PURE DISAPPOINTMENT!
FIA Nations Cup Round 25 - R32 Spec-11 at Autopolis
Really did my homework for this one, and had a great feeling about it. Practiced, put in a pretty respectable lap time (still #57 after two races have already been completed, on the leaderboard), and felt like a top 5 was a real good expectation.
Drew #3 DR rank in my lobby (behind
@afc5150) but no problem, stick to the plan of the 2-stop MMH strategy and take home the FIA points, right?
Qualified decent, started in 5th, probably left a little on the table but wanted to be sure to get a solid one in before the chaos started. Meant I'd be on the inside line at the start, too.
Certainly no problem hooking up those slicks at the start, or on the turn exits.
Made it through the first turn clean, and tried to start hitting the marks. Did so... over and over and reliably, clean, no offs... made my first stop, avoided the wall at that tricky pit-in (it was close, I think I scraped it a little!) ...all was on target. Even let a guy or two through, knowing that it would be better to play the long game if we got bunched up at all, before the pit cycles were over.
Climbed up to 3rd by the end of that stint, with two laps to go... mind wanders a bit: "can I get a podium out of this?". Made my second stop from that 3rd position, with a lap to go, and braced as I looked in my rearview to see where I was gonna blend in. But expected to be 5th or so...
TENTH!?!? Really? WTH? Limped home without incident, hoping the cluster of cars sliding around on bad tires would clear a path for me (they didn't) and took the checkers, shocked. Never had an off, was held up a little early in the middle stint, but everything was according to Hoyle but the result. Took my useless FIA points and threw them on the scrap tire pile on my way to the hauler. Left with a few less DR than I started with, too, to add insult to injury.
As disappointing a result as I've had in a while, and not for any drama. Scratching my head, really. I'd be curious what the people that finished ahead did, but I won't watch the whole replay. I'm assuming quite a few no-stopped it.
Got a good clean start, though it looked like no one behind me did, if I saw correctly in my mirror.
I did no-stop it in my alt-account race, and finished 2nd to a A/B borderline driver with the same K' speed score (who I think one-stopped it). I don't know, maybe it was just a fast lobby in my 'real' race. Bummed.
Q5 / R10 / #2 useless FIA points and a little DR hit
Too tired to race today, so I took a nap.
... to wake up hearing that a lot of people were 1 stopping this race.
I have to be missing something here..

I remember testing 1 stop and finishing almost 10 seconds slower than 2 stop. Something isn't right.
Yep.