Oh I do love this track. Always have fun racing here. Good racing from where I was sitting....
in my new home of up in the top ten. YAY!
The Alfa typically felt great after very little was done to it and made running around here nice and easy apart from the adverse cambered corners, but what you going to do with them.
Quali:
A decent lap, but really should've been better. I get a 1:38.3xx, which puts me in 13th, but then Bob Miley dropped going to warm-up putting me 12th for the race.
Race 1:
Good start, and head into turn one where a lovely big space has been left. I climb a few places as Bjorn de Haas and Jelle van der Knaap have a comming together. Then passed Carl Middleton while hes on the grass after his group of cars have a slight rub fest.
Then past Geoffrey Fournier after he goes wide at the first hairpin. So now I'm up to 7th, with Michael van Scheppingen breathing down my neck trying to out drag me on the back straight towards the second hairpin. On your bike son, Alfa beat in a straight line, sod off. :tongue::wink:
I make a late break manouver into the hairpin to get side by side with Stefan Beemsterboer for the exit. I got there and was on the entry to the corner when hes turning in (I guess I need to shut up now about my Alfa's brakes :tongue
. I don't get a good exit with wheels on the grass, so I slot in behind for the double 90 lefts. Stefan has a slow exit from the second, allowing me to get alongside for the next hairpin. So I'm n the inside, simple move and I'm up to 6th.
I look to catch the top 5, but over the next two laps, I just can't keep up. Them just that bit quicker over a full lap. So I just try and get away from Stefan and Michael who are fighting behind me.
Then on lap 3, argh, silly mistake made through lapse of concentration. I don't take a tight enough line through Mike Knight Corner, and end up having my left rear on the grass trying to slow for the last corner. I brake, car goes sidways, correct, then sideways into the gravel on the exit of the last corner. But some momentum is kept and I re-join in 9th. Argh!
Now behind Geoffrey Fournier and I can immediatly tell I'm either braver/better on the brakes than him. I close right up to him under braking for the second hairpin. Sorry for the taps at the next hairpin. So I decide to just follow him for a few laps and figure out where I can make my move. Both of us having similar pace and running very close together.
Under braking for the second hairpin on lap 6 I try to out brake him, but I wasn't close enough. Fournier leaves me room on the inside, which comprimised his exit speed, allowing me to sneak up the inside of him. Sorry for the door to door bump, tried to take the corner tighter so we wouldn't tag, but Alfa wasn't having any of it, it wanted past and up into 8th. Fournier stays close for a good lap roughly, but by the back straight, a comfortable gap has been created.
On lap 7, Aristide Romanov (in a Honda
wheres the BMW power?) is the first to pit.
On lap 8, I'm making an effort to catch Stefan, Michael and Ryan Callan who are all close together. Ryan pits, with Michael looking to do the same. But Michael locks up trying to slow for the pits. He ends up going across the grass to avoid a tyre wall, but he comes back right into the path of Stefan Beemsterboer. Stefan is sent flying into the gravel. He re-joins still in 5th, but now I have an opportinuty at him.
I try to get down the inside for turn one. I seem to take Stefan by suprise as he turns in on me, sending a little wide, but still on the track. (Mirrors dude, useful things) We then head into turn two side by side with me on the outside. I give Stefan room, too much room and I slide over the top of turn two due to being miles off the racing line. Rear goes first, but I come in contact with a tyre barrier before the car can spin. Re-join once out of the gravel, and now I'm back in 6th with Carl Middleton closing.
I decide to pit on lap 9 with my tyres now below 80%. I almost end my race going into the bloody pits. I move across towards the entrance, but I'm going probably a good 20KPH too fast. Go over some grass on the left of the entrance, then the rights go over some other grass, not really allowing my car to slow down properly, and I narrowly miss tagging the barrier.
So after changing both left tyres, I emerge a little closer to Michael van Scheppingen.
By lap 11, Carl Middleton has caught up to the back of me and I can tell he could go a damn sight bit faster if I wasn't in his way. With me keeping him behind me not helped by the fact that I just can't do that damn inverse cambered Hobbs corner at the end of the lap right every lap.
I get back up to 8th as I pass Geoffrey Fournier whos exiting the pits on lap 12. Fournier goes immediatly on the attack, as he badly wants to get past Middleton. I then again make a mistake at Hobbs and Middleton is easily past me. But he then gets slidey throught the last corner, allowing me to catchup on the striaght. I then show him the nose of my Alfa as I brake late for turn one, making him give me room. He ends up going off on the exit and allows both myself and Fournier through.
