iRacing Season 3 Mazda - Zandvoort (GP) - Jun 15

[spanner]

Using the brands setup i was instantly at home once i worked out where the corners go! I must be alergic to american tracks Its got a good rythym and was just pleased to get into the 36's though the final chicane is a place i always loose time though. Not sure how i got into the 35's though!

[popabawa]

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[Ken Murray]

34.6 here too. 

Tonight could be Brands Mk2, Ken. 

Could be!!

[spanner]

Didnt think i was pushing too hard and thought the guys ahead would have started to pull away but came round turn 2 and saw people queing into turn 3, got on the brakes quickly but got on the grass and spun hitting Ross. I guess my deeper line through turn 3 probably wasnt the same as others! Tried carry on but too damaged and it spun me into the barriers again.

Really felt quite comfortable round so really gutted about ending mine and Ross's race AND not being able to repair and continue on my own to just drive round.

[Dan Minton]

Amazing track and an amazing race up until the crash ....  Great stuff Brendan and Ken     for 15 mins i was in the F3 Masters .   Real shame..car was too damaged to continue.

New i should have gone to the inside of Pauls stationary car.

[Mike Wrightson]

Well that was brilliant while it lasted.  John jumped me at the start and we were very cautious into the hairpin, but he slowed a lot more than I thought and I just nudged him.  We both survived that unscathed and battle commenced.  I finally forced a mistake and got the hammer down.  Caught up with Ken after some very hot laps and found we were also catching the pack ahead. It was all starting to get very interesting when we all arrived at a spun car at the hairpin blocking the track.

We all piled into it and each other.  I think most were out on the spot

Most competitive race in the season so far, lots of drivers on a fast pace.  Gutted it ended like that.

[Ken Murray]

Amazing track and an amazing race up until the crash ....  Great stuff Brendan and Ken     for 15 mins i was in the F3 Masters .   Real shame..car was too damaged to continue.

Yes, that's what it's all about. Fantastic while it lasted. I was well chuffed to be running with the "big boys" at the front!!

[Ken Murray]

I demand a re-run!! 

[Ken Murray]

I demand a re-run!! 

Suppose we have all week on iRacing now to have as many goes we like!! Off to put a qually lap in while I'm hot!!!

[Paul Richards]

 

So sorry to everyone involved. Cant believe I just did that. Just touched the outside bit of turf and it half spun me face into the barriers right on the tight hairpin. Bit of a gap so thought about reversing right back across the track onto the grass. After selecting reverse the car rolled back a bit. The gap dissappeard in no time so shoved it into first to stick it back in the barriers again to get out of everyones way. Dont know if it wheel span or what but was slow getting away. By the time it moved towards the outside Brendan or Dan had already commited to going around the outside of me leaving him nowhere to go. That collision blocked the whole track and the others then had nowhere to go either.

So sorry to everyone. I should have just quit out although I wasnt damaged as there was no way I was turning round there. Self imposed rest of season ban for me. Was having a great time up to then.

[Legzy]

Great track, great car... just a shame I seem to be the slowest driver in UKiR by some distance & I didn't see another car from L1 T5 onwards after getting a bit behind when I avoided the little T3 issue.

Finally lost concentration properly on about lap 15.



- Been thinking about it & I guess I just don't have enough time to dedicate/prioritise to just iR to catch up to the pack here. Ho hum

[ross.mcw]

Really felt quite comfortable round so really gutted about ending mine and Ross's race AND not being able to repair and continue on my own to just drive round.

No worries Spanner, probably made no real difference to my race anyhow, great combo, but I'm really struggling to find decent pace round here.

Still, on the bright side, I've just learnt that McLaren's 'Manchester' showroom will be 500 yards down the road from my house in Knutsford!  Hurrah!  Must start saving my pennies.

Cheers, Ross.

[Brendan]

Brilliant while it lasted.

Bittersweet qually for me.  A PB of 34.4 but optimal of 33.8  

Anyway, the race was one of my all time best.  Hung on to the front 3, suprisingly but missed my braking point into the tight hairpin on lap 3.  Luckily Paul H had his wits about him and there was no contact.  This spooked me a little and I took a lap or so to regain my composure by which point Dan was very close.  

We were going hammer and tongs at it, lap after lap and although Dan was quicker, I was able to hold him off into the braking zones.  We swapped position a few times and even a minor side-by-side contact through the chicane didn't quell the excitement.

Anyway, no hard feelings Paul R.  When I saw you broadside across the track I made a split second decision to aim for the largest gap, which was to the outside.  It was a toss of the coin decision which unfortunately was the wrong one.  I'm reluctant to wave the finger as everyone has the odd moment like this from time to time.  I personally wouldn't be upset to see you back on track next week.  

Anyway, can we race Zandvoort every week?  

PS Grats to John, Paul and Martin.

[Simon Gymer]

Another ridiculously high finish for me. 14th fastest guy and finished 5th. Awesome. Had a great long race with Martin, James and also Ade early on, although there was next to no overtaking we were all very close the whole time.

When Paul's traffic jam special occurred it was Christmas all over again gaining 6 or so places I think from the 12th I was running in and gained another latter for some reason.

Was running very high wing so slipstreaming was nigh on impossible except for Pops, who I managed to get a good run on after a couple of laps down into T1, but after that it was follow my leader, although tbh driving behind Martin was really dragging my pace up more than I would on my own and I was really just managing to keep up rather than knocking at the door.

Very nice to use Zandvoort, although it's spoilt by some what used to fast corners being turned into bizarre little complexes and chicanes. Hope to see more new tracks in the schedule as it will give me a reason to buy things like Mid Ohio which I wouldn't bother with otherwise.

[Adam Parle]

Epic race.

I was late getting started practicing on this track, and although I've run races at Zandvoort in the past, I've not run any on this configuration - so it took a good few laps last night to get to know the circuit, and after the official race at Milwaukee I was pretty tired, so didn't make as much progress as I would have liked.

Even this evening, I wasn't happy with the setup of the car, but soldiered on with the Brands race setup that I had been using, and just trying to make the best of a bad situation.  Thankfully I thought I'd try my luck in qually with the Brands qually setup - it felt pretty good and although I was nearer the back of the grid than the front, you can't really complain when you set a PB.  I didn't manage to get into the 35's, but close enough.

More importantly, Pops wasn't too far in front .... directly infront of me on the grid ... and I was going to get used to the sight of the back of his car!

As the Brands qually setup was feeling good, I changed the tyre pressures slightly and loaded up with fuel - I hadn't run a lap with the setup with race fuel on board, but the setup felt so much better than the others that I was using I figured it was a risk worth taking, I was unlikely to be any slower than I had been with the other setups.

I was happy to keep up with Pops and Shark for the first few laps, and after Pops let Shark by and scarper up the road, I was still within a second.  Indeed, we were within a second for the entire race!  I had a straight line speed advantage - a couple of tenths on the main straight, and ultimately this got me by Pops when he ran over a bit of kitty litter on the final corner - that slowed him down enough to let me get by into T1.  I very nearly handed it straight back running wide at T3, but settled down after that.

There was a great bit of racing when Ade caught us, all of us within a second for a good few laps.  A locked brake let Ade by, but it was just a matter of time at that point.  Pops was still behind me though - and that was the main thing!  From pretty much there to the end of the race I was getting harassed, and having to show Pops a thing or two about defensive driving  I made a good few mistakes, but none big enough to let Pops by.

.... ultimately it could have been either one of us winning the battle, but thankfully I triumphed.  Epic race - really enjoyed it.

Shame to see a load of guys drop out early - it sounds like this car/track combo was producing battles from the front of the field to the back.