The Sunrise Trilogy by GRDC - Round 1, Portimão | LMU
“Ok, bollocks start mate. It’s damage limitations from here”
Practice & Qualifying
Yes, I had the racing line assist turned on! Not something I usually use, but I didn’t have much practice on Portimão, and as the rookie I am, I just didn’t feel confident going without it.
I know what you're thinking: “You shouldn’t use the line—it slows you down!” And sure, I get it. But for learning new tracks or boosting confidence, I find it useful. Could I have watched a track guide instead? Probably. But sometimes, you just want to race.
By the end of the practice session, I was starting to get a feel for the track. Still, I didn’t want to risk turning off the assist before the 5-minute qualifying. What’s worse? I forgot to pee before the session. So, after putting in a lap, I dashed off to the bathroom—priorities! I ended up qualifying P15, and honestly, I doubt I’d have done much better anyway.
The Race
The plan was to turn off the assist before the race. I forgot. But hey, at least I remembered to fuel up after qualifying! Slightly stressed after the “I really need to pee” situation, I’ll admit.
My race start was awful. In Turn 1, I tried to give space to a BMW on my right—only to clip a Ferrari on the left. That bump unsettled my car, leading me to whack the very BMW I was trying to avoid. Ironically, that second hit may have saved me from spinning. So... thanks? And sorry!
In Turn 3, I underestimated the braking and dove inside—earning myself an illegal pass warning. Distracted by the alert, I hesitated on throttle, blocking a BMW behind me. I let him pass on the next straight, which dropped me near the back of the pack.
The next lap didn’t help. Slower cars ahead forced me into evasive moves, costing time. A Corvette passed me on the outside. Ouch.
Then came an Aston Martin. Oddly slow, then suddenly fast while I was alongside—blocking my entry into a corner. More time lost. I was frustrated. My own early mistakes, the chaos, and slower cars were stretching the gap to P15 where I’d started.
Thankfully, on lap 4 I overtook the Aston into Turn 3 with a clean dive. A couple corners later, I gained another position thanks to an incident up ahead.
Then came the big one—three cars wiped out in a crash that ended with a disqualification and community ban for one of them. Wild stuff. But hey, I was back to P15!
Finishing Strong
The rest of the race was pretty uneventful. I couldn’t catch P14 at first, but managed an undercut during the pit stop. That was enough to finish P14—one spot up from where I started.
Not my finest race, and definitely not my most enjoyable. But I finished, avoided any major disasters, and gained a position. I’ll take that!
And most importantly—I felt confident on the track by the end. So confident, in fact, that I raced the next GRDC Coach Dave Delta World Sprint Championship round at Portimão in a hypercar—without the line assist.
What are your opinions on the line assist? Tell me in the comment section!
“What are your opinions on the line assist? Tell me in the comment section!”
