I watched more of the replay. I've found I like watching Targa replays almost as much as Nurburgring replays. I couldn't help but laugh at a lot of the mistakes. Almost every mistake I saw had me thinking, "yeah, I know what it's like to do that."
I forgot about qualifying until watching the replay again. The first time I left the pits Mark was less than 1 mile in front of me. I wanted more of a gap so I wouldn't catch him during my Q lap. I drove slowly towards the start. By the time I got close I realized it's still not as much of a gap as I'd like. I returned to the pits. When I reentered the track, Prib was showing Mark 2.2 miles in front of me. I thought that might be a big enough gap, but I still caught him just before the Buonfornello Straight.
I needed to wait 5-10 more seconds to start my qualifying lap. Move over Mark, you're fellow countryman, Chris Amon, is coming through! I still like trying to do Amon impersonations most. Now I just need a 312P at Nurburgring to do more.
Axel's first spin put him in the situation Doni and I mentioned. It's difficult to get the car turned around. The Chaps are some of the worst with a 3 speed transmission.
Mark and Dean were fighting for position. It's tough enough just racing the track. I'm still not comfortable enough with the track to really want to do any close racing with another car.
Else I had maybe a good chance to catch Mark before the finish line
Yes! That was interesting until you ran wide in Campofelice. I thought that might prevent you from getting a tow on the Buonfornello Straight. When you started weaving like a drunk on the straight, you lost any chance of getting a tow. I still thought you had a chance to get a good tow until you hit the 203 km marker.
Axel obviously couldn't see well. He had to get so close to the kilometer marker to see it that he hit it.
Luckily for Doni, the pits is before the starting line. It would have been worse if it weren't. Then you wouldn't have even got a timed lap.
I wish Dean could have reset again. I probably would have just to get some more practice. Who cares about a DQ when it takes such a long time to run one lap.
If any of you guys are interested in learning the track better. Move your 1st pit stall to other points on the track to practice them. I learned the 1st sector much sooner than any other. Too many wrecks and resets had me returning to the pits to try again. I've still probably driven the 1st sector twice as much as any other. It shows too. My first sector times are becoming somewhat consistent.
To get my 5th gear set correctly without using much time, I've set my first pit stall on the straight after entering Campofelice. Now I know sector 4 well from starting in Campofelice so many times. I think it's time to set the first pit stall near the end of sector 2. That should allow me to learn sector 3 well, the one I know least.
If we ever race the GTs here again, I'll use a slower car. Right now I'm trying to get the 330/P4 set up well for Nurburgring and Targa. I'm also trying to get my GTrank handicap as low as possible for the 330.
I did some preparation laps with the ChapF and bettered my PB by 84 sec
another lap in the Lola was 1 sec faster but much more challenging...
Congrats! You'll keep getting faster? From watching the replay, it appears you know the track somewhat well. After 150-200 laps, I still don't think I know it real well. I'm surprised you didn't like the Lola more. This is the track that made me grow to love the T70's handling. It only took me 2 or 3 laps to break 36 minutes in the Lola. That was much quicker than I did it in any other GT. If only the T70 sounded and looked as good as the Ferrari.
It's probably smart to take the car you know best though, like I did with the Ferrari.
I must be a Targa addict. I'd guess there are few drivers that race online now that know the track better than I do.
Thanks for the info about Funliga, Axel. I can't make the next Targa race but I'll now watch what events they will be running. I might show occasionally if I ever have time on Wednesday for a race.
Thanks again guys.