PTCC RACE REPORTS

TEAM BAD RACE REPORT

SUZUKA WEST

Qually
I was pretty pleased with the car in the qually nailing a decent lap on lap 4 of 1:24:795 which was good enough to put the Team Bad Honda on pole. The car has run a little faster in testing but that obviously wasn't under pressure.

Race 1
I was really pleased to be starting the race from pole position and was keen to convert that into a podium finishing position. I got a decent start off the line and put a cars length between dc and myself which meant I could pick my line at 130R and defend into the sharp right hander, which I managed to do with just a slight tap on the rear quarter from dc but was all good and I managed to keep my 1st place and from then on I was busy trying to keep dc behind as we have had some great battles over recent weeks. I saw dc make a few little slips and made a little gap and then settled into laying down some consistent laps the quickest of which was a 1:24:289. I was really impressed with KikRox as I came up to lap him with just a few laps left he was very aware and let me through nice a quick which was great driving thank you sir it was important to me a Mr dc was usual not far behind and waiting to pounce and pinch my win. I held on with my car losing pace in the last couple of laps and collected Team Bad's first win of the season.

Race 2
Starting at the back of the pack I needed to push but also trying to make sure I kept my car unmarked which was going on until turn 2, lap 2 as when I arrived at the corner I saw 2 stationary cars and 1 car taking avoiding action to the left so I slammed on the brakes and prayed and just as I was about to close my eyes and wait for a huge bang my car pulled up and ground to a halt just in time without a touch. The incident obviously cost a lot of time letting Niff get away at the front and I just settled into a rythem and see what I could do. Thank to a couple of unlucky drivers running wide etc a few laps later I found myself in 4th with Niff leading and Luongo and Peeetey just ahead. I gradually closed in on then and was looking to be greedy and get both of them down the main straight however just as I was about to pull out Peeetey beat me to it and took Luongo so I held station and waited for a better chance to come to me. A lap or 2 later that chance came on the exit of the hairpin and I just managed to slip by Luongo into the final turn and held on in the corner onto the straight. Then I was chasing down Peeetey which took a couple of laps and I took him down the main straight but ran wide at 130R and he got me back. On the next lap I tried the same move again and just managed to make it stick by defending into turn 2 which meant I had got into 2nd place. I tried my best to try n chase Niff down but there just wasn't enough laps left to even get close so 2nd place it was which I was really happy with for sure. I also managed to steal away the fastest lap from Niff on the very last lap with a time of 1:24:543.

Final Report
Team Bad are really happy with the cars performance in the 1st meeting. We ended up with a pole position, race 1 win and 2nd in race 2. A great haul of points for the team championship and the drivers championship. I am sure it will go different next week at infineon but for now were drinking champaign and celebrating a days racing. The whole team have worked so hard preparing and developing the car and next week hopefully wel have both cars on the track but who knows LMAO.

Nice report mate, I'll submit my essay tomorrow along with some choice pics.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank all participants for the time and effort you've put into making this a potentially great series.
Every car on the grid looked fantastic too. Thanks guys.

Dcauto's, Bloody Yanks Racing report. Suzuka West.

Qually

Had a good qually that netted me 2nd on the grid. It wasn't my quickest lap but was still into the 24's. I must admit when I saw Mr. Del's time I was hopeful because I had run low 24'sin testing. If I could stay clean I knew I'd have a shot at the win.

Race one.

The Chevy was a little slower than Del's Honda and Pete's VW off the line. I thought Petey was going to beat me into turn one, or at least make life hard, but he decided to give me room. Del defended into turn two, I thought I had an opening on his inside but the cold tire under steer was too much. I gave Del a little tap in the right rear, no damage. We were still tight headed for turn 4 and 5. I broke a little early to avoid another bump with Del. That seamed to catch Petey off gaurd, he swerved left to avoid and that cost him threw the corner. I was pushing real hard to catch and keep up with Del and mad a few mistakes that cost me.

Late in the race I saw the gap closing a bit. Del mentioned he was starting to struggle. I scooted up in my seat and went to work. I laid down a couple of low 24's and was starting to feel like I had a shot. Well, the last couple of laps where 25's cause I was pushing to hard. Oh well I guess I just cant resist that damn carrot when it's dangled in front of me.

Race Two.

Gutted that I missed this one. It was mostly my fault that we started a bit late and just couldnt get that next race started.

Oh well onto the next race with shovel in hand to dig mysekf out of this hole.

Martini Motorsports #9 Race Report

Qualifying went better then I expected as I started 6th on the grid for the first race.

The first race I had a great start to get by Dawg and managed to keep him behind me for the opening few laps as he pressured to find a way through. With some solid driving he eventually dropped back and came under pressure from Niff which let me pull the gap out to a comfortable 4 seconds. Niff eventually caught me and I didn't put up much of a fight for the spot, as I couldn't catch the cars in front and he was the faster of the two Martini cars. No real action for the rest of the race until late on I believe I clipped my front wing in turn 2 and started to get some understeer in the car. I decided to pace my laps and not make any mistakes which let Chelsey catch up but I was never really worried even though he did manage to pull it to 100 feet at the hairpin.

