Open Endurance Cup

Story briefing of his Open Endurance Cup by Mr Fetch :

in English

"First event was at Aston and with a few fellow GUM Members giving me setups, I was ready to race.
Didn't do much practice for the first few events so my lap times and finishing positions were a bit off but still enjoyed them nonetheless.

Sunday the 21st June was the first race and I quilified P15 with a 3:10:64 (minutes:seconds:miliseconds) which was good considering it was my first ever race on that track in the XFR with not much practice.
Going into the race, I just wanted to keep it clean, not go aggresive into corners, don't pick up damadge etc. although I did pop my tires towards the end of my first stint so I knew to lessen the load of my tires going into fast corners. I finished my first race in P12 after 57 laps!

Second race on Sunday 19th July at the Westhill international track and I was feeling quite confident but still didn't practice as much as I should have. This was also the first time I joined the Simbroadcasts TeamSpeak server so I could be interviewed pre-race, mid-race and post-race, and I was interviewed after qualifying and after the race. I qualified P17 (there was a lot more drivers in the lobby this time) with a 2:08:39 lap time and again like last time, took T1 cautious to make sure I didn't ruin my race but on Lap 2 going down the back straight before a heavy breaking zone, side by side with a driver and he cut me off a little sending me backwards into the barrier. He cut the corner as well but I came off worse. The rear end my car was crushed but the engine and feeling still felt ok and I though't I'd loose more time pitting than continuing. On lap 6 approaching the chicane, I misjudged my breaking zone upon entry to the right hander screwing up my line for the left hander, mounting the kerb and flipping my car. I didn;t know what this meant so I thought pit and continue and that seemed to work. After that incident, my confidence had gone so I was just focused on putting in clean lap times, trying to be consistent and luckily didn't have too many issues after that. I needed a wee halfway through the race so my stepdad took over for a few laps and he broke my engine so I had to limp the rest of the race with a severly broken engine causing me to loose lots of time but at least I still managed to finish the race in P22 - second to last place after 87 laps of racing!

Third race at the Kyoto National Reversed track on Sunday 2nd August and I did a lot of practice coming into this race. It showed off in qualifying with a 1:50:63 putting me in P15 - again, more people entered the race. Strong race pace throughout the race unfortunately popping a tire again towards the end of my first stint however I never gave up and I kept pushing and managed to finish P10 after 99 laps of racing. The commentator applauded me for my top 10 finish and he wished me all the best for the next round hoping for a top 5 finish...

Fourth and Final round of the Open Endurance Cup at Blackwood Historic Reversed on the 30th August 2020 and again, lots of practice went into this one. I decided to dedicate my race to Anthoine Hubert, a tallented 22 year old french GP2 driver who sadly lost his life last year due to a heavy impact collision at the Belguim Grand Prix, and because the 2020 Belguim Grand Prix was on that same day, I decided to dedicate my endurance race to him running a few 'Racing for Anthoine' stickers on my car. Less people on this time so found it a bit easier as I was super nervous as Blackwood is a bit tight and 3 cars into one corner was not going to happen at all so luckily there was less people. Qualified in P7 with a 1:15:89 lap time - my best lap time ever at Blackwood with this car so I was feeling very confident going into this race. Same principle as last races, cautious into T1. Luckily from the start, I didn't bog down any positions nor did I gain any, and by the end of lap 4, I was in no-mans land, car in front about 10 seconds ahead and gap to the car behind about 13 seconds. So I was feeling a bit lonely. I took all of my knowledge about my tires popping towards the end of my first stint so I planned to do a 3 stop strategy however coming to the end of my first stint, I knew there was more life in the tires but I only fuelled my car up for a certain amount of laps. I came in, changed tires, fuelled the car up with a few more laps and off I went, but what happened... I popped my tire again so I came in and changed tires. I was so lonely at this point being lapped but all the cars in front of me and being at least a lap ahead of everyone behind me so I stuck on some music and just foccused on nailing the corners. Simbroadcasts interupred my music by bringing me into the commentary box mid-race and asking me to take them on a lap of Blackwood and because I am quite experienced with commentary which they wernt aware of, I commentated through the entire lap. I think they were impressed as they said after that we could look at getting you a job here and I don't know if they were joking about that but I wouldn't mind at all! I kept going after my interview and managed to finish and impressive P5 - top 5 in the last round and one of the quicker drivers who was smashing it in the previous rounds, fighting with the race leader DNF'd. I was happy and sad at the same time as he didn't deserve to DNF but it put me in the top 5 and I was loving life. I didn't rec the gearbox out as much as I should have been for the first 2/3 quarters of the race so that might be why I was in no-mans land but still enjoyed my races and loved every single minute of my time participating in the Open Endurance Cup - even sleeping haha.

