So Suzuka, one of the tracks I hate the most so it was no surprise to me that I was really struggling with this track in the build-up. I saw a few times during the week which made me think I was way off the pace but with some help and encouragement from Lee on Sunday afternoon, I managed to get settled with a decent pace. I knew I wasn't going to be at the front on 1 lap pace so took a gamble and went with a lower downforce setting to allow me to overtake in the race. As it turned out, it was also my fastest setup over one lap so I went with it.
Quali: I opened up with a 32.8 but made a small mistake. When I saw I dropped to 12th, I thought this was going to be hard to be anywhere near the top. But as the session went on I moved up the order without improving my times much, until the final lap where I set a PB to take 6th. When I studied the times closer, I saw how little there was between 4th and 12th.
Race: Got a terrible get away with the wheels spinning up and I nearly put it in the pit wall. Managed to save it but dropped to 10th before gettin back past Martin in turns 1 and 2. I knew I only had to stay close to the cars in front through sector one to make use of my car later in the lap and into the hairpin, it all got tight and Martin managed to pull alongside. I managed to keep ahead on the run down to Spoon before driving past Wayne on the run down to 130R thanks to my top speed advantage. On lap 2, I had a little look down the inside of Andreas into Spoon but backed out to see if I could pass him down the next straight. Unfortunately, by the time I got close, 130R was close and the yellow flags were out with smoke on the outside. We were now in a big battle for 4th, with Morton and Nico ahead of us and Martin right behind. On lap 3 I had a couple of looks down the inside of Andreas into Spoon and 130R but they cost me a lot of time in the end and I spent the next lap too far back to do anything. Into the chicane on lap 4, Nico and Morton were side-by-side which slowed Andreas down a bit allowing me to tag onto the back of the battle again with Martin a little way back now. On the next lap, Morton had one of those slow spins at the exit of turn 2 that meant he dropped right back as Nico, Andreas, myself, and Martin carefully negotiated our way past. I managed to get a good run on Andreas out of Spoon and overtook him on the inside of 130R. Nico was starting to pull away now but he span it at the exit of the hairpin. I saw this but I lost the rear on the exit, somehow managed to save it and avoid Nico but Andreas close right back up again. I ran wide at Spoon which gited the position to Andreas. I rejoined quite quickly though and coming out of the Casio Triangle, I got a really good run on him. Andreas decided to defend the inside so I decided to go for the outside and went right around the outside and took the position back. At Spoon again, I ran a bit wide in the second part of the corner which allowed Andreas back up the inside momentarily before my straight-line advantage pulled me back ahead just before 130R.
With all this battling, Martin caught right up with us and was pressuring the pair of us. For the next few laps, Andreas kept closing in on me in sector 1 and I was just able to hold him back. He got alongside me on a few occasions but he never made anything stick. On lap 13, Martin got past Andreas into turn 1 and proceeded to chase after me. Coming out of Spoon he was able to close right up on me and made a great move into 130R. I left him just enough space and we were side-by-side into the chicane with Martin later on the brakes but running a bit deep. I got a better exit but our wheels tangled a bit and he managed to keep the spot. Knowing that Martin was running a similar downforce setting to myself, I was able to hold onto the back of him through sector 1 and when he made the mistake in the hairpin, I was able to pounce and regain fourth. Martin then ran wide at Spoon to give the place back to Andreas. On lap 16, we saw Florian off the track and out of the race at turn 2 moving us all up a place. I ran wide again at Spoon and got stuck on the curb losing the place to Andreas but managed to stay ahead of Martin. I had a couple of looks down the inside of Andreas into the chicane in the next couple of laps but couldn't find a way through.
On lap 18, both Martin and I made our stops. I pulled up at the box and totally forgot about the small bit of suspension damage I picked up earlier in the race. As I forgot to remove it, the stop was an extra 7 seconds but I did get back out a few seconds clear of Martin. Andreas pitted a couple of laps later but came out 6 seconds ahead which left me rueing the pit stop error. Andreas slowly pulled away but the gap behind to Martin was staying constant. At this point I felt it was possible to overtake Morton if I could go quick enough. Around the halfway mark, my hands were in a lot of pain but I just kept pushing as hard as I could as I thought Nico was a few olaces behind and I had a chance for second in the championship. Morton made his stop and came out about 8 seconds behind. I kept pushing but I was just unable to open the gap up.
I made my second stop on lap 37 but I came out 10 seconds or so behind Morton. I was surprised however to see a black car in my mirror as I left the pits, only to realise it was Jan as he went past into turn 1. I thought he must of had a spin or something as he was a good 15 seconds ahead before he pitted. I knew I now had a chance for fourth which I felt I didn't have before the stops. I chased him down hard knowing that I had to get past him soon else he was just going to drive away. On lap 39, I got a much better exit out of the hairpin and tried to go around the outside on the run down to Spoon, I thought better of it and tucked back in behind only to have another look down the inside into Spoon. Again I thought better of it and tucked myself in behind to attack on the exit. AgainI got a good run and he decided to defend the inside, so I went for the outside and went past into 130R. After a couple of laps of being pressured hard by Jan, he made a mistake at Spoon and then at the chicane to give me a couple of seconds gap. It was around this mark that I realised it was impossible for me to win the championship as even if Jamie retired, he would still get enough points to put it out of my reach. Also, after going past a few backmarkers, I started to think Nico could be out of the race as I couldn't see any sign of him. Over the remaining laps, Jan and I were lapping at the same speed, until the last 3 laps when he started to reel me in. Luckily I managed to hold him off by less than a second to finish 4th. It was only when I saw the results that I knew Nico was definately out and I got second in the championship.
It was an absolutely fantastic race especially during my 1st and 3rd stints and I nearly got the championship win but there is always one that spoils it
. I was amazed at the amount of overtakes I was a part of in 130R and my favourite overtake has to be the one with Andreas into turn 1. How I pulled that off, I will never know.
The season has been excellent for me and I've really enjoyed it. Even with the issues I had at Barcelona, I was able to challenge for the title all the way to the end which I never thought I would do at the start of the season. I was aiming for a top 5 in the championship with a couple of top 5 finishes in the races but even that sounded like it was going to be difficult. I never fully got to grips with the car until Montreal when I realised I could run the car on 12 boost for the whole race (getting the AI to test the car at Barcelona showed that the engine would blow up just after the end on maximum radiator and lowest boost). Perhaps knowing what I do now, I could of put a stronger campaign together but I'm not going to complain. I got my first 2 podiums in league races at RD this season and 2nd in the championship exceeded all expectations.
I must thank Ivo for this superb championship, along with Jari and Ryan for the highlight videos. I would also like to thank all the drivers that competed and to those who gave me a good hard battle, I really enjoyed them. I hope to see you all next season.
P.S. Sorry for the essay.