Time Trial League - Rd 17 - Austin

Welcome to Austin Texas, home of the US Grand Prix and the 17th round of the Time Trial League.  

This track has been recreated by RSCT and we'll be using the 2016 release: https://www.grandprixgames.org. Thanks to Prblanco and Gildoorf for their original work on the dat, but RSCT have added the beautiful graphical part. 

Championship Standings

1	Fongu	124
2	Gildoorf	94
3	Prblanco	66
4	32bobo32	47
5	Carl_gpgames	41
6	KerleyF1	21
7	Duffer	20

I currently sit 30 points at the top of the table, having used a combination of the keyboard and the steering wheel at various rounds. 

Gildoorf has been consistently the fastest keyboard user, and deserves more points than the table shows, and probably should have more wins under his belt than the two he has at Monaco and Silverstone. 

Prblanco has been on fire of late, having won three of the last four rounds, as he sits a clear third. 

The midfield battle is still raging on with 32bobo32 just holding a slight lead over Carl_gpgames. Kerley has been the most improved driver over the course of the season, he just sits above Duffer who has entered less than half of the rounds so far. 

The Track

This is a great track, when you start with a blank piece of paper and you want to copy some of the best corners from various tracks from around the world, from La Source in Spa, to the Senna S in Interlagos, to Becketts and Maggots and Chapel in Silverstone to Turn 8 from Istanbul but mirrorred, to the stadium section from Hockenheim (reversed and mirrored) and more, it's certainly going to be good fun and a good challenge. 

For me, I only had time to do one session on the wheel. I generally take a few laps to learn the track and set a base line time with something similar to the default setup. I then tend to tweak the setup, mainly the wings, set a few lap times and see where the gains are. I'll try maybe 2 or 3 setups, to know whether to go for low downforce, high downforce or something in between. Once I've decided on wing levels, I'll amend my gear ratios, usually aiming to hit the limiter just before the braking zone of the longest straight, which here is before turn 12. After that it's just trying to get the sectors together and setting a lap. 

I tend to have enough fuel for two runs, if tyre degradation allows the second lap to be competitive. As I set my lap quite early on for this round, I knew Gildoorf had set a benchmark time and he usually finds about a second through the week, so I knew I could aim for about 1.5 seconds, that may be enough. Eventually I hit the time I was aiming for on my first of two runs, I saved the hotlap, and then completed the second run. The second run was a little faster, but my second sector was 0.5 seconds slower than the first attempt, with me gaining on the other two sectors. I didn't have time to search for the quicker time, and hoped it would be enough. 

The Hotlaps

Thanks as ever goes to Carl_gpgames for putting this together with a fresh soundtrack each round. 

I am back to running in kph again, which will please my rivals, but I'm not running steering help despite the caption. Carl is the only other wheel user, with the other four contestants running on keyboard. 

0:08 - Into turn one, and it's a steep incline, so you can really be aggressive and late on the brakes. It's also super wide, so it does offer different approaches to lines, mainly if you're on a wheel. On the run up, all of us are running at similar speeds, with Kerley slightly slower, but really not by much. 

As I mentioned above, this was my second lap, and to be honest, I was so shocked by the lap I just did, I really made a hash of turn 1, touching the outside kerb which nearly pit me into a spin, and in collecting it, I turned in super early towards the entry. 

Both 32bobo32 and Gildoorf are slithering their way through with a couple of mini slides, balancing carrying speed and being right on the edge of adhesion. Even Carl is locking up his brakes, which is unusual for his trademark smooth style. All the keyboard users are hard on the brakes and then their HUDs (by 32bobo32) light up like a disco as they all pump their brakes on and off. Interestingly, watch when we all re-apply the throttle - applying throttle mid-corner helps the tyres grip the track, stabalises the car so you don't lean over as much, and it gives you great momentum onto the following straight - or in this case, series of high-speed corners. Gildoorf is on the throttle way before he gets to the apex! 

Gildoorf: "For the record: every racer drives T1 in their own peculiar way. Clearly none drives it the same way. @Prblanco and @KerleyF1 brake and throttle pumping slightly similar, and that's all. @Fongu ought to report this 😀"

Done! Thanks my friend. 

