Running in the US4 session today, very excited for the opening round of S6
I got a new wheel last week, so this rally I'm just focussed on driving clean and getting experience with the car and with the wheel, then focus on improving my speed for next rally. Going into this, snow is my weakest surface.
From practice, the car is a pleasure to drive. The default set-up is also very good, I think I changed the brakes and then just the suspension a little bit, and am very comfortable. Also,It's an absolutely stunning livery by Manuel, which you will all see in a few days
SS1 - Wheeeeoo, very nearly used my clutch instead of the brake for the first corner. (the joys of a new wheel
) Went OK, the middle sector was a little bit off, but NTB.
SS2 - Felt very tentative and tense for this stage. I made a wee mistake and slid off the road, but came back on without losing too much time I think. In general, not too happy with this stage, need to relax for SS3.
SS3 - Much better feeling this time, happy with that one.
SS4 - Mostly good feeling through there.
SS5 - Reasonably happy here as well.
SS6 - Pretty good feeling in the second half of this stage. I made a slight mistake straight after the first split when I misheard a pacenote and went off the road, luckily was able to get back on without too much ado. Incidentally, I was one one-hundredth of a second quicker than my first run through.
SS7 - Happy with that one too, goofed up the hairpins a wee-bit, but otherwise pretty good.
SS8 - This stage scares me, it feels so unstable, my car keeps swaying, and I had a bit of lagg. I had a spin at the 90 left, and lost maybe 7 or 8 seconds. Not too happy with this one.
SS9 - Nearly messed up the first corner, a lot less grip than I was expecting. But I got into a good rhythm on this stage, pretty happy with it.
SS10 - Mostly good, pretty happy again.
SS11 - Nope, I don't like this stage at all. The grip is bizarre, my car started oscillating before the jump and slid off the road in a very fast section. I don't really understand it. Managed to get back on, losing about 15 seconds. Horrible stage.
SS12 - OK stage, reasonably happy with pace.
Pretty good rally I think. I came here just wanting to be clean and finish. And to a large extent I did, asides from my issues on Dead Head. I'm not sure how my pace compares overall, but I think the car is good, and I just need practice.
Good luck to all those yet to run.