Motto of this story - Practice makes perfect and Never Give Up! "

French google translator :
"First event was at Aston and with a few fellow GUM Members giving me setups, I was ready to race.
Didn't do much practice for the first few events so my lap times and finishing positions were a bit off but still enjoyed them nonetheless.

Sunday the 21st June was the first race and I quilified P15 with a 3:10:64 (minutes:seconds:miliseconds) which was good considering it was my first ever race on that track in the XFR with not much practice.
Going into the race, I just wanted to keep it clean, not go aggresive into corners, don't pick up damadge etc. although I did pop my tires towards the end of my first stint so I knew to lessen the load of my tires going into fast corners. I finished my first race in P12 after 57 laps!

Second race on Sunday 19th July at the Westhill international track and I was feeling quite confident but still didn't practice as much as I should have. This was also the first time I joined the Simbroadcasts TeamSpeak server so I could be interviewed pre-race, mid-race and post-race, and I was interviewed after qualifying and after the race. I qualified P17 (there was a lot more drivers in the lobby this time) with a 2:08:39 lap time and again like last time, took T1 cautious to make sure I didn't ruin my race but on Lap 2 going down the back straight before a heavy breaking zone, side by side with a driver and he cut me off a little sending me backwards into the barrier. He cut the corner as well but I came off worse. The rear end my car was crushed but the engine and feeling still felt ok and I though't I'd loose more time pitting than continuing. On lap 6 approaching the chicane, I misjudged my breaking zone upon entry to the right hander screwing up my line for the left hander, mounting the kerb and flipping my car. I didn;t know what this meant so I thought pit and continue and that seemed to work. After that incident, my confidence had gone so I was just focused on putting in clean lap times, trying to be consistent and luckily didn't have too many issues after that. I needed a wee halfway through the race so my stepdad took over for a few laps and he broke my engine so I had to limp the rest of the race with a severly broken engine causing me to loose lots of time but at least I still managed to finish the race in P22 - second to last place after 87 laps of racing!

Third race at the Kyoto National Reversed track on Sunday 2nd August and I did a lot of practice coming into this race. It showed off in qualifying with a 1:50:63 putting me in P15 - again, more people entered the race. Strong race pace throughout the race unfortunately popping a tire again towards the end of my first stint however I never gave up and I kept pushing and managed to finish P10 after 99 laps of racing. The commentator applauded me for my top 10 finish and he wished me all the best for the next round hoping for a top 5 finish...

