Extended Highlights.
This is the unedited version. If you like it short and sharp go to the next post. If you like a bit of drama and colour you might like it.
Plans:
I did quite a bit of testing (that's just me, I like it and I need it!).
Motec said I could be more aggressive on brake cooling as I went to highest optimum temp only at two points on the circuit. One was the hairpin on the short circuit. Also temps were below optimum at many other points (405-695 deg) where a short jab of brakes was pretty useful. Needing any tiny aero advantage to mix it with the Camaro on the long straights I lowered it to minimum. I would manage the hairpin with more engine braking.
I had practiced pit entry and checked the time difference between a 65 litre fill and a 51 litre fill.
I knew my fuel use over a stint (4 laps left me 1 litre at pit entry).
Mental note-Need to make sure I have 17 litres on pit straight as I start my “in lap”
or fuel save to be safe.
The car would need 3 stops but not 4 X 4 lap stints. Only two of them and then two of 3 laps to make the calculated race distance of 14 laps.
It was worth short fuelling for the 3 lap stints as the few seconds less of filling time (might jump someone!) and the 15 litres less weight all helped that little bit on that “sprint stint”.
Where to put which?
Settled on a strategy of..
4 65 litres(planned to be patient and consistent in the opening laps, watch tyres and avoid problems, so no sense r”unning light”)
3 51 litres(hope for clear air and a chance to “sprint”
3 51 litres(same)
4 65 litres (see where I am on pace and bring it home)
Quali
In Qualifying a PB of 8:43 put me P14 which I felt said more about the talent on the grid than my performance. Four days ago my PB was 8:54, later it was 8:47. So an 8:43 will do thanks. The 3 top drivers went 8:29. Wow.
Maybe I can get a top 10 in the race?
An improvement of .25 sec would have gained me 3 places but my last attempt failed to capitalise on a .5 sec improvement in S1 and 2 as I erred late in S2. Also did I really want two more fast guys on my gearbox in stint 1? Not really so I stopped and worked on something I was still not happy with. Starts and 1st gear ratio.
I had a longer 1st gear for quali which was nice and useful in the lap but bogged badly at the start. Did I need the shorter gearing? I certainly didn't want 2 or 3 drivers of similar pace to jump me at the start and then find myself behind them for 4 laps.
I found if I slipped the clutch mercilessly rather than dropping it I would maintain revs and get a good start in the longer 1st gear. Good news. Job done.
Start:
Got away fine with the new found clutch technique. Kept it safe and smooth as planned.
and THE NOISE I must write about the noise.
As I entered the Nordschleife proper 14th in that long train of 41 cars I heard a noise I have never heard in RF2. I've heard it at Bathurst IRL as a full grid of V8 Supercars headed up Mountain straight on lap 1.
The sound made by that second half of that 18,000 horse horse power grid was IMMENSE. I heard them to my left and had to look. All I saw was labels the cars were out of view. The way the game accurately rendered the sounds of cars that I couldn't even see as the headed up the uphill straight “Hatzenbachbogen” to the chicane on the short circuit made me draw a sharp intake of breath. It was real. Sounded like a cavalry charge, 26 cars on full noise ready to drive by if the slightest of errors were made.Made my skin tingle.
A few drivers had moments in the opening laps and I gained places. Couple of pesky Camaros on my gearbox. One of them had a moment, later I turned on labels to check and found it was
@Stefan Erxmeyer that remained, my great protagonist from Bathurst months ago, and a good driver. I shouldn't have done that. I tightened up and made an error in the approach to the (Zufahrt?) bridge at the bottom of the valley. Stefan was through.
I chased hard and got close and any Camaro is a good Camaro to hitch a tow from Dottinger Hohe to the pit straight.
The Rest:
End of lap 3 and a fuel check showed 16 litres. Marginal, now needed to short shift for to be sure. This meant Stefan pulled 3- 4 sec and offered no tow this time round. The GTR felt a bit lonely and slow in the wind on the final straight.
Still I pitted from P9. Things were going fine here.
Rejoined in P11 as some Camaro's had not stopped.
Stint 2 was good and pitted P10. On target. I think I saw Christian Michel in this stint recovering from his PC issues. He appeared behind me and I figured no sense in racing him as he was at least a lap down and so I slowed and allowed him by.
Stint 3:
Here the problems began. I changed my carefully crafted strategy and ran a 4 lap fill so I could go to the bathroom. It was still not long enough and I hurried back onto the track having lost places to April, Dennis, Yuri, Andre Gaida, and Tal. I was P14.
I closed on Tal and we had some mega close racing. After a half lap of about .25 sec gap I managed to squeeze by at Tal ran a little wide on the exit of Klostertal (B4 Karousel).
Surely I could do the same to Andre Gaida? who was now making good and similar pace to Tal in front of me.
I couldn't get past him despite parking on his bumper for more than a lap. Nice drive. It was costing me about 5 sec a lap but Andre was inch perfect on worn tyres and there were no errors. The consolation was I had hitched another tow on the long final straight.
I really should have chilled out and just enjoyed the tow as I was on a 4 lap stint and needed to look after tyres and he was pitting a lap later anyway. But no-after thinking "as long as I'm on his bumper onto the long straight, Ill get a good tow from the Camaro" then enjoying that tow which gave me 270kph instead of 262. I just couldn’t be smart enough to allow him more room for braking. I tapped him at the end of the braking zone. So I drove past him and pulled off onto the grass and waited till he got going again. Then I couldn't get it off the grass, so had to go cross country a little 2 or three cars passed me by.
Strategy change plus 10 sec on track, driver error plus at least that again DOH
.
The conclusion:
Stint 4:
With the improvised strategy was now a “sprint stint”. It would need to be.
I rejoined P11 and +22 sec from
@Marcel Kühnel in another GTR. He had two things I wanted. A top 10 result and (what I thought at the time was )a “Class Win”. As first GTR home. (in Fact
@Marçal Bonet Andreu took this with a great P4) This would be a challenge. No need to watch tyres, no traffic other than lapped cars.
End of lap 12 the gap was 15 sec. Maybe I could do it?
End of lap 13 the gap was 7 sec, it was going to be close.
I got close at the entry to the final straight and there was no speed advantage either way.
Marcel held his cool and took P10 by 1 sec.
Still I set a new PB (edit and 6th fastest driver on lap time)on the final lap so can't be sad.
Phew that was a race.