Great work with the pictures, really good to see the highlights. I'll add my story, with a race this long, everyone will have stories to tell.
I feel sorry for what happened in that accident. I feel that I made a mess of it and you got caught up in my crash.
I had also been damaged on the first lap. My car wanted to turn to the left constantly I had to dial in a little correction. I had that to work out before catching you.
I'll add what I can about it below.
I was comfortably in second place when I noticed Mack_C, also in Toyota Starlet, slowly gaining on me. I was turning laps that were pretty consistent, and about a second faster than I was doing in practice but he just kept on coming.
For a long time actually I figured I wasn't going to get close. One place I could see you clearly on the start finish straight. I was checking the split best I could, as I crossed the 'line' you were just making your turn for turn 1. And it was like that for a number of laps. It looked like 'we're in 2 identical cars so nothing's going to change'. But I figured - it's a long race let's see what I can do. I really had to dig into my reserves, but was able to work out how to drive a faster lap. Only then did I start to close in on you.
He got around me at about the halfway point of the race (lap thirty-ish?) but I know the adrenaline was pumping through both of us. Coming through the last sector both of us were pushing pretty hard, when coming out onto the main straight Mack but his wheels in the grass and lost it and put it in the wall. I had absolutely no where to go but straight into him. I didn't escape that one with light damage.
What happened here as I saw it: you were 2nd, I was 3rd and I had long since forgotten about 4th place ChaddingtonB. But I realised that he was closing up on me, quite quickly now. So then it became a time thing, I had to get past you and soon, or it'd be me, you and ChaddingtonB in a 3 way fight. Sounded like a potential problem. So I closed hard on you. It was the long spiral loop corner where I got past you, cool!
You followed behind me. Then the last hard turn onto the main straight, I went in too hot (adrenaline as you said) went out wide, in the rear view mirror I saw you had made pretty much the same error, but perhaps not as bad. I figured that with us both having made the same mess, I could rejoin the track, which I did just at the left-right kink. But I came from the wrong angle, with the car out of shape. Went wide and BASH into the wall on the outside of the kink. That left you nowhere to go except into me. So again sorry.
The big winner here was ChaddingtonB who was given a free ticket past the both of us.
Major damage on both front wheels plus my motor. I had to limp around the entire course with my wheel fighting me, and the car not wanting to get past 2nd gear. I followed Mack into the pits and we both got our cars back in racing condition and out we went again. But I had no hopes of catching him.
I had heavy damage of my left rear. It was breaking loose on all the corners, nearly undrive-able. So yeah, the both of us had to limp an entire lap.
As soon as I got back on the track I started pushing way too hard on cold tires and it cost me dearly. I spent my first lap back with my tires in the dirt more often than they were on the asphalt. But I managed to get back into a groove and start turning some clean laps. I don't think the line-up changed much after that. I saw WiiFreak the first lap, then every time he lapped me, that mother can DRIVE.
After getting my car sorted and back to pristine shape I was actually thinking I might be able to chase down ChaddingtonB. It's hard to figure who's who on the map, I think I know who he was, I don't think I got much closer. I guess I was hoping he might get into a tangle, get damage and loose speed.
Yeah and you're right about WiiFreak he's a driving freak. One time when he lapped me I thought I could travel behind him and try matching his pace. Nah, couldn't do it.
Odd thing at the end was that WiiFreak crossed the line, won the race and got disconnected. Strange.
Good racing guys.