Fourth and Final round of the Open Endurance Cup at Blackwood Historic Reversed on the 30th August 2020 and again, lots of practice went into this one. I decided to dedicate my race to Anthoine Hubert, a tallented 22 year old french GP2 driver who sadly lost his life last year due to a heavy impact collision at the Belguim Grand Prix, and because the 2020 Belguim Grand Prix was on that same day, I decided to dedicate my endurance race to him running a few 'Racing for Anthoine' stickers on my car. Less people on this time so found it a bit easier as I was super nervous as Blackwood is a bit tight and 3 cars into one corner was not going to happen at all so luckily there was less people. Qualified in P7 with a 1:15:89 lap time - my best lap time ever at Blackwood with this car so I was feeling very confident going into this race. Same principle as last races, cautious into T1. Luckily from the start, I didn't bog down any positions nor did I gain any, and by the end of lap 4, I was in no-mans land, car in front about 10 seconds ahead and gap to the car behind about 13 seconds. So I was feeling a bit lonely. I took all of my knowledge about my tires popping towards the end of my first stint so I planned to do a 3 stop strategy however coming to the end of my first stint, I knew there was more life in the tires but I only fuelled my car up for a certain amount of laps. I came in, changed tires, fuelled the car up with a few more laps and off I went, but what happened... I popped my tire again so I came in and changed tires. I was so lonely at this point being lapped but all the cars in front of me and being at least a lap ahead of everyone behind me so I stuck on some music and just foccused on nailing the corners. Simbroadcasts interupred my music by bringing me into the commentary box mid-race and asking me to take them on a lap of Blackwood and because I am quite experienced with commentary which they wernt aware of, I commentated through the entire lap. I think they were impressed as they said after that we could look at getting you a job here and I don't know if they were joking about that but I wouldn't mind at all! I kept going after my interview and managed to finish and impressive P5 - top 5 in the last round and one of the quicker drivers who was smashing it in the previous rounds, fighting with the race leader DNF'd. I was happy and sad at the same time as he didn't deserve to DNF but it put me in the top 5 and I was loving life. I didn't rec the gearbox out as much as I should have been for the first 2/3 quarters of the race so that might be why I was in no-mans land but still enjoyed my races and loved every single minute of my time participating in the Open Endurance Cup - even sleeping haha.

Motto of this story - Practice makes perfect and Never Give Up!"

french google translator :

"
La première épreuve a eu lieu à Aston et avec quelques collègues membres du GUM qui m'ont donné des réglages, j'étais prê à courir.
Je n'ai pas fait beaucoup de pratique pour les premières épreuves, donc mes temps au tour et mes positions d'arrivée étaient un peu décalés, mais les ont tout de même appréciés.

Dimanche 21 juin était la première course et j'ai quilifié P15 avec un 3:10:64 (minutes: secondes: millisecondes), ce qui était bien étant donné que c'était ma toute première course sur cette piste en XFR avec peu de pratique.
En entrant dans la course, je voulais juste le garder propre, ne pas aller agressif dans les virages, ne pas ramasser de dégâts, etc. bien que j'ai fait sauter mes pneus vers la fin de mon premier relais, donc j'ai su réduire la charge de mes pneus aller dans les virages rapides. J'ai terminé ma première course en P12 après 57 tours!


Deuxième course le dimanche 19 juillet sur la piste internationale de Westhill et je me sentais assez confiant mais je ne m'entraÃnais toujours pas autant que j'aurais dû. C'était aussi la première fois que je rejoignais le serveur TeamSpeak de Simbroadcasts afin de pouvoir êre interviewé avant la course, à la mi-course et après la course, et j'ai été interviewé après les qualifications et après la course. Je me suis qualifié P17 (il y avait beaucoup plus de pilotes dans le hall cette fois) avec un temps au tour de 2:08:39 et encore une fois, comme la dernière fois, j'ai pris T1 prudent pour m'assurer que je ne gâchais pas ma course mais au tour 2 en descendant le dos droit devant une zone de rupture lourde, côte à côte avec un chauffeur et il m'a coupé un peu en me renvoyant dans la barrière. Il a également coupé le coin, mais je m'en suis moins bien sorti. L'arrière de ma voiture était écrasé mais le moteur et la sensation me sentaient toujours bien et je pensais que je ne perdrais plus de temps à piquer que de continuer. Au 6e tour à l'approche de la chicane, j'ai mal évalué ma zone de rupture en entrant dans le virage droit en vissant ma ligne pour le virage gauche, en montant le trottoir et en retournant ma voiture. Je ne savais pas ce que cela signifiait, alors j'ai pensé pit and continue et cela a semblé fonctionner. Après cet incident, ma confiance avait disparu, je me concentrais donc sur des temps au tour propres, en essayant d'êre cohérent et, heureusement, je n'ai pas eu trop de problèmes après cela. J'avais besoin d'un petit pipi à la mi-course alors mon beau-père a pris le relais pendant quelques tours et il a cassé mon moteur, j'ai donc dû boiter le reste de la course avec un moteur gravement cassé, ce qui m'a fait perdre beaucoup de temps, mais au moins j'ai quand même réussi pour terminer la course en P22 - avant-dernière place après 87 tours de course!

