Well, what more can I say about today's Nations? An unpredictable and incident-packed race as per Blue Moon Bay tradition.
This time round, I decided to try using my DualShock 4 with motion controls, which after some adjustments and practice turned out to offer much smoother steering inputs than the analog sticks I normally race with. Qualifying was a relatively straightforward affair, with plenty of slipstreaming and clean passes throughout. At one point, someone bump-drafted me going into Turn 2, which lead to improved lap times for both of us and an orange SR triangle for me. Ultimately, however, my fastest time was only good enough for 12th on the grid, just under sixth-tenths off pole. Not too shabby.
Following my experiences in practice lobbies, adopting the no-stop strategy was a no-brainer, and even then I felt I had the pace for a decent result. By the end of Lap 2, I had already climbed up to 8th, not least due in part to an accident wiping out two cars and a penalty hitting one of the early front-runners. However, things took a dip on
the next lap when I grazed the outer Turn 1 wall, earning myself a 1.5 second penalty. This happened just as another collision unfolded in front of me on the back straight, taking two more cars out. At this point, I had enough fuel to last an extra lap over the whole race distance; handy for a quick pass made shortly after serving the penalty.
By the half-way mark, I had settled down in 10th place, having witnessed another Turn 1 off and a few more penalties being dished out. The first pit-stop is underway, while another player loses ground - and position - coming out of Turn 3. Another driver pits, promoting me up to 7th. My pace is improving, and I am steadily closing the gap between myself and the race leader. A solid pass for 6th follows. The next few laps see me reeling in the 5th-place runner, to the point that on Lap 15, I get in close behind him on the run through Turn 1.
Disaster strikes.
As I approach the yellow machine, I start to slide on the exit. Backing out causes me to lose rear-end grip and veer onto the infield, fishtailing wildly as I try not to hit the inside wall or soon-to-be sixth-placed car. Fortunately, I regain control, and the gap between myself and 8th place mitigates the damage caused by my lost momentum. Next time I approach Turn 1, the same car that bump-drafted me in qualifying gives me a hefty, but useful shove. A battle for fourth place develops up ahead, allowing me to regain lost ground. Come the final lap, I nearly repeat the same mistake as before, having to back out of the car in front as we go through Turn 1 for the last time. Seconds later, the 5th place runner loses control and smashes into the inside wall, gifting both of us one more position. Side-by-side along the back straight, I pull my way through to 5th, only to settle for 6th when one of the one-stoppers blazes past me on the run to the finish.
Penalty and Turn 1 scares aside, I felt glad to have had another great top 10 finish, and to have raced with motion controls. With the right settings, the X2014 Junior responds well to my steering inputs, and the experiment has compelled me to practice driving vehicles from other categories using these controls. Furthermore, while there was the occasional bump draft and plenty of other incidents around me, I am glad that no-one blatantly squeezed me into the walls as is often the case on circuits such as Blue Moon Bay. Makes a refreshing change from some of the oval races I've had in the past...
). Ran near the top for most of the race but I messed up the fuel consumption. In testing FM3 was enough to get to the end, so I didn't even monitor the fuel. I thought drafting = less air resistance and it will give me even more fuel margin. Unfortunately drafting also means you're sitting at a higher rpm for the whole race, and I ran out of fuel on the backstraight of the last lap. Turned a potential victory to an 8th place 
Bittersweet moment for sure. You live and learn I suppose. I can totally symphatise how Alonso feels at Indy 2017. When you're so close to victory, yet so far, it hurts even more.
Probably the first and last time I'll ever get mentioned in a top split video lol.
, finished second.
A few mistakes up front and some nice overtakes and found myself 3rd going into the first pitstop.
