Well I had really looked forward to this event and mostly because the track was very fast and felt it was going to be very suited to my skill set.
Had practiced in many cars and had settled on the Lacetti 07 car. VEry very raceable and not just a hotlap model.
Set off in Q and notice I am really nailing my lap.(added pressure) Having adjusted my line for Q I have picked up the pace considerably. My only bobble is the fast 4th gear right hander and it costs me about .2 based on past MOTEC info.
So I Grid P4 and am .75 faster then my pb from previous sessions. Even gets a remark from
Keith about my new found speed. YOU just don't miss a thing do ya man?
R1 L1 I get a very good start holding my position with a 3 wide crew of
BRandon flanked by
Kevin and William right up my tail and
Dariusz trying to find visibility through the group. I am following Rhys into the kink. at the last second he DARTS left just missing the outside curb at 125MPH.
Well I don't get moved over in time and hit the curb hard upsetting the car badly. I try to keep it on track and realize thats impossible and steer straight to avoid coming across the track and creating a MASSIVE incident. Rsponsibility during failure is the highest form of flattery to those you could screw? yeah sure
I resume in 19th with a call from my car chief that Suspension damage has been sustained. Well we'l see if my effort to try and side swipe the tires to avoid a bent car worked well. AND IT DID! The car seems to be pretty normal!
Tony , Michael, Daniel, glenn and Abdul are all off track as I come through the T2/3 area.
Dariusz and Linus are off track also and dangerously close to the T3 apex! They resume ahead of me while
Kevin is off track laft of the T3 exit.
I am now P13 behind Bill K in the Alfa. I follow
Bill to a bad spot on the track and drop the right rear before the bridge at turn 7 and lose it again. Man am I happy now.
Get it going again in P16 w/
Michael C right on me. Well I can trust
Michael so I have that going for me right now...........
L2 I am chasing
Glenn and Daniel. My goal is to get past them by the end of this lap. I pass
Glenn when he pulls an Eric and follows my tracks off the kink to the beach. I catch
Daniel when he joins
Bill willie and Tony all battling hard. I am cautious and waiting for a proper spot to over take.
Daniel executes a test book pass on
Bill at the righthander at Pitlane inside and this leaves me a lane to do likewise. I am P14 and pressuring
Daniel.
L3 I still chase
Daniel but pass
Willie who goes off track exiting the FAST right hander T6.
Kevin is now on me also about 1 length back.
Daniel FINALLY bobbles and I pass him exactly like he passed
Bill the lap prior.
L4 I am P12 and gaining very quickly on a certain
VOLVO driver from the AMS event. HE bobbles T6 and kills his speed. I nail the corner and am on the edge when he jumps back on track and jumps over about a full car width barely maintaining control. I pull right as hard as I can without spinning and clip his right rear w/ my left headlight and this accelerates him some and slows me. I hold the inside line with momentum going to T7 at the tire bridge. I am 3 widths off line and get a smooch from him pushing me further right a hair. he then falls in directly behind me. (way off the racing line) I brake and he just crushes me off track and into the wall. he then comes flying in and nails me while I am against the tires and I have terminal damage. Can't say I have seen a BS move like that since the early days of public racing.........
I am out of the race and finish DFL.
I go downstairs to get a beverage and calm down. I need to or I am gonna be ugly in R2.
R2. I get to start DFL. Well we'll see if I can race my way up and stay clean doing it.
L1 I get a good start and pass
Bill K . Hey P18 oh joy! Willie is right of me and we are Gaining on
Glenn,
Rhys and
Tony. I lift early to avoid another issue at the kink.
Linus goes off track at T1 and
PAUL WOOD goes hurtling backward into the armco! I get to T4 and there is a MASSIVE melee going on and I slip around the outside safely and get going unscathed. I am P14 behind Linus and
BILL K.
Tony O loses it entering T6 and forces
Bill K and Keith to drive off track to avoid him. I am gifted P11.
Chasing
Linus still I manage to pass him just before the right hander at pitlane entry. I got a good run on him and he brakes a bit early to let me by even though he has position but is behind. Thanks
Linus thats intelligent driving on your part! Now
L2 I am chasing
Willie about 1 length ahead. Wille has a tough time in the T1/2 area and goesa creening across T2. I hold tight inside and get past him.
Dariusz and Mark are reentering just ahead of me having gone off track together it seems. I get past them and am now P7! hmmmm this is going better than expected this early!
I see
MIchael C up ahead and know I am in fr a real battle to get past him. I bobble T6 but save the car1 damn!
Dariusz gets by me and now I have to chase my old
PUBLIC SERVER PAL SWIDER! I am P8.
L3 I am trying to run SUPER TIDY fast laps and hope
Dariusz can mess something up and I get by. (please god if you..............)
I gain on him all through th track and he has a bobble at T6 and I am inside him going to the bridge. I could force the issue here but elect to brake early and get back on line and look for a better opportunity.
Dariusz is sliding around and I can put my car almost anywhere it seems so I'll wait him out.
We get door to door on the straight going to the double rights at pitlane entry but again I am to far off line to make this work well and I let off and we maintain positions.
L4 Still chasing
SWIDER but
MIchael is getting larger so this is good all the way around. We work hard and gain on
Michael but I have not passed
Dariusz. Then he just straightlines the fast left and comes back on track. Thats different! HE enters the right hander at pit entry wide and slow I hold off and he shoots right and into the pits! woooof! thats was close man!
L5 I am now P6 and chasing
Michael C. he has about 2.3 sedonds on me. I run a super clean fast lap and cut his lead in half.
L6 I call the pits for my two tires service the next time by. Chase
Michael!
Michael ends up going ugly through T1/2 and I get by as he trys to stay clear getting back on the racing surface. I am P5! WOW!
Come in for my stop and just nail the whole sequence! maximium speed on the entry road, brake to the good max speed at the timing mark and nail the stop point inthe stall! 7.2 seconds for tires I am GONE!
L7 I reume in P10. wonder how many have yet to pit? LEts run some clean fast laps and maybe I can gain on Kevin who was about 3.5 seconds ahead when I pitted.
L8 I sail by the pits and gain 3 spots. P7! I see
Kevin resuming after his stop. I am at max speed and have to brak epretty hard not to ram him in the kink! I have GAINED A TON! We are tidy through T1-3. At tT4
Kev goes wide. I use the curb to HOOK me around on the insode and I get even with him going to 5 and have a bit of positive overlap entering T5 the fast left. I think I leave him enough room bt we touch. I am slding in 5th gear and manage to save it and keep the pass.....WOOOOOF!
Kevin gives a SORRY BOUT THAT ERIC over TS and we agree its no big deal just hard racing!
I am now P5!
L9 I pass
Keith who is in the pits but coming out for P4. I run clean the rest of the way and get points from a DFL start!
I finish in 6th overall for the event and wonder what might have been had I not runn off R1L1T1 and been summarily removed from competition on my way to a possible 7th in R1.
Thanks to Yves and Rd for a fun event!
See ya'll next week!
Recap video of race 2 from my car
