rF2 Touring Masters @ Suzuka - Mon May 17th 2010

[Gary Lennon]

Very underprepared for this one and got my just rewards in qually starting 20th .....

Launched well and took what i could on the way down to T1 and then fell in line,and fortunately everyone behind and near me had the same thoughts so no dramas at all there,the usual places gained for free as people start falling off here n there,nice little battle with Jan Somers in a fast moving Alfa,final lap push on a struggling Remco was a little too late to steal 5th so a nice busy action hard earned 6th.....nice .

Start #1 from 2nd place and i just fell short of passing Nic at T1....start #2 was my worst i dropped to 3rd behind Remco...start #3 i got it all together perfect and had the line for T1 firmly claimed and got the lead and knew i had to make the best break away possible before the speedsters arrived,the plan was sort of working a bit until Jesper homed in on me,i snatched the brakes badly just before the tight right before the underpass and went all wild and mental across the grass and rejoined back on track but with no forward momentum,i didnt care really,i was just happy to have survived ,Jesper breezed past for the lead,i was pleased at being able to sort of hang on with him a bit until Anders arrived in the screaming wasp B&H Cossie,he didnt have to wait long until he got to pounce on another little mistake,but despite losing ground after Anders went past,i got settled again and seemed to have good tyre life letting me close a bit on Anders and Jesper,a little couple of brief visits from Toby putting me to 4th for a bit,then he disappeared and it was 3rd place for me,but nice to be somewhat more in the picture race2 and ending up not too far off the flying front pair.
Many Thanks to everyone i raced close with,and starting 20th race one means that was most of you at some point,excellent manners and respect everywhere.

Thank You Ryo & RD

 

[Toby Davis]

I just want to say that as always it was great.
I was really disappointed not to be on the front row after doing some serious practice... maybe I shouldn't have told people about the hard tyre trick! Ryo had worked it out already I guess.
Then, race 1, great start, but Toni got slightly sideways and I went for a gap when he caught the slide, not his fault but mine as we touched and he went off, so I waited for him to repass and ended up at the back. Battled through to 6th at one point before I ran out of talent at Spoon I think it was and went back behind the group I had just worked so hard to pass. sigh.

Race 2, another good start, top 6 after a couple laps, then Ries messed up at Degner (?) and took out a couple others which helped me. Took me a while to get past Jose and catch up to Gary, but then it was first-4th in very close proximity. I was lining up Anders before I ran out of talent AGAIN at the last chicane, and in my haste to rejoin I smacked into Jose, my fault again... let him through and therefore ended up lower than I should have been. Disappointing but I have learnt a lot about setting up these machines for the league... provided Mr Callan doesn't release a patch changing it all up.

 

[Nicholas Cole]

Have to say the restarts absolutely wrecked my nerves for race 2, starting from pole was bad enough pressure-wise, trying to make three starts to hold of Gary Goddamn Lennon was too much, but 7th place in both races is better than what could have been.

 

[Jesper Taulborg]

First race online in rFactor, and that went very good.

Race 1
I start 5th on grid, just following them infront of me. after lap 1 Im lying 3th cause 2 lost control, then at T1 Ryan the leader runs out in the gravel, and now im 2th But after a few laps I lost control in chicane and went down on 7th place. But I managed to overtake 3, so ending at 4th place.
Race 2
After the two restarts, I got a good start. Im 3th down to T1. I'll overtake the 2 infront of me after a few laps, and leading the race most of the time, having a 0.800-1.000 sec. gap down to number 2. But then Im losing my rear end at the chicane again, but im only losing 1 position this time. I overtake the one infront of me after 2 laps. On the second last lap, Andreas Nelson in his Ford is coming very close to me, and my heart is beating alot more than before He is very fast down the 2 longsides. Running in at last lap he is not more than 0.100 sec away, and know that he will overtake me down the longside if I dont get a little away from him
But then at the hair pin he gave me a little nudge, and luckyli for me, it gave me little away from him. And im taking the 1th with Andreas just behind me.

Great event.
Thanks Drivers.
And Thanks Ryan for setting this event up.

 

[Adam Eggbeer]

Poor night for me really. Managed to learn a bit on the setup front but that only gained me 1 second with another 3-4 needed to be near the front.

Quali: Couldn't put a decent lap together and was in 26th place, which was OK as I didn't have to worry about too many cars behind me.

