The second bend after the front straight into the entrance to Avenida da Boavista is among the most dangerous ones we'll see on the calendar in this race series. I hope that we all try to keep our aggression under control on the first lap at least until the field is through those bales and decently sorted out. Under the best of conditions there is not the tiniest room for error in that eye of a needle. And even if no one has gone to heaven or a hospital in the first 30 seconds of the race, I'll still bet that the following two 90^o left-handers will produce at least three accidents altogether. If I'm wrong, you can call me Sally.

Porto is a Portuguese word that means, "Where broken dreams go to die."

First, I want to thank Matt for being online the day before the race so that I could see his braking markers. He was outstopping me in every crucial turn on the track. I knew these F2s didn't have the binders of the '67 cars but something else clearly was going on. It turned out to be a simple case of my not having calibrated the pedals quite carefully enough. By the time our online session was through, I'd reduced my lap times from the 1:37s to 1:34s. I wish every online practice could produce results like that.

Second, it became immediately apparent in the opening minutes of qualifying that I was going to need every bit of help I could manage to be competitive. Matt was in another league up front, that I knew going in, but I was surprised at the times that Dave Curtis was cranking out. We traded positions directly behind Matt a couple of times, but he finally won out, beating my own PB by half a second. OK, in this crowd being third on the grid is nothing to sneeze at.

Third, Dave and I got good starts at the drop of the flag as Matt completely bogged down. I gave some thought to just letting him recover on his own, but then I saw that a Mclaren was coming up behind me on the inside like one of Wagner's Valkyries, seeming to be accelerating even as I began to brake for T1. I could see that I'd be leading the race in about half a second when Roo, the McLaren kamikaze pilot, knocked Curtis, the leader, and himself into the next time zone with a collision at the apex of T1.

Now I'm going to pause here and repeat what I just said, because it bears repeating: This accident --- wholly preventable and completely unnecessary by the application of even a trace of logic, experience, or common sense --- occurred at the apex of T1. In every UKGPL event I've run until today, this sentence has been singled out for particular attention on the race detail page: "Drivers are reminded that Lap 1 incidents carry an extra 1 place penalty." Why is this admonition even necessary? Even the dullest rookie must understand that you can't win the race on T1 but you can lose it there, or cause someone else to lose it. And surely there must be some comprehension that if you've qualified fifth of nine, there are four guys ahead of you who got there because they're actually faster than you are. With all due respect, this kind of conduct doesn't merit a one-place drop in the standings; I would argue that the only way this behavior is ever going to be controlled is by relegating the offender to the back of the qualifying pack for the next three races.

So I held onto the lead for five laps until Matt managed to find his way through the field. As soon as he appeared in my mirrors, I let him by without a fight because, as I mentioned, he's five times faster than I am. Case closed. I dueled variously with Paul, David, and finally Dave Curtis. He tried for 17 straight laps to find a way around me but apparently when two Coopers are joined at the hip, the draft doesn't mean much in F2 cars. I let him by on L27 when it was clear to me that he wasn't going to crash out on his own. Why would I do that? Well, he was able to find the code name for the Moroccan flag at Ain Diab for my seasons folder last September, and in gratitude for his effort, I promised him an uncontested pass at the next opportunity. I missed one opportunity in an earlier event, but at least I remembered it this time. I just didn't know it was going to cost me second place. 

I qualified 3rd with a PB behind Ricardo and Moses. I made contact with Dave on an early lap --- I don't have the replay so I am not sure what happened --- but I survived though he apparently lost a good chunk of time. Some laps later I was still in third with a 20-second lead over the guy behind me and then blew the Brab's engine. I hadn't had a blown engine once in the previous two weeks.

Off to Porto, a track that may remain forever a mystery to me.

This was by far the best season that I've had in UKGPL, despite finishing third overall in the standings and having completed only half the races. I took the pole three times in six tries (with a second at Mexico) and won Ain Diab from pole to pole, something I'd never done before. But we all know that for a championship season you not only have to finish races but to do so consistently and well. I clearly failed to do that.

