That was fun! I'm sure glad I didn't miss this one. You could say I had a big advantage here. The two years before I started racing online I'd spend almost the entire month of June racing the GTs or CAs at Lemans. I even made Can Am AI for the track so I could have more fun. I was well prepared for the slipstreaming. I know most of the things to avoid.
I was too abusive to my engine early in the race. I wasn't careful to keep from overrevving exiting the esses. My shifting was sloppy. And I dropped a wheel off the circuit a few times, overrevving even more. On lap 4 the engine exploded. That was a scary moment. I was shifting from 3rd to 4th on the Mulsanne. I wanted to brake but I was worried Axel might hit me. I knew he would be coming up on me fast. I tried to go off the right side of the track but there were haybales. I tried to get as close to them as possible. I clipped them instead. I was very happy I didn't collect Axel with that mistake. I was flipped back into the track and luckily Martin was able to avoid me too. Then Iestyn had to make a quick move to avoid me after the reset. That was one of my worst resets. I couldn't get the car stopped quickly. Once the haybales flipped me on my top, I had to wait for what seemed an eternity for the car to slide to a stop. That put me back to second to last place.
I got lucky to win. I thought I could get close to the leaders before it was over but didn't really think I could win with all the time I lost on lap 4. Nicky and Dean ran wide making it easy for me to pass. Mark and Dave had to stop and go in the pits giving me two more positions easily. And my pass on Iestyn and Axel was lucky that the timing unfolded almost perfectly.
I saw 233mph twice when I was behind Nicky! And 232 mph when I came up on Iestyn. With such a high speed I knew I should take advantage of my momentum and pass Iestyn. That was another scary moment. I wasn't sure whether to go right or left. At the last moment I veered right. That got me fishtailing a little bit. I thought I was going to hit Iestyn but he gave me just enough room to get the car under control. Can you imagine fishtailing at 225 mph? I kept most of my momentum and was able to slipstream off Axel and take the inside away from him before the Mulsanne 90. That was probably the best place for me to pass. I knew I had an advantage on Axel from the entry to Indianapolis to Terte Rouge.
first accident – at the righthander after the long straigt, speed fine , gear right , of throttle as well off brake waiting to reach the turn in right direction...BUT car just went left 30° into wilderness, I even didnt steer then straight that moment ! Well droped me from 2nd to guess 7
In my replay you put a wheel off the left side of the track. That's a very dangerous place to do that. I'd likely lose control too if I put a wheel off the track there.
had to s+r
Have added the 30sec to the race time in results allready
Shame it destroyed a hot finish, as I was shure to catch Greg again on the straight...
That is a shame Axel after driving such a good race. I wouldn't be so sure you were going to catch me. I had managed to open a small gap before Terte Rouge. I did a little weaving down the Mulsanne Straight to keep Iestyn from getting much of a tow. It worked somewhat. After all that work to catch you two, I wasn't going to give Iestyn any chance to catch me. It would have been interesting though. The winner likely would have been the first car out of Mulsanne.
Congratulations to Greg for the win - good hustling there on the last few laps.
Thanks Mark! The last few laps? I was hustling the entire race! I was sloppy with my throttle control and shifting until I blew my engine. After my reset, the only real mistake I made was getting a little out shape behind Dean, braking for Mulsanne. I easily avoided Dean but I almost had to come to a stop to do so. Well, I also hit the wall on the left before Indianapolis. If I had turned into the right hander before Indianapolis as usual, I'd have nailed Axel. Luckily the car wasn't damaged and I got another chance.
Yes, interesting race..
Greg did it into Mulsanne and managed to pull clear.
I was lucky to recover from a double off on lap 1.
Yes it was! I enjoyed it a lot. The timing couldn't have been better for me. I thought the only chance to break the slipstream would have been between Indianapolis and Terte Rouge. I gave it everything I had the last two laps. Yes, I saw you go off before Indianapolis. I was little happy to see some of the pressure from behind relieved but disappointed to see a possibility that your race might be ruined. I had to run wide to avoid contact with Axel and it looks like you followed me wide at a higher speed.
It's not going to get much better for me than that race. I drove well especially after my reset. I made good decisions, I got lucky, and I was fast. Overcoming my early difficulties was especially rewarding.
The F2s are going to be strange here. It will be only my second time in an open wheeler here. I've had a few laps in the 66 Honda and Ferrari. I imagine it will be impossible to break the slipstream in the F2s.
Thanks guys. I hope we continue to have a few races each season that are somewhat historical in nature. I missed the GTs but I've been imagining that the Can Ams would have been somewhat similar to racing Lemans in the mid 70s.