phil bottle

Well, the day has finally come! 😅
 

 
If you've wondered why i've been reasonably more quiet of late and not updating a few events, my PPR, etc its mainly because whilst my own work has been extremely manic since the back end of last year, kids schools and work on the house just needed to happen now rather than later unfortunately. Every moment i did have spare though, I've stuck it into this place and tried to create something that gives you all a nice fuzzy feeling when you come to FG moving foward (even though, you really should feel that way already 😎).
 
So, enter the room, FG Achievements.
 
As a reminder to all, the objective of Achievements (with Medals) is to help us all interact more and have fun with each other on FG, and on Games we all play - Resulting in all of us using more/all of the fun features that FG has that you might not have even explored yet.
 
This FG Achievements system breaks down into the following parts; Ranks, Points and Medals.
 
Ranks
 
Shortly today/tomorrow, you will start to see that you will have an XP bar with your profile:
 

 
The more you interact with FG, the better it is for your own personal FG Rank. You'll also be able to see all the ranks and how many you've got to unlock on your own profile.
 

 
 
As a reminder of the FG Rank Badges shared on the previous article I did in January, are below. Each one will have a specific name with them that you can find out, when they're live:
 

 
 
Points
 
So, how do I get to rank up, Lee? Ah, thought you might ask that 😅. Pretty much nearly everything you do to interact with FG, will gain you points. Replied to someone's post? Rack up a point. Put up a video in the Video section? Grab 10 points. Vote on a Poll....or even someone voting on your Poll? Maybe even just logging in every day will get you something...👀
 
Points totals aren't shown anywhere as the main objective with points is to see how you can get your next rank. You'll see from your XP Progress Bar how many points you have until your next FG Rank (see first picture above) so its a good way to know where you are in the world of FG!
 
There is well over 200 different ways to grab points (and the following medals) so please do try and interact and get as much out of this system as you can!
 
 
Medals
 
Every loves a shiny thing don't they? Well, to aid your task to reach the top of the hill at FG, I've created an absolute shed of Medals - in fact, there is the best part of 200 Medals for everyone to try and achieve. They are broken down into two parts - FG Website and FG Games.
 
FG Website Medals will cover off all the following activity, and beyond:
Posts Topics Events Videos Polls Visits Follows Reactions PPR Guides Merch Quizzes Articles Memberships 👀  
FG Games Medals will initially cover 5 of our top games played in the community, however I want more added over time so will be asking for lots of feedback...and lots of help too!
Destiny 2 FIFA 22 Gran Turismo 7 7 Days to Die Valheim  
 
To help you understand what is available from a visual POV, I have created the following Infographics of all the medals so far. I will look to try and make a few more infographics along the way if people want to see what each medal gets you - I would encourage you all to take a look at people's profiles which may give you hints on how to obtain certain medals!! For Game specific ones, i'll create some form of Guide to help you all know what each one is, either in Guides or pinned in their forum section.
 
Please remember, this is an initial launch - if we can hit the ground running and everyone is enjoying the fun out of obtaining Medals, then we will absolutely be creating more across the board for both FG and the specific games we all play
 
 
Website Medals Infographics
 
 
 
 
 
 
FG Games Medals Infographics
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PLEASE TAKE NOTE
Its a brand new, never done before FG System. We will have issues problems from time to time so please share your thoughts and help us make it better! When its first turned on, it may take upto a few days to register everything - it has to run through every single rule i've created for every single FGer. Hopefully you'll see your Medals grow over time! We may tweak the Ranks and their respective points targets after going live if we find they are imbalanced in some way. Most Rules for points will be retrospectively activated when Live. There may be rules we add at a later date that will only look forward (e.g some Quiz ones will be created soon but look forward, not backwards) unless I rebuild the system...which may mean you get 're-awarded' automatic points and medals you had. Games will not look backwards - this is to help give everyone a chance to focus on starting out how to get them all and create some buzz about bringing FGers together. Most Games Medals are manually awarded with the help of the FG Team here. I expect us all to start talking and sharing information about our escapades as FG online in all of our games. It helps bring to life what we're all achieving together and it speeds up the validation time to award Medals. I will NEED HELP with this. If you're interested in supporting the cause in helping, please let me know. Its about doing things here but also encouraging FGers to get involved across all aspects of what we do.  
 
I really would love for you all to explore what we have available here. It's took me an absolute age to get it in a position to launch it as I wanted to give this the best chance of hitting the ground running. I'll set up a separate topic on the forums to capture any feedback and questions you may have about it all. We can then have separate topics where we can post up gaming updates to support the awarding of medals.
 
 
Its a great thing to finally do something I've wanted for here for years. Its like our internal mini FG game, with lots of fun and interaction. Keep an eye out for when you start getting awarded points, medals and ranks - it may even be worth turning your browser notifications on (check your 'Bell' icon next to your profile and enable them!) so you can start seeing them pop up on your phone and other devices 😎
 
The only thing left is for you all to enjoy!
 
GGFG

You don't know? Okay. Let's have a chat about it then. First though, Happy New Year to everyone at FG. You're all fantastic, awesome individuals that deserve all the good luck and fortune that we can wish for.
 
To look forward, we should always recognise looking back for a moment to see how far we've come in the last 12 months. With the world in still great difficulty, I think we pushed forward in many places and did many good things, to give FGers and all that are connected to us a bit more purpose and fun in their lives. Some stats I suppose help as always to back that up!
 
2021 Stats
New FGers registering - 199 - Up 2.58% (figures against year before)
Unique Contributors - 114 - Down 12.31%
Users Who Reacted - 72 - New stat last year, no comparison available
Reactions Given - 12,078 - Down 2.77%
New Topics - 561 - Down 23.05%
New Posts - 8010 - Down 19.88%
New Events - 257 - Up 110.66%
New Quizzes - 2 - Down 75%
New Quiz Plays - 41 - Down 66.12%
New Articles - 14 - Up 366.67%
New Guides - 8 - Up 300%
New Tournaments - 1 - First ever one
New Teams - 17 - First teams created
New Videos - 73 - Up 135.48%
New Video Reviews - 28 - Up 16.67%
New Raffles - 1 - Down 96%
1 Huge overhaul to our Home, with a brand new homepage and new sections
19 gifts via the FGFGF (FG's Feel Good Fund), inc. 2 brand new PS5s
 
So, with all that exhausting our minds, what should we do this year? I'm a firm believer of building on good things, dusting ourselves off and giving it everything you've got. So I think we should this year after a few years of all our lives sitting virtually in purgatory with COVID dictacting every step of it.
 
I think a good way to try and start somewhere is let's bring it back to what we great at - Games. Let's bring the togetherness back online and especially on here at FG. One way we'll look to do this is through Community Goals. This can be collective goals that we all work together and try and aim to achieve by the end of the year. I'm busy trying to create a page to store them all on so we can return here and see how far we've got as a team. If you have any good ones, let's hear them out in the comments below.
 

For this to work though, it will need some support - like a lot of support. I'm urging all of you, to keep FG updated with everything you're up to. This is a great place to share after each session; how many raids you did, the best bits about your CoD battles, how many races you won, or lost in my case in Gran Turismo, goals we scored on an FGFC FIFA night, how many Zombies were killed in our 7 Days horde nights....the list could go on but I hope you get the jist. This helps me and others helping me a track of how we are doing towards our community goals as I won't be able to get everything from automated places. Let's make a real good go of it and do what we can.
 
Next stop is Achievements. Mentioned this quite a few times and we've been terribly delayed whilst we waited for the software to be in place. And whilst its not 100% perfect, I want us to give this a go and improve as we go live. To support this, we have brand new FG Ranks to help everyone 'Level Up'. We spent a while designing these, and truth be told we couldn't do any of these without the talents of Christine AKA @WildeThang . I'll be asking her to help out with some medals and badges that we hope to give out over the course of 2022 and beyond. Stop by to make sure you give thanks to her fantastic work!
 

 
I'll be trying to work on some form of an infographic with available badges soon, with some hopefully hidden for you all to find for yourselves. The main thing is to try and be supportive and engaging wherever you can. Not just on the forums, on videos, quizzes, events and even online games with FG. Maybe we can get some special FG Friday ones for all to try and obtain too 🤩
 
Outside of this, and with the help of all of you, we're also going to make sure we more sustainable moving forward. Some technical points are being changed behind the scenes and we'll hopefully see some great things that will help you feel like its super easy to come here and more often too. I don't want to say much on this part just yet, other than keeping watching this space...
 
As the above are just a couple of things to highlight, you know the score with everything else. "What? We have a website?". Yes, yes, we do. The joke is something that should be one that I hope to be turned around with a mic drop saying, "There ya go. Enjoy." Come on, I need your support this year to make the best one we've ever had.
 
More Posts - have a voice!
More Personal Progress Posts - check on other people's too!
More Events - more clicking those Going buttons!
More Videos - grab those funny clips and stick them up here
More...just everything!
 
