- 129
- Berlin
Hello gentleracers, as always, here is my on-board and TV replay from yesterday's race:
What a race! I finally manage to finish the full 30min without driving off the track. That doesn't meant there weren't any mistakes, though, as you will see
Qualifying is intense! The track is short, so there's a bunch of traffic, and the field is very close pace-wise. Only a bit more than 2s separate pole position from last, which is a first, if I remember correctly. Having been troubled by my practice times, I'm amazed to put the car on the front row with only the mighty @AndreasR clocking a faster lap. What a delight!
Only after the race do I realize that I have set an identical time to @richroo, which is another first. All of this promises some intense racing, so let's go!
@rj5992's start from 4th position is blistering, and he's squeezed through a gap into 2nd place even before Paddock Hill Bend. I have the inside line, though, and we go down the hill side by side. He's edging away, at one point being half a car-length in front of me, but leaves the door open for Druids. I brake as late as I dare, not wanting to run into him, lose my position and look mighty foolish in the process. When he turns in, my car is firmly on his right side, occupying the inside line through the corner and I retake the position. This is pretty intense, confirmed by my fitness tracker readout that measures a heart rate of 136
I settle into a rhythm quickly, and some pressure is relieved at the end of lap 1, as major carnage erupts through Clark Curve behind me. What follows now can be described as "chasing the Iceman"
His pace is blisteringly quick and, crucially, he doesn't make any mistakes. Still, and to my own astonishment, I manage to keep the gap stable at about 1s, but accruing a 2s time penalty in the process. Behind me, @lancerevoo is giving chase, but judging from the TV replay might be hampered by some slown penalties of his own.
At the halfway distance at the end of lap 18, I dive into the pits in an attempt to undercut @AndreasR. But what is this!
I overshot my pit box and have to reverse the car, losing precious seconds that will come to hurt me later... Ouch! 🤬
The result is immediate. When @AndreasR pits 3 laps later, the gap between us has increased to 4s. Even more painful, when @lancerevoo exits the pits, having left his stop to the last seconds of the pit window, he emerges in front of me by just 1s...
But it is what it is, and I try to make the best of it by putting pressure on him. He just might be "persuaded" into a mistake if I occupy his mirrors for some time. It's a pendulum kind of affair, because I catch up through Paddock Hill Bend and Druids, but he gets the better of me through Graham Hill Bend and Clarks Curve. At lap 27, he gets it wrong through the 1st corner and shortly drifts off the road, but the gap is too big to take advantage.
We slowly catch up to race leader @AndreasR, and as we approach @John Wells on lap 31, it looks like a three-way fight for the win. @AndreasR slips past on the way down to Graham Hill Bend, and @lancerevoo follows at the entry of McLaren. I want to do likewise, but the gap unfortunately closes and I run into the back of @John Wells . Sorry, John, I was too eager to take the fight to @lancerevoo, that I didn't notice you hadn't seen me. If we were living close to each other, I would buy you a Guinness now
On the upside, none of us spins the car, but as a result the gap in front is too large to close within the remaining 3min.
From now on, I take the foot of the throttle (twice literally so to avoid more time penalties), and enjoy my season best finish. Feels good to be on the podium again after quite some time
Even managed to snatch the fastest lap of the race 
What a race! I finally manage to finish the full 30min without driving off the track. That doesn't meant there weren't any mistakes, though, as you will see
Qualifying is intense! The track is short, so there's a bunch of traffic, and the field is very close pace-wise. Only a bit more than 2s separate pole position from last, which is a first, if I remember correctly. Having been troubled by my practice times, I'm amazed to put the car on the front row with only the mighty @AndreasR clocking a faster lap. What a delight!
Only after the race do I realize that I have set an identical time to @richroo, which is another first. All of this promises some intense racing, so let's go!@rj5992's start from 4th position is blistering, and he's squeezed through a gap into 2nd place even before Paddock Hill Bend. I have the inside line, though, and we go down the hill side by side. He's edging away, at one point being half a car-length in front of me, but leaves the door open for Druids. I brake as late as I dare, not wanting to run into him, lose my position and look mighty foolish in the process. When he turns in, my car is firmly on his right side, occupying the inside line through the corner and I retake the position. This is pretty intense, confirmed by my fitness tracker readout that measures a heart rate of 136
I settle into a rhythm quickly, and some pressure is relieved at the end of lap 1, as major carnage erupts through Clark Curve behind me. What follows now can be described as "chasing the Iceman"
His pace is blisteringly quick and, crucially, he doesn't make any mistakes. Still, and to my own astonishment, I manage to keep the gap stable at about 1s, but accruing a 2s time penalty in the process. Behind me, @lancerevoo is giving chase, but judging from the TV replay might be hampered by some slown penalties of his own.At the halfway distance at the end of lap 18, I dive into the pits in an attempt to undercut @AndreasR. But what is this!
I overshot my pit box and have to reverse the car, losing precious seconds that will come to hurt me later... Ouch! 🤬The result is immediate. When @AndreasR pits 3 laps later, the gap between us has increased to 4s. Even more painful, when @lancerevoo exits the pits, having left his stop to the last seconds of the pit window, he emerges in front of me by just 1s...
But it is what it is, and I try to make the best of it by putting pressure on him. He just might be "persuaded" into a mistake if I occupy his mirrors for some time. It's a pendulum kind of affair, because I catch up through Paddock Hill Bend and Druids, but he gets the better of me through Graham Hill Bend and Clarks Curve. At lap 27, he gets it wrong through the 1st corner and shortly drifts off the road, but the gap is too big to take advantage.
We slowly catch up to race leader @AndreasR, and as we approach @John Wells on lap 31, it looks like a three-way fight for the win. @AndreasR slips past on the way down to Graham Hill Bend, and @lancerevoo follows at the entry of McLaren. I want to do likewise, but the gap unfortunately closes and I run into the back of @John Wells . Sorry, John, I was too eager to take the fight to @lancerevoo, that I didn't notice you hadn't seen me. If we were living close to each other, I would buy you a Guinness now
On the upside, none of us spins the car, but as a result the gap in front is too large to close within the remaining 3min.From now on, I take the foot of the throttle (twice literally so to avoid more time penalties), and enjoy my season best finish. Feels good to be on the podium again after quite some time
Even managed to snatch the fastest lap of the race
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