Went to Le Mans knowing that the Ford had plenty of pace on the straights, but not knowing whether slipstream, braking or track limits would count against me as they have quite a few times before.
15:00 Manufacturers
Met my French teammate again along with Lucas Ordonez (Mazda), the Belgian 'wi-fi password guy' (Alfa) and a few other familiar faces. Qualifying was super-straightforward; was able to get clear air and a penalty-free lap despite a few errors and the sight of a McLaren 650S breathing down my bumper. Clocked a 3:57.856 on Mediums, though this was only enough for 12th with the slipstream trains developing further behind. French teammate started 6th with a 3:56.799, which was just under a tenth up on the best I did in practice lobbies.
During said lobbies and while reading the FIA thread this morning, I learnt that the no-stop strategy would be faster than the one-stop (6M-1H) I did all of my test races on. Must admit that I felt apprehensive about how the GT would fare without the softer compound, but a final test session minutes before the 15:00 convinced me that it could manage with a gentler touch.
Opening lap wasn't the best; missed my braking point at the first Mulsanne chicane and dropped to 15th when Ordonez got a move sown up on entry into the Porsche Curves. Have to admit that I felt exasperated with how things initially panned out, but soon got back on Ordonez when he picked up a couple of penalties. Things went quiet for a bit until a Porsche dropped back from the group battling for 9th, which allowed me a chance to catch his slipstream and surge past on the run to Indianapolis. This set up a fairly close battle between us as he passes back out of the Ford chicanes, then I ride the slipstream again down Mulsanne Straight. Had a few moments where the Porsche lightly bump-drafted me in his tow, but nothing major as we hunt down the 9th-place party.
Going too deep through the Esses allows the Porsche to snatch 12th again, but once more the GT LM makes the most of slipstream to get back in front through Mulsanne. As I braked for the first chicane, the Porsche brakes later and gives me a light bump through the apex (though I still apologised in chat in case he believed I blocked him); he then picks up a 0.5-second penalty for going beyond the white line on exit. Another light bump; an attempted lunge at Indianapolis, but no invitation for him to get by before the Arnage penalty zone. The Ford seemed to feel better the further the race went on, especially when on Lap 6 I managed to pick up the slipstream of a now four-car train for 8th place. A Mercedes goes off at the second Mulsanne chicane, promoting me to 11th as the Porsche again starts putting on the pressure. At Mulsanne corner, he goes too deep into the apex and spins out, leaving me to witness a McLaren, Honda and Subaru going three-wide into Indianapolis. Let's put it one way, it didn't end well for the Scoobie…
...and it almost didn't end well for me. In my excitement of breaking into the top 10, I forgot to downshift to 1st through Arnage, allowing a second Porsche to jump through on the inside. Up until that point, I had no idea how well the no-stop would work and what sort of advantage it would give me, since the only hint GT Sport gives of any tyre/fuel strategies during race conditions is through the HUD. And it was while following the Porsche through the Karting Essess that I got the hint. Two yellow counters, then three, then none. Surely this is it? Then, with a 0.5-second penalty slapped above his roof, the Porsche dives sharply into pit road. The road is clear... and through Dunlop Curve I find myself in 9th!
But it isn't quite done yet. The Belgian password guy slots into 8th following his stint on Mediums, and the combined effects of slipstream and the Ford's power reserves do their magic. It takes some time, but eventually I get around the outside of him through the Indianapolis straights after he taps the Russian Honda wide at the Mulsanne curve. Could the Ford have challenged the McLaren/Honda duo for 6th? Probably, but even with a good run through the final chicanes I wasn't quite close enough. 8th place and 194 points will have to do for this encounter.
A good way to celebrate my first anniversary on GTPlanet, I think. My main aim for this race was to make it through consistently and without picking up a track limits penalty along the way; while I could've done without making the few driving errors I made, I think I accomplished that quite well. Might have done even better if I hadn't decided to jump to the head of the first slipstreaming train in qualifying, but at least that was a clean run in itself and the no-stop worked out well in the end. And congratulations to my French teammate for finishing 2nd! Shows that no matter where we start, at least one GT LM can be guaranteed to challenge for Top 5 places at our level.
Not doing that again.
at least im on pole... Wonder how long...
The Gr. 3 car was also surprisingly good at Red Bull Ring, so I'm hoping this means I can have another high-scoring round today.
P18 (promoted to P17) for just 23 pts.
🤬 He even moved right in front of me in the penalty zone, presumably hoping I'd run into him as it ended.
I then got rammed at Turn 1 on Lap 3, putting me P19 and last. I returned the compliment the next lap. Dirty tactics continued, and I was 'lucky' to finish P13 for 45 points.
Avoided trouble, unlike the pole-sitter who was taken out at T1 by the P2 car. That allowed me to finish P2 for 89 pts, best of the season (any season since the points reshuffle in fact). CRB too 
. Luckily I saw it coming last second and got on the brakes and had tcs on. 
