Season 38: GT Cup: Round 9 at Isle of Man (2 laps)

Well it all fell apart, which in a way felt inevitable.  In the end I hadn't practiced enough and did not have enough confidence to drive this track at speed.  I qualified fourth, though behind Tristan who was third.  At the start he was super aggressive.  Hounding after first and second, crawling all over them.  When the inevitable crash came, somehow Tris avoided it all and had the lead.  I followed, losing time to him constantly.  I had a few small scares on the opening lap and as we started lap 2 I only had a small gap.  That led to me pushing a bit too hard in a dangerous fast corner start of lap 2, which led to a big crash.  I reset, was stuck behind Doni and had another bigger crash.  You cannot drive this track when behind another car, you just can't see anything.  Then after getting going again had two more crashes and resets.  That put me over the limit for allowed resets, so I quit in disgust.  Just wasn't meant to be I guess.  Tris won.

Open - Drivers Championship (scoring)
Rank	Drivers	±	Total	Vehicle
1	MagicArsouille (FT)	2	356.0	*Mixture*	50.0		50.0	37.0	37.0	50.0	32.0	50.0	50.0
2	Mark Jones (FT)	2	319.0	*Mixture*	43.0	37.0		50.0	50.0	43.0	43.0	32.0	21.0
3	fpolicardi (FT)		248.0	*Mixture*	17.0	43.0		23.0	32.0	37.0	50.0	23.0	23.0
4	Cookie (FT)		205.0	*Mixture*	32.0	32.0		43.0	28.0		25.0	28.0	17.0
5	philippe GIRARD (FT)		195.0	*Mixture*	21.0	25.0	23.0	21.0	17.0	32.0	37.0	19.0
6	Doni Yourth (FT)		193.0	*Mixture*	19.0	21.0	17.0	32.0		23.0	19.0	25.0	37.0
7	Phil Thornton (R1)		170.0	*Mixture*	15.0	28.0	32.0		25.0	28.0	23.0		19.0
8	Pete Bennett (FT)		156.0	*Mixture*	9.0		21.0	28.0	23.0	15.0	15.0	17.0	28.0
9	Alain Maurice (FT)		130.0	*Mixture*	37.0	50.0	43.0
10	GregT (R1)		118.0	*Mixture*					43.0			43.0	32.0
11	Rainier (FT)	2	112.0	*Mixture*	13.0	19.0	25.0	25.0		21.0	9.0
12	EvilClive (FT)		104.0	*Mixture*	25.0					17.0		37.0	25.0
13	francesco (FT)		98.0	*Mixture*	11.0	17.0			21.0	25.0	11.0		13.0
14	Enrique Farina (FT)		88.0	*Mixture*	28.0	23.0	37.0
15	Giovanni Centorame (R1)		77.0	*Mixture*							21.0	13.0	43.0
16	PaulV (FT)		70.0	*Mixture*			19.0		19.0	19.0	13.0
17	Markus Friedrich (R1)		61.0	*Mixture*	23.0						17.0	21.0
18	maddog (R1)		56.0	Lola T70 MkIII			28.0				28.0
19	Christian Dauger (R1)		30.0	*Mixture*								15.0	15.0

Survivng at Isle of Man

This is the craziest and most dangerous track in the world.  It's so fast, with so many deadly turns with nothing on the outside but walls and trees that the slightest mistake is death.  And I can't remember it from the last time I was here all those years ago.  This is the extended version, but it might as well be brand new to me.  I have corner markers turned on, and am simply working on trying to survive a lap.  The Ferrari is dialled back to give a solid reliable feel under braking into high speed bends.  This won't be a race, it will be survival.

News: The protest resutls are back.  Tristain has been demoted 3 spots, but I've been demoted down too.  Someone protested my awkward collision with Tristin after Canada corner.  So.

