Interesting that Ken opted for the Mclaren ( as did Gerard) because of its easier handling. I had the choice of the Macca Eagle or the Lotus and BRM in group 2 but opted for the Eagle as the "safest" handling car.
Undoubtedly the Lotus and BRM had more power and felt faster down the long straight, but the pendulums stuck on the back of both of those cars made the return run a lottery for me. Whereas, when I tried the Eagle , which I had discounted and left until last, all I did was adjust diff and brake balance initially and it felt sweet straight away. One or two gear ratio tweaks and it felt great.
A cautious start to avoid possible mayhem at T1 and waited for the tyres to come up to temp, as I fully expected this to be a race of survival for me , rather than any giant killing runs for the podium. I was quite heartened to find that I could still see 3rd and 4th cars after a lap and that maybe my race pace was not so bad. Meanwhile Gerard had got his Mclaren wound up and was hustling me for a passing opportunity. Fortunately the Eagle, either by setup or design, seemed to have a fraction more grunt out of the corners and a slightly higher top end so I was able to defend my position although every timer I strayed off the optimum line Gerard was sniffing for the pass
.
I tried to be fair ( not like me I know but,..
) and leave a space when it looked like he might be getting alongside and we carried on our battle for several laps.
I think the euphoria at passing Jethro in the haybales and then Dave recovering from an off went to my head because it seemed that I selected a favourite tree, from the many on offer on the return run, and tried to impale myself upon it when I had just pulled a small gap back to Gerard!!!
I thought that I must at least have lost a wheel, but all 4 were still there, although it transpired that 1 was maybe not attached in the manner that it was meant to be!! and for the last 6 laps I had a car that displayed a distinct leaning to the left and an aversion to going anywhere remotely to the right...which was interesting
It was pointless trying to defend my position, as I could not carry any speed through any right turns, so I was hoping for a few retirements ahead ( thanks Dave
) but was kicking myself for concentrating so hard on controlling the beast and not realising that it was the last lap, when I was trying to stay ahead of Al approaching the s/f line and blew it!! to lose the place with 100 mtrs to go and finish last!!! lol.
Grats to Hristo and the Waza glad you avoided the haybales this time
and to the podium.