Five rounds have passed, near enough the halfway point of the season, and the learning curve has been steep. The Nissan Juke isn't the easiest car to live with, and I certainly didn't choose it because it was the best car in the field. That said, I feel that myself and my teammate BarlowM51 have taken great strides.
Round 1 / 16th November / Autodromo Internazionale Mugello
With this marking the start of a new set of regulations in the FTCC, the saeson opener was always going to be an unknown quantity for every driver on the grid. This was true especially of TSR's debut. We struggled to find a solid tune to keep the car competitive. Between us, we scored very low and were left with a lot to think about.
Round 2 / 23rd November / Brands Hatch (Indy Circuit)
After a huddle between teammates about the setup of the car, we tried a new tune - somewhat more radical than the banal tuning calculator outputs. Round 2 also saw the first look at the dynamic weather system.
Previously the race organiser would choose whether each race/session would be wet or dry, according to the availability on each circuit - some only had dry conditions, others allowed rain. The only issue was the weather was the same all race. With the move to Forza 7, the weather can change between different presets allowing for changing conditions. Coupled with an probability system, not even the race organiser would set the course of the weather, but have no control over weather it would actually happen.
As predicted, in typical Brands Hatch style, the rain didn't hold off for long and started halfway through qualifying. This put spanners in anyone's attempts for a late-session hotlap - luck of the draw.
The results here were slightly more encouraging, and we both scored in both races putting our campaign on firmer footing going forward.
Round 3 / 30th November / Mount Panorama (Bathurst)
Due to real-life problems, I myself was unable to attend Round 3 leaving my teammate flying the Nissan flag. As expected, the tight twists and turns proved the undoing of many drivers. This allowed my teammate to make some gains through consistent driving.
Unfortunately, Alfa Romeo also made some major points and pushed them further ahead in the manufacturer's standings.
Round 4 / 7th December / Autodromo Nazionale Monza
A new round, and the team back together, it was time to take the fight to the opposition. Qualifying went extremely well for my teammate, taking a 2nd row start in 3rd.
During the first race, one of the other driver's internet connection degraded causing their car's position to be misread and the car jerked right across the circuit before even the first turn. This spun me round and put another car onto its roof. Fortunately Barlow finished pretty high, making up for the stunted finish I had to endure.
My luck didn't change much in the second race, being pushed wide and face-first into a tyre wall. I was able to make a lot of time back over the course of the race and we both finished with strong points-paying positions.
Round 5 / 14th December / Maple Valley Raceway
Round 5 makred the first time the FTCC had raced at the (fictional) scenic American circuit of Maple Valley since Season 14 (3 seasons before my time). Once again weather would play a huge factor in the following rounds.
Qualifying went better than expected, with us both landing in and around the top 10. This started us with a strong platform from which to make a push. Indeed, during the early part of the race I was able to push up the top 10, knocking on the door of the top 5 at times. Being stuck behind a battle in front of me, I elected to make a pitstop right on the opening of the window. Inadvertantly, by entering the pit lane that lap, I ended up avoiding a huge smash on the final turn. This brought me out in a safety car snake up in 2nd place.
This put me in the dream position - I'd already made my mandatory pitstop and I was top 3. If there was anything I was good at it's holding a position I have no business being in! For a time this worked, but the persistence of the Subaru behind me payed off and I slid to 3rd. This was the time that I made a huge push to combat the inevitible panic that I usually suffer when I'm overtaken.
If I'm going to slide down the field, I'll make them work for every position - one fight at a time.
This mantra certainly worked, and almost immediately I began to settle back into my groove and stop the destructive cycle of anxiety that plagued me in every race before. This didn't hold for long, taking a knock and sliding off the curcuit and tumbling down the order. The latter part of the race I was bullying the lone works Renault alongside Barlow - a fight which was decided by thousandths of a second.
The second race got off to a great start, being swarmed at turn 3 and thrown off the circuit and back down stone last. Due to frustration and impatience I ran wide, destroying my progress. After settling I was able to get back into the points.
Over half the season remains, and I remain positive that we can only get better - the only issue is, the same can be said of the other drivers.
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