In spite of the lower than usual numbers, it was a great race yesterday. How I managed to take 1st position into turn 1, having started at the back, I do not know - that's twice I've managed it on this track!
There's a suprising amount of grip on the inside of the track, which allowed me to come up on the inside and out-brake Matt, Martin and Reinhard. I knew it wouldn't last, nevertheless I tried to make the most of the situation - it was good fun. Going 3-wide into the hairpin at turn 6, with Martin and Reinhard I believe, was certainly an interesting and heart stopping experience.
Had a brilliant battle with Joao midway through the first stint. As my tires started to wear a little more I made a few mistakes, and soon both he and Matt made it past. We too went 3-wide into the turn 6 hairpin - unfortunately that time we didn't all make it through in one piece; apologies for the spin Joao.
Bjorn eventually caught up, after his early incidents, and managed to pull off the undercut during the pit stop phase (and very well I must say)!
I exited about 12 seconds behind, and with my fresh set of tires I began to push like a man possessed - until my car got a bit too tail-happy going in to the Schumacher-S, which sent me flying across the sand, and into the wall. Thankfully the damage was minimal, and I was able to continue, now 22 seconds behind Bjorn, with a over-heated left-rear tire that was causing my car to slide about a bit for a few laps after the incident, and Martin breathing down my neck. Twice I begun closing the distance between myself and Bjorn - twice I spun at the turn 6 hairpin, and the gap extended back to 22 seconds. And then with 5 minutes left Bjorn shouted down TS that Matt was struggling for pace. My plan to safely bring the car home after my second spin was thrown straight out of the window, and I was back to pushing like a mad-man. On the penultimate lap I managed to gain 8 seconds - my gap to Matt was now a mere 10 seconds! Unfortunately it wasn't to be, and I finished 4.5 seconds behind 4th.
Nonetheless, it was fantastic - gripping, competitive, and just darn good fun!
Thanks Bjorn, Rui and Yuri for the company on TS. I hope everyone enjoyed the race, and we'll see you next time!