I'll sign out with the thought of all your generous donations and support have helped keep people alive in the world today - and that isn't even an exaggeration either. They'll be a moment we all need that friend, that family, in our desperate hour of need. Its why FG exists. We'll make the tracks, all you lot have to do is show people the way.
 

 
 
 
 
GGFG.

Race 1 - Round 6 of the Spring League
Fuji
Gr2
15 laps
Fuel usage x 4
Tyre wear x 3
 
Qualifying
Kiwi has always been fast at this track so for the first lap of qualifying it was a surprise to have provisional pole with Mike, Lee, Phil, Paul, Crispy and James completing the top 8.  Mike nails his second flying lap though and managed to take provisional pole by a tenth of a second.  However Kiwi, about half a lap behind, sets a blistering lap to take provisional pole from mike by over 4 tenths.  James constantly improves through qualifying and moves himself up to fifth place making the top 8 Kiwi, Mike, Me, Lee, James, Phil, Crispy and Paul.  After several failed laps, I get a lap together to move myself ahead of Mike though still some way behind Kiwi who only further improved his lap time.
 
Race
 
 
At the front, I get a good start to edge a lead going in to turn 1 however Paul, starting 7th, got an even better start and got himself up to 3rd and in the pack with Kiwi, Mike and Lee challenging for 2nd place.  Over the first lap, Paul drops back as the fight continues for second place which Lee briefly holds but a bit of contact at turn 6 sadly sees him run off track and lose a lot of places.  Mike and Kiwi continue their battle for 2nd place with Mike managing to make the pass through the final corner though Kiwi uses the tow down the long start finish straight to retake the position in to turn 1 as Mike runs wide.  Phil, who had a clean opening lap, takes the opportunity of Mike's mistakes to make a pass in to turn 2 though Phil's podium position is short lived as Mike re-passes Phil at turn 7 of the same lap.  The fighting for position had given me a clean break out front however by the end of lap 2 everyone had mostly settled in to their positions and Kiwi began closing the gap down.  At the end of lap 2 my lead was 3 seconds but by lap 7, this was down to just 1 second though a mistake on lap 7 gave me respite at the lead opened back up to 2 seconds.  At the end of lap 8, halfway through the 15 laps, strategy started to come in to play with Mike and Phil both making a stop swapping their super softs for another set of the same and taking a splash of fuel to see them to the end.  Crispy, who started on mediums, didn't stop as he attempted do a no stopper as Kiwi and myself, on super softs, were trying the same.  Crispy, who hasn't stopped, gets to turn 1 and meets Mike who has just exited the pits and causing Crispy to get distracted and make a mistake and spin on to the grass.  This mistake drops Crispy back and a further mistake at the final corner of lap 10 allows Phil to look at a move in to turn 1.  Phil runs a little deep allowing Crispy to hold on to the place though Phil makes the move stick through the complex at the end of the lap.  While this was going on, the battle for the lead had become tense as Kiwi had managed to close the gap down to 0.8 seconds by the end of lap 12.  I had saved enough fuel that I could run flat out to the end and had a good start to lap 13, opening the gap back over 1 second; an important marker as around 0.9-1 second is where the tow starts to take effect.  In pushing, I make a mistake through turn 8 of lap 13 costing me too much time and giving Kiwi an easy tow down the start finish straight.  Kiwi takes the inside line in to turn 1 and takes the lead as we begin lap 14.  Knowing turn 1 is the best overtaking spot on the circuit, it's my aim to re-pass at T1 on lap 15, the final lap, but a bad exit out of the final corner sees me drop too far behind to even attempt a dive in to T1.  The only other real opportunity is turn 6 but again I don't manage to keep it close enough to attempt a pass.  A different line, or a mistake maybe, from Kiwi allows me to unexpectedly close up in to turn 8, the penultimate corner, so I dive to the inside and manage to retake the lead.  Some hard defending of the inside line of the final corner sees me get a small nudge in the rear and knocks me wide on the exit of the final corner.  There's tarmac out there though so it all comes down to a drag race to the line - I'm initially ahead but Kiwi drops back in to my tow and starts gaining but the line comes a few metres too early as I cross the line to win by just 0.05 seconds; by far the closest finish we've had in all the races so far.
 
Results

 
Race 2 -
Alsace Village
Gr3
5 laps
Fuel usage x 0
Tyre wear x 0
 
As common practice now with these races, Race 2 sees the grid being the reverse of the results of the previous race.
 
Race
 
 
The getaway from the grid and turn 1 is clean as we all try to make some space through turn 2.  Phil and Mike out front have a small bit of contact at turn 3 which Paul also gets involved with.  Kiwi and myself commit to the corner and unfortunately it's unavoidable to hit Paul which spins him out.  I follow over the rest of the opening lap and through a better exit out of the hairpin get my nose alongside which gets squeezed in to the barrier much to Crispy's amusement.  Turn 3 is again the point of contention on lap 2 as Crispy makes a move on Phil but Kiwi, Phil and myself all get it wrong and run wide on the exit.  Kiwi and Phil get away with a small time loss though in an attempt to hold on to the car, I spin out.  This promotes Crispy to second place though a recovering Kiwi makes quick work of overtaking to re-take the position.  I catch Crispy going in to the long banked right hander and somehow get a far better exit meaning I have to take some avoiding action and end up running over the grass giving Crispy the place back until he runs wide at the next corner.  The positions hold steady then until the end of the race though Mike has a scare at the end of the final lap as he runs wide on to the grass but by this point he had built up enough of a lead to be able to cross the line for another win.
 
Results

Race 1 - Round 4 of the Spring League
Monza
Gr3
14 laps
Fuel usage x 4
Tyre wear x 4
 
Qualifying
As a sign of things to come, we all exit the pits at the start of qualifying shortly followed by most of us out braking ourselves at the first chicane and having to cut it.  Tom decides he might as well cut all the chicanes as it's only the out lap but get such a large time penalty he has to stop to take a picnic to get rid of it.  Everyone else gets round though a small pack is still bunched up which costs Mike his first flying lap at the first chicane.  It all goes wrong through the Lesmo's too as Lee, Mike, Phil and Crispy all get mixed up together.  I get a clean lap and cross the line to take provisional pole with Kiwi second, Clive third and Crispy 4th as everyone else had made mistakes.  Tom, now significantly behind everyone, finally sets a lap to move himself up to 4th.  Until Crispy briefly takes 3rd until Mike and Phil get their laps together to take 2nd and 4th respectively dropping Crispy to 5th.  Kiwi suffers with a penalty on his third flying lap but gets a good run on lap 4 to take pole position as Clive also nails his lap to start 5th.
 
Race
 
I get a good launch and break away at the front giving me a clean turn 1 chicane while everyone else is bunched up which obviously goes wrong as Tom hits Paul who knocks Clive and in recovering Clive crashes in to Phil.  Lee recovering from the turn 1 shenanigans attempts a pass on Clive at the first chicane of lap 2 but runs a little deep giving Clive a chance to come back at him.  Clive overtakes and the fight continues to the second chicane where he out brakes himself running wide through the plastic barriers.  Clive manages to hold on to his lead over Lee to the Lesmo's where he runs wide and Lee follows in to the gravel.  Lee spins out but Clive manages to keep it going and tries to rejoin the track but misjudges and spins back on to the grass until getting reset to the track.  Kiwi who held on to 2nd through the first lap chicane had been chased down by Mike who had deduced that Kiwi was on the hard tyre contrary to everyone else so save time overall Kiwi lets Mike passed rather than fighting him unnecessarily.  Phil on a recovery drive, catches up to Crispy and due to a mistake from Crispy through Ascari, Phil managed to draft passed on the run down to Parabolica.  Cripsy attempts to follow Phil's braking point and corner positioning but massively out brakes himself running wide through the gravel but recovering it well.  Over laps 6 through to 9 everyone goes for their mandatory pitstop with the order remaining unchanged however Kiwi had changed his racing hards for mediums while everyone else had done the opposite.  On lap 11, Kiwi's faster tyres had allowed him to catch up to Mike as he makes a pass for 2nd place in to the Ascari chicane.  Kiwi runs wide through giving Mike a chance to retake the position which he briefly does on the straight but on the slower tyres Mike can't manage to hold the position on the outside of the Parabolica.  Kiwi then begins chasing me down in the lead and manages to catch me through Ascari on the final lap with only the Parabolica to go to decide the winner.  I keep to the right to ensure I hold the inside line for the final corner so Kiwi will have to take the long way round.  A bit of door to door rubbing and pushing see me miss my braking point and run wide squeezing Kiwi who runs off the track and this gives me enough exit speed to cross the line for the win.
 
Results
 

 
Race 2
Willow Springs
Gr4
8 laps
Fuel usage x 0
Tyre wear x 0
 
Race
As the second race of the night the grid for this race is set by the reverse of the finishing positions of the last.  This was a fantastic race with overtakes happening amongst us all at various corners and over all 8 laps.  Unlike the above, there's no real nuance or clips not worth including for this race.  So rather than type up exactly what happens, I'm going to let the video do all the talking for this one.
 
