NASRS Season 16 Race 6 (Mount Panorama)
sim_racing
The last race of NASRS season 16 was at Mount Panorama (aka Bathurst) for the season’s “hot” race. If you’re not familiar with Mount Panorama, it’s a really tough track that has a very sketchy mountain section that’s full of twists, turns, elevation changes, and, most importantly, walls. If you lose focus for a second or just make a simple error, your race will most likely be over. And if that wasn’t enough to worry about, the race organizers set the temps really high so worn out tires with little grip were on tap for this one.
I was able to put together a quick lap and qualified in P3. My main focus for the race was to just be clean and avoid any crashes. The race start was unremarkable, which was a good thing as I was able to hold my position and settle in to P3. The guys in P1 and P2 are really quick drivers so sticking with them wasn’t really an option and they were pretty far ahead after just a few laps. Around lap 8 I started getting a lot of pressure from P4. He was able to get along side of me on the first main straight and tried to make a pass into T2 on lap 10. It didn’t work and pretty much never will in that turn. All you have to do is cover the inside and the outside move will almost always fail. He tried the same thing again the next lap and, not surprisingly, lost a position himself since he was also under some pressure from behind.
On lap 13 I made a mistake and went a bit deep in the chicane on the back straight and lost a position. I pitted for the mandatory stop on lap 15 and even though I felt like I had done a good stop, I ended up losing a position. I think the guy behind in P5 pitted a lap earlier so the undercut on fresh tires worked.
So I entered the pits in P4, but after the dust settled and the front runners had all done their stops, I was in P5. On lap 20 the race leader had a game disconnect (argh!) so I was able to snag a freebie and get up into P4. However, I again found myself under a lot of pressure but was able to maintain my position.
The guy in P2 made a mistake and hit the wall on lap 24. He dropped back a bit and I was able to race him, but even with his damaged car I didn’t have the top end to make a safe pass. He was struggling, though, and I was hoping to get on the podium so I was pushing really hard to try to make something happen. And, I guess, something did happen, but not what I was hoping for. With only three laps left I lost traction on the mountain and hit the wall, losing two places in the process.
To be fair, the guy behind me in P5 was much quicker than I was at the end of the race and I was under a lot of pressure. Chances are I wasn’t going to be able to hold either him or P6 off much longer. And, I’m glad that I was being aggressive, trying to make something happen rather than just play it safe and try to hold onto P4. That said, I probably should have done that and tried to finish the race without making a big mistake like I did. But, that’s the way it goes sometimes.
My car had 25+ seconds of damage, but was still driveable. P5 made a mistake on the last lap and I had a glimmer of hope, but I was just too far back to make a move stick. So I ended up with another disappointing P6 finish.
So that’s it for NASRS season 16. I think this has been my fourth NASRS season (not counting rookies) and it was by far my worst one. I wasn’t crazy about the tracks and, probably more to the point, I just wasn’t clicking with the Lamborghini. I never really felt completely comfortable in the car where I could push hard and be aggressive. At times the single lap pace was there for sure, but race pace almost always suffered. In the Aston, for instance, I frequently qualified lower and finished the race higher. I think the opposite was true this season with the Lambo. Lastly, the car felt pretty horrible in rainy/wet conditions so the COTA race was a real nightmare.
The one good thing about the season, though, was that I got my first “real” league win at Valencia so I’m happy about that. But, I’m also happy the season is over so I can now look to the future and figure out what I’m going to drive next season.
Week 6 final results (Mount Panorama)
- Qualifying: P3/18
- Race: P6/18
Here are a few highlights from the race