Race 2 was a short one after the restarts I was caught in no man's land and went right into the back of Kikrox which ended my race on turn 2 of lap 2. The Martini Motorsports team principle had a few words with race director peetey after the race as two why his driver didn't get a restart. The discussion resulted in a fine of about 100,000 yen.

This was so much scarier than a photo could ever convey - especially for Del Squeaky bum time in Somerset lol





An unfortunately timed incoming message caused me to miss the braking point by a few metres and tap Luongo with nothing more than a front winglet. I got 25% front aero damage and he got a fair bit of rear aero and bafflingly, engine damage...!?:




How bloody good do all those paints look eh?

Dylema wrote:
The Martini Motorsports team principle had a few words with race director peetey after the race as two why his driver didn't get a restart. The discussion resulted in a fine of about 100,000 yen.

Generally speaking, we usually operate on a first lap incident restart policy. After that, unless multiple cars receive crippling damage it's a case of 'unlucky mate' which would've applied to anyone (including myself).
On this particular occasion, this was compounded by the fact that we'd already had multiple restarts.

Exceptions to that rule have to be judged on an individual basis, like for example the Clio cup @ Tsukuba where we restarted on lap 8 when a huge lag spike destroyed half the field.

I hope that makes sense.

Loving the pictures, the one of me and Chelsea should be our team photo

Nice pics mate.

Dubbl0HPeeetey wrote:

Dylema wrote:
The Martini Motorsports team principle had a few words with race director peetey after the race as two why his driver didn't get a restart. The discussion resulted in a fine of about 100,000 yen.

Generally speaking, we usually operate on a first lap incident restart policy. After that, unless multiple cars receive crippling damage it's a case of 'unlucky mate' which would've applied to anyone (including myself).
On this particular occasion, this was compounded by the fact that we'd already had multiple restarts.

Exceptions to that rule have to be judged on an individual basis, like for example the Clio cup @ Tsukuba where we restarted on lap 8 when a huge lag spike destroyed half the field.

I hope that makes sense.

I don't mind it I still scored points so it's not like I got nothing out of it. Just a little frustrated there was at least one restart because someone tapped me in the back going into turn 2 and said they had aero damage. It's racing and you'll crash out every once in a while but I'm not sure aero alone should constitute a restart.

But I really just added the part about that in the recap because I had nothing else to write about lol

I have to say I was very supprised to pick up pole in qually as I haven't spent as much time on my car as usual.

Race 1
I got away pretty well and was able to defend everyone til I got to the back straight, hit 4th gear and got a little room and just continued to try and build the gap. It took a few laps but did get a 400/500 foot gap then got my head down and into a nice rythem and was able to turn out a string of 1:34's when my tyres came in good around lap 5/6. Once I got a 800/1000 foot gap over Peeetey I settled down and looked after my car which nearly went very wrong on lap 17 when I turned in too early and nearly clipped the wall in the chicane. That really made me focus to settle down and bring the car home.

Race 2
Starting on the back I was careful at the start to not rush and keep my car clean. I started to push when I got to tha back straight. I can't remember where I passed who other than my Team Bad mate Mr Bond kindly let me by on the main straight. Then a little later on I found myself in 2nd place and trying to chase Niff down however by lap 8/9 I knew that I wasn't going to catch him, I continued to try but was also looking after my car and I bought her home in 2nd.

Summary
Over the moon with pole, great win in race 1 and very happy with 2nd in race 2. Really very pleased to bag a good haul of points for Team Bad. The only thing I will say is our grease monkey needs to get the race tune over to Mr Bond earlier so he can have more time in the car.

Our driver of the day award spot prize goes to KikRox!
You've consistently shown great awareness throughout the series so far and had a great drive in today's race, almost managing 3rd and unluckily missing out on 4th.

Here's your prize sporting a pretty damn sweet Delzaster tune and rocking a Hellsbells paint!


I'll send a FR shortly.

This message was edited & brought to you by Petey.

I'm glad I checked this thread. That's awesome, thanks guys. I really appreciate it.

Qually
I was pretty please with my qually this week, I was hoping for front row but didn't think I would get it. I had a solid lap 2 and was looking good on the last lap with .500 sec up then I dirtied the lap which would have given me 2nd on the grid so the pace was there I just didn't quite nail it this time.

Race 1
Got a decent start off the line from 3rd place and defended my place and tried to hang on to Sniper & Niff's tail as we built a little gap in the first few laps but then fell back a little as Niff & Sniper settled into a good consistent rhythm. Towards the end I think I was closing a little on Sniper but I think he must have made a couple of little errors because he then pulled it out again and 3rd was what I got and I was happy with that for sure.

