Okay, let’s talk about today’s session, focusing on FP2 at Silverstone.
Getting Started
Right, so the plan was to get some solid practice time in simulate the second practice session conditions at Silverstone. First things first, had to get the rig powered up. Sometimes it feels like half the battle is just getting everything booted and talking to each other, you know?
Fired up the PC, waited for everything to load. Then launched the sim software. Decided to go with the usual setup I’ve been running lately, felt comfortable with it.
Setup and Tuning
Selected the Silverstone track, obviously. Weather conditions were set to mimic what you might expect for an afternoon session – a bit warmer track, maybe some cloud cover. Then picked the car I wanted to run. Spent a bit of time in the setup screen before heading out.
- Checked the fuel load, didn’t want to be too heavy but needed enough for a decent run.
- Played around with the tyre pressures a bit. Always a bit of guesswork there, trying to find the sweet spot.
- Made a small tweak to the rear wing, thought I’d try a click less downforce than last time. See if it helped on the straights.
Didn’t want to change too much at once, though. Keep it simple, make one change, see how it feels. That’s usually my way.
Hitting the Track
Out on track finally. The first few laps were just about getting a feel for things. The track felt okay, maybe a little low on grip initially, but it started to come in after a lap or two. The car felt alright, maybe a bit loose on corner entry, especially into the slower stuff like Village and The Loop.
Did a run of about 5-6 laps, then pitted. Wanted to check the tyre temps and wear. Looked reasonable. Decided to put that click of rear wing back on. The time gained on the straights wasn’t worth the instability I felt through Maggots and Becketts. Those corners demand respect, and the car needs to be planted.
Second run felt better. More stable through the high-speed sections. Could push a bit more confidently. Started working on consistency, hitting my braking points, getting the power down smoothly out of places like Luffield.
Had a couple of moments, ran wide at Stowe once or twice, pushing the limits. But that’s what practice is for, right? Find the edge without binning it completely. Focused on trying different lines through Brooklands and Luffield, trying to maximize the run onto the old pit straight.
Wrapping Up
Did another short run towards the end, focusing on just putting together clean laps. The setup felt pretty decent by then. Not perfect, never is, but good enough to feel like I could race it.
Ended the session there. Saved the setup changes, might be a good baseline for next time. Overall, a productive hour or so. Got some good laps in, learned a bit more about how the car behaves with minor tweaks at this specific track. Silverstone’s always a challenge, but felt like I made some progress today.