 
Results
 

Race 1 - Round 3 of the Spring League
Autodromo Lago Maggiore
Gr3
10 laps
Fuel usage x 4
Tyre wear x 6
 
Qualifying:
Lee struggled to set a fast lap in practise and decided to change car right before qualifying which looked to be a bad choice as he managed to spin twice on his outlap.  Lee wasn't alone though as Tom, Crispy and Paul also made a mistake to scrap their first flying laps.  I cross the line with a new personal best to take provision pole though Kiwi manages a close second with his lap slowed down as he caught up with Phil.  Tom manages to get his second lap together and gets himself up to 5th and later improving further to start 4th.  Mike initially struggled with his qualifying as he spent too long trying to qualifying for a drifting championship but eventually keeps the car pointing straight to line up 3rd on the grid.  Lee continues to struggle before exclaiming he'd like a lap under 2 minutes which he promptly manages as he gets to grips with the new car.  Kiwi free from Phil, nails his lap and takes pole position which while I manage to closer I can't beat.
 
Race;
I get my start all wrong by getting too much wheel spin which gives the pack chance to close up and overtake on the run to turn 1 which causes me to misjudge my braking and I crash in to Tom who spins.  In recovering, Tom gets back on the track and spins at turn 2 also.  At the tricky turn 5, James keeps a tighter line and takes advantage of Lee and Crispy running wide to gain 2 places in one corner.  Phil gets a better run exist out of turn 5 than me and makes his move up to 3rd at the chicane.  This puts Phil on to Mikes tail for the long run down to the chicane where Phil jokes about not messing up his braking point which he then does but manages to avoid running in to Mike.  Mike makes an easy switch back to hold on to second though it compromises his exit and giving me the chance of a pass up the hill to retake 2nd place.  The nature of the track, the field had already become reasonable spread out by the end of lap 1 and this continues as Kiwi extends his lead out front.  Lap 4 sees the start of pitstops with Clive and Paul pitting followed by myself at the end of lap 5 and Phil, Mike and Kiwi at the end of lap 6.  The pit stops were pretty even so didn't do much to change the order though Phil was working too hard on his strategy plans made a mistake at his stop and didn't change tyres.  Due to Phils faster stop it did bring him out in front of Mike however with Mike on fresher and grippier tyres soon made easy work of retaking 3rd place.  Lee and Crispy also made a miscalculation in their strategy plans as they both forgot to calculate in the final lap causing them to be short causing them both to need a splash and dash stop on lap 8 and 9 respectively.  On to the final lap, Clive is defending from Lee and spins at the turn 1 / 2 combo giving Lee the place.  The race ended with Kiwi crossing the line for a dominate win which never looked in doubt and for this first win of the Spring season.
 
 
Results;

 
Race 2 ;
Nurburgring Nordschleife
1 lap
N200
 
There was no qualifying for this race as we used a reverse grid from the finishing positions of the first.  There's not much of a report for this race as it's hard to keep track of where everyone is over a 16 mile lap and I don't know the track sooooo here's the results;
 
Results;

 
Race 3
Blue Moon Bay speedway
Gr3
12 Laps
 
Again, the grid for this race was decided as a reverse of the finishing order of race 2.  However with an oval where drafting is so easy and so important, qualifying is less important.
 
Race
Lee makes a similar mistake to mine in the first race and gets too much wheel spin off the line  and manages to spin and spear Paul as he tried to pass off the line.  As the pack mostly remained close, there was plenty of rubbing and more than a few people getting a knock in to the outer wall.  Mike managed to get passed me through the final corner and had a plan to bump draft Kiwi in an attempt to break away from the following pack though this was short lived as Mike decided to go for the pass rather than bump Kiwi.  By lap 4, the field has spread out a little with the lead group consisting of Mike, Kiwi and myself with Phil and Crispy in a pack of 2 close behind with the rest spread out on their own.  Over the next few laps there's a number of changes of position as we all draft passed and then re-pass each other  with the end game being to be in the best position come the final lap.  Mike makes a mistake though on lap 9 by running wide and hitting the outer wall too hard and getting a penalty but he manages to get rid of it so it's a 3 way fight for the lead going in to the final lap with Kiwi in first, Mike second and me in third covered by only 0.5 seconds.  I draft up to Mike but hang back to try and get a run in to the final corner where the 3 of us take different lines but all try to occupy very similar parts of the track at the corner exit.  Due to the natural line to run wide on corner exit, Kiwi's line takes him wide and across the nose of my car giving him a small wiggle but coming back across the track further contact is made with the front of my car causing him to spear in to the side of Mike slowing them both down and giving me the win.
 
 
Results

Race 1 & Round 2 of the Spring League
Interlagos
Gr3
13 Laps
Fuel usage x5
Tyre Wear x6
 
Qualifying;
In the short testing leading up to qualifying a few of us had been trying different cars to get a feel of which one to us.  Lee @GazzaGarratthad primarily been using the Corvette but decided to switch to the Peugeot RCZ right before qualifying which was going to be either an inspired or disastrous choice.  We all exit the pits at the beginning of quali which cause everyone to bunch up towards the end of the lap while trying to make some space.  Tom @LordBaguette is the first to cross the line and setting new personal best on his first try though his lap is quickly beaten by Kiwi @JBR-Kiwi then I set a new PB to take provisional pole.  Lee manages to nail his second flying lap to move himself up to 2nd until Kiwi crosses the line with a lap 4 hundredths faster than Lee.  @Mikepjbell who had been having a not so great qualifying decided he wanted some of this action and on his third flying lap to move up to 3rd before getting 2nd on his next lap, beating Kiwi's time by 6 hundredths of a second.  Both Kiwi and Lee go faster on their final lap with Kiwi managing to retake his second place on the grid and Lee missing out on beating Mike to 3rd by 5 hundredths of a second.
 
Race;
With these league races having a standard start, some cars a tricky to get off the line but everyone got of well which meant we were all bunched together for turn 1 which didn't go all the cleanly.  @crispymorgan runs a little deep and tapping the rear of Lee who then runs in to me and pushing me wide.  In this pinball, Lee got a bit sideways giving Tom nowhere to go except to hit Lee further and pushing him in to a full spin and dropping him to the back meaning another recovery race for Lee.  In all the chaos of T1, Phil had managed to sneak through unscathed and move himself up to third place behind Kiwi and myself however a difference in braking for T4 sees me having to take avoiding action to not ram Kiwi giving Phil an easy pass in to the second.  Running over the kerb had cost me a lot of my momentum but luckily for me, Mike rear ends me and bumps back up to racing speed to the cost of his speed as Tom sails passed him.  This puts Tom right on my tail as we go through the infield section but a misjudged braking point at turn 10 has Tom running in to me right as Phil spins off in front of me.  The contact between myself and Tom gives Mike an easy pass up to 2nd place though I managed to hold on to 3rd as Tom and Phil drop to 6th and 7th respectively.  I get a good run out of the final corner and get the tow from Mike up the hill, I try a pass in to T1 but Mike defends and keeps me in third.  I get a second chance at T4 as Mike runs wide but a snap of oversteer has him swerve across the track and, in a reverse of the first lap, I hit Mike's rear bumping him back up to racing speed.  Though my chance came thanks to Lee channelling the commentators curse by saying at least Mike has spun who then spins right afterwards.  Behind this battle, Tom trying to recover again manages to spin on the exit of T10 and then when getting going again, runs wide at T12 and spins again.  Paul @slamminbones seemed to be having a quiet race in 5th but loses a place to a recovering Phil on lap 3.  Lee, also on a recovery drive, decides to take an alternate strategy and takes his pit stop at the end of lap 3 changing his racing super softs for racing softs which hopefully are enough to get to the end of the race.  The infield section was proving tricky as tyres started to wear as T10 of lap 5 sees Phil spin, shortly followed by Tom and then immediately by Lee.  I had managed to catch up to Kiwi in the lead and getting a good run out of the final corner, I again use the tow to try a move in to T1 of lap 6 but unlike against Mike, this one works thanks to Kiwi being quiet compliant - which worried me as playing catch up I had used more fuel than I'd have liked and Kiwi not defending too hard suggested a different strategy but more on that later.  As the race was 13 laps, I decided to split it as evenly as possible and pit at the end of lap 7 for a new set of racing super softs and fuel to the end dropping me to 3rd.  On fresh tyres, I began catching Mike who had taken over 2nd due to my stop but Mike pits the end of lap 8 also for a new set of super softs.  This leaves me chasing Kiwi for the lead and I had taken over 6 seconds out of his lead as he pits at the end of lap 9 which was enough for me to have extended my lead with only a few laps to go.  Tom who had gotten fed up of all his spins and pitted on lap 5 but didn't take on any fuel has to do a second stop to take on some fuel.  Lee who had managed to recover to 4th but suffering on his worn softs, runs wide at T12 on lap 10 and gets reset as Phil moves up a place.  After 10 laps the field had become quite spread out meaning a quiet final few laps until the end of the race with me taking the win, Kiwi 2nd and Mike 3rd.
 