This evening I had a PB to take the pole, led four or five laps, and then missed the entrance into T1. In trying to recover, I over-revved the Lotus engine and produced more smoke than speed as a result of my inept efforts. I'd had a five-second lead, but I knew from on-line practice that Matt had the talent to overtake me if I couldn't keep him behind me, and overtake me he promptly did. I retired with a blown engine. Still, I've had worse efforts and worse seasons. I'll look forward to calmer waters in the season to come.

I trust that there is complete agreement that the pit lane, well marked with a solid line, is NOT to be used as a passing lane, especially when the green flag drops.

There will be a link to it when the results are posted tomorrow.

I had a PB in qualifying that gave me the pole by 1.25 seconds over Moises, but he too was in a Lotus and I knew from bitter experience that even if I could hold him off for a while, he would eventually wear me out. And if he couldn't do it, then there was Dimitar (a new guy in UKGPL but known to me for his steady driving recently in the oAo winter series), Dave Rainier, and Eric right behind who would happily make my life as miserable as they could.

It didn't take long. With my masterfully inept entry into T1 --- known as Hell's Corner for obvious reasons --- after the green flag dropped, I found myself running third behind Moises and Dimitar. On L4 Dave got by me when I made a mistake near Frog Hollow, and Eric passed me when I made smacked the car into the Armco barrier at Sulman Park. Somehow the Lotus seemed unaffected by the battering I was giving it, but I was just angry with myself at that point. I knew I could turn good laps but I'd been acting like the rawest rookie. "Just put your head down and drive this beautiful car instead of kicking it down the track."

It didn't take me long to catch Eric's Honda. That put me 16 seconds behind Dave. I caught him on L14 when he lost it coming out of the final corner of the esses. Now I was back in 3rd, 18 seconds behind Dimitar. On the very next lap Moises, the leader, had a contact with a backmarker approaching the final corner. That gave Dimitar the lead. But he retired after blowing his motor cresting the end of the straight. That gave the lead back to Moises and put me in 2nd, where I was more than happy to finish.

Bad timing, but we're hundreds of miles away from the worst of the activity. Our only worry now is whether the international airport may disappear into the sea before our flight out next Wednesday.

This evening I will be making an appearance on the grid with a BRM for tokens only, as I am sitting right now in a hotel in Myvatn, Iceland, possibly the most distant place from human civilization that I have ever been in my life. But I've got a good WiFi signal, so I should be able to cross the S/F line at least to begin L1. I wish all the best, since Roswell may be the second most distant point I have strayed from humanity. It really is in hell's back yard.

And Lasse is one of the most alien of the aliens, which is appropriate for Roswell NM.

Are you happy with that pass, Pereira?

This is the third time I've raced here and it will be the last. I have never done a single lap at this place that made me say, "Gee, that was fun. I think I'll do it again." I finally understand why they haven't raced cars at this place in 68 years. Anyway, congrats to the podium. That couldn't have been easy to do, fun or not.

I made the first of the remarks but I confess I don't have a clue what "need to make an appointment with spec savers" means. What I do know is that you and Daum, running next to last and last, were half a second ahead of the two leaders on L15 coming out of Leeukop, the last corner, and both of you ran flat out right up to the entrance to T1. You had more than 20 seconds to yield to their legitimate effort to overtake the two of you but neither of you let up for a single moment during that entire time/distance. I don't understand that sort of behavior, but if you can justify it, I'll be happy to listen.

I took the flag today for the 10 tokens but I'm in a hotel 3,000 miles from home so I retired the car but stayed online to watch. I'm sorry I did. I've seen some pretty bad examples of how not to race over the years, but some of the crap that was going out there today was almost unbelievable. I saw backmarkers racing the leaders down the front straight. I saw other backmarkers who seemed completely oblivious to cars trying to overtake them. Then there was the car that lost its left front wheel coming out of the esses. Did he retire the car,  it being a three-wheeled menace on the track at that point? Of course not. He continued on, only to crash out for keeps in T1 of the following lap. I don't care if you're racing in junior league go karts: That kind of conduct is unacceptable.

Are there any actual rules in this league, or is this going to be just another Sunday at the Dodge 'Em Kars rink at the amusement park?

I'll be happy to do it. Thanks for the info.