Really good race for me! I won it on the strategy again
Even this time I obtained a bad result in qualif session, but I knew that in race it would have been different using the other car trails during the first laps even with a full tank. Unexpectedly at the end of the main straight during the first lap, 2 cars in front of me had a contact, and I took advantage of this situation taking the inside of the right corner, reaching immediately the 2nd position, with some car chasing me with better laptimes. After some laps and a little mistake Clive passed me, but at the end of the main straight, I pulled the brake and I passed him again. My car became light enough to keep a good pace, and start to put a small gap on Clive lap after lap. At the same time, I tried to lose as less as possible by Lorenzo, that was really flying
The hope was that of a tyre change of Lorenzo, or a little mistake in pit lane approach... Lorenzo anticipated the pit 2-3 laps before me, and I pulled as fast as possible to reduce the gap during his pit.
Lorenzo entered the pit lane with 18 seconds advantage on me, but he must have been very slow in his pit stop, cause I even lapped him during his pit. So I started to think that he surely changed the tyres, and that his pit was near to a disaster.
After my pit, without changing tyres obviously, I had some small fears about my refueling... but this was due to a wrong calculation. After I realized I would have finished my race with at least 7-8 litres, I started to turn quietly on the 25 every lap, trying to avoid any risk. Mike was 12 seconds behind me, Clive was close to him and Lorenzo after the pit was over than 30 seconds behind me, and even behind Legzy if I'm not wrong. With a better pit stop, Lorenzo would have surely win the race, but it needs a bit of training to make it in the less time possible, and it's sure that is a decisive moment for the race result.
Remember that to change the tyres you need 22-24 seconds, and that refuel up to 10 liters more than needed can cost you about 4 seconds. That advantage is obviously amplified if you make the pit as later as possible, (in this case Lorenzo probably put at least 15 litres more than me at the pit, and this makes about 6 seconds difference only on refueling time!!!)
It's difficult to gain an amount of seconds equal to that you lose to refuel much litres at the pit, starting the race with no full tank. This is probably wrong in this champ, with a 2X fuel consumption, cause it means that to have an advantage in starting with less weight, you have to push as a devil, risking so much without a great advantage in terms of laptimes, and with a sure disadvantage in terms of seconds needed to refuel.
Sorry to Bill for the tap when I lapped you, but I think you lift up the gas when I was behind you at the exit of the corner that bring to the main straight, and this was totally unpredictable for me. Try to lift up the gas only when the lapping driver is flanking you, if you want to make the life easier for the lapper, otherwise it becomes difficult to avoid a car that in front of you lift the gas on the straight or in acceleration after a corner, because there's no time to react for the following driver. However it was not my intention to hit you obviously, and I'm disappointed for this fact
Thanks to the Oldie mechanics crew for the perfect job at the pit stop
2nd race, and 2nd victory for the Oldies... not bad as a novice
!