Thoroughly enjoyed that one
Normally not crazy about Laguna Seca, but this version in these cars was an absolute hoot.
Picking a car wasn't easy though. Had just about settled on the Lola, when Ziu's musings about the M1b persuaded me I should give it another shot. Tried and tried and tried to tame the Ford powered one, to no avail. Nothing I did to the rear suspension seemed to have any effect - it remained suicidally oversteery no matter what. Best laps were in the 1:05s. Little more luck with the Olds powered one, which I could balance better. Still far from Ziu's Turkish things though, with a best lap of 1:04.2.
At that time, I had done a 1:04.8 in the Lola 350, so not much between them. To get a more realistic picture of which one would be fastest in a race, I decided to time a 10-lap stint in each. Needed a few familiarization laps in the Lola, after all the M1b driving. During those, I quickly matched and then pipped my best time in the M1b. A couple minor tweaks to the setup shaved off further time, culminating in a 1:03.5 lap. That decided my car choice - why waste a McLaren on something I could do quicker, and with much more confidence in a Lola ?
Briefly also tested the two bigger engined Lolas, but prefer the 350.
Once again I got a dream start in the Lola, shooting ahead of Ziu and grabbing the lead. Retaining it would be an entirely different matter though. What followed was 31 laps of 'drive it like you stole it, but DON'T stuff it!!'. Staying ahead of Ziu was not easy for an Earthling like me. He got very close a few times, under the bridge, but fortunately the mirror is useless in the Lola, so didn't know how close he was, as that would have made me nervous
Apologies for shutting the door hard Ziu; simple explanation is I had no idea where you were exactly - your engine noise didn't betray your position, as it was just a constant rumble in the background.
Ziu went off early on, handing me a 6-sec gap. Naturally wanted to exploit it to the fullest, but instead made small mistakes that quickly saw it dwindle again. Stayed around 3 secs for a long time, when I drove to my max. With 5 laps to go, it suddenly jumped to 14 secs, as Ziu obviously had gone off again. An absolute gift, as I could ease off and coast home the last 5 laps - bar computer or internet issues (or supremely stupid mistakes from me), the win would be mine.
Fortunately held to the end and a most unexpected result. Grats to Ziu & Matt for filling the podium; commiserations to John and anyone else with troubles. Thanks to those I lapped for helping me past; hope it didn't upset your own battles too much.
Cheers,
Erling