Race Report for me:

Qualifying. Good lap to claim pole - 1m48.83 I think.

Race 1 - 12 laps - Spun whilst in lead in a place I've never spun before or since (final easy hairpin) and lost lead. Thereafter drove flat out to catch up. Made to errors in slipstreams, as I didn't anticipate how much speed I carried through some of the corners than some people. Then got caught up in Scotty's spin. Drove fairly well for latter half of race, and nearly caught Xero. Race result 7th (or maybe 8th :P) Great final lap to beat the current WR at 1m48.64, but not enough to pass Xero.

Race 2 - 24 lap + pit - Great start - 5th in T1, but pushed wide and back to 7th. A few good laps, but then another silly error. Pitted on lap 6, and put 100% fuel onboard to try and gain positions that way. However, immediately I was in the slow traffic, which either spun in front of me, lost my concentration or just slowed me down (which got me bad tempered and caused a few silly spins). On lap 17 made a big error at the final chicane, but had to complete the lap with damage. Lots lots of positions touring around slowly, then even more in a very long pitstop. Simply gave up through frustration.

Following 2 awful meetings. I can't to next week (gf wants me to drive down to see her). As there is little to be salvaged from this league, I am considering leaving it until the next one. Perhaps then I will be able to drive like LawVS and VIP UA, who are amazingly fast, and they never seem to make mistakes when it matters. I will let you know Alex what I decide.

Some good racing nontheless, and I look forward to seeing the replays (which I forgot to save in my temper).

Quote from tristancliffe :

Perhaps then I will be able to drive like LawVS and VIP UA, who are amazingly fast, and they never seem to make mistakes when it matters.

Umm, that ain't exactly true Tristan :P I spun at Turn 5 (just after Split 1) in both races and lost 4-8 seconds so it wasn't exactly a breeze! But still, sorry for what happened to you mate

anyway, the race was really good in that I got a great place on the grid in P3 and was able to keep up with VIP UA and Tristan. I saw Tristan spin out and it was sad to see But VIP UA wasn't getting away from me and I managed to keep within a couple of seconds behind him before I spun out :P 2nd was a great outcome

The main race was kinda the same, except that I had some worrying lunges from q0_Bob and Xero into Turn 1 and nearly went too wide After that, it was a matter of keeping it cool and not pushing it which I saw VIP was doing as well. But then again, I spun out and fell back to 15 seconds behind him but 27 seconds ahead of Tagforce.

Well done to all who raced and comisserations to those who didn't finish

Good race. Thanks all racеrs. Up to a meeting in races.

I was really pleased with my qualy (.2s off my PB in penultimate lap, a trick I've done before in organised races ). Was a bit too safe in lap 1 of the sprint, letting TheJAG by on the back straight and although I was faster most of the remainder of the race, I couldn't quite catch him and drove to a clean 4th place. I was very happy with that for a first result.

Then at the start of race 2 i managed to get in a slipstream or two at the start and went up a place, only to have Xero draft and pass me. In the first 3 laps we had a really cool battle, drafting each other on the two straights and constantly changing positions. Sadly, I pushed a bit too hard (in his dirty air) to get him after the two hairpins and slid off track.

After that I went up from tenth to ninth place and still had hopes of finishing 5th or something as my pace was faster than the guys in front of me. But then I got disconnected... :Eyecrazy: :tombstone DANG!

I usually don't have connection issues, but today was obviously an exception.

Anyway, thanx for great clean, close and exciting racing everyone! (especially JAG, my goal for today was kinda to beat you... )

Wow, what racing! I'm still on a total adrenalin high and I think I'm gonna have to go for a run in a minute to get rid of it! I had a bit more time to prepare this week and had actually driven the track in the right car before the race
First race: I lost a place or two right at the start, then in the first corner DarkTimes got a tank-slapper on and drifted sideways into my path going about half my speed. I reaction-braked, and from the replay we missed each other by millimeters. It toasted my corner speed and line though and I lost all my remaining places! Over the next lap I got a few of them back, including Mikey who made a bit of a do-or-die dive down the inside into the slow esses. He collected both me and Gish in the process. Gish looked like he got away with it better than me - I ended up rolling backwards on the grass. Mike waited for me to restart which was gentlemanly, and I got Gish back on the next corner where he was spinning out. I was so far behind at this point that the only further places I made were from people dropping out, crashing etc.

Second race: Made a far better start and ended up racing with a thick pack of cars for 4 laps. That was incredibly intense - I've driven a lot of motorsport, both sim and real, and I've never had such a long-lasting period of pure adrenalin racing. I was thinking "I'll never even live through another 20 laps of this". Of course, it thinned out a bit and my nerves settled accordingly. I stayed out of trouble whilst racing close with one or two cars at a time and made it to the pitstop without any damage. No repairs and no tyre change made my pitstop very short and also made me a place. Then it was a case of hold on as much as possible for what will probably be my highest finish this season!

Phew!

