Supercars 17 - Hidden Valley R11-12

We head to the ranch at Darwin for a very entertaining set of rounds.  Everyone feeling good about the track, we proceeded to have a rough start both races.  The second actually died a few laps in as my server crashed.  It seemed convenient (and it was) but that's what you get with older tech.  Still, it was a blast and some close runs.  Sorry if I didn't get all the close calls and crashes.  This was a wild run.

Race 1:

When we got going for real, it was Gurton and me at the start, drag racing to turn one.  Because he had the pole, it was the outside for him.

That gave me the advantage to roll the lead from turn 1.  Hey, he updated the ini.  His fault.

Back in the pack, Zack was suffering massively from a shaky connection and scaring his human compatriots.

For most of the first lap in fact.

With the AI cleared, Buster was doing his best to capitalize on an opportunity to take the lead.  With superior performance but a mind for caution, he mostly paced closely, waiting for the door to open.

Hamilton decided to start making passes and Caruso let him know his thoughts on that plan.

Next lap around Darrel hip checked Pye and sent him rolling.

Back at the front, I was doing all I could to hold on to the loosey goosey car while GB simultaneously kept his distance but closed in.

Darrel enjoyed his new strategy through turn 4 so much he employed it again on James Courtney.

Things stayed high tension at the front as we got into traffic.  And Sandy didn't make it convenient but certainly didn't try to hold us up.

Coming through the final complex several laps in, I crossed up over the cut in and got off roading.

I was all over the road and dropped anchors to keep it straight.  Gurton Buster was doing the same to keep the Shell on his hood from accidentally sponsoring my spoiler.

Darrel had been running consistently and avoiding most issues when he and Scotty McGlaughlin got together braking for turn 1.

The two were off.

Zack came on the scene and also did some dirt driving.

The battle for the lead continued to intensify as traffic played a role.

There was a breathless moment when Nick Percat cut in after going wide through 8.

Buster could have pounced but was possibly unsure of what was coming out of the other side of the smoke.

Thanks to his immense control and patience, we hopped right back into it and dragged down the front stretch.

Where he nearly tagged me rolling through one as we came up against yet more traffic.

And it still didn't end as Dahlgren's Volvo got hooked on my nose through the esses.

Around lap 13, Gurton dove in.

I came in next time by and took off right as Webster was spinning wildly down the front stretch.

Still no clue what caused this but it was a close call and a bad spot to try and have to right yourself. 

With a small margin opened between us, Buster started showing less restraint on those who didn't observe the Move Over flag.

I was fighting to keep the gap from coming down too fast when I got into Reynolds and spun.

Gurton finally had his chance and drove away.

My hope was crushed as my worn tires couldn't handle the new heat and I continued to spin out, even losing third gear.

The race wasn't over and there were still spins and run-offs around the track.

I found Reynolds again and let him know what I thought about his driving.

Had I not been far enough back, Sandy and Zack together may have been enough to slow up Buster.

But he mostly relaxed for the last few laps and kept off of them for another win.

Race 2:

Race 2 almost started with Gurton in the back but after the mentioned crash, he was back on pole.

Second race and the same pace.

Except this round saw many more offs.  Mostert went wide coming to the last corners.

He came back on and got rolled by Rick Kelly.

That caused a massive slow down by everyone else and Zack got into Darrel knocking them both around.  To his credit, he did allow Darrel back by at a massive sacrifice to himself.

A few laps in and Tander got crossed up Lowndes heading for 4.

They caught the wall hard with Tander rolling.

Back behind that, Pye and Slade were together out of the esses.

They too smashed the wall.

Wall just missed the mess while Percat caught a face full of the Supercheap auto.

Another massive traffic jam happened from this with Sandy getting one of the Volvos.

It was almost a replay of Adelaide as Darrel came into the action HOT!  But he managed to avoid everyone and shoot the gap.

He rebounded off of the tires and kept going.

But before ALL of that happened, I had come off of turn four with too much pep and spun, nearly hitting the Shell Racing car.

I wondered why I wasn't getting passed by more drivers.  There weren't any who weren't in the air.

With a healthy lead and head of hair, Burton started laying down laps.  He quickly caught Sandy Smith and almost had a moment.

I too nearly ended it on the Field and Stream of the 021 as I oversteered off of ten.

  

The same spot only seconds later, Zack was fighting hard with Scott Pye and hooked bumpers.

Pye spun into the tire barriers at pit road entrance and bounced right back into traffic.

Poor Darrel had nowhere to go and just blasted Pye.

The Bear just managed to escape destruction himself.  This shot brought to you by Kraft.

Zack continued to explore the sand traps as Gurton kept extending his lead.

But then a large moment when he became momentarily distracted and overshot the critical braking zone at turn one.  He locked up good but managed to ease himself out of the sand trap.

No damage was done, but the large lead was heavily reduced.

