Grats to the winners and podiums and commiserations to those who suffered from simple mistakes and racing incidents.
I have been thinking a lot about these races since last night and, although my history in UKGTL is relatively short, I don't think I can recall a series where three different marques of cars are so evenly balanced. As a result the racing can only be described as frenetic and frantic!!!
When I did some practice during Wednesday afternoon my first impressions were that the Isuzu was going to be the slowest car, it just felt sluggish with its 4 speed gearbox. The Mazda might be good if I could put up with that screaming engine, and the Toyota felt like it should be a second a lap quicker? But, the stopwatch does not lie and after trying all 3 cars there was very little to separate them in the laptimes that I could extract.
Maybe it was just me, but a 44 sec lap was the limit of my ability in all 3 cars, with a possible 43 sec lap if I got lucky? So, I joined the server quite expecting the usual suspects ( you know who you are!! ) to be clocking 42 secs or lower. With such a short lap, tenths of secs were the difference between grid positions and so it was during the racing. The cars were so evenly matched that it was impossible to create a passing opportunity unless the driver ahead made an error... and it quickly became apparent that any chance had to be siezed upon
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Contact and incidents were common as various paint finishes were compared at close quarters and as a result my collection of door handles and mirrors has grown significantly. With all cars running on the limit of adhesion, the slightest contact would upset the balance and usually send the car onto that very slippery NZ grass. Often no contact was necessary as just a little too much right foot would provoke terminal understeer and a trip onto the green stuff.
Places were gained and lost throughout the races as mistakes were made and capitalised upon, but the end result was hugely enjoyable and unpredictable right up to the flag.
I suspect that this series will generate really close racing for every round and has the potential to require more moderating than any previous competition...........unless we all remain gentlemen drivers.
On which note, I must apologise to Dan for the contact that sent him spinning. I was unsure whether I was at fault as I had got good drive off the previous corner to get alongside and when I realised that Dan was turning for the apex I took to the grass. I half waited and half was lured by the leaders escaping ahead for a lap. If Tony deems me at fault I have no problem as I my enjoyment of the close racing won't be diminished