AC Multiclass Abarth500/Mazda MX5@Arctic Circle Raceway, Wed 29th March 2023

[HF2000]

Wasn't that because of the spider?

No the spider made me miss qualify.

 

[RS242]

No the spider made me miss qualify.

Ah, my bad, sorry

 

[Matt Edwards-Davies]

The getting lapped skill will get better with practice, don't worry.
And this was a particularly bad track for getting lapped: too many turns and elevation changes making it hard to judge the actual distance you have to the guys behind you.
Got my fair share of surprise passes today: you see someone on the mirror, you get off the racing line, they go through, you go back to the racing line and OH NO! THERE'S ANOTHER CAR!!! EVASIVE MANOUVERS!!!

The distance was super hard to judge... quite often I thought I was doing the right thing by moving off the line and lifting on the straights and then found myself with nowhere to go when the corners came and I still wasn't passed... or staying off the apex in the corner and then finding myself sitting in the exit at the exact wrong time. Again... sorry!

 

[stigs2cousin]

Can this be true??

The one time I´m not motivated to show up you refrain from our beloved "T1cluster****(TM)"

So I guess we´ve found the culprit:

NO CARSTEN, NO CLUSTER****

 

[HF2000]

Can this be true??

The one time I´m not motivated to show up you refrain from our beloved "T1cluster****(TM)"

So I guess we´ve found the culprit:

NO CARSTEN, NO CLUSTER****

 

[Kek700]

It was said over Discord just before the start,
“We should have no trouble with T1”, Carsten is not here.

 

[HF2000]

Well not the most beautiful circuit for the Abarth. I felt like I had something to compensate for the Fuji race, but I think I overdid it a little bit with this track.

Congrats to the podium guys and thanks all for joining.
Matt and Viggo: I hope you liked it and that we will see you more often on track!

Next week event:

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/multiclass-abarth500-mazdamx5-mexico-gran-premio-wed-5th-april-2023.257061/

 

[stigs2cousin]

It was said over Discord just before the start,
“We should have no trouble with T1”, Carsten is not here.

Nice to be missed

 

[Matt Edwards-Davies]

Matt and Viggo: I hope you liked it and that we will see you more often on track!
[/URL]

Yes, I enjoyed it very much and can’t wait to perhaps mix it up with the back half of the grid some day!

I am not sure if I can make more than 1 race per week but I will certainly be joining as much as I can.

Cheers

 

[Alfred Wayne]

I don't know if I had a single overtake today, but I followed Andre and Thomas for pretty much the entirety of the race. Or at least tried to hang on. Fun stuff

I need to work on my pace when I'm in front of cars. Still finding it easier to match fast cars vs lead them And I'm glad you mentioned why you were flashing your lights Theo, I might have noticed them in my mirror... for more laps than I preferred

Good car awareness by all I came across today. And as others mentioned in discord, everyone continues to get better and faster.... just when I felt like I was getting faster too

Great hosting once again Han. See you all next time

 

[Giando Fraschini]

Awesome race, thanks for the organization!

The track is really funny and it has a great rythm.

In terms of pure speed i was there with the very best, finally (Fulvio doesn't count of course, ahah...), 5th in qualy and lapping under 1.35... and i also improved my qualy timelap a lot of times during the race too, i think my best was 4th overall. Still have to improve a lot, especially by avoiding small mistakes here and there which probably cost me like 15/20 secs in total... I had some good dogfights and veeeery happy to be in the top ten for the very first time. My confidence with the Mazda is getting better race after race. I truly appreciate the fairness of everyone on track, it's a pleasure to race with you all guys. See you on tuesday. I'm gonna jump the next wed-race instead, due to family business. Ciao ciao

 

[Giando Fraschini]

for Richard and Giando sorry about that my ping was normal so probably was the server

-

No problem, i suspected that... it was weird for me, too... i also asked you if it was all ok on the vocal chat but i guess you weren't connected.
Let me ask you... how on earth are you so damn fast? I followed you for almost three laps and i kept the gap constant around 1.2 seconds then i had to pit so i remember i thought, "ehi not bad!"
but then you gave me like 1 min by starting last... it's quite embarassing, ahaha!

