A considerable number of laps were done in both the FZR and the XRR in the time leading up to the applications being processed, and despite taking part in last season with the FZR we were confident in our decision to go with the XRR, so much so we felt like last seasons 90% FZR grid, we would see a similar result with the XRR... this wasnt the case. When the line-up was announced including who was driving what, only 7 teams opted for the XRR, compared to 12 FZRs and 1 FXR, with the majority of leading teams opting for the FZR. Some doubt crept in about whether the right decision had been made, but little could be done about it and we just made sure we put in the best performance we could manage. We also decided to field a GT2 class car, one of 3 teams to opt to start with a car in each class, however after 2 rounds the others had found the task too tough and dropped a car, and put their best drivers into a GT2 car while we had to spread our drivers over 2 cars.
[BREAK ARTICLE]
Round 1 - Kyoto GP Long
This race started the season with a bang, the GT1 car got a great start to the race and had a good scrap for the lead with SK Gaming, however at the end of a tough 12hr race Mercury brought the GT1 car home in first place, our first victory in MoE and a fantastic start to the new season in our newly unveiled colour scheme.
In GT2 lack of experience and composure was our downfall, too many silly driving errors cost us heavily and while we actually did more laps than the other teams the deducted laps for using shift+p when stuck in gravel meant we finished 2 laps down in 5th place.
Round 2 - South City Long
This round was always going to be a tough one, a track definately not suited to the XRR with so many slow & twisty corners. Things started badly with the GT1 car picking up a +1sec penalty in qualifying which moved the car down the grid to 12th rather than 5th. In the opening stint the GT1 car was able to gain a few places despite it being hard to keep with the FZRs as they exited the corners in order to use their slipstream. With just 2hrs left in the 6hr race a couple of incidents left the door open for us to take advantage of the situation, however a mistake was made during the final pitstop when only 3 new tyres were added, a pit-stop the following lap was made which had to be for 4 new tyres and this saw us drop 1st place and unfortunately the gap to the 3rd place car wasnt great enough and they closed the gap and we were helpless to defend against it in the last 5 minutes of the race and we finished 3rd, still a better result than expected, but the opportunity to win had been there for us but for a small pitting mistake.
The GT2 race was fairly uneventful, having led for most of the race unchallenged we were able to take our first GT2 race victory.
Round 3 - Westhill International
For round 3 the tables were turned, this fast and flowing track was a complete contrast to the previous round at South City, the XRRs would be far more comfortable here and the results went on to show this. After a small mistake costing a few places in the opening stint, Bawbag was able to get the car back on track and before long it was back in the lead and pulling away again. By the end of the 6hr race a 2 lap lead had been made and the win was indeed as comfortable as most has expected it to be.
In GT2 the car was hit with more teething problems, despite having the race pace 2 flat tyres during the race and a GT1 car trying to dive down the inside of 2 GT2 class cars on a fast sweeping corner cost us heavily and 3rd place was the best we could do.
Mid-season patch
Quite possibly the worst thing which could happen, happened leading up to this race. Just a month before the 24hr race, the biggest race in the calendar, a new patch was announced which heavily modified various aspects of the racing sim. Changes to the GTR balance meant the FZR was now significantly faster than before, but in return it was fitted with a more realistic gearbox which would require more work from the driver, also changed was a completely new tyre model and during pitstops any engine damage would go un-repaired.
These changes completely distroyed any equality there was in the cars we were driving as we picked them at the start of the season knowing their strengths and their weaknesses, but they had been changed significantly now. The changes meant setups no longer worked, and time would have to be spent gaining knowledge in these changes and understanding what was needed. Some teams helped with the manual re-balancing within the series, however many top team opted to keep their results to themselves rather than help address the balance. Thankfully enough assistance from our XRR drivers jumping into the FZR to prove its true capabilities, and FZR drivers jumping into the XRR a reasonable balance was found, which many of the silent teams became very vocal about, suddenly deciding to help in the balancing when they realised it now balanced against them. Further tweaking was done and a setting most agreed on was picked.
Round 4 - Aston Grand Prix
Eventually, the actual race became the focus instead of everything else. The GT1 car was able to take 2nd place on the grid, and the GT2 car also took the 2nd spot on the front row. After 6hrs the GT1 car was leading and had lapped the lead cars upto 2nd place, and shortly after a drive change a disconnction occured, Bawbag jumped into the server and upto approaching T1 an msn pop-up sent him crashing and requiring a shift+p which gave us a -1lap penalty, and saw us lose around 5 minutes in total (3/4 lap before disco and 1 lap lost) and saw us drop to 6th and now over a lap down. Despite a valient attempt at clawing this gap back down, another disconnection with around 8hrs to go meant we were simply unable to fight for the top places and we were only able to finish in 5th.
Similar disappointment was to be had in the GT2 car, after leading for most of the opening 18hrs and picking up a 3 lap lead over 2nd place, a series of disconnections, and 2 shift+Ps in just a couple of hours meant we were in 4th place and had a lot of work to do, in the end 3rd place was the best we could manage.
