Division 2 season 10

1st lap incident was like a concetina effect (I think, that's how you spell it)!

It sounds like you fellas had a riot, and had a good showing as well! How'd you go Stu?

I just hope to god I don't cop a 20s penalty please be leniant stu! XD

how much can you cut? do you mean you jumped over the first half of the last chicane? or is it the right-hander before your talking about?

I'm going alright Stu, just been floating about. You're right about the big grids, although it's something we really never had in Div 1. I just don't think us pros get paid enough you know

The penultimate corner, though understeering though the previous bend I have no choice but to cut, though the black line runs over that portion of the track, but it seems that it would compromise my speed into the final bend, beannie had a (slight) run on me at the line.

Ok, race report time.
PART 1

I was way off the pace in practice, though I was heading for a 35.4 before crashing. But it was still good enough for forth, surprisingly.
Onto qualifying, wasted two minutes trying to find a Red Bull (love that drink) and swiftly sprung into action. Being one lap behind, Fire was on provisional pole. I then smashed his time by a second, before fire going a tenth faster. On my second lap, I was heading for a 35.6, but a biiiiig slide cost me, but not enough as I took provisional pole by .036 secs. Knowing I could go faster, I spun at the hairpin. After coming into the pits, my car sat there for ages, and my chance for one more lap was gone. The tension was high, beannie dominated practice, i knew he could snatch pole, but not to be, pole on my first race, Jacques Villeneuve style!

lol, thank you stu, i nearly had a Woody Toy Story 1 reaction (when the match is extinguished) but I saw the rest, and, wow, what a race

PART 2

Race Time After some toots of my novelty horn, we were away! After a perfect start, I have a 1 second lead in fire on lap 1. But he gains on me at the chicanes. At the hairpin, I was defending a potential move by running deliberately wide, however it worked too well, fire was out! Since my closest rival was out, I decided to push hard. I pulled out a 3second lead by lap 4. But groover was responding. For around 5 straight laps, the gap stayed the same, with him gaining at sector one. By now, beannie was shaping up a challenge on grooves, knowing this, i backed off a little, wanting to conserve the tyres. I notice beannie moves into 2nd, grooves is down to 4th! After a lap of conservation, beannie is pushing hard, knowing the race is well and truly on. He closes the gap from 4.2 seconds to 2.9, By lap 12, i think that I need to pit, but surprisingly, beannie pits, so kept going according to plan. I pull a 9 second lead on (i think) stu, and pit on lap 14. Grooves stays out, and pulls an 11 second lead. But I really wanted to know the gap to beannie (hint, PD!), once grooves pits on lap 16, I know. I gained 3 seconds during the pit stop phase, and I promptly do a 35.883, my fastest lap ever. However, the car seemed less grippy than in the previous stint, and beannie continued to gain. On lap 20, I give natman a hoot as I attempt to lap him. However he is keeping up, despite his destroyed tyres. At the start of lap 22, I was well clear of natman, having made an error, but beannie closed the gap to 4.3 seconds. Upon entrance to the chicane, I clip the apex too hard, the car bounces off the tarmac and straight into the barrier, with miraculously, no damage. But this gifts beanne the lead, and a second lead at the end of the lap. You absolute idiot. However, i start to gain, and on lap 24, I pass him at the hairpin. He comes back, and I cop a lag twitch which I saved. But at the long corner before the straight, he makes a desperate dive up the inside as i control a drift, and retakes the lead. But I was closely following, and I take the lead on the corner before the final tunnel. I notice how much faster beannie is at the chicane, and copy his line. Not a good idea. I run horrendously wide and somehow save the car while drifting away from the barrier, beannie makes a golden opportunity work by going up the inside, his bump actually helpimg me maintain speed. Through excellent recovery pace, we are nose to tail coming out of the final tunnel. But he makes a mistake on the 3rd last corner. Fearing he could make an error which could take us both out, I back off slightly. Beannie as predicted runs wide, clouting the wall at the final corner, somehow not spinning. This lets me past, and I pull 1.5 second lead at the next sector. These last 2 laps would be cruicial. A wild drift at the corner after the first tunnel leaves us side by side at the next tunnel. But I hold my line, and clip the apex at the next corner perfectly. This doesn't stop beannie, and he dives for an overtake at the tight left hander, not reading my heavy braking at gives me a slight tap into the inside wall, but beannie costs himself half a second. Last lap. Knowing beannie is quicker on this set of tyres. I just have keep the thing on the road. Which i precisely not do as i run wide at the hairpin and brings beannie within striking distance. Beannie should have had me down the back straight. But he ran wide, and the gap was too far. But he just keeps on fighting. By the tunnel near tge end, we are nose to tail once again, but i pull slightly away. However, understeer returns and forces me to skip the apex, giving beannie a run. But the finish line was too far away. I cross the line to win (win win!) on debut by 0.445 seconds. Unbelievable.
In retrospect, I should have wrapped this win up at the pitstops, but beannie is a relentless fighter who never gave up. Indy is next, a track i despise with a passion. I certainly do not expect to win. If anyone has a capture card I seriously advise recording it, it was a sight to behold.
Please note, this report was written off memory and if i have made any errors please edit at will.
Thank you to all especially stuart for convincing me to join ROOZ despite my initial reluctance. And look where we are now? Also thanks to you guys, i joined FB, and I'm really enjoying it. Good luck to all for the rest of the season!
Cheers, Jono

