Lol! 'Twas a heady race, Race 2, and there was much bumping and "different line taking"...I'll repeat my ontrack message from last night, just to reiterate "if anyone has any problem with any of my passing moves, please refer to mods...", and I'll stand by it, come what may...but enough admin and politics...
Race 1: Scrounged Pole late in Quali with a 51.410, just sqeazing @disturboed into 2nd...he clocked 51.440 so there was eff all in it...mighty close! Off the line I tried to stay in front and just ease away if at all possible...this was not possible as I wobbled a couple, and disturboed was on my hammer from the get go...we soon cleared the field and were really just racing one another, fiercely but fairly, forcing a wobble or a run wide here and there...I've gotta say 'awesome racing' disturboed, and I will say this rather longwindedly: I believe I won largely in part to disturboed's driving skill, on track integrity, and sense of fair play. We both forced errors from the other, we fought hard, BUT, not once did disturboed take advantage of an iffy chance to pass, always gave me half the track in an exchange, and pushed me along like nobody's business, so "Hat's off to you Sir, you are a scholar and a gentleman, and one of my fiercest competitiors, but you race hard, clean, and fair..."
Turbo and I blued like this till about lap 12-13 and I started to get a little bit of a gap...I found though I was slower at Aintree/Maggotts, I could make time up into Brooklands, and out of Luffield...
It'a crying shame you (disturboed) spun out of Luffield on Lap 22, at first I thought you'd DC'd and exclaimed aloud "Oh no, Turbo!", in my best Murray Walker voice...I spotted you down the list, to some relief, but I felt for you man! It doesn't reflect how hard you pushed me in the first half of the race. Race 1 was no free ride, in part, mostly to you. Bloody goodsport, and bloody bad luck man! (But congrats on Fastest Lap broo (51.310 I theenk?) to my 51.378...a PB for me this round). Congrats to @arakasi- and @cola1001 also on 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Race 2: OK now. Reverse grid. Starting from the back. Hmmmm....steady easy does it! Lol! First time around Copse was carnage! I just picked my way through tyre smoke and departing cars...(the replay shows two incidents:
The first at the pointy end as @Mail17 spun himself on the inside ripple/grass, and then looped back onto the track in front of oncoming traffic...yikes! @pat65 did well to pull up and hold a straight line...
The second was disturboed and @arnoldwa getting tangled as well...I don't believe there was any malice or carelessness on any drivers' part here, and I realise it's not my place to say, but it appeared 'the door closed rather rapidly' at Copse, and disturboed was hard on the brakes to avoid contact...but to no avail, sadly...)
But, me no complain...from 15th to 11th on first lap suited me nicely!
Lap 2: I may have stretched the rules a bit re: running wide at Copse, for a short time gaining advantage over arnoldwa, but any time/track position was smashed out of me at Brooklands as @Half-Byte used me as a brake/armco...pushing me into arnold, and I lost 3 places as a result, kind of nullifying any advantage I may have gained at Copse earlier in the lap. (Not having a crack at you Half-Byte, you were in a 2-3 car slipstream and it can be hard to pull up if you're not used to braking earlier to compensate for the extra speed gained...) So I copped that on the chin...
Lap 3: Was half a car length up on disturboed as we approached Copse again...I ran wide to leave him room, BUT, ran wide (again!) but I believe no real advantage was gained so I pursued Half-Byte into Aintree/Maggotts, and got a good run out...approaching Brooklands I noticed Half-Byte trying to turn inside arnoldwa, so I ran wide to beat him to the apex at Luffield, he turned in and bounced off (I truly didn't hit you Half-Byte, I ran around the outside and beat you to the inside run at Luffield, that's all, so when you turned in, I was already there...I'll stand by the move if it goes to "the Mods"...and I'm sorry if it ruined your race...)
Lap 4: I arrived at Aintree/Maggott's (with disturboed up my clacker, lol, AGAIN!) to scenes of tyre smoke and two cars departed from the track..."It's only Lap 4!" I'm thinking to myself...
I tried the 'round the outside' Brooklands move on arnoldwa, but I wasn't quite close enough, and he wasn't having a bar of it! Nice defensive driving whist attacking @Cyberstig1 arnold! Goodsport!
Lap 5: Out of Copse Cyber went left, arnold went right, and I attempted to take them both with the run to Aintree...I had the speed to outrun Cyber, but couldn't quite catch arnold, wobbled at Maggotts, and held disturboed up momentarliy...Half-Byte saw an opportunity at Brooklands from a long way back...it stuck, but it was bold! (underlined italic even...lol!)
Lap6/7: I harassed arnold for the next 2 laps to no avail...I couldn't get past! So that's some solid defensive driving right there old bean!
Lap 8: I grazed past arnold at Copse, easing off before entry to gain a quicker/shallower run out...it worked, but only just! I believe arnold lost his right side mirror then, lol! Up to 7th...further than I'd betted on...
Lap 9: Clear track in front...keep it neat...try to gap disturboed/ arnold...ooh, turbo's coming to get me! Head down adro!
Lap 10/11 passed without incident...I began to close on @pat65 and @3vilm00n on Lap 12. pat65 ran wide at Copse on Lap 13...I eased past to Aintree...he got into me at Maggots on Lap 15, but kudos and skill to you pat, you got right out of it again...goodskills! I cleared away by Luffield and Woodcote, and then began in ernest hunting down 3vilm00n, cola, and @maximuscatticus on Lap 16...flashing my headlights madly down Club Straight, like the LMP1 cars do at Le Mans, I'm sure the guys in front were startled and intimidated by my fiercely blazing headlight flashes...LOL!
Got on the back of them Lap 17, passed Max out of Maggotts, and was on the moonman's tail out of Woodcote...didn't really gain for the next 2 laps, then I got a run on Moonman out of Maggotts towards Brooklands on Lap 20...the next 3 laps I drove my wheels off trying to catch cola, not really gaining on him, but we were catching incey...
I got a good run out of Maggot's on Lap 24 to throw one up the inside into Brooklands...thankfully cola saw me coming and stayed well wide till I'd managed to stop and turn in (lol! it was desperation football I tells ya!), albeit very wide when I did so...
I turns into Luffield thinking "I might have got away with that" whilst I promptly pushed cola out of the way (still a bit of red mist from Brooklands, lol!), so I redressed immediately, forgetting 3vilm00n was still there and as I wobbled my way through Aintree/Maggotts for the last time he got me on the run to Brooklands,"Cheeky bugger!" I thought, but power to him for not giving up/not giving in...it was a great fightback moonman! Well done!
So, I managed 4th after starting dead last, and surviving much on track drama...phew! I bagged Fastest Lap with 51.615
I theenk, so no complaints here. Was a hard fought round, and I figure there will be some with their noses out of joint, but all in all, given the nature of the circuit and the car we are driving, it could've been a lot messier!
Bring on the weather!!!
Congrats go to incey for the win, and cola and 3vilm00n for 2nd and 3rd respectively!
Thanks also to the moonman for hosting.
See youse next week!
adro out!
Last edited: Oct 31, 2016
