01.11.2025

 Misano – Stupid Is What Stupid Does

It was a beautiful day in Misano — the kind of day where you actually show up on time, with confidence, data, and a plan. This time, I wasn’t panicking. This time, I had ChatGPT, four presets, and the illusion of control.

In practice, I was running a modest 1:36.9, but by the time the warmup ended, I somehow hit 1:35.4. Not bad. Confidence level: rising.

Then came qualifying.
I used my “expert preset” (thank you, future AI overlord ), focusing on tyre pressures. My theory — which I totally invented — is that tyre pressures should stay roughly the same on average throughout the lap. So, I dropped the right side by 0.6 psi. And guess what? The M4 flew. Final time: 1:36.3. Starting P22 out of 30. Only 3 seconds off the fastest. That’s half the gap from last week. Progress! Then came the race.
Butterflies in my stomach, formation lap, green box, hands sweaty. This time, I even calculated fuel properly: 2.55L per lap × 18 laps = 47L.
Easy. Perfect. What could go wrong? Everything.

Apparently, my fuel consumption decided to go up — to 2.77L per lap. Because why not? So halfway through the race, I realised: “Oh, crap, I might not make it.”
Cue short shifting for two laps before pit stop. And then… magic.
Right before entering the pits, the car runs out of fuel.
But it still rolls. The limiter kicks in, and I’m thinking — “Yes! I made it! I’m a genius!”

Except… 10 centimeters before my pit box, I hit the brakes.
And stopped.
Completely.
No fuel. No motion. Just me, sitting there, watching my name fall on the standings like autumn leaves I waved my hands. Nothing. I yelled at the screen. Still nothing.
After one minute of existential pain, I pressed “Return to Garage.” It worked… kind of. So it turns out pit crew just does their job and it is not their responsibility to move me to place. I miss GT7, much friendlier pit crew. Two minutes later, back on track, fuel full, spirit empty. HUD said I hadn’t served my pit stop.
“Sim racing my ass.” Back to pits again. This time, it worked. Came out P28 and finished there.
Best pace ever. Worst pit stop ever.
But hey — that’s racing. You fix one mistake and find a brand new one waiting for you next week.

Next time, maybe I’ll bring an extra liter. Or two. Or a priest. Blue Dragon Racing | Sceleton 1.0 – rolling on fumes but never giving up. 

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