Good racing, i'm impressed by the closeness of most of the field! QualifyingQualified in 7th which was rather disappointing. Only hooked up a couple of flying laps. Sprint RaceDecent start, jumping up a place. Tristan then made a mistake, and I got up to 5th. Stayed there for most of the race keeping a steady and even gap with the guys around me. Made a mistake on lap 9 though, running wide at that hairpin at the end of the lap, and TagForce managed to squeeze past. Finished in 6th. Feature RaceGot a superb start from 6th, and after 4 turns was up into 3rd place. Think I past LawVS briefly at the double hairpin for 2nd, but he was able to regain it having the racing line. After a few laps of excellent battling with Bob Vanvliet, I was in a comfortable 3rd having built out a gap to 4th, but span at the chicane and dropped to 5th. Then came the pitsop on lap 12. I was in the pits for 10 secs more than the guys around due to damage repair (which pissed me off as I wasnt aware I had any damage! We need a "dont repair" option for pitstops! Please!!) and came back out in 8th. Tristan made another mistake (sorry m8! ) and I was up to 7th. Managed to pass Samiad for 6th place after a good little battle. I closed up the gap to CMU in 5th, but there wasn't enough time. Finished 6th... again. Bit disappointed with the feature race, as I think 3rd was there for the taking. Good racing though, both fast and clean. Looking forward to the next two rounds next week. I think South City is one of my stronger tracks, so hopefully I can push for a podium finish. Cheers for the races guys, and thanks again to UKLFS for organising the event.

Can someone maybe post the replays?

ok, the unofficial results (stats from the race) and the replays

Sprint race: stats replay
Feature race: stats replay

my thoughts on the race will follow shortly ...

edit: here they are:

qualify
for the second time in the league I drove a PB right on time, in the qualifying runs! Got 4 tenths off my best time till then, finally breaking that magic 1:50 barrier. It was good enough for the fourth spot on the grid for the sprint race.

sprint race
had a nice start and was fighting with Bob for the fourth position. He passed me on the backstretch but I was able to use his slipstream to overtake him again. We touched lightly in the following righthander, he said it was a 'Montoya move' of me (ok ok, a little wide there, but what were you doing on my tail there? ) causing Bob to loose a bit of ground. After that I could consolidate, no chance to get VIP UA or LawVS and Bob couldn't get close enough to make a move. As Tristan lost the lead and quite some places it meant my first podium in the league!

feature race
interesting start of the race. I was far too cautious and lost a few places. I was down to sixth eventually in the second lap. However, Bob, Tristan and Xero had their own share of bad luck, leaving me racing Tagforce (again) for the fourth position in the first half of the race. Times were pretty much the same, which made for some cool racing. His pitstop was much better, as he didn't change his tires and that turned out to be a good move! I came back on track just before Tristan, but he made a few errors and left the race. CMU was getting close in the mean time, even overtaking me (great move CMU!) but eventually I could pass him on the straight again and consolidated the remainder of the race. Final spot, fourth!

Thanks racers, cya all next week in the City!

good job m8 stats ftw

Quote :

Made a mistake on lap 9 though, running wide at that hairpin at the end of the lap, and TagForce managed to squeeze past.

You gave me the willies a couple times in that race... Very equal speeds, although your acceleration was better. Good race, and thanks for not ramming me out of that hairpin... It was kinda scary.

Quote :

His pitstop was much better, as he didn't change his tires and that turned out to be a good move!

That was a decision I made in the pit lane... I was all set to change them, then figured I might as well try to get a gap between us, and hope to keep it by not changing tires. I wasn't gonna catch VIP and Law anywayz, so decided to go for it. Turned out very well, although I was lapping 1:51s in the final 8 laps or so, and you were catching me a bit. I'm looking forward to racing you again next week Gonna be fun.

All in all, not very eventful races for me... I took it easy after turn 1 in both races. I find it remarkable how people behaved there today. Very professional driving, live and let live kinda stuff... Awesome job. First race was kinda bad, although I wasn't really slow, I feel I could've been faster if I hadn't been so careful on lap 1. There was only Xero to concentrate on, and I couldn't get a decent draft of of him since he smoked me on the exits. Luckily for me he made a mistake near the end and I could get a small lead to keep him off my back.

Second race was kinda boring actually. Had a run-in with someone (forget who) coming out of the second hairpin, but luckily no damage. After the usual mayhem I found myself in 3rd, with JAG close on my six. Decided to not change tires, and managed to maintain a lead throughout the rest of the race... First podium.

For those who were there for the start of the practice... It's nice to be able to do 1:50.09 when the first time you cross the finishline the little "This is your first lap in this car/track" comes up. I was supposed to practice, but never got round to it. I promise I'll practice this week, and try to go for the race win (as if).

That was great fun! Was well happy with my qually performance, 3 personal bests, but I badly messed up both races.

Spun at the chicane early on in the sprint race, dropped to 12th and struggled to recover, then went and did exactly the same in the feature race.

Edit: No, I got that completely wrong. I'd already dropped to 12th, and spun at T1 not the chicane. That was the feature race. Anyone else realising that memory is a thing of the past?

Tristan - sorry for my sarcastic 'thanks' after our contact at T1 on lap 9 put me heavily into the barriers. At the time I thought it was my corner, but looking at the replay I see you were actually right up alongside me and I turned into you, definitely my mistake, sorry.

