well, disappointing that so many dropped out but was fun whilst it lasted.
a massive well done to axel who got pole with a 1.27.1?
i was overjoyed to get into the high 1.29s. i'm usually 2 seconds off the aliens so i must have overperformed. inspite there only being 4 of us, i will make the most of my first front row quali on this game lol
in the race, i decided to do 2 stops incorrectly assuming the race would last about 30 laps.
i did my first stint on mediums but couldn't decide if i wanted to push or preserve tires. in the end, axel was away and matt was not too far behind. not sure if the gap grew to about 4 seconds but after 6 laps my tires were red. i targetted lap 8 for a pit stop thinking about two 10 lap stints on hards should be ok...but matt was closing to about 1 second. just as i was preparing to be overtaken, he went off and the gap went up to 8 seconds. phew. breathing space. i pitted although i lost about 3 or 4 seconds by pressing limiter way too early. where are the lights?
put the hards on and i was a bit behind as matt hadn't pitted. i drove the first 2 laps conserving the tyres much better than the previous stint (not just because tyres were hard) and yet the gap was coming down a few seconds at a time. guessing matts tyres were shot by lap 10 or 11? He pitted and i overtook as he was in the pitlane. i'm guessing the gap would have been up to about 8 seconds again (with him having +2 laps fresher tyres as race progressed) so would have been really interesting...until i got distracted with the situation and spun out, smashing my rear wing. i tried to limp back to pits but car was mangled and pitstop would have lasted 140 seconds plus. real shame. me and matt were similar on pace for once - clearly i prefer open wheelers and he prefers flat tops. it would have been really interesting to see how the strategy played out. i felt i was preserving tyres well but he had a shorter stint to go for the 2nd stint.
well done axel (who was miles ahead) and well done matt. even though you don't like the open wheelers as much, you are very consistent and experienced. i had great fun and just need to work on not having little lapses.
i encourage everyone to join these races on a sunday. the tyres situation makes it so much more strategic. it was so comparable to f1. super softs lasting about 4 laps with lateral sliding,
i'm assuming the wednesday team race is the main event at the minute.
cheers to the new guy (sorry forget your name). you came late on but i hope you join us again. practise makes perfect and the more the merrier!
p.s. whilst i'm sad i crashed out, and only 3 guys were my rivals, i think this is the first time i've led and rfactor 2 race..at my home gp! what a feeling!
considering my quali would have comfortably beaten the 100 per cent ai, it just shows the standard of you guys on here. i bet you can all beat 105 per cent ai! crazy.
