Did the double for the first time in what seemed like ages. As you could probably tell from
@ivann and
@watto79's posts, it was a worthwhile effort.
14:00 Nations
Along with Watto and two others, went with the TS050 as I knew I could count on it to deliver consistent pace in race conditions. Didn't anticipate a repeat of my Exhibition Season victory last November - especially with the entry list featuring fourteen '16 R18s - but clocked a 1:56.494 which seemed consistent with what I had been achieving in test lobbies. Came close to improving it until I overshot the bus stop chicane, but realised soon enough that getting a good starting position was a long shot. Lined up 12th behind 11 R18s and a 908, so committed to a two-stop strategy starting on Mediums.
Didn't have the best opening lap, not helped by cold tyres and a British R18 driver giving me a light tap out of the bus stop chicane before the start. Lost out to him down Kemmel Straight, but regained 12th after following the struggling 908 around for half a lap. After almost trying to pass him at Pouhon, I blitzed him on the run down to La Source, and was thankful he had to serve a penalty on the next run through Kemmel. A yellow R18 bins it at Stavelot; a Spaniard bails into the pits on Lap 4. At quarter-distance, the Toyota is up to 9th and posting faster times than another British R18 on Softs up ahead. Fast enough to gain another place as a few more R18s come to pit.
Eight laps on Mediums bring me close to a literal battle between a Polish R18 and a Bentley tribute, at which point the time comes to put on Softs. Almost the entirety of the next stint is spent hounding the Polishman, but even with a penalty for him and a couple of sub-1:58 lap times, none of the passing attempts I make stick. On Lap 13, however, he picks up another track limits penalty at Blanchimont, which finally gives me the chance to pass down Kemmel Straight. Spent the last few laps catching and following the 908 from earlier as we both took on Hards, but in the end, it was a solid charge to what I was expecting to be 7th.
However...
Further up the road, one of the Red Bull-backed R18s on a three-stopper accidentally took on a third set of Softs on the penultimate lap. Realising his mistake, he then proceeded to enter the pitlane again, but this didn't stop him from receiving a 60-second penalty and plummeting down the table. So, we lie in 6th for 214 points!
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Had a few scrappy moments here and there - plus at least one track limits scare at Raidillon - but I think I made the right call starting on Mediums. So glad that the strategy worked out in the end and that I was able to gain that many places through pit cycles, penalties and genuine passes. Have to admit that I grew a bit disillusioned with Nations after the MX-5 round, but hopefully this should give me the incentive to keep trying more combos and aim for decent scores later in the season.
15:20 Manufacturers
Met ivann alongside my French teammate, the Belgian 'password guy' and a few other familiar faces from past lobbies. Had good feelings going into this and followed a blue and black Porsche around to set a 1:30.063 on my first tour. Good enough for 6th on the grid and just 3.6 tenths off the pole-sitting Merc (who I recognised as the ex-Porsche runner I slipstreamed at Fuji).
Like Nations, went with a two-stop strategy, only starting on Softs this time around to get myself an early advantage. This plan worked out well enough in the first stint, where I quickly caught up with and passed the 'password guy' down the inside of Turn 15 on Lap 2. It was then a case of pulling away from him while at the same time catching up to the leading train of cars - the Merc, an Audi, a Subaru and a Honda. Clearly the GT was working well on the Softs; the gap fell from 3.5-3.7 seconds on Lap 3 to 1.6 seconds on Lap 8, and on Lap 5 I match the provisional fastest lap set
by the Hyundai (1:30.970). The Honda abruptly pulls off onto pit road (which, as I later found out, proved to be a sensible move), and the gap between myself and the Merc tightens before I come in for Mediums and a refuel.
Coming through Mergulho and onto Junção, I see the Audi and Subaru go off together after contact, snatching 4th place on my outlap. This became 2nd on Lap 11 when a couple of Soft runners pitted, though as the second half went on it became clear that the 'password guy' was catching up... and catching up rapidly. To be honest, I didn't expect the Alfa to be that competitive, but then I remembered picking up my first Gr.3 Daily Race win in one of those... around the same track. To give the 'password guy' credit, he was doing an excellent job keeping the pressure up, but I myself kept focused on getting the Ford through as smoothly as possible. In a way, that approach worked, and the Alfa couldn't find a way past before we both pitted on the penultimate lap.
In the meantime, my teammate starting in 11th elected to get rid of the Hards first. He made an exceptional charge through the field and despite making some rather forceful moves found himself in 5th two laps from the end. This became 3rd as he followed the Honda past us onto Reta Oposta. A few seconds later, I notice ivann coming up fast as well, and position myself up in the centre of the straight for a clean, tight run through Descida do Lago. Ivann gave me a slight boost in his attempt to pass the 'password guy', and I went full throttle as the pair of them kept battling behind. Both GT LMs in the top 5, me in 4th and with a new season-high score of 246 points. Clearly the fastest lap I matched earlier accounted for something as I discovered 247 on my updated results table.
The Fords truly flew on race day, it seemed.
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Afterwards, my French teammate told me that he was gutted that I had lost out on a podium position, but it didn't matter. Once again, the GT LM showed itself to be a consistent and versatile machine; if I end up finishing the season with a whole run of 4th-place scores, I'd be very satisfied. Plus, it was a nice addition to what I felt was a redemption of sorts for Nations. The job will be slightly harder going forwards now that my DR has reached 58K, but hopefully I can keep this momentum going through the next two stages. Time will tell...
Bottled it in the first race all by myself, in the 2nd race it all came together. Qualifieth 4th, finished 3rd. Not much action on track but no complaints in that regard today.