Yeah, stumbles is a great host

Good race fellas, well done N64 and Beannie.

I had a pretty good race, even though I was over half a second per lap slower than what I could do in Gary's room earlier in the week. I also got lucky a few times, which is a nice change given luck I have had with connections and lag over the last season or so.

Anyway, qualified 8th (i think) and got off the line well and managed to hold position and not trade paint with anyone in the first few corners. Played follow the leader on lap one and managed to avoid Dutch as he nerfed into the wall on the pit straight, then got lucky again when Firewind spun coming out of the right hander after pit exit. He was sliding around on the grass on the right side of the track, so I went left, so he came back across the track. Clipped him, but stayed damage free and pointing the right way.

Lap 3 was when I got the lag tap, sounds like I got VERY lucky here. I drove past an apparently stationary car in the rock garden between tunnels, then got a bump and right rear damage. I must have been side swiped because I didnt even see the lagging car, it was moving that quick. Lost a couple of seconds to Stu and Groover while shaking off the damage. Then Stu stuck his car in the wall, giving me 5th place. Again, I managed to pick the right direction. Stu then started to chase me down, finally passing me at the end of the back straight on lap 13. Stu pitted straight away, and I followed.

We came out of the pits exactly as we went in - separated by about 2 sec, but in the middle of another 3 car battle. Stu slotted in in front of AERO, me behind. At the end of that lap, Dutch found the wall on the front straight again (what was it with people spinning in front of me!?) and I could set off after Stu. A couple of good laps had me right on him, but a couple of scrappy ones fixed that, and the rest of the race was pretty lonely except for when I lapped Natman, who was very nicely drifting most of the corners at the time.

All in all, happy with 6th, no offs and no connection issues, at a track I like, but am not particularly good at. Bring on indy road! With all the laps I did on that GT academy back in the day, it feels like a second home!

yeah i shoulda stayed in but u know what ikts like when u rage. i was angry with my mistake i made and the icing on the cake with that lag. i need a new controller i will say that much.....

I don't think I need to put my race report in, n64 summed it up very well.... And to be honest n64 I was pushing to finish the race clean and without mistake... When I come up to you in those final few, I think I may have gone to conservative, waiting for u to mess up, but you held your ground with weaker tyres.. well done mate.

I loved being back in the racing again even though i lost the battle with flood for the last couple of laps to score the final point. But all in all am pretty happy with the race i had in terms of close racing. After having wheel trouble all week with a bad steering wheel cable, i finally attacked it with copious amounts of electrical tape before the race and it held up. Unfortuately it meant that i had no one to blame but myself for the lack of pace or the crashes!

Scored a pb in qualy of 36.6 but just never quite got the feel for the car and track in time. First corner was always touchy, was terribly inconsistent for the run into the back straight and the run out of the back straight, and the fast sweepers before main straight were also often dicey for me. Well obviously as i think i spun it twice during the race onto the main straight. Apologies to all those behind me on the 2nd lap.

So after that initial off, i set into a great battle with a bunch of guys for most of the first half and realised why id been missing the league for so long great racing all round by the new guys. Struggled to even get close to pb during the race, pitted uneventfully and then continued to fall away from the mid pack. Saving grace however was the last few laps of battle with flood which was great fun.