I managed to get out of the gravel and struggle back round to the pits (hope I didn't get in anyones way, left a lovely black tyre line all the way around the circuit), but it took the best part of 7 minutes and effectively that was my race over. My pit crew did a great job of fixing the car though, and I came back out behind TagForce and crusied the last half of the race 3 laps down.

VIP UA - thanks for the set earlier in the week, first lap with it I smashed my PB

TheJAG - Thanks for the stats, awesome stuff

Quote from TheJAG :

We touched lightly in the following righthander, he said it was a 'Montoya move' of me (ok ok, a little wide there, but what were you doing on my tail there? ) causing Bob to loose a bit of ground.

I said it was a Montoya? It was a Montoya .

You overtook me and switched back to the racing line right in front of me, causing me to loose grip while braking for that hairpin and to hit you in the back. Luckily no damage and only some lost ground.

Perfectly legal move by the way, I should have just swerved right immediately after you past me to get some clean air. Great racing!

Did anyone grab a replay of qually?

Quote from TagForce :

I took it easy after turn 1 in both races. I find it remarkable how people behaved there today. Very professional driving, live and let live kinda stuff... Awesome job.

Yeah, here's a little reminder of how we went into t1 in the feature race .

Quote from TechAde :

Tristan - sorry for my sarcastic 'thanks' after our contact at T1 on lap 9 put me heavily into the barriers. At the time I thought it was my corner, but looking at the replay I see you were actually right up alongside me and I turned into you, definitely my mistake, sorry.

I had messages blocked, so I didn't get that. But yeah, I had the corner, and I tried to stay tight to the apex. But you turned in a bit early, so I turned sharply which caused understeer, and we touched.

Thats a tricky corner to pass at when theres a huge speed differential, and even harder when we were the same speed. I'm not surprised that we touched, but personally I'd say a racing incident. But I haven't watched the replay yet, so when I do I *might* change my mind (though I doubt it).

Quote from bobvanvliet :

I said it was a Montoya? It was a Montoya .

You overtook me and switched back to the racing line right in front of me, causing me to loose grip while braking for that hairpin and to hit you in the back. Luckily no damage and only some lost ground.

Perfectly legal move by the way, I should have just swerved right immediately after you past me to get some clean air. Great racing!

Couldn't agree more, it was great racing last night! btw, you handled that slide very well, fun to watch

Quote from TechAde :

Did anyone grab a replay of qually?

Actually I did, I'll upload it this evening when I get home.

Good racing, enjoyed both races.

Had a few good battles, one mistake with a lunge down the inside of Xero, almost lost control and slight contact, sorry about that one.

Kudos to TheJAG for the stats, nice one.

Quote from tristancliffe :

I'm not surprised that we touched, but personally I'd say a racing incident. But I haven't watched the replay yet, so when I do I *might* change my mind (though I doubt it).

I've watched it from a couple of angles now and I'm not convinced it wasn't my fault, so I'm happy to take the blame :Handshake

Edit:
www.infinitespace.myby.co.uk/U ... und4IncidentFromAbove.wmv

Hadn't though to watch it from above. Looks a bit different. We got any race stewards around?

Quote from bobvanvliet :

Yeah, here's a little reminder of how we went into t1 in the feature race .

Good pic. I shall do my editing techniques with it to make it even more memorable

Yeah, bob it was mental at the start as I didn't know where to go...I thought If I turned to much I might clip VIP UA and you'd take the lead so I held off at the wide side. Hectic!

Nice stats Jag! Interesting to see things you would never pick up upon while racing or watching replays. Cheers!

Quote from TechAde :

I've watched it from a couple of angles now and I'm not convinced it wasn't my fault, so I'm happy to take the blame :Handshake

Edit:
www.infinitespace.myby.co.uk/U ... und4IncidentFromAbove.wmv

Hadn't though to watch it from above. Looks a bit different. We got any race stewards around?

I guess it's a race incident, Tristan should have been a bit more to the inside, he slid a bit wide and you should have given him a bit more room. But hey, that's the price to pay for close racing!

thanks for the kudos for the stats lads, my pleasure

Ok, I've done my wizardry on the pic and I must say it looks very action packed with 3 in a line

Your little movie shows me spinning - I didn't. I felt a bump, and lost speed, but I didn't end up 90 degrees to the right like the mpr shows. But thats the funny thing about mprs - it's not necessarily what each person saw, but it's what counts :S

I was quite a long way back, so perhaps (with the benefit of hindsight) I should have stayed back, but I was on a charge to catch up, so the idea of backing off didn't appeal.

Here's the results from the qualifying, but the replay is 3MB, so I can't post it here (limit is 2MB).

Quote from TheJAG :

I guess it's a race incident, Tristan should have been a bit more to the inside, he slid a bit wide and you should have given him a bit more room. But hey, that's the price to pay for close racing!

That sounds like a fair assesment to me, thanks

Any chance of getting an updated points table? I'd like to know where I stand in relation to everyone else (will be WAY down the list though due to 4 pretty awful races).