rFactor 2 Round 5 Belgium 66 F2

Really disappointed in that race and the start pileup, which was caused Gert-Jan turning in on me like I wasn't there at Eau Rouge.

 

Sorry about that, I did not expect that you were already so far beside me. I got the spotter call and thougth it was because i was so close to Jos. I could not imagine that someone was even taking the risk to go two wide into the first corner. I looked to the right but did not see anyone... I made the decision to turn in to make the corner otherwise it would be a pile up at the Radillon, because I could not make it through the corner on the outside lane.

 

You should be relying on your mirrors first, not your spotter. This is the second or third time that you've cut across someone and it's caused an accident again. I had the inside going up Radillon and gave you more than enough room on the outside. If you were concerned about causing a pileup by being on that line then you should have backed out.

Congrats to @Jos Ogos on another win

 

Thanks, @Maddie Shepherd but I didn't win. P2 for me after @Gert-Jan van Osch caught of me after I lost concentration... My CrewChief told me that I was tight on fuel and I started to think that there was a lot of slipstream in the previous F2 race... Panic a bit about the fuel and Gert-Jan was coming fast behind. I'm also starting to consider my option for the overall championship and didn't want to push too hard and lost the car ending on P6 instead of P2... A bit conservative but effective, I guess.
I'll give a few more details tomorrow with the vid.
You had a brutal pace in the race... I was struggling to keep the distance. It was coming down quickly but I thought you were taking a lot of risk at that pace...
More tomorrow.

 

I did not see you in my mirrors nor when I looked to the right. Besides that you can also not take that much of risk in the first corner since you are not side by side at all. The only indication I got that something was going on was from the spotter... The race takes an hour you can also be more patient. It works two ways...

 

I probably get a penalty for the incident on the 1st lap so i think you will be the winner.

 

Besides the 1st lap incident this was one of my best comeback races. I had picked up damage on all corners, but not that drastically that the car was not driveable anymore. I had to dig deep to catch up to Jos, but in the end i succeeded. Lets wait what the verdict from Ken is.

 

I have to retract my statement above looking back at the early part of the replay... Before the corner I think you are in front and staying neatly to the right. I just did not see you... I looked to the right before i turned in then I was back in front again.

 

Dude, I was ahead going into the first corner. I'm sticking to my line and didn't cause it the pileup at all. If you can't see that you're at fault then I don't know what to say.

 

I am not saying I am not at fault. It is just a split second decision and this was the wrong one.

 

If I had seen you I would have let you go in front. Did you pick up damage?

@Maddie Shepherd what happened to you in the race?

 

Damage just caused a snap at Les Combes and I lost a wheel.

 

Well, that was a big shame. Gert-Jan and Maddie came together in front of me and I couldn't avoid them, so I picked up major damage. When I approached Les Combes after that the car just wouldn't slow and I crashed over the barriers. To be honest, I'm actually not that upset, as at least I know it wasn't my fault! I had fun in practice and quali.
By the way, can I get points for racing or do the rules say you have to complete the first lap?

 

I think I have a better understanding why I misjudged the situation as I did. Clearly Maddie was in front of me on the straight (beside the pits). I did not see her then and on the straight I also did not look right. I got the crew chief message when I turned in (exit from the pit area) what i found strange that someone would try to overtake me there. While Maddie was fully beside me i thought her the crew chief message was because I was close to Jos and then I looked right and did not see any body there and I turned not expecting Maddie to be there and taking a lot of speed into the corner. I also did not hear a clear from the crewchief so that should also be a hint. I think crew chief is good addition as information to the situation around you...

At the moment I am running a very old PC on medium to low settings. I hope in the fall I will have a new PC if there gets stock available at reasonable prices so I can turn on the virtual mirrors to get a better view what is around...

My apologees to everyone who suffered from the crash in eau rouge.

 

If in doubt...always leave space for a car to be there. It is perfectly possible to go two wide through there on the first lap. When cars at that close, squeezing from a grid of 3 wide down to 1 is just not possible in that short space. You all have 60 mins of a race ahead of you, better to be cautious through a tight corner and live to fight for the rest of the race.

I do hope that the strict rules of incidents in first corners is upheld otherwise what was the point.

 

You are right I made the wrong decision. i still expect to get the -1L.

 

@Jos Ogos If I get set back you will probably be champion if you have a good result in the next race... I will share my setup for the last F3 race...

 

Let's see what the powers above decide regarding today's race. Whatever the result, I know I did a great race with a substantial improvement of my pace from the previous F2 race but I opted for preserving my chances in the championship rather than overly attempting to fight at the end to win the race. Punishment asides for T1, you won this race on the track today.
I'm happy I caught up to you after you almost broke the draft on the penultimate lap. Shame I had that wobble in Eau Rouge in the last lap... I might have still given it a go. With your pace and @Maddie Shepherd's pace, I think we would have formed a three-way pack at the end had she not crashed earlier in the race.
That would have been a different race at the end. Anything could have happened.
All the best,
Jos

 

I feel I did a great race yesterday with a substantial improvement on pace from the previous race with the F2 EVE qualifying second without draft (time 3:46.8) that I also achieved during the race.
The highlight of the race must be the save at Stavelot (40:17)... I could have blown it there but miraculously kept the car from decorating the wall with a wheel or two and my F2 suspension.
@Maddie Shepherd and @Gert-Jan van Osch were chasing like hunting dogs after the T1 incident. Other than that, Fantastic drivers from both. I think I gave them a challenging pray to pursue, setting a manic pace for the three of us, especially Maddie that was soon doing low 46's and perhaps taking too many risks to catch up. Her accident and DNF, possibly aided by the damage in the T1 incident and her brutal pace, eased slightly the pressure but Gert-Jan was definitively gaining ground steadily...
My CrewChief had reported a bit earlier in the race that fuel would be tight. What!? It was OK in the previous race... But then I started to think that there was plenty of slipstream on that race and, yesterday, I was on my own and with a faster car and pace... Should I risk running out of fuel in the last lap and being overtaken by 5 cars... My head when spinning and the loss of concentration facilitated Gert-Jan catch that I had been successfully delaying in the first part of the race. P2 would put me on quite safe grounds to win the overall championship in the next two races and I went conservative...
I didn't surrender altogether though. I'm happy I caught up again after Gert-Jan almost broke the draft on the penultimate lap. Shame I had that wobble in Eau Rouge in the last lap... I might have still given it a go... My CrewChief talked again, "only 2mins left". Now, after 58 mins driving like mad with the dangerous F2 EVE and all the previous messages about fuel, I hesitated for an instance... Is he talking about the fuel?? The last lap had just started and I had at least 3mins more of driving!! 2 mins of fuel is not enough!! Lifted the throttle and then realised it was 2 mins to the end of the 60mins time and, actually, I had plenty of fuel. Any attempt to retake Gert-Jan draft, which was already almost impossible after Eau Rouge, became unattainable.
So settled for P2 (although a resolution on the T1 incident might promote this to P1, let's hear from @Ken Jagger) and enhanced changes to take on the champ.
Congrats to the podium and those with ballistic pace during the race.
I leave here the video of the qualy and the race:
Qualy:

Race: (Check here 40:17... )

Enjoy!