Grats to the Silver Arrows on the podium, I tried to stay with you guys at the start, but it was becoming very clear after several laps that I was in danger of throwing my D-type at some Italian foliage in spectacular fashion if I kept up that pace ....so I chickened out and tried to keep things together.
Given the choice of each car to be used only once, I opted for the D-type simply because this track has fewer tight corners than most and I figured that it was as good a place as any to use it. See how scientific my race preparation is
To say that I was gobsmacked to be leading the qualifying at one point is an understatement
. Practice was spent with Arnold fine tuning the suspension with a 14lb hammer, and Mabel adjusting the diff with a piece of scaffold tube and a roll of gaffer tape, in a frantic attempt to get the ruddy thing to actually turn in at the corners. Once that was achieved, I just had to wrestle the beast around
The 4 wide grid threw me, because I was still waiting for the front 2 cars to join when the flag dropped and I was swamped by growling Mercedes!!.
I was running the highest ratios that I could for the Jag and provided that I could get some slipstream it made the thing quite rapid down the straights....corners were an altogether different experience and I was glad that we only had 4 per lap!
I'm not sure how others were working the D-type, but I found that I had to brake in a straight line and get off the brake pedal before I could turn in ( moving the brake balance backwards just made the car so unstable that it was suicidal). I then needed to control the car with the power on oversteer, gradually squeezing on the gas right through the corners. When I got it right it was very satisfying, when it was less than perfect it caused a few stains in the underwear department!!
The first few laps were an intense battle between Kai and myself as we both tried to get back at Geoffers who had stolen a 100mtr lead on us both. I could slingshot past Kai on the S/F straight using the slipstream, but that Merc was infinitely smoother through the corners and in getting the power down.
I was wrestling my car with armfuls of opp lock and lumps of throttle, to stay in touch with Kai and Geoffers. The down side to this was the trauma inflicted on the rear left tyre, which prompted me to ease off, hoping to hold onto a 3rd spot, or even pick up a place if someone screwed up in the battle for the lead.
I should have factored in Erling who hunted me down in yet another of those damned Mercedes, and I gifted him my 3rd place ( yes it was mine!! I had my name on it!!) by running wide at Parabolica. Worst still, was that when I recovered he was just out of slipstream range and try as I might I could not quite get close enough to use the raw speed of the Jag to get back at him.
It was agonising watching the gap grow by a tenth of a second each lap as I worked my wheel nuts off on rapidly wearing tyres and still failed to close up.
Grats to all on some fine racing. At least I have used the D-type and squeezed a few points out of a car that is not my favourite. cyall for the next one.