 
Results

 
League Table after round 2
 
Position Driver Race 1 Race 2 Total Pts 1 Greboth 25 25 50 2 JBR-Kiwi 20 20 40 3 Mikepjbell 12 15 27 4 phil_oi 15 12 27 5 GazzaGarratt 9 11 20 6 slamminbones 8 10 18 7 Crispy 7 8 15 8 JTLurch 11 n/a 11 9 TEENWOLF25 10 n/a 10 10 Lord Baguette n/a 9 9 11 Misneach DNF n/a 0  
Race 2
Suzuka East
N200
7 laps
 
As with recent weeks, the league race has qualifying but the following races grid is set as a reverse of the finishing position of the previous race.
 
Race
Due to some technical issues with takeaway delivery, Crispy was AFK for the start of the race and as he finished last in the league meant the pole sitter was not going to start.  This caught Lee out who hit the non moving Crispy dropping him to the back again.  I try an ambitious move around the outside of T1 but run a little too wide and get very sideways dropping myself to last with a few seconds to gain to the pack.  The pack stays close together on the run up through the esses with some small contact between Tom and Mike that ends with Mike in to the gravel at the top as Lee also follows in to the gravel.  With all the contact, it had allowed me to recover and following Phil in to T1 of lap 2 as Phil gets it a little wrong allowing me to get passed  with the aim of catching up to Tom.  Tom runs wide through the essess and rejoins abruptly catching both Phil and I out as we both hit him.  Tom recovers well but makes a further mistake as Phil and I get passed to continue our battle.  Again I follow Phil in to T1 as Phil runs wide and giving me the place with only Kiwi now in front.  Though Kiwi had started on the back row with myself, he had a relatively clean race and had opened a lead so was unlikely to be caught without him making an unforced error, which he did not but there was more action down the grid.  Tom, Mike and Lee had managed to all end up on the same section of race track and battle up through the esses of lap 3 and on to lap 4 where at T1 Lee and Tom run wide, Lee manages to recover to the track quite quickly but it catches Mike out.  In taking some avoiding action, Mike gets a bit lose and side swipes Lee harder than a nymphomaniac on Tinder but they both carry on without too much time lost.  This is short lived though as on the following lap, lap 5, Mike touches the grass up through the esses and while he tries valiantly to hold on to it, lots of fish tailing later sees Mike in to the gravel and easily giving the place back to Tom and Lee.  This time though it was Lee's turn to as at T1 of lap 6 Lee runs wide and spins out and although he gets reset quite quickly it is enough for Mike to retake the place which he holds on to until the end.  At the chequered flag, Kiwi crosses the line for the win, myself in 2nd with Phil taking the final podium position.
 
 
Results

 
Race 3
BroadBean Raceway
Gr4
12 laps
 
Race
Going in to the race, most of us had done no practise and were trying to decide which cars to use.  It was quickly established the Audi TT was fast but Kiwi was setting the pace in the WRX so I switched to try the WRX too.  This caused some comedy at the start of the race as the lights went green and both Kiwi and I took off thanks to a 4WD Subaru against everyone else in front wheel drive Audi's.  Kiwi was clearly the fastest though and at no point did I ever look like getting close enough to try a move.  Down the grid, Crispy was suffering due to having harder tyres than the rest of us so was quickly passed by Lee and then Phil.  Lee runs wide out of T4 and clips the wall giving Mike the momentum to make the pass and on the following lap a repeat situation on lap 3 but this time giving Phil the overtake.  Phil catches up to Mike and on lap 8 overtakes Mike round T1, Mike tries to fight back but clips the inside wall of T2 costing too much speed so can't fight to retake his position.  Everyone was spread out by this point and so the positions remained the same until the finish where Kiwi took his second win of the night, as myself and Phil took 2nd and 3rd respectively again.
 
Due to the lack of highlights for this race, I haven't made a video for this race.
 
Results

 
 
Final words
Another night of good racing from everyone.  It was a shame to see Lee have another difficult race in the league race but keeping it together and carrying on to push saw him recover a reasonable position.  Race 2 was a fun race and raced like touring cars should be; as was once said rubbing is racing.  GG all, here's to many more weeks of close and fun racing.

Race 1 5 Laps Circuit de la Sarthe / Le Mans
 
The first race this week marked the beginning of the Spring league and so the first FG GT Sport race where points were on offer.  The race took part at Le Mans, or Circuit de la Sarthe as it's sometimes called, using Group 3 GT cars.  The track is a mix of purpose built sections and public roads with the beginning and end being mostly fast flowing corners while the middle is dominated by the Mulsanne straight separated by chicanes.
 
Qualifying;
In the practise leading up the event it was a battle to not get penalties which almost, if not, everyone got and this carried on in to qualifying with at least myself and @phil bottle picking a penalty on our first flying lap.  Though penalties weren't the only impact on flying laps as @JBR-Kiwi had a trip through the gravel and @Mikepjbell spun on their first laps.  Due to these issues, I take provisional pole with a lap several seconds slower than achieved in practise.  The second flying lap of qualifying offers a chance of redemption right up to the point that I pick up another penalty and Paul @slamminbones also making a mistake.  However Kiwi managed to keep it clean on his second lap to take provisional pole as through further penalties and mistakes, no-one improved on their final lap meaning Kiwi had managed to bag pole position.
 
Race:
The race was going to be an interesting one, for the number of teams entering the 24 hour of Le Mans the pit lane is exceptionally long so you lose a lot of time making a stop.  However the fuel saving required to make 5 laps is also high so costs you seconds per lap.  Which strategy would people go for and how would it all work out in the end.  Kiwi showed his hand at the end of qualifying by discussing his change of strategy and pitting to medium tyres and Mike also switched to soft tyres over the super softs used for qualifying.
 
For the league race, we used a grid start for this race and the getaway was clean with everyone getting away roughly in their grid order until Paul misses his braking point for turn 1 running himself and Phil wide but thankfully without any loss of time or position.  Sadly Matt @Misneach_ had some technical issues with being stuck in the wrong view which ended his race before it really had began.  The super soft tyres myself and Phil were using meant we were all over Kiwi and Mike respectively as they were on harder and consequently slower tyres.  The pit stop strategy only works if you can break away from those going for a no stop which I managed overtaking Kiwi to the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight and shortly followed by Phil also getting passed at the second chicane.  This separated the leading pack to Phil and I who were stopping ahead of Kiwi and Mike who were planning to not stop so at this point we were in our own battles.  Mike gets a good tow on Kiwi down the final section of the Mulsanne straight and makes a move but runs a little deep as Kiwi attempts a switch back which results in a little contact and Mike spinning in to the wall.  Right as Mike is spinning, Lee @GazzaGarratt, who had been running 5th, runs massively deep in to the same corner too and both of them get reset to the track and in the following pack.  Lee's mistake had dropped him to 7th but by Indianapolis and Arnage, Lee had managed to climb back to his original 5th place but sadly got a small tap on the rear by Clive @Teenwolf25 in the braking zone led to Lee taking another trip through the gravel and on recovering has some further contacts and ends up spinning out dropping him to the back of the field.  The fighting in the pack allowed Mike to catch up and be right behind Paul and @crispymorgan going in to the Porsche curves and as neither were Phil, Mike pulls over a couple of quick and clean passes to move himself back up to 6th place.  Crispy was a bit unclean as Mike overtook him and this continues through the final 2 chicanes as Crispy gets a bit sideways on the exist of both giving Paul all the opportunity to make up a place himself.  A lap later, Mike has caught up to Clive and through some mistakes by Clive through Indianapolis and Arnage corners, Mike gains a further place to now have recovered to 5th.  Due to the length of the track, everyone was reasonably spread out by this point but it was now time for pit stops and strategy to come in to play as everyone on a pit stop strategy pitted the end of lap 3 (except Lee who had pitted the end of lap 2).  The pit stop dropped me from 1st to 3rd, 15 seconds behind Kiwi in the lead and 7 seconds behind Mike in second.  The pit stop had also dropped Phil from 2nd to 4th however on fresh tyres and not needing to worry about fuel, it was now a question of if we could catch Kiwi and Mike before the end.  I managed to catch and pass Mike by the beginning of the Porsche curves of lap 4 leaving my 9.5 seconds to Kiwi.  At the end of lap 4, Mike decided to go for a splash and dash pit stop which, due to his comments on his car not arriving, I don't think he'd realised how long the pit lane is and so giving Phil an easy pass up to 3rd place.  I continued my pursuit of Kiwi and had been gaining but it was going to be extremely tight if it was going to be enough but sadly Kiwi ran deep at the end of the Mulsanne costing him several seconds and allowing me to take the lead.  And with the exception of a small mishap at Indianapolis as Kiwi on worn and dirty tyres sailed passed the corner, it was then an easy win for me on fresher tyres and no fuel saving.  Overall it was a good first race of the spring season and it's a shame we didn't have a race to the end, in writing this, I found that Kiwi had a 4.2 second lead on me when he made the mistake and on the previous lap, I had made 4 seconds up.  A big thank you to @phil bottle for arranging these events.
 