More 24hr race problems
After the race, more controversy was added when some teams were penalised for intentional disconnections in order to get a fresh car, this being significantly less costly as disconnections are not penalised (other than the time lost midway through the lap you never finished) compared to losing 1 lap if you used shift+p to 'teleport' to the pit and drive out with a fresh car. As a result, some teams were heavily penalised, some were given mild penalties if they gained from any disconnection as they'd have a fresh car with new tyres and a full tank rather than a possibly worn down car in need of a pit-stop. SK Gaming admitted to intentionally disconnecting to avoid the -1lap penalty and fix their heavily damaged car and they were punished the most, losing 33% of their points.
Round 5 - Blackwood GP
While all the controversy of round 4 was still going on, round 5 was upon us, we had more pressing matters to focus on as the standings in the GT1 championships still had us leading, but only by 1 point to #low-racing.
As if the 1 point seperating things didnt make things clear just how close this championship would be, qualifying confirmed it, with #low and Mercury setting identical times in qualifying.
When the race went green Bawbag was still holding onto 2nd place coming out of T1, a concept he was unfamiliar with, but within a couple of corners he corrected things and made a move down the inside of #low and took the lead which he promptly started to increase. Thankfully a fairly quiet and uneventful race saw the car brought home safely, not for the want of trying on Jonesy's part, the little devil was so desperate to hit a 1:06 lap in the latter stages of the race he almost rolled it not once, but twice trying to force the XRR through the chicane.
The GT2 car had a good race, the pace of the FXR GT2 after the balancing had made it far too competitive for such an easy to drive car, so the newly entered FXR from Cyber was just untouchable, however a mistake during pitting with no fuel being added cost us 2nd place, yet another silly mistake costing us the result we should have got and in the end we had to settle for 3rd.
Round 6 - Kyoto National
The season finale was set to be another great race, with just an 7pt gap, and points between each position being 6 or less points, it meant #low would need to finish at least 2 places ahead of us in order to overtake us in the standings. Qualifying was again very close, the 2 cars seperated by just 0.07sec with Mercury taking 2nd yet again.
When the race was underway Bawbag had another trademark start and dispite getting the car onto 2 wheels at a 25 degree angle midway through the chicane he brought it down safely and was able to keep the lead. Bawbag was able to pull away from the following pack, while #low were unable to keep up and had 3rd, 4th & 5th hot on their tails.
Within the opening hour #low had dropped to 8th after losing places to nfaculty and PTTM and then getting involved in an incident with My3ID they lost a further 4 places.
In GT2 the opening stint had started well, but a mistake when downshifting from 3rd to 1st instead of 4th to 2nd created some damage to the engine and even this 1/4sec mistake round a track which is 1/3rd flat-out oval meant the 4kph lost was significant enough to ruin our chances of a decent result .
As the race hit the 4hr mark with a 45sec lead over 2nd place nfaculty, Jonesy picked up a drive-thru penalty for speeding, this cost us the race lead and put us 20sec behind nfaculty. When it came to the final driver change with 1hr left to run Jonesy took control however he wasnt able to push as due to a slightly earlier than planned pit-stop the car wouldnt be capable of doing full race pace without the serious risk of picking up a puncture, nfaculty would require a splash & dash right at the end of the race giving us the lead back so the decision was taken to take a gamble and go easy on the tyres and hopefully when nfaculty made their final stop we hold enough of a lead to drive at a comfortable pace. Thankfully even with nfaculty pushing very hard to close the gap at the end of the 6hr race they were only 10 seconds behind us, and #low had managed a great comeback to take 3rd.
The season overall
Well, obviously its been a great season for us this year in the GT1 class, its been a season which has required a LOT of hard work and dedication from the guys, something they've been great with since August last year, and it all paid off for us in the end. In the GT2 class its been a season of mixed emotions, and the stark realisation that raw pace doesnt win you races, if it did theres little doubt we'd have won each and every round, instead all but the single round we won was effectively ruined by silly mistakes which could have been avoided. The results havent reflected the work put into the series, they havent come close to that, but what we are thankful for is that being quick is the hard part, making sure silly things arent forgotten comes with experience and we're confident that we'll have this sorted in the future.
This season has given us quite a few firsts, with round 1 came our first ever series win, round 2 gave us our first GT2 class win, our first MoE series title and we're proud to be the first and only team to field 2 teams through the entire season, especially when that includes a 24hr race which takes its strain on any team.
Thanks
We would like to thank everyone involved in MoE, the racers who gave us such a challenging season, the organisers for keeping the series going, LFS for making the sim (maybe not so much for making the patch) and giving us a great tool to race with, to Game-TV's Mika (The highlight being 'MOONEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!' as he goes flying off at T1 in the 24hr race due to a pop-up
), to Al Healey who gave us a kickass blueprint in which to create the new MoE series winning colour scheme and finally everyone who's supported us along the way.Cya all in September '08, we'll be back to defend the #1.
. I enjoyed seeing the devotion of your team for MoE, practice wise and forum wise (the latter till a certain extent of course 
).
