th.
This was the scene at the finish:
View attachment 1139581
The order on screen is actually 6th, 3rd (me), and 4th.