Race 2
Starting on the 2nd to last row my aim was to drop to the back so I could warm up my car and get a rhythm without being attacked on cold tyres. After a few laps I got by Dylema on the straight and began to work on catching 1 car at a time which was all taking longer than I thought and at 1 stage I thought 5/6 place was all I could get but then a few cars got tangled and I was on Niff's rear bumper and ran into the back of his car (sorry mate), we picked our way through the mess lol. Then we came up on another incident and in trying to get through a car just clipped my rear quarter but I escaped it. Then I saw I was in 4th place with niff quite a way ahead but he turned out he had more damage than I did. I didn't think I was going to catch him but gradually I crept up on him and we had a few dices for place for a couple of laps. Then I threw a dummy move up the inside knowing he had to defend and as he defended I swung my car out wide on entry of 1 of the sharp turns and that was enough with my few extra mph to get enough momentum to make the pass. Knowing Niff as well as I do I knew he would do his best to get me back so it was a very tense time but then sadly he ran wide on the exit of the last corner which gave me a little breathing space and enabled me to bring the car home for my 2nd 3rd place of the day.

Summary
Fairly happy with qually and very happy to get 2 x 3rd places on a track that I think our car isn't the strongest at. I also have to say what a great drive from Owen and sniper to nail a 1 2 finish in the 2nd race. I also definitely need to watch out for my team mate at times and the Team Bad Race Director Helen had her eyes shut at 1 point when she thought both her drivers were gonna take each other out of race 1. I am sure she will have words before the next round.

So on to the next 1. Great race all and thank you.

Our driver of the day award spot prize goes to Owen0501!
For a superb 2nd place in race 2 at Hockenheim fending off the pressure from Niff and Delzaster.

Here's your prize a Zonda C12 tuned and built by Delzaster and painted by Hellsbells.

Great drive mate a well deserved sir !

Race 1:

After qually, I started the first race in the back of the pack. I was hanging back and just trying to keep up with the crowd. I was hanging with Dawg for a while just hoping he would make a mistake so I could get by. Well he went wide off the track and that was the opportunity I needed. I got by Dawg and was basically hotlapping until I passed Chelsea's car which was in the wall. I finished in 8th but it's possible that Chelsea will be given his spot back and I will be pushed back to 9th.

Race 2:

I started in the front of this pack and held the lead for a couple of laps. I fell back to 3rd and held that position for a while. Then comes Niff (I think) and Del. They got by me and I figured I would try and follow Del and move up the pack. Well about 2 turns in I almost took him out by slamming into the back of his car. I'm pretty sure that Niff cut my brake lines.

All in all I feel like I ran better today. Now that I'm using the hood view I'm not having any issues going off the track for no apparent reason. Now I just have to get better at driving in traffic and I think my positions will start improving.

I'm nervously awaiting the call from Team BAD owner Helen to scold me for almost destroying the team Civics.

Qually:

After last weeks trial run I had expectations of a mid grid qually. I posted my best clean time on the 3rd lap, and was running inside that on the 4th but pushed it too much on the last corner and dirtied it by running a little wide, but it didn’t matter as to my surprise I was in 4th.

Race 1:
My main aim was to keep it clean into the first corner by taking it easy, but I got a good launch and was soon alongside Del and had the inside line. I was looking in my rear view (Luongo know’s all about that – but that’s for later in the report) and slightly misjudged the breaking point and pushed Del a little wide so I eased off to let him go. I then had to defend from Luongo into turn 2 and whilst checking the line he was taking I almost ran into the back of Del.

Luongo was right on my tail for the next with 7 laps and we built a good gap from the chasing pack, but our battle meant we were lost the lead group On lap 6 I almost gave Luongo the place by running wide on the exit of turn 2 because I was looking in my mirror as I approached the turn, but I was just able to hold it. On lap 7 we came together but fortunately no real damage was done and we both stayed on the track. On lap 8 I ran wide on the exit of turn 2 because again I was looking in mirror and this time he nailed it. Then disaster! On the entry to turn 4 I simply broke too late when I lost my breaking point because I was chasing for the first time then locked up and ran into the back of Luongo (really sorry mate). He went off the road so I paused to give him back the place but Dylema caught us up so I had to go. I had front aero damage so spent the next 7 laps defending Dylema and just held on to 4th.

Race 2:
Starting 7th I decided to hang back and stay out of trouble. It was all good at turns 1 and 2 but I had to make some reflex moves at turn 3 to get through the incident clean – hanging back paid off as I found myself in 5th. I than chased down Chelsea and DDawg for a couple of laps with KickRox on my tail. Whilst pulling a move on Chelsea to get into 4th on turn 2 KickRox anticipated what I was going to do and got inside me so he gained 2 places and I was still 5th. I stayed on his tail for the remainder of the lap and we caught up to DDawg. KickRox then went to pull the same move on DDawg as I pulled on Chelsea on turn 2, so I pulled the same move on him – I was now in 3rd. I chased down Mr Bond, and gained 2nd when he ran wide on turn 2 (a popular place to overtake!) and I was in 2nd. I pulled out a gap which I maintained for the remainder of the race with Sniper ensuring I kept focused (cheers partner) as Niff and Del were chasing me down, but I managed to bring it home for a one two for the team.

Summary:
I really enjoyed the battle with Luongo and was gutted it ended the way it did, especially as we were both communicating well – I always knew where he was. Was obviously happy with my drive in Race 2 and backing up Sniper (who ran both races exceptionally well) with a one two. Thanks Del for the drive of the day reward – much appreciated.