ASSETTO CORSA Season 10: Ahh, Porsche It! (Get up on this...911)

Nah not yet processing some protests. Will hopefully finalise tonight otherwise I will check as they stand and let you know your ballast it won't be far off if it changes.

I've always found sprint rounds tricky. With two qualifying sessions and two races, there's twice the chance of making a big mistake. In the end I made one tiny mistake - literally at the end - which cost me a second podium. And in terms of overall points for the round it may have cost me 3 or 4 positions. So despite having my best round this season by far, I have some mixed feelings.

But I won't dwell on the negatives, for there were some big positives out of the round. Basically I was quick. The team setup helped a lot but I manged to find a groove at Vallelunga and I stuck to it. Did I mention I was quick? Even so it was unexpected when I snagged Pole in race 1 by a margin, and I also managed a great start which meant I led the race for 3 laps. And I was quick. However with Koaster and Cherno breathing down my neck I wasn't quite quick enough (I was quick though - did I mention that?). So inevitably Koaster made a nice move under braking into T3 and with Cherno stapled to his bumper there was nothing I could do to hold them out. Fortunately for me I've had a huge amount of practice BEING passed by faster guys so I didn't make a meal of it and slotted in behind them. And being quick I stuck close to them for the rest of the race. I couldn't quite get close enough to Cherno to make a move stick but I was very happy with 3rd for race 1. You've gotta be quick to get 3rd in this company! So mixing it with the regular top runners was cool. I was ready to try that again (being quick and all).

Qualifying for race 2 was different. The track felt different. The car felt different. I didn't get Pole which was different if you compare it with race 1 (which you should because you'll see I got Pole by a margin because I was quick). But you know what? I was still quick. I got 4th and by the look of the times everyone else found that session different too. Once again I got a great start but being on the outside of row 2 I had nowhere to go but through my team captain's rear bar. Being both quick and smart I elected not to to do that so I had to back off (which is tough when you're quick). That lost me momentum through T2 and as I was hung out on the outside of T3 I watched helplessly as Rotor slid down the inside. So being quick, my mission was to get back onto the podium and I stuck to that mission (and to Rotor's bumper) pretty much for the rest of the race.

Koaster started to sail off into the distance in the lead followed by Tez, Cherno, Rotor and myself. But then another unexpected event ocurred - Koaster made a mistake! Whaaa? He was yet another sausage kerb victim. But being Koaster he saved what for most of us would have been a trip to the wall and gravel and carried on, albeit with four more (quick) drivers barrelling his way. So he surrendered the lead as Terry slipped by, but Rotor could only get up beside him into the last corner before the braking zone. Then as I watched on in horror they made contact, and my team captain exited stage left at a rapid clip before bouncing back onto the track behind me! I was momentarily stunned but then realised I was now in 3rd and still in range of Rotor. So I tucked my sympathy for Koaster into my back pocket and carried on knowing I only had to keep being quick for another .. er 13 laps and I'd be on the podium again.

Well I can report exactly 12.91 laps later I failed the mission. Something distracted me at a crucial moment and I wasn't good enough to hold on. That something was another unexpected turn of events - ROTOR made a mistake too!! What thaaaa? He ALSO hit the sausage kerbs and it looked like he was gone. For a fleeting moment I saw second place beckoning me, then I my eyes went wide as plates as I thought he was going to spin into my path! But nope, neither happened because Rotor saved it!! How I don't know. I immediately showed him how to do it properly seconds later in my distraction by clipping the next damn sausage kerb and sliding wide onto the grass. Now to complete my tale of woe, having held off Koaster for those 12.91 laps I now had lost enough speed with my slide wide that he slipped up the inside. And as my stomach turned at the sudden loss of my podium it flipped over when I got a bump from Cherno who I hadn't realised was right there diving into the apex! Fortunately Cherno didn't go crazy and he didn't turn me around (thanks mate - whew) but I wasn't going to drop another spot, not half a corner from the finish. So I caught the small slide, got onto the throttle and brought it home 4th.

So I am waiting with baited breath for the final round points to be posted, hoping that my maths is wrong. Because had I finished 3rd in Race two I think I would claimed 2nd overall behind Koaster. But dropping just one spot to fourth looks like it might drop me to fifth! Not at all fair for someone who was quick!

Yeah, technically. But most people still want to do all their laps. The simresults data gives us data for the lot and it could effect fastest lap and consistency for lapped drivers I assume.

If you had a flux capacitor on board you would have really been laying flaming tracks to another time.....

Haha but seriously well done mate you had great pace out there and really stepped it up hope to see it continue.

OK lads. We are going to replace both Donnington and Mills with Kunos tracks so that we can keep the single division and big grids going for the season. Yes this is not a perfect scenario, but I don't think we've had a single AC season that hasn't seen something change mid-season for one reason or another. Why break that record now. The next race will be at Mugello and will be a normal round, then we will do another sprint round at Imola and then off to Bathurst for the enduro - holy walls batman!!

I will confirm laps for Mug and Imola tonight so stay tuned. Hopefully we will have protests sorted by tomorrow so results can be finalised.

Gutted I won't be able to make Bathurst... 40 laps!!
I'm going to have to stream R0T0R's feed if he streams again.

You need to cancel that appointment with Sven, he can do the back, crack and sack the week after surely!!??!!

Haha... I have 2 passions, simracing and speedsailing (windsurfing).
That weekend is my annual pilgrimage to Burrum Heads... virgins will be sacrificed for plenty for wind that week

Burrum Heads?? Good luck finding those virgins...

On a sane note, laps updated for the next 2 rounds. I have made fuel burn 250 as per normal rounds for Bathurst, but I will confirm that closer to the day as we often need to tinker with that re the enduro's.

We will do Pug's at Mills again Dave, don't worry!!

@KoAStR do we have final overall results yet?

No. Should be sorted by tonight.