Well, my first event with these cars, and to be honest i wasn't expecting much from them, but they've seriously become one of my favourite mods- right up there with the Cats. For me, the ffb feels spot-on, something which is very rare for me with most rFactor mods, as most just give you a vague feeling of grip loss, but this feels just 'right'. With a couple of setup tweaks i felt confident to attack the circuit, and Essington's fast sweepers suited these cars perfectly.
Now, onto the race(s). Race 1: Fluffed start, down to 4th with Jack pressuring me behind, Thommo spun at the 'corkscrew', and careered across the track and hit me (i saw him slide off, then lost sight, but knew his car was coming back somewhere!) but i was able to continue and chase Bob ahead. So for the rest of the race we indulged in yet another epic battle with the usual lack of contact, but always close. Unfortunately my shorter gear ratio or my earlier accident damage meant i was regularly a lot slower on the long straight and lost a few tenths there every lap making an overlap difficult to achieve. I kept at it though and would usually be right on his tail in the final sector, but Bob was equal to the task and wouldn't give me an easy chance to pass, and i wasn;t going to try a risky lunge. (that ain't how we roll, eh?!) So in the end Bob took the win. Well done sir, great racing!
With the Lotus in race 2 i got a slightly less terrible start, but was 3rd into turn 1 with Jack again giving me serious pressure into turns 1 & 2 with Bob & Chris P2 & P1 respectively. After following Bob for a lap or two i made my move exiting the long right-hander at the end of the straight and set after Chris, who made a mistake at the final turn and let me through. I now tried to eke out a gap to those two, but struggled a little until i clipped the kerb at the corkscrew and half-spun, allowing Chris through but just staying ahead of Bob. However a little later Chris spun and allowed me and Bob back through, and i got the foot down and built a small lead until the end of the race.
I thoroughly enjoyed these cars, they have a slight tendency to oversteer while on the limit, but nothing that can't be sorted with a 'dab of oppo'. And while following Bob in race 2 i witnessed the lovely Lotus's backfire animation systematically spitting flame from the exhausts which added a nice touch! I can feel a movie clip coming on here!
Thanks Thommo & RD, congrats Bob & Jack for podiums!
