[Wally]

Just some opening lap incidents first:

Race 1, Freezer hit Bird, but Freezer was the meat in a 3-car wide sandwich and didn't really have anywhere to go.

...and gee Race 3 was good.

Race Results

Round Points
Grat    65
Jeremy    64
Marty    62
Matthew111    56
hylas    55
Bacchulum    51
Chap111    51
Bird    50
Mael    49
Phil.8    48
StanDaam    44
Wally    42
Freezer    38
slideways    38
Dave O    34
Vipergod    29
AJ    27
Rob    25
Gratulin    18

Congratulations to Grat, Bird and Matthew for the race wins, and Grat for the overall round win.

Season Standings
1. Marty, 193
2. Matthew, 182
3. Jeremy, 180

Team Standings
1. Struggle Street Racing Crew, 362
2. Golden Goats, 318
3. Aleph Null Ltd, 313

[Bird]

Well, ok, to the races;
R1
I've been on the wrong end of a few tussles, one put me in the sandtrap, so that was that... but that primed my position for the 2nd race! 

R2
Thanks to Phil dopping a wheel early in the sand on the last turn I was able to grab first around lap 5, then I just had to hold him off - I thought.  But 6 laps to go, I had a very angry Marty sniffing my arse at every turn...it was intense.  I was somehow able not to make any mistakes and bring it home.  Wohoooo!

R3
the hooning somehow left me with a crooked steering wheel...it's AC special, never had it happen in any other prog.  But I still had fun, just had to be very careful, hehe.

Great night, gents, thanks!

[marty]

Fun racing guys some nice battles all round.

R1: I picked the wrong people to follow early and didnt make enough spots in the first few laps, I saw Matthew getting through the pack real well so I had to get a bit more aggressive and try get as close to him as possible ending up 5th I think.

R2: not quite starting at the back I managed to get a good start too gaining lots of spots early, only real difference was I probably guess the quick lane more often there. Its very much like peak hour traffic with cars side by side ahead most of the way around the first few laps. You need to guess left or right and hope to sneak past as many as possible that are hung out to dry. I saw Matthew make a big charge through the pack behind me lol when he warped and gave me a nudge having to go through 5 or 6 cars to do that. After that I ended up chasing Phil and Bird for the last half of the race, I couldn't really do much but tried to pressure Phil as much as I could. He finally put 1 wheel in the sand which was enough to make the pass then I chased Bird home for the last 5 laps or so. I tried to pressure him as much as possible but he drove a great clean line and never really gave me even half a look but 2nd was ok.

R3: Back row again and I had a reasonable start, had a hard time getting past anyone and pretty much followed Jeremy through the pack. Last few laps I realized I wasn't going to pass Jeremy and made some small errors. With a bit of a gap I then tried to squeeze out a fastest lap but couldn't quite put one together ending up 6th I think.

Was an ok nite, it would have been nice to pick up a few more spots. It will be interesting to see how the round win goes with Matthew getting a 1st, 2nd and last and maybe a couple fastest laps vs 5th 2nd and 6th but no fastest laps for me either.

[Wally]

Results in 1st post.

[grat]

Yay!!!

[marty]

Yay!!!

I guess seeing I hadnt seen you all nite meant I never passed you. Well done 

[Bird]

Wow well done Grat, impressive!

[Freezer]

Suspect night for me.
R1 Forgot to reload the setup so I only had a few litres of fuel.  Caught up with a few bumps and scraps but all to no avail as pit stop required for a top up.
R2 With 1 minute to go on my counter I see the field flying by after completing lap 1. I should have been in P2   I jump on the end but a lap behind and nothing to exciting that race.
R3 Started in P2.  Got the jump on Matthew off the line but then misjudged my brake marker down the back and ran a bit wide and he was through.  From there I wasn't going to catch him but I did have a decent gap on the rest of the field so I set about running super consistent laps and actually grabbed the award for that. So that was positive.  Grat was closing fast in the dying laps but got home in second.

[Wally]

Im sorry about the early race start in race 2 Freezer. It's always hard to ask who's not there! In future, I'll just let the practice timer count down (or take 1 minute off of it as well to allow for the finishing lap).

