What a surprise!!!
I never expected a win here and with the chassis handicap even a podium was an outside bet
.
I had a sort of setup for the Lotus 43 Barge, which I had used some months ago and at least it stayed on the grey stuff back then so i dug that out at the start of qually.
A few laps on race fuel and it felt ok'ish, but........so I tweaked the bump rubbers and rebound settings by a couple of notches and suddenly it all clicked!!!
Dropped the fuel level and went out for a couple of banzai laps, although smooooooth was definitely the quick route with this setup.
I was very fortunate to get a quickish lap in, without tow, that got me about 3rd on the grid. But I still had a few laps of gas on board so I kept going with about 5 mins of qually left. Then Al pulled out of the pits as I exited para and I smelt the possibility of a tow...
It worked almost perfectly as I closed to within 2 secs as we entered Lesmo. I got a tow all the way down to para and my only worry was that he might be slow there on cold tyres but although he wobbled a bit he stayed just far enough ahead for me to benefit all the way to the line
.
Pole position at Monza always makes me feel like a Turkey before Christmas...just a target for everyone to hit entering Curve Grande and Lesmo. My main worry was the fast Fezzas behind and some very quick Brabs, all of them would have the advantage of my tow!!!!
I almost cooked the tyres off of the start line but managed to hold the gap to 2nd so that I could move across to take the racing line through Curve...still held the gap at Lesmo 1. I tried to get Lesmo 2 as perfect as I could to carry as much pace as possible onto the straight, because that was where the pack would hunt me down I was sure!!
Approaching Para and prib told me that the gap was indeed closing fast. It would appear that it was little too fast, as 2nd and 3rd place suddenly dropped off prib and the gap said 3 secs as I ended Lap 1. Just maybe..................
I pushed as hard as I could to stretch that gap over the next few laps and stop anyone benefitting from my tow and slowly by a couple of tenths a lap the gap grew.
Once I had about 6-7 secs I opted for engine and fuel conservation and just monitored the fighting behind between Tim and Fulvio, which seemed like a lot of fun.
until Tim went to play in the sand on the beach at Parabolica one lap from the end.
Due to a few notable retirements and a good slice of luck I had an uneventful run to the flag and a very unexpected win...which I was amazed to notice this morning, has lifted me to 2nd in the championship
but still behind Gerard who was way ahead on points and a much deserved winner this season.
Grats to all for a great seasons racing again, already looking forward to the next one.
