NA Bahrain race, post your comments here...

[Bilbo]

The server replay and results files can be downloaded here:

Qual results: http://nar.kicks-ass.org:8086/narresult ... n_Qual.xml
Race results: http://nar.kicks-ass.org:8086/narresult ... n_Race.xml
Replays: http://nar.kicks-ass.org:8086/narresult ... ahrain.zip (15.0MB, contains race and qual. replays)
Web-stats: Click here for stats!

[Flow]

Ho well, with the little (no) practice i had cause of too mutch work this week, i qualif not that bad. Thank for Bilbo and Paul for the setup, but i use Paul setup finaly.

At start, i spun into the wall alone at start, and im happy to (i think) not disturb anyone, i had my fingher on Esc just in case i would of rebound on track, but i steer into the wall to make shure i stay there. While i need a new front wing, i decide to change from 3 stop to 1 to maybe have change to grab back some position. But according to all DNF drivers, i only steal a position to Steve who finish behind in 6th and at less than 30 sec of Paul in front. 5th is excellent, cause at lap 2 i was 10th. Great battle i folowed behind SteveB and Aaron for 2nd/3rd, i was badly hoping a crash from both i would then been on podium, hahaha But doing Barhein in 1 stop is hard on tire!!! Christian? when i spun in front of you and you avoid me but contact me and you stalled in sand, im sorry about it.

This is great, 3 races and 3 differents winners (Juan/SteveB/Bilbo) Congratulation to Bilbo, Aaron and SteveB on podium today.

And Mario, im sorry, i cant resist Ok, at least you did few laps (lache pas, yen as pas une de facile) Cya next race.

[Flow]

Hummm, i cant wait to see the race stats after this race, i think that it will be so close for few drivers at top!

[aawil]

I literally lol when I saw that I was .004 quicker than Steve B in the fastest laps. These ferraris really are equal

[Bilbo]

Hummm, i cant wait to see the race stats after this race, i think that it will be so close for few drivers at top!

Yes, there is now a triple equality for P2-P5 and the driver's championship is still pretty tight after 3 races, nobody is "escaping" alone yet...

About my race, well I did not practice as much for this race as I usually do (roughly 100 laps instead of my usual 2-400), so I wasn't expecting much as this track has a few tricky spots than can bite you. With help from Mario who shared his setups with me, I was able to get to a decent pace rapidly and maximize my little practice time. Thank you Mario.

Qualifications went quite well, although the weird server problems we had were starting to make me lose my concentration. As we got into Q session, my car was parked in front of Koma's garage and he could not get out, so I jumped into my car and moved it a bit so Koma could get out with group "B". Thanks ISI for not counting laps until a driver is out of pit lane! When it was my turn to go out with group "A", I had Koma in front of my garage and since he was not moving, I had to push "through" his car. Fortunately, that did not cause any damage so I was OK for a very good qualification, ending with P2.

As for the race, my start was relatively good (I'd say it was better than usual for me) and, to my surprise, I actually ended up in front of Mario for T1. So surprised was I that I missed my braking point and went wide at T1, with no ill effect at that point except some positions lost. However, I did not think it wise to rejoin the track between T1 and T2 as there's not much room there and it was quite crowded, so I drove slowly outside the track past T2 but I was actually surprised (again) to be driving on a strip of grass (ain't this track supposed to be in the desert?) and slipped on it, putting myself sideways on the track. Hopefully, everybody got by without problem but I was not too proud of myself and I was last as punishment.

Climbing back up went quite well as a few drivers went to the pits on lap 1 then a few other drivers just made mistakes in front of me and gave me positions! I was back in 5th after 4-5 laps and the leaders were not that far in front so it still looked good for the remains of the race. I had some fun catching and fighting a bit with Paul and Aaron (and probably others too, sorry for my bad memory) but it did not last long enough. I spun by myself on lap 15 and hit the wall, although not that hard and the wings stayed on the car while the suspension did get some damage. Well, a damaged suspension is no deterrent for a racing hobbit and I just went on my way with the damaged car until my pitstop that was planned only 4-5 laps later. After a 15 seconds pitstop for fuel, tyres and duct tape, the car felt good again and I could continue hoping to fight for maybe a lucky podium finish. I managed to catch up to Aaron, then Mario was out for some unknown reason. SteveB was about 5 seconds in front of me when he pitted for his 2nd stop and I was roughly 30 seconds in front of him when the time came for my own pitstop, a lap or two later. I was expecting him to still be in front when I exited my pits but I ended up in front by maybe a couple of seconds. From then on, I was able to increase the gap and I was pretty much by myself for my last stint. It looked like SteveB and Aaron exchanged P2 a few times but I was gaining maybe 1 more second every time they did so there was no worry other than bringing the car to the end.

Congrats to all who finished and see you in Spain in two weeks for the new qualifacation style and the application of the parc ferme rules.

[Flow]

I was actually surprised (again) to be driving on a strip of grass (ain't this track supposed to be in the desert?)

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: mirage
In optics, the deceptive appearance of a distant object caused by the bending of light rays (refraction) in layers of air of varying density. Under certain conditions, such as over a stretch of pavement or desert air heated by intense sunshine, the air cools rapidly with elevation and therefore increases in density and refractive power. Sunlight reflected down from the upper portion of an object will be directed through the cool air in the normal way; although the light would not be seen ordinarily because of the angle, it curves upward after it enters the rarefied hot air near the ground, thus being refracted to the observer's eye as though it had originated below the heated surface. When the sky is the object of the mirage, the land is mistaken for a lake or sheet of water. (...or grass from Bilbo's race at Barhein)

For more information on mirage, visit Britannica.com.

[mario proietti jr]

hi guys
sorry i didnt talk b4 loll
congratulation to the podium and to all driver who finish the race u lucky loll
im in hurry to cu in spain