A bit late to the party, but I'll drop a report of the race. With screenshoots, just to be original
Qualifying: After putting the fastest lap in practice right before the end, I felt confident that I could fight for the pole. I may have been overconfident though, because I couldn't do a perfect lap and I ended 4th. I was pretty happy anyway
Race 1: At the start, I somehow managed to put the car in reverse and stall. I started the engine in time for the start sequence, but I was a bit slow and Dinca Andrei managed to get the inside for T1. I held position on the outside, and kept 4th through lap 1. After a few laps, I had a bit of a gap on him so I could relax a bit. I hanged behind Jimi Hughes, Dan Allinson and Michael Braeutigam, and watched them fight since I could barely keep up with their pace. Since I brake later than Dan and hug the inside of the corner, I had a couple of scary moments where it looked like I would decide the championship, but it worked out fine.
Then, after a few laps, I went wide in the last turn and went into the grass. I got close to the wall, and lost a lot of time in the straight. But with all the fighting ahead, I managed to get back to the group. In the last lap, I might have had a chance at second with a proper last corner, but I didn't read the situation well and ended up with a slow exit. In the end 4th, I didn't get overtaken, I didn't overtake. Pretty boring, but I got to watch the fight for the top 3, so that kept me entertained (and distracted
). No screenshots since it was boring!
Race 2: Now, this was going to be a tough race. Starting 24th, in a very tight track, with mostly fast corners, it's not exactly the safest situation possible. I managed a good start and got past Dinca Andrei, but Vinicius Ferreira blocked the way so Michael Braeutigam got past me (and him). Then in T2 I braked too late and bumped into Vinicius, and overtook him as a result. Sorry, that wasn't intentional!
After that, Dan Allinson got past me in the left-hand hairpin on the inside, but Dinca Andrei was on my right, and I didn't notice Dan, so when I went left to leave some room for the tricky right-hander, I hit Dan, luckily with no consequences. By lap 2 I was back at 24th . There was a bit of a mess in T1, and I went sideways into Michael, and also hit Dan from behind, and I lost position with Kevin Cordice. After that, I gained a couple of positions from people crashing or going offtrack, and the next lap there was another mess and I found myself in 15th, fighting with Vinicius (16th) and Nik Hughes (14th). Aftter another dance of positions, I passed Stefan Woudenberg (who got a bit mugged by the guys ahead) for 14th. After that I passed Cuthill for 13th, and then Lucas Degen, who had spun and was going slowly in the inside (which was pretty terryfing, since Dave Begley blocked my view so I had no idea where he would be in T2).
After a few more incidents, I was 10th. I catched up with Vinicius and Nik, and got past Vinicius, but then in T4 I bumped Nik in the braking zone and Vinicius got past both Nik and me. I bumped into Nik again in the right-hander (sorry, I really got caught by surprise there, where's the facepalm smiley). Finally, I got past Nik in T1, and Vinicius in the right-hander (we bumped into each other in the last turn, but he let me through in the straight, thank you!). At this point I was 7th (Dan Allinson got into some problems there), and I thought it was over, but I still had some fighting to do. I caught up with Javier Bernedo and Andy Pfannschmidt, and after some fighting, I got past without any incidents. I closed the gap with Samuel Fuller, and entered the final lap right behind him. Then I made a mistake in T4, and bumped him under braking. He kept position, and there was a bit of a gap, but the next corner, he made a mistake and I pulled alongside him into the last corner. I outbraked him, or perhaps he was trying to get a good exit and pass me before the finish, but I kept the inside and took 4th, right in the last corner
I had a big grin in my face when I crossed the finish line.
Race 1, while perhaps boring, was intense because it took a lot of work just to stay close to Jimi, Dan and Michael. They were one step above at all times, so I didn't have any way to attack them for position. Then race 2 was just great. Action at every instant, a lot of fighting, and I was again lucky to avoid a couple of crashes. I'm pretty happy to take another 2 4th positions, and while it would have been nice to end the season with a podium, I can't complain at all.
As for the season overall, I've had a lot of fun. It's been a privilege to share the track with so many great drivers (I don't mean fast there), and while I've had a couple of disappointments, I'm really happy with how the races went. I've learned a lot about racing, not just being faster, but also racecraft. I've enjoyed every battle I've had with every driver, and I can only hope I haven't been unfair with my driving.
On a closing note, thanks a lot to Bram Hengeveld and Scott Webber for handling the league, the organization has been superb. Also thanks to James Kirk, Liam Jenkins, and simrace.tv, the broadcasts were really enjoyable to watch and I was always looking forward to them. Double thanks to Bram, who did the camera job instead of driving. And thanks to everyone who showed up to the races, whether you were there the whole championship, you joined late, or had to leave midway, it wouldn't have been the same without everyone. And see you all in RDMCC S7 (hopefully)
PD: Screenshots will come
*soon*
but I think I may have been the only person to score points in all 12 races this season (
James Kirk maybe I've stolen Mark's Mr Consistency tag
).
Actually, 3 drivers have scored points in every race
Edit: Screenshots!