No issues entering the 18:00 Manu slot. Had encouraging form in practice and test lobbies (fastest FP time was a 1:17.839) so was fairly confident about the GT LM's potential around Sardegna B.
18:00 Manufacturers
Had the company of
@SmokeyMR2, but no French teammate to back me up. Put in a 1:18.441 after initially letting traffic past on my out-lap and putting on new Softs. There was a momentary scare as I started my flier when others pulled out of the pits in front, but thankfully I got through without any hold-ups, and the time was good enough for me to start 4th. Very close session, with just over a second separating the entire 19-strong grid.
Coming into this race, I had no firm idea of what strategy to take, but believed that the Ford could work well on the three-stopper providing I wasn't too aggressive on tyres. First stint was mostly spent short-shifting and, initially, trying to hold a French Porsche at bay. Gradually got closer to the Mazda and Mercedes in 3rd and 2nd while following their slipstream, eventually making some nice moves on them on Lap 5 (Turn 8) and Lap 7 (Turn 1) respectively. The Ford still felt good on Softs at this point, so I kept going to see whether I could catch up to the leading Citroen. Gap between us was around four-and-a-half seconds by the time we both pitted on Lap 8; took on a fresh set of Softs and a refill to 79-80% fuel.
Mazda jumped back ahead as he didn't refuel, though I briefly caught back up to him as he tried to pass a stock livery Supra. Passed said Supra down the start-finish straight, but lost ground as the Mazda had better runs over the coming laps. The Mercedes finally pits from the lead at the end of Lap 11, but we breeze past him as he comes out of pit road. Gained on the Citroen once again while putting in a consistent set of low-1:19s, pitting on Lap 13 to take fresh Mediums as I notice him coming in as well. Mediums and a quick splash-and-dash carry me forward, enough to put me back into provisional 4th as the Citroen gets rid of his mandatory Hards.
Even with a few small mistakes, the Ford felt really consistent and fast throughout the first three-quarters of the race, and things were still looking up when I pass the Mazda again as he finally lets go of the Softs. We're both catching up to the French Porsche now running in second - and, indeed, the leading Mercedes - but like earlier my runs through the third sector aren't as good as those being put down by the Mazda. On Lap 18, I carry too much speed through the apex of Turn 11, drifting wide onto the grass and in turn missing the apex of the last chicane. Turned to the outside as I knew this would give the Mazda the clear space to take provisional 3rd, but not in time to avoid a bump which costs him his momentum.
While this is happening, the Citroen is gaining rapidly on his second set of Softs, which goes to show that unlike me, he had a firm idea of how well his strategy would work. There was only so much time I could hang on to 3rd for longer, so gracefully let him have the slipstream and the move under braking into Turn 1. The gap between us and the Mercedes by the end of Lap 20 was around five-and-a-half seconds... and falling. Not even a track limits penalty could stop the Citroen as he marched on to victory, while the Merc, Mazda and I took our sets of Hards for the final tour. French Porsche gets the jump before the Mazda tries making a lunge for 4th at the first corner; he slides into my driver's door on cold tyres (for which he apologised later), but I keep going with two wheels in the gravel. A high-revving charge to the flag bags me 4th and 236 points; another top-5 finish around the Sardegna suite.
Hadn't been feeling the best emotionally last night or today, but so glad and relieved to get another solid result to make up for my 15:20 no-show. I said to Smokey that the Ford GT feels like a missile around the forward B circuit, and am incredibly happy with how it not only worked in practice and qualifying, but also with fuel/tyre management throughout the race. Would I have done better with a more finalised strategy? Of course. Could we get a podium or a victory to go with those earned in the Mustang last year? Possibly. The pace is there, and I can at least say with more confidence that the GT LM is proving to be a satisfying step-up from the latter.
Servers started playing up at my end at around 20:40-ish, so it was an
especially good job to get this one out of the way.
! 
