occult ganglions

 

OEL Blancpain Endurance Series Round 1 : Vallelunga 320km

No surprise, Elia Tartari wins the first round of OEL Blancpain Endurance Series at Vallelunga. He was comfortably fastest in Qualifying and in the Race. As for me, I finished in 2nd place, more than 1 lap behind. I was about 1.5 seconds slower per lap in general compared to ET, but I was about 1 second or more faster per lap than everybody else. I need to practice a lot for the next round in Portimao and make up the deficit.

I had a so-so race; I led the opening 10 laps after ET was punted off in the Bowling Incident at the first braking point. But ET recovered soon enough, and I conceded P1 easily. I just couldn't keep up with him, but I was also pulling away from the rest of the field. For a few laps my right paddle was glitching, causing me to miss some upshifts. But the gremlins went away, and I was able to regain my rhythm. Just past halfway point I had a spin, but I was able to keep it away from the barriers and had enough of a gap to keep my position. Near the end, with less than 10 laps to go, I spun again at the same spot and this time I hit the wall. I had to do 1 unscheduled pitstop to repair the damage, but again was far enough ahead of the car behind me so I held 2nd place until checkered flag. 

Now it's off to Daytona for the big ORL x VeeRace event. I gotta practice and learn the Mazda RT-24 DPi, but at least Daytona Road Course is a relatively easy track layout. It's gonna be a long race and the pitstops are gonna take time, so I need to figure out the optimum tires and fuel strategy. It will be a bit tricky because I am not familiar with the car, and the engine boost (which affects fuel consumption) can be adjusted in the cockpit during the race.

benevolent invasion

 

I signed up for ORL x VeeRace Daytona 2.4 Hours Event. It will be a multiclass race, with various Prototypes and GTs available. I chose to run in the DPi class with Mazda RT24. With this car I think I can fight for the overall win. I did some initial testing of the car and also a quick custom livery; so far so good.

Meanwhile, OEL Blancpain Endurance Series Race 1 at Vallelunga is coming up and I have to focus on that for now. I got the pole positon and the race win at the preseason test in Norisring, but only 3 cars showed up, so it is insignificant really. But hey, I'll take a victory and the positive vibe anytime anywhere.

robotic spy monkey

[05:23] <Alaster> i;ve been holding this fart for so long

[05:24] <Alaster> finally i can let it go

[05:24] <Alaster> it makes a sound i've never heard before

[05:24] <Alaster> i guess we all must guard against the new

[05:25] <Alaster> so they ask why

[05:25] <Alaster> i wear shades all the time even when i sleep

[05:25] <Alaster> and i tell them that it is

[05:26] <Alaster> because i lack character and personality

[05:26] <Alaster> i am compensating for my failure

[05:26] <Alaster> sullenly i become lucid

[05:27] <Alaster> and all my constructs shut up

[05:29] <Alaster> how can you destroy your own confabulation?

emergent properties

All systems go for OEL Blancpain Endurance Series, gonna run a Lambo Gallardo FL2 GT3. 6 cars registered so far but I expect more drivers to sign-up as the preseason test race draws near. I have driven this GT3 car before and setting it up was not a problem. I just have to get familiar with the five different tire compounds available and come up with a baseline strategy for the races. Only 5 events total for this series with plenty of time in-between, so I am waiting for another series from other leagues to open up.

And so it begins; another year of sim racing, to purify my character and drive away the evil thoughts the plague my mind. I need to work on my fitness and my focus, so I plan to reduce my excursions to the outside world and cut down on my smoking and drinking. Maybe even improve my diet and exercise some, too. I feel excited and I think I can win some races this year.