Actually the Glen is not one of my favourite tracks, but I certainly enjoyed this race.
Qually was incredibly close although I was not even remotely close to pole. I think I started 9th???
I managed to muscle a place off the grid , but the leading pack were already going fast and I was forced to push very hard on cold tyres to get myself back in touch and avoid being dropped behind.
The "freight train" ran for several laps with no-one able to make a move until Tom and Goran exploded at The Loop and disrupted the order.
Al was fortunate to find himself leading with Jethro trying to take any advantage he could find, followed by Natan in his BRM which, as always was very fast on the straights and slightly frustrating in the corners. The Honda is very difficult to wind up with a heavy fuel load and I was struggling to make any impression on Natan. All the while I could see Al and Jethro easing very slowly away.
Then I think Jethro made an error and Natan and I got past into 2nd and 3rd, but still Natan refused to offer a passing opportunity and Al was creeping away.
Eventually I had got a slipstream out of the Esses and up to The Loop to keep me right on Natan's gearbox as we hit the back straight up to Big Bend where I pulled out of the tow and stuck it down the inside. Still Natan tried to defend around the outside and through the lsft hand kink. It was not until some demon braking into The 90 that I finally gained the advantage. It had taken me almost 75% off the lap to make a single pass!!!!
I knew that Natan would try and regain the position on the next straight so I had to nail the Esses and keep to the right so that he was forced to go around the outside at The Loop if he wanted the place back.
After about 2 laps I eased out a safety gap and was able to take a more conventional line through the corners and use my extra pace to sneak away after Al, who by now was not even visible in the distance. Fulvio started to hassle Natan and that allowed me some extra breathing space.
I managed to close enough to just catch a glimpse of Al as I exited the Loop on each lap, but Al was playing things cagey and maintaining the gap. I discovered that I was geared about 1 notch too low for max speed as the fuel level dropped because I started to get towards 13k revs and slowly increasing oil temps when I really pushed hard. So the rest of the race I pushed as hard as I dared without risking a blown engine, but even if I could have gained an extra gear there was no way I was going to catch Al without a mistake on his part.
Grats to Al who took full advantage of the opportunities and to Clutch for a tactical drive to finish on the podium. Natan's determination to finish in his smokey BRM gained him some points in a race that saw many retirees.
Al seems to have moved his performance up a couple notches this season and is now regularly challenging for podiums. In fact things within UKGPL generally are looking very good with so many drivers competing for the podiums in just about every class, which increases the fun factor for all.