 

[dbx71]

Great race today guys! Of course, congrats to the those at the top but also nice driving all around. Nice to be driving here with the fastest online Mazda (and Abarth!) pilots on this side of the galaxy!

Matt, nice job hanging in there. You'll get the pace coming back up the more you participate.

As always, thanks for hosting Han. Looking forward to the next one.
D

 

[Programmer_Rich]

for Richard and Giando sorry about that my ping was normal so probably was the server

-

Fulvio at the time I literally couldn't understand what had happened but knowing the quality of your driving I suspected a glitch and watching the replay it was certainly a major one! Good of you to back off and wait for me to rejoin. I had fun racing side by side with you for a lap or two until you disappeared into the distance!

Matt and the other newbies, great to have you all on board and I thought you all did well trying to avoid holding anyone up. My only bit of advice is to try to stick to the racing line and your racing pace as much as you can. Believe me when one of leaders comes up to lap you they'll have no issue making a clean pass if you are consistent. Also by all means lift on the straight AFTER they've pulled out for the pass but please don't lift when they're behind you or you might surprise them taking you both off.

But again well done all as a great clean race especially Mika for really fair racing and battle with me for the last five laps.

 

[viggoluken]

Matt and Viggo: I hope you liked it and that we will see you more often on track!

Yes. even tho i went off the track quite a bit it was very fun and I will try to join next weeks event

 

[Dzul]

Pilots... that's the right choice of word to describe us on this event 'coz it felt more like dogfighting in a Tomcat than racing in a Mazda

I still have to watch the replay but it was a fun, non-stop, rollercoaster ride overall. I had a good qualy... held P8 until my maat @Boukâh pipped my time by some tenthts close the end of qualy

I was happy with a P9 start and had a good launch, held position on through T1 but then one of the 'Alonsos' glitched in front of me and I had to abruptly hit the brakes, that cost me 2 places and put me in the middle of a group that got me in the thick of an incident a few corners later, like Bouke mentioned we trailed towards the back and had to do a recovery race.

That was fun though and I managed to climb back up to 12th. I couldn't close in with Paul but got ahead of Bouke on pitstop strategy... managed to keep him at a 2.5 sec. gap consistently until tiredness got the best of my concentration on the second-to-last lap and I overshoot my braking point at the last hairpin corner... put 2 wheels on the sand and as I crawled back Bouke got past. I kept close and gained a bit of the lost distance but couldn't really close in and get past so I handed myself a lucky 13th. place at the end... I'm blaming the system, which put me in the Williams...

Like said by many already, it was an INTENSE race... no time for physical or mental rest. The straight was too short to drink properly so my eyes were a bit dry at the end and my wrists still feel a bit sore as I type this... but man it was FUN!

Great choice of track Han, thanks! I know you Abarths didn't have an easy one but for what it's worth, it was very enjoyable, for everyone from what I read so, chapeau! Congratulations to the winners and podium finishers, and to the newcomers, WELL DONE finishing the race! Just focus on being consistent and speed will follow... hopefully I can make it to the rookies race and meet you there. Until next week chaps!

 

[HF2000]

Yes. even tho i went off the track quite a bit it was very fun and I will try to join next weeks event

Next week in Mexico the track is easier and more relaxed to do your laps but as with many other tracks it's hard to go fast!

 

[Matt Edwards-Davies]

Matt and the other newbies, great to have you all on board and I thought you all did well trying to avoid holding anyone up. My only bit of advice is to try to stick to the racing line and your racing pace as much as you can. Believe me when one of leaders comes up to lap you they'll have no issue making a clean pass if you are consistent. Also by all means lift on the straight AFTER they've pulled out for the pass but please don't lift when they're behind you or you might surprise them taking you both off.

Thanks, that’s great advice to keep in mind.

 

[Douglas Aird]

Next week in Mexico the track is easier and more relaxed to do your laps but as with many other tracks it's hard to go fast!

Home race for Raul, sort of.

 

[Kek700]

This was an easy circuit to learn, so open, I did notice how bumpy it was. So last night turned down the FFB before the event.
But after qualifying I got the impression that 60 minutes was going to be a challenging. And it was.
Let’s hope for some smooth surfaces for the next event.