Round 5: Spain - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (03May18 @ 9pm EDT)

[AaronWebb85]

Last Season's Results:
1st: ForzaAlonso14
2nd: McSendit
3rd: bcolli187
Pole: ForzaAlonso14 (1.18.546)
FL: MitchMan009 (1.20.440)

Pre-Race Interview:
1) This week we are in Spain.  We already had a practice race here, how much will that help you?
2) Valencia was another track we used to have in this game.  Which Spanish track do you like better?
3) In real life there are many more engine modes than just 3 fuel mixes.  Would you like more control over engine modes or is that adding too much to the game since there is no race engineer that can help?

 

[nickthequick]

pre-race interview is up!

 

[AaronWebb85]

1) This week we are in Spain.  We already had a practice race here, how much will that help you?
I missed that race, so no. I am not very good here historically so not expecting to match my performance from the last two races.

2) Valencia was another track we used to have in this game.  Which Spanish track do you like better?
Valencia 100%. That used to be one of my favorite circuits on the schedule, it was such a fun track to do battle at.

3) In real life there are many more engine modes than just 3 fuel mixes.  Would you like more control over engine modes or is that adding too much to the game since there is no race engineer that can help?
I feel the 3 for the race and max for quali mode are perfect. More than that is overkill in my opinion.

 

[Hootius]

1) This week we are in Spain. We already had a practice race here, how much will that help you?
From a commentator's perspective, I'm happy anytime that 1-stop versus 2-stop strategies come into play.

2) Valencia was another track we used to have in this game. Which Spanish track do you like better?
Well I've never liked Barcelona, but I've never raced on Valencia. However Valencia oranges are my favorite, so I'll go with Valencia.

3) In real life there are many more engine modes than just 3 fuel mixes. Would you like more control over engine modes or is that adding too much to the game since there is no race engineer that can help?
From both a commentators and driver's perspective, I think three is enough. It gives you something to play with, yet it doesn't force you to focus full concentration on it during a battle. Any more than that and I think it takes away from some of the fun.

 

[nickthequick]

1) This week we are in Spain.  We already had a practice race here, how much will that help you?
It should help a decent amount, the problem is that it looks like I did not save my setup... so I guess I am starting over somewhat


2) Valencia was another track we used to have in this game.  Which Spanish track do you like better?
I like it when ever the tracks get swapped out every other year like how it used to be for Germany.  It freshens up the calendar.

3) In real life there are many more engine modes than just 3 fuel mixes.  Would you like more control over engine modes or is that adding too much to the game since there is no race engineer that can help?
I see both sides to this, hence why I asked the question   I would be fine with more if your engineer was actually smart and could tell you hey put it in fuel 7 and push so you can come out of the pits in free air.  That would be cool.

 

[dszman]

1) This week we are in Spain. We already had a practice race here, how much will that help you?
No, moving to the wheel it's a totally different game. It's like making a change in your golf swing that, in the long run will be better, but right off the bat it doesn't feel quite right.

2) Valencia was another track we used to have in this game. Which Spanish track do you like better?
I've always said that if I could bring back 1 track to the new games it would be Valencia. Korea and India were fun tracks as well.

3) In real life there are many more engine modes than just 3 fuel mixes. Would you like more control over engine modes or is that adding too much to the game since there is no race engineer that can help?
3 is plenty

 

[McSendit]

1) This week we are in Spain. We already had a practice race here, how much will that help you?

It was nice working out the kinks during the practice race. I spun out in turn 12 which prompted some set up changes.

2) Valencia was another track we used to have in this game. Which Spanish track do you like better?

I've actually never driven Valencia before, although it looks like a fun track. Spain is one of my favorites so it would be tough to beat.

3) In real life there are many more engine modes than just 3 fuel mixes. Would you like more control over engine modes or is that adding too much to the game since there is no race engineer that can help?

I would love having more than 3 engine modes, or at least KERS or something.

 

[nickthequick]

[youtube]LrUMwtAXcdY[/youtube]
This race was about battling the Ferarri teammates.  I was lucky just to quali in front of Forza and I had a great battle trying to defend him off.  I was definitely holding him up and he undercut me and pulled out a nice gap.

Here we were again at Spain but this time Aero was behind me running more downforce as he caught me up and finally passed me.  Luckily I was able to keep close enough and he made a mistake.  

The last few laps were really great as I got back along side however in doing so had a corner cut pen and also prowler was in front of us which made things more hectic.  Just missed out on the podium but a nice drive from Aero.

 

[AaronWebb85]

Q: 6th
Ran a decent lap, I didn't have the outright pace here I had the last 2 weeks, so to be 6th was a nice result. Unfortunately after retiring from session the car continued on the track un-ghosted and caused McSendit to avoid me, then having a similar issue with his teammate ran wide and crashed without having an opportunity to set a potential pole time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrj1c5YOq3A

R: 5th
Again, very happy with the result as I was a bit off the pace. I essentially maintained my position if not for odemz crashing out. Here were the race highlights.
Got a nice start and was able to get around Aero at turn 3 as he got a bit wide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QFLmYm8qUs

Aero had very good pace, I was only able to hold him off until lap 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xamjJQwPUh4

I wanted to pit on lap 10, and realized late in the lap I had the medium tire selected. In trying to change it, I ran wide costing me time and a warning, which ultimately led to me getting a time penalty as I got warning late in the race which gave me 3 seconds. Luckily the time lost didn't allow Jrod the undercut as I came out directly in front of him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPV2Fw3eamQ

After getting some space to Jrod it was uneventful the rest of the way. Happy with the top 5 finish and looking to survive next week in historic Monaco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUrNYUq_uyk