Panoz GTS (fun-run)

I would say this is getting tiring but there is no "getting". It's already gone.

Reader's Digest version:
Qual'd 3rd. Running top 3 in race. About halfway point get tapped from behind, put into armco, race effectively over.
Complete racing incident, not anyone's fault, not holding any grudges, not naming names.
It's just one of those things
Yes I'm being honest, not being sarcastic.

But now I'm going to go back over my last 2 weeks of racing and count the number of "one of those things" that put me out at or near the front of the pack.

On the plus side the cars are cool. Can't wait to drive the ALMS version.

Better luck next time Tommy... it can certainly be frustrating especially when it seems to happen almost every race.

These cars are a ton of fun to drive though and I'm really looking forward to the next race. It took me a while to get used to the handling but once you get them sliding around corners it's very exciting :)

Tommy - Look at it this way: at least you didn't crash out by yourself in a single-car accident caused by driver stupidity while running a solid, comfortable 4th without another car in sight. Ask me how I know what that feels like :)

Apart from the 'comfortable 4th' I know all about what you're saying Gary. Managed to pass 2 cars in the esses around lap 5 when they had to avoid a spinner... lucky to be at the tail and just cruise through the parted sea. Had a good run going, but was dogged by one of the cars I passed. Guess I was worrying too much about being caught, so I wasn't totally on when I hit the hill on lap 7. Went great over the crest. But I bobbled *after* the car settled, and I ended up scraping the wall... destabilized in the dip and slid into the hedge. Thought all would be recoverable till I went ass over teakettle. That's one rigid bit of flora. Turned out I did considerable damage (no surprise)... limped back to the pits with what felt like no front wheels. 40 sec pit later the chief put me down with a new wing. Huh? 40secs? What about my whole front end? External camera showed both front wheels cocked with about -20 degrees of camber! Tried driving out since the game didn't tell me I couldn't. But my steering still felt wonky. Esc! First DNF. :,(

Weird thing is, the replay showed no screwed up wheel camber. Glitch? Did I quit based on a graphics quirk?

Ah well... was fun while it lasted. Limerock might be a bit small for 15 of these things, though. And I don't know how I could achieve the sort of speed that others were on the hill. I was watching folks catch as much as a foot of air up top (and land it straight and fast), where I was on the edge and only going fast enough to pop the front end. Still a noob I guess. :/

Well, that was a very enjoyable race. My qual got squashed in a most dramatic fashion; Alison had spun her Panoz and was at a stop just after the crest. When I came over and saw here parked in the track there was little time to react and I promptly crashed into her, taking us both out of Qualifying. I didnt really mind, starting from the rear just adds flavor to the race :-)

The race start was of the highest of quality. Everyone went into T1 two-wide and very patient/respectful. We stayed two wide through the Esses and sorted ourselves out for the paster portion of the track. What really got me was that no one was trying to win the race on lap-1, we all just held a nice line and made it through without incident. Great driving everyone!

Once we were in line, the race was on. I knew I wouldnt make it up to challenge Pat, but I figured a podium would be a good target to aim for. Good consistent laps brought me up to 5th where I got stuck behind Chris and Tommy for a few laps until the battle got real exciting. Chris and I both went for a pass on Tommy at the same time and real-estate (exiting final corner) and with 3 cars in such tight space, some contact was made.

I slowly worked down the 5 sec gap that Tom Depke had and began applying pressure for 2nd. I wasnt too concerned about getting it as my goal was simply a podium. Tom made one big bobble entering turn-1 that I did not bother to capitalize on. I would regret that over the next 3 laps because he didnt make another bobble and I was relegated to a good 3rd place.

The GTS cars are a lot of fun to drive and much more challenging then I originally thought. To drive them on the edge takes a lot of concentration... after a short 20 lap race I was ready for a nap. Fantastic!

I qualified pretty well (for me), and the start was well done by all.

I let Rhys by after we got single-file and dropped back to 5th in the early laps, but took the position back a few laps later when he got squirrely cresting the hill. I then set my sights on Tommy in 3rd.

I was faster in the wrong parts of the track to attempt a pass, so it took me a couple of laps to set up what I wanted to do to get by. Unfortunately during this time Tim had caught up to my rear bumper, so we now had a three-way battle brewing for the final podium spot.

Exiting the final turn on lap 10, I got the run I wanted on Tommy and cut to his inside at the same time Tim appeared to be making a move to pass me. While this was happening behind him, Tommy appeared to get a little loose on exit and drifted into the lane I had selected to try and pass him.

Not knowing at that moment if Tim had fully pulled out from behind me or not, I couldn't cut any harder to the right or stab the brakes to avoid Tommy's slowing car; all I could do was breathe the throttle and hope I didn't get into Tommy too hard, but the resultant contact was enough to send us both spinning.

We got back under way and I tried to settle in behind Tommy so we could try and resume our battle after letting a couple of cars by, but he had lost his wing and flattened a tire in the incident and was off pace.

Although at the time in the back of my mind I was worried I may have been at least partially at fault for the incident, I convinced myself to soldier on for the remaining 9 laps and deal with it afterwards. I ended up passing three cars - two of which came in the last three laps - and finished 4th.

After repeatedly reviewing the replay it was indeed "one of those things", but I can't help but feel bad for Tommy here since he was the one who got the shortest straw.

These cars are a blast! I'm looking forward to more events in them.