The Comeback Kid: A Cracking Start To Week 13!

Hello and welcome to Day 1/7 of Week 13!

What Is Week 13?

Every year, iRacing has 4 seasons, divided into 12 Weeks, every week the tracks for all series alternates*. (*With the exception of summer series at the Nurburgring Endurance Championship)

12 (Weeks) X 4 (Seasons) = 48.

Now, there aren't 48 weeks in a year, there are 52, which leaves 4 weeks left-over, these weeks, are known as "Week 13" and come after the 12th week of every season - and 3/4 of the series are not official during this week (iRating/Safety rating not affected)

Week 13 is a chance for many things to happen:

1) A chance to implement new content (cars and tracks) and new features, without ruining official racing

1b) If this content has any bugs/problems, these can be noticed in a safe environment, without the loss of championship points or safety rating/iRating

2) (And most importantly) drivers to have an off-week to relax and reset before the new season

Yesterday evening, (Monday 5th), iRacing revealed their series and schedules, and for the first time...in quite a while, the Formula 3 car was included in the "Battle Of The Little Wings" series - which puts a bunch of open-wheel racing cars together in one race (but are separated by classes - but gridded together).

Out of the options available - aside from the GR Cup (available from Tuesday night/Wednesday Morning onwards), this one was the most appealing to me.

So, on Monday night, I'd jet off to to the States (Connecticut specifically) to race.

Practice (the night prior) went INCREDIBLY well, ending up in the Top 10 of an open practice session (free for all, not bound by iRating).

After a massive shunt in practice, the stewards cleared me from the infield medical centre, and I was ready to race.

Qualifying

To my biggest surprise, After my two qualifying laps, I found myself in 4th position - I was shocked and amazed - I was hardly expecting it, as I'm used to qualifying around the lower-Top 10 mark.

Second by second, the time ticked down, and it was soon confirmed that I'd be starting 4th.

The Race

I was starting on the second row. As the lights came on, all I could think about was not jumping the start.

Green. I shifted up into first and pulled to the inside - I had a MUCH better start than 3rd place - having the inside line to turn one meant that I couldn't be dived or clattered into.

On the exit of turn one, now-4th got a much better run through the exit of turn 1 than me and position himself to my inside for turn 2.

Being in 3rd, and it being lap 1, I took turn 2 a little conservatively - this caught out the driver behind and all hell broke lose.

I felt a touch on my left rear wheel and counter-steered onto the grass, at the same time, he span out in the middle of a field of two dozen open wheelers...hell broke lose.

As I slip and slid through the grass to a place I could safely rejoin, the then-leader "fell off" the track at turn 3, P2 (at the time) escaped unscathed, P4 (who hit into me, spun in front of the field - P5 escaping, but P6 collected him, pirouetting the F3 car the other way - in already a manic field of open-wheelers.

P7 & P8 survived the inital carnage (P9 - P11 didn't - P11 piling into P10 who had already piled into P9.

P11 and the leader managed to re-join safely, but P6 (first one to collect P4) spun back on track (front wing under front wheels) causing further chaos as cars tried to weave between the re-joining P1 and spinning (back on track) P6.

One car collected P6, another avoided P6, but hit a fellow competitor and a further still slid off the track.

After what felt like an hour mowing the lawn at Lime Rock Park, I eventually re-joined in P14. I had a lot of work to do, but many cars were damaged.

I truly believe that my re-join was only one of a few that didn't affect anyone around me.

Positions were quickly made up: (

Lap 1

P13 - Broken rear suspension/loose right rear wheel (F3)

P12 - Crashed later on in the lap (F4)

Finish Lap In: P12

Lap 2

P11 - F4 car

P10 & P9: 1st & 2nd went crashed at Turn 1 (Both F3's)

P8 - Wiped out by P7 (F3)

P7 - Crashed @ same place as P12 the lap prior (F4)

P6 - Spun @ penultimate corner (F3)

Finish Lap In: P6

Lap 3:

No Overtakes

Lap 4:

P5: - F4 Car

Lap 5 - 7:

No Overtakes

Up until Lap 7, the car behind (P6) was matching my pace, but not exceeding it. At the end of Lap 7, he got an an amazing run out of the last corner and got a healthy dose of slipstream from me and the F4 in front. Into turn 1 on Lap 8, he dived down the inside and took the position.

At the end of Lap 8, I'd gain a further position - P5 after then-P4 dropped a wheel onto the grass at the final corner and had a hefty head-on impact with the barrier.

Lap by lap, I'd draw in to him (using slip-stream) - but on lap 12, I got a wheel wide at the exit of turn 3 and would lose all my hard-earned progress of closing the gap (this was on the same lap he had a bad exit out of turn 3!)

At the end of the following lap, I lapped P6 whom was an F4 and a lap down - so no pressure from behind.

At the end of every lap, we'd cancel eachother out - I'm quick where he struggles, and then when we enter my (bad) sector, he pulls a gap.

I eventually finish the race 0.6 Seconds behind him - from P14 in a 15 minute race, that's not too shabby at all!

14/29 didn't finish the race (leaving 15 - just over half) left in the running.

next we- Sorry, tomorrow the Battle Of The Small Wings heads to Rudskogen - if Lime Rock has set the precedence for this Week - it's sure as hell going to be carnage.

Thanks for reading!

Okayama is coming up on Friday

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