Congratulations Iestyn and Pelle! That was a great race for the win! I got a laugh out of Iestyn clipping the kerb at Maggotts. That was the only left hander I didn't have much trouble with. I'd run wide there on cold tires but once warm I had no problems at all. Excellent job Iestyn, staying off Pelle when he spun in front of you at Abbey.
That was a very lucky podium for me. I sure wasn't expecting it. I didn't even think attrition might get me there. I knew Rob and Iestyn would be significantly faster than me. I thought Clive, Bob, and Jethro would likely qualify in front of me with their large stash of tokens. And I had forgot about Pelle and Peter. I wasn't counting out Ray or Donnie either. And I wouldn't count out Dean if he had an Eagle or Lotus.
I didn't do as well as I would have liked in Q. I was consistently getting a 1:27.3* or better in my practicing. I was hoping I might get lucky and break into the 26s. I wasn't concerned with Pelle qualifying in front of me. Nor would I have been if Clive Qed in front of me. I kept thinking Clive and Jethro would eclipse my time and I was concerned with falling too far back. In the end though, I was very pleased with 4th.
4th in Q, was actually an excellent place for me to start. Peter's Cooper couldn't apply much pressure while my tires were cold. The three men in front were easily able to pull away from me on the start, leaving me open track ahead. Once the tires were warm the car drove pretty good. I was careful not to clip the kerbs or carry too much speed into Stowe thus causing me to spin. I wasn't able to drive exceptionally consistent though. The first 1/3 of the race I was trying to keep up with Pelle, the second 1/3 trying to maintain the gap to Clive, and the third 1/3 hoping to pass Pelle or Iestyn if they spun. Plus the last 4 laps, I tried to get a 26. I was consistent enough though. That's what kept me in front of Clive plus his poor Q and early handicap working his way through traffic. Clive reduced the gap from 10-11 seconds, when he got behind me, down to 6 seconds when he clipped the kerb at Chapel. That extra 5 seconds was all I needed.
The plan was to do a sub26.
Gosh! You're trying to destroy our morale?
Slow rejoin cost me almost 20s
The only good thing you can say about that was, it was an incredibly safe rejoin and showed an extreme amount of patience.
Was able to get by Greg who went wide at Abbey
Thanks for the earlier practice. I made the same mistake when we were practicing together. I went between the haybales and the bridge to get back on the track. When practicing, the bump from crossing the access road put me in a slide resulting in a devastating collision with the bridge. I was prepared for the bump when it happened in the race. Stupid me, looked at my mirror too long. I was still at full throttle when well past my lifting point. I wasn't too worried when I ran wide with all the runoff room and the many many times I've run wide Abbey. It was good though. It quickly solved the question of, how long do I hold you up and when and where do I let you by if you don't just pass me sooner.
Major dent in my championship hopes
That's almost the exact thought I had immediately after I noticed you were out of the race.
I enjoyed the race. Racing at Silverstone with UKGPL was special to me. It's a shame that my excellent finishing position is mostly due to the diminishing number of drivers in GPL. I can only imagine what a spectacle Silverstone with UKGPL would have been in the heyday of GPL. Sorry Rob! But I was hoping Iestyn would win. It seems fitting that a Brit should win this race. The same goes for Clive getting fast lap. Don't worry Rob, the next time we're in Holland, I'll be cheering for you and Tom.
I'm looking forward to the next race too. Once again we're going to the forests and mountains of Germany. I hope the Vogelsberg Mountains are as rewarding to me as the Eifel Mountains. It's a new track to me but I got some laps yesterday in a 166. It's much smoother than Nurburgring and luckily it appears much easier to learn too. I ought to enjoy this track immensely once I get a feel for it.
Speaking of Germany, it was good to see Andreas maintaining his consistency and courtesy. Thanks for letting me by so quickly. You could have waited another turn or two. I usually don't get impatient with lapped cars until I've followed them through at least two or three turns. I hope your recovery goes well.
Nice job Donnie on most consistent!
My commiserations to all the unfortunate drivers.
Poor Jethro! You can't get a break. I've been guessing for weeks that you don't have any time to practice. A lack of practice? pales in comparison to your horrendous luck though.
Thanks guys.