Yesterday I finally had some good race experiences.
Nations, Slot 1
I'm used to driving FF cars, so the Scirocco, while having way too much power for its front wheels, wasn't too much of a hassle for me to throw around, and I like Suzuka a lot, so I felt good about this race. Then I get put as Door #1. Great. Qualifying wasn't good. On my first flying lap, I had a good draft, but then I mess up Spoon curve and 130R, setting a time that was 0.2s slower than my lobby free practice time, and on my second flying lap I have a bran fart and brake way too early for Degner I and then running wide at the Hairpin, ruining the lap. So, starting from 14th it is, with
@Master Weasel alongside in 13th and
@CJam ahead in 12th. I decide to start on the Hards and plan for a one-stop.
Everyone gets off the line about the same. I'm cautious coming through the Esses and I end up losing two positions due to this caution. However, it all kicks off at the Hairpin as someone forgets how to brake, sending several cars flying, including
@CJam and
@Master Weasel. In my bid to avoid touching anyone, I only get a net gain of one position. An innocent bystander to the collision gets a 2 second penalty that they serve, and
@Master Weasel and another car go side-by-side through 130R. Unfortunately,
@Master Weasel spins directly into my path, giving me a 2 second penalty and suspension damage. Knowing that I'll be at the back of the pack because of the penalty and the Hards, I decide to switch to a 2 stop. I figure I need all the raw pace I can and because I'm so far back, I won't hit too much traffic. Plus, the time in the pits will take up some of the time needed for the damage to disappear. So, I come out in 18th with a big gap ahead and behind, as several other people went into the pits as well.
I serve my penalty and keep 18th, but the two cars behind me are now right on my tail. I run wide into Turn 1, and the person behind me does the same. Last place, the same driver who started the Hairpin incident, tries passing me through the Esses, and while I give space, I go over the curbs and unsettle the car slightly, tapping them into the gravel. I call it a racing incident and move on, pulling bus lengths to the person behind and reeling in the people ahead.
I don't catch up to 17th place until Lap 5, and although I'm much faster, I have problems passing them from my own errors. However, they put their right turn signal on and let me by at T1. Thank you, my good racer. I catch up to a group from 13th-15th at the start of Lap 7, which included
@CJam . With superior traction, I'm able to pass
@CJam into the Hairpin, and I'm right on 13th's tail as they and I pull into the pits.
After throwing on my second set of Mediums, I come out 17th, and I follow the person ahead through Degner I to make a pass for 16th. I end up passing them at 130R for 15th, and go up to 14th as someone pits. At the start of Lap 10, I'm in a group spanning 10th through 14th. I get 13th through Degner I, and after making a feint at the Hairpin, I pass for 12th. 11th then runs wide through Spoon, and I'm on the tail of 10th.
I try to go up their inside in the Hairpin, but they turn in like I"m not there and I bump them. In the post-race chat, they go on to cuss me out and say I rammed them intentionally, followed by the classic "Reported" line, but I continued on. I catch up to a group containing 7th-9th by the Esses of the final lap. I pass for 9th in the Hairpin, and I inherit 8th as the person ahead serves a penalty, and I cross the line 8th for 135 points, right behind
@Master Weasel .
Despite the terrible start, I got the strategy right and didn't experience much traffic to make a comeback. Even though this isn't the best points haul, I didn't feel like trying again since, all things considered, I think I was pretty lucky with the recovery from 18th.
Manufacturer's, Slot 1
I was excited for this race because of the rain, since I feel like I do well in wet-weather conditions, with my usual cautious-approach paying off by not over-driving too much.
@Jwptexas and
@Master Weasel , along with other familiar faces, were all in this race, so I knew it was going to be fun.
Qualifying went spectacularly. I was actually set for a pole one my second flying lap before going too slowly through the Bus Stop chicane, but I happily took 4th on the grid. This luckily meant I only needed to finish the last corner of the Bus Stop chicane to start and didn't put me too far off from first, and gave us a nice gap to 7th and behind.
For the first 3 laps, the gaps ahead and behind me stayed pretty constant, until entering Pouhon on Lap 3. The NSX and WRX ahead of me began fighting, and the NSX got a slow exit, almost letting me pass. This, however, slowed me down enough for the AMG GT behind me to get within slipstream range, and they made a pass into Les Combs on Lap 4, which I didn't defend against since I knew there'd be chances to fight back. Unfortunately, I forgot the power of the slipstream and braked at my regular braking point into Pouhon, and I couldn't dodge the AMG GT in time. I was rightfully awarded a 2s penalty, and since I saw they recovered and were within 2s of me, I kept going since I knew they'd overtake me in the penalty zone. So on Lap 5 I served my penalty and they pass me, and I barely keep 5th place. From there, the 911 behind me couldn't keep up and I followed the AMG GT across the line for 5th place and 164 points.
I was happy with the results since although 4th could've been possible, I still got a good points haul that increased my total FIA score, and minus the accidental punting, I kept things clean, consistent, and was fortunate to have had a good qualifying/starting position.
Would be interesting to see which drivers like to be the hunter or the prey.
