Exhilarating track; those up/downhill sections can be a real hoot if you get it right - and a royal pain if you mess up..
Tried all 3 cars available to me and found the BMW the most agile, but fuel would be critical. I'm not sure what on earth Clive is on about, with it not needing a stop
- unless I shortshifted and saved fuel, I could not make the required minimum of 12 laps, if it was to be a one-stop race.
When Clive swapped the Beemer for the Cossie, I was sure it was a tactical move. Contemplated hard if I should follow him, trying to deny him victory, but didn't know how fast he would be in the Cossie, and could by no means assume I would be able to beat him. If not, two 2nd places would be the best I could hope for. With the Beemer, laptimes suggested I would have a good chance of winning the class, thus perhaps scoring a 1st & 2nd place. Opted for this bet, although Fulvio joining during qual in a Beemer too, was a potential spanner in the works, depending on his performance, but too late for me to change car. As it was, I kept improving my laptimes, to the point of fighting Clive for pole, which was unexpected. Not a big deal that he ran away with it - experience from the first race in the series had demonstrated that I had a good chance at upstaging him when the flag dropped, as the BMW is a rocket off the line, compared to the Sierra.
I had to save fuel though, so couldn't let it all hang out. Initially had Chris close behind, but after a few laps Clive had worked his way past him. I was a sitting duck on the long straights, so couldn't prevent him from taking the lead. If I got carried away, the small fuel buffer I was trying to retain started to evaporate, so had to restrain myself. Clive wasn't too far up ahead and went to the pits a lap before me, after which I didn't see him again, for good reasons, as per his report.
Did my own stop, relaxing in the pits with a cup of coffee, while the crew serviced the car, only to spill it all in my lap when devious Fulvio went past, exiting the pits!! He was obviously on a no tyre-change strategy. Damn damn damn, now I would have to try and hunt him down. At least I didn't have to save fuel in the shorter 2nd stint, so I could give it the beans. Caught up in a few laps and had a brief battle, exploiting my fresher tyres to make a move before the final turn.
Having grabbed the lead, things looked rosy - until the next lap, where I tossed it all away. Clipped the inner barrier in the tight, uphill left hander, which rolled the car over, handing the lead back to Fulvio. Took forever (10 secs) to right the car so I could get going again. A good thing a kindergarten wasn't listening in - I'm not sure their parents would have appreciated the new words they would have learned..
Managed to catch Fulvio again, but with no longer pristine tyres, it wasn't so easy getting past - and he was holding up remarkably well on his very worn rubber. Eventually made a move at T1, reclaiming the lead. Worried it might have been too aggressive, but looking at the replay, I think it was ok - we gave each other room and there was no contact. Hope Fulvio agrees.
Didn't expect an outright win, but happy with it, as I sorely need some points in the Championship.
Grats to Fulvio for 2nd and thnx for a great race. Congrats/commiserations to Clive for 3rd.
