28-10-2013, 12:35 PM
Qualify went really great for me, my second flying lap was a personal best for me and enough for pole position.
I then spent some laps trying to improve but that didn't work out so last outings I tested some more with a bit more fuel for the race.
Race 1 I knew it would be difficult to maintain first place as pole here is on the wrong side. So Rikard got the lead into T1. I saw him touching the armco a couple of times the first lap and wasn't sure if he got damage but he seemed to find good pace. As Rikard stated he drove a little away from me in the last sector but the first two sectors I was easily able to catch him again. I tried to put pressure on him but he stayed quite cool and went for his stop after 10 laps.
I still had fuel left, I tried to make the most of the clear track I had but soon I got traffic and I wondered if this was the right strategy. So after 12ish laps I went for my stop, 49 secs but low and behold, when I drove away no sign of Rikard. Then after T1 he was right behind me and I had to be very cautious not to make mistakes on my cold tires. I got into my rhythm again and was able to pull a away by very small bits but traffic made it quite hard. Then, with about 3 laps to go, I started thinking about setting reverse grid for race 2 while negotiating for the chicane. I could have thought of anything else and make the same mistake but that's how it was... I did make it through the chicane but completely lost my focus for the next corner, Tabac. I hit the the stone wall on the right quite hard which gave me suspension damage. I tried to stay off line while heading for the pit but by doing so I hit the armco on the left a couple of times and at the last hit, my left wheels got stuck somehow and it felt like my car exploded.
Engine dead, wheel gone, end of race and DNF #1. I could punch myself in the face. Though every lap was a challenge, I felt so comfortable both behind Rikard and in the lead and I just threw it away... >
So P8 for race 2. Starting in the middle of the pack made me worry but I could avoid some mess in T1 and I thought I had a chance at winning until after the Tabac corner. An incident happened there and Mel was recovering from it. I was hoping he'd stay right but probably going on throttle made his car swerve. I went for the left side and almost had passed him until he hit me. Lots of damage and I pitted immediately. It took 80 secs but at least I could continue, 23 laps on one set of tires ahead. All went fine, I got good rhythm again and quite soon I found myself behind Dj, who quite soon found himself behind Edwin Gerrits who exited pit I think. The battle was for position but I heard Dj honking to Edwin, probably to ask him to make way. So I honked along a bit. Eventually, we got past Ed and I tried to put Dj under pressure, I was quite a bit quicker. Then after Casino Square, I was so close behind I tried to outbrake Dj for the next corner. I was prepared to let go as it would have been messy if Dj closed the door on me but he didn't. He braked a bit too late I think and I took the risk, went over the sidewalk and passed him just before the hairpin. It was quite easy for me to pull away from him, soon I had a gap of about 10 secs and it seemed I was able to gain a little on Rikard as well, although he was too far away to catch. I felt nothing wrong with my tires so I didn't bother to look at the state of them but at about lap 20, before entering the tunnel, I felt my rear was behaving very strange when on throttle. I managed to get clean but very slow through the chicane, David was right behind me again and I wondered what had happened to my car. No collision whatsoever, it felt like a rear left puncture... So next up Tabac but no way I was going to make that corner and so I hit the wall again. And again... And again while heading for the pit, again... repair took 230 secs. I was flabbergasted about what had happened, such a good race, with Gorka's DNF I would have been 2nd behind Rikard but now all I could do was wait and watch cars finish the race while I was still repairing... So the crew was ready, everyone finished and I tried to get on my way to finish my last lap, still in 4th place. The engine had overheated and the car still felt very strange, I missed my braking point after Casino Square and got stuck in the armco so there it was, DNF #2. > >
My mind was going haywire, initially I thought I still would get points for the positions I was in but Dj quite tactically made an end to that dream.
Performance wise I am very happy the way things went this event. Very much a shame I couldn't turn it into big points and now I may have lost the lead in the championship too...
Anyway, very well done Rikard, 2 wins and a great pic to rub it in even more
Also well done to Dj Cruickshank, mr. consistent is doing what he's good at!
