Talk:Fearless/@comment-27123099-20171230105203

I started on the 2nd day, so, I just had Stage 7 unlock for me a few hours ago. Here's my rundown of most of Stage 6, as well as Stage 7.

6.1 - No problem, easy peasy. I think I was at 1111131 for this attempt.

6.2 - Toughest race in Stage 6 for sure. Tilt B, TC Off, BA Off, SA Low. I gave it multiple attempts, upgrading a bit, then trying more, until I eventually upgraded to 1133333, PR 102.8. Once I hit that upgrade level, I managed to pass on my 2nd or 3rd attempt. Goal was 195.66KPH, I trounced it with 197.53.

6.3 - Tilt A, BA Low, SA, Low, TC Off. This one took me, I think 3 attempts, but the first 2 ended due to error on my end and going off track. On my 3rd attempt, I managed a complete lap without off-track, and won with plenty of time to spare. Finished in 1:24.719.

6.4 - Tilt B (forced), BA Low, SA Low, TC Off. Won this one on my 1st attempt. Just a matter of coasting to slow down and not relying on brakes nearly as much. Also, once I caught 1st place, I nudged him a few times to push him off track and give me some space. This allowed me to cool the engine more and gave me plenty of wiggle room.

7.1 - Tilt A, BA Low, SA Low, TC Off. Beat this on my 2nd attempt. I actually had a really good run going on my 1st attempt, but I screwed up on the last lap and lost 4th place. I caught the bots easily though and made it to 4th place without trouble. On my 2nd attempt, I actually got up to 1st place and I proceeded to mess around with Zoe a bit and pushed her off track and out of 1st place. On the 4th lap, I dropped back to 4th place and finished there with a slight lead over 5th place. I doubt bot management does much on SE's any longer, but old habits die hard.

7.2 - Tilt B, BA Off, SA Low, TC Off. Most difficult race of Stage 7 for me, but mostly due to my own faults. I'm not used to driving with no assists, so it was more a matter of finding my braking points and setting up my turns. I stayed full throttle from the start, through the Esses, up until the next to last shadow on the track before Degner 1 (maybe 50yds?). There, I let off the throttle briefly (no brake), made the turn and accelerated again at the apex. Setting up the Degner 2 turn was what took me the longest to figure out. I'd seem to always be too fast and would fly off the track, resulting in multiple retries. I managed to make it through finally with a bit of coasting and some timely braking. After that, setting up my entry for the hairpin wasn't too difficult. I skidded out a few times, but eventually nailed it and won. I needed to be at about 120-121mph average before slowing for the hairpin in order to finish with my average above the required 114mph.

7.3 - Tilt A, BA Low, SA Low, TC Off. This race also took me several attempts, but not because it was difficult, more due to me making mistakes and/or not making solid passes by bots and sending myself spinning, or off track, or otherwise losing too much time. On my winning attempt, I made my way to the outside of the first turn, passed several bots there (made it to 9th place after turn 1), then I worked my way through the Esses and passed more bots (up to 4th place after the Esses). I got to 2nd after Degner 1, then caught up to Zoe on Degner 2. I built up about 10sec of tailgating time on Zoe before the hairpin. After the hairpin, I added some more time, but Zoe pulled too far ahead, leaving me with 19.2sec of the 20sec I needed. But, I caught Zoe again once we got to the Spoon corner. I picked up my remaining time there and stayed close to Zoe down the straight. I passed her pretty easily after the 130R kink and I stayed in the lead easily from there, even slowing down the Pit Lane straight to finish with Zoe about 8yds behind me.

So, I managed to get through Stage 7 without having to add any further upgrades beyond what I had for much of Stage 6. This makes me hopeful. I'm really trying to stay at all 3's or less if I can help it. However, seeing what some of the early reports are for Stage 8, I'm a bit fearful. Fortunately, Mt. Panorama is one of my favorite tracks, and I'm pretty decent on Melbourne as well. Driving without assists though is still my downfall. I guess I'll see where I stand tomorrow!