I then go through the first hairpin a little slow, and this allows Fournierto sneak up the inside and power away down the back straight. Now in 8th. I then again for the third lap in a row,
make an error at Hobbs, and Middleton is back past me.
Oh no, 9th, not again, sod this, come here Vectra!
Under braking for the hairpin after the back straight, I give Middleton a little tag, and another at the next corner. C'mon laddy, get going. Lights ablaze, you will be past by the end mate.
Both Fournier and Middleton are a little scruffy in their Vectras, but are just a little faster through the faster corners, but I'm quicker on the straights and better under braking. Both of these two aren't getting away from me.
Then on lap 16, Middleton then makes the crucial mistake at the first hairpin. Getting a little out of shape and having a slow exit. I use the draft and get alongside for the braking zone. I brake later than him, lock the fronts up a bit, but make the corner with ease. Now up 8th, yay ****ing beauty. Now all I have to do is keep it, but this track is killing my tyres. Right was roughly around 55% and the left around 80% at this time.
I then drive fast enough with no silly errors and hang on to 8th. I'm glad we only had two laps to go after I made my pass. Middleton was all over me, and one mistake or even an opportunity of a pass, and I'm sure I would've been passed.
:woot:But, FINALLY, FINALLY, my first 8th place in race one of an RD event! :woot:
Race 2:
Well, this is new, nobody in front of me. Such a lovely view from pole.
Now that I'm on pole for race two, all I wanted to do was have a nice and easy first lap without any offs.
Nice and clean start, giving me a bit of a jump. But Michael van Scheppingen is close behind, and by the exit of the first hairpin, hes looking for a draft.
I don't try and brake late for the next hairpin and stay nice and straight, turning in when I want to. But Michael gets down the inside and is away. Geoffrey Fournier tries to follow but its really tight. We have a bit of a rub, slowing both of us down, allowing Ryan Callan to catch us. I get a slight tag from Mr Callan at the next corner, but nothing serious. All this puts Fournier wide for the next left, putting onto the grass and gravel, allowing Ryan to get past.
On lap 3, I get a little sidways over turn two. I get the car corrected and pointing the right way on the exit, with Ryan and I narrowly avoid having a huge accident. He saw me go sideways and shouted "Inside" on TS, but I had barely any control, so its lucky Ryan was able to avoid me.
Karl Dubois also gets past at that point as well, dropping me to 4th, with Matthias Klein now breathing down my neck.
Over the next few laps, I do my best to keep Klein at bay, while I watch Ryan and Dubois slowly but surely pull away from me. On lap 5, I go wide on at the first of the double 90 lefts, allowing Klein to get past. Sorry for the little brushes. Now its Carl Middleton's turn to attack me.
He doesn't have to wait long to get past, as I make a mistake under braking for the first hairpin the next lap. Locking my right front, getting the car sliding a bit and having a poor exit. All this allows Middleton to drive round the outside of me. Sorry for the bump on the exit of the second hairpin. Put some power on and I just ended up going straight into ya.
Sorry.
On the same lap (lap 7), both Michael and Dubois attempt to go for a pitstop, but both end up sliding across the grass on the entrance. This allows me to get up behind Dubois. But me being close to him is short lived as by the hairpin, hes already gone. Also add to that, Gábor Ludvig makes a brilliant manouver to pass me under braking for the hairpin. Sorry for the tag at the second chicane.
People in front start pitting. I decide to stay out until lap 10. But it probably did more harm than good. After the first race, I decided to put in some more pressure into my tyres to try and make them last longer. But all I did was mess up the temps and I was running around with a noticable loss of grip compared to the first race. To the extent that the fronts were starting to overheat. Whoops.
Over the next few laps, I'm just trying to keep my tyres in decent shape. But on lap 14, I make a mistake at Hopps corner, running wide on entry, making me run on the curb on the exit. This spun the car round. I engaged reverse to try and get out of the way quickly. Thanks Stefan for avoiding me. I should probably have gone and engaged first, but oh well.
So I now have Bjorn de Haas behind me, but all I'm thinking now is, "Just bring the car home." So for the next few laps, all I do is try and take it easy, no silly mistakes, don't try and catch Stefan.
I bring the car home in 8th place for my second points finish of the day.
Thanks for the racing guys, cya all next time.
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