 
Results

 
 
Race 2
The first rally race we have tried and we have to remember the first rule of gt sport racing is we don't talk about rallying.  The second rule of gt sport racing is we don't talk about rallying.
 
Race 3 Tokyo East Inner Loop (Wet) Gr3
 
For a bit of fun the final race of the night is one of only a few wet races available in GT Sport around the streets of Tokyo.  Being a street track there is zero run off so any mistake means running in to a wall and at any speed means a penalty.  As becoming normal, this race grid is based off of a reverse of the last so there was no qualifying.
 
Race
The different cars being used by everyone meant the long run to turn 1 was interesting, I got a good launch in the Porsche and was following Crispy who was out front.  But the GT-R's are fast in a straight line so soon started hauling us in so by turn 1 we were mostly all bunched up 2 or 3 wide.  Even with a small imagination, it isn't hard to imagine how badly this went thanks to someone who I won't name *cough* Phil *cough*.  I don't know but I'd guess a mix of missing his braking point in the pack, the wet track and going faster than expected in to tow caused Phil to run deep and take me with him in to the wall on the outside of T1 for which we both go reset and then in my frustration I spin it in to the wall again for good measure.  Mike who had been hanging back going in to turn 1, slips passed the carnage to take the lead.  Turn 1 at this track is the hardest as it's a hairpin so getting out of it, especially in the wet, is difficult but Lee managed it to be set up for a move to overtake Crispy at the turn 2 & 3 switchback as Kiwi manages pull a similar move on Paul too.  After my turn 1 punt and spin, I managed to catch back up to Phil who clips a wall giving me the over speed to get alongside and then get squeezed in the wall but Phil then gives me space so I take the place at the next corner.  After the manic turn 1, we were quite spread out but over the next lap, I caught up to Paul who decided to let me passed but in doing so got a penalty so I don't think he'll be so kind next time.  I spent the following lap catching up to Lee and Kiwi who were running together which as I caught them at the end the lap this led to us running 3 wide down the long start finish straight and to turn 1 - because it went to well on lap 1.  Thankfully it all went well this time with Kiwi coming out in front, me in the middle and Lee at the back.  I push to get passed Kiwi and bump him in to the wall for which he picks up a penalty though the favour is quickly repaid as Kiwi runs me in to wall too.  Phil decides to end his race as it started by running wide at turn 1 of the final lap and getting reset which allows Paul to gain a place which he holds until the end.
 
 
Results:

Race 1 - Dragon Trail Gardens Gr3
We did this track a few weeks ago with Gr2 but the tracks holds the same challenges, namely; getting through the chicane at the beginning of lap without losing too much time or spinning out entirely as well as tackling the long 4 apex right hander towards the end of the lap.
 
Qualifying
Qualifying is important for your starting position and with the limited time it can be a challenge to set a fast lap under pressure.  With Dragon Trail Gardens, the length of the start finish straight it is important to get a good run out of the final corner but @Macca89 and @Shucker spun on their first laps.  Though Shucker managed to get a good lap in at the end to line up 8th on the grid.  It was good to see Clive @Teenwolf25 doing well to qualify 9th as, I believe, it's his first time racing with us.
 
Race
It was decided by our benevolent overlord @phil bottlethat this race would be a rolling start which does have the benefit annoying @crispymorgan who had got released from the auto drive on the final corner.  It also spreads everyone out to help keep it clean through the first few corners though that didn't drop Kiwi and I pushing a little too much at the first chicane as we both pick up a penalty for cutting the track.  A few locks ups and a bit oversteer but everyone keeps it clean with Lee getting a good exit and a run to the hairpin; one of the best overtaking places on the track.  Lee misjudged his speed and brakes way too late having to take avoiding action to avoid rear ending Phil but then running wide as Phil pulls a textbook cut back to retake his position.  At the start of lap 2, sadly Clive undoes his great first qualifying by dipping a wheel on the grass and even through a valiant effort to catch the slide ends up fish tailing in to a spin directly in front of @Stretch616 who with nowhere to go T-bones straight in to the side.  Lap 3 is Phil's turn to get that chicane wrong as he runs wide through the first part, convinced someone hit him though the replay does absolve Lee @GazzaGarrattof any guilt so clearly it's Mike telekinetic powers, getting back on track with perfect timing to be broadside in front of Lee who helps Phil off in to more gravel.  Before Phil can reverse, the game resets him in to the path of Stretch who manages to avoid another crash by running wide allowing Paul @slamminbones to close up maybe have a chance in to the hairpin though Stretch manages to come on top this time.  The track had more surprising in store as @JBR-Kiwi , holding on to second place with @Mikepjbell nipping at his heels , runs wide at turn 8 dipping a wheel off the curb and in to the gravel sending him round and round.  Then just as Kiwi is recovering, Lee does a carbon copy of Kiwi at turn 8 and spins himself out though unfortunately Shucker was following Lee so also spins.  Though this isn't the last turn 8 has to offer as on Lap 5, Mike having been gifted second place following Kiwi's spin a couple laps earlier, also runs wide and spins on the exit though bonus points have to be given to Mike for the most consecutive spins of the week.
 
 
Results

 
 
Race 2 - Sardegna C N200
In a small change to the schedule, race 2 this was Sardegna rather than Red Bull Ring due to some not having Gr2 cars.  Sardagna is a fast flowing track with the only proper braking points being turn 1 at the final hairpin so in slow cars like N200 it's important to be smooth to keep your speed up as high as possible.  As usual, this race didn't have any qualifying as the grid is set as the reverse of the finishing positions of race 1.
 
Race
Unlike Race 1, this was a standing start though which caught Phil out as due trying to launch properly only bogs himself down as everyone else pulls away on the run to turn 1.  As I won the previous race, I started at the back but made a nice dive down the inside of turn 1 much to Mike's surprise but thankfully narrowly avoiding hitting anyone.  Turn 1 bunched up the pack and a few knocks going in to turn 4 saw a few us knocked a little wide costing time on the run down the hill.  Out front Kiwi and Tom @LordBaguette were having a good battle for the lead, Kiwi tried to take the inside line for the right bend before the final hairpin but causes both of them to run wide in to the wall though ever the gentleman Kiwi gives the place back to Tom.  Leading up to the final hairpin, I get a good run on Macca and move to the outside to take my normal line as I see Macca braking way too late so I leave the door open for him to overshoot the corner and run wide and giving me the perfect switch back to retake the place.  This put me on to the tail of Lee and Crispy which due to them battling between themselves I caught up quickly and thanks to a bit of contact and distraction of each other they both run wide at turn 4 giving me an easy double pass.  Mike, in third, in an attempt to close the gap to Kiwi in the lead tries some shake and bake with Tom by bump drafting him down the start finish straight.  This work out for Mike though the extra speed causes Tom to misjudge turn 1 and run wide and dropping him from 2nd to 7th.  Tom rejoining the track causes a few people to go offline giving me an easy pass on Paul and a run on Stretch up to the final hairpin which goes slightly wrong as Stretch moves to think about a pass on Phil clipping me on to the grass to the hairpin which causes a little contact at the hairpin but we both make it away without too much time lost.  Though it does allow a recovering Tom to catch up and he and Stretch battle over the next lap.  In the heat of their battle, there's a little side contact on the run to the final hairpin but rubbing is racing though it does cause both of them to run a little deep in to the hairpin as Stretch performs a perfect pit manoeuvre on Phil spinning him in to the inside barriers.  This drops Phil back as James @Lurch gets passed as they run down the start finish straight.  Phil fights back over the next lap and gets a good run on James down the hill though a small bit of contact sees Phil pull a nice drift king to hold the slide at the cost of some speed as Crispy and Lee sweep passed on each side just as Crispy runs on to the grass causing him to miss the apex of the hairpin and Phil to regain one place.  Meanwhile just in front, James gets a run on Tom out of the last hairpin and it becomes a race to the line which causes Tom to make some unorthodox moves to block James and hold on to 4th.
 
 
Results

 
Race 3 - Red Bull Ring Gr2
Red Bull Ring is a fast track with some slow corners at turn 1, 2 & 3 which can cause plenty of unforced errors in braking too late or too much throttle on corner exit.  As this race was the one to include tyre wear and a choice of tyre, it opens up the strategy as to what to run and if people will be pitting.
 
