Unofficial LapChartApologies Hristov for the early race punch. I ran out of talent there..
Congrats with the victory.
It's Hristo or Itchov, not Hristov.
And no problem, fortunately these cars are very heavy, so you hardly moved me much around. And thanks!
As for my race, I had never run these before and I joined in the last moment, almost having forgotten about the race. Unfortunately I did not have the cars installed properly and it somehow crashed the server I think. Anyway, with 10 mins of qualifying and a default setup, I did not have much time to figure out how the car handles and make a setup. Glad I knew the track from GPL and it seemed exactly the same, more or less.
The car appeared quite a handful, but the default setup wasn't so bad. I made some tweaks, had another run, couldn't get a clean lap and remained 6th on the grid, but the handling seemed improved. I gambled on a few extra changes for the race, filled it up and went to the grid.
I had a very good start and moved to the inside on the run towards T1, gaining a few positions. Got tapped before T3, but the car stood firm and I had no problem making the corner. Navin and Ade had the upper hand in terms of pace though, and if it wasn't for them battling each other, I would have dropped behind them a lot more. Even though they were slowing each other down, I couldn't make an impression, trying to still figure out how to drive the car on the limit. Braking for corners and hitting the apex was my greatest issue, as it takes a much different style than what I'm used to. It reminded me of that old onboard view of Fangio going around Fiorano, front-engined car, brake in a straight line, turn in early and drift it under power. It seemed similar and it was always a mistake whenever I braked too deep into a corner as that was sending me wide.
After a few laps Ade and Navin went off in the middle of the lap, and from there on I took the lead, building a gap of up to 12 seconds, but then I hit tire troubles as expected. What I did not expect though was the significant change in handling characteristics and sheer lack of grip. After some offs, one particularly bad when I was lapping someone (sorry for the scare), Ross had managed to close in and eventually challenge for the victory, and with my tires almost completely gone near the end (wheelspin in 3rd gear!) it was a big pressure to keep the 1-2 seconds gap without making any further mistakes. I don't think I could have kept 1st for more than 1-2 laps so I was glad the race was over. Fuel was also becoming a problem, with the fuel gauge having just gone into the red. Apparently the fuel mileage prediction in the setup menu was correct for a change and I had just enough to make the distance!
Fun cars, very tricky, looking forward to the next race. Grats to Ross for being so fast and consistent, and to all who finished. Great pace Navin and Ade, hope I can figure out a better way to setup this car before the next round and challenge you as well.
Oh and about tire wear, I think it's interesting this way. Of course I prefer to push to the limit all the time, but the way it is it provides a chance for more people with a more measured driving style to have a go in the battle for top spots. While I'm against this in the real F1 with current Pirelli tires, it's something I approve of here. Personally my style does anything but look after the tires, but because of that it is a good challenge to try and learn to drive differently.