Out of the first corner and under the DHL banner, and it's 32bobo32 who has quite a commanding lead. It's really tight behind, with Gildoorf just ahead of me and Prblanco, Carl right in there too and Kerley is a little further behind. Turn 2 is flat and it's just about hugging the inside. Watch me taking as much kerb as possible, but the main thing is lining up yourself up for turns 3, 4 and 5 and into the long turn 6. 

0:20 - I didn't run any laps on the keyboard, so I don't know how strong the pull is from the steering help, but you see that it's a narrow entry into turn 3, whilst Carl and I take a wide approach into turn 3. The thing to watch through these turns is how much speed we can carry through, and that's a direct result of what line you choose (or forced onto) to take through these S bends, and how confident you are on the throttle and brakes. 

Lots of kerb for 32bobo32 and the two wheel users, as we all take turn 4 flat. Carl and I are able to take much more kerb through turn 4, making the corner more straight and thus carry more speed (in theory). The same theory for turn 5, and how much speed you can take through here depends on how well you lined up the car through turn 4, which is only possible from the line you choose through turn 3, so it does take a bit of planning and practice to get it the way you want. I am all over the kerbs, maximising the allowable track limits, having full confidence in my setup that the car will go where I want it to without spinning - you can't run too much front wing vs rear wing here. As we hit turn 6, 32bobo32, Gildoorf and I are using lots of the kerb, treating it almost as an exit kerb, and it shows as we carry the most speed into turn 6.

Turn 6 itself plays to the advantage of the wheel users, as we can apply much more lock and maintain that speed through there. 

0:28 - The first sector split is in the middle of turn 6 and here's the results. 

1	Fongu	00:22.357	+0.000
2	32bobo32	00:22.493	+0.136
3	Gildoorf	00:22.541	+0.184
4	Prblanco	00:22.845	+0.488
5	Carl_gpgames	00:23.071	+0.714
6	KerleyF1	00:23.151	+0.794

I have stormed into the lead through that section having clawed my way back from a horrendous turn 1. 32bobo32 stretches out his lead over Gildoorf through the S bends, a truly impressive performance from the Italian. Prblanco is in no-mans-land in a solid fourth. Kerley, who was keeping pace with Carl through the timing beam is helpless as he watches Carl fly through turn 6 onto the rear of Prblanco, taking full advantage of the wheel here. 

As you wait for turn 6 to end, you really want to line yourself up for turn 7, and how you take that will impact how well you can take turn 8, which is crucial to turn 9 and the ensuing straight. So you can see how vital each corner is here. You can see from 32bobo32's screen where the CC-line is, with a wide approach and a wide exit. I prefer to take a narrower approach, almost go too slowly in turn 7, so that I am all lined up for turn 8. I'm 20kph slower than everyone else through here, but I hope my plan pays off overall. Into turn 8 and you can see that I have a much wider approach than anyone else. I take a late apex, by which time, I'm looking to straight line turn 9 with maximum allowable kerb usage. It's still really tight between me, Gildoorf and 32bobo32. Carl struggles through turn 8, running wide on exit, really compromising his turn 9 as he loses ground to Prblanco ahead and Kerley, who has been neat and tidy so far, begins to reel Carl in. 

I think I take a lot of kerb through the kink in 10, but watch Carl almost take off as he flies flat out through there. 

0:44 - It really feels like a different phase of the circuit as you approach the hairpin for turn 11. This is tricky, a wide approach with a narrow exit again, but is vital for getting a good exit for the long straight ahead. You want to not lock up, take as wide a turn in as you dare, and be as straight out of the apex as you can. Prblanco has the slowest apex speed as he misses the apex altogether, and Kerley also runs way too wide. Carl turns in way too early. Gildoorf and I are the only ones to hit the apex. Onto the curved straight and I'm all over the red stuff trying to straight line it with the shortest distance. Out of all of us, Gildoorf takes the most speed out of all of us, using the white line just after the end of the kerbs as a reference. 

0:58 - The top speeds are achieved at the end of this straight and they are: 

1	Gildoorf	321.4	0
2	Fongu	320.3	-1.1
3	32bobo32	319.5	-1.9
4	Prblanco	319.5	-1.9
5	KerleyF1	315.1	-6.3
6	Carl_gpgames	314.3	-7.1

Gildoorf has been running the least downforce of the lot of us, which makes his performance through sector 1 really impressive. The top four are all running similar wing levels though, whilst Kerley and Carl are struggling down the straights, aiming for higher cornering speeds. 