Owing to traffic and likely scuffed tires, I closed the gap and we hit pit road well past halfway.

Looking like a reverse of Race 1, it shaped into a 10 lap shootout.

Traffic and smoke kept the gap close as we ticked off laps.

At 5 to go, we came up fast on Sandy who just managed to get over after a plea from Buster.

But then the hard charge was faltered from a Fabian Coulthard.

And disaster as I ran well wide at 7.

Gurton was still in site and I wasn't letting anyone stand in my way.

Neither was he.

While they were all racing incidents, it was on the last lap when mine turned into an accident.  Bright was slow off the curbing and we got together.

The win was lost but I could still take a strong second.  All of a sudden, Mostert was into my side.

I rolled less than a quarter mile from the finish.

There was no chance of catching Buster on my top as he walked with another back to back.

Zack celebrated his decent finish with a smashing victory pile driver.

We now break from the regular schedule at the Townsville street circuit and go, instead, to Mallala.

Race 1

Track: BAR Hidden Valley

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:01.969
2	013	T Nadz	1:02.781
3	061	D Hamilton	1:04.428
4	023	Z Webster	1:04.657
5	1	J Whincup	1:05.389
6	5	M Winterbottom	1:05.493
7	888	C Lowndes	1:05.618
8	21	D Wood	1:05.666
9	9	W Davison	1:05.707
10	8	J Bright	1:05.747
11	6	C Mostert	1:05.775
12	14	F Coulthard	1:05.855
13	2	G Tander	1:05.923
14	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:05.986
15	18	J Perkins	1:06.013
16	16	S Pye	1:06.067
17	33	S McLaughlin	1:06.297
18	55	D Reynolds	1:06.394
19	021	T Bear	1:06.436
20	15	R Kelly	1:06.497
21	222	N Percat	1:06.698
22	4	L Holdsworth	1:06.779
23	360	J Moffat	1:06.823
24	34	R Dahlgren	1:06.853
25	23	R Ingall	1:07.000
26	17	D Wall	1:07.036
27	47	T Slade	1:07.095
28	22	J Courtney	1:07.101
29	7	T Kelly	1:07.638
30	36	M Caruso	1:07.763

Weather: Clear, 79 °F, West 15 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:02.232
2	013	T Nadz	1:03.199
3	888	C Lowndes	1:04.010
4	1	J Whincup	1:04.435
5	9	W Davison	1:04.494
6	6	C Mostert	1:04.716
7	5	M Winterbottom	1:04.770
8	8	J Bright	1:04.864
9	21	D Wood	1:05.033
10	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:05.070
11	14	F Coulthard	1:05.167
12	18	J Perkins	1:05.201
13	023	Z Webster	1:05.377
14	2	G Tander	1:05.381
15	16	S Pye	1:05.391
16	15	R Kelly	1:05.418
17	33	S McLaughlin	1:05.487
18	47	T Slade	1:05.603
19	222	N Percat	1:05.627
20	55	D Reynolds	1:05.634
21	061	D Hamilton	1:05.770
22	4	L Holdsworth	1:06.087
23	23	R Ingall	1:06.235
24	360	J Moffat	1:06.271
25	22	J Courtney	1:06.308
26	34	R Dahlgren	1:06.653
27	17	D Wall	1:06.739
28	7	T Kelly	1:06.943
29	36	M Caruso	1:07.270
30	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Clear, 79 °F, Southwest 17 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	1:03.194
2	061	D Hamilton	1:04.832
3	14	F Coulthard	1:04.961
4	1	J Whincup	1:05.112
5	023	Z Webster	1:05.315
6	5	M Winterbottom	1:05.390
7	888	C Lowndes	1:05.558
8	9	W Davison	1:05.639
9	6	C Mostert	1:05.709
10	8	J Bright	1:05.771
11	2	G Tander	1:05.913
12	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:06.073
13	15	R Kelly	1:06.087
14	55	D Reynolds	1:06.110
15	16	S Pye	1:06.255
16	4	L Holdsworth	1:06.471
17	33	S McLaughlin	1:06.562
18	23	R Ingall	1:06.624
19	18	J Perkins	1:06.627
20	47	T Slade	1:06.810
21	222	N Percat	1:06.852
22	22	J Courtney	1:06.940
23	17	D Wall	1:06.964
24	34	R Dahlgren	1:07.173
25	7	T Kelly	1:07.332
26	360	J Moffat	1:07.596
27	36	M Caruso	1:07.707
28	021	T Bear	1:08.040
29	21	D Wood	1:08.977

