Solo Race #8, 3 Laps at Sao Paulo

Three races left in my 2017 solo series.  I cling to a small lead over Jackie Stewart as we head to Sao Paulo, Brazil for a 3-lap race.

I think I can accelerate slowly and still get to my top speed and I think the higher deceleration will come in handy a couple places on the track.  I want lots of wear here and hope to make a move from a mid-field start.

I bid 4 for the pole and ended up tied with two other drivers, lost the tie breaker die rolls, and ended up 6th.  Mansell was one of the two cars I tied with and he got huge value bidding 4 for 4th on the grid.

Fangio just beat Vettel for pole by a skill chip.  Stewart ended up 7th.

Lap 1

Alonso (yellow) rolls a forced pass and ends up 3rd off the start.

Alonso gets past me on the start.  Although he had to roll a forced pass to do it.  That move got him up to 3rd.

Stewart and Fittipaldi pass me exiting the Senna S with their better accelerations.  I'm down to 9th already -- an early drop in position that has become pretty typical for me this season.

As the cars begin lap 2, Fangio has built up a big lead.  Alonso is third again -- having given the position up to Rindt earlier, then taking it back on the big front straight.  Mansell is 5th.  I'm 9th.

Lap 2

I start making a move in the middle of lap 2.  Here I spend 3 wear to pass Fittipaldi.  Later I'll spend more wear so that I can get out onto the front straight with everyone else.

Me (in blue) passing Fittipaldi to move out of 9th.

Lap 3

As I cross the line to start lap 3, I pass Rindt and Hunt under braking and get inside Mansell -- all the way into 5th.

Me moving into 5th after the long straight to start lap 3.

 I was able to stay in front of Mansell exiting the Senna S and tucked in behind Stewart.  This is the real battle -- can I get past Stewart?  Meanwhile, Fangio broke his top speed and is out of the race, leaving Vettel to try to hold off a hard charging Alonso.

On the right, I take the slip from Stewart and dive inside for 2 wear for the pass.  You can also see Alonso has caught up to Vettel.

Huge move for me that I hope I can make stick and which will extend my championship lead a bit.

But Stewart fights back.  Below he spends 3 wear to pass me.  In addition Raikkonen has fought his way up from the back to challenge for a podium as well.  You can also see that Alonso got past Vettel a couple turns ago.

Stewart (orange) pass me.

But the very next turn both Vettel and Stewart chance Bico De Pato in efforts to challenge Alonso for the win.  Both spin.

Vettel (red) and Stewart (orange) spin in front of me and Raikkonen.

I got through Bico De Pato even with Stewart who then spun the next turn chancing the last corner of the race.

In the drag race down the front straight, I lucked out that Raikkonan broke his top speed and so I was able to hold on to second and keep Stewart behind me.

Alonso long ago finished for the win as I hold off Mansell, Raikkonan,
and Stewart for 2nd.

Wrap Up

The second place was my 4th podium of the season and was extra nice because Stewart (5th), Fangio, (dnf) and Vettel (dnf) did not have good races as my top competition for the championship.

Alonso's win was his best result.  Mansell's 3rd was his 3rd podium in the last 4 races.

Next up will be Nurburg for a quick 2-lapper before the final race at Mogyorod.

If you want to see this race turn-by-turn, see the google album.  If you missed a race, check out the series summery.