ZCT88 - Trans Europe Express

[zaqrack]

...is a fast track built and designed in Denmark by me

[CTG]

I don't like the next sentence but it's true. Zak built a really good track. The problem is that I used to finish in weak positions on the tracks I like, while bad tracks mean an almost sure podium. Strange, huh?

[CTG]

As far as I see this race will be a tight one and even some surprise can happen at the end - the usual top drivers should keep an eye on Zak and AbuRaf...

[CTG]

Wonderful track, the best one ever in Zak's! Sadly it's not really an Audi track, it would fit. Heavy racing mode switched on!

[CTG]

No more replays for this track - I have to leave Budapest tomorrow...

[Duplode]

Strange things happened on this race - no hidden replays at all during quiet days ( ! - can anybody tell if that had ever happened before?) and a very tight scoreboard from 2nd to 7th despite relatively low activity during the final days. And then Ayrton bookends his title run by pulling off a shocking, even by his standards, eleventh-hour jump to impose his biggest victory in the whole season... all of that seems to indicate a section analysis would be very interesting, and, after performing it, one sees that's the case indeed. I only won't publish it now since I don't have BJ's replay - Zak accidentally put his 1:01.05 with Jaguar on the new track zip instead of the final Carrera lap. Once either BJ or Zak post said replay I'll update my spreadsheet and publish the analysis with further commentary.

[zaqrack]

sorry, here it is. We eagerly wait the analysis!

[Duplode]

Thanks Zak, and on to the analysis then! First track sector definitions:



USC-style graphs are attached for following the analysis, as well as the spreadsheet with complete section data. The times were, for the sake of convenience, normalized to Carrera bonus percentage.

Charting initially the top 7 laps, the first striking feature is, obviously, Ayrton's lap. On the first two sectors we could say he and CTG, given the different car characteristics, were pretty much even matched. But then... we are treated to a most amazing demonstration of how one claims any point in space and calls it "road". Really lovely to watch! Anyway, the huge gap imposed by the champion means we can't see much more on this graph, so below it I placed another one covering only the really busy race from 2nd to 7th. Let's go pipsqueak-by-pipsqueak:

• CTG built the advantage needed to win the second place with a flawless initial third of lap (sectors 1 and 2). He lost a few tenths at the 180 degree turn on the third sector (trying to take advantage of a wider trajectory by cutting through the grass on the hill just before it didn't work well), but on the following sector any threats from Mark and co. were curbed with a nice and long flight through the sector 4 cut, landing directly on the right turn just before the slalom.
• Mark had a exceptionally good third sector, thanks to a very aggressive entry on the 180 degree turn. That reduced his gap to CTG to only 0.15s, but then his gains were lost in the next sector due to a slightly less efficient cut.
• As for myself, a slightly too high jump and a gear change miscalculation on the first sector loop cost me about half a second, and thus the third place and possibly the second place in overall classification as well...   At least my race was more solid from the third sector onwards. I succeeded to limit the damages by taking a wider cut on sector 4, allowing me to take the following turn at a pretty high speed (and thus having said sector done only 0.15s slower than CTG, who used a much more direct cut). Without that, I would have finished 6th at best...
• Bonzai Joe's lap progression was similar to Mark's, but a few precious tenths lost in sectors 2 and 4 kept him away from the podium. In sector 4, he performed a bug flight similar to CTG's but shorter, which forced him to brake too hard before the following right turn. Remakably, BJ set the fastest final sector, overtaking CTG in the process.
• CTG and Zak had strong races as well. The pair (alongside with BJ) stayed very close to each other during most of the race, exchanging positions often. They only drifted a bit more from the podiumers at sector 4 (which cut was, as it seems, a key part of the race for everyone), and only settled into their final positions at the final sector.

Last, but not least, there is interesting analysis to be done on the following section of the scoreboard, positions 8 to 12. There are two graphs as well for them, one including Pavekiller and the other not, for clearer visualization. SuperBrian dominated this group with solid auto-gears racing. AbuRaf followed him closely, to the extent the low top speed of LM002 allowed him (the 8th place battle was mainly decided on the "fast" sectors 3 and 4). Krys and Dstien were close to the fight above them during the first half of the race. Dstien lap in particular was quite interesting to see - he beat me on the first sector, and then almost surprised Krys by recovering more than two thirds of his gap on the final sector... Finally, Pavekiller only missed the sliding jumps in the final sectors in order to be involved on the 10th place fight, or maybe even above.

All in all, Z88 was an extremely interesting race, and we almost didn't notice it while racing... on a closing note, it is very positive to see close racing by several drivers just below the podium battles. I feel having solid competition at the midfield will provide positive feedback to the number of newcomers by providing a stepping stone and intermediate goals for up-and-coming pipsqueaks.

[Mark L. Rivers]

Really a good work! 

[CTG]

If we remove Ayrton from the list, it was a really weak race. With more enthusiasm... well, TOP 7 would be under 1:00, 57.xx at 2nd-3rd place.

[BonzaiJoe]

I have to agree. Ayrton's replay was stunning, but the rest was disappointing. Mine was a 20-minute replay made on the 4th of the month...