Quali:
Qualifying went okay, but I also realised that I hadn’t got enough practice during the week, because my times were so slow. I could only match the pace on options, and that only got me 6th. Very poor.
Race:
I had better hopes for the race, and after a good start, I was happy that I could achieve some good points. I think Brooksy spun into turn 1, and then Bradley spun Asanator into the stadium section, which means I was fighting for the lead at the end of the straight.
This, however, is when everything turned terrible. It seems that some people don’t know when to brake, and that’s a very hard thing to deal with. So I went from 2nd to last. I’d like to say that things got better from there, and they did slightly, until at the very same point on the track, I was hit off again due to the same reason. Especially as the game awarded me a penalty, and I have no idea why.
I carried on, nevertheless, slowly catching, even though now people were starting to get into their stride, so I had lost what advantage I would have gained from starting on options. I had a good fight with Brooksy, in which we allowed each other space and this was a lot of fun, if not a bit nerve racking.
The other incident I had, was when I was alone on the track, I think I had just pitted and couldn’t see anyone around me, but out of nowhere, Asanator spears across me. I was so surprised, especially as I was awarded another penalty. This wasn’t a good fight however, he didn’t really leave me much room, and it felt like he was just trying to push me away all of the time, rather than defending cleanly.
Another fight was against Abbmacher, which was probably half to a third of the race. What I did notice whilst fighting with him, was that he was excessively going beyond the track limits, on numerous corners. I only bring this up, because Bradley specifically told everyone that this was to be watched for, and wasn’t allowed. I saw a couple of other drivers do it too, but wasn’t with them long enough to see if it was consistent. But it is unacceptable.
Having said that, Abbmacher was at least clean with his driving, and we had a good tussle for (what I thought was) 4th place, which turned out to be 5th, when it was announced that there was a red flag.
Not a bad result, but I’m still missing being competitive with my wheel, and I doubt I’ll be in my new place by the start of the new season. I hope I can be though. 5th place is okay, and it secures me as the lead UK driver I believe, even if I did miss out on 6th place thanks to Robo’s win.
Congrats on the pole and win, you deserve DOD.
