Given my qualifying results I didn't expect better than an also ran here - After the bump at the end of lap 1 I found myself elevated from 6th on the grid to 1st by the time I crossed the line!
Alex used Ferrari power (and just a spot of drafting
) to retake the lead the following lap and I practically handed the race to him a few corners later when I span
Luckily I didn't hit anything/one and contined about 3 seconds down, thanks to some blistering driving by Alex the gap stayed hovering between 3/4 seconds until pretty much the halfway point when I started to gain on him slowly - wether I was driving faster or he was starting to suffer I don't know, but as I was getting close enough to reach drafting distance he span at Forrest's Elbow. Some how I managed to drift around him dispite my banzai speed and reclaimed a healthy lead
Here the story and exitment should have ended except Raoni was now behind me in second and was flying!
As the laps slowly came down so did the gap back to him, I increased my pace and started giving my engine more abuse, Raoni would then answer by upping his pace even more
Eventually he started getting close so as I was in a Brabham and at an Australian circuit I chose to employ one of Black Jack's own tricks - I purposly started running 1 or more wheels onto the dirt both inside and outside the track when on the mountain's corners
While it wouldn't result in stones being thrown at Raoni I reasoned that anything that would help obsure the track behind me had a chance of working to slow him
It didn't.
And with 2 to go he finally latched right onto the back of me as we entered Conrod straight.
Here I was able to note - as he passed me - that his top gear was slightly shorter than mine (he was running a totally different gear set from what I could hear) which was my only remaining chance of victory.
So I knuckled down behind him for the final lap and did everything I could to remain close for that last blast down Conrod....
And it worked, admittedly it nearly went horribly wrong as I pulled out from behind him on the final brow and ended up sliding onto the grass but I was hurled past and into the lead (just!). I then reasoned that as Raoni was very good under breaking (how?! He races on keys!
) I'd have to perform a do or die late breaking maneuver dispite my problems with the rear brakes at this section of the circuit.
Somehow I managed to pull it off and with a huge drift around the outside of Murrey's I was in the lead as we powered up the finish straight for the last time
Raoni deffinatly had the faster car so I'm very pleased with this win, congrats to Raoni and Alex for 2nd & 3rd, and of course to all who finished - and commiserations to Joe for being in the wrong place at the wrong time