Grats to Natan for the win, although the cunning scheme that I had formulated halfway through this race, did not include that particular result
Qually was just about ok for me as I never found an obliging tow truck to squeeze me up the grid which perhaps was a good thing in view of how the first few laps panned out.
I tried on a couple of occasions to give Hristo a tow, but on one occasion I made a mess of Malmedy and on the second I was on race fuel, so neither attemp was a roaring success
I knew this race was going to be all about slipstream (so geared the waza very high in 6th to allow for that) and as long as the leaders were in sight they could be caught, although passing might be another issue.
Eau Rouge was negotiated carefully and I slotted smoothly into the train up and around Les Coombes. I had Hristo's screaming BT7 behind and about 5 cars in front all relatively close.
Things started happening at Malmedy, someone went into the hedge on the left...someone else dived into the undergrowth on the right and bounced back as I skipped through, but they collected poor Hristo who would have been unsighted being right up my exhaust pipes at that point.
That moved me up to 4th I think, following Natan in the lead, Jethro and John directly in 3rd. It was relatively easy to use the slipstream and cruise up behind this leading pack without straining any of the whizzy bits and by the time we got to Blanchimont I was comfortably in the "Tow Zone" . I think Mike and his Cooper could be heard somewhere behind, but not close enough to worry me at that point.
On the approach to Blanchimont John made a text book slipstream pass on Jethro and moved into 2nd spot behind Natan's BRM.
As far as I was concerned, I still had 17 laps to consider passes and backed off to settle in 4th spot.
At La Source ( a bend which is infuriating! because when you get it right it is so smooth and you seem to gain whole minutes of time, but when its wrong it seems like driving in treacle!!) John took the inside line on the approach and Jethro went very wide and late on the brakes.
From what I could see from my safe vantage point, behind, both cars were in each others blind spots and I could have predicted the outcome.
John accelerated away from the apex towards the outside Armco, and Jethro having taken the outside line, looked to have got on the power a bit earlier and harder and was aiming for the same part of space and time. I'm guessing that the first that either knew of the others whereabouts was about 5 nano seconds before impact!!........2nd place from 6th in one lap and no overtaking??!!
I had a moments concern as there was now about 2+ secs to Natan up ahead and that is getting towards the limit of substantial towage, so I put the hammer down for the next lap and made sure that he did not escape my clutches.
The next 15 laps were quite boring as the two of us pulled steadily away from the rest of the field. Once or twice I eased alongside Natan or made a pass just to avoid falling asleep. There was no way either of us would escape the other unless a mistake was made.
So I settled in to the slipstream, short shifting and backing off on the straights .
THE PLAN..was to wait until the last lap and make a pass (exactly as John had done on Jethro) on the run up to Blanchimont. I had done a dummy run on Natan earlier in the race and I was able to carry more speed onto the uphill straight and with my longer gearing easily drafted past. There was nowhere for anyone to re-pass until La source and an inside defensive line and a solid exit would let me see the chequered flag first.
It was a perfect plan except for a tiny flaw in the execution
Last lap, and I had positioned myself just far enough back to pick up the tow and maximise my speed. I dropped an extra gear as we took the right hander onto the straight up to Blanchimont and nailed the throttle........ and then my cunning plan misfired!! I put a rear wheel on the dirt and lost drive and direction just when I needed it most. That lost me about 20 metres which would prove critical. I still caught Natan and got alongside approaching Blanchimont , but he had covered the racing line and I was forced up the inside. I could not move back across because he had to be too close.
It was now the last chance to take the lead so I went for it, but just could not hold a tight enough line through the first left and ran wide onto the bank allowing Natan to sweep past as I performed a 360 spin.
Rats!!!
Fortunately I was far enough ahead of 3rd place to easily recover and cruise over the line in 2nd place...from 6th ...without actually making a single passing move that stuck lol.
Thanks to Natan for towing my Honda for 16 laps, and to those who move out of the way for a Waza to take its rightful place on the podium.
She might only be slightly miffed at missing 1st...I hope
