JBR-Kiwi

Tuesdays or Thursdays will be good for me. 
 
Mrs will be very happy if it’s Thursday as I’m told Bake Off will be returning at some point which means avoiding a fight over the TV on Tuesday night 😂

Portimao was an ok race, but baring a few moments of excitement, I could have easily fallen asleep to the race. The width of the track on the straight all the way down to turn 1 is simply a bit ludicrous and with the DRS it made it almost impossible to defend from someone as you had the width of six M25s worth of space on either side so all anyone needed to do was just dummy one way and then switch back.
 
Bottas once again was the bridesmaid never the bride. Started off so well but as soon as he got into a period of managing tyres especially on the hards he just didnt have the pace. Getting done by Hamilton and Verstappen rattled him and I think he already knows his chances for this season are done. Fastest lap is a small consolation for a track where he has always been quick over one lap.
 
I think the low rake design of the Mercedes definitely helped at this track especially with the wind that was massively affecting the high rake cars like the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. Whilst all of the drivers were complaining about the track over the weekend, with its lack of grip and cold track surface temps, you could see that Red Bulls in particular, suffered badly with aero balance especially over the last couple of corners which hampered Verstappen getting close enough for a pass down the straight even with DRS.
 
The Mercedes engine was definitely the one to have at this track, with Mclaren all weekend, and the Williams of Russell in quali, showing some ridiculous pace down the straight.
 
The thing to remember with this season is for a lot of teams (excl Merc and RB at this point of the season), they are putting little to no resources (Haas...) into this season as the regulations are going to change for next year and it would be prudent to concentrate a lot of your efforts on the next phase of the regulations. Start too late and you will pretty much write off the next 2-3 years as you will be playing constant catch up.
 
Thanks to the token development system, Ferrari couldnt actually do to much this year (new engine and a small bit of suspension work) and knew they would struggle, but they have made a massive step up from their troubles last year. The financial cap that has come in has also meant they have had to diversify their staff and operations rather then lay them off (big no no in Italien law i think), so expect them to do a massive push into GT racing with the new hypercars, but they wont be going away from F1 anytime 😉

Yep, two races left for the Spring Season. @Greboth has one hand on the trophy but its not a dead cert, just yet.
Great racing last night and my no stopper almost worked with @crispymorgan and @Lurch  catching me on the last lap. 
 
What @JBR-Kiwi said is so true. Him and Greebs are still the front runners but the pack behind is very competitive now, with James getting a deserved 3rd place in the main race. Crispy has gotten up to speed very quickly and is already threatening my perennial 4th place finishes...

I'm still amazed but equally not surprised we can do something like this and have a real good bunch that not only tries to compete against each other but also is trying to help each other improve. I even felt at one point @Macca89  who has picked it up relatively shortly was gonna get a great race result if it wasn't for the strategy. @JBR-Kiwi  is bang on. Strategy is absolutely coming into play, which I love seeing unfold. At one stage last nights first race I don't think anyone knew what was going to happen - probably the only guarantee was my spinning out 🤣 - but its things like that which keeps every week interesting.
 
Fair play to Greebs taking the hit when he made a large error on Phil. Stuff like that happens and he did amazingly well to get back through the pack to still push Kiwi at the end. Everyone had a great race and it makes me continually wish I had more time to practice as its really enjoyable practicing and learning with everyone.
 
Wish we could find more time for races again!
 
P.S. And one day that grid is definitely going to be full! Good turn out again.

I think everybody has become so much better over the course of the season that it’s now meant that if you make any sort of mistake you will unfortunately be punished for it, especially on a track like Laguna this week. 
 
One lap pace from everybody is incredibly quick and you can see it in qualifying where when everybody hooks their laps up, the whole field is covered by only a couple of seconds whereas in the past you might have been talking 10+ seconds from the front to the back. 
 
I think where people are struggling a little bit is dealing with the tyre wear and fuel management and the effect that it has on your car and your race and now, with everything being so tight, people are having to think a bit more strategically about it so we are seeing a lot of interesting strategies. 
 
I warn you all when @GazzaGarratt finally gets everything to click he will be a monster on the track! 😄

I think everybody has become so much better over the course of the season that it’s now meant that if you make any sort of mistake you will unfortunately be punished for it, especially on a track like Laguna this week. 
 
