Results (image) - Results on iRacing
I was looking at a pretty secure 3rd place finish in this race, right before halfway through the race. I then went to pass a backmarker HPD, making sure I was on the side I was intending on passing him, and the moron just brake-checks me, sending us both spinning.
I managed to salvage 5th in the end, having run the rest of the race with a severely under-performing car. Good luck I was able to fix it, I suppose, but had I been able to pass this guy without incident then I'm pretty sure I would have ended up 2nd. Oh well! It's only a game in the grand scheme of things...
18 March, 2012
14 March, 2012
Fixed Prototype/GT @ Sebring - Starting from the pits is hell
Results (image) - Results on iRacing
Qualified 4th, I was ready to kick some tush! Oh, wait. The screen froze. Re-connect and it wouldn't let me enter my car with 5 seconds to go before the pace lap was about to begin. Still not allowed to enter my car after the field starts rolling. Re-connected again and I was finally allowed to enter my car, sitting in the pits.
Negotiated four Corvettes and a bunch of really slow HPD's. Frustrating, because it lost me a lot of time, but also funny because I pretty much only had to take a peek down the inside of a braking zone and they crapped their pants, letting me by. When I caught Niko Nägele in 8th place, I had to fight with every fibre of my body over the course of several laps before I was finally able to pass him. A good, clean fight; but it lost me a lot of time to the two guys ahead who I'm sure I would've managed to catch. Oh well! Such is the nature of racing...
Qualified 4th, I was ready to kick some tush! Oh, wait. The screen froze. Re-connect and it wouldn't let me enter my car with 5 seconds to go before the pace lap was about to begin. Still not allowed to enter my car after the field starts rolling. Re-connected again and I was finally allowed to enter my car, sitting in the pits.
Negotiated four Corvettes and a bunch of really slow HPD's. Frustrating, because it lost me a lot of time, but also funny because I pretty much only had to take a peek down the inside of a braking zone and they crapped their pants, letting me by. When I caught Niko Nägele in 8th place, I had to fight with every fibre of my body over the course of several laps before I was finally able to pass him. A good, clean fight; but it lost me a lot of time to the two guys ahead who I'm sure I would've managed to catch. Oh well! Such is the nature of racing...
09 March, 2012
Fixed Prototype/GT @ Laguna Seca - Last lap + going for PB = Bad idea
Results (image) - Results on iRacing
Here's a video summary of what happened. Also includes full onboard of my fastest lap.
Here's a video summary of what happened. Also includes full onboard of my fastest lap.
05 March, 2012
Fixed Prototype/GT @ Spa - Use your look buttons
Start 13th since I didn't qualify, pass a guy into Les Combes and one guy out of Pouhon. Then this happens:
Fuck.
Fuck.
04 March, 2012
Prototype/GT @ Spa - Close to perfection
Results (image) - Results on iRacing
Hadn't done any laps before the qualifying session preceding the race, despite having all day to prepare. This was an exceptionally lazy Sunday. Anyway, the time was good enough for 6th on a fairly solid grid and I was hoping to hold on to my position, but not wanting to defend with tooth and nail as I've had some bad experiences with that at Spa in previous seasons.
Got away cleanly and quickly found myself running in a pocket between Karsten Deschler a couple of seconds ahead and Aaron Jennings close behind. Aaron shadowed me for most of the first half of the race, keeping my concentration up and giving me plenty to think about. He was faster than me between Stavelot and Les Combes by virtue of a setup with less downforce than mine, but I was able to leave him by 1.5 seconds around the rest of the lap. He managed to pass me once, and it looked like he was going to get away from me until he lost some time with a backmarker; I stayed close with him before eventually zipping past him out of Pouhon. I then managed to build up a sizeable gap and got into a rhythm.
About 10 laps before pitting, I did some quick calculating to see what my consumption was like on a lap-by-lap basis, and also noticed I was closing in on Karsten Deschler. We entered the pits nose-to-tail and I actually managed to leapfrog him in the pits, exiting just ahead of him. He followed me close for a few laps, and had me preoccupied just like Aaron had done earlier, until he had a spin coming out of the final corner and I was all alone.
At this point, there was only about 20 minutes to go and I was running all by myself. I started missing braking points, and the comfortable gap I had was slowly dropping. In the end, I managed to build the gap back up again, but if there ever was a point where I could easily have lost the race, this was it. But overall I'm very pleased with this race, and I gained a lot of iRating and Safety Rating which is always nice :)
Final note: Inherited 4th when Matthieu Leroy retired.
Hadn't done any laps before the qualifying session preceding the race, despite having all day to prepare. This was an exceptionally lazy Sunday. Anyway, the time was good enough for 6th on a fairly solid grid and I was hoping to hold on to my position, but not wanting to defend with tooth and nail as I've had some bad experiences with that at Spa in previous seasons.
Got away cleanly and quickly found myself running in a pocket between Karsten Deschler a couple of seconds ahead and Aaron Jennings close behind. Aaron shadowed me for most of the first half of the race, keeping my concentration up and giving me plenty to think about. He was faster than me between Stavelot and Les Combes by virtue of a setup with less downforce than mine, but I was able to leave him by 1.5 seconds around the rest of the lap. He managed to pass me once, and it looked like he was going to get away from me until he lost some time with a backmarker; I stayed close with him before eventually zipping past him out of Pouhon. I then managed to build up a sizeable gap and got into a rhythm.
About 10 laps before pitting, I did some quick calculating to see what my consumption was like on a lap-by-lap basis, and also noticed I was closing in on Karsten Deschler. We entered the pits nose-to-tail and I actually managed to leapfrog him in the pits, exiting just ahead of him. He followed me close for a few laps, and had me preoccupied just like Aaron had done earlier, until he had a spin coming out of the final corner and I was all alone.
At this point, there was only about 20 minutes to go and I was running all by myself. I started missing braking points, and the comfortable gap I had was slowly dropping. In the end, I managed to build the gap back up again, but if there ever was a point where I could easily have lost the race, this was it. But overall I'm very pleased with this race, and I gained a lot of iRating and Safety Rating which is always nice :)
Final note: Inherited 4th when Matthieu Leroy retired.
Another kick up the backside
GTP and GPL leagues have long since petered out and fizzled away. But ever since last summer I've been actively using the iRacing service to keep my simracing fix going, as well as maintain and improve upon a skill set which I deep down inside know is my favourite thing to do.
I am currently running the HPD (or Acura, depending of what side of the Atlantic) in the Prototype and GT series, rubbing shoulders with Corvettes and Ford GTs, and trying to get at least a race or two in per week. Sometimes I just feel like bragging or complaining about races I have, but I don't feel like posting about them on forums or on facebook because I don't honestly think people care. This is more for my own benefit, because analysing races can also help to improve me as a driver, and it's nice to have a nice archive to look back on.
So without any further ado: Enjoy! Or don't :p
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