So... that was unexpected.
Started off quite poorly in qual. I've been using Imola setups (with reversed cambers) for Zelt, but the Brab just did not respond as well as other chassis I've done that with. Tried a few tweaks, but no improvement, so with 15 minutes left to go, I pretty much resigned myself to backmarker status, hoping to pick up a few places through consistency, and went outside for a smoke.
Came back in, had 5 minutes left, so fueled up for race distance and headed out to see what I'd be dealing with, and on the one timed lap I squeezed in at the end, I knocked 0.8 off my previous low-fuel run. Still 1.9 off the fast guys, but maybe I could snag a midfield finish?
Decent start, everyone was nice and clean through T1, harassed Bernie a bit on the run down to Tiroch, tried an outside move as he seemed to be leaving room there, but had a tiny contact. Looking at the replay, I was too low, so contact was my fault. Sorry about that, BD. But on the bright side, that slowed us _just_ enough that there was a gap in the melee ahead that we both squeezed through.
Got past Bernie, and Prib showed me in P2 at the end of lap 1. Things were looking a bit better, but my car was not behaving as it had in qual, which made for some nervous times as I tried to compensate for the damage due to the contact with Bernie. Then there was a red car stationary in Tiroch, that I thought at first was a left-over from the previous carnage, but turned out to be Rob (that must have been agonizing sitting there waiting for a clear gap to get going again, very sporting of him!).
So I'm in P1 now, with a bit of a gap, and a car that I still don't know what it's doing!! Soldier on, let's see what develops...and somehow break into the 1:50s on the third lap!?
Watching Prib (love the straights here, gave me time to glance up and strategize), I see Rob and Tris working their ways back up through the field, and do some quick math to figure out when they're going to catch me. Lap 7 or 8 I finally realize I'm looking at a podium, so maybe if I push just a bit harder...
Now doing high 49s, car still isn't "comfortable", but hey, speed is better than happy at the racetrack! Get down to a 49.6, start scaring myself a bit, and don't want to throw away what I have got now, so settle in and wait for the R&T show to inevitably appear in my mirrors in the closing stages.
But, that didn't happen. Gap stabilized at about 12-14 seconds, they must have been squabbling just enough to slow them down from catching me. Only able to relax (somewhat! car still nervous) in the final 10 laps, and so so happy to see the chequers.