One lap pace from everybody is incredibly quick and you can see it in qualifying where when everybody hooks their laps up, the whole field is covered by only a couple of seconds whereas in the past you might have been talking 10+ seconds from the front to the back. 
 
I think where people are struggling a little bit is dealing with the tyre wear and fuel management and the effect that it has on your car and your race and now, with everything being so tight, people are having to think a bit more strategically about it so we are seeing a lot of interesting strategies. 
 
I warn you all when @GazzaGarratt finally gets everything to click he will be a monster on the track! 😄

Dropped my vote in for @crispymorgan  especially after his mega quali where he managed to stick with me all the way around the Red Bull ring to snag a front row place 😄 was extremely impressive with the mother of all tows!
 
 

Whilst I made it work by running long on super softs until lap 9 at Autopolis before switching to hards plus a quick splash of fuel, it did require me to pretty much run quali pace almost all the way through in order to build a 22sec lead over @Greboth in those laps, and I think when I left the pit I only had a 0.4 sec lead over him so the hard strategy was definitely the better one to use. 
 
I think potentially in the Gr4 class, hard tyres are not as much a penalty as in Gr3 so maybe like @GazzaGarratt says, maybe we make the lower class have a mandatory pit stop coupled with higher fuel usage/tyre wear? 

Whilst I made it work by running long on super softs until lap 9 at Autopolis before switching to hards plus a quick splash of fuel, it did require me to pretty much run quali pace almost all the way through in order to build a 22sec lead over @Greboth in those laps, and I think when I left the pit I only had a 0.4 sec lead over him so the hard strategy was definitely the better one to use. 
 
I think potentially in the Gr4 class, hard tyres are not as much a penalty as in Gr3 so maybe like @GazzaGarratt says, maybe we make the lower class have a mandatory pit stop coupled with higher fuel usage/tyre wear? 

Is this what we are now referring to as the @Greboth rule? 😂

Is this what we are now referring to as the @Greboth rule? 😂

Is this what we are now referring to as the @Greboth rule? 😂

Good races last night guys. Seemed like most people had very similar strategies for the league race so was a very good indication of people’s raw pace.
 
Monza is going to be a very interesting race especially with the potential of lots of drafting. Obviously this assumes everyone gets through the chicanes safely 😂 

Good races last night guys. Seemed like most people had very similar strategies for the league race so was a very good indication of people’s raw pace.
 
Monza is going to be a very interesting race especially with the potential of lots of drafting. Obviously this assumes everyone gets through the chicanes safely 😂 

Good races last night guys. Seemed like most people had very similar strategies for the league race so was a very good indication of people’s raw pace.
 
Monza is going to be a very interesting race especially with the potential of lots of drafting. Obviously this assumes everyone gets through the chicanes safely 😂 

More good races last night, even with a few missing we still had quite a few there. We also learned that Crispy is the new Mike. Mike must be delighted.
 
Just wanted to also take a moment to say I think we have a great balance. Yes, some races can feel intense at times, mainly because of the pressure we put ourselves under more than anything else, but its also extremely chill. I don't think many other places could do this and all of us have a good laugh through the whole night. I didn't get the best results but it didn't matter for me, really enjoyed the catch and it gave me and my brain some much needed chill time when everything else is extremely busy.

@Mikepjbell brilliant drive in that third race mate. Strong consistent laps which was exactly what was needed in those tough conditions 

@Mikepjbell brilliant drive in that third race mate. Strong consistent laps which was exactly what was needed in those tough conditions 

I currently dart around the A roads of Northamptonshire in a 2017 VW Polo Gti 6C
 
Bought a couple of years ago as I was missing the feeling of racing on a regular basis thanks to various injuries, and just wanted something that made my drive to work a bit more interesting. 
 
Was torn at the time between a couple of different cars like the Golf GTi/R and a BMW 125i/330, but saving for a wedding at the time and remortgaging the house made me consider finances and thought I needed to be a bit more sensible. 
 
It’s a great little car for me and the wife, with plenty of power and great handling and regularly makes me laugh. Definitely surprises a number of more powerful cars in the twisty bits.
 
