Here's my race report.
QUAL = 7th (PB)
RACE = 1st (my first PrestoGP win in D1!)
Intermidiate tyres, 86L aboard.
I took very confident start and gained one position after T1. After the carousel (Lap 1) I passed Cristian Di Filippo and started chasing Nicolai. Next lap I pass Nicolai at tha same place (next turn after the carousel) and found myself in P2! I understood that leading Reik was faster and I would not be able to catch him, so I decided just to find my own rhythm and to save the current position from Tim McIver, who had already overtaken Nicolai and was closer and closer to me lap after lap, before he pitted (Lap 16).
Lap 17 - Reik visited his pit-crew and I took the lead! (probably the first time ever in D1
)
Lap 18 - tyres were gone, so I had to go to pits. Put fresh inters and filled the tank till the end of the race (85 litres). I returned on track behind Cristian Di Filippo, Peter Marshall (they probably had not pitted yet), Reik and Tim (they had visited their crews).
At that moment I decided to hold my virtual P3 (Tim and Reik were really faster), I knew that Cristian and Peter would have to pit soon, and the gap to cars behind me was very comfortable not to feel any pressure. Peter and Cristian pitted Lap21 and Lap22 accordingly, so my virtal P3 became the real one.
Lap 25 - Reik in pits again! (What happened mate?) And I am 2nd.Tim McIver was far ahead of me.
Lap 32 - Tim in pits. I wanted to stay on track for few more laps, but by the end of Lap 32 I catched the group of 4 cars, so decided not to lose the priceless time, and also turn into pits. Put fresh inters (no fuel needed, because the tank is full enough to finish the race). And I leave the pits on P3 ahead of Tim! Only Reik and Cristian are ahead of me. The gap was ~15 sec.
I am much faster (~2.0 sec per lap!) than the leaders because of fresh tyres, so I quickly ate the gap to Cristian and overtook him in Lap 36 right before the carousel.
The next aim was Reik The Champ. I knew he was struggling with his tyres, so what I had to do was just to stay on track without mistakes and crashes.
Lap 38 - I catched Reik and passed him right after the carousel.
10 laps left.... 10 most nervous laps in my sim-racing life. The first win was so close, but any stupid mistake could ruin this success. But I managed to avoid any problem and brought it home safe. Happy end!
Thank you all guys for quality racing. Congrats to Reik, Tim, all point-scorers and finishers. I am happy to be a part of this community!
Big thanks to Nicolai for all the job you do mate!