Congrats to Sean and Gaetano for completing the podium and also to all finishers who earned some very well deserved points.
Qualify (1st):
For some reasons I wasn't that nervous as I'm usually in super pole. I pushed hard in the out lap to get a feeling for the very slightly damp track (at least damp besides the racing line?). For the timed lap I decided to drive a little bit more careful than usually but therefore as precise as possible, because the grip on the racing line was much better than beside it. It worked very well and I ended up on pole with a 1:06:6xx with a 0,2 seconds gap to Sean in second position.
Race (1st):
Here's the 2-stop-strategy I planned to use and exactly did in the race.
1st stint: 24 laps - 77 liters - soft compound
2nd stint: 24 laps - 77 liters - soft compound
3rd stint: 13 laps - 42 liters - super soft compound
It’s very interesting to read that some guys did all three stints on super softs!
I had a very good start and therefore T1 for my own. In the mirror I saw David T. spin on the inside of T1 and Tim slip through into P2. I was glad to see on the standings that everyone could go on without many problems. I'm also happy that David finished in a very good 4th position though.
Now I was under pressure of Tim for the whole first stint. The gap was always between 1 and 3 seconds, so I was forced to drive without any mistake. That was exciting and exhausting at the same time, because there was no mistake allowed. Very well done Tim!
Tim was 3 seconds behind me when he stopped at the end of lap 21 or so. I was sure that he could steal my P1 if I go on with worn tires until I pit after 24 laps to stay with my strategy. So for a short while I was wondering if I should follow him next lap and change strategy to 3 equal stints all on softs. But I decided to stay with my strategy and give him a chase then (at least in the 3rd stint on super softs). I pushed the tires hard until I came in after 24 laps and the stop itself worked pretty well. So to my surprise I came back on the track in 1st position, again 3 seconds in front of Tim.
Now the second stint was a carbon copy of the first one. A great chase by Tim garnished with some tricky lapping maneuvers.
I like to add here, that each lapping maneuver was very safe for me. So thank you all for the awareness. I also like to point out that no one needs to worry I could loose some time behind him! That's racing and I wouldn't be angry loosing a position because of a lapping maneuver. I prefer to wait behind someone until the next straight offers a safe place instead of being forced to lap during a tricky section of corners. Be sure I take care of you!...
When Tim came into the pits for the second time (I think end of lap 42 or so) I had opened a gap to approximately 9 seconds to him. So again I had to be smooth but quick on my worn softs until the end of lap 48. When I came in I expected Tim to overtake me and I was awaiting a nice fight on super softs for the last 13 laps. But somehow I came back on track in P1 with a 9 seconds lead. That surprised me but could be due to a smooth stop with refueling only 42 liters.
The gap stayed consistent but I still didn’t feel safe, because one mistake could mean a DNF at this track. In the middle of the 3rd stint suddenly Tim was out of the race. At that moment I didn’t know the reason but I felt very, very sorry for him, because his chase on me deserved to be rewarded with P2 in the end.
To keep the last laps exciting and not to make a mistake because of not being focused anymore I tried to squeeze out the super softs, also to get some useful data how much the wear. And so I finished in 1st with a comfortable gap to Sean who was now in second and also deserves this result very much.
I have to give in that A1 Ring wasn’t the most wanted track by me but it was a challenge to race there and I’m glad that many drivers had close racing throughout the whole race.
Thx very much to Nicolai, RD and MMG – as always it was a pleasure to race with this mod in this league!
PS: I like the new point system. When looking at the standings it feels good to see the close battle between all drivers.