Great job by those who finished
Cheers,
Marcel.
I then spent some laps trying to improve but that didn't work out so last outings I tested some more with a bit more fuel for the race.
Race 1 I knew it would be difficult to maintain first place as pole here is on the wrong side. So Rikard got the lead into T1. I saw him touching the armco a couple of times the first lap and wasn't sure if he got damage but he seemed to find good pace. As Rikard stated he drove a little away from me in the last sector but the first two sectors I was easily able to catch him again. I tried to put pressure on him but he stayed quite cool and went for his stop after 10 laps.
I still had fuel left, I tried to make the most of the clear track I had but soon I got traffic and I wondered if this was the right strategy. So after 12ish laps I went for my stop, 49 secs but low and behold, when I drove away no sign of Rikard. Then after T1 he was right behind me and I had to be very cautious not to make mistakes on my cold tires. I got into my rhythm again and was able to pull a away by very small bits but traffic made it quite hard. Then, with about 3 laps to go, I started thinking about setting reverse grid for race 2 while negotiating for the chicane. I could have thought of anything else and make the same mistake but that's how it was... I did make it through the chicane but completely lost my focus for the next corner, Tabac. I hit the the stone wall on the right quite hard which gave me suspension damage. I tried to stay off line while heading for the pit but by doing so I hit the armco on the left a couple of times and at the last hit, my left wheels got stuck somehow and it felt like my car exploded.
Engine dead, wheel gone, end of race and DNF #1. I could punch myself in the face. Though every lap was a challenge, I felt so comfortable both behind Rikard and in the lead and I just threw it away... >
So P8 for race 2. Starting in the middle of the pack made me worry but I could avoid some mess in T1 and I thought I had a chance at winning until after the Tabac corner. An incident happened there and Mel was recovering from it. I was hoping he'd stay right but probably going on throttle made his car swerve. I went for the left side and almost had passed him until he hit me. Lots of damage and I pitted immediately. It took 80 secs but at least I could continue, 23 laps on one set of tires ahead. All went fine, I got good rhythm again and quite soon I found myself behind Dj, who quite soon found himself behind Edwin Gerrits who exited pit I think. The battle was for position but I heard Dj honking to Edwin, probably to ask him to make way. So I honked along a bit. Eventually, we got past Ed and I tried to put Dj under pressure, I was quite a bit quicker. Then after Casino Square, I was so close behind I tried to outbrake Dj for the next corner. I was prepared to let go as it would have been messy if Dj closed the door on me but he didn't. He braked a bit too late I think and I took the risk, went over the sidewalk and passed him just before the hairpin. It was quite easy for me to pull away from him, soon I had a gap of about 10 secs and it seemed I was able to gain a little on Rikard as well, although he was too far away to catch. I felt nothing wrong with my tires so I didn't bother to look at the state of them but at about lap 20, before entering the tunnel, I felt my rear was behaving very strange when on throttle. I managed to get clean but very slow through the chicane, David was right behind me again and I wondered what had happened to my car. No collision whatsoever, it felt like a rear left puncture... So next up Tabac but no way I was going to make that corner and so I hit the wall again. And again... And again while heading for the pit, again... repair took 230 secs. I was flabbergasted about what had happened, such a good race, with Gorka's DNF I would have been 2nd behind Rikard but now all I could do was wait and watch cars finish the race while I was still repairing... So the crew was ready, everyone finished and I tried to get on my way to finish my last lap, still in 4th place. The engine had overheated and the car still felt very strange, I missed my braking point after Casino Square and got stuck in the armco so there it was, DNF #2. >
>My mind was going haywire, initially I thought I still would get points for the positions I was in but Dj quite tactically made an end to that dream.
Performance wise I am very happy the way things went this event. Very much a shame I couldn't turn it into big points and now I may have lost the lead in the championship too...
Anyway, very well done Rikard, 2 wins and a great pic to rub it in even more
Also well done to Dj Cruickshank, mr. consistent is doing what he's good at!
Great job by those who finished
Cheers,
Marcel.
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