Rank	Drivers	±	Total	Vehicle
1	MagicArsouille (FT)	2	306.0	*Mixture*	50.0		50.0	37.0	37.0	50.0	32.0	50.0
2	Mark Jones (FT)	2	298.0	*Mixture*	43.0	37.0		50.0	50.0	43.0	43.0	32.0
3	fpolicardi (FT)		225.0	*Mixture*	17.0	43.0		23.0	32.0	37.0	50.0	23.0
4	philippe GIRARD (FT)		195.0	*Mixture*	21.0	25.0	23.0	21.0	17.0	32.0	37.0	19.0
5	Cookie (FT)		188.0	*Mixture*	32.0	32.0		43.0	28.0		25.0	28.0
6	Doni Yourth (FT)		156.0	*Mixture*	19.0	21.0	17.0	32.0		23.0	19.0	25.0
7	Phil Thornton (R1)		151.0	*Mixture*	15.0	28.0	32.0		25.0	28.0	23.0
8	Alain Maurice (FT)		130.0	*Mixture*	37.0	50.0	43.0
9	Pete Bennett (FT)		128.0	*Mixture*	9.0		21.0	28.0	23.0	15.0	15.0	17.0
10	Rainier (FT)	2	112.0	*Mixture*	13.0	19.0	25.0	25.0		21.0	9.0
11	Enrique Farina (FT)		88.0	*Mixture*	28.0	23.0	37.0
12	GregT (R1)		86.0	Ferrari 330/P4					43.0			43.0
13	francesco (FT)		85.0	*Mixture*	11.0	17.0			21.0	25.0	11.0

Season 38: GT Cup: Round 8 at Hocklenheim (25 laps)

Not a great race.  Picked up a decent draft and scored pole position.  But from the opening lap the heat was on and before the stadium section Tristin was ahead.  As I followed him out of turn 1 I couldn't believe how fast he was.  I drafted but couldn't really get in a position to pass and as we braked for Ostkurve I had a wobble and went wide.  That gave Greg 2nd place.  I then spun again trying to catch up, then another wobble later meant that Clive and Axel got ahead.  As I tried to pass Axel I crashed hard, and had to do a reset.  Managed to finally chase him down but 4th was a poor reward given where I should have finished.

Greg chased Tris all race long but couldn't try for a pass once.  We're in dire straights here.

Rank	Drivers	±	Total	Vehicle
1	MagicArsouille (FT)	2	306.0	*Mixture*	50.0		50.0	37.0	37.0	50.0	32.0	50.0
2	Mark Jones (FT)	2	298.0	*Mixture*	43.0	37.0		50.0	50.0	43.0	43.0	32.0
3	fpolicardi (FT)		225.0	*Mixture*	17.0	43.0		23.0	32.0	37.0	50.0	23.0
4	philippe GIRARD (FT)		195.0	*Mixture*	21.0	25.0	23.0	21.0	17.0	32.0	37.0	19.0
5	Cookie (FT)		188.0	*Mixture*	32.0	32.0		43.0	28.0		25.0	28.0
6	Doni Yourth (FT)		156.0	*Mixture*	19.0	21.0	17.0	32.0		23.0	19.0	25.0
7	Phil Thornton (R1)		151.0	*Mixture*	15.0	28.0	32.0		25.0	28.0	23.0
8	Alain Maurice (FT)		130.0	*Mixture*	37.0	50.0	43.0
9	Pete Bennett (FT)		128.0	*Mixture*	9.0		21.0	28.0	23.0	15.0	15.0	17.0
10	Rainier (FT)	2	112.0	*Mixture*	13.0	19.0	25.0	25.0		21.0	9.0
11	Enrique Farina (FT)		88.0	*Mixture*	28.0	23.0	37.0
12	GregT (R1)		86.0	Ferrari 330/P4					43.0			43.0
13	francesco (FT)		85.0	*Mixture*	11.0	17.0			21.0	25.0	11.0
14	EvilClive (FT)		79.0	*Mixture*	25.0					17.0		37.0

Testing at Hockenheim

You can test and test here, but the real key is: how does the car work in traffic, with a car or two ahead, under braking?  That's really the ultimate question, but you still have to set the car up all the same.  Finally back in the Ferrari.

Season 38: GT Cup: Round 7 at Road America (21 laps)

Aka: The battle of Elkhart Lake.  With a few minutes left in qualifying I had pole position, but somehow I knew Tristan was going to go faster, so i went out again and tried even harder.  The result was pole by only 0.1 of a second.  But pole none the less, vital for the run into turn 1.  Both me and Tris were in white Lolas.  I thought that was a good thing...

Race start was okay, was well ahead and through turn 1, but since I'm on the right hand side I did have a tighter line.  Tris used the chance to get a run out of turn 1 but was wrong footed slightly behind my car.  By the time he got to the inside line we were going at about the same speed, so he slotted back in behind me.  I braked as normal for turn 2, and Tristan ran into the back of me and we both spun off.

I got back on in about 6th, angry as hell, with Tris trailing behind, and started working though the field.  I found I could overtake cars in the tricky section leading up to Canada corner, but it wasn't easy.  And I was effectively making a way for Tris.  I got up to 2nd, but got balked by the leader which gave Tris a look exiting Canada corner, he then trips the right rear corner of my car and I go off.  I rejoin 3rd, and pissed off.  I managed to chase Tris down, as he had trouble passing the leader, and I put my nose in the inside of a left handler where it probably shouldn't go.  Tris turned across, hit my nose and spun off.  I got to the lead, but again Tris wasn't far behind.  Once he was second, he started hunting me down.  I was pushing hard, but the gap was closing.  Then finally I made a mistake under the long downhill braking for turn 3, downchanged into neutral and half spun.  Tris hit me and knocked me upside down.  I had to reset, chased desperately after Tris over the last few laps but to no avail.

I registered an incident report after the race specifically regarding the turn 2 collision.  Ukgpl has a blanket lap one no-contact rule, which means T should get a penalty.  But Axel the administrator has stated he thinks this championship is more for fun.  ?  Why all the rules and regs then?  Why have championship points?

Temporary (as far as I am concerned) standings:

Tristain: 274

Mark: 266

3 races to go

Testing at Elkhart Lake

 Back in the Lola again at Rd America. After dialling out the toe in on the rears the car started feeling more consistent through the corners. This is a very good track, with a great flow to it. Braking into turn three is very tricky because it's initially downhill and the rears are locking, which can throw the car into a spin. There is a lot of sliding going on as well, at times it feels like a rally car. 

Season 38: GT Cup: Round 6 at Brands Hatch (32 laps)

A long race at Brands Hatch. Both myself and Tris were in Lola's, and he just seems a tick quicker. He took pole, and jumped quickly into the lead at the start. I settled in behind, and started pushing my car very hard to try and put pressure on him. I felt I could hang on in some sections of the track, but in others he seems to be pulling away. There really isn't anywhere to pass though. I guess I should have eased off a little but i was pushing 100%, and eventually had a small spin. So no real chance to win, far ahead of third place. I relaxed a bit, but then weirdly the car started acting differently if I wasn't pitching it into the corners, and that finally caught me out and caused another spin or two. So finally I ground out to the finish. Not a very good race for me, and have lost the lead in the championship back to Tris. On to Road America.

Open - Drivers Championship (scoring)
Rank	Drivers	PP	Total	Vehicle
1	MagicArsouille (FT)		224.0	*Mixture*	50.0		50.0	37.0	37.0	50.0
2	Mark Jones (FT)		223.0	*Mixture*	43.0	37.0		50.0	50.0	43.0
3	fpolicardi (FT)		152.0	*Mixture*	17.0	43.0		23.0	32.0	37.0
4	philippe GIRARD (FT)		139.0	*Mixture*	21.0	25.0	23.0	21.0	17.0	32.0
5	Cookie (FT)		135.0	*Mixture*	32.0	32.0		43.0	28.0
6	Alain Maurice (FT)		130.0	*Mixture*	37.0	50.0	43.0
7	Phil Thornton (R1)		128.0	*Mixture*	15.0	28.0	32.0		25.0	28.0
8	Doni Yourth (FT)		112.0	*Mixture*	19.0	21.0	17.0	32.0		23.0
9	Rainier (FT)	2	103.0	*Mixture*	13.0	19.0	25.0	25.0		21.0
10	Pete Bennett (FT)		96.0	*Mixture*	9.0		21.0	28.0	23.0	15.0
11	Enrique Farina (FT)		88.0	*Mixture*	28.0	23.0	37.0
12	francesco (FT)		74.0	*Mixture*	11.0	17.0			21.0	25.0
13	PaulV (FT)		57.0	*Mixture*			19.0		19.0	19.0
14	GregT (R1)		43.0	Ferrari 330/P4					43.0
15	EvilClive (FT)		42.0	*Mixture*	25.0					17.0
16	maddog (R1)		28.0	Lola T70 MkIII			28.0
17	Markus Friedrich (R1)		23.0	Lola T70 MkIII	23.0
	Giovanni Centorame (R1)
	Raoni Frizzo (R1)

Testing at Brands

Taking the Lola to Brands, and it's taking a while to get into the groove. The car feels very heavy, and rolls around a bit. Stiffening the springs made things worse though. So I reversed the settings and went with slightly stiffer bars. Need to get used to this car, and the key is to break earlier than you'd think and power through the apex.

Season 38: GT Cup: Round 5 at Spa (14 laps)

This was going to be a challenge.  A lot of times I've come to Spa and had things go badly at some point, usually with me going off the track.  So here we were again, and qualifying as expected was flat-out.  Tristain in the Lola took pole with a 3.24.8, and I thought I could get close, but in the end I could not match that time.  At the end of qualifying I was concentrating on my race setup, and that was when Greg took 2nd place from me.  Typical, he's always been so fast around here.

So to the start.  I didn't get the best start, and Axel actually had to lift off past Eau Rouge to not run into the back of me.  Tristain and Greg were well away, but by the end of the lap I had caught up again, and as we braked into La Source unfortunately there was a slight glitch, and I ran into the back of Greg's car.  He spun wide.  I waited for about a second, but there were cars coming around the hairpin, and Tristain was getting away.  I just couldn't wait.  Greg rejoined about fifth.  I chased after Tris, and for the next seven laps or so I pushed as hard as I could.  Despite Tris trying to mess up the draft I steadily closed in.  Started putting him under pressure, but it was so tough.  The closer the are the more odd the car seems to react, and also it's tougher to see the lines and turn in points, and this is such a narrow track at speed.  I did make a mistake into the right hander before Blanchimont, ran onto the grass but managed to keep control and swept back onto the track.  Then a lap later it all changed.  As we charged toward the fearsome Masta kink, Tris pushed too hard into the first left hander.  He'd done that a couple times, and this time it was a bit too much, he hit the bump in the middle of the corner and that pushed him wider than before.  he clipped the grass, which dragged him off and he hit the house on the left.  I flinched as I went under him while he flew to the right, and then I was through.  Tris restarted fourth and would end up third, behind Greg who was so fast today, set fastest lap and probably would have won if not for my error.  

Anyway, two wins on the go puts me in the championship lead, at the halfway point.

Open - Drivers Championship (scoring)
Rank	Drivers	PP	Total	Vehicle
1	Mark Jones (FT)		180.0	*Mixture*	43.0	37.0		50.0	50.0
2	MagicArsouille (FT)		174.0	*Mixture*	50.0		50.0	37.0	37.0
3	Cookie (FT)		135.0	*Mixture*	32.0	32.0		43.0	28.0
4	Alain Maurice (FT)		130.0	*Mixture*	37.0	50.0	43.0
5	fpolicardi (FT)		115.0	Ferrari 330/P4	17.0	43.0		23.0	32.0
6	philippe GIRARD (FT)		105.0	*Mixture*	21.0	25.0	23.0	21.0	15.0
7	Rainier (FT)		101.0	*Mixture*	13.0	19.0	25.0	25.0	19.0
8	Phil Thornton (R1)		100.0	*Mixture*	15.0	28.0	32.0		25.0
9	Doni Yourth (FT)		89.0	*Mixture*	19.0	21.0	17.0	32.0
10	Enrique Farina (FT)		88.0	*Mixture*	28.0	23.0	37.0
11	Pete Bennett (FT)		81.0	*Mixture*	9.0		21.0	28.0	23.0
12	francesco (FT)		49.0	*Mixture*	11.0	17.0			21.0
13	GregT (R1)		43.0	Ferrari 330/P4					43.0
14	PaulV (FT)		36.0	Ferrari 330/P4			19.0		17.0
15	maddog (R1)		28.0	Lola T70 MkIII			28.0
16	EvilClive (FT)		25.0	Ferrari 330/P4	25.0
17	Markus Friedrich (R1)		23.0	Lola T70 MkIII	23.0
	Raoni Frizzo (R1)