Daiman Patel
rFactor 2 Technical Assistant
I think you misunderstood me completely. I wanted to know especially from GTE drivers at the lower end what was their motivation to run P15 in GTE rather than to have more of a chance in GTC...
Nope, I got you! The reason why I chose to run GTE entries is because the Corvette is a bit of a handful to drive, and in the time we had to prepare between races I would have struggled to get up to pace - I wouldn't have been competitive, nor would I have had much fun driving around completely on my own, fearful that I might accidentally dab the throttle a bit too much in the rain or when exiting a corner and slam the car into the wall. By driving in the GTE class I could push a bit harder to try and reach the lap-times of the faster guys, knowing that I could keep control of the car by altering the setup accordingly so that I felt comfortable in the car and could enjoy myself. That's not to say I wouldn't have drive if the Corvette was the only GT car available - I probably would have still given it a go, but been terrible in the process just because of the way in which I drive - with pretty heavy feet!
Since switching to my new wheel I feel as though I have improved, and become much smoother with the throttle, brakes and steering, and this allowed me to fairly quickly get the hang of the Corvette when practising for Spa, but I was still a few seconds off the pace. This, combined with the sheer amount of concentration and effort needed to keep going for a couple of stints, would have been too much for me, and I simply wouldn't have enjoyed the race due to frustration. As Jean-Simon said, it's like a wild animal and must be treated with respect; I think I just need more time to tame the beast. If the calendar wasn't so short and compact then I might have been OK in the Corvette, as I would have had more time to get used to the car, and practise. Therefore we switched to GTE, which still requires concentration and effort, but a different kind that I'm more used to, since the focus is less about trying to keep the car facing in the right direction from my perspective.
I completely agree that the problem with the URD cars is you are always pushing and forcing the car to its limits to try and achieve fast lap-times, rather than driving smoothly and consistently to get the most out of the car. If I could drive like Freddy, or a number of the other quick drivers, in that "graceful" manner it would be great, and I'd probably have no issues with driving the Corvette and actually being competitive (even if that means I'm only mid-pack). Unfortunately my current style of driving isn't really suited to the Corvette, but is adequate for the URD cars, hence my decision. Of course I would like to continue improving my skills so that one day I can beat Freddy!