Couldn't qually here as I was just too sloppy and ended up in 4th with a possible 1:53.4 showing in prib
But......
I got a demon start and was right up into 2nd and H's gearbox by T2
, which is more or less where I remained for a lot of the early race.
Once into my stride I found that H wasn't actually much faster than me anywhere barring the sharp hairpin before the massive straight. I couldn't launch out of that to save my life whereas H was fantastic at it.
Luckily my Pilfered BRM motor gave my enough power to catch up with (and on a few occaisions pass) Hristo before the end of the straight.
From about lap 4 I started trying to scrap as I noticed I had both the straightline speed advantage,
and the speed advantage (normally) through the fast esses section - Hristo could then equal me from there to the above mentioned hairpin where he had the clear advantage again.
We changed possitions several times and managed to stay clean but then on the (9th?) lap Hristo just vanished from behind while braking up the steep hill. I don't know if it was screen freeze or he hit the escape key for some reason but he just vanished. Don't think it was me as I think I braked in the normal place and he was far enough back to avoid me
Big pity as it was shaping up to be a monstrous battle
After that my laptimes (and engine temps!) dropped a bit as I was still very sloppy from having had H's draft as a safety net, and this allowed Tom to start gaining on me.
Luckily he started to go slower as I started to tidy my driving up and go faster again, resulting in a relatively safe win for me
Big hand to Tom for a solid drive to 2nd and Fulvio for an equally solid drive to the final podium spot
Also well done all finishers, and bad luck to the people with technical faults - I know there are a few of you
Have just noticed the championship tables - looks like the final race is going to determine the top 4 positions at the very least!
And I'm now in 1st (that's also a first in this championship I think!)