Congratulations Bob and Andreas! I thought about driving the Lotus, but I'm too far from taming that beast at Nurburgring. Nice job Andreas getting it to the flag.
That was terrible luck for Rob. He had the very problem that was the main reason I didn't drive the Cooper. I also wanted to make things easier for myself by driving a car that wasn't likely to be underpowered compared to the other drivers. And since I feel the 312 gives me the best chance to finish, that made my car choice easy.
What a heartbreaker Dean! So close! It made me smile late in the race when I noticed your were in 2nd. I was pleased our incident/near incident had not appeared to hurt your performance greatly. Congrats on your improved lap times.
Great job though I know you had some 'adventures' along the way.
LMAO!
That's an understatement concerning my first 1.1 laps. If I were an old lion, I'd have probably pissed on myself.
I make a mistake preparing for this race that many of us are lucky to survive. I ran 3 laps in the Cooper, 5 laps in the Lotus, and 2 laps in the Ferrari. I should have ran two 3 laps stints in the Ferrari and maybe a dozen practice race starts stopping after S2. I know I'm weak in S1 and struggle terribly the first 1/2 of lap of a race. One practice start near the end of Q wasn't a wise prep routine.
The first lap didn't go well at all. I got off the line poorly. No problem, I thought. I can pass a Cooper easily after Dottinger Hohe.
Well it didn't take long to screw up again. I ran wide not only in Sudkehre, but exiting too. That got me a little worried, no cushion behind me braking for Nordkehre. I got through that turn without much trouble.
The next turn I exit a little wide again. I lose traction when the RR touches the grass. I got off the throttle quick enough to keep from losing control. I lose 3 positions. No longer do I worry. Now I'm just glad I'm still going without hitting anything or causing any other driver a great deal of trouble.
Now I'm behind Axel. I think it's going to be a long wait until we get to Dottinger Hohe. Later Axel is slow exiting Andenauer. I've got the momentum to pass him.
Oops, I went right. No room on the right, heavy braking instead. Axel is kind and let's me pass anyway. Now I'm starting to feel good. Pass 1 car per lap and I'm easily back in 2nd before the end.
That didn't last long. Bob has some trouble at Metzgesfeld. His car was shrouded in smoke leading me to believe I had another easy position. Not so. He recovers quickly and is beside me in the next turn.
For a third time I put a wheel off the track where I shouldn't. When the RF goes off the track the rear breaks lose and I'm out of control. Excellent driving, patience, and with a little luck, Axel and Dean avoid me. Great job guys!
Now I've backed up to Jani. Damn it! I run wide again the turn after Wehrseifen. This time the hedge kicks me around a bit and Jani has to take evasive action. If only I can make it to S3, I might be able to get my act together.
Like usual, I get a good run up the hill from Bergwerk. I'm flying at Kesselchen which puts me right behind Dean and Axel. I had the momentum to pass Dean but at such a high speed with no clear indication whether to go left or right, I slow down.
Now I start cruising. I'm waiting for Dottinger Hohe again. I am a little concerned though. Dean has a Brabham and Axel a Ferrari, so passing on the long straight isn't so easy versus a Cooper. I keep my revs down and try to stay about 2 car lengths behind Dean. He's pressuring Axel and I want to keep any distraction for them to a minimum.
Later Axel checks up in the turn after Wippermann. That slows Dean much more than I expect. Luckily I was trying to leave some room, so I had just enough time to brake before I hit Dean. Whew! That was close one.
One more time I run wide. Almost identical to what I did at T3. This time I can't keep from contacting a barrier off the left side of the track. Jani has to take evasive action again but this time he's able to get by.
I'm almost immediately on his tail. His Cooper will be easy work on the long straight. Unfortunately the drama isn't finished. Jani runs wide at the mini Karussell. I assume he's going to let me pass. I want the position hoping it might give me the opportunity to pass Dean, Axel, or both on one the next three straights. I exited the mini Karussell trying to stay on the left half of the track. I thought my LF tire hit the grass making the rear break to the right, which resulted in me sliding into Jani.
I felt terrible for knocking Jani out of the race and thought I could be penalized for not leaving him enough room. I was relieved when I looked at my replay and saw I had left him well more than half of the track on the right. I was glad to see I didn't put the LF off the track either. The rear kicked to the right when Jani hit me.
That's the end of the drama for lap 1.
I'm back at it in early in lap 2 though.
I was hoping I could get the rear to hook up good exiting the Sudkehre. If so I might be able to get a run on Dean before Norkehre. No luck. I wonder if he might be kind and let me by. Not so this time. I brake a little early for Nordkehre but not quite as hard as usual. Oh no! I'm in trouble again. Dean's a little slower than I expected and I've locked the LF wheel. I have to lift off the brakes to get the car to turn left so I can avoid hitting Dean. It works but I'm still in trouble. I'm out of control and the only move I have left is to try to slow the car as quickly as possible and hope Dean can avoid me. Dean goes wide and unfortunately he drops a rear wheel off the track and spins. That's better than what I thought might have happened but he still loses a good bit of time. I thought I might have bumped you. I apologize for almost hitting you and forcing you into a mistake.
I also apologize to Jani for putting him in some difficult situations. A better practice routine and I would have been likely never been any trouble for Dean or Jani.
Axel is very kind again on lap 2 and let's me pass. Thanks.
I would have done the same if the situation were reversed. Survival is key here.
That's the end of all the real drama for me. Bob spins in the Schikane at the end of lap 2 and Rob's engine fails near the end of lap 3.
That was a lucky win. I needed it. I never gave up on 2nd place. But even I were driving at my absolute best I knew I needed Rob to lose close to 10 seconds to have a chance for the win.
The second half of the race was uneventful. Just what I needed after lap 1. Once Rob was out, I tried to drop my shift point 200 rpms and hit all my usual braking points. I was very pleased with my focus. I never realized Pelle was behind me at one point. I wasn't sure I had passed Rob's car before Antoiniusbuche until I crossed the starting line. The last time through Dottinger Hohe, I was thinking I'm going to pick up the pace for the last lap. Funny thing is it was the last lap. I thought pribluda was wrong but when I checked the fuel level it confirmed the race was ending while I thought there was still another lap. I was ready for a lap 7!
I'm glad I finished. This is one my favorite tracks and 3 DNF's in a row in the 67s had me annoyed. It sure didn't start well. The only good I did on lap 1 was, I managed to limit my stupidity, I tried to be careful not to end anybody's race, and I survived.
Guys, if you think this track is difficult now, give it a try in any of the GTs except the 910. That will make these cars seem much easier. I would recommend the Can Ams but that's just cruel. Even though I knew the track well, it took me 50 laps before I could hustle the M8F around this track. The 910 is very nice car here. It helped me learn the track well after weeks of frustration in the 312 and 330.
Thanks guys. I enjoyed it. I'll make sure I'll do at least several practice starts in days preceding any future races here.
Here's Dean and I after Wippermann. Yikes! Luckily he wasn't in a Lotus or I'd have had a DFV exhaust punching a hole in my radiator?
Another scary moment!