Spa-ring with the big boys!
Well YOU think of a funny title for a circuit called "Spa Francorchamps" then!
Pops and I had both put a fair amount of practice in for this one and between us found a few new lines and corner approaches that meant both of us, for once, were faster than the mid pack by a good couple of seconds.
I'm just savouring that statement for a second because A. It's true and B. It's quite probably a one off!
Mmmm, feels good.
i know Spa better than any other circuit in the game because I lapped so many times in the demo I wore a hole in the bitmaps there. Hotlapping last week saw me take my previous best time of 2:25:X right down to 2:21:X with judicious use of sexy lines and smooth driving and so I was quite excited about the prospect of a race where I might be able to break out of the mid pack for once. This excitement was always tinged with a little bit of doubt though- I've been spinning more than a Labour campaign manager in the past fwe races and wouldn't have been surprised if I had an intimate moment with the gravel at some point last night.
For the first time I decided to just fuel the car up for 15 minutes of qualifying and lap away and see what I got. Spa is such a long track and has such a long pit lane that, trying to do two lots of flying laps, might have been really tough assuming you have to deal with the usual Q2 traffic problems. I got two half decent laps in and managed a 2:24 before my 4th lap saw me get a low 22. I ruined the next lap by mentally going "Yes! Yes!" rather than concentrating on braking points and then hit traffic in the next (faster still) lap. Ducking back into the garage I saw my 22 was good enough for 5th on the grid.
The race itself was pretty uneventful (hallelujah!) but that doesn't mean I wasn't gripping the wheel like my life depended on it! I was really stiff and awkward for the first few laps and Ruf was comfortably out breaking me into Les Combes each time- meaning he was slowly gaining and getting closer to being able to lunge through at the bus stop later on. Annoyed at myself I made a concious decision to relax and push a bit harder and began pulling away once more. 2/3rds through and, with Paul968's spin early on, I was still part of the 1,2,3,4 snake. We began to hit traffic though and, each time, rotten luck meant the others got past on the long straight after Eau Rouge whereas I had to sit behind for the corners leading up to Stavelot and I lost time (and sight) of the leaders. Towards the end Mike in P3 span at the bus stop and I closed in only to see him make a great recovery and keep position. The rest of the race saw us lapping together but I never had the pace (or balls for that matter) to challenge.
Net result- a 4th place, chuffed to bits. A solid race for Pops too saw the NGT Legends team grab some much needed points for the team championship last night and i think that calls for a keg of Hoegaarden and a JPS ciggie or two.
Got the keep the sponsors happy :D
Well YOU think of a funny title for a circuit called "Spa Francorchamps" then!
Pops and I had both put a fair amount of practice in for this one and between us found a few new lines and corner approaches that meant both of us, for once, were faster than the mid pack by a good couple of seconds.
I'm just savouring that statement for a second because A. It's true and B. It's quite probably a one off!
Mmmm, feels good.
i know Spa better than any other circuit in the game because I lapped so many times in the demo I wore a hole in the bitmaps there. Hotlapping last week saw me take my previous best time of 2:25:X right down to 2:21:X with judicious use of sexy lines and smooth driving and so I was quite excited about the prospect of a race where I might be able to break out of the mid pack for once. This excitement was always tinged with a little bit of doubt though- I've been spinning more than a Labour campaign manager in the past fwe races and wouldn't have been surprised if I had an intimate moment with the gravel at some point last night.
For the first time I decided to just fuel the car up for 15 minutes of qualifying and lap away and see what I got. Spa is such a long track and has such a long pit lane that, trying to do two lots of flying laps, might have been really tough assuming you have to deal with the usual Q2 traffic problems. I got two half decent laps in and managed a 2:24 before my 4th lap saw me get a low 22. I ruined the next lap by mentally going "Yes! Yes!" rather than concentrating on braking points and then hit traffic in the next (faster still) lap. Ducking back into the garage I saw my 22 was good enough for 5th on the grid.
The race itself was pretty uneventful (hallelujah!) but that doesn't mean I wasn't gripping the wheel like my life depended on it! I was really stiff and awkward for the first few laps and Ruf was comfortably out breaking me into Les Combes each time- meaning he was slowly gaining and getting closer to being able to lunge through at the bus stop later on. Annoyed at myself I made a concious decision to relax and push a bit harder and began pulling away once more. 2/3rds through and, with Paul968's spin early on, I was still part of the 1,2,3,4 snake. We began to hit traffic though and, each time, rotten luck meant the others got past on the long straight after Eau Rouge whereas I had to sit behind for the corners leading up to Stavelot and I lost time (and sight) of the leaders. Towards the end Mike in P3 span at the bus stop and I closed in only to see him make a great recovery and keep position. The rest of the race saw us lapping together but I never had the pace (or balls for that matter) to challenge.
Net result- a 4th place, chuffed to bits. A solid race for Pops too saw the NGT Legends team grab some much needed points for the team championship last night and i think that calls for a keg of Hoegaarden and a JPS ciggie or two.
Got the keep the sponsors happy :D
posted by Paul W at
10:20 AM
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