UKGTR Season 10 Lower Endurance - Silverstone (GP 2000 ) - Sep 13

[Truetom]

Was on TT's bumper for quite a few laps and we had a good dice untill he lost it at Stowe spinning very close to the front of my car 

   You helped me a bit.   But either way, you were faster and would pass sooner or later, so it doesn't really matter. 

[Simon Gymer]

@Shark: saw Legzy flinged over the track in front of you. I bet you flinched like you saw a giant hornet comming at you.  

Have to say I only vaguely remember that. Wasn't he behind me at the time? I really can't remember.

Made a mistake at the first corner on lap 1 which gave Simon a run on me and he got past me down the hanger straight. Got myself back together and started closing him down. He went a little wide after the bridge and i made a move down the inside, there was slight contact but i think it was ok? (havnt seen replay yet).

Racing incident. Both racing hard at the time.

With hindsight, I should have. In the corners, be it slow or fast, the 997 is ok, but when, for instance, I needed Dave in the GT3 350Z to have a big lift on the straight   so I could get by, then surely something is not right.

Don't think anything is wrong tbh. I needed Z3Ms to lift off down the straights for every race so far this season. Even in the M3 with low wing it wasn't that much faster than the Z3M in a straight line (just a lot faster in the corners). It's easy to say a car is slow in a straight line but it can have a lot to do with exit speed and wing settings too, so persevere.

I must admit I'd like to try the Porker, but I have no idea how to drive them properly or set them up. Should they be stiff at the front or back or what and how do you set up the brakes so that you don't get "the Jonzo effect" as I like to term it (1 wheel smoking into every corner ).

[goldtop]

@Stewprovo: thought you were gonna take the F430? I found the porker exquisite and refreshing after grappling with first Gallardo and then Esperante. I had a constant feeling I'm not using the car's potential and that I could go faster. Well, I guess that's true, it takes JonM to put the car on the limit...  

With hindsight, I should have. In the corners, be it slow or fast, the 997 is ok, but when, for instance, I needed Dave in the GT3 350Z to have a big lift on the straight  so I could get by, then surely something is not right. I know the classes are fairly close speed wise, but I could only just gain on most cars on the straights, including the GT3's. It just seems to lack a bit of grunt compared to everything else. I want to stay with it as I really do like the way it drives, but whats the point, when you make up a fair bit of ground in the corners, only to lose it all on the straights. I know thats what the balancing was all about, but I found that I was taking more risks going passed people under the brakes, and risking collisions in the process. I suppose the other solution would be to drop into the GT3 Cup 996, but that would leave me no excuses for my carp driving . As for the pits, Simon has put me in the picture on that one, in my red mist moment, I forgot to request the stop for my stop/go, so all my own doing that one

Regards your straight line speed just a thought, but have you checked your pedals lately? I had a similar problem with straight line speed last night but put it down to my usual slow pace. Spanner and sbg gave me a HU that my lights were flickering and sure enough when I checked my controller settings there was visible flickering on the brake bar/meter. Got round it by putting a few % deadzone on my brake. Took a couple of scruffy laps around Silvers and I was almost a second quicker per lap

Going to try to clean the pots up, but if that doesn't work it looks like getting a G25 while they're on offer.

[Legzy]

Had a shocking qually session where it just wasn't coming together for me. Managed to be 0.55 up after two sectors on my very final lap of qually, but unfortunately got stuck behind Dave Gymer through that last slow sector & missed out on improving my time. Just one of those things, but actually had quite an impact on my evening. Assuming I'd carried or improved that advantage through & set a faster lap time, I'd have started ahead of Simon Gymer. Unfortunately (yet very enjoyable) it meant I was to spend the first six laps being held up everywhere by Shark's Bus & Minton (also trying to get past him). I managed to slip past Dan when he went wide (having missed two opportunities already) & a lap later I had Simon set up perfectly as I got the power down way earlier then he could & for half a second I was up to 5th. That was until my inside wheel (sadly now touching a kerb) lost all traction & I got catapulted across the track & Simon's nose & into the wall.
I limped my damaged & punctured car round half the track to the pits & repaired all. Unfortunately picking up a stop/go for speeding at pit entry (cars with punctures don't brake well ). Did a lap & served my penalty. Exited the pits 10yards in-front of Simon, but two laps down & in 20th.
Gradually pulled away from Simon (& the blue flags I got for the 1st lap! ) & set about first unlapping myself from 19th place man Dave & then trying to get through the GT3's & hopefully do enough to earn some GT2 points.

With six minutes to go, I caught team mate Blunder & after a brief but edge of the seat fight for a few corners I passed & got into the point scoring positions (11th) & with Stewprovo in 10th just 1 sec away. My tyres were shot but having come this far I couldn't help but continue pushing.

