AC Multiclass Audi TT / Mazda MX5 @ AVUS DTM - Wednesday 5th January 2021

[HF2000]

That was rough for me. I was doing ok - even gained a few places - with the cold tires and slippery track. Up until lap 12, when I accidentally downshifted into 2nd on the last turn with all the Audis coming up behind me. I was on the inside and everyone was passing on the outside and I was going SO slow and couldn't get out of the way. Sorry, guys. Then it happened AGAIN on lap 16 or so, and rather than become an obstacle I teleported back to the pits.

See Omar, I told you you wouldn't be dead last!

Hopefully next time I can keep the car pointed in the right direction for the whole race.

You did okay, Michael!

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

You did okay, Michael!

Good, because this was super fun and I think you guys are stuck with me.

If there is any driving etiquette that I'm doing wrong, please let me know! It was really tough figuring out how to handle the overtakes at the chicane and that right-hand bend on the back straight.

 

[Spineblower]

Chris - no World record?

 

[Shed 17]

Apologies for causing the pile up at T1. Caught out by the cold tyres and lack of grip. For my sins I was dead last so at least I didn't have to wait for anyone!

Don't quite know how I ended up 4th but great race with Paul for the second half of the race.

One of my best ever qualifying in P3 turned into P13 by the chicane but the recovery lead to some fantastic racing with Colin and Han. Thanks for waiting Han at T1 later in the race, there were some frantic moments towards the end as we all got together but very entertaining!!
This track was always going to provide close racing and the Mazda guys must have been constantly looking in their mirrors but all in all well done to everyone. Thanks Han for organising.

 

[Shed 17]

Good, because this was super fun and I think you guys are stuck with me.

If there is any driving etiquette that I'm doing wrong, please let me know! It was really tough figuring out how to handle the overtakes at the chicane and that right-hand bend on the back straight.

We all had to start somewhere Michael, I have been racing with this club for just under a year now and have learnt so much in that time.
The thing with the Mazda in the multi class with incoming Audi’s is to be predictable and consistent. As Han reminds everyone in the driver briefings, that the Mazda can stay on the racing line and it’s up to the Audi to find a safe overtaking spot without impeding on the Mazda line. Having driven in both classes, the Mazda has better braking performance and can carry the corner speed. The Audi is obviously faster in acceleration and in a straight line and the closing speed can catch out the Audi sometimes when you think you can outbrake the Mazda.
You probably heard some Mazda drivers giving incoming Audi’s direction over the radio on which side to pass on, this helps a lot and allows both cars to make progress without any surprises.
But you are doing OK, keep at it and don’t be afraid to ask if you need help. The Mazda can be a bit slippery at times but making adjustments to the settings can provide a stable platform to allow you to be consistent.

 

[Dzul]

Well, that was a ton of fun guys! A lot of things learned at the Norisring on GTR2 and the fact that it's not a lot of corners helped me find a good pace on this track and eventually clinch P4 on the Mazdas, my best result so far so I’m very pleased with that.

But it was a tricky race as well. Although the track is simple there was seldom time to take a break because already on lap 8 the Audis started to come lapping in, and more than once in droves, which made for very tricky situations sometimes. I managed to avoid contact by trying to divert incoming Audis to one side once they were close behind, still, more than once I found myself in the middle of battles at very tight spots. Which made for an exciting race all together but not an easy one to survive unscathed.

After a good start I somehow squeezed through the carnage of T1 and got ahead of all Mazdas... big surprise. But I also had Andre close behind me so I had my work cut. He was faster so he passed me shortly after, and then I had Allan on the rear mirror to deal with. I found a good pace and managed to hold P2 for a few laps, probably due to the fact that I was negotiating the last long bend with a more conservative approach than him. But once the grip went up Allan got faster and catched up. He managed to pass me with a really nice move when two battling Audis reached us at T1. I had one on the inside so I had to turn wide and Allan did what Verstappen did years ago in Monaco behind Vettel, closed in bumpers with the faster car ahead and sneaked past. I managed to stay close for a few laps until I had to catch a slide at the last corner. After that it was about negotiating traffic.

The last 20 minutes of my race I focused on keeping Ernie small in my rear mirror but he just kept tumbling his laptimes and finally caught up with me on the last laps. I managed to fend him off for a few corners but incoming traffic didn't help my exits and he pulled off a solid pass at T1 on the last lap. I managed to stay close but couldn't sling-shot properly out of the last bend at the end and finished just a few tenths behind him on P4. Still a very good result for me.

Congratulations to Allan and Chris on the wins and the rest of the podiums guys... great battles made pure fun of this race! See you at the next one.

 

[Kek700]

A great battle it was too @Dzul , i just got lucky.

 

[Chris Down]

Chris - no World record?

Not sure what you mean, I have WR on this track Wasn't going to post it since I'm not totally happy with it, but here you go.

 

[EireGreen™]

You did okay, Michael!

Hey @HF2000 Han. Yes I'm fine. A few minor bruises .... Thanks for asking.

 

[HF2000]

Hey @HF2000 Han. Yes I'm fine. A few minor bruises .... Thanks for asking.

