It’s been a while since I last managed to update my race diary – unfortunately work has got in the way, but I’ve still managed to cram in a number of races. So although you might have to wait forever for me to finally upload more photos and videos, here’s a rundown of how I’ve faired in the three championships since my last update.
Rllmuk Classic Roadsport: Rd 2 Nurburgring GP (Short)
The C Class series visited Germany for round two, and despite the home track for the VW Golf’s, it was always going to be a struggle. In addition to the quick car and driver combo of our own ORDC Bladerunner in the Lancia, there were also a trio of Renault 5 Turbos to contend with, headed by frontrunner Meatball46.
A decent qualifying result saw me third on the grid, just ahead of my ORDC VW team-mate Pjeedai. And it proved that it’s the Golf that struggles off the line rather than the driver, as we were both swamped at the start. Somehow I managed to make it through the tight hairpin Turn 1 unscathed, but could only watch as the Bladerunner and Meatball46 pulled away. I knew I couldn’t catch them, so concentrated on keeping everything tight, hitting every apex, and making sure I stayed ahead of my team-mate.
That all paid off when an unfortunate challenge at the chicane saw Bladerunner spin, allowing me to pick up a slightly undeserved second place behind Meatball46
Race 2 was similar, besides a bit of a mid-race battle with Meatball46 before succumbing to the inevitable, and a faultless race from Bladerunner extending his lead at the top of the championship.
So a 2nd and 3rd was probably one place better than I could have hoped for, and does mean that I’ve made up some of the distance on the battle for second and third in the championship after my terrible first round. Sadly next up is Tsukuba, probably the worst track for the Golf, so anything will be a result there, but after a couple of good podiums for Pjeedai, he’s my main target on track!
Rllmuk Classic Roadsports Round 2:
Race 1: 1) Meatball46, 2) BadgerGravling, 3) Pjeedai, 4) Blade Runner, 5) SharkyOB
Race 2: 1) Bladerunner, 2) Meatball46, 3) BadgerGravling, 4) Beezerly, 5) Sharky OB
Standings: 1) Bladerunner 112, 2) Pjeedai 88, 3) Beezerly 84, 4) Meatball46 82, 5) BadgerGravling 78.
Virtual Motorsports Classic Series Rd 3: Tsukuba:
You wouldn’t typically think a 1966 Chevy Nova was the ideal choice for the short, tight and twisty Tsukuba track. And you’d be pretty much right as the set qualifying lobby saw the front runners disapear into the sub-1 minute laptimes, and the Nova wobbling round to qualify in the 4th lobby.
But one benefit of the multiple lobby system is that it almost always leads to close racing, and that’s definitely what happened. Having been lucky enough to start on pole I had a 41 minute battle with the fast Corvette Stingray of Rancidblaze, seperated by less than 100ft for much of the action. A couple of times Rancid took the lead, but I managed to stay calm, relatively consistent, and was able to capitalise on a couple of mistakes, and after the mandatory pitstop I headed into corner one just ahead of the Stingray as it rejoined the track on new tyres.
Having lost a potential race win at the first round after a TV-related disaster, history almost repeated itself as a steering wheel failure for one driver left his car stuck in the middle of the final corner just as I came round at the front of the field. Somehow I managed to avoid him, lost drive and dropped to second for the closing stages, but an unlucky mistake by RancidBlaze saw me manage to retake the lead and then park the fortunately wide Nova on every apex to hold off his determined challenge, crossing the line first by about 10ft.
Virtual Motorsports Round 3: Tsukuba Full:
Lobby 4: 1) BadgerGravling, 2) Rancidblaze, 3) EZT RacerX, 4) OMG FLck, 5) GLR Puckhead.
Rllmuk Classic Touring Cars: Rd 2: Hockenheim GP:
So back into A Class Tourers and the Team OnlineRaceDriver.com Mercedes. Whilst various other teams and drivers have made some changes, leading to a new team running a pair of Lotus Carlton’s, and an early switch for one driver to a Ford Sierra RS500 from an adventurous atempt in an Alfa Romeo, we’re sticking with the 190Es. What they lose in a straight line they make up for with consistent handling for the short 8 lap races, which don’t allow you to recover from a mistake.
First up was qualifying, and I was happy to put the Merc on pole, ahead of Bladerunner and Pjeedai (Meatball46 was absent from this round, meaning that I had one less rival to worry about with his quick RS500). The Mitsubishi Starion of Bladerunner is blisteringly quick off the line, and that meant I had to give way at the first corner, and then settle down to try and counteract straightline speed which saw him pull away even when I was right in his tow on the straights. Luckily I could close massively on the corners, and had managed to stay close throughout the race as the midpoint had been reached.
I really wasn’t sure I could mount enough of a challenge, until a real life distraction slowed Bladerunner slightly, and I was able to not only pull alongside yet again, but stay there for 2-3 corners in a row, finally managing to nip cleanly through and holding the lead to the flag.
Race 2 followed a similar pattern, with Bladerunner again making a slight mistake, but this time much earlier in the race as I suspect he was trying to make up for his earlier second place. What should have been relatively comfortable was thrown into disarray slightly when I lost concentration for a split second and went sailing across the gravel before rejoining, but the only person to really lose out was my second-placed team-mate Pjeedai, who was slightly blocked when I came back onto the Tarmac, and lost out to Bladerunner. But I think we can all be happy with an all-ORDC podium! It also means 4 wins from 4 in this series and a 16 point championship lead.
Rllmuk Classic Touring: Rd 2 Hockenheim GP:
Race 1: 1) BadgerGravling, 2) Bladerunner, 3) Pjeedai, 4) Wev, 5) SharkyOB.
Race 2: 1) BadgerGravling, 2) Bladerunner, 3) Pjeedai, 4) BalhamBadger, 5) Wev
Championship: 1) BadgerGravling 120, 2) Bladerunner 104, 3) Pjeedai 86, 4) BalhamBadger 84, 5) Wev 70.
Virtual Motorsports Classic Series: Round 4 Bernese Alps Club:
And we’re finally up to last night, which saw the Classic Series visit the tricky and twisty Bernese Alps track with camber changes, evil kerbs and a complete lack of testing time which saw me running pretty much the same set-up as Tsukuba, which wasn’t ideal. Somehow, though, a laptime in the one minute 25s saw me move up into Lobby 3 for the first time, which was my aim when the season started.
The pressure was on a little – having spent 3 races in lobby 4, I’ve got to know some of the drivers who regularly qualify around my times and I’ve built up some experience and trust in them. Lobby 3 was a new field, with faster drivers, some of whom have been Lobby 1 drivers in previous weeks.
From seventh on the grid, I was a little fortunate at the start to get a good run, but then failed to capitalise by being a little too cautious for once. As things settled down I was in a solid 6th, and managed to keep a decent distance to the group in front, and through the first few pitstops found myself as high as fourth, despite the determined efforts of the Volvo 242 Turbo of ZA Warudo trying to find a way past and skilfully managing to avoid me when I had a couple of moments. Eventually he came past, and I settled down to what became a slightly lonely 6th place with the main battle between me and the track. Considering the tricky nature of the track and the fact the anti-clockwise bias was cooking the front right tyre early on, I’m pleased with that.
Virtual Motorsports Round 4: Bernese Alps Club:
Lobby 3: 1) MRT Tazkumi, 2) EZT Spartan, 3) VVV Zeragon, 4) G JC 96, 5) F4H ZA Warudo, 6) BadgerGravling, 7) F4H Tito, 8) F4H Bullet, 9) Preacherman23, 10) EZT o Sollelf.
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