I was looking forward to some close racing in this race after I surprised myself with a qualifying time only a couple of tenths off pole in the BRM.
All that expectation was ruined by a poor start !!!
I should have practised my starts, because I did not give the car enough revs and it just bogged down allowing Bernie to shoot past and into 3rd spot as Andreas and Axel started to pull away. I was hoping to get past Bernie in the first lap and maybe close up on the leading duo before the gap got too big, but Bernie had other ideas and defended his line leaving no opening.
On lap 2 I could still see Andreas and Axel and thought that there was still a chance to catch them if only I could bi-pass Bernie.
I got a good exit from The Loop and hooked up the slipstream as we approached The 90, but I was totally caught out when Bernie braked far sooner than I was expecting and on a line that left me no room to attack. I had to run wide to avoid rear ending Bernie and into the ditch on the outside. The whole field had passed before I could rejoin
and any chance of getting onto the podium looked very slim.
The next laps were a great exploration of the limits of the BRM, as I caught the field and slipped past a few cars. That BRM engine sounds like a Citroen 2CV with a turbo and Nitrous Oxide when it is being pushed hard and although I was trying to protect the engine as much as possible I was certain that it would give up before the end of the race under such pressure.
I eventually found myself in 4th spot and closing on Bernie again..but I was ready for his braking point this time and stuck the Big BRM down the inside to make the pass
... 3rd was as good as it was going to get unless one of the leaders made a mistake...and they didn't!!!
The chase back through the field was good fun and I might take that BRM again for Hockenheim, just to see how fast I can hustle that great big tank around against the more exotic cars and anyway at least the engine sounds different
