SEASON 44  -  1967 F2    PROFESSIONALS         Round 4  -  Bulawayo 71

The Breedon Everard Raceway is Zimbabwe's most famous racing circuit, set in a natural depression on the edge of the city of Bulawayo. Fast and with wide run-off areas, it became a popular stop for competitors on the Springbok Series, frequented by European cars and drivers, helping to establish its international reputation.The 3 Hours of Bulawayo drew some notable names in its heyday but, inevitably, Zimbabwe's political situation meant international attention was fairly short lived. Happily, the circuit continues to operate successfully at national level under the auspices of the Bulawayo Motoring Club.

Date	=	Tuesday 27 February 2024
Race list	=	igor
Server	=	UKGPL_07
IP Address	=	see igor
Password	=	see above
Damage Model	=	INT
GPL Mod	=	1967 F2
60fps Patch	=	60fpsV2newmod
Track download	=	FASTLANE
Track directory	=	bulawayo
Qualifying Starts	=	20:45 UK Time  -  45min
Race Starts	=	21:30 UK time
Race Length	=	29 laps
Replay	=	Folder here
Championship	=	Table here

Please restrict your chat until all drivers are off the track during both practice AND the race, thank you. Only reported incidents will be moderated.

INT damage model for this series so Shift-R is available. Please take extra care when re-joining the track.

Great race, what an awesome circuit 

Had a fantastic battle with Angex and Dad basically all the way round, was nackered by about lap 10 but what fun 

See you all at the next one 

Well: I must say that it has been a very frustrating race for me, since I kept making mistake after mistake, and with 4 laps to go, more mistakes, that I already decided to withdraw from the race.
    I am very grateful to Fulvio for having lifted my spirits with the fight, of course, which in the end I managed, but due to my multiple mistakes I lost it again, ...very good defense, Fulvio, you did not make a single mistake.....I congratulate you.
   On the other hand, I apologize to Evil for the mistake (one of the many I made) in the 2nd corner after the start of the race, the braking reference went away and I couldn't avoid contact. what a bad thing,...excuse me evil....
   I'm not going to run the next f2 race (that's how some people breathe hehehe) since I'm going on a rest trip for 5 days, but in a month I will return to see if I can do something honorable in this f2 category
   I wish you luck and thank you.
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Grats to Alain ( super pace!) and to Tris.

No problem Enrique. I know from other races with you that you are a fair and honourable driver.

TBH I have not yet looked at the replay to see what happened at T2. When I was hit I was puzzled as I was 99% sure that there were no cars close enough to be a problem??? When I looked at Prib as I crawled out of the grass I could see that Enrique had also suffered, but I could not  be sure that he was not just another victim of the incident 
I rejoined a long way down the field and knew that, barring any incidents between the front 2, 3rd was probably the absolute best that was on offer, but it was going to require some hard work. No complaints about those drivers that allowed me a free pass, even Will's sneaky attempt to nudge me out onto the grass LOL. No worries Will, I had been hassling you for quite a while trying to force you off the racing line before I tried to go around the outside, so I should have expected you to be a little untidy  .

This series has a group of very fast drivers and cars that are a joy to drive right at the limit, so on a track with so many corners in quick succession passing is not easy. I was also tempted to take an FVA engined car, simply because they are lighter and more nimble. Even the Cooper which for some reason is valued as less quick than the others?? But the setup that I have for the Lola BMW ( although it is heavier) gives me a very predictable car and
rather than spend time developing a setup for an FVA, I took the lazy option.
If I had not been detained by the unfortunate Lap 1 incident I might have stayed with Alain and Tris for the whole race as once I had reached 3rd place the gap stayed pretty constant until I backed off, lost concentration, forgot to brake for the final turn and had to do a S/R  , but I doubt that I could have beaten either of them on sheer pace, so 3rd was what I got.

Great fun and more races to come.

I'm not surprised, you were right to be annoyed. Thanks for your understanding.

A pretty decent run for me in the BT14 with all laps on track to a P10 finish.  Had a bit of a fright at T2 on the opening lap as I lightly clipped the apex and the car lurched sideways but luckily, I caught it.  Many, many runners running afoul of the 'sticky grass' and having to catch me up.  Got into a good punch-up with Bob several times.  Came close to scooping a place from Phil on the last lap.  Next time, PT! 

I had endured a three-hour road trip earlier in the day and wasn't entirely enthused about entering this event as I was mildly fatigued.  With the 'sticky grass' being regarded by me as a nightmare and in strategic terms, a build fail, I consider it a real plus to get home without dramas.  The overall layout of Bulawayo isn't bad if a tad tedious but the 'sticky grass' just spoils it, imo.

Nice job by Alain for the win.  Great recovery by Evil Clive for P3.  Fine run by Tom in the Cooper to nab P4.  If I'm not mistaken, he needed a reset for fuel late in the go.

Phil notes that I am using the BT14.  It is rather short on performance compared to all other marques.  I am working to a plan. 

 

Well done Tristan and Evil.

Victory, what more could you ask for?
I still had several scares because it was hot with Tristan who, as usual, had a better start.
We both made several mistakes as well as Evil who was not able to defend his 3rd place correctly.

Well done everyone, thank you for the organization and see you soon

Sorry that I was not participating lately, guys. I had plenty of trouble with my new PC. The good news is that the PC is finally up and running now. I only wait for the new monitor and I really hope to join in this Sunday again.