USA G3: Zolder

Heinz told me before the race started to get off the line and put my foot down. I just couldn't disobey my elders :p

Really, that sums up the race, until the last three laps. My mindset went from extremely focused and going fast to zoning a little and driving 5 laps at a time without realizing it to COMPLETELY zoned and driving into a gravel trap...yep I did that. I started driving slow to try and not do an extra lap and stall time, but I didn't. And on the last lap, my heart almost stopped when the frames went to 5-10 coming into the first chicane and up over the hill and down into the second chicane. I held it going straight, but nearly stopped dead. The computer sorted itself and I drove it home. Congrats Heinz and Kevin, nice race. Onto the next race, in NOVEMBER?

Congrats to podium!

Even though I had bad luck with my last lap engine explosion, it was probably the best race to date.

Kevin was killing me on the straights, but was driving very well without resorting to taking me out (he had plenty of opportunities for a rear quarter tap but didn't). He took the inside and I had to give it up, he bobbled another time and I was able to repass, but it wasn't long before he was at my side again.

Great job everyone.

Congrats to winner Tomo .. nice pace, nice win.

Nice Last lap effort from Kevin through the tailend madness to try steal second, but nice 3rd anyway dude.

Quali was nice, wanted a few more tenths off, but when i realised 3rd spot was on the right i was happy. Got a blisterning start and pass Rob and tomo into T1 but Tomo had nice exit speed to get back in the lead, and thats where tomo stayed. Rob was a little hungry behind me in the beginning of the race but never close enough, and into T2 on lap4 he spun out trying a pass that i thought was a little crazy and tried a move up the inside .. i had taken my line as picture shows but there was no way i saw him pulling that off .. i wasnt even watching my rearview until i seen a bumber in it, i was even suprised at the attempt.. unlucky dude.

Race was quiet after that, pulled away until we reached tailend and it got spicey again... wanted race to end so badly 1 lap early and i could see tomo slowing down aswell to try, i knew i was in trouble on the last lap but we were 10 seconds shy... was a nice fight to keep 2nd ..

cheers

I finished in a couple of spots lower than I had anticipated. Partly because I was spun on lap 2 and partly because I had a big off braking into the dispy-doodle chicane. I probably could have finished in 8th. I had the pace on Bill in front of me. I just couldn't get close enough to seal the deal.
Good to see a few of you now will be in the Bimmer or Lotus in Dubai!
Congrats to the podium!

Congrats Tom! Good race everyone. I had a blast. Still learning the tracks and still new to racing R2P (member for a while, but now really getting into it!). First time on Zolder (besides practice) and first time in GTR2's 911 GT3... Don't know why, but I'm glad I got a chance to try the combo! Beautiful track and a wonderful car. This is why I love R2P so much! It forces you to try new things.

Things were dicey at the start. I was having trouble getting focus but managed to keep it together, even after a couple of love taps that sent me long into the hairpin overrun. Given my noobness, I'm happy with my result!

Can't wait to race with you guys again!

That was quite an intense event! I was glad that the competition was high - it kept me focused on every turn :)

For me, that was my first league race. Sitting on the grid was nerve racking after having just read the rules. But, it turned out a little more relaxed that I had envisioned. That certainly didn't keep me from sweating the whole race!

As for the race, I had a good jump off the line from 7th into 6th immediately. I maintained that for as long as I could until this roaring viper, who clearly should have been up top in qualifying :), passed me. I then got a little break, when the 2 ahead of me spun together. Then, I got little tap in the rear at the back horseshoe and was set back again. Then, Rob popped his motor (thanks buddy :P ...but frowny-face :( for the team), and I was up again. It was quite a roller coaster ride bouncing from 5th to 8th back to 6th IIRC. I don't know when I will be back racing again ...entering events is tough on my membership plan... but I look forward to the next time I get a chance to!

Oh, and good win Tom :)

Heinz,

My start was not good, 1st gear just too low. Yeah that move was not going to work, hence I bailed. But at the time I thought that heavy Viper was going to push wide enough to leave a small gap -- but you tamed that monster well :)

Jon,

Wish I knew how I blew the motor, no warning, nothing, engine temp was good, just bad luck I guess. But glad you had a great 1st race experience and did great for the team! Good Job. Was Mark a top 5 and hence in the Z3?

I didn't have much racing action in this one except at the start and then again at the finish. My quali was slow, start was bad (as usual). This track rewards a little risk taking, and I think a few people took early risks. So I moved back up to 10th pretty quick. Then I passed one Porsche and opened a gap. After that not much happened until I approached a group of 3 cars at the finish. I wish we had a few more laps! I guess I have to use a lesser car next race since I am in top 5 in series points now?

I did not qualify as well as I had hoped, in practice I was able to get into the very high 1.38's. I just was unable to pull it together for qaulifying.

I got a great start, but on the second lap tapped one of the bmw z3 quarter panel into the chicane. I was so upset with myself that I pulled over to let him back by. I lost a lot of places for that boneheaded move, and I am sure I pissed that guy off too. I have not watched the replay, but I am very sorry for screwing up your race.

After that I just tried to go as fast as I could. I caught up to a viper, and it looks like he lost the rear end in the chicane. I am pretty darn sure I did not touch him (have not watched the replay), but dang was I close to him.

I caught up to 12th place, and I was faster... I just wasn't smarter. I got so excited that I caught him that I forgot to brake for T1, I pulled it back out and luckily did not lose any places. Caught 12th again, but screwed up again, and then I see 14th place coming on strong.

I was faster, but then I noticed my fuel was really low... I started short shifting hoping that would help. It did not. I ran out of fuel and parked the car two turns to the finish line. I had fun, but what a let down!

Ugly one on my part; made a bunch of errors and just couldn't keep my head in it.

Qualified about .8 sec off my morning practice pace so I knew I wasn't sharp, but was looking forward to the race. I have a love/hate thing going for chicane-infested circuits like this one, but do like Zolder. It has some nice, fast multi-apex corners and flows nicely when you're on. Plus plenty of miserable chicanes to screw up in when you're not! ;-)

Got a decent launch from 4th in the race and got whacked from the side and rear a couple of times on the 1st lap. No damage, just nervous 1st lap stuff - all good. Settled down briefly after that and was up to 3rd and chasing Heinz after Rob's off, but just couldn't keep it together. Kept getting distracted and making small errors while Esteban was putting pressure on from behind. Had several minor offs and dropped back to 6th, then just touched Esteban's rear in the final chicane and spun him (sorry!). Lost a couple more spots waiting for him to get away again ahead of me and then promptly flaked out and went off into the litter in T1. If it had been a pickup race I'd have hit esc. right then, annoyed as I was at my ineptitude. But instead I crawled back on in 8th and tried to focus for the remainder.

Made a couple of spots back up through others' errors, then Rob went kerblammo and that was 5th. Better than I deserved, considering I couldn't put a string of consistent laps in to save me. My times were all over the place from all the little blunders I kept committing. Probably should've skipped that second glass of wine after dinner. Kids, this is why you shoudn't drink and drive... ;-)