Week 2 - Fuji (Short) & Nurburgring Endurance
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Another solid week of racing from all involved. I'm not sure if perhaps the penalty system changes and player reporting has begun to take effect, but there seems to be a much higher level of sportsmanship and skill on display this season. This was immediately evident at both Fuji and Nurburgring, home to two of the most notorious first corners in the game, where ramming drivers off the track has become a sport in itself for a select few intent on ruining the game. But not this week, perhaps it's a result of the need to properly strategise fuel and tire use, and when to pit in, everyone seems to head into turn 1 with just a bit more caution this season, at least in the Manufacturers Cup. Fuji was largely uneventful - I ran a fuel limiter of 2 or 3 to drag out the need to pit, and ran the softer tire as I knew I'd run out of fuel in the Aston before the tires needed changing. The only real consideration was just how fast to approach the Dunlop Corner, and where to brake to ensure the car cut left over the apex, instead of right and off the circuit. I finished somewhere around 7th for 258 points.
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I was eagerly awaiting the Nurburgring Round, thankfully they haven't got around to making this a wet track just yet. The 'Ring is up there with my favourite circuits, and the fact that so many other drivers seem to dread the Green Hell made me confident of a good result, perhaps too confident. I ended up with pole position, having nursed the Vantage GT3 around on medium tires in preparation of a flying lap on a second attempt. Other drivers seemed intent on breaking the 'Ring lap record for a non-street legal vehicle, neglecting to factor in fuel consumption, and that a proper fast lap would require a good run up onto the home straight, not a standing start from the pits.
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As the race started everything ran like clockwork, until I misjudged Bergwerk and pinged off the left barrier onto the opposite side of the track, losing 3 places. I also turned in on Mutkurve too early, bouncing over the kerb and losing another place whilst I straightened back out, narrowly avoiding the barriers. And if that wasn't enough, I came off in the sand near Brunnchen, beginning to wonder how I'd manage another two laps with this many mistakes. However the tide began to turn towards the end of lap one - the Mitsubishi ahead of me had to serve a penalty, and several drivers pitted on the first lap - I went from 6th to 4th on the home straight. Lap 2 was much cleaner, perhaps as I cut the fuel down further which reigned in the Vantage's power to a more manageable level, and I held 5th place in and out of the pits into Lap 3. However just as I was starting to feel confident I could make a podium finish, the Lexus behind me began to put the pressure on at Schwedenkreuz, and in my attempt to keep ahead I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I carried too much speed into Aremberg, colliding with the 4th placed Porsche ahead of me, sending both of us into the sand. I managed to recover quickly, but the Porsche had done a full 360 into the middle of the trap, and fell from 4th to 9th. I was back in 7th and feeling guilty I'd just ruined someone's race on the final lap (in my defence I do in fact need new glasses). I managed to claw back some positions as other cars began to crash out in the final minutes of the race, with a Supra spinning out at Eiskurve, and the AMG which bolted past me earlier on Kottenborn crashing out twice at Hohenrain. I collided with them on the second spin; hemmed in by crash barriers on both sides there was nowhere I could go, and they were already 90 degrees off the line. I crossed the line in 5th place for 503 points, the most I've scored in a single race in any season. It should have been a cause for celebration, but I was still feeling guilty from the crash at Aremberg, and disappointed at the number of positions lost to careless mistakes. I'm sure things could have ended up a lot worse, but I can't help feeling things could also have been a lot better.
. Scary situation with a spaniard in a BMW M6 who was skidding all over the place and almost made me spin out, and he spun out a few corners later and ragequitted, lol. 
fellow Brit won who qualified 2nd.
