[Simon Meisinger]

When the race settled after those two crashes at the front in the first two laps it was an absolutely amazing race again. The fight for P2-P8 was completely equal and got totally intense in the last two laps.

But what happenened to you Donnchadh? You were in a pretty safe P1 until really late into the race, weren't you?

[Donnchadh MacGarry]

When the race settled after those two crashes at the front in the first two laps it was an absolutely amazing race again. The fight for P2-P8 was completely equal and got totally intense in the last two laps.

But what happenened to you Donnchadh? You were in a pretty safe P1 until really late into the race, weren't you?

Yep, and I'm absolutely disgusted at myself. I messed up in my preparation as for some reason I thought the race would be 12 laps long and not 13, I must have rounded down in my calculation for some stupid reason. Quite often I am a bit cautious and give myself enough fuel for one extra lap, but for this race I decided to be aggressive as I felt I was going to have good pace and used 41L which was enough for 12.4 laps on the setup I was using (mostly based off the one you put up which I must thank you very much for). When I crossed the line with 3:30 remaining, I realised my mistake and knew I had under-fueled. I started to panic, lost concentration while trying to think what could I do, so I messed up my approach over the part with the big hump sending me off track and got huge damage on my car that made it undrivable.

Since I under-fueled my race was done already, so the crash didn't really matter to me. I don't think I could have coasted to stretch 2.4 laps of fuel into 3 laps and seeing as I was on for the win, I would have been just as disappointed if I had pitted for 1 lap of fuel and came out in 7th or wherever. It was definitely a case of "if you're not 1st, you're last" for me in this race considering the circumstances. I don't think I would have made that mistake for the crash if I hadn't got distracted. I was happy with my pace/consistency, wasn't overly pushing since I had a bit of a lead and since I was on hard tyres, the grip/performance I had was still really good. This makes me feel even worse for the under-fueling. Why can't I make a mistake like that in the races where I've crashed out in the first lap so I can't win anyway? Typical.

I must say though, that car and track combination is insanely fun. Going side by side through T1, T2 is something else. There was no room for mistakes on the track due to no run off and just touching the grass can send you spinning which kept it intense throughout. I imagine the race at Bridgehampton was like that too so its a pity I missed that one. I haven't been great at Barcelona in previous season's with other cars so I'm not expecting to be running as good next week. If I get the fuel load correct that is an improvement at least.

[Filip Stoyanovich]

Oh I usually look not to miss a 1968 Fuji race, even to hop on, whatever the car is we're racing heheh Always a very stressful race, but also very enjoyable especially when with a good finish. Really not many laps in these cars ironically and no setups either. But still good start from the mid-pack, seeng spins and wrecks all around. Di Maggio was hit from inside in turn 1 and then he got up into me, broke my front wing. Then he couldn't stop for Robert and took him out and again we bumped into each other at turn 3 with some little side damage. Eventually, got to 5th position, but then it was boring because I had a lot of understeer and had no car confidence or pace anyway. Nothing could happen until Speth and Duplantier closed down on me se we could draft and chase down Barknecht. I tried my best to race with people but also not to be too aggressive on their championship fights. Crazy fun in the last couple of laps for us there! I'll tell you what, Robert Duplantier turned out to be a great racer here. He came back for us after lap 1 incident, and ran so close with other cars, holding his line along the way and not hitting them. That was joyful. From all events, couldn't even notice unfortunate guys from the top going missing, one by one...

[Simon Meisinger]

Robert Duplantier turned out to be a great racer here

Oh boy, yes, this guy has confidence on the track and really knows how to put pressure on somebody.

Donnchadh: oh damnit, for sure one of the most bitter reasons to end a race ...

[Michal Janak]

after T1 hit and fall to 20th place i came to 5th only 5,5 s behind winner, shame there were not 2 another laps in the race

[David Broomhead]

[quote pid='42646' dateline='1603920188']
Yep, and I'm absolutely disgusted at myself. I messed up in my preparation as for some reason I thought the race would be 12 laps long and not 13, I must have rounded down in my calculation for some stupid reason. Quite often I am a bit cautious and give myself enough fuel for one extra lap, but for this race I decided to be aggressive as I felt I was going to have good pace and used 41L which was enough for 12.4 laps on the setup I was using (mostly based off the one you put up which I must thank you very much for). When I crossed the line with 3:30 remaining, I realised my mistake and knew I had under-fueled. I started to panic, lost concentration while trying to think what could I do, so I messed up my approach over the part with the big hump sending me off track and got huge damage on my car that made it undrivable. 

[/quote]
Hard luck Donnchadh.  I almost binned it at the same spot - distracted by your yellow flags/trying to avoid your car!  From your angle it looked like a pretty sweet drift...

[Donnchadh MacGarry]

I won't be able to race again tonight and possibly won't be able to do the Wednesday night F1 series for the next while. I help coach an U14 football/soccer team and that training has been switched to tonight. There is a good chance it might stay like that up to at least Christmas, as the main manager might not be able to run the trainings on Thursday's (the day we usually run the trainings) for the next while. Due to the incoming winter weather, we're possibly moving from a grass pitch to a local all weather pitch from next week on too, so that pitch's availability could also dictate what day the training is run too. 
I also play for the senior team, which is currently on hold due to a second Irish lockdown (seniors can't train but juniors are allowed). When that comes back I think there's a chance of that training being switched from Tuesday's to Wednesday's as well. The manager of that team had mentioned it just before the lockdown, but we hadn't got around to finding which of the days suited the rest of the team, so it was left undecided. 

I'll probably know my situation better in the next few days, but I think it's unlikely I'll be around for these Wednesday F1 races for a while at least, which is a pity as they are a lot of fun. And no, this is not a secret rage quit after running out of fuel last week . I'm not that sore a loser (I think).

[Michal Ringes]

lets just hope the next old f1 cars are run on fri sat sun, like they should be

[Simon Meisinger]

Woah, thanks Donnchadh for posting, without you I would have forgotten that it's wednesday!

Hope to be on the track with you soon again.

[Michal Ringes]

GR on this hard track by everyone