Neal Johnson Tames Brianza @ WD 3 Class Event.

[Joe Owens]

The ILMS World Division was at the Brianza [Italian Grand Prix] circuit again this Sunday for it`s 3 Class Challenge event.
Even though the grid only contained 8 drivers some fun and challenging racing was had by most drivers at this difficult track.
Difficult mainly because of it`s unforgiving chicanes and fast sweeping bends,the Lesmos and Parabolica has taken it`s toll on many drivers here over the years and the T1 chicane if not taken with great care is a car killer.
Neal Johnson was the P1 and overall winner at this event,and Henry Hudson also driving a P1 class car took the second place podium.
Scott Clark took the 3rd place in P1 after a challenging drive.
In the P2 class,Paul Hamilton and Greg Haley battled for the P2 podium ,which after some very close racing when to Paul.
Joe Owens ran a steady and rather unenventfull race and was rewarded with a P2 3rd place podium for driving a consistant not fast or slow race.
Brianza as a great racing circuit and can be summed up in the words of Paul Hamilton after the race in his race report."One of the best -- and the craziest -- races I've ever been in."and"Holy freakin' cow, what a race! I've never been in a situation where I had to drive the whole race just as hard as I could possibly run."

Some pics:











Results
Server Replay
Standings

[Joe Owens]

Standings updated in first post.

My race was rather uneventfull,but it was fun and at Brianza I could not relax as one mistake can be the end.
Got a good start and just drove consistantly,pitting at about the 3/4 mark for fuel.
Had some good close racing with Tanner for the first few laps,but he finally got the better of my ducking and diving moves.
Congrats to Neal & Paul and the podiums.

[blackcat77]

One of the best -- and the craziest -- races I've ever been in.

Greg and I were about as even as it's possible to be. With the exception of pit stops, we were never more than 5 seconds apart the whole race. I got off to a little better start, but within a lap or two Greg caught up and passed. A lap later, he went off into the sand and I got past him, but only by a couple seconds. I held the lead through the first pit stop, but therein lies a tale.

Earlier in the week, I'd done a long fuel run in practice and learned that I was using approximately 0.6 gallons per lap. The problem was that it was late, I'd done a lot of laps and in a brain-dead moment that rivals when Jenson Button's mechanic left his radiator covers on when he started the race, I used a 2:00 lap to figure how much fuel I'd need. Of course 2:00 was the typical lap time I'd do in the GTC, not the prototype. But it just never registered at all. So I figured the race would go 46 laps and put in fuel accordingly. I knew that the numbers seemed really low but I'd checked the fuel consumption several time and it added up. Of course in reality, the race was to go 54 laps for me.

So I saw I was about out of gas and scrolled the readout to make sure the race was half over and it wasn't. Not even close -- in fact there were 52 minutes left on my in-lap. So I quickly scrolled back to the screen where I adjusted to fuel to put in an additional 3 gallons.

I pitted, Gred pitted a lap later and we were right together again, this time with me a few seconds back. But shortly after that, Greg spun in T1 and I got by. So I led a few laps and then had a tank-slapper in the second chicane, and Greg got by again.

As the race progressed, both of us seemed to be suffering from worn tires. He had a couple of shaky turns and I caught up with him going onto the front straight and we went side by side the whole way. Unfortunately I completely overshot my brake marker and spun. Greg got by.

A few laps after that, Greg spun in T1 again -- starting to see a pattern here? -- and I passed him. Then Greg got by me going into the Lesmos. Then we BOTH spun in T1 after battling the length of the front straight again. It was nuts. Greg got away first.

So I looked down and saw I had about 2.5 gallons of fuel left and wondered how much time was left. Then the ten minute signal came up. Oops.

Set up the pit stop for 2.4 gallons of fuel and no tires. Pulled in for the splash and go but no sign of Greg -- had he put in enough fuel to make it to the end? Nope -- next lap he was in and out. I was about 5 seconds down.

One minute warning -- 1.3 gallons crossing the line. it was going to be very close. Then I come up to T1 and there was Greg backward again and I get by. He's about 4 seconds back.

Clock down to 0:00 as I go down the back straight, 0.6 gallons left when I cross the line. Not enough. I start short-shifting out of every corner, trying to finish. Greg is about 5 seconds back so I'm guessing he's in the same situation. 0.2 gallons when I exit Ascari and halfway down the back straight, the engine starts missing out. About 20 mph slower than a normal lap, Greg still 5 seconds back. 0.1 gallons going into Parabolica, engine is missing as much as it's running. Foot down flat, shift straight up into 6th and (Jeremy Clarkson voice) ACROSS THE LINE! Pull off to the right and stop and the engine immediately dies.

