Yippe, improved my best finish from 8th to 5th. :woot:
I loved this track, such a flow and such high speeds.
Quali wasn't bad at all, starting 9th in a Seat Toledo sandwich of Paul Wood and Ross Conlon.
I got through the first turn chaos (really was, many people missing braking points, or forgetting that their brakes are cold for turn one). I get up to 6th, with both Chris Sykes and Ross in front of me. All of us in un-familiar territory considering out recent results.
Running with both of them for a while, but by lap 2, Oliver Wickens is on my butt. He gets past under braking for the first of the double left, but runs deep, allowing me to get along side for the second left. He leaves me no room, I have to run right over the curb on the inside, but can't stop the car taking its natural line and run Wickens off the road. Ross then unfortunatly runs off the track at the penultimte corner, putting him back down to 11th with a messy Philippe Fournier. Allowing me to get up to 6th.
I then have Geoffrey Fournier and Wickens right on my tail, really wanting pass. I know your faster, but forget it, I'm going to fight you, and make my Alfa the widest one you've ever seen. I hold both of them off until I run deep into turn four on lap four. But then Fournier runs into the back of Wickens at turn six, and I getback up to 6th, Yippe. With them two droping back to 9th and 10th.
I then proceed to catch up to Chris in the next two laps, and by the time we are half way round lap 6, his beemer's rear is right in front of me. Unfortunatly, I mess up the final corner and drop back a bit.
Now I have Stefan Beemsterboer (only other Alfa driver on the field. Why there no love for the Alfa :frown
right behind me. He gets past me out of turn one after I run over the grass and curb on the inside. I follow him and Chris round until I decide to pit on lap 9. Re-joining in 7th.
Both Chris and Stefan pit next lap, and look to have changed all four tyres, allowing me to jump them up to 5th. Yippe.
I continue to just keep to my pace, not wanting to make any mistakes, as 5th is in the bag so long as I didin't do anything silly. Unfortunatly, I didn't have the pace to cose the gap to the four at the front, but 5th being my best ever finish in a Euro WTCC event, I'm really happy. :woot:
Race two was a good one as well, if a bit messy. Started from 4th, (yippe best place ever on a grid) and only lost out to Rhys Gardiner's TDI before turn one. Everyone looked to have made it through much better this time.
This time, I'm running with Chris again after he fell off at the chicane/fourth corner, with Matt Clark and Simon Gardner getting past me as well. Sorry Philip Antonia for the slow down at turn three, if I hadn't slown down, I would've rammed Chris' BMW. You and Matthias Klein got past me at the next corner, as I was always braking earlier than anyone around me, if I braked any later, I would lock up or just run out of road, so was doing my best.
I get past Matthias at the next corner as he runs a little deep, and I'm glad I wasn't where he was at the penultimate corner. Oancea Gabriel just T-Boned him completely. Must of braked like 50 yards after he should've done, then fails to wait, bloody hell.
So I'm back up to 7th at the end of the lap, tracking Chris down the main straight. But then Rafael turns in on Simon Gardner as Simon goes for an overtake (use your mirrors people, more accidents occur because the one being overtaken doesn't seem to register that someone is up their inside, Simon, looking at the replay, you were not a fault and should've just carried on, his fault for the off). Both end up going off at turn one and I jump up to 5th.
I follow Chris around until lap 3 where I run on the inside curb at turn one, sending me wide, allowing Stefan passed me, then I completely cock up the next corner, and brake waaay too late, just avoiding Stefan. I go sideways into the tyre barrier giving me light damage to the suspension. I drop back to 15th just behind Ross. Argh, stupid me.
I get back up to 10th by the middle of lap five, due to some people falling off the track, but I now have Antonia right behind me. He passes me at the double left, but I keep with him. Right up to the last corner where we rub a little bit (just as your turned in, I had my fronts where your rears where and I had also unfortunatly locked my right rear up a bit, so the car went left a bit. I was just about to turn in to go up your inside, sorry if you felt I punted you off), with Antonia ending up sideways and sliding off the track for bit. I get a slide on for a sec, and when I recover it, Klein is along side and we have a bit of a bump, but nothing too dramatic.
Round the first corner, I again turn-in too early and run over the curb on the inside sending me wide, allowing Klein to get alongside on the exit. We go around the kink side by side, but I let him by into turn four, and just follow him. Now in 11th.
Next few laps I have Ross for company as we run close together, then he gets past me on lap 8 with a late brakeing manouver into the penultimate corner, but he then runs off the track at turn four and I duck past him, all great fun. We both pit on lap 9 and resume in 9th and 10th, me screaming away from my box to get a bit of a gap back to Ross.
Brilliant thing is, we both manage to jump Klein, who after passing me on lap 6, just drove away from me. Yippe. And he also has Antonia in front of him, with both of them running 11th and 12th.
For the next few laps, Ross might as well have had a bungie cord fitted to my car as he was always right with me, always closing up under braking, but then losing ground on me at the exit. I really could not brake any later without going off, anyone got a brake upgrade for a 07 Alfa 156?
With us fighting, Klein and Antonia are catching us pretty quickly, and by the end of lap 12, Klein has gotten past Ross.
For the next two laps, the four of us are all close together, making attemps a to pass each other, with Ross and Antonia changing places a few times it looks.
Then I get a bad exit out of the last corner, and Klein gets along side, sorry for the bump. We run side by side down the straight, I brake normally for turn one (seemingly early compared to you lot) but Klein goes through, I try to get along side on the exit, but I just don't have that much more power compared to a Honda. Klein gets away, but I try to attack him through out the lap. But then I run off at the last corner, allowing the battling Ross and Antonia past.
With only two laps to go, I'll be happy with 12th after a real good race. But wait.
Ross and Antonia run off the track at turn one, YESS! Ross went really far off, while Antonia just seemed to slip off. Ross saying on TS "it's like someone's stolen my braking point." But he only drops back to 12th.
Last two laps were then just a case of don't do anything silly and get the car to the finish. I end up 10th, which may be outside of the points, but that was bloody good fun. Best line was from Klein saying, "Your bloody hard to pass Ethan." (Or something like that) Why thankyou very much, it was fun having fights for top ten posistions.
I'll see you all at AMS on wedensday, hopefully next weeks WTCC events are as good as this weeks ones.
Bye.
![Luca [OT]](https://overtake-data.community.forum/avatars/s/3235/3235113.jpg?1697196734){kind=avatar}