Just back from a hernia operation..
Prepared extensively for this race. With GT running 1:40 laps, I thought I had pole in the bag, when I dipped into the low 1:39s. That was presumptuous however, as he managed to find a few more 10th, to snatch it from under my nose. Very well done in the Lola, GT!
Had practiced starting on cold tyres and full tank repeatedly offline, but right after qualy on a lighter fuel load, the much different handling characteristics of the 917 with a full tank still caught me out. Thus my first lap was a very wobbly affair, and I lost two places, dropping to 4th.
Regained 3rd, when Postal went off, and very briefly was in 2nd, when I passed Matt. A tap from him a couple of corners later send me sideways onto the grass. Lost my way momentarily, and ended up on the wrong side of the barrier. Fortunately, there wasn't any collision detection on it, so I could drive straight through, rejoining in 5th.
Passed Roger when he went off, and then made an inside move on Geezer, when exiting the Jochen-Rindt-Kurve. In 3rd then, chasing after Postal. A couple of laps later, he went wide when entering that same curve, and I saw an opportunity to pass him on the inside. Just as I was about to do so, his car suddenly veered right, straight across my pass - possibly a result of hitting the barrier. Didn't have time to react, so couldn't avoid contact, which spun him round. That led to the unfortunate chain reaction of colliding cars, with two retiring.
Truly deeply didn't want any more incidents with Postal. Lately it seems we can't be in a race together, without colliding at some point.
Was in 6th after the incident. Took some deep digging to find motivation to continue racing, but I eventually clawed my way back up the field, to finish 2nd. Gap to GT was greatly reduced towards the end, so might have had an interesting finish, if I hadn't lost so much time earlier
Cheers,
Erling