Free practice this morning went ok for me ... Got red-flagged early on with a broken car stranded in a difficult position on the hill, then as the red flags came out there was an unfortunate collision between two cars on the main straight, one slowing quickly having seen the flags, caught by the faster car who hadn't yet seen the flags. Sadly both cars are out for the weekend, which is terribly unlucky. Also suffering continuing misfortune after his bad luck at Hockenheim, is my class competitor Charles Cook, who's oil pump failed, causing quite a bit of engine damage - the oil pump was pretty much new... again very unlucky.
For me, I found the circuit, fortunately dry, to be no more daunting than I had feared. I need more bravery on certain sections, but ... And it's a big 'but' ... This not a circuit where you'll get away with making mistakes at all ... Amongst all the advice I've had, that from John Fyda: "drive well within your limits" rings very true. That's what I did, so I was surprised to find myself 12th overall, and first by a minuscule margin in my class - but it's only free practice and counts for nothing; it's left me feeling a bit nervous ... In yacht-racing it is never done to win the practice race at a big regatta, and I kind of feel that's what has just happened. Of course it wouldn't have happened without Charles Cook's failure. But I was just 0.1secs quicker than John Dowson; this weekend, rather than driving his faster Class E Brabham, he has elected to bring his Elva which is identical to mine, and similarly BMC powered; John has done quite a bit of racing already this year, having ventured down under, returning with a few trophies too, and he's raced here before, so it's heartening to be ahead of him. As I say though, what we've done so far counts for nought, the real competition starts later.
More brake fettling, bleed the clutch, and re-prep and we are now ready for qualifying. Still dry...
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