Troisième course sur la piste inversée nationale de Kyoto le dimanche 2 août et j'ai fait beaucoup de pratique pour cette course. Cela s'est montré en qualifications avec un 1:50:63 qui m'a mis en P15 - encore une fois, plus de gens sont entrés dans la course. Un rythme de course soutenu tout au long de la course a malheureusement encore fait sauter un pneu vers la fin de mon premier relais, mais je n'ai jamais abandonné et j'ai continué à pousser et j'ai réussi à terminer P10 après 99 tours de course. Le commentateur m'a applaudi pour mon top 10 et il m'a souhaité tout le meilleur pour le prochain tour en espérant un top 5 ...


Quatrième et dernière manche de l'Open Endurance Cup à Blackwood Historic Reversed le 30 août 2020 et encore une fois, beaucoup de pratique s'est déroulée dans celle-ci. J'ai décidé de dédier ma course à Anthoine Hubert, un pilote de GP2 français de 22 ans qui a malheureusement perdu la vie l'année dernière à cause d'une collision à fort impact au Grand Prix de Belgique, et parce que le Grand Prix de Belgique 2020 était le même jour, J'ai décidé de lui dédier ma course d'endurance en faisant courir quelques autocollants «Racing for Anthoine» sur ma voiture. Moins de monde à ce moment-là, j'ai donc trouvé cela un peu plus facile car j'étais super nerveux car Blackwood est un peu serré et 3 voitures dans un coin n'allaient pas se produire du tout, donc heureusement, il y avait moins de monde. Je me suis qualifié en P7 avec un temps au tour de 1:15:89 - mon meilleur temps au tour à Blackwood avec cette voiture, donc je me sentais très confiant pour cette course. Même principe que les dernières courses, prudent en T1. Heureusement depuis le début, je n'ai pas embourbé de position ni gagné aucune, et à la fin du 4e tour, j'étais en no-mans land, la voiture devant environ 10 secondes d'avance et l'écart avec la voiture derrière environ 13. secondes.Alors je me sentais un peu seul. J'ai pris toutes mes connaissances sur mes pneus qui sautaient vers la fin de mon premier relais, donc j'ai prévu de faire une stratégie à 3 arrês, mais à la fin de mon premier relais, je savais qu'il y avait plus de vie dans les pneus mais je n'ai alimenté que mon voiture pour un certain nombre de tours. Je suis entré, j'ai changé les pneus, j'ai fait le plein de la voiture avec quelques tours de plus et je suis parti, mais que s'est-il passé ...J'ai de nouveau fait sauter mon pneu alors je suis entré et j'ai changé de pneus. J'étais si solitaire à ce stade, mais toutes les voitures devant moi et ayant au moins un tour d'avance sur tout le monde derrière moi, je suis resté sur de la musique et j'ai juste essayé de clouer les virages. Simbroadcasts a interrompu ma musique en m'amenant dans la boÃte de commentaires à mi-course et en me demandant de les emmener sur un tour de Blackwood et parce que je suis assez expérimenté avec des commentaires dont ils n'étaient pas conscients, j'ai commenté tout le tour. Je pense qu'ils ont été impressionnés car ils ont dit après que nous pourrions envisager de vous trouver un emploi ici et je ne sais pas s'ils plaisantaient à ce sujet, mais cela ne me dérangerait pas du tout! J'ai continué après mon entretien et j'ai réussi à terminer un P5 impressionnant - top 5 dans la dernière manche et l'un des pilotes les plus rapides qui l'avait écrasé dans les manches précédentes, en combattant avec le leader de la course DNF'd. J'étais heureux et triste en même temps qu'il ne méritait pas de DNF mais cela m'a mis dans le top 5 et j'aimais la vie. Je n'ai pas récupéré la boÃte de vitesses autant que j'aurais dû l'êre pendant les 2/3 premiers trimestres de la course, c'est peut-êre pour cette raison que j'étais dans le no mans land mais j'ai quand même apprécié mes courses et aimé chaque minute de mon temps. participer à l'Open Endurance Cup - même dormir haha.

Devise de cette histoire - La pratique rend parfait et n'abandonne jamais!"