Unofficial results
here; I'll leave Adam to import them into the SRou system, partly as a punishment for getting the settings wrong
and partly to make sure everything will run smoothly whilst I'm in NZ. Unlike the dedicated server, once a session is up, unless it's massively wrong it causes more problems than it solves to start a new session, as AFAIK there's no easy way to cancel the incorrect session, especially if you're not the host.
I did quite a lot of running in the official series one way or another this week and all that preparation really paid off. I knew about the landmine in turn 1 after a disastrous time trial early on Saturday, and broke with tradition, starting on 50kg instead of a full tank to avoid having to run over it on the first couple of laps with low tyre pressures. Dmitry and Peter had a little coming together at the Honda hairpin which promoted me to third, and soon I found that I had much better race pace than Peter, who I suspected had already picked up some damage from the mine, and was soon past him and off after Rik.
I was even more surprised to be able to pass him too, but had to keep pushing and stay in the 17s on all the clear laps as I knew I had to take a full load of 50kg at each stop. In fact I ended up taking 48 but I suppose even if I'd started with 60kg I'd still have had to take 43kg per stop.
That dropped me back to third until the two cars ahead also pitted, after which I was never out of the lead. To my surprise this track has proved much better for this mix of cars than I expected; lots of places where the LMP can use its downforce to blow by GT cars on corner entry or exit with little risk or time lost for either, and a few where it's even possible to go round the outside - though I wasn't brave enough to try it at Lukey Heights until I saw Rik make it work there. Top marks to all the GTs coping with me sweeping round into, through and out of T2 and the final pair of left handers.
The icing on the cake was getting the white flag with a full lap lead, which meant I could throw caution to the wind for that last lap; I made a little bit of space for myself on the penultimate rotation and then gave it everything for that final lap, knocking two tenths off my PB and getting what I think is one of only two outright race lap records I hold at SRou (the other being at Sebring Modified).
That's a cracking way for me to bow out of the series - sadly I'm going miss the last round at Okayama - sadly for you lot anyway, it'll be okay for me as I'm on holiday.
