I almost felt sorry for John, ( almost ), when I took the win, after he had fought off Ziu, Geoffers and Erling in their Chapperalls for more than half the race.
OK, so I won this race in cars that I have not had much joy with previously. Also if you had asked me before last night, which car of these Can Ams I would least like to race it, would have been the Chapps.
When I posted before the race that I had got the 3 geared monster down to 1:45, I had the gut feeling that I might find another 0.5secs on a perfect lap with that setup. The problem I was fighting, was the tendency for the rear wheels to spin up with that massive torque and produce terminal oversteer on corner exit, plus I was struggling to get the nose into the apexes on corner entry. I fully expected Ziu, Geoffers and Erling to be faster than 1:45 if they took the 2G, so although I hoped to be able to have a decent race I was not expecting to be fighting for e win.
Then, on Sunday afternoon my wife was watching a film on TV that held no interest for me, so I jumped on the PC and tried to tame the setup. After an hour I had a PB of mid 1:44, but crucially the car was much more predictable and comfortable to drive. I had ignored tyre wear and fuel usage, so I arrived on the server last night hoping for a decent race.
I guessed at the fuel ( 22laps + 3 laps worth ) and did a few laps in practice that showed I was somewhere near the fast boys, with the usual suspects leading the field.
I rarely run a quali setup, but I was very aware that the Chapp is difficult to get off the line and I wanted to be as close to the front of the grid as I could, so I put in 10 laps worth and went for a banzai lap.................low 1:43 !!! that was a shock. I sat in the pits and watched the qualifying times being posted. For a while I appeared to have nailed pole position, until John suddenly posted a mid 1:43, shortly followed by Geoffers and Ziu. I almost decided that it was not worth going for a faster lap, but what the heck!! why not.
So I did a banzai+ lap with everything on the absolute edge, including engine revs and posted a 1:42??!!! That was over 1.5 secs better than my offline PB!! There was no way that I could run that pace for the whole race, but it did suggest that maybe I was quicker than I thought?
Then the start............................I think that was the worst start I have ever made in GTL and all of the quali effort was history in about 5 secs, as I bogged down and dropped to the back of the field before T1!!
My race appeared to be over as the fast brigade were almost out of sight within half a lap.
Once I had the tank up to speed I passed a few cars over the first 2 laps and was pleasantly surprised to be able to see Erlings Chapp in 4th place just a few seconds ahead, with occasional glimpses of a couple of cars further up the road.
I like a target, and unfortunately Erling was it.
Gradually I closed the gap and was hoping to get past him and see if I could catch the leading group. Erling proved to be very unhelpful about allowing me to pass and I was forced to press and harry him for lap after lap. One eye on the positions ahead showed that John had taken the lead and was fending off Ziu and Geoffers, and hopefully slowing them down so that they did not pull away, but I could not hope to join that battle unless I got past Erling. Then I noticed that Ziu had taken the lead and I fully expected him to scamper off, but a lap later John had put the cork back in the bottle
.
I still had the Erling problem, and although I was much quicker through certain sections, it was not possible to make a passing move. Also it was apparent that his gearing was different to mine and the gap see-sawed on the main straight as we changed gears at different points, but still nowhere to pass!!
Then he put a wheel on the sand out of the left hand hairpin and I saw a gap...................and was through and after Ziu!! I was quickly able to build a gap back to erling and close down Ziu.
Once I caught Ziu, he seemed to be struggling either with tyres, or that nasty oversteer, so I watched and waited until the chance came. My tyres were still good and I was able to get the power down much more effectively than Ziu, which made the pass a little easier.
By now Geoffers and John were a good few seconds ahead and I wondered if I would have the pace to catch them. I had come from the back of the field on lap 1 to 3rd, maybe I should be happy with that progress? Then Geoffers got something very wrong at T1 and I passed a spinning Chapperall, into 2nd place with John actually still within sight
.
Slowly John's car became larger and larger and again I noticed that there were places where I was taking chunks out of his lead but others where John was quick.
With 5 laps to go I had caught John and there was now a sniff of 1st place if I kept cool ( not easy after the euphoria of climbing to 2nd place).
John had a definite advantage out of the corners, but I could close under braking and I also seemed to have a little more rubber available ?? If I could maybe make a challenge if I could carry enough speed through a corner and use the grunt of the Chapp down the straights.
That chance came when John ran slightly wide and I was able to stick my tank up the inside and compromise his corner exit, allowing me to take the lead with 3 laps to go.
Once I had 1.5 secs lead I thought I was safe and cruised for the penultimate lap intending to just manage the gap to the flag................big mistake!!! John was enveloped in red mist and was on a mission to regain the lead.......how ungrateful, as I had allowed him to have the lead for almost 20 laps???
In trying to run a little slower I lost my rhythm, and a lot of time. As we started the last lap John was back on my tail pipes!!! I knew that he was faster off the corners because of that extra gear and that was a serious concern!!
I pulled a small gap down the main straight and tried to hug the inside around the final turn. John was equally committed and was right in my wheel tracks as we exited the corner. When he pulled to the right and disappeared from my mirrors I thought he had stolen the win, all I could do was floor the gas and hope that huge grunt would keep me ahead.....................................it did, but only by 0.1 secs at the line!!!!
Grats to John for a tremendous race and last lap effort and to Ziu. I guess I should also praise Erling for a great defensive drive too
I was wondering why I have success in some races, and not in others? Looking back, and using the few memory cells that still function, I can see that when I can get some decent off line practice with time to develop a comfortable setup, I can compete at the sharp end. Unfortunately I that is not always possible and perhaps that is why I complain ( a little tongue in cheek
) about some cars that I have not spent time with.
Maybe I should make more effort to practice with those cars that I moan about??
Thanks to Tony and enjoy the R&R. I will also miss a couple of races at the beginning of October when I take my annual break in Cornwall.