All I could do was sit there laughing. Holy freakin' cow, what a race! I've never been in a situation where I had to drive the whole race just as hard as I could possibly run. And of course that led to a few mistakes. It was a long way from my usual goal of driving a sustainable pace with no mistakes. If I'd have done that, Greg would have simply driven off into the distance. But if it wasn't artistic, it sure was memorable.

Congrats to Neal in P1 as well.

I just wonder what will happen next race to top this...

[baristabrian]

Sounds like it was a fun one Paul, wish I could have been there!

[Coast_artillery]

Yeah, it was fun - while it lasted...

Not very good start, as the car in front of me created a wall of smoke (James Bond...?), so had to be very carefull as visibility was zero.

After the skies cleared, started - or tried at least - to chase the guys in front of me. Then, in the last chicane in the first lap lost it and hit the wall hard. My car was left in the middle of the track and despite trying to get out of the way, somebody(Joe?) hit me a bit. Sorry about that, couldn´t get 1st gear in...

Went to the pits, repaired the car and joined race again. Too much damage, top speed reduced and handling very difficult. So, called it a day ( and downloaded RoadAtlanta and took Viper and Porsche GTC out for couple of laps.

It was fun anyway, will try to participate in next race, too!

/Tomi

[HenryHudson]

PetroMALT International Racing Hauler
On the old oval
Monza, Italy

I their continuing support of the World Division events, the #74 Vetoquinol Lola team scurried into the paddock with less than 30 minutes left in practice. Crew Chief Neuville Noire á Blanc was yelling at the crew, "Just throw the Magny Cours setup on her, lengthen the gears and get hiim out there. We're no match for NealJ, but maybe we can gice ScottC a run."

The team sent driver Henry Hudson out with his race setup for qualifying and he was able to scrape a 1:35.6 that was a whopping 3.4 seconds off Neal's pace and 1.6 seconds slower than Scott in the other P1.

Neuville was on the radio before the start, telling Henry "to take it easy, the setup will come to you after a couple of laps. Just try to stay close to Scott."

On the start, Henry did just that for the 1st 4 laps. The #74 Vetoquinol Lola could stay with Scott's PC60 through the 1st 2 chicanes, fall back in the Lesmos and really catch up through the 3rd chicane and out of the Parabolica, but Scott had the edge in top speed and though Henry was able to pull alongside Scott onto the S/F straight by the time they reached the brake zone from the 1st chicane, Scott was a car length ahead.

Scott made the 1st bobble as he looped it in the 1st chicane on L5. Henry did the same thing on L8, but was able to get back on track ahead of Scott. On L12 Henry botched the 2nd chicane and this time Scott went by as he was exiting the kitty litter. On L20 Scott did the 2nd chicane kitty litter loop and Henry went by to take 2nd place. After that it was the driver trying to be smooth through the chicanes with constant encouragement fron Neuville.

Neal had vanished in the distance and Henry was able to steadily pull away from Scott. Having started with a full tank of fuel, the #74 Vetoquinol Lola pitted for a full tank and new tires on L34. Neal pitted his 908 on L37 and came out a minute ahead of the #74 Vetoquinol Lola. Neuville got on the radio and started telling Henry to push it hard and try to stay on the same lap as Neal. Of course, pushing harder resulted in several little bobbles, but Henry was able to stay on the lead lap and turn in his fastest lap of the race on the last lap.

"We're feeling pretty good about our performance today. Though there wasn't a large turnout, Neal provided the 'Alien' factor whilst Scott and I are pretty well matched and I had a great time racing him. Hopefully more drivers can find the time to come out for these World Division races. They're a blast to drive and even a couple more drivers would greatly increase the competition."

[Joe Owens]

Yeah, it was fun - while it lasted...

Not very good start, as the car in front of me created a wall of smoke (James Bond...?), so had to be very carefull as visibility was zero.

After the skies cleared, started - or tried at least - to chase the guys in front of me. Then, in the last chicane in the first lap lost it and hit the wall hard. My car was left in the middle of the track and despite trying to get out of the way, somebody(Joe?) hit me a bit. Sorry about that, couldn´t get 1st gear in...

Went to the pits, repaired the car and joined race again. Too much damage, top speed reduced and handling very difficult. So, called it a day ( and downloaded RoadAtlanta and took Viper and Porsche GTC out for couple of laps.

It was fun anyway, will try to participate in next race, too!

/Tomi

I passed you with np Tomi,Tanner was not so lucky.