Estoril GT3 Cup

Well that didn't go so well... Worked late and barely made it into Q with no time at all to practice at Estoril (cue broken record), so I figured I'd cruise around in Q and warmup to relearn the track and take it from there. Plan was going OK until turning into T1 at the start, when I realized my G25 had once again lost it's FF; no resistance or feel at all - not even a return to center spring - nada. Crap; that's the second time for that in GTR2, but at least the last was in Q so I could go to the FF menu and get it to re-initialize before the race. No luck here since it was IN the race. Tried to hang in and give it a go anyway, but got into a couple of folks and spun them in the early laps (sorry!) and then got a warning for track cutting since I had no idea what the tires were doing. Eased over and let everyone by, then hit the pits and bailed. Really annoying, but then mechanicals are. Suppose I should chalk it up to simulation accuracy! Hope you guys had a good one, and apologies again to anyone I was squirrely around.

Got in on a last-minute whim, thanks to Tim & Stewards for keeping an eye on the waiting list. Q'd ok for zero practice, then CTD'd on the start grid! That never happens to me. Oh well, if it had to happen, at least I didn't have much time invested in this one. Good luck all!

Well Steve, your lack of practice totally mitigated my extra practice, I've had some good runs with you on the track, but that just don't make sense. Thats like going out on the track with a damaged car.
I am sorry for you guys that took some of the brunt in the corkscrew, clogged that turn right up! Rotor rooter racing!

@ Ryan & Scot, I had a good car tonight and tried to give you guys as much racing room as possible, just felt weird knowing I was right on the pace with you guys, hope I gave you enough room when needed. At least it felt like I was racing for a good position. :p
@Tommy Gunn, where were you going in T1?? (I know you are going to tell me LOL)
@ William Cody, I guess you and I were running darn close in that first lap, apologies on my side for any bumps & bruises.
Congrats to CJ and the podium, good race even if I was the last to finish running LOL
That's my "vent" and I am sticking to it! :)
Maybe Qualifying 13th had something to do with it!!!

holy crap - i couldnt believe i made it through first lap ...
19th to 11th and back to 19th in first lap -
had alota guys wanting to get past me - i had no choice in the inside lane and approaching the fastest part of the track -
glad i finished this one -
i viseted the sand traps alot less tonight -
congrates to the podiums!

Had a decent qual for me, I knew from teh fun run that CJ would just kill me here so as long as I got second on the grid I was happy.

Got away on the start well too, was even with CJ and took it easy not wanting to slide off and just follow him through. Was kinda funny as we both slid through the same turns on lap one. By the time we got to the S/F line he already had almost a second on me. I drove my ass off though and managed to stay within 3-4 seconds most of the race. But then around lap 15 he started pulling it out on me and I started feeling the tires going away.

Those last 5 laps CJ pulled out another 7 seconds on me, and after the race looking at his laps I was just shocked. He ran the last 5 faster than I ran the first 5 LOL. Way to manage your car CJ and as usual outstanding race you had.

Had a great race tonight and scored my first top 5 finish! After finishing dead last in a GTC race a few days ago, I wasn't sure what to expect from this race. Got a little practice in over the past few days, but was a few seconds off what I would consider a good lap time. Then, earlier today, I made a slight tweek in my suspension setting and over the course of 20 laps, I was able to shave 1.5 sec off my lap times.

During qualifying, I was about 0.5 sec from my best offline lap time but somehow it was still good enough for P5. I was quite surprised and a little nervous since I've never been that far up in the grid before. I felt that if I could run a consistent race, then I'd have a chance to hold my position.

Didn't get a great start, but managed to hold P5 after the first lap. Over the first part of the race, I managed to get a few seconds gap over P6, but Scott N had a few seconds lead over me. After he made a mistake, I got by Scott for a few laps, but he was a little faster and made a pass into T1. I held his bumper for a few laps and then we came upon a fast lapped car (Gregg M) who got into the mix. Gregg held a pretty good pace, but we eventually got by without any effect on our positions. I was pretty content to settle for P5, but Scott made another mistake with two laps to go and I managed to end up P4. Considering the 3 guys on the podium, this was the best possible finish I could ever expect. Thanks for the fun race!

Man these last couple tracks have been so enjoyable and Estoril is officially my favorite track in the GT3 Cup cars, if only because I've had my best finishes here. ;)

Man I thought I was gonna be able to run some 43's tonight but my set did not have as much grip as I thought it would. Scott put a bit of pressure on me in the first few laps. I would gain time in T1 only to lose it again in T2 and T4, gain a little more later. Rinse, repeat until Scott had trouble a few laps later.

CJ and Kent were of course in a league of their own again tonight so I ran all by myself for the race.

The few lapped cars I came up on were pretty courteous for the most part, though one managed to hold me up for over half a lap when he pulled out of the pits just in front of me.

Ran out of fuel.

Crap!

My calculations, practice, and the sim itself all said I would have enough fuel for 26 laps. So what happened? I had 2 liters left as I came around the corner at the end of lap 23.

What to do?

I realized the problem with about five laps to go and started to slow up to try to conserve fuel, but it wasn't enough. I had to pit on the last lap.

Well, finishing 11th is better than a DNF, but boy is it frustrating. I would have cruised to a minimum of a top five finish and I might have even held off Ryan for fourth.

Congrats to the podium, and Ryan on his first top five.

Greg - I just got a look at the replay this morning and owe both you and William an apology. It was my bumping you that led to his getting turned around, and of course then I got you. So both of you, feel free to take a free shot at me if you need to get by next time - you'll get no complaints from me since I owe you one.

I can't blame the lack of practice, since I remembered Estoril enough to get around OK and got enough laps in in Qualy and Warmup for a refreshener. I was OK to race, it just wasn't enough time to be very quick or work on a track-specific setup for the GT3. The problem was the complete lack of FF (or any resistance at all, for that matter) when my wheel freaked out so I didn't have any feel for when I was losing grip. My G25 had worked fine in the early sessions and only went numb when we went to race session, and I didn't know it until braking into T1. Was highly annoyed and thought about bailing immediately, but I was in traffic so I'd have been as likely to take someone out that way anyway. Told myself I'd just adapt to the old way of driving, having been a relatively recent convert to FF (never gone as quick with it as without, actually), but as you know that didn't go so well. Probably could've figured it out in time, but as it just happened the learning curve ended up running right over you and William. Defintely sorry; I hate taking anyone out.

Great race for me position wise, like Ryan, got my 1st top 5. I was 6th in the final few laps and happy with that, but got 5th. Figured someone must have run out of gas, Sorry to hear that Scott. Was great to be at a big track and really enjoyed Estoril in GT3 cup cars. The first lap wreck happened right behind me as I was eighth at the time. Made a few positions to sixth and Greg G pressured me hard on the last lap to get the blood pressure up. Surprised I got 5th at the end, but I'll take it.