That was a very hard-fought 3rd place with both Doni & Robert chasing me down for most of the race
Qualifying: Suffered the dreaded screen-freeze during Q & after a frantic reset, had a bit of trouble settling down & putting a lap together. Relieved to grab 2nd on the grid in the dying moments, especially as T1 looked like it could get a bit crowded mid-pack on the opening lap.
Race: With Hristo scooting off ahead during the early laps, I concentrated hard on trying to nail down 2nd place, under pressure from first Bob & then Art. After both of them snagged those unforgiving barriers, I found myself with a useful 10 sec lead over the guys behind - but any hopes of a nice relaxing cruise to the finish went out of the window as I noticed Doni & Robert were reeling me in at a furious rate of knots. Having stuffed my car into the barriers during the fun race here, I wasn't confident about running right on the ragged edge, but with Doni & Robert posting consistent low 1:34's, it was beginning to look like my nice comfy 2nd was destined to become 4th
By lap 26, the game was finally up & Doni swept past me after I was a bit hesitant getting through lapped traffic & then ran a little wide at one of the hairpins. While Robert had dropped back after a minor bump, he soon got a whiff of that final podium place & was looming ever larger in my mirrors. Having held a podium spot since the start of the race, it would have been a bitter pill to have lost 3rd on the final lap but I just about hung on until the end. One more lap & it might have been a different story...
Congrats to Robert, Hristo on the win, Doni for a terrific drive to 2nd (not bad for an Amateur GT driver
I know, let it go...) & all other finishers.