Managed to pip Rick to pole by 0.03 but the glory was short-lived as he got the jump on me at the start & stormed off into the lead. My first lap got even worse after that as I had a bit of a wobble at Masta (it's frightening enough in GPL - god knows how the real drivers managed it
) & having lost momentum was passed by both Tom (King Hiro) & Bartosz (Pod).
Felt a bit more confident once the tyres had warmed up & managed to regain 3rd from Bartosz on the straight after Carriere. I seemed reasonably quick on the exit of that corner so after stalking Tom for a few laps managed to get past at the same point. Then spent the bulk of the race once again nibbling at Rick's lead - was making some inroads but mainly because I was being pushed so hard by Tom close behind me.
With a couple of laps to go, Prib was reporting Rick was still 12 or 13 seconds up the road but then I suddenly saw him just ahead & realised he must've had a problem. Sadly I think that faint whiff of victory must've gone to my head because I pushed too hard, touched the grass on the exit of Carriere & went spinning wildly across the track. Apologies to Graham & Tom who had to take drastic avoiding action (and thanks for having such quick reflexes too
) Recovered in 3rd & did a do-or-die last lap to try & catch Tom - turned out to be the fastest lap though that was only slight consolation for having chucked away second place with such a silly mistake.
Congratulations to Rick on another win & to Tom on a superb 2nd on his series debut.