Well, that was sweet! And a little undeserved, but hey, who cares! I won in the BT14
. Very tough break though Axel!! But you know what they say, to finish first, first you have to finish!
At the start of quali I still had some trouble recognising and remembering parts of the track, which is a problem as many corners have tight exits and you're in trouble if you don't get your lines just right. In the day and afternoon before I'd tried to do some laps in my head, by memory, and that paid off, although I still had to concentrate a lot on not forgetting where I was all the time. In the end I developed a routine for the bits I found tough to remember, to act as a failsafe to validate where I was. For the junction after Deer's Leap it was -haybale- , -hazard sign-, then for the junction right after it was -haybale-, -big tree-, -silver gate-, then for the follow through to the right some time later it was -haybale 1-, -haybale 2-, -hazard sign-, and for the left-right chicane right after it way just -hazard sign!! turn in!!-
. The rest of the track way easy enough to just remember the usual way. After the chicane it was flat out until the junction with the crest, and from that point on the track had enough difference in the trackside objects to automatically remember where I was. But the middle part stayed tough and I really had to concentrate during the race not to forget a corner, and I still did a couple of times when I was distracted by backmarkers or fellow competitors and didn't keep track of where I was. Thankfully I realized it just in time every time.
I was expecting a high attrition rate and really feared the first lap. I took it easy at the start and Ronnie and Doni passed me. Then came the first corner and I was really surprised why everyone was braking so much when it was almost flat out in quali. I nearly went off together with Ronnie but miraculously managed to keep the car straight despite putting a wheel on the hazardous grass. I took it real easy for the sweepers right after, which was a good thing since I got surprised again by the additional braking of the guys in front for the junction. I had to select a lower gear coming out of the corner and was passed by Clive as well. Dave Curtis also thought of passing me but thought better of it and stayed behind. I had no trouble going through Deer's Leap, then took it real easy under braking for the junction right after. That was a good thing since a recovering Piero Mercaldo suddenly appeared on track! I had a good laugh at the amazing premonition Clive must've had, keeping to the far right there, completely away from the racing line, just as Piero suddenly appeared out of the bushes! He, Clive, Ronnie and I were extremely lucky there not to get involved in a big wreck. Then Ronnie attempted a pass at a slow Clive who'd not had a great exit out of a corner, but hit the bushes instead and it took some skill and luck for him not to spin. I let Piero pass on the straight after, and there was another close call when he banged wheels with Ronnie, but it ended up all right. Then Ronnie went off at the junction with the crest, perhaps shaken by Piero's driving, and for the first time I had nobody around me so I felt a little more safe.
The lap after I noticed Dean was really fast, but he soon fell back due to a mishap. I somehow managed to decrease the distance to Clive and Doni, then Clive made a mistake and I could pass him just as he freed himself out of the bushes. So the next lap I was all over Doni, the slipstream making it easier to keep up. I was a bit cheeky and tried to pressurize him into making a mistake, not so he'd have to retire of course, but just enough so I could squeeze past ánd be able to pull a gap. Doni must've read my mind as he duly pulled over the next lap, letting me through. His pace was getting better every lap though, but thankfully I could motor the BT14 round just fast enough to keep a tiny distance between him and me.
All this time I'd been slowly decreasing Axel's lead from 10 seconds when I inherited 2nd place, to 5 seconds entering the last lap, but it was still not enough to catch a tow and really catch up. Then, last corner, skidmarks, and then a green flag! I knew it must've been Axel so I threw my fist up in the air, both in GPL and from behind the wheel
. In the heat of the moment I wasn't completely sure if this had been the last lap and if I'd actually won, but confirmation soon came in the waving marshalls and then the pit sign, seeing 'P1'. Woohoo! Awesome to finally get another win in UKGPL, it had been a while
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Kudo's for the bold track choice, it makes for really good stories
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