Week 13: Playing The Lottery (Race 1: Lime Rock Park)

Good afternoon! I hope you are all well!

It's Week 13!

iRacing splits the year into four different parts (called seasons), each season is 12 weeks - adding up to 48 of the 52 Weeks of the year being used for official racing.

At the end of every season, there's a "special" Week called Week 13 in which iRacing hosts races where iRating is not affected and often there are chaotic combinations - it's like a "Well done for racing so well this season, here's a week off you can have fun" - like a mufti-day at school, just something to let your hair down and not worry about championship points or performing.

With rules being a bit leniant, driving standards in all series can go down the drain - which makes every race you enter a complete lottery - will you get a pile up? will you be part of it? will you escape? Will it happen behind you?

Week 13 is also the time iRacing adds content and features to the sim - if any issues should arise, nobody's championship hopes are put into jeopardy.

This season, I had the tough choice between the Tin Top Tussle (All GT3's) and the Battle Of The Little Wings (F3, USF2000, Skip Barber - Open Wheelers) - but after finishing on the podium 7 times last season (in December) - the choice was simple.

Round 1 - Lime Rock Park (6th June, 2023)

Right up until race-day, the Battle Of The Little Wings series went absolutely sublimely - out of the 6 practice sessions I entered, I finished in the Top 8 in half of them (3) - so I had pace - it would just be the luck of the draw who I'd be up against come race-day.

Qualifying 7th, I was in high spirits - being a tight, twisty track - Lime Rock Park has little margin for error - and should the leaders come into contact - that would put me in a very promising position.

The lights come on, all 24 drivers hold their breath....It's lights out and away we go, a pretty fair start from the entire pack other than P11 who lights up his tyres.

Into turn one they dive...and all hell breaks lose - cars firing off left, right and centre - in total 14 different cars were involved in incidents on the opening lap - and there was so much chaos that the driver who started in 22nd started his second lap in 9TH!

Let's have a look at what went down...

By the end of the lap, I was in 23rd, second to last with the driver who spun out in front of me just behind me.

I leapt into my second car and roared away from the pit-lane.

Upon exiting, the top 5 all lapped me - I knew that a win was off the cards, I just had to see how many places I could make up with the time remaining.

Despite dropping to 23rd/second to last, by the start of the second Lap I was in 14th - half-way to returning to my start position.

Lap after lap, more and more drivers perished, promoting me up the order - first 13th went off, promoting me up to the position - then on Lap 5, P2 and P3 came together - both ending up with severe damage.

No one was safe - not even the pole-sitter whom led the first 6 laps of the race who perished on Lap 6.

On Lap 7, I then made another error - getting a wheel onto the grass at turn 2 - losing 12th and 13th - with about 10 minutes to go, I knew I had to get a hurry on and catch the two positions I lost...

By lap 11, I had made these positions up (due to others going off).

The following lap, I was in 11th - I was hoping a Top 10 was possible - but I couldn't afford another error.

On Lap 15, I noticed a piece of bodywork in the infield, just after turn 2.

Unbeknownst to me, P3 and P8 had just had an "unscheduled meeting".

P8 was passed on Lap 15, P3 on Lap 16 - although it took a lap as he was a lap ahead.

Lady Luck wasn't done with me yet - ending Lap 16 - P4 and P5 were in a tight fight, P5 tried to pass P4 on the start finish, but P4 darted the same way P5 went (in defence) and P5 tagged P4 into a spin, before a massive shunt, completely destroying P4's car.

The leaders were dropping out like flies - P7 was next, crashing out of the final corner, completely destroying his car too - I was picking up positions like no tomorrow and on the last three laps I went from 9th - 7th!

Side by side with P2...A lap down