As we pick our braking points for turn 12, 32bobo32 is braking in the middle of the track ... is this going to be his obligatory bogey sector? The top three hit the apex together, there's nothing to choose between us, with Prblanco just behind looking to pounce on any mistakes ahead. 

Carl and Kerley are not far behind that, locked in their own little battle. 

Sector 2 times are in:

1	Gildoorf	00:39.395	+0.000
2	Fongu	00:39.803	+0.408
3	32bobo32	00:40.048	+0.653
4	Prblanco	00:40.116	+0.721
5	KerleyF1	00:41.008	+1.613
6	Carl_gpgames	00:41.022	+1.627

It would be wrong to credit Gildoorf's top speed for his advantage in sector 2, but a lot of that was back in turns 6, 7, 8 and 9. For my excuse, I've said already that on this attempt I was half a second down from my best in this sector, but let's take nothing away from the impressive pace Gildoorf is able to extract. 

32bobo32 and Prblanco set very similar times, as do Kerley and Carl, albeit a second slower the the previous pair. 

Overall after sector 2, the positions look like this:

1	Gildoorf	01:01.936	+0.000
2	Fongu	01:02.160	+0.224
3	32bobo32	01:02.541	+0.605
4	Prblanco	01:02.961	+1.025
5	Carl_gpgames	01:04.093	+2.157
6	KerleyF1	01:04.159	+2.223

Unsurprisingly, it's Gildoorf in the lead after that monster S2, with me just a couple of tenths behind. Gildoorf is hungry for a win. 32bobo32 has dropped back a bit now, and that largely is down to how he's taken turn 12. Prblanco is all by himself in fourth, with Carl just about keeping ahead of Kerley in their titanic battle. 

1:09 - We now enter the section inspired by the Hockenheim stadium section. Personally, I really don't like this part of the track, but it's technical, each turn is different and there's opportunities to gain or lose time through this section. Into turn 13, and Gildoorf runs wide, as 32bobo32 is able to carry loads of speed through the apex. Carl and I are using our wheels to extract maximum lock as we try and keep as tight a line as possible. You want a wide approach as you line up turn 15, as we all lock up trying to slow the car down for another important exit. This section really spreads the field out, except for Gildoorf and I who are neck and neck. 

Turns 16, 17 and 18 are flat out, the most important part being the apex in turn 17. I'm able to use my wheel to apply just a bit more lock than the keyboard users, whilst Carl is really putting a lot of lock in and understeering all the way around this sequence of right handers, almost over doing it in the final part. It's a shame the F1 cars today are too good to make these corners a challenge, it's just a flat out exercise unfortunately. 

Kerley: "In turns 16, 17 and 18 I try in full gas"

Gildoorf notices (thanks for the screengrab) that by the end of the right handers, I've clawed the deficit back:

1:28 - Turn 19 is possibly the toughest corner of the track. It's high speed, needs lots of commitment, super accuracy of when to turn and how much steering lock to apply. Not only that but psychologically, you're thinking about this from turn 15, as you know you've had your best 1st and 2nd sectors. Do you go all out and risk blowing the lap on the second to last corner, or do you go for 'maximum attack'. I guess it's a bit like in tennis and the difference between first and second serve - either you go all out for your best attempt, and the rewards are great, but there is a really high risk of going wide and invalidating all that hard work before hand. Or you play it safe and make sure you're in. So psychologically, this corner is the hardest. 

Let's see the speed we are taking at the apex of this turn. 

1	Fongu	186	0
2	Gildoorf	170	-16
3	KerleyF1	168	-18
4	Prblanco	160	-26
5	32bobo32	159	-27
6	Carl_gpgames	159	-27

I'll just let the stats speak for itself, as you watch me take lots of kerb at the apex, and I'm really struggling to keep it together on the exit. Kerley is also just in, as he maximises the exit kerbs being third fastest through there. 

Gildoorf: "Turn 19 kerb approach made the whole difference...

... @Fongu jumps away after T19. I am not that confident under keyboard assistance."

