Another solid run tonight. Settled on the Hyundai for Nations, after finding it to be the fastest and most consistent car I tried in practice. Qualified 7th with my first lap, but unfortunately ran wide on my second while following a struggling Lamborghini through 130R. Ended up making contact with the Lambo, which was enough to make him spin; a few apologies between ourselves put the incident aside.
The race itself went fairly well. Got close to a queue of cars battling for 4th place (later 6th), at which point the Lambo nudged me wide a few times and eventually struck it up the inside at the hairpin. Wasn't able to do much from that point onwards, but I still kept close to the group in an effort to capitalise on any mistakes that might happen up front. Dropped down to 9th following an unsuccessful attempt to pass a black and white Lexus at the chicane, but eventually gained two places back on the last two laps when that and another Lexus ran wide at 130R and the chicane respectively. Crossed the line 7th, bagging 1,271 points in the process.
Shortly before entering the Nations race, I decided to join the Manufacturer Series for the first time this year. Signed up for Ford (both Mustangs), and went into the Dragon Trail race with only a few laps and practice races under my belt. Expected nothing but a good kicking by the end of it.
Turns out that the Gr.3 Mustang is just as stable and enjoyable to drive as ever. Strung in a 1:39.012 which was good enough for provisional 6th, and eventually chipped away until I managed a 1:38.304 - just over nine tenths off pole. Given how competitive my lobby was, 10th was the best starting position I could manage.
On the first lap, the Porsche behind me made a bold move on the inside of the slow chicane, causing me to drop back to 13th as I tried to save fuel and not get in the way of faster cars. Despite taking a brief bump from a purple Audi, I steadily made my way back up the order, taking advantage of various battles and mistakes further ahead. The highlight for me was when I got a good run on a red Lambo at the start of Lap 4 and passed him before the first chicane; this, along with a few other happenings on track, enabled me to get as high as 7th before pitting on Lap 5.
While not expecting much out of the second stint, I began to forge my way back into the top 10. Saving fuel at the start then going flat-out at the end always seems to pay off for me, as I was able to string three consecutive laps in the 1:39 range and climb up to 10th by the start of the final lap. Eventually finished 9th following a mistake from the red Lambo, scoring 1,059 points. It remains to be seen whether I can get equally decent results in the Gr.4 Mustang, but for now, it has been a fine return to both FIA championships for me.
Are people no-stopping Manufacturers? It felt like the GT-R was at least 3.5 laps short, and that's without factoring in the tyres.
Did mine on a 1-stop. 7 laps was the maximum range I could get out of the Mustang in the first half.
I actually had fun believe it or not but everything in this game is about going 11/10 all the time so gotta push push push. 
