Our sponsored sim racing driver Jimmy Mansi returns with his weekly blog. In blog #9 Jimmy is refreshed and ready for his 2022 races.
Jimmy Mansi keeps the community posted on his sim racing events here at simrace247, back in the driving seat for his official races of 2022, the green flag drops.
‘The Blog is back’
Hey everyone, firstly, I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and New year with your loved ones! I took some time off racing over Christmas and New Year (eventually!). With the seasons in oNiD and ACR finishing, I used the break to enjoy time with my family and recharge.
We’re already halfway through January and the racing has started again. After last season’s success in ACR, winning the Gold Split I was fortunate enough to be moved up to Pro Split. Where I would be racing the likes of Dalking, Van Ommen, Jardier, Bagnall, Foch and plenty of other incredibly talented (and crazy fast) drivers.
ACC | @ACRracing GT3 Earth Tour | Pro Split | S11 | R1 Donington
- Q1 – P17
- R1 – P15
My first race in the Pro Split and in fairness, I was a little disappointed in my finishing position. In practice I had been able to clock low 27’s on race fuel, I felt competitive and that I could maybe break into the top 10.
Qualifying began and it was mixed conditions with a damp track. With no idea of required tyre pressures or a setup that would work well in both conditions, I loaded my dry setup, put wet tyres on, estimated the pressures and went out.
It was clearly within half a lap I had this wrong. I returned to the garage, adjusted the pressures and changed the setup to suit the conditions. I went back out and still didn’t have the greatest feeling but, persisted knowing in these conditions, a few laps would help me find my feet.
Just as I was doing this, the rain stopped and the track started to dry out quickly. I went back in, stuck with wet tires, adjusted the pressures again and went back out. The car felt much better this time and after a couple of laps, I was ready to push.
I only had time for two flying laps, first lap in with the track improving I was in P6. Sadly, I invalidated my next lap which was the worst thing that could happen. 0.6 up halfway round and everyone else improving.. I finished up P17.
I was frustrated as I knew I could have done better and I knew starting in the middle of the pack would make things difficult with Donington not being the best track for overtaking. The race started and things were crowded into T1.
I quickly found myself back in P19 by the end of lap one. At this point, Samir Foch had got past me and was running long into the race before stopping so his car was heavy, adding to the difficulty of the Lambo.
I couldn’t get past and was losing around 1.2 seconds per lap to what my pace was in practice. Eventually, Foch was on the receiving end of a very hard overtake. I managed to get past and before pitting manage to get lapping back in the 27’s.
I boxed for new tires and to refuel, came out P21 with a relatively clear track ahead of me. I tried to settle into my groove but as I came round for the next lap, the car ahead came back out of the pits in front of me.
On cold tyres and with me already having pace, I was stuck behind someone again. This continued for the remainder of the race however, my setup was clearly not the best for long stints of racing.
My tires and my brakes seemed to give up on me in the last 25 minutes of the race and it was a case of defending the best I could. I managed to hold on to P15 having battled with P16 for the last 5 laps. I was happy to have finished but I felt had I have got qualifying right, I could have had that top 10 finish.
ACC | @ACRracing GT3 Earth Tour | Pro Split | S11 | R2 & R3 Silverstone (1 x60min Race & 1 x30min race)
- Q1 – P9
- R1 – P6
- Q2 – P11
- R2 – P16
Round’s 2 & 3 were at Silverstone, another track I have to thoroughly enjoy on ACC. Again in practice things were looking good. I was doing some practice before the race with Dalking and found myself 0.4 off in a practice qualifying, which gave me plenty of confidence.
Into the race and the conditions looked perfect. Evening race, decent temps. Qualifying started and as ever, I invalidated my first lap then messed up my second attempt. I went back into the pits, put a fresh set of tires on and went again.
My banker lap was a 57.1 which wasn’t going to be enough to place me anywhere near the front. I started my second lap and before I knew it, I was done.. A 56.8, one of my best laps around Silverstone and a perfect time to do it. At the end of qualifying, I was P9 and only 0.5 off pole!
The race started and as always, it was busy in T1. In all of the bunching up, I lost a position and was in P10 but I was happy here and settled quickly into my rhythm. I managed to hold P10 and pull away from P11.
I was starting to pressure P9 when the pit window opened. He and another driver in front dived in for an early pit stop which moved me up to P8. Then there was contact between P5 and P6, one of them went off and I was up to P7.
In all of this, P6 had made contact with one of the cars and received damage, resulting in me being able to pull up to him. Without wanting to get stuck behind and held up I pulled into the pits to make my stop. With race one only being a 60min race it was just 1L of fuel to be added, stay on the same tires and go again.
I came out of the pits in P7, managing to jump a couple of cars on the overcut. Whilst my tires came up to temp and the correct pressures, I was being pushed hard by the drivers behind. I managed to keep them there and eventually I was able to fully push.
I started to open the gap, 0.3, 0.5, 0.9 and eventually got it to 1.1. Finally some breathing space and the ability to fully focus on my final 20mins of the race. Then, P2 picked up a drive-thru for track limits and to add insult to injury, he got a ‘stop go 30’ for speeding in the pit lane when coming in for his DT.
This moved me up to P6 where I stayed until the end of the race. When I crossed the line to finish, it genuinely felt like a win. When I was moved up to the Pro Split, I wanted to achieve a top 10 finish at some point, I never considered I would finish P6!
What made it sweeter was when watching the race back, I received plenty of compliments on the stream and was voted as driver of the day by Mr Actrollvision himself. Sadly race 2 was not as successful, qualifying in P11 I had a good start and good race pace but this was all taken away with contact towards the end of lap one.
This resulted in me spinning onto the grass and coming back on in P28, way behind the rest of the pack. Fortunately, the damage was nothing that would hinder the car so I was able to push again.
With around 5 minutes to go, I found myself behind Foch and we had a brilliant battle for the remaining couple of laps, albeit it was for P16. I made a move around the outside of Stowe on the final lap, he lost the rear and bumped into me.
Luckily we both carried on in the right direction and I was able to finish. Fighting back from P28 to P16 was fun but there was another top 10 on the cards for sure, had I have not had the contact at the start.
This week ACR has us visiting Zandvoort and a track I have not done much racing at. Will we see rain or another dry race? One thing I know is, last week’s result is without doubt , the highlight of all my sim racing achievements.
Yes, winning a championship is brilliant but when the level of others is like it is in ACR, to come away with that result gives me confirmation that the hours of practice, all the other previous races are worth it.
I will never reach their level but just to be able to compete and finish in a place that validates your place in the league is a pretty great feeling.
See you all next week and as ever, thanks for reading and check me out on @JimboMansi_46.