 
Qualifying
A fast lap at Red Bull Ring is all about that fine line of taking the shortest and fastest lines possible but without running wide or cutting the inside of corners too much else you can get a lot of penalties as Tom found out as he picked up a penalty at the final 2 corners which ruined his first flying lap.  Kiwi gets his first lap together and takes provisional pole which he further improves on over the next few laps.  Lee manages to put in a good lap early on to move himself up to 4th though this is soon down a position as Phil follows up to move himself to provisional 3rd.  I had been struggling to walk that fine line and picking up penalties preventing me from setting a fast lap but I get one in towards the of qualifying to take pole position.
 
Race
As race 2, this was a standing start which could be interesting with how tight turn 1 is though with the exception of a couple people running wide, turn 1 is kept clean.  Kiwi, who started second, has a better turn 1 than me and a better exit as he takes the lead on the long run to turn 2.  I try to retake the lead but out brake myself and run wide letting Phil to move himself up to 2nd place.  Turn 2 doesn't go too well for Tom or Mike either as they share a bit of contact though mostly get through unscathed.  There's a decent straight between turn 2 and 3 which gives me chance to line up Phil for a pass in to turn 3 for me to retake 2nd as Phil gets a love tap up the rear from Lee then a small side swipe from Tom.  Phil and Tom run side by side up to turn 4 but Tom out brakes himself and runs wide but manages to hold on to his 4th place though this is short lived as Tom gets a little out of shape through turn 1 of lap 2 which causing some fish tailing but through skill (or luck?) it's all gathered up and Tom carries on with his race.  Through all the action of the first couple of laps, Lee had managed to keep it clean to be in 4th but running wide on the exit of turn 3 sees him take a trip through the gravel.  Lee manages to keep the car pointing in the direction though and tries to rejoin the track as quickly as possible where he's side swiped harder than Mike on Tinder and spun off in to the gravel.  The start of lap 4 sees me almost copy Tom on the exit of turn 1 as I get a massive kick of oversteer, I gather it up but my mistake allows Phil to take 2nd place off of me.  Though Phil, in an effort to finish at least one race this week, doesn't fight too hard as I make a move at turn 2 to retake second much to Kiwi's annoyance.  The race then enters the spinning phase as Tom loses it at turn 4 shortly followed by Mike pulling a pirouette round the final corners as Tom takes another turn, this time on the way in to pits as the autodrive didn't take over fast enough.  As we move in to the final half of the race, the strategy comes in to play as Mike and I had switched to hard tyres for the race while everyone else had been running mediums.  As Phil had pitted for new mediums, this brought him out behind Mike who was still on his hard tyres from the start of the race so Phil tries to make a pass at turn 1 of lap 9 but doesn't managed it and tries again at turn 2 but out brakes himself and runs wide giving Mike a little breathing room.  Phil, on fresher and faster tyres, gains on Mike and tried again at turn 2 and turn 3 of lap 10 but again Mike manages to keep ahead.  Until Phil has a third attempt on lap 11 but this time Phil gets it all wrong at turn 2 and the game resets Phil giving Mike enough of a lead to hold on 3rd place until the end.  While Phil was making a meal of getting passed Mike, up front Kiwi and I had been having our own battle.  Both of us were trying to do the whole race without a pit stop however I was on hard tyres while Kiwi was on mediums.  This had worked out for Kiwi for most of the race as on slower tyres I was unable to gain on Kiwi.  However as the tyres became worn, the race came back to me around lap 9 as Kiwi's lead of ~5 seconds was down to just 0.2 by the end of lap 10.   I tried to make a move at turn 2 of lap 11 but due to some perfectly timed ghosting by the game Kiwi held on to his lead on the run to turn 3, I closed up and tried to run around the outside of turn 4 but without much chance of success as Kiwi squeezes me on corner exit.  Kiwi manages to hold a reasonable lead which I fail to close down on the run to turn 2 of lap 12 but due to having no tyres left, Kiwi brakes extremely early which catches me out and causes a little bit of contact but with some defending in to turn 3 allows me to take the lead and quickly pull away.  As Kiwi has a large enough gap to Mike in 3rd, he pits for new tyres for the final lap giving me a gap to cross the line for the win.
 
 
Results

Race 1 - 4 laps Fuji Gr4
 
Fuji is quite a technical track with some tricky tightening radius and off cambers corners with the first half being faster with flowing corners and the last sector being all slow and tight corners.
 
Qualifying
Due to some technical issues this week - the pit out bug - qualifying had to be stopped and restarted.  After the re-start the real qualifying began unfortunately Lee was still unable to leave the pits but we bravely carried on regardless.  @JBR-Kiwi was considerable faster in practise and carried this to qualifying with his first lap being over 1 second faster than Mike who took provisional second spot with myself in third followed by Shucker, Tom, Bones, Phil and Lurch.  Everyone was up to their pace quickly so there was little change over the rest of qualifying with the exception of Pete who improved his lap to move up to provisional third then further improved to take second on the grid.
 
Race
  
 
 
Following on from last week, we continued using a grid start rather than a rolling start which caused Pete some problems as he got too much wheel spin off the line and started to drop back. Paul @slamminbones and @phil bottle both ran deep in to turn 1 causing a knock on effect of pushing some cars wide.  One of which was myself and I rejoined at the back of the pack with the aim of recovering as many positions as possible which was helped by Matt @Misneach_ kindly pushing Paul wide at turn 4 making it easy for me to gain 2 places.  Though this was soon undone due to Gary @techno   who used my car as a brake a couple of times through the final  sector putting me almost to the back again.  At the lead end of the start finish straight, @Shucker firmly in Phil's tow misjudges his braking zone and pinballs in to Phil causing him to run wide but due to the tarmac on the outside of turn 1, Phil gets a good run and manages to stay ahead in to turn 2.  The pack had become reasonably spread out by this point however Mike @Mikepjbell and Kiwi continued to have a brilliant battle for the lead over the remaining laps with Mike taking the lead in to turn 1 of lap 2 but Kiwi soon re-took his position at turn 4 of the same lap and Mike sticking one up the inside of the final corner to again retake the lead.  Though due to the length of the straight, Kiwi manages to draft up to Mike and take his lead at turn 1 of lap 3.  Over lap 3 Kiwi and Mike swap places several times which allows Tom @LordBaguette to catch up and join in the battle with Tom managing to briefly get passed Mike around turn 3 of the final lap though Mike soon retakes this as they go through turn 4.  This fighting slows them down meaning Shucker also is in the fight for the final half a lap but sadly this is ended as Tom runs wide at the hairpin at the start of the final sector and in cutting the grass infield gets reset costing him a podium.    Pete had also managed to catch up to Shucker and with the finish line being a considerable distance down the straight, manages to draft up to Shucker with them finishing just 0.05 seconds apart.
 
Results

 
 
Race 2 10 laps Monza no chicane Gr3
 
Monza is a world famous track for it's heritage and speed with it's long straights separated by chicanes.  In the layout raced this week though we skipped the first chicane meaning Curva Grande became turn 1.
 
Similar to last week, the grid for the second race was a reverse order of the finishing positions of the first race so there is no qualifying report.  Both the Medium and Hard racing compound tyres were available to use though the rule was that at least 1 lap had to be done on the hard compound tyre. 
 
Race
 
 
 
Again we used a grid start rather than a rolling start which has the benefit of keeping the pack far closer together than using a rolling start.  Without the first chicane it opened up the possibility of managing to sort ourselves out ready for, what is normally, the second chicane.  This didn't happen!  Due to the various speeds of people getting off the line and the run down to Curva Grande being so long the tow became important with the cars lining up 4 wide on the run to turn 1.  This didn't end well going a few small nudges through turn 1 saw Gary , Paul and Tom run wide in to the gravel but manage to recover and carry on.  @Lurch wasn't so lucky though as his trip through the gravel ended up with a spin and being parked sideways in front of Lee @GazzaGarratt.  @crispymorgan kept it clean and managed to hold on the lead though running wide in the first chicane and then coming out of the first Lesmo left me with an easy pass for the lead.  As it turns out the Lesmo's were a problem for a few people during the race with Lee, still struggling to get used to his wheel, becoming the second victim as he got out of shape through Lesmo 1 and spun hitting the inside barrier.  Kiwi had close the gap to me in the lead and using the tow down the start finish straight took the lead which I didn't fight too hard as I had picked up a time penalty and I knew I could use the tow from Kiwi to serve my penalty without losing any actual time.  Matt also manages to get a slight tow on Paul going down the start finish straight and has an attempt for a pass in to the first chicane but a massive misjudgement of his braking point saw him run clean over the chicane with the game resetting him giving Lee and easy pass though Matt closely follows Lee up to the Ascari chicane but failing to retake his position.  Lee on the charge at this point puts in a couple of fast lap to catch up to Paul on the following lap and manages to draft passed him going through turn 1 to take fifth place.  Unfortunately for Lee he becomes a victim to Lesmo 1 again costing him a couple of places as Pete and Paul move up the order.  I briefly take the lead from Kiwi down the straight though this is soon reversed at the chicane - at this point I'm reasonably confident Kiwi is on medium tyres and will need to pit whereas I decided to the whole race on the hard compound so won't need to pit so I decide to just follow Kiwi rather risk a pass or lose too much time fighting.  This is undone through as going through the Ascari chicane I get a snap of oversteer running the kerbs costing me time and allowing Mike @Mikepjbell to have the run on me down to Parabolica to take second though this reversed as I get a small tow on to the straight and re-pass Mike through turn 1.  Mike then becomes the next victim of the Lesmo's as he runs wide costing him time and allowing me to have some breathing room to catch back up to the leader, Kiwi.  I get a good run on Kiwi out of Ascari though he only leaves me with outside line for Parabolica which is a difficult pass.  A bit of door to door rubbing ends as Kiwi, as well as Mike in third, peal off to do their pitstops (much to Mikes disguist that I would use such a tactic).  Kiwi exits the pits with a few seconds lead over Mike though due to a mistake through Lesmo 1 and running wide through the gravel and grass, Mike has a run up to Ascari.  Mike takes the inside line and takes second from Kiwi but unfortunately runs a bit deep as Kiwi pulls a switch back and retakes his second place which manages to hold on to until the end of the race.  The final victim of the Lesmo's is Paul who on the final lap, with a chance to catch Matt, runs wide and spins at Lesmo 1 then rejoins and runs wide on the exit of Lesmo 2 also.
 