Ok, point taken! From now on I will call you 'little Michael' ('Klein' means 'little' in Dutch).

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

We all had to start somewhere Michael, I have been racing with this club for just under a year now and have learnt so much in that time.
The thing with the Mazda in the multi class with incoming Audi’s is to be predictable and consistent. As Han reminds everyone in the driver briefings, that the Mazda can stay on the racing line and it’s up to the Audi to find a safe overtaking spot without impeding on the Mazda line. Having driven in both classes, the Mazda has better braking performance and can carry the corner speed. The Audi is obviously faster in acceleration and in a straight line and the closing speed can catch out the Audi sometimes when you think you can outbrake the Mazda.
You probably heard some Mazda drivers giving incoming Audi’s direction over the radio on which side to pass on, this helps a lot and allows both cars to make progress without any surprises.
But you are doing OK, keep at it and don’t be afraid to ask if you need help. The Mazda can be a bit slippery at times but making adjustments to the settings can provide a stable platform to allow you to be consistent.

Yes, I found that, at least for me on this track, lowering the tire pressures a bit did wonders. And I will definitely start communicating more with the Audi drivers in future. Like I said, that right hand kink on the back straight was really tricky since most of the Audi's seemed to be approaching on the right, so I had to leave the racing line to let them through. Which is fine, but a little confusing.

One question I have: I teleported myself to the pits at one point, because I'd ended up spinning out and ended up in a hazardous place on the racing line with Audi's quickly approaching. After that, I was at least a lap down on all the other Mazda's as was seeing the blue flag constantly. In a situation like that, am I still obligated to slow down and let every Mazda past?

 

[HF2000]

In a situation like that, am I still obligated to slow down and let every Mazda past?

Yes, if you teleport to the pits, you loose a lap and from that on you will get blue flags from your own class also and then the normal rules apply (be predictable, slow down on the straight and make it easy to pass).

 

[HF2000]

Next week event: https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...d-atlanta-wednesday-12th-january-2021.215784/

 

[EireGreen™]

Ok, point taken! From now on I will call you 'little Michael' ('Klein' means 'little' in Dutch).

No problem Han I´m 180 cm high. In German means that too.

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

Ok, point taken! From now on I will call you 'little Michael' ('Klein' means 'little' in Dutch).

Just call me Malarky to avoid confusion. Or Lark. All my friends do

 

[EireGreen™]

Total confusion. Good Night.

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

Yes, if you teleport to the pits, you loose a lap and from that on you will get blue flags from your own class also and then the normal rules apply (be predictable, slow down on the straight and make it easy to pass).

That's what I assumed, and what I tried to do. I wasn't entirely sure if I was the only one who was that far behind, so when a pack of Mazdas was coming up from behind I never knew if I was racing any of them.

 

[Kek700]

@Mr. Malarkey
For some reason today I looked at my last replay at Avus.
I noticed I knocked into you on the tight first bend and did not stop, but merrily drove on.
Why I did, just cannot recall, but I hope you can accept my apology for the incident.
( it is not for me, actually far from impossible that I just did notice )
( My one brain cell easily gets overloaded )

 

[Mr. Malarkey]

@Mr. Malarkey
For some reason today I looked at my last replay at Avus.
I noticed I knocked into you on the tight first bend and did not stop, but merrily drove on.
Why I did, just cannot recall, but I hope you can accept my apology for the incident.
( it is not for me, actually far from impossible that I just did notice )
( My one brain cell easily gets overloaded )

Your apology is completely unnecessary! I was a Nikita-Mazepin-like rolling hazard throughout that entire race. I'm lucky I didn't get kicked off the server. Thankfully I've changed my racing HUD so now I should be more aware of the drivers around me. Now I've just got to get used to driving without traction control so I can keep the car pointed in the right direction!

 

[maxilogan]

What a frantic race it was! and lots of fun

It was actually quite tricky dealing with all the passes on such a short track but there was room enough to let the Audis pass on the straights and final "corner" (don't know if it's right to call it that way given the length and shape).

@Allan Ramsbottom apologies for letting you wait so much to pass me but as you may have heard during the qualify (during which I asked for the key to change view, which unfortunately did not lead to any real change), my view was stuck on the chase cam, and I noticed that there were blue flags but just saw the Audis incoming, as you were right behind me and hidden by my car when I pressed the rear view button. In the search for view change button I also messed up all my interface which led to having the race stats on the right instead than on the bottom, covering the map, and realtime partially hidden as well. I then had a better check at realtime and saw that the blue flags were also caused by you trying to overtake but by the time I realized this, we ran through half of the circuit already..

@Mr. Malarkey sorry for bumping you in the last corner, I lost the car's rear..

Overall not that good of a race for me, having the chase cam instead of the usual cockpit one made me lost all the references and my quali was at least a couple seconds worse than the time I reached during my practice sessions (just shy of 1.03), not to mention the really slippery surface at the race beginning. Then some errors led me to lose time during the race.
Now on to Road Atlanta, I met Allan during practice yesterday and he already has a great pace there I struggled a lot to even stay on track at the beginning, those curbs are unforgiving!