I was immediately on Stew's rear bumper. Then I just took a look up his inside & ...... 'whoops, there goes my braking point!' & I slap on the brakes, turn the wheel in, catch a bump & the car is sideways & my car literally went with both front wheels at 90 degrees running along the kerb & it settled perfectly as it hit the apex. So I accelerated away with Stew hot on my heels (sorry about that  ). Stew then pulled off the most daring/funny overtake I've seen & held it himself & I then went just off trying too hard to get the place back with adrenaline pumping hard! Had to get past Blunder again & had one last chance to pass Stew but like an over excited fool I span myself, nudging Blunder as he then came past (sorry buddy). With one lap to go, I caught Blunder again & this time passed as his back end twitched out on him.

Disappointed I didn't finish in the top 5 where I think I probably should have, but what an immense race! Nice one.

Only two F430's last night, compared to the six, seven & eight's that we normally see on the grid. Balancing must have done something good

[Stewprovo]

With six minutes to go, I caught team mate Blunder & after a brief but edge of the seat fight for a few corners I passed & got into the point scoring positions (11th) & with Stewprovo in 10th just 1 sec away. My tyres were shot but having come this far I couldn't help but continue pushing.

I was immediately on Stew's rear bumper. Then I just took a look up his inside & ...... 'whoops, there goes my braking point!' & I slap on the brakes, turn the wheel in, catch a bump & the car is sideways & my car literally went with both front wheels at 90 degrees running along the kerb & it settled perfectly as it hit the apex. So I accelerated away with Stew hot on my heels (sorry about that  ). Stew then pulled off the most daring/funny overtake I've seen & held it himself & I then went just off trying too hard to get the place back with adrenaline pumping hard! Had to get past Blunder again & had one last chance to pass Stew but like an over excited fool I span myself, nudging Blunder as he then came past (sorry buddy). With one lap to go, I caught Blunder again & this time passed as his back end twitched out on him.

That was the most fun I think I've had all season, we were swapping mad but clean overtakes for pretty much a lap, and you still wouldn't leave me alone , I then realised that you couldn't tell I was running out of gas. Hope we get to repeat soon, only maybe a bit further up the grid. Nice driving mate

[Simon Gymer]

I managed to slip past Dan when he went wide (having missed two opportunities already) & a lap later I had Simon set up perfectly as I got the power down way earlier then he could & for half a second I was up to 5th. That was until my inside wheel (sadly now touching a kerb) lost all traction & I got catapulted across the track & Simon's nose & into the wall.

As this really wasn't ringing too many bells, I went to look at the replay.

You had as you say got onto the curb on the inside, but I couldn't see you, I just knew you were there somewhere. The curb then spat you around and you speared past Dan's nose (not mine) behind me. I presumably saw this in the mirror and thought, "phew some respite".

I thought I would remember your buzzing hornet spear past my nose, so it makes sense now as it wasn't me!

[Dan Minton]

The curb then spat you around and you speared past Dan's nose (not mine) behind me.

Just about avoided you there Legzy!

[Dave 'Gizmo' Gymer]

for instance, I needed Dave in the GT3 350Z to have a big lift on the straight  so I could get by, then surely something is not right.

Were you running more than 1 rear wing? 'Cause I wasn't.

TT didn't seem to have a problem passing me in the 997 - in fact, the 997 appeared to be able to brake crazy late for Vale Corner too!

[Stewprovo]

for instance, I needed Dave in the GT3 350Z to have a big lift on the straight  so I could get by, then surely something is not right.

Were you running more than 1 rear wing? 'Cause I wasn't.

TT didn't seem to have a problem passing me in the 997 - in fact, the 997 appeared to be able to brake crazy late for Vale Corner too!

  It must be a set-up thing then. The 997 is very good on the brakes, hence the overtakes I had with Legzy at the end. It does really eat tyres tho, is that normal? I need to get a 997 set-up from TT as well as the 430 one I got from him, then didn't use.

[Gazza49er]

   You helped me a bit.   But either way, you were faster and would pass sooner or later, so it doesn't really matter. 

Did i?? i really didnt think i touched you, really sorry if i did, i would of waited if i thought i had hit you. I will check replay later tonight.

[Truetom]

Don't worry, my man. As I said, you would have passed sooner or later.

[spanner]

Gawd, i was out of practise for that one! ended up sweating buckets through that with the concentration, well, other than the odd two or three laps lol.

Pretty happy with qually, hadnt been able to get into the 48's since the first run on thursday night and felt i could have gone faster but ran out of time and caught a GT3 which put me off.

In the race I was just managing to stay with the group ahead watching Shark defending from everyone with cars strewn along the circuit! After Legzy fell off and H@L it was left to me and after a few laps tempted to chuck it up the inside at priory as Shark was taking a rather wide but slow line but thought better of it until he went a bit too wide and i managed to get up the inside in brooklands. But i was trying to give you plenty of room around the outside and took a rather tight line, got on the kurb and spun out. 

Then spun out on the next lap while trying to explain it on TS I'll blame it on Oily being there
So ended up a bit further back than i wanted and after the stop was on a mission to try and get back up there.

Not sure about people moaning about the 997, one of the nicest cars to drive that can turn-in nicely and get the power done nicely! in this instance with the GT3's your only going to win through the corners as straightline speed isnt that far off.