For once Lady Luck smiles on you and you're stupid enough to believe it. Should know by now it's only to mock you even better later on.. Looked like there was a real chance for winning the race, and what happens: the bloody server barfs!!
Much in doubt about using Elan or the Alpine - if I couldn't beat the aliens with the Elan, then better save it and use the Alpine, if I was competitive against the normal drivers, but just as I wanted to check their praccy laptimes, all vanished before my eyes and qual started
Stuck with the Elan then. Couldn't match DD's phantom pole time, but got a good start, outdragging him to T1. Alvaro got an even better start, but was boxed in behind DD and me, so no way past. Hung on to the lead and gradually opened a small gap. So looking promising when things turned weird. According to pit board, I was suddenly P11 instead of P1. Eyes not what they used to be, but believe I would have noticed 10 drivers passing me in one lap.. Zig Zagged between hanging cars but continued until I was certain the race was over.
Pole on the restart, but with a free run, I couldn't prevent Alvaro from grabbing the lead. Supremely hard fight ensued, lasting almost half the race. DD closed up while I was attacking Alvaro, so a 3-way battle for the lead. Found a way past after some laps, on the back semi-straight, but had to work very hard to stay in front. In the 2nd half, Alvaro dropped back for some reason, losing about a second per lap, so I could relax a little.
Grats to Alvaro & DD on the podiums.
Clive, no idea what causes your strange FF issue. I've had sort of the opposite happen a couple of times, where FF works in praccy & qual, but disappers as the race starts. The wheel was vibrating strangely before, and turning slowly by itself, only to go completely limp with no FF. Very hard to drive a race like that, and unfortunately I have never found the cause.