GT3 Cup

The fuel Demons got me at Imola again!
I was sure I had enough fuel, but got the fuel warning with towards the end, and wasnt sure how far Matjaz was ahead, and if I would have to do another lap or not. Pitted, and could see the steward waving the flag. Gave up 3rd, and eneded up 6th - damn.
Had a great start, and was leading for the first couple of laps, but Matjaz put on a good pass, and that was the last I saw of him. Steve was putting the pressure on from behind, and eventually I looped it and gave up second. I got the feeling I was holding you guys up anyhow, so it was only a matter of time till you went past.
Kicking myself over the fuel issue, but anyways - thats racing.
Congrats to everyone on a good race.

Great Race.

Two times at Imola in a Porsche... Two times DNF. Maybe I am just stubborn but I will master this machine. I find a setup that is starting to work for me, even did 1 hour of practice.. then everything seems wrong on the race server... I don't mind starting at the back.. keeps me outta trouble (NOT).

Race..great start, made it through the first corner...made 2 places..yeeha.... running well with the back of the pack into the second set of chicanes (Villenuve) and swerved to avoid a collision with the car in front of me and over rotated, starting a dance with my new friend Mr.Barrier...(sigh)

After watching the back of the pack disappear, I limped back to the pits to enjoy the longest repair session I have ever had...1.7+ mminutes... next time, I will choose my dance partners more carefully...

Back onto the track I pushed myself and the car and managed some good lines and a steadily decreasing time until I damaged the suspension monstering the second last chicane culminating in a final dance with my new friend...at the same spot no less, finishing my race for the day... ah the irony of Rookie drama...

Congrats to the winner and the podium. Keep up the good work all.

Cheers.
G.

Tough luck on the fuel Kris; been there myself. Always pays to load up a few extra liters if you're unsure about usage since the effect on laptimes is minimal. And good job on the start and early laps; that was fun with the three of us running together like that.

Got off late from work so I went into this one with zero prep, and went out in practice and Q with sets from Brno. For some reason sets that work ok elsewhere end up being really loose for me at Imola though, and a couple of potential :53 qualy laps got spoiled by me nearly looping it in spots. Still ended up 3rd, so I wasn't displeased at all.

Realized that wasn't going to be a liveable set for the race, so in warmup I made wholesale changes to the car - stiffer springs and bars on front, softer on rear, more rear wing, some gearing changes, etc. All ballpark guesses, but one of the advantages of running familiar cars/sims like this case is knowing what effect certain changes will likely have on the car.

Race start went well for me when Kris got off well and led into T1. I was worried about getting a handle on the car early with the changes I'd made before Matjaz could check out, and that kept it tight for a few laps. Was a blast running with the top three so close together for a few laps, but when I saw Matjaz slip by Kris I knew I had to go. Darned nice pass btw; agressive but clean - well done to both.

Was worried about not being able to get around soon enough at first, and then all of a sudden everyone disappeared. Thought I'd discoed and backed off, but the scoring looked OK so I got back into it to see what would happen. Shortly thereafter I saw the event steward disco and then everyone reappeared. I'd lost some ground, but otherwise all was OK so back to chasing in 3rd. Noticed I got FL the next time round, so I figured the car was good enough to challenge; tires looked happy and the balance was better too - still a touch loose but manageable.

I lucked out when Kris spun at Villeneuve, both since it meant I didn't have to wait for a clean spot to get by and because I just managed to avoid him. Close one!

Turned it up hard then, but overdid it and made a few errors so I lost ground and thought Matjaz would be unreachable. Then saw him make a very rare error and go into the kitty litter at the Tamburello chicane. He got back on OK, but lost enough momentum for me to just get past into Villeneuve - game on!

Looked for a few laps like I could hold it, especially since Imola's tough to pass on if the lead car doesn't screw up. Unfortunately, I did - dropped an outside wheel going into Aqua Minerale just like I did to lose the lead in the GT4 race, with the same effect here. Second verse, same as the.... ;-)

Tried to get back on terms for the finish, but overcooked it in a couple of spots and got the rears unhappy enough to kill any real hope of challenging for the win.

Finally saw a chink in MP's armor in this race, but the better, more consistent driver won again - as it should be. Plus it was a blast getting to the finish; lot of twists and turns in this one kept the drama quotient high.