After all the work I did to prepare for this Monaco race, this is what happened...
Needless to say I was gutted. This is my favorite track, and I had looked so forward to this event. Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe it. I did have some fun though, spectating and watching the battle at the front for the win.
Things would turn around shortly after the Fun Series race concluded when, just as I was about to power down my console, I received an invite from a RaceDept buddy to join another race.
Team: Red Bull
Participants: 16
Qualifying: Random Assignment-P15
Race: DNF (P15)
Objective: Finish 16th or better PASSED
Race Department Weekly Fun Series Stats
Starts: 2
Finishes: 1
Best Grid: 7th
Best Race: 10th
Podiums: 0
Wins: 0
Points: 1
ABS/TC/Auto Gears/Dynamic Racing Line/Penalties Realistic/Damage Full/Tire Sim/Fuel Sim
RaceDepartment Random Fun League-75% Shanghai
Team: Virgin
Participants: 10
Qualifying: P9 (moved up to P8)
Race: P5
Objective: Finish 10th or better PASSED
Qualifying:
Run 1 Its wet so everyone is out on inters, knowing that the forecast for the race is clear. I go out mainly to find out what I need to do to the setup, since I haven't got any setups saved for the Virgin car. I get up to P3 before packing it in back to the garage. Run 2 I've made a few tweaks to help me get around better, and get back up to P3 with about 30sec left in the session. At session end I was still shown as P3, but then in the garage before race start my display says P9??? lol. I would get a lucky break when a player got dropped as we were being put on the grid, moving me up to P8. Its ok because I setup with dry in mind and I am pretty sure to have a much better pace in the race proper.
Race:
Lap 1 I was committed to the outside coming into the first turn, and ended up doing a bit of lawn mowing in the process of trying to avoid any collisions. But I maintained position and then, because I got a nice entry into that first apex, right where it tightens up, and a few guys got it wrong and went wide, I was able to sneak past for P7. Lap 3 Things got interesting when I came out of a corner to see a crashed McLaren spinning across the track in front of me. Fortunately I got past without getting tangled up in it...until, at the next corner, I see that my fellow Virgin (Marussia) driver Benny has overcooked it and gone off. I tried to go wide to give him space, but we get into contact. Technically that was an unsafe re-entry, as I was far too close. Mired in the gravel as I try to get back on track, I lose a position. Coming onto the back straight, neither benny or I have registered the yellow flag. He pulls over to give the position back to me (for spinning me) and...I get a drive through for ignoring the yellow flag, which ironically was out as a result of benny pulling off for me. Lap 4 I decide to go around another lap before serving my drive through, seeing that boothy, who had also passed benny under yellow, go into the pits in front of me to serve his drive through. I pull into the pits at the end of the lap and benny and Ry go past. For now boothy is out of the picture and the damage is nominal. Lap 6 I've caught up to benny and Ry duking it out for P5. Ry makes a mistake around turn 8, getting his wheels up over the curb and onto the grass, allowing me to dive inside going into turn 9 for the overtake. This was my personal favorite moment of the race. Lap 7 Chasing down benny. He goes wide in the hairpin at the end of the back straight, but I can't quite capitalize. Lap 8 I'm in DRS range coming out onto the back straight behind benny. Benny has also gone a bit wide exiting. I select fuel mix 3, open the DRS, and punch KERS. Safely past, and it sticks through the hairpin. Lap 9 While I was catching benny, boothy has been catching me. Nice battle between the three of us for P5-7. I make a mistake not covering the inside coming down the back straight and he gets the DRS pass on the inside. I thought it was more than a little unnecessary for him to make contact with me a shove me off the outside edge coming into the hairpin, especially when he owned the inside completely. Fortunately it didn't cause me to crash. Lap 12 I get my revenge when boothy's options have had it and he pits while I fly by on my still good to go primes! Lap 15 Defending against benny. Lap 18 More defending. Looks like benny has an off/spin. Either way he drops way back. Lap 19 Pit stop for options. Position held. Laps 23-25 benny is really catching up...and then he gets disconnected! I'm all alone in last place (P5). Everyone else is DNF or DSQ. Early pit stop for primes to go for the easy finish. I realize in reviewing the video that maybe I should have stuck with my prime-option-option strategy, as I was taking a a second or so off Dizz every lap. Who knows if I would have caught up but darn I could have tried and I just didn't notice the time I was making. Lap 41 finished the race +1 lap.
It really bummed me out that benny got disconnected as we were having a good go at each other all race. Same for boothy and Ry. With them gone I had no one left to race and it was a very lonely drive to the finish. I would really have liked to see how our strategies would have played out. As it was, I was very happy to bag P5 and 10 points. Washed the bitter taste of Monaco failure out of my mouth nicely.
RaceDepartment Random Fun League Stats
Starts: 1
Finishes: 1
Best Grid: P9
Best Race: P5
Podiums: 0
Wins: 0
Points: 10
ABS/TC/Auto Gears/Dynamic Racing Line/Penalties Realistic/Damage Full/Tire Sim/Fuel Sim
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Race Department Lifetime Club Stats
Starts: 3
Finishes: 2
Best Grid: P7
Best Race: P5
Podiums: 0
Wins: 0
Points: 11
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