CART @ Montreal Exhibition Post Race Data and Discusion

That was fun. Big apologies to Mr. Cramer. I was planning to let you by on the next straight. I should have backed off when we were side by side there instead of hitting the throttle. Shoved it instead of easing it on and spun left; knocking you into the wall. Sorry Gui.

Joe,
How come LiveRacers shows Messrs. Brooks and Boynton ahead of me but the replay shows me in 4th?

Not sure, maybe Jason can fix it. I don't pay attention to live racers.

I had, at the least, another second in quali. Threw it away in the final chicane. Didn't really matter, but I was getting nervous when the pole got yanked away with only minutes to go in the session.

The start was chaotic. I have to view the replay yet, not really sure what was happening behind me. Car ahead got a bit sketchy and I went around after T3 only to outbrake myself at 4 and got all sorts of twisted. Disoriented me for a second and I had to figure out where the hell I was and where others were. Got back on the track and just tried to take it easy hoping that it'd all sort itself. Mostly, that seems to be the case (again, not seen replay yet) but it was a bit more chaotic than we generally like to see. Divebombers into T1 don't help the situation

Fell back a bit in all the chaos, found myself after a lap or two, behind Gui, running P3.
But I was faster in some places (seemed mostly on braking) and it was throwing my rhythm off quite a lot.  Knew I had to get around him if I had hope in keeping Joe in check.  Finally managed to do that when he made a slight mistake somewhere and off I went chasing Joe.  At that point, nearly 8 seconds behind already!

Joe was knocking off consistent laps left and right...I was struggling to do the same.  Didn't take too long to realize he wasn't on a full fuel load, so I started thinking about pit strategy.
As expected, he pitted a bit earlier than I intended to.  I was keeping close eye, after he left the pits, on just how much the gap was closing.  Within a lap or two, I realized the used up tires were going to be a bother.  I still had 10 gallons or so in the tank, but went ahead and got some fresh tires on, and in the end it paid off.

Some laps went by, gap stayed about the same...about 8 seconds. 
Then, suddenly, I start realizing I'm closing a bit. 
Had a big scare passing a lap car at T4 entry.  Didn't expect to go around before the corner, was content to wait until the exit, but he either backed off or stepped hard in the brakes, fairly deep in the braking zone.  Closing speed was intense, and I tossed the car off through the grass, took the cut, managed to save the car, and away I went.  Somehow, managed to only lose about a second...no idea how (luck!)

About that point, I really started closing, and I started thinking maybe Joe's tires were going.  I still had a few good laps in mine (being on slightly fresher rubber) so I went to full attack mode and closed the gap quickly.

When I finally got within some car lengths, another stroke of luck.  ....two lap cars that we caught just in the right place for me to make a move track left and around Joe down the final stretch.  We raced down into the final chicane, and I braked deeper than I've ever braked there.  I don't know how it looks on the replay, but in the car it was intense!    Damn sure got my heart pumping more than it already was!

Somehow, managed to make it through the final chicane safely. 
And from that point on it was just keep it clean and finish this out to the checkered.  Joe dropped off quickly given the failing tires, and I spent the last two laps celebrating one of my better performances (albeit, perhaps a bit sloppy...but I mean, when on edge in cars of this caliber....that'll happen...lol)

Can't wait till Round 1, and looking forward to this series a lot, especially now.

Hope everyone had fun, even though there was a lot of attrition (don't run those engines during race at maxed out rev limit!  ....I ran 14,600....rad at 3, ftr........14,7 is death sentence to the car for racing, only useful for hotlaps)

As the series progresses, as always, some that have struggled will make headway with the car and the pace will be quicker every race. 
The adaptation period, to a car this monstrous, can be long and sometimes frustrating.  It's super rewarding in the end though, when you do get it right, so hang in there. 

See you guys at the next one!

Treading a fine line running it at 14,6...probably.  I try to shift well before redline anyways at most gears, especially at corner exits where the turbo picks up and that high end power is just wasted half the time anyways.

My car was a long way from the default setup (almost always is...I don't think much of anything went unchanged)...I tend to set up nearly all cars to suit me, then adapt where needed.  It's definitely not optimal in terms of 'perfect setup'...but 'perfect setup' means very little if I can't keep it on the track and out of the wall.  I'll take consistency of pace over raw speed any day.

Exhibition race, I just set it up with minimal actual effort.
Points races, I'll drag out the Motec data