Road Atlanta GP

I enjoyed racing with you guys. It was very close between Darren, Andrew and I in quali. I nailed my personal best straight away and then made a mistake coming down the hill on lap 3. Fortunately, I had just enough to hold off Darren.

I couldn't see the flagger at the start (A piller blocked my view) so I keyed off the timer. It was good that I got the jump because Darren was clearly quicker the first few laps. I'm guessing he started with higher tire pressures than me. It took a few laps for me to get up to speed.

Darren got very close to completing the pass within the first few laps, but luckily I was able to hold him off. I think this was key because he came back at me after the pit stop. I think my lower tire pressures gave me more grip, but wore away the rubber quicker than him. He came within a couple seconds on the last lap. If he would have added a little more fuel I think he would have got by me if there were 40 laps in the race.

Again, very enjoyable racing with you guys. Congrats to Andrew and Hugo on the podium finishes.

Decided to save some money for the last event at Goodwood. I just could not compete in the Vette, but it was a fun drive. This track is pretty easy to drive in the rain and you can still push the car pretty hard. During the pit stop I decided to take tires even though I probably did not need them. I figured that it wouldn't matter in the standings anyway.

Grats to Mike and the podium.

All my offline practise was with the Soft Wet tyres, but once online I tested the Soft Dry tyres, which seemed slightly better, so went with those. I did not however (as evident to most) do a practise start with them, as I promptly put the car in the barrier on the pit straight - embarrassing.

This error put me 15 seconds behind the leader after the first lap.

After that I drove quali laps practically every lap. Managed to get to third, where I would gain 2 seconds on Darren through the twisties, and he pulled it back down the straight. Just couldn't get any closer.

Finished 2nd after a fuel issue from Darren, just 22 seconds off the lead. Not too bad after being 15 down on first lap. (Sure Mike could have pushed more if I was closer though)

Congrats to Mike on the win.

My start was average but I stayed in 2nd, I stuck close to Mike and hoped for a passing chance. I should have been more aggressive and made a move while I had the chance so I could slow him down from in front but I was too patient. I thought I had time and could stick with him but he was perfectly consistent whilst I was up and down from little mistakes all the time. He started to open a gap and I couldn't find any extra pace at that point.
I planned to pit on lap 18, on rF it tells me how many laps I have done but GTR2 tells me what lap I am currently on. That difference caught me out and I pitted on lap 17 and didn't even realise my mistake, that would come back to haunt me.
My 2nd stint was much better, I was able to hit good laps consistently and I closed from 6 secs to under 2 by lap 34.
Unfortunately my earlier error meant I ran out of fuel a lap short meaning it was all for nothing, such a shame because it could have been a very interesting last lap but I think Mike had done enough regardless.
Grats to Mike and the podium.

What a terrific event that was. The Cobra was a joy to drive on this circuit, a bit of a handful when pushing through the twisty bits but loadsa speed on the straight.
I had a decent start and found myself in P3 for the opening laps. Mike and Darren steadily pulled away from me but I soon found my mirror filled with Hugo's Lotus. Hugo was far quicker than me through the twisties so I had to defend throughout the first half of the lap until we got to the straight where I could open a bit of breathing space. This to-and-fro lasted for many intense laps with nothing to choose between us overall. Eventually I made a mistake going into the final turn which caused Hugo to give me a push and I ran off the track. Totally my fault and nothing Hugo could do to avoid it so when I rejoined and Hugo sportingly waited for me to go ahead of him I hung back and slotted in behind him. Hugo took the hint and went back to his usual race pace. He was able to make sufficient advantage through the Esses that I could not make it back on the straight so he gradually opened a gap. By the time I was ready to go into the pits, Hugo was having a 'moment' of his own at the pit entrance so we went down pit lane in line astern. In the excitement I forgot to cancel the tyre change so I had a 50sec stop and when I rejoined Hugo was long gone. The only other excitement occurred a few laps from the end when I took too much kerb in the Esses and the grass sucked me off the track. I was in a bit of a panic to rejoin since Ryan was getting closer but managed to get going with 10 or 15 secs to spare.
Congrats to Mike, Andrew and Darren for the podium finishes and thanks to Hugo for the superb racing :)