Only downside is that it’s not got much space in the back and pre Covid I was spending every week at the fuel pump spaffing away 50quid a time on Mr Shells finest 😂

I currently dart around the A roads of Northamptonshire in a 2017 VW Polo Gti 6C
 
Bought a couple of years ago as I was missing the feeling of racing on a regular basis thanks to various injuries, and just wanted something that made my drive to work a bit more interesting. 
 
Was torn at the time between a couple of different cars like the Golf GTi/R and a BMW 125i/330, but saving for a wedding at the time and remortgaging the house made me consider finances and thought I needed to be a bit more sensible. 
 
It’s a great little car for me and the wife, with plenty of power and great handling and regularly makes me laugh. Definitely surprises a number of more powerful cars in the twisty bits.
 
Only downside is that it’s not got much space in the back and pre Covid I was spending every week at the fuel pump spaffing away 50quid a time on Mr Shells finest 😂

I currently dart around the A roads of Northamptonshire in a 2017 VW Polo Gti 6C
 
Bought a couple of years ago as I was missing the feeling of racing on a regular basis thanks to various injuries, and just wanted something that made my drive to work a bit more interesting. 
 
Was torn at the time between a couple of different cars like the Golf GTi/R and a BMW 125i/330, but saving for a wedding at the time and remortgaging the house made me consider finances and thought I needed to be a bit more sensible. 
 
It’s a great little car for me and the wife, with plenty of power and great handling and regularly makes me laugh. Definitely surprises a number of more powerful cars in the twisty bits.
 
Only downside is that it’s not got much space in the back and pre Covid I was spending every week at the fuel pump spaffing away 50quid a time on Mr Shells finest 😂

Currently have a GT86. Definitely my dumbest purchase, but that's what your mid 20's are for... right?
 
 
 
 

Thanks all for a great start to the Spring Season. Le Mans was tough and I'm looking forward to the @Grebothreview.
Initial standings after race one below. I should also give @Misneach_ a shout as technical issues ruined his qualifying and he was unable to start the race, sorry man. 
 
Position Driver Points Races 1 Greboth 25 1 2 JBR-Kiwi 20 1 3 phil_oi 15 1 4 Mikepjbell 12 1 5 JTLurch 11 1 6 TEENWOLF25 10 1 7 GazzaGarratt 9 1 8 slamminbones 8 1 9 Crispy 7 1    
After race #11

Position Driver Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 Race 9 Race 10 Race 11 Total Pts 1 Greboth 25 25 20 25 20 25 25 25 15 20 20 245 2 JBR-Kiwi 20 20 25 20 25 20 20 20 25 25 25 245 3 Mikepjbell 12 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 20 10 12 159 4 phil_oi 15 12 12 12 n/c 12 12 n/a 11 12 9 107 5 GazzaGarratt 9 11 10 8 12 DNF 4 10 12 9 15 100 6 Crispy 7 8 8 11 11 10 9 11 9 11 n/a 95 7 slamminbones 8 10 7 10 10 9 5 8 7 7 8 89 8 JTLurch 11 n/a 11 n/a n/a n/a 10 9 n/a 15 10 66 9 TEENWOLF25 10 n/a 9 DNF n/a n/a 8 12 DNF n/a DNF 39 10 MadTitan n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a DNF 6 n/a 8 8 DNF 22 11 Lord Baguette n/a 9 DNF 9 n/a n/a DNF n/a n/a n/a n/a 18 12 Jordie n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 7 n/a 10 n/a 11 28 13 Diddums n/a n/a n/a n/a 9 n/a n/a n/a 6 n/a n/a 15 14 Misneach DNF n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0  

Maybe it would be worth suggesting implementing drop scores, to help people who can’t make it to every race. 
 
if you say that only your top 9 or 10 scores will count towards the final total then that allows anybody to still be in contention if they have to work or have internet issues etc. 
 
only a suggestion though
 
but I really like the idea of this @phil bottle so well done mate. Think there will be some really close racing and it’s an extra incentive to not stop pushing in a race even if it was a poor start

I must have been the only person to actually enjoy Fuji!! 😂
 
Really good close races all evening with everybody and it’s showing just far everybody has come as now there is close racing all the way through the grid and lap times are relatively close