Spec GTP: Formula Mazda
Round 4 - Sonoma Raceway - Full Circuit
After a short and uneventful practice session, the race got underway actually on time! We had a short grid again, unfortunately missing points leader
@Im_Lukas as well as several other racers, so we started with only 5 cars for the third time in a row:
- @prousonhairy
- @ClydeYellow
- @SlipZtrEm
- @HighSeasHoMastr
- @GTracer38
I continued my trend of getting dynamite starts and was in second by the time we got to the first corner, nosing right in behind
@ClydeYellow through the first right hand turn, while
@SlipZtrEm tried to hold the inside against a charging
@GTracer38:
We all got over the hill alright, and as we flew down into the next braking zone, myself and
@SlipZtrEm got a little over-enthusiastic on the slow pedal:
We held this order for a little while, after
@GTracer38 got past
@SlipZtrEm fairly early. I was right behind
@ClydeYellow but he was attempting to tame a particularly aggressive breed of lag monster, so I was hesitant to make a move on him. I had to pull out of a couple moves because I was scared of ruining it for both of us:
Unfortunately, this let me slip back into the clutches of @GTRace38, who promptly pounced on myself and
@ClydeYellow:
This set up a great little race between me and
@SlipZtrEm for a couple laps, until he managed to sneak up the inside and get past me:
Which lead to a great three-way fight with us and
@ClydeYellow for a couple of corners:
Until
@SlipZtrEm felt the bit from the previously mentioned lag monster, and had a little adventure:
This left me to try and get past
@ClydeYellow without meeting a similar fate, which I did manage to do, but not without a victim:
When this happened live, I honestly had no idea what had happened. Both
@ClydeYellow and myself had run wide onto the curb going down that hill, and I thought that he had fallen victim to the notoriously vicious spin-machine Forza curb, because I didn't feel
any contact between us. Watching it in replay, it does appear that I gave him the bump-and-run, and I am deeply sorry for that sir. I didn't really know where your car was, with the lag jumping it all over the track, and I was just trying to get slowed down after clipping that curb. Sorry!
Either way, that put
@ClydeYellow into a spin that dropped him into the clutches of
@SlipZtrEm once again:
This time,
@SlipZtrEm was able to get passed him without incident, when
@ClydeYellow ran very wide into the hairpin at the top of the course:
This settled the race into its most boring stage.
@GTracer38 was doing his best impression of
@Im_Lukas in his absence, and had opened an impressive gap over me and was lengthening it by the lap:
I had an even larger gap back to
@SlipZtrEm in third, who ahd gapped
@ClydeYellow who had gapped
@prousonhairy and left the field spread right out.
That would maintain for about 10 laps in the middle, until
@GTracer38 lagged out! As we've discussed, he's being credited the win, but it was still disappointing!
Right around when that happened, my pace started to fall off, and
@SlipZtrEm found another gear. I was losing ~0.7 seconds a lap to him, and I couldn't find my pace again! He started catching me, eventually regaining visual distance:
There would be a picture here but my replay stops at this point!!!!!
Basically it has everyone just sitting in place doing burnouts.
So yes, right as the best part of the race started, my replay died. Let us mourn this tragedy for times eternal.
Anyways,
@SlipZtrEm and I were only maybe 10 feet apart as we crossed the line, with me in front. He actually passed me at one point but I was able to repass him and then fend him off for just long enough. We lost
@ClydeYellow at some point, finally losing his own battle with the lag monster, but it was an epic finish to the race.
I'm sad I can't show you pictures of it, but it was all great fun! Congrats
@GTracer38 on the win (cough,
@HighSeasHoMastr too) and I hope we can all make it for the finale at Spa!
It's been a blast either way. Thanks to
@SlipZtrEm for putting this together, and to all you guys for some great races!
