rFactor 2 Round 5 Fuji GP - Sun Mar 6, 2022

Had a good time irrespective where I finished. Never raced in a multi-class event before so was rather wary of the faster LMP's I kept a good eye
on my hud and listened to Jim my spotter. A fairly decent start, incident free thank goodness, I soon got swallowed up though by most of the GTE drivers. For some reason
I lost some of my turn in points especially at T2 which hampered whatever pace I had. My battle was with Jens who had had a moment at T1 on the opening lap, he closed me down but I was able to hold him at bay for a good 20 laps or so. Finally I entered the pits late in the race, was hoping to come out close to Jens but like a noob I hit the wall when entering the pits...damage and 77 seconds later emerged about 45 seconds behind Jens. Very lonely race after that but still enjoyable.
Congrats to Giuseppe and Johnny and also would like to make mention to all drivers for a clean race from my eyes.

Cheers,
Bret

 

thanks john, if anyone wants to be interviewed after the race, join our discord "discord . gg/XgVy6dvW" , there is a voice channel called " general ", join there & we will move you up.
everyone is welcomed !

 

Thanks guys, since it was really strange inside the car and for a short while I had something inside my car and got pushed of track for no apparent reason while going on the outer lane not leaving the track from my fov, sounds like a glitch in the track and/or some netcode maybe.

 

I need to apologize to Thomas Hoelzl. While I thought the start was quite aggressive and there was a lot of movement going on (line changes and the like) early on while LMP field was still bunched up, as the race progressed it turned out to be really clean and there was, later, a good fight between Thomas and myself for P3 in LMP2 class.
I knew that corner prior to the hairpin was going to eventually cause an issue (I think it's T6)...if you take T5 incorrectly and/or find yourself too far track left and onto the grass, you WILL be going for a ride. The issue is that the ride takes you directly into the path of oncoming traffic middle of the hairpin. There is no way not to find yourself there if something happens at T5.

So all race I was being super cautious there so as not to do that.
But Thomas was faster in a straight line...and while attempting to pressure him into a small mistake so I could regain P3, I got caught out at T6 braking as both our tires were seemingly starting to be an issue and we were both adjusting to the changes with increased braking distance and all the other normal things.
It was totally my fault. Thomas, perhaps, braked slightly earlier or maybe a bit more for the corner...or maybe I just overshot the braking while following. Either way, I ended up slamming the brakes to not rear end Thomas, then I proceeded to lock the rears and around I went. I was a passenger for the ride through the grass and back onto the racing surface.

Of course, Thomas collected me...I was sitting in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, obviously not his fault.

I'm not sure if that caused him damages. I'm not sure if he was going to make it on fuel. I'm not sure if that ended his attempt at P3. (I personally took slight damages to the left rear of the car and the steering was bent slightly, with an off balance car until the end)
But that instance basically soured my podium finish, tbh. I do NOT like a good battle to end in that way and it was unfortunate that it happened...but clearly my fault so for that I am sorry.

I had a little instance with John in quali as well, but already apologized for that. I hope it did not affect your quali too much John. I just misjudged how fast and far to the left of the track you were, then got target fixated on your car I guess...next thing I know I didn't have the grip (even at reduced speed...I wasn't really in a hurry in that moment) and understeered right into you. Dumb move, but boy are those final corners up the hills tricky when it comes to multiple classes going through there together! OOF!

Want to also thank all for the (from my seat) clean race from everyone (besides myself! Dooh!)....GT class did a really good job in those final corners and everywhere else for that matter. Everyone I passed was very predictable and I don't recall having any issues with anyone in particular. If I caused any GTs issues, I'm sorry. I know I probably dive bombed one or two here or there, but it was not intentional and mostly I only did that when I thought the GT was showing me the inside of the corner (wanting me to go on before entry)....I am sure, at least once, I misjudged that and someone cursed me, but again, not intentional and I always do my best not to affect the race of cars in the other class(es)...

Overall, I think it was a good race. I, at least, enjoyed it (seems some others did too). The aforementioned, like I say, soured it a bit for me but perhaps if Thomas comes in and says he needed fuel anyways or didn't get much damage from that incident that will change. (I did stop and allow him ahead of me to show I was at fault and as apology...best I could do in the moment)

Congrats to the winners and podiums, and everyone that finished.
Big thanks to the broadcast guys...I'm going to have to watch later this evening if possible. Always nice to have the element in play.

Looking forward to Daytona....and I intend to finish out this series, so I'll be here for that. So see those of you who make it there. Have a good day/week all!

 

Hello Jason! I didn't think you touched me on purpose. I was damaged, the steering wheel was crooked, but I wouldn't have been able to hold you like that. I had to do a splash and dash. But the duel with you was really fun and I'm already looking forward to the duel in Daytona. It looks like we're going to decide who wins the series amongst ourselves. Until then and again the crash in Fuji wasn't that bad.