This is going to be an unusually detailed race report. One thing I learned in this race is that my video capture device will not record for 90 minutes. I’m not sure why. I hope to have it figured out before the next endurance race, but I’m afraid that I just won’t be able to record the longer races.
I qualified 12th on the grid, and as happens way too often, the cars in front of me came to a complete stop in turn one. I don’t know why the folks at Turn 10 Studios programmed Forza Motorsports 7 to do this at almost every track, but they did. I used it to my advantage and moved up to 7th place going into turn 3.
The first six cars pulled away from me, and I pulled away from the cars behind me. We rode around like that for a few laps, but on lap 4, I caught the yellow Corvette just before the bus stop chicane and passed him on the inside just before the braking zone. I was completely past him as I turned in, but he hit me from behind, knocking us both off the track. I fell back to 23rd place by the time I was able to get back on track. The Corvette was knocked out of the race.
I made it back to pit lane, took tires and fuel, and rejoined the race. I’m not sure how bad my damage was, and I don’t know if damage is repaired on pit stops in Forza, but when I rejoined, the car wasn’t too bad. It didn’t handle quite as well as it did prior to the incident, but it wasn’t horrible. It just took a little getting used to.
I came out of the pits in 23rd position and began working my way forward. I picked off several cars over the next 30 minutes or so, moving up to 17th position.
Throughout the race, I was having trouble with turn one. I don’t think I got it right even once. I went off in turn one twice early in the race, but was able to keep from spinning. Unfortunately, with about 40-minutes to go in the race, I spun in turn one, hitting the inside wall, and damaged the drivetrain. I tried to make it back to pit road, but the car wouldn’t move. My race was over.
I finished 23rd, which definitely was not what I set out to do. Even so, I have to admit that I enjoyed competing in a longer race, and I really enjoyed driving the BMW M8 GTE, at least before it was damaged. Thankfully, this wasn’t a points race, so it doesn’t hurt me in the championship.
Next Race: Suzuka Circuit (Japan)