Since everyone seems to be raving about it, I figured I'd try the Jaaaag. I took far too many laps of qualifying to actually beat my Aston time. The Jag is ok, but for my money, the Aston is better. Since I had dropped to SR 85 in the last race, this race saw me on a mixed grid of DR/B/C/D. My slightly improved time (I'd managed to *just* break into the 2:06s) had me starting P7/19.There was a lot of AMGs on the grid. Optimum was about 1.5s faster, but I just couldn't find the consistency, and trying was just making me frustrated
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Race starts with me not pointed in a strait line as the dash for crash starts. I made it through T1 ok, manage to pass an M6 up Mountain strait, only to have him decide to send it up the inside at Griffins just as I started to turn... I ended up scraping the wall but at least not spinning out
. I dropped a place but regained it at The Cutting 👍. I was hanging in there, lost a bit of time from the BMW roadblock and grazed a wall, but maintained position. That was untill the AMG behind me saw me slide a little just before Forrest, jams it up the inside, slams into me and rotates. Then he uses me to keep himself going while (he was carrying a 0.5s penalty) I get slammed into the wall. I'd dropped to P10 by the time I got moving again. I was right on the bum of P9, and had much overlap on the inside of the kink, and he just turns into me like I wasn't there
. I'm not sure if he overcooked it or if I tapped him braking for Murray's, but he almost strait lined it and hit the Mac in front of him, who got sideways. I ended up straddling the inside ripple strip...looked ugly
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The Mac ghosts and I drive through him, manage to make the turn into Hells and pull away up the Mountain. Caught up to an AMG who looked a bit twitchy, and had to back off a bit so I didn't rear end him. This proved to be helpfull because we both caught up to another AMG.. I just sat back to watch the inevitable happen
. It took longer than expected... entry into The Chase, and off to mow the lawns they went! I had a goodly gap behind me so i was cautious on the approach to The Chase, and thorough I went.
I just continued to circulate, focusing on staying on the track because in my hands, the Jag was not living up to the hype. I found it twitchy and prone to understeer compared to the Aston. Lap 7 coming up to Skyline I see the yellow flag and an AMG not looking too healthy. I pass him, but he is right on my bumper around Forrest, but he didn't knock me into the wall
. I see a puff of dust on Conrod and a ghosting Porsche, and thought I'd managed to grab another place, but sadly he was a back marker getting lapped. The AMG was right up my arse, so I was expecting him to make a play at the entrance to The Chase.. either he over cooked it or was trying to avoid hitting me, but he ended up on the grass a bit and haemorrhaging time. I knew that wasn't going to hold him for long, I was being a lot more cautious just trying to keep it together.
Lap 8 and he was on fresher rubber because he had pitted earlier, but he was also being more reckless, and it showed.. he grazed a wall after getting a bit wayward exiting The Dipper, so I was able to keep my gap down Conrod. He was right on me across the top of the Moountain. I was surprised to see the BMW in front, I had somehow caught up to him. The AMG passed me at Skyline. I hate people passing between the entry to Skyline and Forrest Elbow... it's narrow and I'm just freaking out trying not to hit any walls! To his credit it was a slick, clean pass. Then he got a bit loose after The Dipper and took some paint off the wall... I passed him on the change down and brake dab at the kink before Forrest Elbow. I had a gap down Conrod, but he wasn't far behind. I was expecting him to try something, and he kinda did. He braked later than me for The Chase, but I was on the inside, so he wasn't going to pass me there. He ended up on the grass... again. I finished the race P5.
SR went up 13, so I got back all but one of the SR I lost in last night's fiasco
. DR went up 730. My DR is now the highest it's ever been
. Usually on my visits to DR/C the highest it gets is in the 6k range. It did go up to 8k on my second visit, Day 111 it made it to 8118... it's now day 524 and it's more than 100 over that
. The DR/C journey continues
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great racing from the back with you yesterday fighting for the FL