Results

 
 
Race 3 6 laps Blue Moon Bay Infield N200
 
We've done the oval of this track before but decided to try the infield version that has a few more corners than turning left all the time.  The track has a small number of corners with an especially tricky turn 1 due to the bump in the braking zone as you come off the banked oval section.
 
Again, the grid for this race was decided as a reverse of the finishing positions of the Monza race.
 
Race
 
 
Lee decided to really push the boat out for this race and try manual gears on top of also using his wheel.  This cost him slightly at the start as he forgot to change gear off the line though for the most part Lee, and everyone else, got off clean meaning we were all bunched up through turn 1.  Phil got nudged slightly which Mike was quick to defend that it wasn't him this time though Mike made up for it by then hitting Phil at turn 3.  Lee runs wide at the hairpin giving Kiwi an easy pass up the inside as Gary also follows Lee wide though in Gary's case this was helped by Tom.   Lee follows Kiwi out of the final corner and on to the oval section and with the help of the tow, makes a move down the inside for turn 1 but brakes late and runs wide in to the barriers of the outside of the corner.  This fighting leaves Paul with a small lead much to his own and Mike's surprise but with Kiwi in second and myself in third it was going to be fun to find out how long he could hold the lead as the gap gets smaller over lap 2.  At the end of lap 2, Phil gets in a 3 way fight with Pete and Gary and unfortunately gets switched back on through the final corner and run in to the wall on the outside of the oval.  By this point Kiwi and I had managed to close in on Paul in the lead with Kiwi making his move through turn 3 causing Paul to lose some speed.  I try to take advantage though I get caught out and have to take to the grass to avoid crashing in to Paul as I misjudged the overspeed I had.  The fight continues down to the hairpin where sadly Paul gets a bit to eager and a snap over oversteer sees him get a slow exit allowing me to take second.  While this is going on, Crispy, Matt and Gary are all very close and soon they're joined by Phil, Macca and Lurch for all 6 of them to run nose to tail through turn 1.  It's all kept clean though Crispy forgets which corner he was at and brakes unnecessarily costing him some places.   As they get to the hairpin, Lurch runs wide on the grass dropping him out of contention.  Matt also runs a little wide but managed to keep it on the black stuff until Crispy, who is also running wide due to Macca on his inside, has some contact with Matt and spins him out.  This leads on the final lap as Kiwi and myself start the final lap side by side on the oval as Kiwi takes a wider line through turn 1 to get ahead but I keep my car alongside to have a move in to turn 2 but fail to make the pass until Kiwi runs wide in turn 3.  Though Kiwi makes quick work of recouping the place at the first hairpin which I attempt to make the pass at the second hairpin.  Due to some dodgy ghosting, we pass through each other with Kiwi in the lead but on the outside for the final corner with me on the inside but with only my nose along side.  We try to make it through the final corner but Kiwi, in a repeat of Phil's earlier accident, gets run out wide in to the wall.  As I had so little alongside I should have backed out of the final corner so I lift off to give Kiwi the place back and for him to take the win.  Paul managed to keep in front of Mike also to hold on to third which I believe is his first podium so congratulations!
 
Results

 

Race 1 - 12 Laps Willow Springs Gr4
 
Even though the Audi TT has been given a Balance of Power (BoP) nerf recently, this race looked like it was going to play out in a similar fashion to Laguna Seca a few weeks ago.  The Audi TT is significantly faster but is Front wheel drive and suffers excessive front tyre wear meaning a pit stop is required.  Choosing a different car though would mean being slower on ultimate pace but able to do the race without a stop.  Which would be quicker in this race of strategy...that @Mikepjbell screwed during practise by explaining the assists he use causing Phil to force them to be off for qualifying and the race.
 
Qualifying
Out of the 12 racing, only 4 chose not to use the Audi TT so qualifying was going to be difficult for us.  The four were myself in the Toyota GT86, The birthday boy @JBR-Kiwi in the Dodge Viper, @tronic44 in the Peugeot RCZ and first time racer @techno in a Lamborghini Huracan.  I got out the pits first and so crossed the line first, I set a new PB of a low 1:16 but this was short lived as Mike crossed the line shortly afterwards with a blistering 1:15.8 whose pace already surprised himself with everyone slotting in third down.  On the second flying lap, the times and positions didn't change much with the exception of Lee  @GazzaGarratt jumping up to fourth, then on his third qualifying lap take his first pole from Mike by a tenth.
 
Race
 
 
Unlike the last few weeks, we were doing standing starts, which saw Lee on pole get nothing but wheel spin allowing a better starting Mike to hold the inside in to turn 1 and take the lead.  A bit of door to door action saw Tom@LordBaguette get squeezed leaving Kiwi on my tail going in to turn 2.  Keeping an eye on Kiwi in my mirror, I missed my braking point for turn 3 allowing Kiwi to make a pass and move on up the podium positions.  This was relatively short lived though as on the tricky last corner both Lee and Kiwi run wide giving me an easy second and as Kiwi got a better run on to the start finish straight, it saw Lee drop from second to fourth in one corner.  Lee stuck close to Kiwi though and manages to re-pass him at the top of the circuit on turn 4 which also allows Tom get passed on the downhill section.  The leader, Mike, touches the dirt on the way down the hill allowing me to close and get a run on him in to the last corner but the Audi is monstrous through the final corner so Mike pulls a small gap.  Lap 2 it was Tom and Phil's @phil bottle turn to run wide at the final corner and losing them places.  Tom running wide, left Kiwi again chasing down Lee and on the following lap, making a pass on the downhill as Lee runs on to the dirt and very wide costing him several places.  As the saying goes, third times the charm, on my third attempt to follow Mike through the final corner he gaps me but I get a better exit and close up down the straight to take the lead through turn 1 which is all to brief as in a copy of Lap 1, I run wide in to turn 3 allowing Mike to retake his lead who then runs wide in turn 6 letting me back passed.  Kiwi has a couple of bad laps of running wide on the last corner and ends up behind @jordie1892 who battle for the place with Kiwi making the pass, Jordie retaking the position before Jordie runs wide on on turn 3 of lap 11.  To end the race Phil and @Lurch get close with their final position coming down to the final corner where Phil runs wide allowing Lurch to take the place by a little of one tenth of a second.
 

 
To somewhat show how tricky the final corner of this track is, I think half my notes for this race revolved around someone or other running wide 😆
 
Race 2 - 3 laps Sainte Croix A Gr3
 
There was no qualifying for this race as we decided to try out a reverse grid based on the results of the previous race.  The race is only 3 laps but as it is one of the longer tracks in GT Sport so there was going to be plenty of time for action as the faster cars at the back made their way through the pack.
 
