04-03-2019, 05:30 AM
Another lucky race for me.
I practiced a bit this week, but couldn't come up with a setup to save my life. Teamie Dan sent me one yesterday, and I didn't have a chance to try it out until practice today. My first laps with the new setup were slower, but I went with it since he'd put more time into fiddling with it than I did.
Managed to beat my previous best time by about 3 seconds by the time practice ended, so I was on the right track.
Qualied 8th or so, which was better than I expected since everyone seems to be an alien on this course.
Spent the first few laps just easing in and staying out of trouble. Smacked a wall on lap 3 or so which gave me some moderate aero damage. My tires were so flat spotted I could barely hold on to the wheel.
On lap 4 or 5 I came up on JP, which was a huge surprise since he's waaaaay faster than me. I'm guessing he had damage as we traded places back and forth for quite a while, with Daniel and Bryan not far behind.
Lap 6 JP hit a wall about 1/4 way into the lap in front of me. I backed off to avoid contact, hoping I could overtake soon after. Spent the remainder of the lap following cautiously behind trying to avoid contact. No way around on this narrow track. Probably lost about 5 seconds or so.
Pitted at the end of the lap and came out about 4 seconds ahead of JP and Antti. I was losing loads of time in the GP section, but was holding my own on the Nords. John was about 20 seconds ahead, so I set my sights on catching up with him before the finish.
Finally caught John on lap 11 with Antti right on my ass. John spun, I slammed on my brakes to avoid him and Antti flew past us both and into 3rd place. I passed Antti on the long straight, but my tires were cooked and I made a mistake on the last turn and he retook 3rd at the start/finish line with one lap remaining.
The final lap, my fastest lap of the day, I pushed way harder than my tires could stand. I drove the car like a rally car. All or nothing. Down by as much as 3 seconds on Antti, I pushed until I was about 1.4 seconds down hoping I could get in his draft and pass him on the long straight for the final podium spot. I put a tire in the grass just after the "mini carousel" and all hope was lost.
Finished 4th.
It was truly a blast battling with Antti, JP and John!
Thanks, SR4L crew, for keeping it interesting
I practiced a bit this week, but couldn't come up with a setup to save my life. Teamie Dan sent me one yesterday, and I didn't have a chance to try it out until practice today. My first laps with the new setup were slower, but I went with it since he'd put more time into fiddling with it than I did.
Managed to beat my previous best time by about 3 seconds by the time practice ended, so I was on the right track.
Qualied 8th or so, which was better than I expected since everyone seems to be an alien on this course.
Spent the first few laps just easing in and staying out of trouble. Smacked a wall on lap 3 or so which gave me some moderate aero damage. My tires were so flat spotted I could barely hold on to the wheel.
On lap 4 or 5 I came up on JP, which was a huge surprise since he's waaaaay faster than me. I'm guessing he had damage as we traded places back and forth for quite a while, with Daniel and Bryan not far behind.
Lap 6 JP hit a wall about 1/4 way into the lap in front of me. I backed off to avoid contact, hoping I could overtake soon after. Spent the remainder of the lap following cautiously behind trying to avoid contact. No way around on this narrow track. Probably lost about 5 seconds or so.
Pitted at the end of the lap and came out about 4 seconds ahead of JP and Antti. I was losing loads of time in the GP section, but was holding my own on the Nords. John was about 20 seconds ahead, so I set my sights on catching up with him before the finish.
Finally caught John on lap 11 with Antti right on my ass. John spun, I slammed on my brakes to avoid him and Antti flew past us both and into 3rd place. I passed Antti on the long straight, but my tires were cooked and I made a mistake on the last turn and he retook 3rd at the start/finish line with one lap remaining.
The final lap, my fastest lap of the day, I pushed way harder than my tires could stand. I drove the car like a rally car. All or nothing. Down by as much as 3 seconds on Antti, I pushed until I was about 1.4 seconds down hoping I could get in his draft and pass him on the long straight for the final podium spot. I put a tire in the grass just after the "mini carousel" and all hope was lost.
Finished 4th.
It was truly a blast battling with Antti, JP and John!
Thanks, SR4L crew, for keeping it interesting
When in doubt, pass out.