Congrats Tristan and Mark! Not a bad drive guys. Chris would have been pleased?
I got lucky I wasn't the last one to make a mistake.
I tried to the drive like I think Chris would have. Smart and fast while looking out for the other drivers. I didn't hold anything back unless I was close behind one of the Fords.
I used most of this event to work on a good race setup. I had recently put together a good qualifying setup but hadn't yet worked on a race setup. I started qualifying with a race setup carrying 5 laps of fuel. I figured that should get me a 3:23.5 without much trouble. And I thought 5 laps would allow me to see where my tire temps and pressures would settle. I got lucky and caught Doni on my 3rd lap and got a good tow giving me my Q time. I managed a 3:22.77 on the 5th and last lap of the stint. I was pleased. Then I gave my Q setup a try to see if I could possibly get a 3:21. On the 3rd and last lap, I managed 3:22.46. 0.01 seconds faster than my previous PB without a tow, but this time I didn't intentionally speedshift.
My 3rd stint was on race fuel. I came onto the track not far in front of Mark. I hope I didn't keep you from improving your lap times. I wasn't too worried though since you were able to hold pole position. It was nice getting those last two laps in Q on race fuel while in the tow.
Mark drove well most of the time except for a few mistakes like myself. He was better under braking than I thought he'd be. I never saw anything that made me think I could make a clean pass. I tried a few times to beat him to the line hoping I might have a card to play at the end. I never got my nose further than the midpoint of his Ford. My big advantage was a much higher mid corner speed. I thought my best shot might be outbraking him before Indianapolis or Maison Blanche but he seemed to be braking about the same point I would have if he wasn't in front of me. The Ford really powers away from the Ferrari above 170mph/274kmh.
Mark finally made a mistake that gave me the lead. He got sideways exiting the Esses. I thought I may have bumped him but running into the wall to avoid him worked.
Unfortunately I took the lead at place that wouldn't allow me to hold it. He easily retook it on the Mulsanne Straight. Then I got lucky again and he was late braking at Mulsanne. That gave me a ten second lead. I thought I might be a bit faster at that point in the race. My first lap in the lead lowered my fast race lap by .2 seconds, but the gap to Mark stayed the same at 10.24 seconds. I thought Prib may have malfunctioned but it didn't. Mark was 0.002 seconds faster than me on lap 6.
You can't get much closer matched than that. Then I thought I'd do one more lap as fast as I could. If I could keep Mark from gaining any more than a few tenths, I'd slow and let him catch me before Indianapolis and see how the race progressed from there. That no longer mattered when I missed my braking point for Mulsanne. He was close enough after that, that I figured the tow would probably allow him to catch me. The very next lap I miss my braking point for Mulsanne again. That time I managed to get the car into the turn but I got sideways and almost came to a stop. My only thought was get the car out of Mark's way. Once again I got lucky and he slid sideways like I did. I kept a decent lead but that allowed Axel and Tristan to get close to Mark. Then comes my 3rd and final mistake. I miss my braking for Indianapolis. I worried that I had lost any chance to win then. I knew I had to make up a lot of distance between Arnage and Tertre Rouge. Lucky again, that's where the Ferrari was best. At one point after my off at Indianapolis, I thought I had lost the tow.
It took a little while but I caught up with Mark and Axel. Once I did, I began thinking this is a more difficult situation than before. I never saw any opportunity to pass Mark. How am I going to pass Axel and then slot in behind Mark? All I could do is stick with the Fords. A little later, I start worrying Mark may break away from Axel. I say it aloud, "Don't lose Mark!" I didn't think Mark could get away from me but I thought I might lose him because I couldn't pass Axel. Once again, I get lucky and Axel goes too far to the left entering the Esses and gets sideways. I'm able to slip by with no trouble.
Then it's me on Mark's tail with Tristan not too far behind. Tristan had been slowly gaining on us over the preceding laps. I thought Mark and I might have chance to get away from Tristan. I had been worrying that a four way battle for the lead could get very ugly. Lucky 13 for me. Lap 13, Axel spins at the Esses and Mark missed his braking point for Mulsanne. I lose no time from Axel's spin and I get an excellent tow down the Mulsanne from Mark. GPLRA says it as well as any, "What would become the fastest lap of the race is set by Greg 67GT Taber.The time is an impressive 3m20.762s." I couldn't believe I ran that fast a lap. It didn't feel like a particularly good lap. At the end with an ideal lap of 3:19.22, I should be able to go faster if the car in front of me can.
Once I take the lead again, I know it's not over yet. Tristan isn't far behind and the tow could very easily let him catch me. I weave back and forth on the straights on the last lap to limit the tow Tristan could get. After such a good drive, I sure didn't want to lose the win on the last lap. Tristan probably would have caught the leaders if he had a longer 5th gear. I know once I got the lead on lap 13, I wished I had my qualifying gear set.
I tried to make my race setup a little easier to drive. 1% more forward BB, a little less power locking on the differential, a longer 4th/5th gear, and lower tire pressures. It worked well. I'm close to perfect on 5th gear for the tow. It never ran short. 8000 rpms at 210mph/338 kmh. I regularly saw 214mph and I reached a maximum of 216mph/347.5kmh at 8200-8300 rpm multiple times. I was flying.
That may be the fastest I've ever gone in the 330. It's the first time I've been able to keep up with either of the big block Fords at Lemans.
I got good gas mileage in the tow. I had calculated I needed 23.8 gallons/90 liters for 14 laps. I thought I might use more fuel in the tow but I guess lifting early for turns and less throttle in the middle of the turns increased the mileage. I added an extra gallon, 25 total, not wanting to cut it too close. Instead I finished with 2.3 gallons/8.7 liters. I definitely didn't need that extra gallon.
I enjoyed that a lot. If I hadn't missed my braking point 3 times, it would have been an excellent drive. Chris gave me some inspiration. I did my best not to hit anybody. I tried to give Mark and Axel plenty of room most of the time so they wouldn't wreck either. I'm getting my setups refined for myself as well as Chris would have for himself. It was nice, feeling I was rewarded with a win for my patience and consideration.
RIP Chris. I'm sure many will miss you dearly.