Race
 
 
As race 1, this was a grid start which caused carnage from the start as @Shucker couldn't race but forgot to remove his entry so was at a stand still at lights out causing Mike some issues.  The majority of the pack got off well and running 3 or 4 wide heading for turn 1 was a risk for a big pile up but with the exception of Pete getting knocked wide and pushing Tom wide it was mostly clean.  The exit of turn 1 had Rich @tronic44 in the lead being chased by Kiwi, Lurch in 3rd with Phil and Lee bumper to bumper in 4th and 5th respectively.  Mike had recovered from a stranded Shucker and was 3 wide with myself and Gary going up to turn 2 where I managed to take 6th with Mike in 7th and Gary in 8th.  Rich makes a mistake runs wide at turn 6 letting Kiwi take the lead while Lurch runs wide out of turn 4 allowing Phil and Lee to close the gap.  Phil takes the inside in to Turn 6 but like Rich runs deep while Lee also follows while helping Lurch in to the wall too giving me an easy pass straight to 3rd place.  Sadly in recovery Lurch spins a few corners later and retires form the race.  Rich goes offline through turn 8 which allows me to run round the outside of 9 and take the inside of turn 10 to move myself up to second place.  Mike shortly follows with a nice move to overtake Rich at the hairpin at turn 13 with Rich losing a further place as Tom makes the pass down the start finish straight at the end of the first lap.  The race calms down after the manic first lap as most people have found their rough positions and running with gaps though a few mistakes give chances and passes.  I haven't really been able to close down the gap to Kiwi but in pushing Kiwi runs wide turn 10 on lap 2 allowing me to close right up but with some work still to be done if I want to get close enough to try a pass.  I fail to close the gap with my last option being to try and out drag Kiwi to the line but due to misjudging my speed from the tow I brake too late for the final corner allowing Kiwi a clear run to the line.  Lee, Gary and @slamminbones all get close with Lee managing to overtake Gary who shortly after takes the position though Lee manages to pass Gary right at the end.
 

 
Race 3 - 4 Laps Tokyo East Loop (Wet Race)
 
This race was scheduled for a previous week which due to time constraints it was not possible to do so it was re-run this week.  In the practise for the previous weeks race, Bones was quick and topping the times but was struggling to achieve the same times during this practise session.  Though I think everyone was struggling to adapt to the slippery conditions after two dry races on some of the softest and grippiest tyres available.  Due to the time, we didn't do any official qualifying for this race so the grid was decided by the  practise times.
 
Race
Sadly there is no footage of this race due to someone, who might have been me, forgot to save the replay which is a shame as the drag to turn 1 was interesting.  Again we started this race with a standard start but on Tokyo the start line is in a tunnel so the track is dry and it's a looong run to turn 1.  We all go off relatively clean but the differences in cars became apparent as Pete's speed saw him take the lead just as Phil in his Aston Martin also made a charge through the pack.  Phil takes a defensive inside line in to turn 1 and brakes early catching me out causing me to have dive for the outside as I brake later.   Due to the conditions both Pete and Lee run wide touching the wall but getting away mostly clean.  Pete takes a drive at turn 2 to take the lead from me as Lee runs wide again this time picking up a penalty for hitting the wall.  Towards the end of the lap, I make a pass on Pete retaking the lead as Lee closes up to Pete too.  Lee attempts to pass Pete by going round the outside but due to the lack of grip they run wide and in touching the wall, Lee spins and sadly the game doesn't reset him until most of the pack has passed.  Lee is chasing down Bones in to the final hairpin where Bones does his best Tokyo drift impression which Lee takes advantage of but Bones gets a better run and with the help of the tow repasses Lee down the straight.  At the end of lap 1, I cross the line in the lead with a gap to Mike in second who has a gap to Kiwi and Phil in 3rd and 4th who in an attempt to close in on Mike try some shake and bake bump drafting though Rich has been sneaking up on them and makes a surprise pass on Phil at turn 1.  Lee succumbs to some technical difficulties as his wheel slips on the desk causing him to go all pinball wizard by hitting every wall trying to re-clamp it.  Kiwi without the need for shake and bake, manages to pass Mike who then tries to convince Kiwi to slow down on the straight so he can be in the tow - for some reason Kiwi doesn't.
 

Race 1 - 8 Laps Tsukuba Gr.4

A few of us had practised this combination over the weekend with most of us having decided on what car to use.  That was until an update the day before the race rebalanced the cars.  A quick check of the leaderboard soon told us the new fastest car but it was going to be a rush trying to get used to it.

Qualifying; This week saw qualifying start off in some rather unusual circumstances - Rather than Mike apologising, Mike was being apologised to!  This didn't distract Lurch though who crossed the line first and setting what would be provisional pole until Kiwi crossed the line around half a lap later.  I followed Kiwi across the line slotting myself in to second place and bumping Lurch down to third.  Over qualifying Phil managed to get a good lap together to finally take third on the grid leaving Lurch to take fourth.  All the time Lee was getting more and more angry at himself as he was failing to get near his optimal lap time or the time he managed in practise meaning he had to settle for fifth.  I improved my lap time but was still second though, with my optimal fast enough for pole, on the pnultimate lap of qualifying I got my lap together to take pole by less than 0.1 seconds from Kiwi.
 
Race:
 
 
A rolling start saw us all reasonably separated and so turn 1 was clean but with everyone trying hard it didn't take long for mistakes to happen.  The first victim was @Stretch616 , running wide through the middle chicane but through skill (or luck?) managed to hold it.  By lap 2 the pack had closed up allowing Lee @GazzaGarratt to make a nice pass on @phil bottle at the final hairpin to move up to a podium position.  This was shortly followed by @slamminbones trying a similar move but failing to pull it off and running wide and costing himself a few places.  Sadly this followed by Stretch running wide through the final corner causing himself to fall down the order.  Out front, I was slowly pulling away from Kiwi in second until a mistake at the start of lap 4 saw my lead halved and down to just 0.2 seconds by the end of lap 4.  A few more unforced errors with Matt running ride through the middle chicane before hitting the wall and Bones copying Stretch and running wide through the last corner saw further changes to the order.  I had been eeking out a gap to @JBR-Kiwi but an unforced error of my own at the final hairpin meant I had to go defensive against Kiwi through the final corner and turn 1 of lap 7.  Kiwi took the lead in to turn 1 but being on the outside he couldn't hold on to it.  Through all the action and mistakes, Bones had caught up with Stretch and tried a repeat of his lap 2 dive at the final hairpin.  Bones keeps it on track this time but Stretch gets the switch back causing them to run side by side down the back straight, the final turn and the start finish straight.  Sadly for Bones a misjudged braking zone for turn 1 saw him off in to the gravel leaving Stretch to easily keep his place.  And so began the final lap with the win up for grabs, I was in the lead but bumper to bumper with Kiwi in second.  Kiwi took some unusual lines in trying to find a way passed with me taking defensive lines through the final hairpin and corner to take the win by a little over 1 tenth of a second.
 
Final Result:

 
Race 2 - 9 Laps Mount Panorama
Going in to this race, it was always going to be tricky.  Gr3 cars are fast and give plenty of oppurtunites to make mistakes going over the mountain where there's no run off areas and lots of walls to get penalties from.
 
Qualifying; From practise it was looking likely that I would take pole with Kiwi lining up second on the grid.  However qualifying didn't start well for Kiwi who managed to spin on the final corner of his out lap but a quick reverse up the track saw him start his first qualifying lap at normal racing speed.  I cross the line first but with a lap overtaking Phil and a mistake saw Lee initially setting the pace with a 2:03.7 lap, almost 3 seconds faster than his PB in practise.  Kiwi manages to get a good lap in though and takes provisional pole following half a lap later by me taking provisional pole.  In the middle of qualifying, Mike has time to play deceit when Matt asks him what his time is and Mike gives his optimal lap time rather than his actual - sneaky!  Phil who has been down the order gets a clean lap in to take provisional fourth but is promptly beaten to by Mike dropping him to fifth place.  At this point, I nail an almost perfect (for me) lap and scrape a 2 minute dead lap time causing Lee much disguist.  Lurch closes out qualifying by jumping himself from seventh to fifth on the grid and further demoting Phil.
 
Race:
 
 
Due to the extremely short start/finish straight at Mount Panorama, the rolling start didn't work out for some as it started them on the last corner and causing Matt @Misneach_ to fall back from the pack much to his annoyance at not being able to get a tow up the hill after turn 1.  Lee made a great start though and with the tow from Kiwi makes a move in to turn 2 which after some battling Kiwi holds his place as Lee falls back a little.  Sadly Lee's race soon takes a turn for the worse as he runs wide at the final corner of the mountain and the game reset him costing him valuable places and his sudden re-appearance causing Stretch to also hit the wall.  This saw Stretch fall backwards with Matt right on his tail which starts a fight that gets picked up a few times through the race.  Lee making a recovery chases down Phil until Phil runs wide on the last corner of the mountain allowing Lee to take fifth place.  Phil doesn't give up though but following Lee over the mountain on lap 4, dips a tyre on the grass and spins.  As Phil recovers he holds up Matt a little who is then caught by Stretch to continue their battle.  Sadly for Matt, he gets a little loose out of one of the corners and with a little tap from Stretch spins right round (baby, right round) but ever the gentleman, Stretch waits for Matt to recover and retake his position.  While all this has been going on down the field, Lee still recovering from lap 1 catches Lurch in fifth and following a side by side battle over several corners, Lee emerges victorious.  This is short lived though as the following lap, Matt recounts his excessive penalties and distracts Lee which allows Lurch to retake his place with 1 lap to go.  Lee now mostly on his own starts the final lap only to begin the celebrations a little early with several doughnuts at turn 2  letting Bones and Phil to gain an easy position.  To give credit where credit is due though, Lee follows up the doughnuts with some nice drifting going up the mountain
 
Final Result: