R.I.R. Super Cup @ Darlington Speedway

(race of 9/1/12)

I know, it would be more logical to finish the post about the challenge cars first and move to today's race only then. I would do that, if it was a regular race. But this series has just started - so I've decided to cover it as soon as possible. Because the start of the new series is always something special.
And racers are of the same mind with me - otherwise, how come that some people couldn't get to the region because it was full? R.I.R. patrons, including doobeedoo Littlething (one of the sim owners) decided to make  it even more special and dressed up like Kermits from The Muppet Show (that is well-known by most of you, I believe).

A few weeks ago, the cars have been tested - and, as you remember, I've mentioned the cars behave differently with what we have at other series. Also, the race includes the necessity of making pitstops, which, for sure, brings the additional unpredictability. Especially at Darlington Speedway, where the entry to the pitstop is right before the turn, so there's always a risk to go the wrong way.
And how did it go? Let's have a look!

I don't have much to say about the qualifying round, not any new racers to mention - everything was pretty usual. But the race itself, I assume it's going to be right to say, happened to be really crazy - seemed like the practice/qualifying round was not enough to get used to the new car, and what if you have traffic around you?

When I finally stabilized my camera, it was the 3rd lap already. ZZ, JP Paneer and FFred Koolhoven were leading, with MidnightRambler Frostbite at the 4th position and the rest waiting for their chance to move up.
Near lap 10, Koolhoven and Frostbite traded positions - and then Koolhoven completely dropped down (to the 8th position) at the 13th lap. 4th place was inherited by Snuffy Smith for a couple laps, before Koolhoven got it back. Yes, that's right, he got his position back only in a couple laps.

Certainly, when pitstop time has come, changes began. Koolhoven got a black flag and, therefore, lost some time doing stop-and-go; ZZ, comparing with others from the Top 3, made a very quick pitstop, and that gave her a 8 and 10 seconds advantage over 2nd and 3rd positions (which were taken by Frostbite and Paneer). A bit behind them, Smith was going 4th.

There were no major changes until the 40th lap, when ZZ, after an accident, got stuck in a wall for a significant while, and when she finally managed to get out, she found herself at the 5th position. Frostbite got the lead, Paneer became 2nd, and 3rd place was obtained by Saphyre Cyberstar. That's how it was until the 2nd pitstop.

No black flag took place this time - however, ZZ's clever pitstop allowed her to move back to the Top 3 (3rd place), and that put Cyberstar down to 4th. Paneer and Frostbite were still leading, having ZZ and Cyberstar 1 lap down. Frostbite, bit by bit, was catching up with Paneer.
Right behind them, meanwhile, Koolhoven has overpassed Cyberstar, caught up with ZZ and battled her for the 3rd position.

Then, the race was getting closer to the end, and the time for the 3rd pitstop has arrived. Not all the racers had to make it though - but Frostbite was the one who had to, and that moved ZZ, Koolhoven and Cyberstar 1 position up. So, the Top 3 was pretty obvious... but accidents change it all, and that happened with Koolhoven. After getting into one, he's lost 2 positions (from 3rd to 5th). Due to that, Cyberstar got the 3rd position - and that was the order they've finished in.

That has been said plenty of times, but seems like it's worth to repeat - well-planned pitstop strategy might spare your position, and even give you an advantage over others if they skipped this step. Not being late for the practice helps as well - so, if you take the competition seriously and plan to win, never underestimate your opponents. It might be even best to assume they're way better than you...
Have fun, compete hard, racers and readers, and congratulations R.I.R. with a great start of a new series!

The grid:
Pole Position. JP Paneer  13.761
P 2. FFred Koolhoven,  13.902, -0.141
P 3. Eagle Clawtooth,  13.922, -0.161
P 4. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu),  14.045, -0.284
P 5. Killian Sandalwood,  14.048, -0.287
P 6. MidnightRambler Frostbite,  14.151, -0.390
P 7. Snuffy Smith (Snufman),  14.171, -0.410
P 8. Saphyre Cyberstar,  14.266, -0.505
P 9. doobeedoo Littlething,  14.509, -0.748
P 10. Diana Frostbite (Beeswing),  14.565, -0.804
P 11. Durron Sockington,  14.698, -0.937
P 12. Soubi Corith,  14.956, -1.195


Final Results:
1st. JP Paneer, 75 laps. Total Time : 1150.905
2nd. 'ZZ Bottom' (foneco Zuzu), -1 laps.
3rd. Saphyre Cyberstar, -1 laps.
4th. MidnightRambler Frostbite, -2 laps.
5th. FFred Koolhoven, -2 laps.
6th. Snuffy Smith (Snufman), -4 laps.
7th. Soubi Corith, -5 laps.
8th. doobeedoo Littlething, -6 laps.
9th. Durron Sockington, -8 laps.
10th. Diana Frostbite (Beeswing), -10 laps.
11th. Eagle Clawtooth, -11 laps.
12th. Killian Sandalwood, -25 laps.

Fastest race lap: MidnightRambler Frostbite, 13.279