Succeeded in entering two slots amidst the recurring mid-quarantine server issues. Both were in the SF-R as anything else would've been left behind no matter how hard I drove them.
16:00
As soon as I had finished FP about 15-20 minutes before the EMEA lobbies began, it was touch and go as to whether I would be able to enter the 16:00. Suffice to say, I did, though I knew something was strange right off the bat when I saw that no DR/SR ratings were shown on the pre-race loading screen. Turns out that most of the field consisted of B/S, C/S and D/S drivers, with one C/B and only a handful of A+ or S-ranked entrants. Even more bizarrely, the points table looked like this:
Multi-tier matchmaking and hilarious scoring aside, this lobby turned out surprisingly well for me. Despite running onto the grass at the end of my first flier, I broke into the late 1:29s in qualifying with a 1:29.808, which was enough to put me in 6th. It should be said at this point that there were two Clio V6s, a Carrera RS CS and even an FK2 Civic Type R entered among the swarm of SF-Rs, though the Civic disappeared during the last minute of qualifying.
Following a flypast by the Red Arrows (a neat touch which took me completely by surprise), the race was underway, and for the most part I was content with following the top 5 starters round while they began engaging in their separate little battles. On Lap 3, a Frenchman runs wide at Lavant, allowing me to follow a fellow Brit up into 5th. The very next lap, said Brit drifts wide at Madgwick, giving me another place and a clear run to the top 3 squabbling for position. My priority was to look after the tyres and take things as smoothly and gently as possible; indeed, this allowed me to catch up to the trio quickly, though not without towing a faster Spaniard along. Relinquished 4th to the Spaniard through Fordwater and stayed there, though the substantial gap between us and the pack behind meant I was under no serious pressure from then on.
Had a couple of errors and opportunities along the way, but thankfully the racing was close and fairly tidy for the most part. On the penultimate tour, we come round to lap one of the Clios, but in my haste to get through his ghost I misjudged my approach through St. Marys and lost touch with the other front-runners. The gulf between me and the rest of the field meant that I was free to take the buzzbox home to my first top 5 finish of the season:
Got an extra chuckle at the results screen, though in actuality my score for the race stood at 91 points. Overall, a weird but satisfying first attempt, and I was satisfied enough with my pace and potential that I wanted to get a second run done.
17:20
Complete one-make SF-R lobby this time, seeded 4th and partnered with
@GOTMAXPOWER and
@SmokeyMR2. Had a much more challenging run in qualifying, which began with my first lap (1:30.043) being compromised by a slow-moving Dutch driver and a poor run through the chicane (I clipped the first barrier while going in). Both my second and third laps were also compromised for various reasons, which saw me languishing in 17th with plenty of work to do.
Greeted by the Red Arrows once again, I quietly worked my way through the bottom 10, taking advantage of others going wide or forcing each other wide at Madgwick Corner. Before long, I am battling a yellow Frenchman for 13th (and a very fast and experienced one at that), trading places and gradually paring on the 12th-placed German. Set two consecutive high-1:28 laps as the 7th and 8th-placed runners tangled at Madgwick; my chance of gaining more places grew, which finally came when the German almost loses it at Lavant and picks up a penalty for trimming the infield grass. The Frenchman also veers into the Madgwick shadow realm on Lap 11, clipping the tyres and giving me two places for the price of one.
As with the first race, my gentle approach enabled me to catch up quickly with the train for 8th. Another Frenchman (dark grey, pink and white car) picks up a penalty on Lap 13, having gone over the white line on the right-hand kink into St. Marys. His black and blue compatriot starts lagging profusely the next lap, and contact between the pair gives the former a penalty and me a genuine chance of snatching 10th. A battle with the pink car ensues; his superior speed on the run down Lavant Straight left me no choice but to back off so we could make it round Woodcote cleanly. Breezed past the black and blue car into 11th for 158 points, ending what had been a consistent run with a couple of fair and pleasant battles.
Thought about doing a third slot, but decided against it as I'm not in the right frame of mind to keep playing right now. Still a long way to go in the championship yet, but already feel like I have plenty in reserve to score better with good qualifying
and race runs as the season goes on.
Never had that before. Race report (of some sort) to follow...