I had 3 very good races, with lots of action, lots of scrapes, passes and being passed, and all generally quite clean. A few times, I stuffed up a downshift into 2nd, grabbing neutral, and in this car it usually needs another application of the clutch pedal to engage the gear, which can kick the back out. One time I let Phil past, another time Bird. I had some good action chasing Stan's rear bumper, and some good scrapes with hylas, mael, and probably lots more.

It was probably race of the season so far for me, in terms of action.

[slideways]

Gotta say this was one of the most fun race nights I've had. Racing was so full on I had no idea what position I was in and didn't care. Felt like I was racing for the lead anyway. Super clean racing by everyone I was racing with. Really starting to like these cars now. Well done to all on a great night.

[marty]

Here is a video from race 3, it was quite busy to say the least. 

[grat]

There you go! I finally (and I mean it: my race number 42!) got a win. And to complete the special night, I actually managed to win the whole round!

From a drunk Leicester, Claudio Ranieri commented "I wished I could enjoy being the surprise underdog for a bit longer, but I am really happy for my fellow Roman down under." Thank you, Claudio.

To tell the truth: I did not have great expectations. Yes, with this car I seem to be decently competitive, but I did not really do much testing this week, did not love the track, and I was really really tired last night. But the low grip made for a really great racing night, allowing a bit of fantasy on choosing the line when attacking for position.

Race 1: from 17th, I got a good start (2 or 3 positions by T1) and was able (and lucky) to pick the less congested side at each of the first 3 or 4 turns, ending lap 1 in 7th! From then on, it was a really fun race through the leading pack and I emerged in 2nd by lap 3. Gratulin ahead had a bit of a gap, but I was able to reach him towards the end of lap 7. Unfortunately I gave him a bit of a bump at the first breaking point (sorry! I hope you saw I slowed down to take no advantage of it, at least). But then I was able to pass him a few corners later. From then on, it was a matter of keeping Matthew at distance. When I saw the gap was closing towards only 3 seconds, I decided to try to push more with a few clean laps. It worked!!!

Race 2: from the back, I had again a good start, albeit less good than in Race 1. Lap 2 was very strange, with a funny accident ahead of me, Mael spinning behind me, and Matthew disappearing ahead of me all of a sudden. But after that I was in a comfortable 6th position behind Marty. But I could not really keep his pace, and indeed I got passed by Jeremy after a 5 corners battle. I managed to reach Bacchulum, but for all I tried for 4 laps, I could not really get my wheels in front of his. But 6th was good enough, I thought.

Race 3:  Properly Great Race! And no huge leaps in lap 1 or stuff like that: From 13th to 11th in lap 1, to 9th in lap2, then 8th, 7th, and finally 6th at the end of lap 5, when I finally emerged from the pack and had a first look at positions on the map. I had Dave and Chap at reasonable distance, with Freezer way ahead (and Matthew already having dinner in downtown Modena). Good battles to pass Dave and Chap, but when I set to chase Freezer, I made a mistake that almost costed me the position in favour of Chap. It was the end of lap 13 and I had 4.5 seconds from Freezer. I said to myself: let's try. I had my best 5 laps of the night, and indeed I got him, I really got close, but it was just 4 corners from the end. But a podium was good, especially when I realized Marty did not have a great Race 3, and Jeremy did not pass Chap. Man, I really had a chance at round victory. Who would have told?!?!

[Wally]

Nice write up Grat.

[StanDaam]

Yep, well done Mr Grat!! 

Good nights racings for me with no major incidents, just lots of tight n fair racing, thank yous!! 

Not sure if my pedals or pots are being a bit dodgy but I seem to lose a fair bit of time and space on the straights in these cars. My corner exit speed seems ok, I've got the pedal graphs up and they seem fine but I'm continually waving goodbye to peeps on the straights. Hoping it's one of those things like Rolz mentioned and I'm losing a percent or two somewhere, my pots need some lovin, so will hopefully clean them out soon. Could be just me, maybe it's mabelline, but udder than that, had an excellent night racing, working very hard to get my 12th 9th and 10th!!

[Bacchulum]

What shifter do you use Stan?
Paddles are slower than a H-pattern shift in this car.