Weather: Clear, 69 °F, North 7 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	008	J Zolecki	98.313	25	10	180	Running
2	2	013	T Nadz	-43.84	25	15*	180	Running
3	4	1	J Whincup	-45.76	25	0	165	Running
4	8	8	J Bright	-51.38	25	0	160	Running
5	3	888	C Lowndes	-53.29	25	0	155	Running
6	5	9	W Davison	-54.43	25	0	150	Running
7	6	6	C Mostert	-57.79	25	0	146	Running
8	14	2	G Tander	-1:00.74	25	0	142	Running
9	11	14	F Coulthard	-1:02.25	25	0	138	Running
10	7	5	M Winterbottom	-1L	24	0	134	Running
11	12	18	J Perkins	-1L	24	0	130	Running
12	15	16	S Pye	-1L	24	0	127	Running
13	16	15	R Kelly	-1L	24	0	124	Running
14	9	21	D Wood	-1L	24	0	121	Running
15	24	360	J Moffat	-1L	24	0	118	Running
16	22	4	L Holdsworth	-1L	24	0	115	Running
17	18	47	T Slade	-1L	24	0	112	Running
18	25	22	J Courtney	-1L	24	0	109	Running
19	23	23	R Ingall	-1L	24	0	106	Running
20	28	7	T Kelly	-1L	24	0	103	Running
21	26	34	R Dahlgren	-1L	24	0	100	Running
22	19	222	N Percat	-1L	24	0	97	Running
23	21	061	D Hamilton	-1L	24	0	94	Running
24	29	36	M Caruso	-2L	23	0	91	Running
25	17	33	S McLaughlin	-2L	23	0	88	Running
26	13	023	Z Webster	-2L	23	0	85	Running
27	30	021	T Bear	-3L	22	0	82	Running
28	20	55	D Reynolds	-4L	21	0	79	Accident
29	10	97	S Van Gisbergen	-12L	13	0	76	Accident
30	27	17	D Wall	-21L	4	0	73	Accident

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 1 (2 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 69 °F, North 6 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 95%

PENALTIES

LAP

#

INFRACTION

PENALTY

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:02.217
2	013	T Nadz	1:02.653
3	5	M Winterbottom	1:04.292
4	1	J Whincup	1:04.438
5	9	W Davison	1:04.494
6	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:04.505
7	2	G Tander	1:04.591
8	14	F Coulthard	1:04.633
9	8	J Bright	1:04.636
10	6	C Mostert	1:04.655
11	888	C Lowndes	1:04.961
12	15	R Kelly	1:05.241
13	55	D Reynolds	1:05.343
14	33	S McLaughlin	1:05.400
15	18	J Perkins	1:05.439
16	47	T Slade	1:05.444
17	21	D Wood	1:05.564
18	16	S Pye	1:05.688
19	222	N Percat	1:05.801
20	360	J Moffat	1:05.926
21	4	L Holdsworth	1:06.026
22	22	J Courtney	1:06.112
23	17	D Wall	1:06.445
24	23	R Ingall	1:06.482
25	34	R Dahlgren	1:06.525
26	7	T Kelly	1:06.744
27	36	M Caruso	1:07.284
28	061	D Hamilton	--
29	023	Z Webster	--
30	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Clear, 68 °F, West 2 mph

Session: Race

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	008	J Zolecki	98.526	25	24*	185	Running
2	2	013	T Nadz	-20.32	25	1	175	Running
3	4	1	J Whincup	-50.26	25	0	165	Running
4	5	9	W Davison	-57.41	25	0	160	Running
5	3	5	M Winterbottom	-1:03.09	25	0	155	Running
6	9	8	J Bright	-1L	24	0	150	Running
7	6	97	S Van Gisbergen	-1L	24	0	146	Running
8	8	14	F Coulthard	-1L	24	0	142	Running
9	13	55	D Reynolds	-1L	24	0	138	Running
10	17	21	D Wood	-1L	24	0	134	Running
11	11	888	C Lowndes	-1L	24	0	130	Running
12	23	17	D Wall	-1L	24	0	127	Running
13	15	18	J Perkins	-1L	24	0	124	Running
14	22	22	J Courtney	-1L	24	0	121	Running
15	21	4	L Holdsworth	-1L	24	0	118	Running
16	19	222	N Percat	-1L	24	0	115	Running
17	14	33	S McLaughlin	-1L	24	0	112	Running
18	24	23	R Ingall	-1L	24	0	109	Running
19	27	36	M Caruso	-1L	24	0	106	Running
20	25	34	R Dahlgren	-1L	24	0	103	Running
21	12	15	R Kelly	-1L	24	0	100	Running
22	29	023	Z Webster	-2L	23	0	97	Running
23	10	6	C Mostert	-3L	22	0	94	Running
24	30	021	T Bear	-3L	22	0	91	Running
25	18	16	S Pye	-22L	3	0	88	Accident
26	7	2	G Tander	-22L	3	0	85	Accident
27	16	47	T Slade	-22L	3	0	82	Accident
28	20	360	J Moffat	-22L	3	0	79	Accident
29	26	7	T Kelly	-22L	3	0	76	Accident
30	28	061	D Hamilton	-23L	2	0	73	Accident

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 1 (2 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 67 °F, Northwest 2 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 95%