30 November 2020, 9:42
(This post was last modified: 30 November 2020, 9:43 by Johnniedarko.)
When we drove these cars the first time a couple of weeks ago, 1:41 was my best laptime. I had practiced a bit earlier this week, and my laptimes were a horrible 1:45, could. not. get. faster, until it suddenly clicked and got 1:41's again. Usually I know why I'm faster or slower, this time I had no idea. But good enough, right?
Race start: Didn't qualify for this race because I'm okay with starting last so I can get up to speed. Usually I start clean anyways so I figured I'd just give myself time to get into the groove and then pick up the pieces. Three hours is a long time anyway. Well.... spun out twice in the first lap, and didn't know how to get below 1:45's. Well, at least we're awake and focused now. After 30-40 minutes I finally got into the groove again, and suddenly went to 1:41's again. I think more smoothness on the brakes and using the gas to rotate the car made the biggest difference in my laptimes. Not the best strategy for fuel consumption, but one thing at a time As the others also inevitably had their unlucky moments (except for Sven, due to his hangover secret strategy), I caught up, and got into good driving with OldEarl, OffCorsa and Stewart.
After pitstop 2: I double stinted the tires the first time, it wasn't too bad, but my average was 1:43's instead of 1:41, (probably also due to tiredness), but later I didn't think it was worth the trade off so for the 3 later pit stops I changed tires as well. On the second pitstop I also sprinted to the bathroom for a quick break, and when I came back I jumped in, and I was near OldEarl again. "Good", I thought, "didn't lose too much time". Also: "why is everybody Green on my racetimer app?" I realised later Green meant they had pulled a full lap in front..
I got into the groove again, and put in solid laps for about an hour. However I did have one spin around 30 mins before the end, and it left my Trustmaster out of whack. The wheel lost its center, and after recentering the wheel thought it was closer to one side than another. So basically: turn the wheel 90 degrees left, and ingame the wheel turns 180 degrees left. turn the wheel 90 degrees right, and the ingame wheel moves 45 degrees right. That was pretty weird (a bit Nascar-y). I went for the fourth and final pitstop, recenterd the wheel, but that did nothing. I went on track, it sucked, parked in the grass as I tried other buttons on the wheel, but to no avail. I thought about quitting but then thought fck it, did 30 mins this way. Eventually got a couple of 1:42's again!
On the whole it was a very enjoyable experience, and I'd definitely do it again. Only wished I had some more battles for position. Just need to drink less right before the race, and probably a lot more the night before
Race start: Didn't qualify for this race because I'm okay with starting last so I can get up to speed. Usually I start clean anyways so I figured I'd just give myself time to get into the groove and then pick up the pieces. Three hours is a long time anyway. Well.... spun out twice in the first lap, and didn't know how to get below 1:45's. Well, at least we're awake and focused now. After 30-40 minutes I finally got into the groove again, and suddenly went to 1:41's again. I think more smoothness on the brakes and using the gas to rotate the car made the biggest difference in my laptimes. Not the best strategy for fuel consumption, but one thing at a time As the others also inevitably had their unlucky moments (except for Sven, due to his hangover secret strategy), I caught up, and got into good driving with OldEarl, OffCorsa and Stewart.
After pitstop 2: I double stinted the tires the first time, it wasn't too bad, but my average was 1:43's instead of 1:41, (probably also due to tiredness), but later I didn't think it was worth the trade off so for the 3 later pit stops I changed tires as well. On the second pitstop I also sprinted to the bathroom for a quick break, and when I came back I jumped in, and I was near OldEarl again. "Good", I thought, "didn't lose too much time". Also: "why is everybody Green on my racetimer app?" I realised later Green meant they had pulled a full lap in front..
I got into the groove again, and put in solid laps for about an hour. However I did have one spin around 30 mins before the end, and it left my Trustmaster out of whack. The wheel lost its center, and after recentering the wheel thought it was closer to one side than another. So basically: turn the wheel 90 degrees left, and ingame the wheel turns 180 degrees left. turn the wheel 90 degrees right, and the ingame wheel moves 45 degrees right. That was pretty weird (a bit Nascar-y). I went for the fourth and final pitstop, recenterd the wheel, but that did nothing. I went on track, it sucked, parked in the grass as I tried other buttons on the wheel, but to no avail. I thought about quitting but then thought fck it, did 30 mins this way. Eventually got a couple of 1:42's again!
On the whole it was a very enjoyable experience, and I'd definitely do it again. Only wished I had some more battles for position. Just need to drink less right before the race, and probably a lot more the night before