Onto the final turn now, and in reality, the finish line is just after the corner, so it's not normally the most important corner, but because of a limitation in GP4 where the start/finish line has to be at the front of the grid, it does bring a bit more importance back to this turn, or rather the exit. For me, it's wide in, straight out in terms of line. If you compare Gildoorf and my approaches, we apex the corner at the same time, but I'm further around it with my late turn in. 32bobo32 is doing all he can to stay ahead of Prblanco as he runs wide whilst trying to keep the speed up. Carl and Kerley have had different strengths through S3, their gaps acting a bit like an accordian, but they are absolutely together in the final turn. 

1:50 - It's a longer lap around here in COTA, but we're all across the finish line. Let's analyse that last sector times to begin with. 

1	Fongu	00:36.635	+0.000
2	Gildoorf	00:37.044	+0.409
3	Prblanco	00:37.211	+0.576
4	32bobo32	00:37.274	+0.639
5	KerleyF1	00:38.124	+1.489
6	Carl_gpgames	00:38.160	+1.525

I put in a strong final sector, aided mainly by that ballsy turn 19 to be clear of the rest of the field in this sector. Carl, the other wheel user, is unable to carry the advantages of using the wheel as he sets the slowest time, but all very close with Kerley. Gildoorf, Prblanco and 32bobo32 all set very similar sector times, all three of them having set many purple sectors this season already. 

Having trailled at the end of the second sector, is it enough for me to win this contest? Who will come out on top between Carl and Kerley?

1	Fongu	01:38.795	+0.000
2	Gildoorf	01:38.980	+0.185
3	32bobo32	01:39.815	+1.020
4	Prblanco	01:40.172	+1.377
5	Carl_gpgames	01:42.253	+3.458
6	KerleyF1	01:42.283	+3.488

By just over a tenth of a second, I win in Austin. Like I said, I wasn't expecting those levels of improvement from Gildoorf, and whilst he may be disappointed to just miss the benchmark, he can be truly satisfied of wringing everything out of that car using the keyboard. Maybe if he had just been a bit more tidy in turn 13, it may be him who is celebrating. A fine performance my friend. 32bobo32 hangs on for third place, a welcome return to the podium, and well deserved after a really impressive first half of the lap. Again, just one turn, turn 12, could have brought him into contention, but a brilliant lap nevertheless, well done. 

Prblanco sets a solid time, no real mistakes of note, but not quite as confident and attacking as the others ahead. He was within striking distance to capitalise from any major mistakes from those ahead, but he'll have to settle for fourth place. 

And just look at the gap between Carl and Kerley, just three hundreths of a second exactly. What a battle they had. Carl started off the lap so strongly, but Kerley reeled him back in through the S bends, as Carl runs wide in turn 8. Inseperable in sector 2, having similar top speeds on the main straight. Carl eeks out a bit of a lead through the reverse Hockenheim section, but Kerley retakes the position through the mirrored Turkey turn 8. Carl is much later on the brakes in the final turn, and he just wins the drag race to the line, crossing the line just a third of a car's length ahead, a brilliant battle worth re-watching. 

Reactions

Carl_gpgames: "Congrat's to @Fongu for a strong P1 and to @Gildoorf for a very close P2! 🍾🍾🍾🏁🏁🏁"

32bobo32: "And finally back on podium since a long time"

KerleyF1: "Congratz for P1 @Fongu! 

                    This time, @Gildoorf is back! Great lap! 👏👏👏

                    Congratz P3 @32bobo32!"

Fongu: "Wow you got so close @Gildoorf, just the fast left hander at the end was the difference, I was rubbish at hairpins! Parts of your lap were great @32bobo32, welcome back to the podium 🍾🍾🍾" 

Gildoorf: "Well done @Fongu (I'm trying), and congrats @32bobo32, welcome back😊"

Carl_gpgames: "@Duffer you have been in the garage for a while now. does your car still work? you should move it from time to time! 😃"

Duffer: "The car still work ... But, i promise I'll try to made some laps before the end of contest 😀"

Championship Standings

1	Fongu	10	134
2	Gildoorf	6	100
3	Prblanco	3	69
4	32bobo32	4	51
5	Carl_gpgames	2	43
6	KerleyF1	1	22
7	Duffer		20

The gaps all extend a bit at the front, but 32bobo32, with his podium finish, begins to take command of his season-long battle with Carl. 

With this report late going up, it won't be long before we look at the next exciting round in Mexico City.