Lovin' Le Mans!

It's a beautiful mid-September morning - the sun is out, the birds are in the sky and it's the start of a brand new season in iRacing.

One of my all-time favourite sayings is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - and last season, I had the time of my life in the FalkenTyre SportsCar Challenge - I hadn't had an experience like that on iRacing in a long time - so, when it was revealed that the FalkenTyre SportsCar Challenge was back for Season 4, 2023 (this season) - my mind was made up instantly.

Race-Day

Avoiding all the chaos that Tuesday brings (drivers racing with a lack of practice), I continued my tradition of racing on a Wednesday.

The first race of the season was at Le Mans - and right off the bat - it was a popular choice - so much so, that I was placed in an All-GT4 split.

Qualifying

Qualifying came as a HUGE shock to me - qualifying P3 on row 2 (9 completed laps).

Although I had forgotten one important thing - Qualifying (for the session) was only 8 minutes - pole set a 4:19.171 - meaning a second lap wasn't physically possible - many must have got an incident on their first lap.

With such a rare opportunity - I knew I had to make the most of it...

1st - 4:19.171

2nd - 4:20.717

3rd - 4:22:517

4th - 4:22.610

The Race

Admittedly, my start wasn't the greatest, the green flag was dropped just as I had entered the final chicane - ensuring I didn't cut off the car on my inside/beside me, the top 3 managed to build a gap off the line.

After qualifying, I knew I wasn't concerned about the Top 2 - both being 2+ seconds faster than me - but a 3rd was possible.

Heading down the Mulsanne straight for the first time, I was absolutely a sitting duck - I had no-one in front and everyone behind.

Predictably, heading into the first chicane, things got wild...

Despite falling to 8th - one Mercedes got a penalty for not serving a slow-down penalty, and another pulled over after the first chicane.

Now that I had slipstream down the Mulsanne straight, I was able to easily pass the Merc in 5th.

Next up was a BMW in 4th - returning to where I had started the race

To pass the BMW I used partially slipstream, partially balls and partially brakes to slip down the inside at Indianopolis - with the BMW behind, the hard part of the race came - keeping them all behind under pressure.

With a big battle behind, I had the chance to pull out a gap.

Try as the BMW may, on every attempt, I was already at the apex and braking later than he.

I stayed in 4th until the last lap...a last lap I won't forget in a LONG time!

Finishing the penultimate lap, the BMW behind was passed by a significantly faster Merc - by the end of the lap, I was passed before the final/Ford chicane/s.

To my relief, the Merc binned on the exit of the Esses.

Out of nowhere a (Porsche) Cayman then passes me around the outside of the first chicane - with the BMW still in the vicinity - I knew I had to keep my wits about me.

As the Porsche ahead disappears into the distance, I say to myself "he's got this, oh he's got this - unless he makes a massive mistake in the final sector, he's got this"...

And for a short moment he DID have it - before running wide on the exit of the Porsche Curves - and that's all it took - his momentum was gone - and a potential 4th place was wiped out from beneath him.

I took back 4th position (started 4th) - and scored my best finish of the season/FTSC (FalkenTyre Sportscar Challenge)

What a way to start the season - the 4th place giving me a healthy +59 iRating boost - putting me at a personal best of 1648 - this gives me high hopes for the season - let's get it!