Season 42 - 1955GP – Round 7 – Bottomless Lakes

The seventh race in the 1955 Grand Prix series takes us to Bottomless Lakes in the USA. Bottomless Lakes State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Mexico, located along the Pecos River, about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Roswell. Whilst the roads are real, they have never been closed for racing. If it ever was, the racing would very fast as the track long and flowing with no heavy braking zones.
 

Race list	=	iGOR
Server	=	UKGPL04_60fps
IP address	=	146.200.244.218:32766
Password	=	see above
GPL Mod	=	55GP
Damage model	=	PRO
60fps Patch	=	60fpsV2newmod
Track	=	Bottomless Lakes v2 - Roswell  1967
Track directory	=	roswell
Qualifying starts	=	20:45 UK time - 45 minutes
Race starts	=	~ 21:30 UK time
Race length	=	12 laps
Replay	=	HERE

Please do NOT post chat messages during qualifying or racing until ALL drivers still qualifying or racing have crossed the line.

Driver lists and division specific rules can be found on the championship standings page.

That was a great race, the track lived up to my expectations for the 55s. Lots of slipstreaming with enough corners to make it tricky but plenty of run-off if mistakes are made.

I got a good start and was hanging onto Cookie's Lancia (thanks to the tow ). In fact I'd just nicked into second place when I got a phone call that I had to take. I had to slow down and do nearly a full lap in 5th gear. Phone call over, Cookie miles ahead and two pesky Vanwalls all over my gearbox.  The rest of the race was a very entertaining titanic battle with Doni and Pete. Pete must have made a mistake and dropped back which left me and Doni fighting for the last podium spot for a good 5 or 6 laps. I made a schoolboy error on the last lap and outbraked myself in the twisty bits. By the time I had reversed out of the sand, Doni was long gone. Thankfully I was able to hang onto 4th spot ahead of Pete. Great racing Doni  .

A race of so many wrong things that I believe I may have set a record.

First an apology to Tom for the contact on lap 2 ? . I thought that you were drifting wide and pointed my car at the inside...but I was wrong and the gap I was heading for closed too rapidly for me to avoid you.  I waited/drove slowly for the next half lap until I saw Tom closing and the plan was to allow him past on the S/F straight. I did better than that and managed to completely miss the entry to the final corner and run waaayyyy wide onto the sand. By the time I rejoined Tom was long gone and I was plumb last 

Drivers Top Tip #17....Always check where the lead to your headphones is routed and where it is hanging during the race.

For several laps I could not understand why I was missing so many downshifts, after all it was only a 4 speed gearbox !!!!.

 After yet another "off" from a missed downshift I discovered that my headphone lead was wrapped around my gearshift and caught on a bracket on my seat. It was just tight enough to prevent me engaging 1st or 2nd properly    So, from last by a long way I tried to regain some ground only to overdrive and leave a few sets of tyre tracks across the sand.
After passing and re-passing David a few times I eventually reeled him in yet again, only to discover that my fuel gauge was faulty  and that I was not going to reach the flag. OK I will slipstream David for a few laps and save fuel. But just as I got the tow rope prepared David's engine blew up and I was left stranded.
The last thing that went wrong was in trying to use left revs and take corners one gear higher....that did not work and I failed to negotiate the chicane, clipped a shrub and ripped a wheel off. Well at least it solved the fuel problem!!!

After looking forward to this, it is probably best forgotten.

No problem Clive, I was struggling with steering issues. The force feedback was so strong, I had problems turning in at the proper point. During the off I hit one of the solid stationary vehicles but managed to get back to the track and keep going. However the engine expired soon after rejoining the track. I was also looking forward to the race at this track, but couldn't even come close to the time I set while making the setup. I was lucky to finish one lap due to the steering. Must remind myself not to be testing different operating systems on multiple drives before racing.

Too many weeks without 55s. I missed sliding these around