Qualifying
The weekend started well enough, having done a few hours of practice over the previous week. I posted a decent banker lap which was only 4 tenths off my eventual best anyway. I held P1 for a long time with that lap, but I was pushed down in the dying minutes of the session by Jakub Kalbarczyk. I tried to get provisional pole back, but in the end I was P2, but only by 0.025. My Eight-Six Esports teammate, Max Reichel was less than a tenth of a second behind me in 3rd.
The Race
First things first, the mod we use has very strange tyre physics. When they are cold they lose a massive amount of grip. This often reeks havoc in turn 1, and today was no exception. I got a fairly decent start, holding alongside my teammate into turn 1, but I understeered wide because of the cold tyres and closed the door more than I expected. Sorry Max! I held onto 2nd for about a lap, catching Jakub quite quickly. I made a very good exit out of Senna. Jakub didn't. I was able to slot up the inside down into turn 1 and took the lead.
Jakub began dropping back before eventually getting passed by my teammate for P2. I pitted on lap 12 for a new set of supersofts and more fuel. I had a surprisingly slow stop and Jakub, who had stopped on the same lap, came out less than a second behind having been over 3 when we stopped. His pace in the second stint though was exceptional. We had a very good battle for about a lap. He eventually squeezed through on the inside of turn 4 before promptly disappearing into distance to catch Max, who had inherited the lead after he stopped. He made it up to Max before a titanic battle ensued and they traded place for a while. Jakub managed to hold onto the lead over the line and won the race by just over a tenth from Max, with me trailing behind in third, 1.9 seconds behind.
But the story doesn't end there!
I watched the start back in slow motion and Jakub had jumped the start. I sent a video to the admin and Jakub was given a 5 second penalty, promoting Max to the win, me to second, and Jakub down to 3rd.
All in all, not a bad first day with Eight-Six!
Thanks,
Peter J.
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