Race 1: Made a great start and powered past a few cars on the run to turn 1. Braked a bit too late however and had to take to the grass on the inside to avoid Nigel. When I rejoined the track I found myself ahead of him so I was trying to allowing him back through and eventually he got past on the exit of turn 2. Going through the esses I got a huge hit up the rear which speared me off into the wall causing damage to both the front and rear of the car. Rejoined several places back and was able to keep up with the guys infront for the rest of the lap, overtaking those that had gone off. Out of the chicane I got a good run on Lukasz and overtook him into turn 1. He sneaked back up the inside for turn 2 and we were side by side all the way upto turn 3 before I managed to shut the door on him for turn 4. Spent the rest of the race pulling away from them but with 5 minutes to go, my rear tyres were going off. Had to avoid Toni's accident in the run-up to Spoon which cost me a second and allowed the cars behind to be right on my tail. On lap 8 I made a mistake in Spoon which allowed a car through. On the last lap into the final chicane I got overtaken on either side but got a nudge from sergio which caused the rear of my car to step out. Trying to keep the car pointing the right way I ended up cutting the first part of the chicane and finished in 17th.

Race 2: In the first two starts I had a decent start but got shoved about a bit, both time going off track around turn 2. In the 3rd start, I bogged down at the start and got overtaken by a few cars. Got a nudge in turn 1 which sent me back a bit more. Was holding off Ryan through the Esses but he just went around the outside of me with a brilliant move in Degna 1. Followed him all the way to Spoon but ran a bit wide on the the approach and braked too late for the corner which resulted in me hitting Ryan (Sorry :frown. Fortunately we both kept it in a straight line and lost minimal time. Lap 2 on the curve to Spoon, 3 cars in front had an accident and cars went everywhere. I managed to avoid the first car, but Toni's just span in the middle of the track and I hit his rear (Sorry, had nowhere to go and tried to slow it down). I didn't realise it at the time but I lost the front spoiler, part of the left side of the car and had a puncture. I think my spin caused 2 more cars to crash so I apologise for that as well. Pitted for a new wheel and to repair damage but my car was still pulling to the left. Ended up getting a stop/go for being too quick on entry to pit lane which put me a lap down. Tried to allow people through (hope I didn't hold anyone up) and made a few more places due to others retiring. Finished down in 27th.

Suzuka is track that I'm not very good at so I hope to be better at the next few tracks.

Thanks to Ryan, Ivo & RD.

 

[Ries Notenboom]

Race 2, another good start, top 6 after a couple laps, then Ries messed up at Degner (?) and took out a couple others which helped me.

Ye I kinda lost control there as my left rear touched the grass, resulted in a bit of a mess lol.
That corner I gave away my leading position to Anders as well in race 1

Gary Goddamn Lennon

That made me giggle

 

[Anders Nilsson]

Whoooooooaaaaaaaaaa what a evening I cant belive it a 1th and a 2th place unbelivable . This is one of my best simracing experience to score thoose positions in this competetiv field . Thx all for this wonderful racing im not good at racereports so just want to say, This was one hell of a battle and for me an epic race !!!

/Anders "undertray"

 

[Łukasz Demolin]

On the last lap into the final chicane I got overtaken on either side but got a nudge from sergio which caused the rear of my car to step out. Trying to keep the car pointing the right way I ended up cutting the first part of the chicane and finished in 17th.

That was a tight one, I was afraid I'll touch you and it seemed there was some contact between you and Sergio. Sandwich overtaking, a bit messy, almost Hakinen vs. Schumacher style . Almost makes a big difference, but it was quite exciting anyhow .

 

[Rich Tranter]

Was great to see such a full grid and a variety of talent too as there was close racing for all. Sadly I was not fully committed to the races as something came up during qualifying and I was expecting to be called away at any second. What racing I did do though was frantic and fun. Clearly a very popular mod.

 

[Adam Eggbeer]

Closing stages of Race 1. Four car battle for 15th position.

 

[Gary Lennon]

Whoooooooaaaaaaaaaa what a evening I cant belive it a 1th and a 2th place unbelivable . This is one of my best simracing experience to score thoose positions in this competetiv field . Thx all for this wonderful racing im not good at racereports so just want to say, This was one hell of a battle and for me an epic race !!!

/Anders "undertray"

Yea you were going great in that race Undertray m8,enjoyed our brief moments together racing,you get a good chunk of cam time in my latest movie of that race too .