This was a great race for all sorts of reasons and for different people in different ways.
Being lumbered with the Cooper, I knew that the slipstream was going to be critical at Spa and I concentrated on a race setup rather than trying to get a good grid position. After all, what chance was there that I could pull away from the faster cars behind before the straight down to Masta on lap 1!! and be far enough ahead to stop them drafting past me??.....somewhere below zero I suspect!!
I got a great start off the grid and jumped a couple of places...not always a good thing going into Eau Rouge on Lap 1!! but it seems I had a nice space around me and there were no incidents.
I think I was in about 5th spot and tailing Hristo down through Burneville to Malmedy with a couple of Brabs and Lotii snapping at my exhausts. I deliberately backed off just before Malmedy to give me some "room to move" if there was an incident and was able to draft up behind Hristo again on the run down to Masta and his tow just kept me in front of the faster cars behind.
Out of Masta, which everyone was taking flat out, and down to Stavelot and I was thinking that I was in a good position, with just 4 cars ahead to provide a tow and all very close
.
Then Tim Vos and Goran decided to interfere in my cunning plan and touched somewhere around Stavelot. I could see Goran's Honda flying off into the bushes so tightened my line slightly to avoid any rebound, but not wanting to back off and drop out of the "tow zone".
Maybe I should have just eased off a fraction and taken an even tighter line, because Hristo zipped through just in front of me as Goran's stricken Honda came back across the track but I was not so lucky and I got clipped sending me spinning. I got clobbered by some other poor driver before I had come to rest and thought that my race was over...I must be missing at least 2 wheels!!
When my head stopped spinning I tried to drive off and was amazed to find that everything seemed to be intact!! and no damage
, but a long way behind everybody!!!
By the time I got back up to speed, the only car on the radar was Bernie and his Brabham. It took a lap or two to get within slipstream range and then I closed up quickly.
However, catching a faster car with slipstream is something entirely different to getting past and pulling away!! and Bernie was obviously determined to make a fight of it. Despite trying to pressure him for an opening he held things together and used the power of the Brabham to fend me off. Meanwhile Clutch had recovered from an incident and was closing up behind too quickly for comfort. It soon became a 3 way battle where Bernie and Clutch had the edge on the straights but the Cooper was faster on the few places where there were bends.
My only chance was to get a pass completed before Blanchimont and rely on the better handling of the Cooper to pull a big gap up to Les Coombes in the hope of staying in front right down to La Carriere again. But both Bernie and Clutch were putting up one hell of a fight and any time that I got my nose in front they simply drafted past on the next straight bit. Then Bernie made a mistake and dropped back and I was just able to keep the slipstream from Clutch.
I was desperate to get close before the run from Malmedy to Masta and just went too hot into Malmedy and clipped the greenery and Clutch was gone!! Bernie took advantage of my mistake and gradually closed in from behind eventually drafting past....rats!!!
A couple of laps where I tried to make a pass stick and I decided that barring breakdowns or crashes ahead the best I could do would be to tail Bernie and look to pass him at Blanchimont or La source on the last lap. Bernie did not fancy that result and contrived to lure me ina La Source with 3 laps to go so that he could leap on top of my defenceless Cooper and bludgeon it into submission.
I hung around to watch the titanic last lap between Hristo and Raoni...great finish guys.
Grats to all for some great racing