Resumed
Lap 32 -1:38 behind leader after pitting for fuel and tyres on lap 25 I found myself 4th. It was a longer stop as the crew put 30L in and as it's still raining hard I go for another set of full wets.
Since then I have failed to make up the deficit. Rowe leads now followed by Messina and de Wit.
I'm sure none of those ahead of me have pitted despite pit road being busy last time I was there.
Lap 35 Pits again... I'm having real tyre problems. The last set lasted just 9 laps and my I have fallen 1:46 behind the leader which is now Messina who started last on the grid. I wonder if the save resume bug is at play here and the AI are now on different tyres.
Still raining, although not as hard for sure. I take a punt and go for inters even though the track is still 100% wet. Another 30L of fuel.
Lap 36 Just completed my first lap on Inters and immediately felt happier. More grip! But I'm now in 9th place right behind Durham and Timonen and a hefty 2:30 off the leader. Rain still falling but track wettness has fallen 2% so it looks as though inters was the right call.
Lap 38 Obviously not a tyre bug. I was simply on the wrong tyres. Seems the Full Wets are only good for the monsoon conditions I had earlier. Track wetness now 94% and I just posted my fastest lap on these new inters. Still raining, Up to 6th -2:09 leader.
Lap 42 The leaders have pitted and the gap went down to -1:30. I got myself up to 4th and am now lapping the track some 10 seconds faster than I was earlier. The rain is now more spits and spots compared to the first hour and a half.
1 Hour 45mins in and it's not been boring at all. The biggest thing was being on the wrong tyres for sure and it's made things interesting. Long way to go...
Lap 45 Still 4th and still losing time. de Wit leads from Messina and Rowe with me in 4th some -1:38 behind. I have now lapped Bridges in the other Supra '05 and the rain is still falling albeit very lightly.
Track now at 74% so I need to think about switching to slicks soon.
Lap 48 2 Hours in and in 4th place. I decide It's time to switch to slicks. My wipers are still going and there are still a few spots of rain on the windscreen but I am losing to much time. I dash into the pits and get a full set of RM's. Whilst stationery I hear the leaders go by. I've been lapped!
There I was thinking it was all to easy and I'm now a lap down.
I leave the pits still in 4th but I can see Burch closing me down. He gets in my draft down the back straight and passes me and holds his line through Casino. I need to crack on here!
Lap 53 Track 36% Rain stopped completely around 55%. Once Burch passed me he pulled away at an alarming rate. I was caught and unlapped by Bridges and despite me putting in PB after PB was falling further behind. I have decided that the only thing I can do to try and stop the rot is switch to softs. I don't need to pit yet but I have to do something the pace of the AI is so much faster.
I leave the pits in 9th. Even a podium looks unreachable at this time.
Lap 64 2 Hours 38 mins. Pits again. I've clawed my way back up to 5th following some pretty hard driving during that last stint on softs. I know I have pitted way to much so far and that's really cost me but the rain played a big factor. I decide to switch back to mediums in the hope I can stretch them to 15 laps without losing to much time over each lap.
Tyre wear has now become a major factor for me in this race. Unsure if it's my driving or my setup that's causing the excessive wear but if I can put in 15 decent lap times on this next set I will be happy.
I will have to work hard to keep 5th place and do my best to close the gap on Burch in 4th during this next stint.
Track just turned completely dry so hopefully I can make this set of mediums work better than the last time I used RM's.
Lap 72 still in 5th but I have now unlapped myself. I am now the fastest man on the track and -2:06 behind the leader de Wit.
Lap 74 5th Place - 2.05 leader. Just 10 laps out of my tyres again Into Pits and a race suspension. Only 98 to go
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