LAP #1:
It's lights out in Upstate, New York. These opening pics are usually my favorites. While I do wish we had a full deck of 16 cars out here, I find the different liveries so nice to look at.
LAP #1:
The first two sectors, with it's esses, bus stop and the long sweeping righthander can be trickly on cold tires. Some light door rubbing occurred but as a group, we all get away pretty cleanly.
LAP #2:
Both
@DublDee and
@llNovall manage great starts and occupy the top two spots.
@DRD_Niagara, in 3rd is already feeling pressure from
@Mac1032763,
@socalnatv and
@Noob01_lmdead.
@Bologna_Duc and
@Kgffy are just behind.
LAP #3:
The first critical mistake of the race is made by
@Bologna_Duc as he comes out of the bus-stop on Lap #3 a little wobbly. Contact with other cars is avoided but he would go for a spin which would drop him from 7th to 12th.
LAP #4:
The next error would come on Lap #5 with
@Mac1032763's exit of Turn 7, known as "The Toe". He touched grass and fights hard to make the correction but would also end up for a spin. He would drop from 5th to 12th and would retire the car moments later.
LAP #6:
@Kgffy is leading
@Yugofan and
@bublyman on Lap #6. The picture shows
@Yugofan exiting the bus-stop a little unsteady. He caught his car but lost a little speed.
@bublyman seizes the opportunity and takes the 7th position.
LAP #7:
A couple things happening in this picture. I recall running a little too deep at The Toe on Lap #7 and with quality drivers like
@Noob01_lmdead,
@socalnatv and
@Kgffy behind me, that's going to cost me a position.
@Noob01_lmdead is shown passing me to move into 3rd and a little further behind,
@Yugofan manages retake the 7th position from
@bublyman.
LAP #10:
Quite a good battle between
@bublyman and
@Yugofan, which would periodically also include
@JDMKING13 but it comes to an end on Lap #10 when
@Yugofan hits the barrier exiting The Toe. Lots of action at The Toe. He'd drop from 7th to 9th.
LAP #13:
The view from my cockpit for the last few laps. I've been dealing with pressure
@socalnatv and
@Kgffy for quite some time now and feel like
@socalnatv is sitting in my backseat. He'd pass me about 100 yards later to move into 4th.
LAP #15:
Checking in at the front,
@DublDee still leads and has built a decent gap between himself and 2nd place,
@llNovall. With just a few laps to go, it's just himself, an open road, and his thoughts. But memories of Lap 8 of Race #1 at Laguna Seca are creeping into his head and he's doing his best blocking them out.
LAP #16:
@llNovall has had a quiet, comfortable race but with a few laps to go, he's looking in his mirrors more frequently as
@Noob01_lmdead has been creeping closer and closer to him in recent laps. The pic also captures a small but costly error where
@socalnatv would touch grass in the braking zone and send him for a quick spin which would drop him from 4th to 10th.
LAP #17:
Entering the bus-stop on the final lap of the race from the 4th position, I'm fully aware that I forgot to open the window in my room because I'm sweating and I'm gripping my wheel pretty hard.
@JDMKING13 would come out of the bus-stop a little unstable and spin, he'd drop from 7th to 10th.
LAP #17:
@Kgffy would pass me to move into 4th on the exit of the race's last turn and I was lucky to avoid giving up another spot to
@bublyman as I held him off by 0.047 seconds. If he had another 50 yards, he would have passed me too.
LAP #17:
But moments earlier, it was
@DublDee that closed off the race with a big win. It's the first win of the season for himself and for his WKM team and he exorcises the demons from his mishap at Laguna Seca last month. He'll be flanked on the podium by
@llNovall and
@Noob01_lmdead.
The Fastest Lap bonus is awarded to
@Bologna_Duc, who's time of 1:49.786 bests
@DublDee's 1:49.873 and
@JDMKING13's 1:49.917. They are the only three to squeeze into the 49's.
