Okayama Full (JPN) (23rd February) E: 11 P: 9th (No Laps Completed) Q: 7th (Of 9 That Did Laps) R: 4th!
F: 8
S: 10
SOF: 1207
Okayama Was a bloody exciting race!
As the lights went out the #2 yellow car of Mutzi Mutz was given a "slow down" penalty (clue is in the name, you have to slow down for the amount of time gained) for jumping the start, making his 2nd row starting position absolutely pointless, and giving the 10 other drivers, a good advantage....
From here lap 1 was pretty settled, everyone had a good car-length or two between them and the car ahead...Manuel Queiruga was making moves though, as he got a brilliant run on Robin Truswell on the uphill right hander before the long back-straight, having the inside line for the next corner, Manuel was able to nip up the inside of the Brit....This was short lived as Manuel was on the outside of the left hander that followed, and carrying too much speed, gifting the position back to Robin.
The next lap Robin picked up a free position off the crashed Mazda of Regis Fichan, drifting out too wide at the exit of turn one caused his demise. Barely corners later, Truswell caught up to the back of Helmut Travnik, who, judging by his driving style, had not learnt the track as well as the rising star behind him. Attempting a late lunge, getting all out of shape on a few exits and a very little concept of what a racing line could possibly be were some of the major factors included.
The 5 Machine getting it all wrong and taking to the grass at the 3rd to last corner, as well as Helmut's somewhat interesting driving style, led to Truswell leaping into the Top 3 on the 4th lap....be that with half-a-lap of intense battling....
The next couple of laps Truswell's mirrors with stuffed with Dark Green (Helmut Travnik), White (Brandon Dennis) and Yellow (Regis Fichin) as an ferocious battle for the bottom step of the podium brewed deep into the race.....I say deep, I mean Lap 5, when all three dropped out like flies. Helmut lost control on the kerb whilst trying to go up the inside of me on the fast kinks up to turn 5, (No fault of my own) and the other two out-braked themselves going into turn 5, both visiting the UK, before deciding to return to the racing line...
This peace was short lived however as Brandon and Regis were right on my tail just as I hit the half-way point....having such a blast up until this point I wasn't too concerned about my company....until Regis took advantage off my slightly odd line through turn one, turn 2 was taken absolutely beautifully in sync - in formation, side-by-side, door handle to door handle, it was almost art. If there was an Olympic sport for driving side-by-side with another Mazda, around a single corner, I would have a gold medal!
Having the ever so slightly better outside line, Regis juussssst edged ahead of me for the famous (or infamous) turn 3 - 4 kinks, it was a battle on the brakes for turn 5, I won edging in front for a second or two, before the racing line he was on naturally took him....But having watched F1 Since 2011, I had learnt a little trick for situations like these: The cutback.
The confident driver ahead was a car length and a bit ahead, and slowly drifted to the outside of the track, where the racing-line followed....
Having gone fast in, braking late, and picking the outside line I was able to dart to his inside, the perfect camber giving my car and myself a push of encouragement with this little extra speed, (To be specific, after the manoeuvre, it was 1mph difference) I was able to catch up and go side-by side with him, down the back straight....We were still side by side at the end of the straight - it was a battle of the brakes....I won, whilst he braked early, and jabbed the brakes, I applied them later, and smoother than he. Despite this, Turn 7 was incredibly sloppy for me...not for him, he was back all over my tail, and took a better, more sharp line for the following corner, which lead onto the second straight (not the start/finish straight, the one before that)...we were side by side again, and another battle of the brakes was called for, but he slammed on the brakes when he saw a fly half-way down the straight, so I gained my lead.....Ok, To be fair, he was on the inside, and I had the racing line, and he didn't want to crash, fair play to him, but it cost him...But he was on the ball, Lap 6 would've been my last lap in a podium position....but I didn't know that....I had a less smooth last corner than Regis did, so Regis, with the aid of slip-stream, had another good look at my MX5's door....a view he was very accustomed to seeing....He braked just before the blue marker at the end of the straight, me trying to out-brake him...didn't, I braked at it...and slid wide. A podium, a potential photo-finish....lost. Gosh Darn.
But that's the beauty of racing...you gotta make these decisions and live with the consequences. It isn't like football where it's a half-assed thought, with racing every single thing you do must be thought out to an nth degree, laps before... risk vs reward, how risky is this move (what will happen if I mess it up) and if I pull it off what will I gain from it? A position? Podium? Win? Pride? Fortunately, I only lost one position, (As the others had fallen so far behind) and fell into forth...Had I braked much earlier, (being on the outside, dustier side of the track) I would've fallen to forth and maybe regained it on one of the straights on the two remain laps...but maybe not, Regis is reallly strong in that section of track....but in the end it didn't matter a single bit to me...because that race didn't feel like 10 laps...It felt like two. I had so much fun, lost track of time...and laps...If I had finished third, not being "boasty", but so what? Everyone finishes third, these races are held hourly, every day for a week, and all you get is irating...no medal, no trophy, just happiness and a few points on your racing licence and in the championship and this is why I spend £13 a month on Iracing, phenomenal races, life-long memories, without the thought of a troll even daring entering a race, as he's wasting his own money and gaining nothing out of it...and on the other end of the spectrum, these races aren't MEGA competitive, I'm not racing for money, trophy, medal, or any prize....and it's because of this that if you do muck up someone's race, It's alright...it's not the end of the world, it's a bummer, sure, but that's racing, and at the end of the day...It's all a bit of fun and there's always next race...you muck someone's race up, oh well, everyone gets over it...and you don't have to worry about being attacked in the morning because it's all online,
And it's all perfect.
Iracing, I love you.
My Lil Mazda, till we meet again lil buddy, you've been a bloody blast to drive.
The Future? Come at me bro, I'm ready, throw whatever you've got because I'm ready for anything!
Robin Truswell.
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